Tijuana Christian Mission
(food distribution)
The bottom line is that Tijuana is unlike anywhere else, and requires a unique approach if one is to fully understand it. It is not an easy place; the sense of danger, grit and poverty can be utterly overwhelming. But if one is willing to recognize it for what it is, in all its ghastly poverty and grime, and its extraordinary flashes of beauty and kindness, and its tremendous energy and cultural frisson, it can be a very rewarding place to explore.

U.S. Border Patrol officials were proudly showing off the border fence to some visiting German government officials, who are immediately appalled, and say to their embarrassed guides, ìWe tore OUR wall DOWN.î

 Bagging up beans
The face of poverty
Beans R Us!  We put hundreds of pounds of beans and rice into small bags for distribution at one of the poorest areas in Tijuana. 
Distributing the food
"Homes" are one or two rooms made of discarded lumber, shipping pallets and tar paper.   Many have no running water, electricity or toilets.  Most toilets are made by digging a hole in the ground and building a small outhouse around it. That makes the smell seem worse than the flies that buzz around children and the hordes of sickly dogs.  Children walk the  unpaved streets to reach the nearby city dump to mine for broken glass or metal for less that $1 a day.
TCM logo
We unloaded our bags from the van and passed them out to families up and down the streets.  Our efforts were rewarded with a smiling "Gracias."  Unfortunately, we only scratched the surface in that our efforts only provided a few day's food for about one tenth the homes.  Maybe the biggest benefit from this project were the changes that took place inside ourselves. 
Get involved.  Sponsor a child.  Volunteer at the mission.  Send donations.

"The more people that are exposed to this type of benevolent work, weíll have a more compassionate church leadership and a kinder country."