Project Josefina
God revealed the need for project Josefina to Pastor Angel Lopez through two different opportunities to show His mercy.
The first was through a woman named Martina, who was brought to pastor Angel's church in a wheelbarrow by a friend she had been staying with in an abandoned house. Martina was an alcoholic who had drunk herself to a point where she lost all control of her body and was dying. Due to her age and condition, the local rehabs were unwilling to take her. So the women of pastor Angel’s church took turns caring for Martina for weeks while she recovered. Martina became part of the church body over the course of a few months, and left fully restored when her family from Oaxaca was located and she was able to return home with them.
The second encounter was with a man named Juanito. He was also elderly and an alcoholic. Pastor Angel found him completely discapacitated under a tree, and tried to get him into a local rehab. The rehab accepted him for a day, but then called Pastor Angel to come pick him up because the toll his addiction had taken on his health plus his age made the rehab center not want to treat him. Driving away from the rehab center, Juanito commented to pastor Angel that he knew there was nowhere to take him, and that it was ok to leave him back under the tree where he had found him. Pastor Angel felt God tugging on his heart for himself and the men of his congregation to care for Juanito the way the women had cared for Martina. He brought Juanito to the church, and they cared for him in shifts. He was accepted as part of the church family for the short time he was with them. After twenty days he passed away from liver failure.
Through these two experiences pastor Angel felt God’s call on his church to start a ministry to care for the elderly struggling with addiction that were being overlooked by society, including rehab centers. He felt that God was calling them as a church to start this ministry in a town called San Quintin, a couple hours south of where pastor Angel’s church is located.
God confirmed that calling and location to Pastor Angel and the church leadership and led them to the plot of land where He wanted them to do His work. Pastor Angel and the leaders clearly saw that God intended to plant a church that would not only teach His word, but physically minister to those who have been cast out and forgotten. God also gave them the name for the ministry, Josefina which means God multiplies. God also showed them how to use the skills they already had to pay for the land. The church began to cook and sell food to the community in order to raise the funds necessary to purchase the land.
The church began paying on the land in 2017, and managed to pay off the land just as the ministry opened at the beginning of 2022. They commissioned Pastor Pablo to lead the Project Josefina ministry, where he serves with his family and two young men from the church. They continue to sell food to support the operation costs of the ministry as they currently care for 6 elderly.
The church has a master plan for how to use the property to fulfill that calling as well as construction plans for the first phase of development. The septic, laundry room / water tower, family house, first abuelo house, and pastor house have all been completed. This year we are hoping to complete the Activity Center and the second abuelo house.
