Juan Francisco & Silvia Visit US Churches

Beginning with their arrival on April 15 at DFW Airport in Texas and ending with their departure on May 2, Juan Francisco and Silvia visited eleven churches that support Casa Hogar La Familia.

The turnout was terrific. Missioners and soon-to-be missioners came to hear Juan Francisco and Silvia sing songs of praise to our Lord and tell some extremely interesting stories about how the Lord used them to serve the children of Casa Hogar La Familia.

Selected Portions of Juan Francisco’s and Silvia’s Joint Presentation

“We have pastor friends who were familiar with Palmarito and they told us not to go there. They told us that many of the people there had hard hearts and had no desire to know the Lord. So we prayed and prayed and the more we prayed, the more we realized that although we would rather not be faced with the challenges going to Palmarito presented, we knew that this is where God was leading us. We decided to be obedient to the Lord’s wishes.

“One of the ways God let us know what He wanted us to do had to do with real estate. Land is very expensive in Mexico and we could not find land we could afford, but one day the grandmother of two of the children in the Casa Hogar told us that she had spoken with the mayor of Palmarito and he had agreed to gift us two acres of land where we eventually built the new children’s home.

“When we began construction, people would walk by the building and tell us to leave. A few actually picked up rocks and threw them at us. Each night we would call all of the children together and pray for the townspeople. We prayed that their hearts would soften.

“When the ground floor was completed, we bought chairs and used the living room area of the Casa Hogar to hold worship services each Sunday. Only a handful of people from the community came at first, but after a few weeks passed, more and more came. Today, we have average attendance of over 160 people who initially did not want us to be a part of their community. God answered our prayers.

“Today, many of those who threw rocks at us and told us to get out of their community are our friends and attend worship services regularly. These people have apologized to us and asked for our forgiveness. We did not make this miracle happen; God made it happen. He answered our prayers.”

See Below for Photographs from Juan Francisco’s and Silvia’s US Tour
 
Photographs from Juan Francisco’s and Silvia’s US Visit that Covered over 3,000 Miles
 

Saint Andrews Episcopal in Downers Grove, IL
Saint Andrews Episcopal in Downers Grove, IL

 
Chattanooga, TN (Juan Francisco was invited to throw out the first pitch at a Chattanooga Lookouts Class AA Professional Baseball Game.
Chattanooga, TN (Juan Francisco was invited to throw out the first pitch at a Chattanooga Lookouts Class AA Professional Baseball Game.

 
Silvia Couldn’t Resist the T-Shirts at a Shop Beside the Nantahala River in NC. Visiting the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC
Silvia Couldn’t Resist the T-Shirts at a Shop Beside the Nantahala River in NC.

 
Visiting the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC
Visiting the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC

 
The “Sumter Team” hosted us during our visit to Sumter, SC
The “Sumter Team” hosted us during our visit to Sumter, SC

 
Virginia Welcome Center
Virginia Welcome Center

 
Our good friends in Fishersville, VA
Our good friends in Fishersville, VA

 
We travelled around Washington on the DC Metro
We travelled around Washington on the DC Metro

 
Inside the Air & Space Museum - Smithsonian Institute - Washington, DC
Inside the Air & Space Museum – Smithsonian Institute – Washington, DC

 
Performing at Lighthouse Fellowship Church
Performing at Lighthouse Fellowship Church – Fort Worth

 
Cornerstone Church in Staunton, VA
Cornerstone Church in Staunton, VA

 

 

Cities and States Visited

 
Texas (Fort Worth)
 
Acton United Methodist Church – Fort Worth, TX
Lighthouse Fellowship Church – Fort Worth, TX
 
Oklahoma
 
The Federated Church – Kingfisher, OK
 
Illinois
 
Saint Andrews Episcopal – Downers Grove, IL
 
Tennessee
 
Signal Mountain United Methodist Church – Signal Mountain, TN
 
South Carolina (Sumter)
 
Supporters from two different churches – Sumter, SC
 
North Carolina (Charlotte)
 
Church of the Redeemer Episcopal – Greenville, SC
Church of the Good Shepherd Episcopal – York, SC
Forest Hill Church – Charlotte, NC
 
Virginia
 
Fishersville United Methodist Church – Fishersville, VA
Cornerstone Church – Staunton VA