Changing hearts, Saving lives...

About 5 years ago I spent 7 months in Juarez, Mexico. During my stay I built 20 houses for poor families. These houses were one room, cinder block houses. Nothing special, and nothing extravagant. Just a roof over their heads. Now, I can go on and on about my time in Juarez, and maybe I will later, but for now I have a story from there that I will never forget.

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I was in El Paso, the border town to Juarez, for the afternoon picking up a fellow missionary from the airport. I was with Frank, a friend from Colorado who had come into Juarez earlier that day for a build that week. We stopped at McDonald's for a quick bite to eat before heading to the airport.

As we were walking into the restaurant, a man came out of the enclosed dumpster area and asked us for a dollar. I took a quick look at him and said, "Sorry man, all I have is pesos." He replied, "I could really use some help." At this he showed me his arm where he was bleeding profusely from cuts he had given himself. In his other hand he held a piece of broken glass. I called out to Frank, "Call 911!"

At this, the homeless man began to cut himself again right in front of us. Only two words screeched from my mouth, "Oh God!"

He began to walk away from us while he continued to cut himself repeatedly. Frank came back and told me that the paramedics were on their way. Frantically, Frank grabbed a flyer from a nearby car to try and distract the man, but he wanted nothing to do with Frank or his effort to distract him.

I walked up to him and asked him his name. "Dave" he reluctantly replied. "Dave, my name is Steve. Do you know the Lord's Prayer?" Dave momentarily stopped his cutting, looked at me and with a gruff replied, "Yeah."

I began, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name..." Dave only said about every other word, but his cutting began to slow down. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." Dave slowly raised his tear soaked eyes towards me. As I began to weep with him, we finished the prayer together. The piece of green broken glass that he had in his hand slowly fell to the ground as we both finished the prayer together, "Amen."

At this point, the paramedics swooped in, grabbed Dave and began to dress his wounds. The whole time, Dave and I locked eyes. We didn't lose eye contact until after they loaded him into the back of the ambulance and the door slammed shut. Tears were still rolling down my cheeks.

"He did a number to his arm, but he'll live," claimed the paramedic. "He would've died had you not called us."

Frank and I stood frozen in place until the ambulance left our sight.

I returned to Juarez that afternoon for another 4 months, but I will never forget that hot El Paso day in the McDonald's parking lot. I will never forget Dave and the prayer we shared.

God changed my heart that day, and saved Dave's life...