God's benevolence is on full display in churches in Del Rio, Texas, as pastors and communities collect and gather relief goods for the victims of a recent tornado that hit Ciudad Acuna in Mexico, its sister city.
Churches in America have been helping Mexican victims, who live just five miles across the border, after a Class 4 tornado hit on Monday, killing 14 people and injuring about 300 more. The twister also damaged 4,000 homes, leaving many under the rubble, Christian Headlines reported on Wednesday.
Pastors and their communities have been stockpiling diapers, bread, milk, and water which they will send to victims. Grace Community Church, Trinity House of Worship, Victory Baptist Church and Baruch HaShem Messianic Jewish Congregation are just some of the many congregations participating in the humanitarian effort.
"Considering the circumstances, people are rushing," said Samuel Garcia, pastor of Trinity House.
"One of the things that you see across the Bible is the benevolence of God. ... I believe when the church assists, it's not so much looking at whether they are American citizens. It's about one person helping another human person," Garcia said, who explained that the church has a huge responsibility in helping its neighbours.
Instead of crossing the border to Acuna, the Trinity House is gathering all supplies for donation to the Red Cross. Some people from his congregation work for the Red Cross and are in the centre of where the tornado hit.
"We were having difficulties getting individuals to cross over, so to expedite the process we went ahead and donated to the Red Cross instead of delaying it," Garcia said, adding that he is confident that the goods they gathered would be delivered to the right people.
On the other hand, Grace Community Church is looking for a partner church in Mexico. The leaders of the church want to make sure that the supplies will be delivered to honest people who will in turn give them to those who really need it. Because of the alleged corruption in Mexico, the church is nervous about sending the package via a third party.
