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Children, adults benefit from Mexican ministry

TIJUANA, Mexico -- The hillside where little Abram lives has a gorgeous view, but is it not very picturesque. Overlooking the valley below where the sprawling city of Tijuana covers every inch of visible land, the hill itself is a densely populated squatter community of 100,000 people. Children play on the dirt patches outside of their simple cement-block houses. Some streets are paved while others are rutted dirt paths where sewer water runs off to the valley below.

"Abram's father is an alcoholic and lives right next to our alcohol rehabilitation center," says Kathy Saracoff, a missionary with the Latin America Mission who works in Tijuana. "The father would be a good candidate for the program, but doesn't want to turn himself in." Abram's mother abandoned the family, Kathy [said], leaving him and several older sisters. "He was one of the first boys to come and live at the rehab center."

Kathy and her husband Greg work with an expanding program that helps alcoholics and homeless boys in the dusty neighborhood of Grupo Mexico where their shelters are located. They began with Puerta de Esperanza (Door of Hope), the alcohol rehabilitation center, but when boys like Abram began showing up asking to stay, they soon found it necessary to open a children's center as well.

"We had a vision to work with the poor," Kathy reflect[ed]. "We plugged in to this little church, Iglesia Emanuel, that had a heart for going downtown to the red light district of Tijuana and talking to drunks and seeing if they wanted to change their lives." Church members provided showers and a blanket, but, with no place to live, the men returned to the streets. "There was nothing to keep them going," she [said].

Soon, Greg, a native of Michigan City, Ind., led work teams to build a dormitory behind the church and started a woodworking program. With that, the rehabilitation program began to take shape. "Greg's dream was to start a bivocational school to train pastors," Kathy [said]. "In Mexico, pastors have a hard time making ends meet. His goal was to get the cream of the crop, but God has sent a different clientele!"

Greg says that an average stay in the rehabilitation center is one year, but many want to leave after they start feeling good, three or four months into the program. But, letting them go that early just throws them back into their old habits. "The culture is so permeated by drugs that no matter what factory they are working at, they are taking drugs," Greg [said]. "All of the construction crews live at the work site so no one will steal materials, but all of the guys there drink like fish." Now, the rehab center sends men out to work in teams with a strong leader.

Then there is the family pressure. "A mother will find out that her son is in the program and will start writing them asking why they aren't sending money home to help the family," Greg explain[ed]. "A lot of them feel so guilty that they leave and say they have to support their family. Of course, it doesn't happen, they take up drugs again and they are gone."

Amidst the frustrations, there are many victories to report. "The way we count our success is our staff," Greg reflect[ed]. "We have 14 Latins on our staff and half of them have been brought off of heroine through the center. That's where we get our feeling that something is happening."

Many graduates of Greg and Kathy's program have gone on to be church leaders. "These guys who were in the rehab program coming off of heroine three years ago are now the leaders in the children's work and they are leaders in the church," Greg [said]. "One guy was in prison in Washington for five years. They sent him to Tijuana when he got out of prison. He was on heroine and the Lord was able to work with his life. He accepted the Lord and we were able to disciple him. Later, we found he had a gift for working with children. It's the Lord redeeming that lost time, and that's a real encouragement for others who have been on drugs. God can even use that lost time and redeem it later."

There is no shortage of potential clients for the Saracoff's center. "The United States takes illegal immigrants from all over the U.S. and ships them to Tijuana," Greg explain[ed]. "So we have a double portion of drug addicts, the normal ones and the ones they are shipping in by bus."

El Arca (The Ark), the children's shelter, is the Saracoff's newest project. "There are about 16 boys living there plus the staff," Kathy [said]. "They are kids who would end up on the streets if they were not with us. Most of them have a parent or two, but they are alcoholic or there is no father in the family and the mother can't care for them.

Kathy, who grew up on the mission field in Taiwan but counts Minneapolis as home, tells of one boy whose father was injured and had his leg amputated. "The money went to pay for the other bills and they were living on the street. The boy heard about El Arca and came to the kid's club. He wanted to stay in school, so his parents put him here so he could continue his education while they put their lives back together."

As the program grows, Greg and Kathy are finding themselves involved more in fund raising, administration and staff support. "We see ourselves trying to equip and work alongside the leaders here. So, we are involved in counseling, staff meetings and listening to staff to help them with their needs," Kathy [said].

Part of the Saracoff's activities involve receiving donated clothing, toys and Spanish-language books from churches across the United States. They also coordinate work groups and new missionaries who come along side to help. "We need someone who can come down, help us design products that the men can manufacturer and then help set up outlets to sell those products in the U.S.," Greg [said]. "We need to build a home for the orphanage as well. I need an architect, somebody to lay the foundation and then groups to build the building."

As the missionary couple works to expand their program, there is a smile on Kathy's face as she recounts the changes in Abram's life since he has been in The Arca. "He has just blossomed with love and discipline," she [said]. "He was at the top of his class this past month." ...

From Christian Daily News