LA PRESA GRANDE, Texas (ABP) — Alongside a long dirt road, the Ramirez family lives behind a thin wire fence. They have little, but they have enough to live. They have few material possessions but an abundance of joy.
Neighbors of the Ramirez family of La Presa Grande, a colonia near Laredo, worship each Sunday in a carport.(BGCT PHOTO)
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Every Sunday afternoon, the grandparents, their seven grandchildren and two other families who live nearby gather beneath a carport. The young people sing songs and listen to a Bible story before doing crafts and eating a small snack of sugary fruit juice and crackers. A few adults encircle a pastor who shares a weekly Bible lesson.
Mario Garcia, Texas Baptists’ River Ministry coordinator in the Laredo area, first came upon the family during a prayer-walk in a colonia. He first met the grandfather, Victorio Ramirez, who soon introduced his wife, Lupe, and seven grandchildren — all under the age of 16.
Shortly after, Garcia discovered the children lived in one large metal water tank and the grandparents in another. When it rained, the tanks leaked. In summertime, temperatures inside the tanks rose to 120 degrees. The family had limited electricity and no running water.
The family survives on the grandfather’s pension checks and the grandmother’s earnings as a housekeeper, although much of their income helps pay for kidney dialysis for Victorio Ramirez.
“That just broke my heart,” Garcia said, fighting back the emotion he still feels when he thinks of that moment.
What others might see as a difficult situation, Garcia saw as an opportunity. He regularly visited the family and built a relationship with them. Finally, he decided to see if he could gather the people and resources needed to build the Ramirez’s a new home.
“I think we can show the love of God through our actions,” said Garcia, whose ministry is supported by the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.
Victorio Ramirez (left) visits with Mario Garcia, Laredo-area coordinator for Texas Baptists’ River Ministry. (BGCT PHOTO)
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“I have to put it into action. This gives us an open door to show them the love of God to them through our actions. I can come and read the Bible to them — which is nothing bad, don’t get me wrong. I can come and establish a Bible study. But if I know they’re living in a water tank, how much better can we show the love of God and his power than by building them a house?”
Volunteers, churches and mission groups, particularly Wainwright Baptist Church in Muscogee, Okla., raised the money and provided free labor. They worked quickly and passionately out of call to help the Ramirez family, Garcia said.
As they worked, they were able to get better acquainted with Ramirez and shared the gospel with him. He made a profession of faith in Christ, and his entire family followed.
Garcia mentioned wanting to start a church in the area, and Ramirez volunteered his carport. Now 20 to 30 people gather there every Sunday afternoon.
“I was overfilled with joy,” Ramirez said of hearing about the effort to build a house. “It was an opportunity for a big change.”
Volunteers recently finished the project and helped the family move their belongings into their new home. The house is wonderful, Garcia said, but it’s not nearly as beautiful as the change it’s helped bring to the family.
“You can see God’s grace, God’s power,” he said of looking at the house. “One of the goals has been accomplished—for these kids and this family to come to Christ. It’s not about the house. That’s just been a tool to witness to people and to win them to Christ. And that has given us the opportunity to establish a new church work.”
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John Hall writes for Texas Baptist communications.