A church near the U.S.-Mexico border has become a beacon of hope for migrants who are seeking a new life in America.
Thousands of foreigners are flocking to the Embajadores de Jesús (Ambassadors of Jesus) Church in Tijuana to seek refuge while waiting for their time to legally enter the United States.
Speaking to CBN News, Pastor Gustavo Banda said that his congregation began accommodating migrants in 2016 when the Haitians started fleeing their country for a better life in the West.
"Within months, 22,000 Haitians had arrived in the city of Tijuana," he recalled.
"I did not know, nor did I ever image, that there would be so many people in the church," he added.
Situated at one of the poorest areas in the city, the minister disclosed that they decided to build a church after hearing from God through a dream in 2011, clueless about how it will become what it is today.
"God gave me a dream that I had to build a church. We worked for eight months, day and night. We knew God was going to do something special, but nobody had a clue about what was really going to happen," he stated.
In a statement to the WORLD Magazine, the minister shared that he actually did not like the area since it was then a place for animals and that it smelled so bad. However, Jesus reminded him that He Himself was born in a manger. Further, Pastor Banda argued that he had no money to build a church. But three days later, a man called him up and offered to help.
"It was a clear mandate from God to move here even though there was absolutely nothing in this place," he stressed.
Following God's command to minister to the poor, the pastor would visit the houses in the community on weekdays and shared the love of Jesus. However, the focus shifted when the refugees started coming in and the church felt the need to help.
Currently, the congregation continues to receive migrants, including those from other parts of the world.
"It started with migrants coming from Haiti, Africa, Pakistan, and the Middle East. Today, we mainly have people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Colombia, and some from Mexico. It's hard to tell, but we estimate about 35,000 people have come through the church, easily."
Pastor Banda told NBC News in 2019 that many of the migrant women arriving in their place are either pregnant or with babies.
The congregation ministers to the people by providing food and other needs. The church is also being used as a shelter but a new structure is currently being built to accommodate refugees.
Moreover, the church volunteers are running a school for the children. They are also giving computer training and teaching various skills to the migrants.
Some churches and non-government organizations are also helping to provide food and other necessities.
The pastor pointed out that he wants these people to find hope in the church.
"The most important thing for the migrants to know when they get here is that there is hope and although they have left their families behind, all of us that are here, have become their family."
Knowing that his time with the migrants is limited, the minister said that he is doing all he can for them to know about Jesus and get baptized before entering America.
He revealed that he once dreamed of going to Haiti as a missionary but with his current work, he realized that Haiti actually came to him, as well as other nations.
"I don't have the numbers, but for years we have been baptizing so many of them and many more are surrendering to Jesus and that's my calling now," Pastor Banda declared.
