The Lord’s Ranch in El Paso Provides Exciting Ministry Challenges

It was about 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 6 and departure day for two separate groups: four vans and two trailers. One group was going to Jenkins, Kentucky and the other to El Paso, Texas. Both groups and lots of parents and well-wishers gathered at the O’Brien Center for prayers, hugs and send-off. Bob Visintainer prayed mighty prayers of blessing for us after which each group found their places in waiting vehicles and prepared for some adventurous days ahead. This is the record of the El Paso Trip.
Those headed for West Texas (actually, Eastern New Mexico) were: Ben, Bobby, Nathan, Alex, Robert, Tim, Ben, David, Sam, Luke, Stephen and David. Drivers and chaperones were Larry, Richard, Bill, Mr. Conkright and Bob. It was a full load with both vans being filled to overflowing—a good group of brothers with lots of both spiritual and physical energy. At about 9:00 a.m. we departed with the expectation level being very high.
With five drivers available for the two vans, we planned to make a through-the-night trip that would, we erroneously thought, last about 24 hours. Including some unplanned and long stops, the trip ultimately took somewhere between 28 and 30 hours (we had some disagreement between our time-keepers.) The miles clicked by and the fellowship was great. Two-way radios helped us stay together and keep in touch with each other.
The trip went very well, with one small mechanical interruption. In the middle of the night as we were approaching the Texas/Louisiana border, the lead van began to notice a regular bumping vibration beginning to develop. At first we thought it was the bumpy Louisiana roads, but as we entered Texas where the roads are noted for their smoothness, we realized that we were the ones with the problem. We stopped to see what we could see but found nothing. On we went, bumping and vibrating all the way. About the time we reached Marshall, Texas, (about 30 miles from Shreveport, La.) there was no denying that we had a real problem that needed immediate attention.
We found an all-night truck stop in Marshall and began our inspection again. Still, we couldn’t spot the problem. Mr. C (Mr. Conkright) went inside and came out with a pony-tailed and tattooed trucker who said he would try to help us spot the problem.
As the truck driver (an Angel?) carefully inspected our tires he felt a “hot spot” on one of them that indicated the beginning of a tire separation (where the tread comes off the tire). It was the swelling on the tire that was causing the bumping and vibrating. This was a problem for which we were prepared since we had along a six-ton floor jack (a big one!) and a four-way tire tool. In a short time we were back on the road making good time, having lost only about an hour altogether.
As the night wore on, the drivers and the night-owls began to get a first-hand understanding of the vastness of the Lone Star state. After passing through Ft. Worth, the scenery began to flatten out and still we had many miles to go.
As daylight broke and all the sleepers began to wake, everyone was struck with the incredible beauty and vastness of God’s creation. It is easy to see the Creator’s touch in the scenic and colorful landscapes, especially in the American West. (Those who have never seen this should definitely begin to make travel plans for a trip to the Southwest.)
Somewhere along the way a small, (8') bull whip was produced that immediately presented a challenge to all the boys (of course the men already knew how to handle a bull whip!). From that point forward and at every stop someone new was learning how to crack the whip. We all got a lot of laughs out of this – and no serious injuries! (It’s a guy thing!)
Finally, many hours later we rolled into El Paso and stopped for lunch. El Paso is in the Mountain Time Zone so lunch time there was really about 2:00 p.m. Augusta time. Our biological (stomach) clocks were being reset.
In El Paso, Mr. C. gave the Lord’s Ranch a call and found out that for some reason they were expecting us to arrive on Tuesday. Since they have learned how to be flexible, it wasn’t long before they determined that they could receive us around 6:00 p.m., though not for supper. That was good enough for us.
Since we now had a little unscheduled time to kill, we ate lunch and then stopped by a large, western-wear factory outlet to see if we might pick up some hats. The sun in the American West is very hot and the air is very dry, so a good hat is much more than just head ornaments there. Everyone had a fun time trying on cowboy hats, belts and anything else we could find that might fit. As it turned out, the store manager was a Christian who encouraged us in our mission and gave us lots of patient attention.
In the end, after numerous purchases of straw or felt cowboy hats, we gathered for pictures at the front of the store that were taken by the manager. We certainly looked like a group of “drugstore” (renamed “Birkenstock”) cowboys, all of whom were wearing dirty, Birkenstock sandals, wrinkled khaki shorts and new cowboy hats. It wasn’t long, however before this group of neophyte wranglers began to look like the real thing. Already we were having a “hoot!” (If you don’t know what a “hoot” is, ask Jack McAdams.)
Before long, we were making our way to the Lord’s Ranch which is actually several miles across the Texas/New Mexico border near Vado, N.M. – about 40 minutes from El Paso. As the ranch drew near, everyone had a real sense of excitement and anticipation – we could already feel the Lord’s presence. Soon we saw a three-story building that had something like an airport control tower on the top. Later we learned that this serves as a prayer tower and an observation deck.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by Nathan who was born on the Lord’s Ranch and is now a student in Steubenville, He knew several of our young Alleluia-ites there. He showed us where to park and then introduced us to his mom, Mary Ann, a 27-year resident of the Lord’s Ranch. She showed us our rooms, the general layout of the ranch, gave us our orientation talk and introduced us to another one of her sons, Peter.
Peter was also born on the Lord’s Ranch and is a home-schooled senior. He continued to fill us in on the things we were going to be doing and the things we needed to know. Before long, we were all unpacked and situated in the bunkhouse (the one with the airport tower on top), with six sleeping upstairs and 11 downstairs. Since there was a large swimming pool nearby, some of our guys even took a late night swim before turning in. It was a great beginning.
On Tuesday, the daily mission was pro-life. Since the Lord’s Ranch is a mission-oriented community, there is always some kind of regular and scheduled outreach happening there. Guests are fitted into the daily ministry, whether it be to the poor, the hungry or the pre-born.
Before we began any of the official activities, we had prayers and breakfast with several of the residents of the Lord’s Ranch. After breakfast, we were introduced to Amy who was to lead us in the pro-life ministry for the day. After kitchen clean-up and “watering” (filling empty milk containers and bottles with drinking water), we piled in the vans and headed for downtown El Paso and to Las Alas (The Wings), Fr. Rick’s’ downtown ministry center. It is located in a large building across the street from the police station.
At Las Alas many things happen, including a regular prayer meeting and a host of ministries to the poor, the hungry and those experiencing crisis pregnancy. We began with several teachings by Amy, Rose and Peter on various aspects of the pro-life movement, then took a break and went to Tommy’s Barbecue. Tommy is a member of Fr. Rick’s community and very evangelistic with his establishment. He fed us a wonderful gourmet Texas meal of our choice.
After lunch, we returned to Los Alas for more classes and a tour of the Abortion Holocaust Museum housed in the center. After we rested, everyone joined in packing the vans with pro-life posters and headed for the San Antonio Times building. Part of our group donned pro-life T-shirts and went in to talk to the editor of the paper about their unfair and untruthful treatment of the abortion industry and the pro-life movement. As a mighty wave of prayer went up from the streets, one of our own, Larry, was able to get in to speak to the editor of the paper. It was a cordial meeting where David was able to clearly spell out the pro-life case. When we arrived at the international bridge, the pace began to pick up a bit. The traffic across the bridge is six lanes that moves at a slow crawl. We were headed to the side where people were entering the US. For many months the ministry teams from the Lord’s Ranch had been coming to this place to hold up pro-life signs, pass out literature and talk to people in the slow-moving cars. As our crowd began moving up and over the bridge, our camera guys (Ben and David) jumped up on the elevated median to get a good shot of our activity. That’s when the real excitement began.
Almost immediately we were surrounded by U.S. border guards. They took our cameras away from us and escorted us back to the customs security area. There they viewed the pictures we had made and asked us to erase all pictures that might pose as a security risk. Ben’s disposable pocket camera was the only casualty since it was not digital and could not be reviewed immediately. After all the unacceptable video was erased, we were given back our pocket knives and cameras and given a short lecture about not taking pictures of the wrong things.
After the lecture, the head border guard consented to our praying for them, so we offered a short prayer for these fine public servants. After this we were escorted by a couple of guards to our original destination. We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening holding signs and pictures, giving out literature, singing praise songs and witnessing to passers-by. On returning to the U.S. side, we had to go through customs security again where we were all easily passed along by presenting either a passport or picture ID. The evening ended by our stopping by a gas station for giant soft drinks to refresh our dehydrated bodies. It was a long, memorable day.
Wednesday began rather early with breakfast at 7:00 a.m. Fr. Rick joined us then and was happy to hear all of the stories about the previous day. He was especially delighted to hear about the events at the paper since the Times has been a spiritual target of his for a long time. After breakfast we cleaned up, cracked the whip a bit, watched two tarantulas that lived outside of our house and loaded up for another day of ministry.
We arrived at Las Alas about 9:00 a.m. where we readied ourselves to again enter Mexico for ministry. This time we were headed for the local Juarez prison. This ministry requires much prayer beforehand, so we prayed a lot, contacted our team in Jenkins and asked them for prayer and called the Alleluia office for the same.
The Lord heard our prayers. At the first prison we went to, we were met by a number of prison ministry regulars who knew who to talk to and what to say. Before long we were all escorted into the basement of the jail where there were large holding cells for prisoners who were awaiting trial or relocation. We had brought along large containers of Kool-Aid, water and large bags of sandwiches. Cups were given to all the prisoners who had them filled through the bars of the cell. It was a moment filled with symbolism. The Body of Christ was bringing food and drink to those who were so hungry and thirsty that they were reaching out of their prison to receive what God had for them.
We prayed for them from outside the cell for a while, after which a guard came by and unlocked the cell door and allowed us to enter. While inside, one of the regulars preached in Spanish while the rest of us distributed sandwiches and fresh bread. After this was done, we anointed each prisoner with oil and prayed for him individually. Several of them were openly weeping as we prayed. It was a powerful moment.
After we finished ministering in the cells, we moved back to an empty and open holding cell where the whole team gathered for a few rousing choruses of Alabare! We sang, danced, worshipped and prayed for a short time, after which the prison guards escorted us back outside the prison. Upon exiting, everyone knew they had experienced a mighty move of the Holy Spirit, both in the lives of the prisoners and in the lives of the ministry team. It was unforgettable.
After this prison, we went to a private mental hospital. Here the security was not as great as in the prison and we were able to do a little more. The team gathered in a large room with a number of the mental patients. After a short message, we began to sing many songs that all of the Spanish-speakers knew very well. Together, the team members and the patients danced and praised God.
After a time of worship together, the team members were allowed to anoint and pray for any of the mental patients that wanted prayer. There were several of them who asked for prayers for their healing, that they be restored to their families and that God would bless and be with them. It was clearly a time of grace for these hurting people.
The last ministry of the morning was ministry in another prison. We loaded up into our van and drove a bit until we came to a modern, new facility. Here we were allowed to again minister to the prisoners in the holding cells. It was a similar scene as in the first prison. The major difference this time was that several of the prisoners could speak English, so we were able to lay hands on them and pray for their needs with a better understanding of our prayers. The gift of tongues is a valuable asset when praying in a foreign country with a different language, but praying with understanding is also good. Again, there were several of the prisoners who were openly weeping as we prayed for them. God is so good!
This went on into the afternoon. When we returned to Las Alas, we had some free time to rest and enjoy some more Texas barbecue. We stayed there until it was time for the regular Wednesday prayer meeting. Some people began to arrive early for prayer, ministry and confession. The musicians gathered and before long we were having a time of celebration in the Spirit together. The people there obviously liked to dance, so before long, our guys were all dancing around with them. The room was circled many times by those caught up in the celebration of the Lord. After a long time of this activity, we heard an excellent teaching by Fr. Rick on having an expectant faith.
Thursday was our day of service to the food bank and the community center located on what used to be the Juarez garbage dump. God has blessed this place so much that the city had to move the dump to another location. Now, this area is a multi-purpose center for God’s blessings for the poor. There is a dental clinic open every weekday, a medical clinic, a daycare center, a school (Mexican GED type) and a feed-a-kid area where approximately 60-130 children are given free breakfast and lunch. There is also a weekly food give-a-way that serves hundreds of poor people.
One of our mission teams worked at the daycare facility helping with children while another team transformed about 500 lbs. of high-protein flour into two kilo bags ready for distribution. A third team worked hard in the hot sun helping pour a cement slab for a new home intended to house a crippled child and his family. The last crew went to yet another location to help repaint the food bank.
Our last day, Friday, was the experience that rounded out our week. We started the day by driving to Las Alas in El Paso where we loaded up with drinking water. Next we again crossed the international bridge into Juarez where we went to a produce market area for the purchase of celery, cabbage, carrots, onions and other fresh items. From the market, we went to Tortilla Factory to get some fresh tortillas.
The food distribution center was on our schedule next, where we spent a few hours chopping, cleaning and bagging produce for distribution to the poor. Around noon we had a great lunch that consisted of fresh Mennonite cheese (a big wheel), tortillas, mole, chicken and rice. It was (???) and great fun. Finally, we split up into three crews and distributed sacks of food to poor families and to those who volunteer at the distribution center. In each place, we were able to visit with and pray for some of God’s beloved poor. This ended by driving back into the U.S., passing out cold, bottled water to all who had need. The last evening, we arrived back at the Lord’s Ranch shortly before Stations of the Cross. After the stations, we again experienced a joyful mass with Fr. Rick. Toward the end of the service, there was a significant time for word gifts. A number of people had clear and challenging prophetic words (more about this later). After the service, we took time as a group to reflect on what God was doing and our personal need for prayer. Everyone that got prayer received clear words from God giving guidance and direction about what they were offering to Him or about the places they were struggling or being challenged. Several were slain in the Spirit —all were deeply moved by God, especially in the areas of trust and faith.
It was then time for dinner and a birthday party for one of the children that lives at the Ranch. Since we were leaving early the next morning, we spent the rest of the evening packing and cleaning up our dorm and the vans. This was capped off by a great game of water basketball in the pool. Several of the guys walked about three miles across the moonlit desert to the base of the nearest mountain range to collect some souvenir rocks. Apart from getting lost a little, they returned feeling like they had completed their stay at the Lord’s Ranch in style.
The next morning at sun-up (about 6:00 a.m.) we were almost ready to go. Fr. Rick and his wonder dog, Coco, came to see us off. We worshipped together for a short time after which he prayed for us, after which we all laid hands on him and prayed for him. Soon the vans were headed to our breakfast stop in El Paso where we all enjoyed a hearty Cracker Barrel breakfast. Soon, one van was heading toward Catholic Solitudes in south Texas (about 14 hours away) and the other van was headed back to Augusta. As we parted, we all knew things wouldn’t be quite the same after we split up, but it was clear that God’s plan would take that into account.
There were a number of spiritual hi-lights to the trip. Here is a sampling of some input from the young men regarding their experience at the Lord’s Ranch:

• The Lord said to “humble yourself, for me.” What better way is there to do that than by working with the poor? The harvest is great. Let’s be the workers.
• The Lord said to me, “Have faith, I will not lead you wrong.” He also said, “Saddle up your horses, we got a trail to blaze.”
• Unlike most of the guys, I didn’t have a big realization or conversion. It was more like a steady outpouring of God’s blessing. It was amazing and a real eye-opener.
• Especially during Friday’s ministry [feeding the poor], I realized just how rich I really am. Some people live in cardboard houses with no running water or any utilities. I just wish I would remember the poor in Juarez the next time I begin to complain.
• “Trust in the Lord.” That was the one word I got on the trip that really set my heart on fire for Jesus. It was a shame I got this word on the last day of the trip. I could have really used it to be a huge witness to others -- Praise God!
• I learned that the children of God are everywhere.
• One important thing I got out of this trip is humility. Growing up in community, I know we are sometimes proud of our Community and ourselves. There is nothing wrong with that unless we think our walk is good enough and that other people don’t have anything to give us. On this trip, I realized how much more we could be doing. We could be ministering to the poor, the sick, the imprisoned and other unfortunate people more than we have. Sometimes we forget about how much they can give us spiritually.
• The Lord lifted me back up onto my feet, and while doing that told me to rejoice because my blessings are many.
• One thing I learned is that I need to humble myself. After seeing the poor in Mexico, I thank Jesus for all the blessings he has poured on me. Also, I realize I need to learn Spanish before another trip to Mexico.

• The trip was great and God truly blessed it for me. Here are some of the things that made it good for me:
– The hospitality and love of the Lord’s Ranch.
– Smiling faces of satisfied children of Mexico
– Grateful faces of the adults helped by the Lord’s Ranch
– All the blessings of God that made this trip possible.
 I have also learned to better appreciate a great many things, especially a flushing toilet!
 When I want a candy bar or something to eat, I can usually go and get it. The people in Juarez can’t do that. They are really poor. Also, Augusta looks much better to me now, especially the houses. The houses in Juarez are pitiful.
 One day I held a big sign with a picture of an aborted baby on it. The date on the picture was the same year I was born. It made me feel happy to know I was adopted and not aborted like I could have been.