God created us
for greater things.
One of these
greater things is to become the heart and hands of Jesus to our brothers and
sisters whom He calls “the least of these.” The least of these are the poor and
hungry; those needing clothing and shelter; persons needing medical care and
counseling; and strangers seeking refuge from violence and oppression.
In the Gospel of
Matthew, chapter 25, Jesus says that whatever you do for these needy, “You did
it unto me.”
The Gospel of
Jesus on five fingers: “You did it unto me.”
In the Gospel of
Luke, chapter 10, the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that we are all
creatures of the creator, and we are to love our neighbor as Jesus taught.
Who is my
neighbor? Anyone and everyone, Jesus replies.
These two great
things from God—to serve the least of these and to show compassion to our
neighbor—are the demanding call of every Christian.
Once in a great
while, God calls a person to help teach mankind how to accomplish these greater
things.
Feliberto
Pereira is such a person. A Cuban-born Christian minister, Feliberto suffered
four years in the prison camps of Dictator Fidel Castro. In prison, he lost one
third of his body weight due to disease and starvation—all because he refused
to deny his religious faith. A victim of violence and oppression, he became a
stranger in his own land.
For Feliberto,
the suffering produced endurance, and the endurance produced character, and the
character produced hope. And when he was finally freed in America, where he became a citizen of the United States in 1984, he dedicated his life to sharing hope with the hidden world of the
poor, especially the refugee.
In 1986,
Feliberto founded a ministry near the U.S. border with Mexico at Brownsville, Texas, called Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries. He is Jesus’ heart and hands for “least
of these” in an area with the highest poverty rates in the U.S.
In just his work with refugees, he has helped 20,00 immigrants find legal freedom in the United States.
Over the years, thousands
of volunteers from the U.S. and Mexico have empowered Feliberto's ministry by seeking the greater things revealed in
Matthew 25 and Luke 10.
Today, Southwest
Good Samaritan Ministries offers a variety of programs and services to the poor
and to the neighbor in need. Anyone who desires is invited to join Feliberto in
his mission of service. In helping others, we discover true purpose.
God created us
for greater things. And, great things are happening.
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