The Mission is Here
by Carlos Ingles
At the food distribution on a recent Tuesday morning, I had the joy of meeting a young man named Lou, who is 25 years old and originally from China. He told me the amazing story of how he got here. He traveled from China to Colombia by plane with the promise of crossing Central America and Mexico to reach the United States. What he did not know is that between Colombia and Panama, there is no road, only what is called the Darien Gap. It is a very difficult jungle to cross, and thousands of people are crossing every day, desperate for the problems they have and chasing the American dream. Some Venezuelan friends of mine have told me that it takes a week to cross on foot because it is such a dense jungle, and they have seen dead bodies along the way of people also trying to come. Migration is a tragedy, with families forced to bring their young children. I cannot understand the desperation that someone must have to decide to cross the jungle on foot with small children like mine.
Going back to the story of this young man I met, he told me that he crossed all of Central America by road until he reached the border of Mexico and the USA, where the border patrol put him in jail for nine months. This young man comes from communist China, where the Christian faith is prohibited. In prison, he met a group of Spanish-speaking Christians who met every day, and despite not speaking Spanish he hung out with them because they were friendly. The other Chinese people in the prison made fun of him because they said he was wasting his time attending a Christian group. He told them he was interested in knowing God, and even learned a little of the language from his new friends.
One of those he met was a man from Nicaragua, who later was released and returned to his house in Houston. Incredibly, while the rest of the Chinese group was eventually deported back to China, Lou was later released here in Houston by the authorities. He contacted his Christian friend from prison who lived here, and went to live with him. Lou originally came to Impact to receive food, but has also come to the English worship service despite not having a car, and has begun a relationship with us.
God’s mission to reach people is not far! The mission to reach the world is right here in Houston- with people of different languages, races, customs, and beliefs. May God use us to bless them!
