Best friends share bad times and good
on the streets of Mexico City

MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Juan Manuel Arreola, the man who uses Bible Society of Mexico Scriptures to reach the street children of Mexico City, is proud of those who turn their lives around. Two of those who have done so are Juan Carlos Ramirez and Arturo de Jesús Nuñez López. The two young men met on the streets. They worked together and used to engage in petty theft together. Now they are sharing the Gospel together in the neighbourhood where they once slept rough.

Arturo de Jesús Nuñez López (left) and friend Juan Carlos Ramirez pose on the spot where they lived as children on the streets of Mexico City, Mexico. Photo: UBS/Larry Jerden (MEX01DJ-9)

Juan was unwittingly introduced to life in the streets by his mother at an early age. “When I was six, my father and mother divorced,” he explains. “My mother had a hot dog stand and asked if I would help. That’s when I began to build a relationship with street children.

No rules

“I didn’t feel comfortable at home, so when the boys on the street told me about a life with no problems and no rules, it sounded good to me,” he remembers.

“I got into drugs,” he admits. “I found a place to sleep in front of a store. That’s where Arturo and I would sleep.” That is also when the two met Mr Arreola.

“He would buy us blankets and clothes,” Juan says, “but we did not trust him.” He admits that they “did some pretty bad things” to their would-be benefactor.

“But he kept sharing about Christ,” Juan says. “Eventually I started trusting him because he shared with everybody equally.”

Juan had heard talk about Jesus before, attending a Pentecostal church near his home when he was nine.

“I attended Sunday School, but the real reason I went was because they had a meal after the service.”

Jail

If his early religious instruction did not change his life, neither did it change immediately after meeting Mr Arreola. “I was caught stealing and sent to jail,” he admits.

It was during this time that Juan had time to think about the things Mr Arreola had shared.

“A drama team came to the jail and shared about Jesus,” Juan says. “But most important was my thinking about all the things Juan Manuel had shared. I began to pray and read the Bible.

“I felt free when I was released. My relationship with Juan Manuel was stronger. I went with him to church and accepted Christ. I was off drugs and began to study.”

Even with his new life, he did not return home. “My mother had an alcohol problem, so I didn’t feel comfortable at home,” he explained. “I felt I could help her more if I stayed in another place and got a better job. My goal was to finish school – which I did.”

Escape

Arturo came to Mexico City from Chiapas when he was five years old, running away from an unhappy home situation. His ‘escape’ came when friends invited him to ‘go shopping’.

“They asked me to come shopping with them, then we went a little further from home, and finally they asked someone how to go to Mexico City,” he recounts.

They made the 24-hour bus journey and immediately immersed themselves in their new environment.

Glue

“We were introduced to other guys who lived on the streets, and we bought some glue and sniffed it to get high.”

Like many others, Arturo began his pilgrimage toward Christ in a jail cell.
“The police caught me stealing and I was put in jail,” he began. “While waiting for the legal process I dropped off to sleep and had a dream.

“In the dream I was in a bed with four wheels, and it was rolling down a long road. At the end of the road I saw the Lord. The Lord said, ‘I forgive all of your sins.’

“When I woke up I felt worried and upset, but for some reason the police let me go.

“That’s when I came back to this area and met Juan Manuel. He had a special program for street children that included a drama team. When I saw the drama I felt touched. They shared the Good News and I accepted Jesus Christ.

“The drama team invited me to go with them, so I did,” he says. “What really made me feel good was that several different people invited me to go with them. I couldn’t believe they actually wanted me to spend time with them. I stayed one month with them, and began to go to church.”

Memorising

Because of reading difficulties and eye problems, Arturo has read only a little of the Bible. But that hasn’t kept him from memorising parts of it by listening to others read it.

And it has not kept him and Juan from continuing to be best friends as they minister to others going through the struggles they have successfully put behind them.

“As they say, we are friends through good times and bad times,” the two declare. (WR 375/46 - 3.03)