Charla's Children: The Vision
CBN.com - Terry Meeuwsen: This is the Mexico most visitors see: the hustle and bustle of children and adults alike all doing their best to make sure that as much of the valuable tourist currency as possible stays in the country. And when that's not successful, many of them will risk untold dangers to cross over this border into the United States. Right now as we're shooting, here are two men ready to cross over the border. For them, to take a chance at illegal entry with the hope of financial success in America, they have better odds than staying and struggling in the abject poverty here in Mexico.
The plight of the poor in Mexico is not a new problem, nor is it a small problem. U.S. tourists pretty much take it for granted that they will encounter poverty south of the border. Most shrug it off and remain unaffected by it. So, when four Americans decided to drive several hours down the California Baja, they never expected to find something that would change the course of their lives forever.
Imagine this. It's 1966 and you're lost at night in the desolation and darkness of the Baja of Mexico. Your children and baby sitter are expecting you home at any moment. But the truth of the matter is that you're more than 300 miles from home inching your way along deeply rutted roads that are barely visible. You don't speak Spanish. You haven't seen a single town or village. There's no telephone to call home. And worst of all, you haven't seen a gas station for hours and your gas gauge is registering "empty." What had begun as a great, daylong adventure for Chuck and Charla Pereau and the couple they were with had turned into a nightmare.
Charla Pereau: There in the very stillness of the morning, I heard children laughing where there were no children. I knew that it was God's Holy Spirit trying to speak something to my heart. Then I looked out over this field with just salt weed growing there and I saw a waving field of grain.
Terry: Charla told her husband, Chuck, and their friends, Roy and Nell Bean, about the vision. As they all walked around the grounds together, they came upon a small, wood framed building, unusual in the midst of the typical plastered structures.
Charla: As we started to go through the door, we felt the presence of God so strong that we could hardly enter. Roy Bean said, 'I believe this building is filled with angels.' There was a soft kerosene lamp up at the front of this little building, and there were about 11 children kneeling in prayer.
Chuck Pereau: We thought, well, even though we can't speak their language, we could go lay hands on them and bless these little ones who were meeting here for some strange meeting. We laid hands and prayed for those children, and as we prayed for them, a number of them spoke in other languages as the Spirit gave utterance. One boy spoke in English, who didn't speak English, and brought a prophecy from the Bible.
Charla: We knew there was something special about this land. This is the place where the children from the garbage dumps of Mexico -- Tijuana, Encinitas -- and the children of the street, out in the country, this is the place where there could be a safe refuge, a safe haven for the street children. I said, 'God has got something very special. I believe this place will one day be the center of a revival.' I went to Lutheran Bible Institute as a young woman, and it was there that Jesus became the Lord of my life, where I got a passion to reach the lost, and wept over the lost. And I said, 'Maybe one day there'll be a Bible school here.' And we never, ever expected to come back. We dreaded the trip home.
Then I went to see an old pioneer missionary named Mother Mitchell, founder of the "Go Ye Fellowship," and she gave me very wise advice. She said, 'If God gives you a vision, trust Him to equip you to fulfill it. God uses very ordinary people to do an extraordinary work because they're dependent on Him.'
Terry: Charla shared the vision with their Friday night prayer group. Everyone agreed to fast and pray for God's direction and then get back together to see what action they should take.
Charla: We went around the room and each one shared what God had spoken to them. And I remember one young mother with two little kids and expecting her third, and she said, 'Charla, if we do this, it's going to cost us something. It may cost our lives, but can we give less for the Lord Jesus?' And another said, 'You know, those old buildings down there were used for the devil's purposes-- a gambling hall and a casino -- and if we go to an area where Christ has not been proclaimed to raise up a cross, we're going to do battle with the enemy.' And we did. Amazingly, three weeks later without our soliciting the funds -- none of us had any money -- we had the money to purchase this land.
Terry: Although she knew she was a day late, Charla rushed down to Encinitas with the donations hoping to buy the land.
Charla: I went into the attorney's office to find that somebody else had purchased the land and I couldn't believe it. I thought, well, how could God have sent all this money and we've prayed, we fasted only to find it sold to somebody else? As I was going out of the office, I was crying, and there in the outer office was a man sitting. This man spoke to me in perfect English. He said, 'What are you doing here?' And I thought, well, it's really none of his business. I said, 'Oh, I came here to buy some land.' He said, 'Where?' I said, 'Oh, it's a long way from here, 110 miles south.' He said, 'Well, what happened to it?' I said, 'Somebody else bought it. He said, 'Who?' I said, 'I don't know.' And he said, 'I bought the land. Come over here and sit down.What did you want with the land?' A long story made short, I told him about the vision, and he said, 'You need my help.' He went and withdrew his offer and helped me form a non-profit corporation in Mexico so the land could be secure.
Terry: Who was he?
Charla: His name was Al Villa. Now he's with the Lord Jesus. But without him I could never have done the negotiation. When it seemed like God was late, He really wasn't late. Just seemed like it. So we began to rebuild the ancient ruins and bring in the homeless children. Pretty soon we had 100 children and had to trust God for monies to feed them and to clothe them.
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