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Buckner Missions Coordinator, Pastor
Leading Church by Faith and Works |
PENITAS, Texas – If seeing is believing, Omar Chavarria has 20/20 vision.
When Chavarria became pastor of Iglesia Bautista Manantial de Vida in 2003, the congregation of 15 members was meeting in a garage and praying for the day 1⁄2 acre of land.  |
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| La Ropa 5k Run |
| La Ropa 5K run, benefiting the Rio Grande Children's Home, had a great turnout. Ricky Walker, a 16 year old Boy Scout from Troop 76, organized the event in order to achieve the Rank of Eagle. More than a hundred people showed their support by lacing up their tennis shoes for the event. Men, women and children of all ages participated in this heartwarming event. With a great array of volunteers under the direction of Ricky Walker, the race was a great success. The funds raised by the event will benefit the children at the Children's Home in Mission. (Click here to view slideshow) |
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| For Families, By Families: KidsHeart Mission Week Largest Ever in Three Years |
| During the first full workday of the week-long missions event, a couple of things became evident about KidsHeart: It is the best-attended in its three years, and families have become a missions force among those attending. |
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| After the Fire |
While all family members escaped unhurt from the fire that burned their home, Jesus and Damiana Pena’s house was destroyed by the blaze. Buckner Border Ministries and Buckner volunteers responded to the family’s needs instantly.
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| School of Hard Knocks |
Impoverished colonias along the Texas/Mexico border have become a classroom for students from the Baptist University of the Americas.
Maura and Guillermo Escobar, along with Rolando Aguirre are doing foreign missions. Cheyenne Solis and Omar Chavarria see themselves as home missionaries.
Together, they travel the same highways and byways of the lower Rio Grande Valley, their vehicles loaded with food, blankets, heaters and hope.
One moment they are students. The next, they’re teachers. They are always ministers.
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Did You Know?
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• One in eight U.S. residents is Hispanic
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• The most common name in professional baseball is Martinez
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• Americans consume an average of one tortilla a day
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• One-third of Hispanic children live in poverty
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• Hispanic buying power is growing faster than the population, having reached more than $450 billion a year
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• One percent of elected officials are Hispanic
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• The amount of money Mexican immigrants living in the United States send back to their families is the third largest source of national income for Mexico behind oil and tourism.
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• Approximately 12,000 trucks cross the U.S./Mexican border in Laredo every day.
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• In October 1996, the most recent time period reported, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service estimated that approximately 5 million undocumented immigrants were residing in the United States.
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• Colonia families cope with the highest unemployment rates in the United States at more than 20 percent
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• The annual income for employed colonia residents is between $3,000 and $6,000.
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• Less than 1 percent of colonia children attend college or university.
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• The average home in a colonia takes five to seven years to be completed.
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