The Mission of Joe Brown
PO Box 537
Mapleton OR 97453
dwellers@presys.com
(541) 268-4333
Ministering to the Dump Dwellers in Mexico
On Friday, June 23, 2010, Joe celebrated 50 years of service.
Joe still makes the drive from Oregon to Tijuana 6-10 times a year. Over the years, Joe has helped about 1,800 dump dwellers move to an adjacent 11-acre site he donated. He and his ministry team have developed electricity, water, plumbing and streets.
Joe extends a heartfelt "thank you" to his supporters through the years. "I would not have been able to serve those 50 years without everyone's help. I thank them all from the bottom of my heart."
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Walk for gas is beginning of
mission of mercy.
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For years Joe Brown has raised money and delivered food and other necessities to impoverished "dump dwellers" who live next to a huge garbage dump near Tijuana, Mexico.
Brown was 19 and living in Southern California when he joined a church group traveling to an orphanage in Mexico. When the church bus ran out of gas, Brown began walking with gas can in hand. Then he came across the huge dump - and found an abandoned infant girl near death, half covered with trash. He rushed the baby back to the bus, where he and others were able to save her. The experience, including seeing how other homeless "dump dwellers" lived, scavenging for food and salable items, changed his life.
He drives to the Tijuana dump six to ten times a year. "It's 1,250 miles from my house," he says. "I can drive it straight through in 20 hours."
Over the years he has helped about 1,800 dump dwellers move to an adjacent 11-acre site with electricity, water, plumbing and streets. "We even got a phone booth in there now," he says. He once delivered a baby at the dump - a female who is now 38 years old. He's also seen three people killed. "I saw a guy shot over 3 cents."
"It's still very hard down there. They don't have a welfare system or Social Security like we have up here. If they get down and out, and have no kinfolk, they end up as dump dwellers. It's really sad."
Asked when he plans to retire: "When I die or am physically unable. I feel 100 percent called to do this, so there's no quitting."
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| Joe Brown |
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Joe Brown spoke at Community Church on September 21, 2008. The story of how God called him into this ministry is very compelling. If you would like to listen to it, click on the link below.
Joe's Message
Community Church has been supporting this ministry since 1978. The Quilters have been giving 60-80 quilts each year for Joe to take back to Mexico.
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| Quilters with quilts for Joe's Ministry |
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Prineville Community Church
520 NE Elm Street
Prineville OR 97754
(541) 447-6315
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