Hilario G., client 153: first client as far as I can remember who when I finished praying for him, grabbed my hand and prayed over me and OnRamp. He's in dialysis 3 times a week for the last 3 years but still makes time to care for his family, serve as a mentor to new dialysis patients, and volunteer in ministry through his church. His previous car was literally stolen while he was hooked up to a dialysis machine ! Not only did that threaten his current treatment, but also his hope of a transplant. You can't qualify for a transplant without proof of reliable, personal transportation to get to and from the transplant hospital in Houston. Now he has a reliable car to get back to treatment and, lord-willing, on the transplant list.
Two personal thoughts.
(1) As I've said many times before, we're not the heroes in these stories. Our clients are. They are not just surviving, they are serving and sacrificing to meet the needs around them even when they don't have the reliable transportation we take for granted everyday. Just imagine what they can do with the tool of a dependable vehicle!
(2) This particular client helps me answer the questions, "What is OnRamp in God's economy and what role do I play in His church?" I think I'm beginning to understand. We who are privileged to work in faith-based charities like OnRamp are the Deacons of God's Church. Hilario, like most of our clients, is a believer and fellow servant in God's church who happens to urgently need material assistance in the form of a vehicle. Based on Acts 6, the deacons are called to lead the church in meeting this need. In our modern, mutli-denominational, socio-economically stratified world, that's no longer doable for individual local churches. The cost and expertise required are too high for most small churches. So God creates faith-based charities to pool the efforts of the universal church in a particular community to meet the needs of brothers and sisters like Hilario. We, of course, also serve those who do not identify as Christians - we would never discriminate based on beliefs - but a core part of our service is to our Acts 6 brothers and sisters in need. So, that's a complex way of saying that if you're wondering where OnRamp, Habitat for Humanity, SOS Ministries, Unbound, APO, etc fit into the Church and God's economy... I think we're the deacons. That said, I'm not an expert Just my opinion on how all this fits together.
If you can help OnRamp continue serving those in need, including many fellow believers, we have 12 more fully-approved clients awaiting vehicles that we haven't yet had the funds to purchase. Please visit our website and click "Give" to partner with us to serve the next amazing client.
Pictures shared with permission.