I just learned today, that a friend in Mexico was baptized. Daniel at Casa Bugambillia, a clinic in Mexico, has been cared for and loved well by these people. When we met, he was paralyzed from a gunshot to the neck. His road has been long and anything but easy. I remember us all holding hands around his bed, praying for him, crying with him and most importantly bringing Z to meet him. Z and Daniel have common backgrounds. Z’s father was a man that had brought Cocaine to Mexico and Z’s journey is an amazing story in itself. After losing his father on the front steps of his house by gunfire, a lifestyle of drugs and prison, Z is now a follower of Jesus and missionary. Danial, after time at Casa Bugambillia in Mexico, is now in a wheelchair getting around pretty good. First time we met him he was tough at first, then wept as we prayed with him. I’m sharing part of a blog entry from a friend below.
You never know how something will impact others or how you will be used, but God really used our friend, Eleazar Garza (better known as Z) that day we met Daniel, and he’s been using him & Casa Bugambillia ever since. My heart is full that mercy is a part of the journey, that none of us would get there without it, and that Daniel has come home.
Audra’s Post: I think the greatest way to describe where Z is now is to tell you of a moment we had the first day at Casa Bugambilia. While visiting patients we were warned about Daniel. He had been shot in the back of the neck, leaving him partially paralyzed and unable to walk. Daniel had a tear tattoo, indicating he had killed someone, and an attitude to match. We walked in the room and Blake, Jimmy, Jeannie and I introduced ourselves. He was very gracious and then his eyes widened as he caught site of Z. He asked Z his name and then told him he knew Z’s brother and had known his father. The air became electric. Z boldly asked Daniel if he knew God. Tears formed in his eyes that were as big as moons. Through quivering lips he replied “Si”, his answer sounding more like a question. Z told him of the most meaningful walk he will ever take, the one with Christ. And Daniel listened. He respected Z, he related to Z. I believe it was the first time he considered any life other than the one he had. I believe he wanted the peace he saw in Z. Z asked Daniel how we could pray for him and then we did. We prayed with Daniel right there over that bed. And he wept. We all wept. For Daniel’s past and his possibilities. As we left, Z asked Daniel if he could bring him anything. To which he replied “Just come back.”
That is the very essence of this project. I believe it with all of my heart. To give someone the opportunity to see a person who has been where they are, and to know there is a way out. One way out. I believe it with all of my heart.
For a video on Casa Bugambillia: http://www.hamptonworks.com/casab
A complete post can be found at http://storyofgrace.com/blog/?p=77