Andreas' Story

It's a modern day David and Jonathon story ... the Biblical account of Jonathon, son of King Saul, who went to great lengths to protect his best friend, David, from the wrath of the king, his own father, who sought to kill David because  of David's rising popularity among the people within Saul's kingdom.  Jonathon was willing to lay down his own life, if needed, to protect his friend.

Andreas and Santiago are two such men ... with Santiago willing to do whatever it takes to help his friend achieve an easier life.  You see, Andreas is in a wheelchair ... a victim of a gunshot wound which he received as a consequence of his former life of being a drug lord in his own community.  An acquaintance of his sought to take over Andreas' turf and place in the hierarchy ... and so shot him, hoping to get rid of him.

Andreas first stop was the hospital, his second ... jail.  With no hope ... no future, Andreas resigned himself to life in a wheelchair.  Living in a tin shack with a dirt floor, his parents living in a  5' x 7' four foot high shelter, a mattress on pallets, and his sisters sheltered under cardboard and tarps within an unfinished block house, life became something close to survival for all of them.

Somewhere along the way, nurses from Foundation For His Ministry Mission in Vicente Guerrero learned of Andreas' situation and began attending to his medical needs.  Through their ministry, Andreas life  was impacted for Jesus Christ and he made a decision to give his heart to Jesus Christ.  It was during this time that the nurses contacted us about this family's desperate situation and we arrived one afternoon to assess the urgency of this family's need.

From the first time we met Andreas, we could see the new found life he had found in Jesus Christ was genuine and contagious.  Regardless of his physical condition, there was joy in his heart, his face ... his eyes.  He greeted us like old friends, and a bond of friendship was quickly established.  We met the rest of his family, quickly discerning the plight of this family, and determined to find a group from  Canada or the US to help them.

Trinity Baptist Church from Edmonton, Alberta, took up their cause, and so, in February '08, a radical transformation took place on this property.

The 4 room block house was completed, including concrete floors throughout, exterior doors, 6  windows, and a complete roof structure.  In addition, a new 11' x 22' house was built for Andreas and his brother.  The houses were connected with a wide sidewalk and a new handicapped bathhouse was custom built to accommodate his wheelchair.

At the dedication of the houses, Andreas repeatedly said how much of a blessing this was to him and his family.  As a result of Andreas' testimony of faith, his own father has also become a believer in Jesus Christ.  That is the really cool part ... with out a spiritual component, all we are doing is building houses, but when the house becomes a tool to share the love and reality of Jesus Christ, it all takes on a different perspective.

For all the years Andreas was involved in the drug lifestyle, it could not complete or fulfill the dreams he had.  What began as a dream to better life for himself and his family, came to a halt more than 10 years ago when he ceased construction of the block house.  Everything went into supporting his drug related lifestyle ... and in the meantime, his own wife and 2 children left him and his parents and sisters lived in plastic and cardboard.

To hear in Andreas own words that he has been "set free, through Jesus Christ, from a life of slavery to drugs" brings joy to our own hearts.  His cry is for the rest of the guys he knows who are still involved in the drug lifestyle ... he cries for their freedom.  "Liberty" ... he shouts ... "that's what I have ... Liberty!  Freedom ... and I'm not going back!"

His gang buddies still come over to hang out at his place.  He still gives them their matching gang haircuts.  He doesn't turn them away.  He loves them with the love of Jesus ... and he cares about them.  His wife brings his children to see him occasionally, and he longs for more time with them, but he is content to leave them in the hands of his Heavenly Father, knowing that He can look after them far better than he ever could.  He is praying for reconciliation, but again, is content to wait for the Lord's timing.

For the first little while during the week of the project, his buddy Santiago was very protective of Andreas.  Who were all these people and what were they up to?  But it didn't take him long to realize that we were serious about helping Andreas family.  And he was completely overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers ... helping those whom they had never known before that week.

Santiago is always over at Andreas' place, helping him do what he can't do for himself.  Why?  Because ... in Santiago's words ... "Andreas took me in when I had nothing ... it's the least I can do for him."  They have only known each other for about 4-5 months, but they are tighter than brothers.  Santiago is in the process of doing whatever he can in order to allow Andreas to get X-rays taken to determine the location of the bullet which is still in his body.  After that, it may become clear as to whether or not an operation is possible to allow Andreas to walk again.  This will be a costly process, but Santiago is committed to helping his friend walk again.  The little bit of work he does get, he helps Andreas with his expenses, and he's asking for help from those who might wish to see Andreas walk again.

Last week, we brought Andreas and Santiago to the IDT Base to share Andreas' story.  We wish you could have been there.

Andreas' story is a powerful one ... it's a story of radical transformation.  It's a story of good winning over evil ... of love overshadowing the pain inflicted by someone who knows you.  It's a story of forgiveness ... because Andreas knows that Jesus Christ's love is big enough to include the one who shot him and put him in a wheelchair.  It's a story of a man who prays for the one who hurt him.  It's a story of one who understands the hurt and pain of living life without hope ... but it's also a story of one who understands Jesus Christ's message of living "counterculture".

It's the story of a man you want to meet.

Comments

[Brandi Wentland]

What a beautiful story to remind us why these missions are so important. Thank you for all you do and all you enable all of us to do. You as always, are always in our prayers.