Jesus Brings Beauty From Ashes

God’s Miraculous Work

God brought one of our church planters back from the brink of death. I’m often amazed by the testimonies of those that Dawn and I partner with in ministry. It’s been so good to get to know Pastor Jorge Alvarado and his wife, Lucy. Jorge is planting the church that we just started in Mexicali.

You can read more about that, and more about his story from my last two posts: A New Birth in Mexicali and A New Birth! In my last post I shared how Jorge was shot three times. He was at death’s door. The doctors told Jorge’s mom, Petra that they had done all that they could and there was nothing more that they could do for him.

The Rest of the Story

Here’s the rest of the story.

It was at that moment that Jorge, cried out, “Madre!” The medical staff ran back into the room where Jorge was. When they saw that Jorge woke up they all got down on their knees and said it was a miracle! Praise God! It’s not every day that we see a miracle like this.

While Jorge was on the operating table he had an experience with God. He said it was as if his spirit left his body and he could see himself on the operating table. He saw his mom and the doctors. Some angels took him by the arm and they took up to the doorway to heaven. It may have actually been the doorway to heaven and hell. Jorge told me he could hear crying and groaning coming from one of the doorways and the other one was bright, like a light shining.

There was an angel at the doorway and he was leafing through a big book. Jorge could feel the breeze as the angel turned the pages. The angel looked up from the book at Jorge and asked him what he wanted. He didn’t know how to respond. At this point Jorge was still caught in his addictive lifestyle and he hadn’t yet given his life to Christ.

After thinking about it Jorge said that he wanted to make things right with his family. He wanted to ask them to forgive him. At that moment Jorge was ushered back down to his body. Again he could see his body on the gurney and the medical staff in the room.

When he came back to his body he woke up, and cried out for his mom! Wow! A modern day resurrection, like Lazarus. Pastor Alvarado had been in a coma for 3 days. I love the imagery. He like Christ and Lazarus was without life for 3 days and God raised him up and brought him back to life.

Setting the Captives Free

After this life altering experience Pastor Jorge found a Christian drug rehabilitation center. It was there that he found Christ. The Pastor of the drug rehab is Juan Huape, who is one of our church planters. Pastor Juan and his wife, Virginia planted a church in Mexicali a few years ago. They also run a drug rehab.

Since Pastor Alvarado was saved out of a life of addiction God has given him and Lucy a desire to minister to people who are seeking to break the chains of drug addiction. This is a focus for their outreach and their work in church planting.

This reminds me of Isaiah 61, which is the passage that Jesus quoted from when he began his public ministry. The gospel is good news for the poor, the broken-hearted and the captives.

““The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,’

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

When I first heard Jorge’s testimony last year tears welled up in my eyes as I listened. It was like the Spirit touched me and encouraged me through his redemptive story. His story reminded me of our daughter, Hannah. It was like a glimpse into heaven where our daughter has been for the last 5 1/2 years.

I hope Jorge’s story might encourage you as well. I hope that the Lord will use his testimony to strengthen your faith.

You Can Help!

We just began building the church for Pastor Jorge and Lucy last month.

We have enough funds to frame the walls and put up some of the roof, but we weren’t able to complete the project. We still need $6,000 to finish building the church. That’s where you come in.

• First, pray for Jorge and Lucy and this vital ministry. 
• Second, prayerfully consider making a gift today. 

Mexicali is in the desert. It’s hot, and the temperature often exceeds 100. The church needs a finished roof and walls and air conditioning as they head into the summer months. 

Dawn and I would like to ask you to prayerfully consider making a donation today to help us finish building this church. We are almost there! Please consider giving a gift of $50, $100, $250, $1,000, or more to plant a new church in Mexicali, Mexico. Dawn and I appreciate the critical role you play in bringing the light of the gospel to Mexicali and Beyond!

In His Grip, Dave

P.S. Help take the gospel to the Border, the Baja and Beyond
BeyondBordersLife.org