The Fire on the Mountain

It wasn’t until I saw the fire on the mountain that I really started to get a feel for the situation happening in Marfa. It all of a sudden became real- something I could smell, something I could see. As we drove on 118 N toward Ft. Davis, our detour from Alpine into Marfa, we caught a glimpse of hurried firefighters, fatigued, needing rest, that were working diligently on putting out the fire. Those men are the heroes of this region, flying above in helicopters, responding to calls that put them at risk and throw them into the face of danger; putting the needs of the community above their own. Those men are to be honored. We can learn a lot from them.

We just finished our training with Ed and Blanca Jennings at Nueva Vida Baptist Church.

I heard about Marfa before. In fact, the first time I heard about Marfa was 5 years ago from a friend. Undoubtedly, the conversation centered around the infamous ‘Marfa Lights’. Recently, I heard about the need in Marfa. The need to reach the community was in the back of my mind, but never really something that had become real to me – until now. Demographics and personal stories made the situation more real.

There are people in Marfa - real people, with real stories, with real problems, passions and dreams just like me that need to encounter the life-giving love of Christ. There is a lot of work to be done here. The work is hard however not impossible. So pray. Pray for Ed and Blanca. Pray for our group.

Like the firefighters relentlessly extinguishing the flames, we too must work relentlessly to see the urgency in sharing the gospel. We must become vulnerable people that they can trust, putting the needs of the community above our own.

In other words, we need to be more like Jesus. Pray that this happens.

Emmanuel Caleb Roldan