LIVING ON THE BRIDGE

Cuban woman sleeping with others on the bridge.

Cuban refugees are living on the international bridge. They have left their country for Mexico since they can travel to that country easily. But their goal is to live in the United States.

After arriving in Mexico, they took busses to border cities, but along the way some of the busses were stopped by gangs. Only the Cubans were kidnapped and held for ransom. Some were released, but many others are still being held. This has been a dangerous trip for all of them because they came to Mexico with money.

We first noticed the Cubans when we came across the bridge one day 2 weeks ago. A large number of young people were clustered around a tree in a small patio at the foot of the bridge. They were well dressed and many were using smart phones. These didn’t look like the poor immigrants one expects to see.  Along the side of the narrow pedestrian walkway toward the middle of the Rio Grande River, pallets and blankets held young men, women and children who were resting or sleeping. A barrier guarded by U.S. officers stopped them from going any further.

Lloyd and I wondered who all these people were and where they were from. I rolled down the window of the Jeep and Lloyd asked a man standing at the edge of the walkway where he was from. CUBA! “We are Cubanos.” 

Later we learned the Cubans have obtained temporary permits to wait on the bridge until they can be interviewed by the U.S. government. It’s a safe place. There are public restrooms at the foot of the bridge and food can be purchased nearby. It’s a quiet crowd, well behaved and polite. Also, it is a group of people who are forced to wait, they are probably bored and in need of diversion. What a good set-up for someone to bring them the gospel message!

At a meeting at our church we asked for prayer for the people on the bridge. Later, armed with booklets in Spanish with the salvation message from Romans and some other brochures, we drove slowly in stop-and-go traffic back into the United States on that same bridge. At every opportunity while inching forward, I opened the Jeep door and approached people who were within reach, offering them the booklets. And the response was very positive.

When they saw the writing on the booklets, their eyes lit up and they smiled. We inched forward again in traffic and watched as they quickly distributed the Word of God among those around the tree. Many raised their hands in greeting, others showed their gratitude with smiles. We remembered that few Bibles are allowed in Cuba, none can be brought in by missionaries and the American Bible Society has been banned from shipping any Bibles to that country. We stopped a few more times and handed out booklets until we reached the center of the bridge marking the US boundary line.

Now the faces of those people and their gratitude will haunt us. Next time we’ll take some different gospel literature to distribute because the people have plenty of time to read. Please pray with us for these Cuban refugees. We understand there are thousands of them along the Mexican border awaiting asylum in the United States. No matter how we feel about their presence, or whether or not we agree with what they’re doing, they need God!

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17

IN MEMORY OF WALTER LEGETTE

Walter with the double toilet seat. With him are Marcelino Villazana Castillo and Ricky Jewel.

Walter LeGette was a great friend to Mexico. The people loved him. He used his ministry of “Helps” in many ways for the church in Mexico and in other areas of the world. Everywhere we look around Bethesda Temple in Nuevo Progreso, there are imprints of Walter’s hands at work.

Walter never did learn the Spanish language. He said he had enough problems with English. But he found ways to communicate with the people by whistling and motioning. He liked to hire Mexican helpers, instructing them on the use of power tools and carpentry. We’d hear him whistling to someone and we knew he was telling them what to do next. It was amazing to see how his thoughts were understood.

Walter sitting at one of the tables he made.

Walter heard that we needed tables and benches for the church. He made one of his numerous trips to Mexico where he constructed two heavy 6 foot picnic tables and a dozen or more sturdy wooden benches.  Those items have been used for many years in Sunday School and for worship services. 

Walter and a helper building partitions in the parsonage.

Another year he made a trip to the border to construct much needed partitions in the parsonage for the pastor’s children. At the same time, he installed wooden doors in the parsonage and purchased a large refrigerator for the kitchen.

New refrigerator arriving at the parsonage purchased by Walter.

One of his projects was the building of an outdoor toilet so that people coming to church wouldn’t need to use the bathroom in the parsonage. Walter’s idea of an outdoor toilet was very modern. He insisted on a double toilet, one side for men and the other for women. Lloyd made the seat that everyone seemed to find amusing. Walter saw it as a double picture frame! Walter added such items as extra ventilation and other conveniences to this unusual outhouse. He emphasized that he wanted it to be equal to one in any state park or rest area.

Walter's modern double outdoor toilet.

The two men he hired to help him on that project had a lot of fun with Walter. They learned from him and they worked together very well. We laughingly called them God’s Chosen  Crew.

Walter’s gift of Helps reached into many other areas besides Mexico, such as going on mission trips to other countries and working at the Community Hope Center in Cottage Hills, Illinois . We need more people who exercise the gift of Helps in today’s world. Walter’s contribution to the church in Mexico was outstanding and it will be recognized for many years to come.

“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”  
1 Corinthians 12:28