Miracle after Miracle
Pastor Kluzek used that phrase in a conversation with my mom and I last week and I liked it. The purpose of this blog is two-fold: I want to tell you who Pastor Kluzek is and what he does because it is actually really neat and my guess is that not very many people know about it, and I want to tell you how much truth I have seen in those 3 little words in just a couple of weeks.
Rev. Mark Kluzek is a pastor from NM who has been coming, on his own or with 1-2 friends, to YLM every summer for something like 7 years now. He always drives, and his vehicle is always loaded to capacity and beyond with donated goods for distribution. He stays at the mission for 3 or 4 days, 2 of which are usually spent evangelizing in Juarez, at San Pedro y San Pablo and San Lucas. He first goes door-to-door inviting people and then later holds a huge gathering which he uses as a time to share the Gospel in a mass setting and give away all his loot. This year, he chose not to cross the border and instead did the same thing in the Sparks Colonia. His whole congregation is involved year-round in gathering donations for him, and this year that resulted in needing a U-Haul. Here begins the story of the first miracle I'm going to share (he had mentioned several others already but this one stuck in my mind); the outrageous price that the company originally quoted him was several hundred dollars more than what he could afford. After a chat with the manager made him a little headway, Pastor Kluzek decided to go ahead and make the reservation. As the cashier looked at her screen, however, something happened that she said had only happened like one other time. Apparently there were too many trucks ending up in El Paso, so the rate that was now showing for a roundtrip out of Albuquerque (which was his planned route anyhow) was only $200, a figure even lower than the manager had quoted him. $200! Coincidence? I think not.
So his story got me thinking about all the other miracles that I have witnessed recently. Surely there have been hundreds and will be hundreds more. Sometimes the fact that I wake up and Ysleta Lutheran Mission is still here seems like a miracle, but I'm talking specific, tangible incidents in which I could see a higher power at work. The second example I'm going to share occurred last week on Thursday and Friday. Last week's group from Sugar Land, TX, was supposed to build a home in Juarez, but we asked them to stay on the U.S. side of the border, following the car bomb that was detonated on the 15th of this month by one of the rival gangs. You probably heard about it wherever you are since I know the media had a field day with it, but if not, that's another blog for another day. Anyways, their alternative project wound up being some repairs, mainly to the roof and the floor, of a San Pablo member's trailer. Thanks to a press release sent out by another church member that used to work in broadcast journalism, the group wound up being on FOX news Thursday night and abc news Friday night. Unfortunately, no videos are to be found online. Thursday's report was very brief and didn't exactly portray us in the best light (although it did give Pastor Heimer's cell phone number for people to call with donations of construction materials, which I had to laugh at), but Friday's was marvelously done and ended with a quote by Pastor Heimer defiantly saying that we DO plan on going back to Juarez; nothing is going to stop us from ministering to our churches over there. And at that, God turned a frustrating situation for all into some desperately needed positive PR for a struggling mission. Hmmmm, who got the last laugh there? I may not have tasted fine wine that came from a water jug or witnessed the contents of my lunchbox feed the entire population of the Lower Valley, but there you have it, Miracle after Miracle. After Miracle, after Miracle, after Miracle, after Miracle...oddly enough the theme of this week's Vacation Bible schools (yes plural) is "The Miracles of Jesus"...
Until next time, blessings!
Rev. Mark Kluzek is a pastor from NM who has been coming, on his own or with 1-2 friends, to YLM every summer for something like 7 years now. He always drives, and his vehicle is always loaded to capacity and beyond with donated goods for distribution. He stays at the mission for 3 or 4 days, 2 of which are usually spent evangelizing in Juarez, at San Pedro y San Pablo and San Lucas. He first goes door-to-door inviting people and then later holds a huge gathering which he uses as a time to share the Gospel in a mass setting and give away all his loot. This year, he chose not to cross the border and instead did the same thing in the Sparks Colonia. His whole congregation is involved year-round in gathering donations for him, and this year that resulted in needing a U-Haul. Here begins the story of the first miracle I'm going to share (he had mentioned several others already but this one stuck in my mind); the outrageous price that the company originally quoted him was several hundred dollars more than what he could afford. After a chat with the manager made him a little headway, Pastor Kluzek decided to go ahead and make the reservation. As the cashier looked at her screen, however, something happened that she said had only happened like one other time. Apparently there were too many trucks ending up in El Paso, so the rate that was now showing for a roundtrip out of Albuquerque (which was his planned route anyhow) was only $200, a figure even lower than the manager had quoted him. $200! Coincidence? I think not.
So his story got me thinking about all the other miracles that I have witnessed recently. Surely there have been hundreds and will be hundreds more. Sometimes the fact that I wake up and Ysleta Lutheran Mission is still here seems like a miracle, but I'm talking specific, tangible incidents in which I could see a higher power at work. The second example I'm going to share occurred last week on Thursday and Friday. Last week's group from Sugar Land, TX, was supposed to build a home in Juarez, but we asked them to stay on the U.S. side of the border, following the car bomb that was detonated on the 15th of this month by one of the rival gangs. You probably heard about it wherever you are since I know the media had a field day with it, but if not, that's another blog for another day. Anyways, their alternative project wound up being some repairs, mainly to the roof and the floor, of a San Pablo member's trailer. Thanks to a press release sent out by another church member that used to work in broadcast journalism, the group wound up being on FOX news Thursday night and abc news Friday night. Unfortunately, no videos are to be found online. Thursday's report was very brief and didn't exactly portray us in the best light (although it did give Pastor Heimer's cell phone number for people to call with donations of construction materials, which I had to laugh at), but Friday's was marvelously done and ended with a quote by Pastor Heimer defiantly saying that we DO plan on going back to Juarez; nothing is going to stop us from ministering to our churches over there. And at that, God turned a frustrating situation for all into some desperately needed positive PR for a struggling mission. Hmmmm, who got the last laugh there? I may not have tasted fine wine that came from a water jug or witnessed the contents of my lunchbox feed the entire population of the Lower Valley, but there you have it, Miracle after Miracle. After Miracle, after Miracle, after Miracle, after Miracle...oddly enough the theme of this week's Vacation Bible schools (yes plural) is "The Miracles of Jesus"...
Until next time, blessings!
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