OUR PROGRAM HISTORY
“WHY DON’T YOU COME?” There was a voice within, an inaudible voice “Why don’t you come?”, that stirred John that Christmas Eve in 1976 as he gathered corn with children facing an uncertain future in the village of Ex-Hacienda de Guadalupe near Tarimbaro, Michoacàn. Their home was about to close and they would be returning to the streets and to an uncertain future. John laughed. The idea was absurd! It was out of the question! There was a career, a commitment... a future to think about; but after four months without rest, John was led to resign from his University teaching and research position to embark upon an adventure in a culture, a land with a people who in time would become his own. John had known his friend and sweetheart, María Lucía García, since the Summer of 1969. Just six weeks before John’s departure, Lucia, too, was called. She described it as “a voice from above” telling her that she must go with John. They were married on June 2, 1977. Their honeymoon was highlighted with the reception of 35 children and the beginnings of what would become the Mano de Ayuda Orphanage.
For nearly three decades, John and Lucia have parented over 200 children. In pursuit of the ideal, the children in recent years have been legally adopted, 46 in all, and integrated with their eight natural children into a grand family. The Mano de Ayuda home has become a place where early childhood wounds and traumas are soothed; where little hopes and dreams become realities. Many have entered life and are now enjoying their professional and technical careers.
A rural clinic has provided medical attention and availed surgeries to over 100,000 patients since 1979. Programs for infants and young children have rescued many from severe malnutrition and provided corrective surgery for those afflicted with orthopedic anomalies. Over 1200 children and young adults with birth defects and paralysis from poliomyelitis have
received multiple surgeries, rehabilitation and braces, enabling many to walk for the first time. Their joys are etched in their smiles; their new-found feelings of self-worth, independence and the attainment of a functional life within their families and communities. If a picture is worth a thousand words, their smiles are worth two thousand.
For eight years, John & Lucia worked ardently and religiously for Jesus without knowing him personally. Then one April morning in 1986, after months of reading the Word, they met Jesus and their hearts were filled with His eternal Love and presence. That morning, Mano de Ayuda was transformed, forever taking on a new course that would culminate in the formation of the New Life in Christ Ministry and the birthing of churches and missions, along with a Bible Institute in Central Mexico.
Where there is purpose, perception and perseverance, our labors and toils
will bring lasting treasures with the passing of time. It is not by chance, nor
by a stroke of good luck, but it is for everyone who is willing
to live for a purpose greater than their own..
jcl
