Jalapa, Mexico
New Ministry Continues with Previous Vision
As a young adult, Dr. José Luis Guerrero idolized a man named Ché Guevara, a man who abandoned his profession and his native land to pursue the liberation of people in poverty. Guevara’s actions took a destructive twist as he invaded Cuba to forcefully overthrow Dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guevara was eventually killed because of his radical ideas to free the world of poverty. Dr. José Luis says, “I admired his social doctrines and his passion.”
Today Dr. José Luis Guerrero could be seen as a peaceful and Christian Ché Guevara - a man who has a vision for the poor and compassion for the underprivileged. Growing up in a traditional Catholic family in the port city of Veracruz, Mexico, José Luis didn’t hear of Jesus Christ until he was 19 years old. “Jesus changed my life and my way of thinking and after much intellectual resistance, He touched my heart and filled it with joy,” José Luis said. He realized that without God guiding his passion for the poor, his work would be fruitless.
Soon after marrying Laura Elizabeth Nataren, José Luis graduated from medical school and again, his life took a turn away from God. “I got involved in the world and fell into sin and went away from God completely,” he says. “Today I talk about this with pain.” But God wasn’t finished with this man who had a passion for the underprivileged. Five years ago, José Luis rededicated his life to Christ. “In these last five years, my Lord has touched me in such a way that I would never have thought. I have returned to my first love. He has allowed me to serve Him. I am certainly never going to understand His love and His mercy towards me. His Word is right when it says He chooses the miserable of this world. Today I love Him more than ever.” Throughout his struggle with his spiritual life, José Luis wasn’t struggling with finding his vocational place in life. After specializing in family medicine and taking a year in Primary Health Care, he became head of teaching and research in a hospital, and then head of consultations in another. After holding various administrative posts in government health services, he now works in the emergency room in a hospital in Jalapa, the capitol of the state of Veracruz, Mexico.
Jalapa seems to be a city built on steep hills, where the roads make sharp hairpin turns to make the uppermost villages accessible. It is high atop one of these hills, in the village of Por Venir, where the newest Luke Society partner has embedded its roots. A steep drive up one side of the hill and a treacherous venture down some muddy stairs will bring you to the front door of a new Luke Society clinic.
The clinic stands as a one-room building with windows to see the valley below on one side and a dirt wall on the other. The room was packed wall-to-wall with people on its opening day, celebrating with cake, instrumental music and fellowship. The people of Por Venir are excited about this building, for it brings with it promises of dependable medical care and of activities to keep their kids off the streets.
Dr. José Luis has been working with Drs. Betty and Angela out of a one-room shack that is used by government doctors. Its windows hold no glass and its lot is nearly overgrown with weeds. The brick walls seem to crumble under the light weight of its tin roof. There is a small medicine cabinet painted with a red cross which holds meager supplies. Without the presence of the medicine cabinet, one would think the shack is abandoned. But it is in this small shack that people from Por Venir knew they could find consistent health care.
Brenda David, Luke Society Prayer Ministry Coordinator, was a great encouragement to many women who are supporting the work of Jose Luis.
When he first began working here, the people didn’t trust José Luis because customarily many politicians use the clinic to offer one-time health care. But they are learning to trust Dr. José Luis. He has just opened the new clinic, and he can be found waiting for patients three times a week, offering an open ear and a willing heart.
It is the open ear that many are drawn to. Dr. Betty says that many times, patients will pretend to have an ailment just to get their attention. After the exam shows nothing wrong, Dr. Betty will ask if there is something else going on that they want to talk about, and many patients will open up about spousal abuse, family issues or other problems. “The medicine I give them is Jesus Christ, which has changed me and family in the past year,” says Dr. Betty, a new Christian.
Dr. Angela has been working with José Luis for three months doing medical consultations. She says, “people are surprised we aren’t here for money, that we’re here to serve . . . They want to know how much to pay, but we tell them to read the Bible and come back with questions!” It’s easy to see Dr. Angela has compassion for the people of Por Venir. “God gave freely to me so I should give freely to others,” she says.
Alcoholism is rampant and a growing concern in the Por Venir community. Twenty percent of the population suffers from the disease with a four to one ratio - men to women - of those addicted. Some parents, in desperate situations, give their children alcohol to sedate them. The result has been five-year-old alcoholics.
Prostitution also pervades the community. Teenage pregnancy is growing at a startling rate. Girls turn to abortion to solve their problems, but infection usually sets in after their visits to back-ally doctors. José Luis wants to intervene, but he has yet to gain the trust of those girls at high risk.
With the help of Semáforo, a Presbyterian group dedicated to better the situation of those living in Por Venir, Dr. José Luis is working to keep kids off the streets, which will hopefully reduce some of the vices these children are getting involved with. There are two different groups of street children. The first group have families and live with them but they work on the street under the watchful eye of their parents. The second group of street kids live on the street, sleeping in groups with other street kids. They have families, but they don’t regularly go home. Semáforo steps in and begins ministering to these kids and establishing trust with them. They invite the kids to church and have meetings with them. After identifying the areas the street kids originally come from, Semáforo uses houses and churches in those neighborhoods to set up safe houses, places where the kids could look for stability. “These kids are a launch point to get to the parents,” said Enrique, a member of Semáforo. “No parents have rejected us as yet,” he said, smiling.
Because Dr. José Luis’s eyes have been opened to this community, he is working to open the eyes of all of Jalapa to these problems. He is working with Pastor Aquino from the Presbyterian Church, who is the representative for all Christian states. Every Sunday, Pastor Aquino has a press conference with local media to discuss what is happening in the community from the Christian point of view. The journalists ask what the Christian community thinks about drug addiction, prostitution, family violence and the influence of the church on politics. They ask what the Christian community is doing to help, to which he responds with some of the work José Luis and Semáforo are doing in the Por Venir community. The press conference is then broadcasted through television and newspaper.
Standing high atop the hill near the Luke Society clinic, I can see over the community of Por Venir and out towards Jalapa. The city seems so vast, and yet, just a few people are making such a difference in this small part of the city. The power of the Holy Spirit has led this group to this hill, and I believe Christ’s love will soon shine like a beacon.
Laura Eisenga