Refugío de Amor

Refuge of love. Shelter or safe place of LOVE.

Thank you Jesus these men are in a safe place…

I went into this week with a set of expectations that were surpassed by a million light years. The fact that it was my first time leading a group of people to a place that meant so much to my heart was not only intimidating, but also extremely scary because I didn’t think I deserved that position. I questioned if I would do this ministry site a kind of injustice, or if these men would even remember me from last year. It took patience, trust, and flexibility amid many other things. Was is stressful? Yes. Did I feel like giving up sometimes? Yes. Was it much harder than anticipated? Yes. Was it totally and completely worth it? YES. I don’t know if words will do it justice, but I can’t begin to explain how God worked in me and through me. I was blessed with one of the most gracious co-leaders that anyone could ask for and a team that built me up and loved me when I felt unlovable. This week I wasn’t just shown who God was through the men, but also through my team. I was hopeful of the love and mercy of God being visible to my team and being a witness of lives to be changed.

 

There is no doubt that the presence of the Holy Spirit is present in this sweet, little facility for a group of mentally disabled men. This group of men has impacted my life big time over the past year and what an absolute blessing it was to be back in the hospitality of their hearts. Sometimes it’s hard to see past their disabilities…past this obstacle they have to overcome every second of everyday…past their incapabilities to speak or think or hear. The environment is by no means an easy place to live, nor is it sanitary. BUT something I have to constantly remind myself is that they have a roof over their heads, medications to help control their disabilities, and food to fill their stomachs. I was amazed at the fact that they remembered me and continued to show me a kind of love that is not as common back home. It was reassuring to know that we do leave an impact even if it’s less than a week. I think short term mission trips get an extremely bad name, but I don’t think they should if you go with the right intentions. It’s fulfilling and spiritually rejuvenating and I personally feel that any “God moment” I experience brings me one step closer to the reality of His love. Not only does it fill me up, but it is leaving a lasting impression that allows them to be reminded of how loved and cared for they are. 

Here are a few of the men that helped to make this week unforgettable even through the smallest ways:

 

Meet Charlie. He will talk your ears off whether you want him to or not. He used to be a sweeper for many many years. Now he is a huge helper to this facility, continuing his role and sweeping for them, and really caring for these men. It’s evident how much they appreciate him. During this week, it was clear to see that all he wants is someone to talk to and it was amazing that we were able to give that to him for a few days. He cherished our time there and showed his appreciation through gifts. He probably doesn’t have much, yet he gave me a necklace and key chain. The necklace had the Virgin Mary on it and he said that he was giving it to me so that she could watch over me and protect me from this evil world. (He also said that if I ever misbehaved she would slap me back into place). But it was so cool to witness God speak through him even though we felt like we were supposed to be the ones speaking to them.

Meet Socorro. He was a very quiet man. He never spoke and I couldn’t tell you if he understood half of anything I said. I’m not sure why he intrigued me so much. Maybe it was because I could see a beautiful story in his eyes every time he looked at me. I could tell there were a million things he wanted to share but couldn’t. His eyes pierced through my soul allowing me to see joy behind them. There was a moment where we took out bubbles and I sat next to him and blew them in front of us. I would catch them on the stick and put it next to his hand to pop. Every time he slowly raised his hand it would disappear right before he had the chance, but this would spark something in him and he would smile. This smile filled my heart with the same joy I could see in his eyes. He may have been silent, but his gesture to be apart of the soccer circle, or sitting with us and coloring said more than words could have about his thankfulness of our company.

Meet Chuey. Often times you would find him locked up in what they call the “time out” cage because he has this urge to hit himself. He will literally start punching and kicking his body. I don’t know what causes it or why it happens, but it just does. If you walked up to him and sat with him it would trigger whatever it is that causes him to inflict pain upon himself. It made it hard to express our love towards him because we didn’t want him to start hitting himself over and over again. Our last day we washed the feet of the men and Chuey was one of them. I was able to pray over him and ask that God would calm him and take away the urge to hurt himself. I’m not sure if He actually answered it, but later that day I took this picture. It’s the first time I saw him smile after asking him to show his teeth. I continued to sit next to him and he didn’t try to hit himself once. He eventually got up and walked away after a few short minutes, but it was such a sweet moment to witness a bit of joy through him without any disturbances.

Meet Daniel. He was not one of the men from our site, but rather a stranger that became a friend. He can’t speak or hear and it made it that much harder to communicate with him past the Spanish-English barrier. The first day we met him was when we were at an ice cream place across the street from a local taco restaurant we would go to most days. However we decided to switch it up this particular day and I’m sure glad we did. The first thing he asked me was if we were affiliated with a church because he could “just tell” (at least that’s what I got from his hand motions). He was the sweetest man and wouldn’t stop smiling. After we left I got upset over the fact that I didn’t ask to pray over him. Weirdly enough, the next day we got tacos across the street and sure enough he was there. God gave me a second chance to pray for him. He might have thought we were just praying and might not have understood that we were praying for him, but it was such a surreal moment to ask for healing in whatever form God wants to provide. I may never know what that will look like, but I strongly believe in miracles and hope one day he can speak or hear again.

Talk about some of the sweetest God moments that just consisted of conversations and smiles. It’s that simple to witness the entirety of God.

 One more year until the next adventure down in Mexicali.

-E