After a special and successful cross walk in San Diego the day before, I drove Go-Ye-Mobile-2 (GYM-2) to the huge Outlets At The Border shopping complex in the border town of San Ysidro and parked just a few feet from the long and tall border fence.  After unstrapping the cross from the truck’s bed rack, I hoisted the cross on my shoulder and walked up the pedestrian walkway on my way to the border check-in station.

From the very start, people passing by on the walkway waved or said, “Praise the Lord,” or looked with awe or puzzlement as to what was going on. The atmosphere was filled with the Holy Spirit’s presence, and I couldn’t help but think how great it was to be able to lug the heavy cross up the walkway and across the I-5 overpass and toward the high border wall separating two countries from each other.

It was drizzling, and the light rain felt good as I made my way to the new pedestrian crossing into Mexico. The San Ysidro/Mexico border crossing is our country’s busiest land border crossing. The new crossing opened in August, 2015, and serves over 22,000 southbound crossers a day into the Mexican city of Tijuana. The area around the pedestrian border crossing is very busy and I was excited that hundreds of Americans and Mexicans would see the large cross.

The pedestrian walkway from where I was parked to the border entrance is slightly uphill and I felt the extra downward pull of gravity as I walked up to the Interstate 5’s overpass and toward the pedestrian crossing. But nothing was going to stop this cross walk! I knew God had some great plans for this day.

AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE BECAUSE OF TAKING CARE OF GOD’S BUSINESS!

As I reached this huge conglomeration of  men, women and children heading into or out of Mexico, I hoisted the 10-foot, 60-pound cross right in the middle of the busy rotunda and prayed for all the people passing by. This is a very security-minded area. Border Patrol agents came up to me and asked what I was doing. After sharing that I was praying for both nations, and for their safety as well, and that I was headed toward the entrance of the pedestrian border crossing, a supervisor shared, “We usually don’t allow anyone to take large objects to the border entrance. But you can go on up this time and take care of God’s business.”

I shook their hands and thanked each one for their service to our country, then continued praying for all the people passing by.

After praying for several long minutes, I began the long uphill journey to the pedestrian crossing entrance. Hosting the large cross upright, I began praying for our two countries, and for all the people who daily cross the border into or out of the United States. Although I couldn’t see inside the border wall, the picture on the left shows what takes place as people enter Mexico. This is a very busy border crossing. Many people who passed by to enter the country gave the thumbs up sign or softly shouted out, “Praise the Lord!” both in English and Spanish. The sight of a man holding up a large cross and praying wasn’t a mystery to these people. They knew — and they also heard — what I was praying for.

PRAYING AGAINST THE TIJUANA DRUG CARTEL AND ITS UNDERGROUND
DRUG SMUGGLING RAIL SYSTEM

Tijuana is a large city of some 1,300,00 souls, which is about the same as San Diego’s population. It’s no big secret that drug smuggling into America takes place every day from Tijuana. The ARELLANO-Felix Organization (AFO), often referred to as the Tijuana Cartel, is one of Mexico’s largest and  most violent drug smuggling operation in the country. Marijuana, methamphetamine and heroin are the major drugs crossing the border illegally into our nation, and such crossings usually occur underground and through elaborate tunnel systems that run from Tijuana and to empty warehouses in San Ysidro.

One of my main reasons for praying at the Cal/Mex border was to ask God to continually expose the drug tunnel operations of this violent drug cartel. And, sure enough, just a couple of days after praying at the pedestrian border crossing, U.S. and Mexican authorities discovered and began destroying one of the longest drug tunnels ever discovered. The sophisticated tunnel passageway, complete with a cart-and-rail system, lighting and ventilation,  stretched about 2,600 feet from Tijuana into a warehouse in San Yisdro. Over two tons of marijuana was confiscated.

BORDER PATROL IS PART OF AMERICA’S THIN BLUE LINE

No one knows how long this tunnel had been in operation. But praise be to the Lord. This is one less underground border tunnel from which drugs will be able to be smuggled into our nation! It is imperative that we all continue to uphold our Border Patrol agents in prayer, that the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd and the Chief Shepherd of life keeps them all safe and secure and immune from the temptation to be swayed by ill-gotten riches.

These men and women are part of our thin blue line as well, and as I hoisted the cross at the border, I also asked God to keep our Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and to bless and watch over these front-line agents and their families as well.

PRAYING FOR NATIONWIDE REVIVAL IN MEXICO

While it is most certainly true that the United States needs great revival to spread throughout all 50 states, as I hoisted the cross upright at the pedestrian crossing, I asked the Lord of the Harvest to send forth great revival and great awakening throughout the entire nation of Mexico as well, and to begin this great revival in Tijuana.

Billed as the most visited city in the world, the popular saying in Tijuana is: “Tijuana. So close to the United States; so far away from God.” In other words, Americans cross over the border into Tijuana to have fun and wild times, which possibly they would not do in the States. With so much corruption taking place in Tijuana, from police officers who are bribed by the drug cartels to look the other way to political leaders who are voted in by drug cartel thug- and gangster-pressure and money, this city is prime for Holy Spirit visitation and revival on  a large scale and throughout the entire city.

THE YOUNG AND NEW BORN CHRISTIAN FROM TIJUANA

After two hours of hard prayer throughout and within this huge Cal/Mex border corridor, I began the long walk back to my ministry truck, GYM-2. At the top of the overpass looking out toward Tijuana, I hoisted the large cross once more. A young man approached me and said, “¡Hola!” His name is Diego Ramirez, and he lives in Tijuana but works in San Yisdro at Old Navy, one of the stores at the huge Outlets At The Border complex.

Diego quickly shared that he had just accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior two months ago and was going to be baptized at his church in Tijuana that Sunday. We had a great and long talk about Jesus Christ, as well as the people of Tijuana. Diego is a wonderful young believer who was greatly impressed about the cross walk. He asked if I was going to Tijuana. Told him I did not get a passport this time around, but next year I would. Then I would, indeed, walk the cross in Tijuana.

I invited Diego to touch the cross and to pray for his hometown and all the precious souls living in Tijuana. He grinned from ear to ear and offered up a powerful prayer to the Lord, that, indeed, He would send great revival to Tijuana. Diego prayed  long and hard for himself as well, that he would continue to be a light in the darkness and not fail His Savior in any area of his life.

CHURCH ON THE STREETS!

I prayed for Tijuana as well. This is a very busy walkway, and several individuals had stopped and listened in on our prayers. An occasional “Amen” would sound out. The presence of God’s Holy Spirit was there, and the sheer joy of praying for Tijuana and the people living there was too much to bear. Diego and I both started praising God and thanking Him for allowing two men from two different countries to join with these others and to lift up the people of Tijuana to the living and the loving God, who desires that no one should perish.

I look forward to actually walking the cross in Tijuana next year, if the Lord tarries. Diego said he wants to walk with me then. He gave me the name of his church and its pastor, and asked me to contact him through the church. I will.

For now, this special cross walk was coming to an end. But not before God’s Spirit moved across two border cities and touched many souls for Jesus. The cross speaks all languages. It’s message: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16) Amen and amen! –\O/