When one of our SCA ministry partners drove eight hours from the Texas-Mexico border to pick up donations for outreach to their community, Doug and Lisa Stringer did not hesitate to meet up with them for a late-night rendezvous at the SCA warehouse to load up the truck with bikes, desks, shelves, décor, and household/items—all of which would be donated to churches, pastors, and families in need.
This was the third load of bikes that have been donated to Bethel Mission, thanks to our partnership with Lakewood Church, who received the bikes as a donation designated for international distribution and entrusted them to SCA to ensure they were meeting needs.
“We gave many to pastors to give to needy people in their congregations,” explained Luis Silva from Bethel Mission Outreach Center, which has now received and distributed approximately 150 bikes. Some have gone to children to ride to school but also to parents and adults who need transportation to get to work.
One young boy who received a bike immediately attached a plastic milk crate to the front of it. He is using it to go to the market to get goods for the house and to go to and from school. A mom expressed her gratitude that she, too, is able to help her family more by having a bike to ride to the market.
“Now,” Luis explained, “we are empowering pastors with Bibles and bikes.”
Gas, he said, is expensive in Mexico, and pastors do not have much income.
“By giving them a dependable bike, they can go beyond their own neighborhood and do whatever they need to do to reach the uttermost.”
One pastor who does not own a vehicle said he is now able to reach families in small secluded communities. Another pastor who received bikes is a missionary to Cuba. He will be taking some of the bikes with him when he returns this month. Another bike went to a brother in the Lord who ministers through song all throughout the border region. A load of bikes and 10 thousand Bibles were sent to Chiapas and Veracruz.
“We are so grateful for our supporters and partners,” Doug Stringer said. “Working together, we have made it easier for these pastors to deliver resources and Bibles in various communities.”