I just got back from Juarez, Mexico on Sunday afternoon and allot of people have been asking me, "What is Juarez like right now?" A War Zone! The crazy thing is that it is right in the back door of the U.S. In fact if you are on the freeway, downtown, or the border highway on the Texas side, you can catch glimpses of Hummers, or trucks full of armed soldiers complete with mask, bullet proof vest and AK-47's, trucks with mounted machine guns, and men with guns, shields, and camouflage just about everywhere you look. Along with them you will spot many more Federal es than you would imagine. When you see the local police they are usually accompanied by a couple soldiers to help protect them and keep them honest! Yet the drug cartels continue their battle for power and the local criminals continue to ride their shirt tails. Everyone is afraid, even families that live on both sides of the border are split. It used to be that the lines at the border were very long on the weekends with family from El Paso crossing to spend the weekend with family in Juarez. Now they don't go and urge anyone that still crosses to reconsider, including us. The lines continue to be long, but now it is due to more thorough searching. The biggest concern is the Cholo's (local criminals) who know that people are so afraid they won't speak out and are using that to their benefit. They are robbing, stealing, killing and extorting money. Most do not know if they are connected to the cartel or not and are unwilling to report these crimes since it would mean sure death for them and possibly their family There are stray bullets like the one that killed an El Paso 14 yr old while she was at her cousins birthday party. The torture type killings have slowed down, but we still read about them daily in the local newspaper. More people were killed this year per month than last year and many fear as soon as the military leaves it will continue as it was before they came, until one cartel leader is king of this area.
Keep praying for the people of Juarez and for those that are apart of the drug cartels. Pray that there heart's would open up and realize the evil and damage they are causing and that they would receive Jesus Christ as there personal Lord and Savior. My trip this past weekend was amazing! We had no trouble and lots of great times. The church is almost done and Pastor Juan and his family are really getting excited to move in. I had the privilege of meeting a young man by the name of Peppee. He is married with two children. Peppee has been hooked on heavy drugs for years and had lost his wife and his children and his family because of the drugs. One year ago God sent Pastor Juan out into the city and he ran into Peppee. Peppee at the time was trying everything to get his wife and kids back but he just couldn't kick the drugs. Until one day he invited Jesus Christ into his life. His life has never been the same. Peppee went from losing everything to now having his wife and kids back. And Pastor Juan and his family moved into the church so they gave Peppee and his family there old house to live in. I remember after Peppee had shared his testimony with me he grabbed his backpack and he told me, "Whenever I used to grab my backpack I used to always pull out the drugs but now I pull out my bible!" And that is what he did. His face was glowing. I will never forget that moment. And when he tells you his story he gives all the credit to God. It's so amazing to see a guy that had lost everything, now have meaning and purpose in his life. I could sit here for hours and hours just sharing amazing testimonies with you but I will leave that for another time. God has truly blessed my wife and I with the opportunity to be apart of this amazing mission in Juarez. Please continue to pray for the students down there and for Nolan and Marie.
God is moving in Juarez! Praise Jesus!!