October 30, 2000
CHILDREN'S HOME director in Piedras Negras holds one of his charges.
Children's homes care for the forgotten and neglected
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico--Police discovered Ignacio tied up in a bartender's apartment.
___Ignacio is mentally disabled and about 7 years old. He has no known family. The bartender locked Ignacio up when he left for work at night. During the day, he tied Ignacio up so the child wouldn't escape while the bartender slept.
___A group of Texas Baptists met the boy some months after his rescue. This time, Ignacio sat safely on the sunny porch of Casa Bethesda Children's Home in Piedras Negras, Mexico, playing and smiling at the visitors.
___Although Ignacio's mental disability sets him apart, the dire circumstances of his young life place him among tens of thousands of children all along the Rio Grande. Fortunatelyfor Ignacio, police placed him in the care of Casa Bethesda, one of 10 children's homes operated with support from the Baptist General Convention of Texas' River Ministry.
'DISTRESSED HOMES'--broken by divorce or destroyed by drugs--produce thousands of children up and down the Rio Grande who need Christian love and care. Texas Baptists' River Ministry helps support 10 children's homes, which minister to more than 600 destitute boys and girls every year.
___Casa Bethesda started the same way the other homes began--response to need.
___Mothers of handicapped children kept bringing them to Pastor Paulino Esquivel at the day care center operated by Iglesia Bautista la Trinidad. Almost daily, they pleaded for help in the care of their children.
___So, more than four years ago, Esquivel resigned the pastorate to open Casa Bethesda in the house he and his wife had built for their retirement. The ministry's support comes from members of the church and River Ministry, which has helped to construct a new facility. The government does not offer programs for handicapped children.
___Casa Bethesda--just across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass--is the only home for handicapped children from Brownsville to El Paso, the length of the Mexico-Texas border. It provides residential help for six children, including Ignacio, and daytime help for about 10 others.
___Like directors of other homes, Esquivel asks Texas Baptists to pray for the ministry. Casa Bethesda specifically needs property for a pharmacy, a medical center, a rehabilitation lab and transportation.
___Transportation--specifically a reliable van--also is a need at Casa Hogar de Ninos, another River Ministry-supported children's home in Piedras Negras.
___Casa Hogar currently is home to about 20 children. Few of them actually are orphans, reported Alva de la Cruz, who with her husband, Geronimo, and John and Paulina Bivens, operate the home.
___"Almost all the children come from distressed homes--broken by divorce or destroyed by drugs," she explained. "Very few get to go back home. The children can stay here until they turn 18, and some stay longer--until they can finish nursing training or professional training.
___"For some, this is the only home they know."
___The home has the legal authority to administer the needs of the children, she said, noting that includes mandatory church attendance.
___"We try to lead them to faith in Christ," de la Cruz said. And that effort has produced multiplied blessings, she added, noting children who have lived in Casa Hogar since it opened in 1980 now are leaders in area churches.
___Besides a van for transporting the children to school and church, the home also needs plenty of new clothes to protect all those growing young bodies, she said. And the home needs a new dining hall and kitchen; now the staff feeds the children from two tiny kitchens.
___Way up the river, Hands of Luke Medical Ministries embodies what Baptist services to hurting people can become with leadership, time and support.
___Hands of Luke started in 1988, led by Marco and Carmen Samaniego. He's a medical doctor who sensed God wanted them to start a ministry in the Juarez area for physical as well as spiritual needs.
___Hands of Luke has grown to include two children's homes, a medical clinic, ministry in a federal prison and juvenile detention center, three nutritional centers in colonias on the outskirts of Juarez, a short-term shelter for the homeless, food and clothing ministries, a school for younger children and outreach programs at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
___Hands of Luke Ministries is a non-profit organization registered both in Mexico and the United States, noted Leo Samaniego, River Ministry coordinator for El Paso Baptist Association. It receives financial support and volunteer help from churches in numerous U.S. states.
___"This is an example of something that has developed into a fully indigenous ministry," stressed Dexton Shores, director of River Ministry. "It received support from River Ministry early on, but that is not needed now.
___"This represents a move away from dependency. If we were still funding it after 32 years, we would be guilty of fostering dependency."
___Hands of Luke reflects the full development of ministry along the border. Other ministries elsewhere still depend upon River Ministry financial support, as well as participation from Texas Baptists.
___Workers in children's homes up and down the Rio Grande say, on behalf of children like Ignacio who cannot speak for themselves, "Come over and help us."
__
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!
