The world was heavy with darkness and only part of it could be blamed on the night. Silvia sat there, wide awake, well before the sun would creep over the horizon. Her husband, Manny, slept next to her and their five children, ages 1 to 14, surrounded them in the cramped confines of their SUV.
For nine months, the car served the dual purpose of transportation and home. During the day it moved about as needed, in the evening it was parked under a Fremont, California bridge.
Located in San Francisco Bay's south end, Fremont is just 20 or so miles from Silicon Valley, one of the nation's wealthiest ZIP codes. It might as well have been a thousand miles away for a homeless and brokenhearted Silvia. For far too many sunsets her soul wept as Manny wrestled with addiction.
This night, Silvia turned her attention skyward, well beyond the underside of the bridge, which protected her family from the elements.
"She was crying out to God in the middle of the night," observed Pastor Kurt Tuffendsam, of Peoples Church Los Angeles, who now ministers to the family through a local Bible study.
"(Manny) was blowing all their money on drugs, and she was trying to keep her kids in diapers and supplies and clothing and fed," said Pastor Kurt. "It was a real struggle."
God responded to her on the spot, speaking to her very powerfully through Scripture.
| "God had spoken to her very powerfully through Scripture so she ended up giving her life to Jesus under this bridge." | "She ended up giving her life to Jesus under this bridge," he said. Silvia asked God to remove her husband's dangerous cravings. Soon there were signs the drugs were losing their grip, leading Manny to quit altogether. |
"She said God did a miracle and changed him," the pastor said.
Seeking to distance themselves from the past, the Castro family moved south to Los Angeles to be closer to Silvia's parents, Maria and Arturo.
They enrolled in an LA Family Housing voucher program and were given a room at a Sylmar motel, where her parents also lived.
"The thing about the people living in the motel is that even though they have a roof over their head, the motel itself doesn't have any way for them to prepare food," said Pastor Kurt, who holds a weekly Bible study at the motel. Residents here lack even the basics, including can openers. "There's one woman who opened cans by scraping it on the floor."
Opening the cans is only part of the problem; there is no way to heat the food. Grills and cooking stoves are not permitted.
"If the motel finds out they have those items they can kick them out," Pastor Kurt said. "It's this real tension of how do you survive? You have a room but you're not legally really allowed to (use heating devices). You're always in fear that you're doing something wrong. It's not an easy situation."
Simply buying food can be another obstacle since the neighborhood is a mix of mostly industrial and commercial, with only a spattering of restaurants.
"There's not a lot in that area," he said. "It's kind of hard. It's not close to any grocery stores. The people that don't have cars have a real hard time getting any kind of supplies or groceries."
Despite its limitations, the motel is a hub of activity as it serves dozens of families transitioning in and out of the government program.
"The rest of it functions as a normal motel where you just pay for a night and you have travelers and visitors coming through," Pastor Kurt said. "It's right next to the freeway. There's also a lot of people that stay there who are doing illegal activities, getting high, hiring prostitutes or whatever. There's plenty of things happening on the other side of the motel."
Pastor Kurt first met the Castros on Easter eve when they attended one of the Saturday Bible studies hosted at a nearby park by Peoples, a young church plant serving San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles. The church holds its Sunday services in a recreation center in neighboring Panorama City, but ministers to motel residents and guests every Saturday, supplementing the study with a meal and family activities, in addition to frequent community outreaches.
It was during last year's Easter Bag outreach where Manny and Silvia first connected with Peoples Church and its partner ministry Cru Inner City, which provided the goodie bags and Resurrection Eggs®. The bags contain candy, toys, gospel beads and literature, while the eggs are filled with Scriptures sharing the Easter story.
"Their kids really had a good time," Pastor Kurt said.
Residents were invited to visit different stations that hosted various activities, including the Resurrection Eggs, crafts and prayers. One of the stations focused on Cru's gospel beads, a simple leather cord with plastic beads, each color representing one aspect of the Easter story. Every child was given an Easter Bag.
"It was one of those situations where we weren't sure how many kids would show up," he said. "We didn't want to have too few bags, but we didn't want to have too many so I got 25 and we had exactly 25 kids."
It was a strong showing for a Bible study that typically drew about 10 people each week.
"We had about 35 or 40 people show up for the Easter outreach," Pastor Kurt said.
After that initial contact with the Castros, Pastor Kurt said he didn't see the family again until last fall, when they began regularly attending the weekly study.
"I don't know why they didn't come back sooner or why they came back when they did," the pastor said. "I just see it as we're sowing seeds and sometimes the seeds gonna stick and sometimes it might take a while."
Since their return, the congregation has helped them with various needs, including underwriting a motel stay when the voucher program forces them to rotate out of their room for a night. Although the Castros still face financial issues, the salvation they found in Northern California offered them hope in the midst of struggles.
"They don't have anywhere to go," he said. "They were gonna stay in the park. They were gonna stay outside. We were able to get them a motel room for the night. We've just been more and more involved."
Having resources like the Easter Bags and Resurrection Eggs help Peoples Church open doors for long-term ministry through relationship building and discipleship. Seeing God at work in the Castros' lives blesses the entire congregation.
"We have many stories of how God has intervened in their lives as they are seeking Him and the church has walked with them," he said. "I really think that in order for any church to thrive, really, we need each other and so we need Cru Inner City."
Along the way, the family has seen prayer after prayer answered, including school placement for their oldest child.
| "It's such a major impact on families when God stands by them and they realize it was God." | "They were getting a lot of nos," Pastor Kurt said. "All of a sudden after we prayed he got into the school that they wanted him to be in." |
A few months ago, Silvia's mom, Maria, was notified by immigration officials her documentation wasn't current, meaning she would need to return to Mexico and wait for at least a year while her paperwork was processed. It was a devastating blow to the family, who depended on Maria for childcare while Manny and Silvia worked.
"We kept praying and we would ask her every week, ‘Has it changed? Has it changed? We believe God is going to settle this for you.'"
During a recent Bible study — which motel operators now allow on site and is drawing as many as 40 people — Maria delivered surprising news.
"She doesn't know how she got this new lawyer, but he solved the issue, resolved the whole situation," Pastor Kurt said. "At her last hearing, the court ruled she now had legal status. She doesn't have to go back to Mexico! It's such a major impact on families when God stands by them and they realize it was God."
Photo of bridge by Sean Benesh/Unsplash
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Lori Arnold serves as senior writer for Cru's inner-city ministry.
The Castros' story shows how God can redeem even the darkest moments of our lives. Share their story on Facebook or other social media platforms by using this link:
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