By John Hall
Jose Angel could have left Juarez behind. No more listening to regular reports of violence between rival drug cartels. No more worrying about whether he and his family were safe. He even had a job interview in the United States.
But coming back from that interview, Angel knew he couldn’t leave. More to the point, he believed God was calling him to stay.
In a city physically and emotionally affected by dark tales of violence in recent years, someone must be a beacon of light, Angel said. That’s exactly what God called Christians to be in communities, no matter the circumstances surrounding them, he noted.
“Our doctrine is good. Now is the time to live out what we believe, to live according to God with confidence,” he said.
As counselors, Angel and his wife began putting their skills to work. They listened to friends and family of victims of the violence. Families who lost people in cartel-related gunfire. An 8-year-old girl who came home one day to find her mother had killed herself and must now raise her siblings.
The couple counsels 10 to 12 people a day, serving people who are shocked and confused, unsure what to do next and lacking hope. People need a relationship with Christ to rely on to carry them through such trying times, Angel said. He and his wife attempt to share the hope of Christ with every person they counsel.
The Angels have taken to the offensive in this expansive border town. The Baptist General Convention of Texas has helped the Angels by providing the No Mas Violencia curriculum, made possible by gifts to missions through the BGCT worldwide portion of the Cooperative Program and Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions. The couple has used the materials to teach young people how to be agents of peace in their communities.
Beyond fostering forces for peace, the Angels’ efforts have seen the forming of congregations where they have used the No Mas Violencia materials. Young people begin by coming together to make a difference in their communities and in the process discover the hope of Christ—the only hope, Angel said, that can truly change Juarez.
“The light is in us and we are the light,” he said. “Darkness cannot stay where there is light.”
While Juarez remains a violent place, statistics indicate the environment is improving somewhat. Overall crime is down 40 percent in Juarez. Murders have dropped from more than 3,100 in 2010 to slightly more than 1,900 in 2011. Still, the Citizens’ Council for Public Security and Justice, a Mexican research group, lists Juarez among the world’s most violent cities.
Angel remembers Texas groups working “arm-in-arm” with Mexican Baptists in their efforts to share the hope of Christ throughout Juarez. He considered them “like family” and enjoyed seeing them each year. They helped motivate Mexican churches to focus on sharing the gospel. With Juarez struggling, the groups have stopped coming. He encouraged Christians in the U.S. to return, believing that together, Texas and Mexican Baptists can have a significant impact on the city.
“Now the situation is difficult. The time is here to prove the truth that God lives in us. I invite you to come and continue strongly and show strongly that God is powerful.”