November 11, 2002

Buckner-church partnership brings hope home
___By Russ Dilday
___Buckner News Service
___SPARKS COLONIA--Playing in the front yard of their parents' cinder-block home, Luis, 6, and Omar, 2, fly down fictional freeways unhindered in their big blue plastic toy car.
___But reality has screeched to a stop in the desert sand outside their house--a rusty, older-model Ford sedan on blocks, used as storage for recyclable cans, a tangible sign of the poverty in which they live.
___Reality for Luis and Omar also includes Buckner Children and Family Services and its ministry in Sparks Colonia near El Paso. There, Texas Baptists have helped the family get back on track in an ongoing partnership with nearby Mision Montana Vista, a Baptist mission congregation.

LUIS and Omar play in a plastic car in front of their cinder-block home in Sparks colonia near El Paso. They and their family are receiving help through Buckner Children and Family Services.

___Last year, the mother, Lourdes, needed help desperately. Her husband worked long hours for little pay. Her oldest son, 8-year-old Manny, has special needs and requires additional attention. The young couple struggled with paying the bills and feeding their family.
___"Desperate need brought them in the door, and the desperate hopelessness kept them coming back," said Sylvia Holguin, program director for the Sparks ministry. "She qualified for some programs that assisted her in helping her pay her bills, and that's how we kept in touch."
___The family is one of thousands in a nearly 40-mile radius helped by the Buckner ministry this year.
___"It really varies from month to month, but it's always been anywhere from 4,000 people, which was one of the smaller numbers, to 10,000 one Christmas season," Holguin said. "In May, we saw over 7,000 people at the community center."
___"I have been helped by getting transportation and help with my everyday necessities," Lourdes said. "I have attended some of the programs that are at the community center. It helps with paying the bills. I don't know what I would have done because every time I needed help, they've been there and they helped me out."
___Holguin also connected the family with Montana Vista, which she credits with a commitment to providing ministry to their neighbors.
___"Our wonderful church family kept them from being hungry sometimes, kept clothes on their backs, or just maybe provided something as small as sitting and talking to them and letting them know that there is hope out there for everybody," Holguin said.
___"Montana Vista has given me a lot of help," Lourdes confirmed. "I get stuff for the kids and they give me food and whatever I need, like clothes, and I also go to a Bible study, a very good teaching from the Bible.
___"I want to go on with my life. I want to know more from the Bible studies so I can help my kids out," she said. "The thing I want most is to help my kids out, get them educated."
___The partnership between Buckner and the church fits well with Holguin's ministry philosophy.
___"I want to make sure we are able to help in a rounded way, and by that I mean not only are we going to help her when she needs to have her bills paid or help for her children, but we're also going to try to help her lift her spirit a little bit more so she can face all these things that are happening to her at a very young age with three small children," Holguin said.
___The Buckner ministry at Sparks Community Center relies on individual contributions for many of its operating expenses. For more information, contact Holguin at Sparks Community Center, 12899 Sparks Drive, El Paso 79927, (915) 852-9542.
___

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