Martha Smallwood, the longtime Director of Missions at Pathway Church, Wichita, Kans., recently co-led a team from Pathway and Central Christian Church, Wichita, on a short-term trip to assist CMF and its national partners working in Mexico City. The Pathway Church is a partner with CMF in the work of the “Community Development Center 10:14,” a property used for the worship services of the Maranatha Church and for Community Development classes during the week. Here she shares a story of a man whose life has been transformed by contact with church members practicing Community Health Evangelism.

The team members and I met Cesar in his tire retail/repair shop on a narrow, sloping, dusty street in Fuego Nuevo in greater Mexico City. A wide smile filled his face when we asked if he could take a break to talk. He is always ready to share what has happened in his life.

Cesar is the eldest of five brothers and one sister. Most of them live in the same house, as is common in Mexican culture. The family has had a difficult time. When Cesar was eight, his father died from obsessive drinking and Cesar became the “man in the house.” When he was ready for high school his mother sent him to apprentice with an uncle in Cuernavaca for a year. He collected trash in the mornings and studied computers in the afternoon. He returned to Fuego Nuevo and worked as a chauffeur from age 20-33. The last four years he has rented space for his tire business. His siblings work as a policeman, selling used cars, in the navy and as a secretary. They moved to a better home and are becoming financially successful. But true happiness eluded Cesar.

Cesar shared that he had felt a big void in his life for quite a while. He was called “the angry one” by his family. They avoided him because of his surly manner. It was not a happy home. Cesar drank to fill the empty space deep inside him.

He had begun drinking as a teen and the habit increased with the years. He had been considered a drunkard and a mean person. “I was usually drunk by this time of day (11 a.m.) and continued drinking all day.”  

In 2013 he became desperate and depressed. He began searching for something to fill the void in his life. He quit drinking for two months but the void was still there and so was the anger he unleashed on his family. He continued searching for the answer.

One day, Prayer Walkers from the Community Center stopped by his business. At the end of the visit they asked how they could pray for him. This resonated in his soul. That day he cried out to God and found peace. He began searching for God and reading the Bible and his life began to change. He began weekly meetings with the Prayer Walkers. The neighbors noticed and ostracized him for Bible study and his new gentleness. But he had found peace and continued to search in spite of the ridicule.

His family began to notice the difference in Cesar. He began reading the Bible with his children and during breaks at work. He began talking to his brothers in a loving manner about their lifestyles.

“Don’t feel bad about what you have done and who you have become,” he said. “No one told us differently. We had no male leadership to lead us.”

His mother began to be proud of him; he and his wife fought less.

Cesar’s life is not perfect. His business is better, but other problems confront him. His son has a broken arm, his wife has lost a baby and his daughter developed peritonitis from her appendix. His mom at age 61 has a gastric ulcer as well as diabetes. The family stands together in facing these challenges and is supportive of one another instead of fighting. The void is being filled in Cesar and his family and he is growing in love and friendship with God.

His heart goes out to his community and the neighbors now like the changes they are seeing. In August 2014 he celebrated one year without alcohol. When he plays futbol with the community youth, he encourages them to stay away from drugs and drinking, to stay in school, study and work. There is a great need for jobs for young people and his heart aches for them.

When we asked how we could pray for him, Cesar had four requests:

1. That the Community Center and the CHE project continue because nothing else will fill its place.
2. Improvement in his mother’s health.
3. Pray that God will transform his brothers. Their respect for him has increased, but he desires transformation in them, too.
4. That he will not leave God nor God’s forgiveness.

Cesar is being transformed one day at a time, in God’s time.

Watch this video to learn more about CMF’s work with Cesar and others in his community.