Familial Restoration Center (Centro de Restauración Familiar/CRF)
After the big earthquake, which destroyed 10s of thousands of homes in the Itsmo region of Mexico, we flew to Oaxaca to see how we could help. We met Pastora Elizabeth De La Cruz and her late husband Pastor Mariano on our first trip to Oaxaca in 2017. They were a couple whose gifts really complemented each other. She was busy, organized, like a force of nature. He was calm, wise, and kind. She had a lot to say, he would nod and affirm saying "mm-hmm". Together they worked to grow their ministry in Juchitán de Zaragoza. He pastored the church and she ran a small private elementary school. Originally, she was a chiropractor and he was an engineer, but the Lord called them to ministry and they followed that call. They have 3 children: 2 daughters and a son. They had a passion for preserving the Zapotec culture (an indigenous local culture and language); although all sermons were given in Spanish, Mariano made sure to maintain relationships with older community members who only spoke Zapotec by making rounds to pray for them and share God's love in their native language. Elizabeth taught the children kids' songs in Zapotec to preserve their heritage and help them connect with the older members of the community. Mariano caught COVID and soon after passed away. Elizabeth has continued his legacy by pastoring the church, growing the children's programs, and building a community of 30 local female ministry leaders. After the earthquake, Mariano had made efforts to unify the efforts of the local churches, ignoring denominations in an effort to help the people who were now homeless and letting differences go by the wayside in favor of showing their community God's love. Elizabeth maintains these relationships to this day. One of their joint dreams was to start a radio station that would spread positivity, spark personal growth, and share the gospel en masse. Over the years, the radio room has been built and they are continually raising funding so they can add new time slots and programs to fill the air waves!
You can sponsor the radio station at $15/month here: Donate
Below is a picture of when Elizabeth came to visit us in Austin! (Her brother lives in Houston).
After the big earthquake, which destroyed 10s of thousands of homes in the Itsmo region of Mexico, we flew to Oaxaca to see how we could help. We met Pastora Elizabeth De La Cruz and her late husband Pastor Mariano on our first trip to Oaxaca in 2017. They were a couple whose gifts really complemented each other. She was busy, organized, like a force of nature. He was calm, wise, and kind. She had a lot to say, he would nod and affirm saying "mm-hmm". Together they worked to grow their ministry in Juchitán de Zaragoza. He pastored the church and she ran a small private elementary school. Originally, she was a chiropractor and he was an engineer, but the Lord called them to ministry and they followed that call. They have 3 children: 2 daughters and a son. They had a passion for preserving the Zapotec culture (an indigenous local culture and language); although all sermons were given in Spanish, Mariano made sure to maintain relationships with older community members who only spoke Zapotec by making rounds to pray for them and share God's love in their native language. Elizabeth taught the children kids' songs in Zapotec to preserve their heritage and help them connect with the older members of the community. Mariano caught COVID and soon after passed away. Elizabeth has continued his legacy by pastoring the church, growing the children's programs, and building a community of 30 local female ministry leaders. After the earthquake, Mariano had made efforts to unify the efforts of the local churches, ignoring denominations in an effort to help the people who were now homeless and letting differences go by the wayside in favor of showing their community God's love. Elizabeth maintains these relationships to this day. One of their joint dreams was to start a radio station that would spread positivity, spark personal growth, and share the gospel en masse. Over the years, the radio room has been built and they are continually raising funding so they can add new time slots and programs to fill the air waves!
You can sponsor the radio station at $15/month here: Donate
Below is a picture of when Elizabeth came to visit us in Austin! (Her brother lives in Houston).