After a visit to Outcry in the Barrio in April, a return visit has increased the understanding of what this ministry is doing.
By Steve Parkhurst
It is summer time in San Antonio. Mid-July, the 15th to be exact. The temperature approaches 100 degrees. It is a Texas summer day to be sure.
Pastor Roman Herrera, instead of sitting inside enjoying lemonade and air conditioning, is instead working his way through alleyways.
Pastor Roman is not homeless, he’s not looking for a meal, or a place to sleep in these alleys. Instead, he is looking for people. People he can possibly save. He is looking for people passed out or hung-over. He is finding people in such condition. People laying on cement paved alleys, with dirt, leaves and other debris as their only cushion. This just happens to be where they laid down the last time they laid down, or fell down.
Pastor Roman kneels next to these people, who in some cases won’t know he’s even there. One at a time, as he finds them. He might lay a hand on their chest or leg, then he will pray for them. He will offer them a chance to be saved. He offers them a place to go where once they accept that their lives are not being lived according to scripture, they can begin anew. He does not promise a new life. He promises a chance to find forgiveness through acceptance in Christ.
I can ask myself without hesitation, “what have I done this important this year?” and I can quickly, with humility and maybe a little shame, respond “nothing.”
And I don’t write this to shame people. I write this to point out the positive things being done, that arose from a married couple over 40 years ago who opened their home to the very first addict and there began a ministry that has changed the world. Freddie and Ninfa Garcia did this. Their work back in those days is still alive today.
Outcry in the Barrio is the ministry doing this work, leading the way to what looks like a renaissance. Pastor Roman and his wife Alma, they lead the way at the home that houses those in recovery and ministry at Outcry. Their love, caring and devotion is apparent when you talk with them, whether for thirty seconds or ninety minutes.
I was recently afforded the privilege to attend and witness the Outcry in the Barrio International Conference. Pastors gather to share stories about their work and ministries from wherever they traveled, be it Dallas or Peru.
One evening, I enter the performing arts complex where the evening session begins in about an hour. A gentleman approaches me to welcome me, he is a greeter. We shake hands and he asks me about my day. I ask about his day. We start talking. This gentleman is clean cut, wearing a nice shirt which is tucked in. He has tattoos, but I was not judging. I asked him about his relation to Outcry. The next 3 or 4 minutes contain an amazing story of drugs, jail, alcohol, crime, prison, and then, Outcry and Jesus.
I asked questions. He answered them. He’s been clean for nine years now. He has a day job and a family. I noticed at one point, he was constantly smiling, or at least, he was never frowning or looking down. He only spoke of his past because I asked about it, he has his sights set on scripture and the future. He has a personal vision, something that is very important to those who listen to and accept the teachings at Outcry.
His was not the only story. Other stories stretch back further than nine years. Most of these people know the date that things changed for them, and they share it proudly.
Outcry long ago began to reach beyond the limits of San Antonio’s west side. The presence in Texas is strong, but the international reach is certainly being felt as well.
As these leaders gathered for a sort of “iron sharpens iron” week of sharing and fellowship, we heard stories of struggle leading to acceptance; of sin leading to salvation. There are too many stories to write about here, but every story was full of humanity and hope. Each person I spoke with only inspired me to do more.
When I wrote about my Outcry visit this past April, I wrote about the fact that Robert Woodson, the founder of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise had introduced and escorted Congressman Paul Ryan to Outcry in the Barrio this past January. One day during this week long conference, Congressman Ryan was in Washington D.C. at the American Enterprise Institute presenting his new findings on and solutions for poverty in America. Sitting to Congressman Ryan’s immediate right, was Robert Woodson. Was I being told something here?
Maybe so. This was too coincidental.
On politics for another moment, Congressman Ryan’s proposed solutions deserve consideration. They’re a conversation starter, and not a final plan to be voted upon by Congress anytime soon. The ideas of consolidating redundancies and granting states the power to develop ideas of their own to get people out of programs and into lives of meaning, that is a compelling cause which Jack Kemp would have loved, and then he would have fought for it.
Outcry in the Barrio is a great example of a “program” that throws convention to the wind and gets results their way. Outcry, for over forty years, has tried and tested its way to success. And when they need to, they can adjust what needs adjusting.
As a witness to this ministry, and my time observing Outcry is a mere drop in the bucket compared to their forty-plus years in operation, what they do is awe-inspiring. I’m often at a loss for words when I try to explain what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard. There are some incredible men and women in charge of things there. None of them will take credit either, it’s not about them, just as it’s not about me. It’s about faith in God and a desire to reach their vision of spreading the word to anyone who will listen.
I want to ask you, I won’t say the word “challenge” but I will ask you, to find the Outcry in your area. It may go by another name and do other work. But please get in there and help them. Help does not always mean going in with money or supplies, it can be in the form of ministering with and praying with those in need of saving, helping them find their way to their calling, helping them find their direction.
Pastor Jubal Garcia, the youngest son of Freddie and Ninfa, and the current director of Outcry in the Barrio, has global plans for Outcry. The conference in July was called Planet Shakers for a reason. As this national and international growth occurs, many hands, many minds and many hearts will be needed in various communities to assist these efforts. We can all play a role.
As I stated before, this is the stuff that leads to a renaissance.
Days after Pastor Roman is in back alleys spreading the Word and showing people how they can save themselves, I am in the room when he preaches a sermon to the conference attendees. He avoids the lectern and in fact, at points he gets off the elevated stage to stand in the midst of the people to whom he is preaching. To listen to this man is to find someone that feels something for human beings that is beyond words. He is a true embodiment of the work happening at Outcry and the people there.
I’ll begin to conclude with this. Ninfa Garcia, on the first night of the conference was on stage addressing the audience and she made the statement regarding her late husband, “Freddie was a soul winner.” That line struck me as powerful. It struck me as courageous. It also struck me as true. The course of the week long conference proved this to be true, and then some.
I wrote about my first visit to Outcry in the Barrio back in April. I realize now that I missed a lot on that visit. In other cases, I found out that things I observed once, repeat themselves as they should.
Somewhere, I am as sure as a mere mortal can be, Freddie Garcia is smiling down on his work, on his creation. In founding Outcry in the Barrio, he did what he did as a higher calling, let’s not confuse that. But every day, every life saved and every life turned over to following God’s vision is another feather in the cap for Freddie, the soul winner.
Outcry is a fabulous charity, worthy of financial support by religious and secular alike. Kudos Mr. Parkhurst for bringing wider attention to the worthwhile work of these fine, dedicated people.
But begging your pardon, please allow me to dissent a bit regarding your Trojan/Ryan hobby horse of welfare grant blocks being apportioned to the state’s sole discretion.
Outcry is great example of private charity achieving veritable, beneficial results, but you surely can’t be suggesting that the state of Texas should or could manage our deep social service needs with a melange of private/religious institutions funded by a fraction of federal dollars we currently receive?
I’m sure you’re well aware of the basic, if daunting, poverty statistics facing our state. Ryan’s plan would gut federal funding of social services, a remarkably tiny percentage of overall federal outlay, and toss the remainder to state control. I seriously doubt under the current hyper right wing, evangelical tinged Texas lege we’d see any noticeable gains in poverty abatement, most likely we’d be facing an unmitigated disaster if those diminished federal social funds were block granted to the sole discretion of our current legislative body.
Mr. Parkhurst, with all due respect, the current crop of republican elected officials consistently argue and vote against allocating the necessary funds to support our state’s basic public education system, why in the world would you trust them to care for our state’s most impoverished children, elderly, sick and disabled in an impartial, beneficial manner?
Outcry might rightly profit under Ryan’s proposal, but the majority of Texans receiving public assistance would surely suffer.
Respectfully,
Daphne
* I’m assuming that you would generally prefer there be no federal assistance whatsoever to the hungry, mentally or physically disabled, unfortunate children, widows, veterans, addicts, etc.
Feel free to disabuse my presumptions. I welcome your response.
Daphne,
You have asked several loaded questions and in the process you have laid bare your political perspective, and as you can tell, we are complete opposites.
I believe in a safety net. I do not believe in a hammock. I believe there is a place for government to help those who truly need help. I do not believe that every person currently getting some sort of assistance truly needs it. I would use as an example, the fact that people reaching their limit of 99 weeks of unemployment assistance, miraculously find work in the 98th, 99th or 100th week. I’m thinking if you gave them 52 weeks of assistance instead (one full year) they would miraculously find work in the 51st, 52nd or 53 week.
I know you hate Congressman Ryan’s proposed plan. It will come as no surprise to you that I support his plan. I love the idea of the states trying their own ideas, being the “laboratories of democracy” they were meant to be. I fully believe that Washington DC does not have every answer for every state. Washington DC cannot possibly know better how to run Texas or California or Michigan or any of the 47 other states. The states administer their own drivers licenses, as they should. I say, let the states work locally and attempt to solve the problems of the least of these.
Yes, I would trust the Texas legislators to work on this. If the people of Texas are unhappy with those decisions, Texas holds elections every two years and the voters can replace those legislators.
Your assertion that I wouldn’t support veterans is absurd, and insulting, especially since you don’t know me. I would argue that the VA is not only ObamaCare in action, but it is also an example of extreme big government doing jobs that the private sector could do much better and cheaper.
The federal government is more interested in their biggest numbers (when it fits the narrative). They love to tell us they took in 200,000 addicts last year with counseling or they “helped” 700,000 families with food assistance. Ask the government how many of those addicts they cured or gave new life to, no answer. Ask the government how many of those families had their problems solved or how many got off of that assistance, no answer. Government wants to brag about how much it spends, not the results it gets. This is the same government that lost $2 billion via the US Postal Service from April to June, an agency which hasn’t turned a profit since 2006. Yes, I trust the states to do a better job of caring for those truly in need.
Even major Lefties like Clarence Page and E.J. Dionne have found things they like in the Ryan proposal. Are you unable to find anything in there that you like, Daphne?
You do realize that the 99 weeks of unemployment was instituted for folks who were unable to find work under the regular 26-52 week plan, and that people who have been on the dole for 2 years seldom “miraculously” find work. They tend to just not get benefits at all. The problem with Ryan is that he, like most of the morons who believe in the Tea Party philosophy, have a complete “screw you’ attitude to anyone who is different, or who has had problems that Ryan hasn’t personally experienced.
Ross,
Paul Ryan’s dad died of alcoholism when Ryan was 16, and Ryan was able to utilize social security benefits to stay afloat in the aftermath. So your “personally experienced” quip is way off. And if you really paid attention to what Ryan proposed, and not just talking points from The Week, Slate or Huffington Post, you’d know that Ryan believes, like I do, that a safety net is in order. Again, it needs to be a safety net and not a hammock.
So, Ross, what’s YOUR solution? “Hey dude, you’ve been on the dole for 2 years – it’s obvious that you’re not gonna get a job, so we’ll pick up the tab for the rest of your life”? Doesn’t sound like a plan to me. If 99 weeks isn’t long enough, what is?
Here’s the problem – If you tried, really hard, to come up with an ineffectual, inefficient, one-size-doesn’t fit-anyone, wasteful way of assisting people, what you would arrive at would be the Federal Government. The Federal government, under the Johnson Administration instituted the “War on Poverty” in 1964. In the subsequent half century we have spent – depending on who’s numbers you accept between 7 and 15 TRILLION dollars! And, for that money we have achieved no appreciable results. We still have the same percentage of the population under the poverty line as we did in 1964.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, in 2012 the Federal Government spent $799 Billion in 92 different programs to assist lower income Americans. That’s ridiculous! It wouldn’t be quite so bad if it actually worked, but it doesn’t – demonstrably. And, yet, anytime someone even proposes that we consider some common sense options that might save some money while actually doing a better job of helping people yahoos like you squeal like a stuck pig that we don’t care about the poor.
Well here it is Ross – I submit that it’s YOU who doesn’t actually care about the poor. You don’t really care about anything except making sure that we have a nice big Federal government that is in control of everything. ‘Cause if you really actually cared about the poor you’d be looking for ways to actually help them instead of just throwing some dollar bills in their direction (dollar bills that you have taken by force from some one else by the way).
So, to restate your accusation: The problem with you is that, like most of the morons who believe in the liberal koolaid philosophy, have a complete “screw you’ attitude to anyone who actually pays taxes, and wants to find solutions to our problems that don’t involve spending trillions of dollars with no measurable effect.