THE WAY OF THE CROSS

Way of the Cross warehouse in Harlingen, Texas.

Way of the Cross ministries has a large warehouse complex in Harlingen, Texas.  It’s a place where missionaries or pastors can go for large amounts of food to distribute to the people of Mexico.  We are welcomed at Way of the Cross and can visit their facilities once a month for supplies.  Today was our first visit there this season and we were happy to see that they had a variety of food on hand.  We left with our Jeep full of beans, cornmeal, rice, lentils, tomato sauce, crackers and snacks.  On our next visit to Mexico we’ll have several bags of food with us for needy families that we visit.  We are very thankful for Way of the Cross and their generosity.

Way of the Cross Ministries began in January 1988, when it became known that a children’s home in Matamoras, Mexico was in desperate need of assistance. Ben Butler of Harlingen, Texas brought its problem before a group of Christian laymen.  They found a building in Mexico once used as a house of prostitution and turned it into a children’s home with running water, plumbing and light.  It was dedicated it to the Lord with  a celebration with volunteers from both sides of the border. There was food and the Word was preached from the top of a converted school bus. Many were saved that day and the Way of the Cross Ministries was born.

They needed a bus so that they could deliver God’s Word to the people when and wherever the Lord directed. In the spring of 1989 with the help of a local church, an old school bus was purchased. The bus was painted and fitted with a platform stage, a lighting system, sound system and a 20 foot lighted cross. The Way of the Cross rolled into action in April of 1989.

The group began taking the bus into different colonias throughout Matamoras. They visited areas like the city dump  where poverty abounds, where there is no electricity or running water and the people literally live in shacks. They went to preach the gospel, the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and experienced tremendous results.  We were at the dump in Matamoros one day years ago when the large and dramatic bus pulled up and a crowd of people stepped out.  Each person carried a gallon of fresh drinking water that they gave away.  There was music, impromptu entertainment and a simple sermon.  We joined the group as they ministered and prayed for the sick.  It was an unforgettable experience.

Since 1989 Way of the Cross ministries has been a full time organization using volunteer help from all across the United States.  And they continue to work among the poor in Mexico and in Central America.

Our Jeep was full of good things we can distribute in Mexico.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”  Luke 4:18 KJV