Matamoros, Tamaulipas Mexico
Among the SWGSM’s most cherished outreach ministries is the Casa Hogar Bethel, an orphanage located in the neighboring border city of Matamoros, state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. This home for orphaned and abandoned children was born from the hearts of its founding directors, pastors Lorena Garza and her late husband, Ismael Sifuentes.
Our support for the orphanage began upon its founding in 1996, and remains in earnest to this day.
Under the faithful administrative tutelage of Lorena, the orphanage has currently 35 children in residence, aged 6-18. We take great joy in being able to assist or provide in full:
- Uniforms and supplies
- Room and board (meals, clothes, shoes, coats, hygiene and personal items)
- Healthcare
- Administrative expenses
- Rice, beans, canned and dry goods via the Disciples Rice & Beans donation drives
Our journey and that of the exceptional staff and young people at Casa Hogar Bethel has long been intertwined and blessed. In 2005, with faith and prayerful determination, and under the assistance of Rev. Feliberto, Casa Bethel was able to purchase a 5-hectare property in a safer area of the city where the new orphanage grounds were built. The late Pastor Ismael Sifuentes, co-founder of the orphanage; our close friend and brother, engineer Les Hodson; and entire hosts of teams on both the Mexico and US sides of the border gathered to build what would become the approximately 15 buildings (dormitories, dining and study halls, administrative offices) that comprise the orphanage today.
In 2018 we were again able to pay forward our blessings, and donate our gifted 2002-model 15-passenger van, which they rely upon for school, medical, and church transport.
From its humble, prayerful origins born in the heart of servant—the extraordinary Lorena Garza—and her commitment to nurturing the most vulnerable of children, we are proud to support this safe and loving home. All the children in its care thrive, and have gone on to further their educations and even enter the ministry—some, who even remain as in- house staff for the current children today.
