HISTORY OF THE ANNABEL DE VALLEJO HOME
On January 23, 1999, a church van was returning from a Bible conference when there was a fatal accident leaving 3 of our dear ladies dead and 12 injured. One was the 5-month-old bride of our Assistant Pastor Juan Manuel Vallejo and another was his mother. From the time of the accident until the time that I was able to arrive to the scene, Juan Manuel Vallejo won 33 souls to Christ including hard hearted policemen, ambulance helpers and people that stopped to see the accident, among others.
Juan Manuel knew that his mother and his bride were right with God and were in the center of God’s will. Juan Manuel and his wife, Annabel de Vallejo, had surrendered to go to Brazil as missionaries. Our church had voted one month before the accident during our mission’s conference to save up enough money to send them on a survey trip to Brazil before they went on deputation. Juan Manuel’s mother Consuelo de Vallejo was quite a soul-winner. The night before her home-going, waiting to get into the building for the Bible Conference, she was winning souls. The other lady, Rosa, was also a dear dedicated Christian.
The accident was no accident in God’s plans but Juan asked, “Pastor, why would God let this happen?” As I pondered this, I visited the hospital of the other injured. One young lady, 15 years old, named Gloria Ramirez was in a comma in the Intensive Care Unit and was not expected to live. She recuperated by God’s help and I talked to her. She told me, that she had no one to take care of her when she left the hospital. I began to tell her of the Lester Roloff homes that used to take care of girls like her. God then began dealing with me to help her and others like her.
I told Juan that maybe from this “accident” we could start a Home to help and to train young people. I told him that maybe God would use this Home to see these people live for God and maybe they would be responsible to see hundreds and maybe thousands saved. This is our purpose. Our motto verse is Psalm 68:6, “God setteth the solitary in families: He bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.” We hope to help people that have been left to themselves and to help people that have been bound in sin.
In March of 1999, I took Juan Manuel to Pastor’s School in my home church, The First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana; to get his mind off the accident. While we were there my preacher, Dr. Jack Hyles, called us into his office and wanted to know about the accident. Later in the week, he called us on the platform and told the story and gave us $5,000.00 as well as an offering to start the Annabel de Vallejo Home. He also started a scholarship in honor of Juan’s mother, Consuelo de Vallejo and another in Juan Manuel Vallejo’s name for one young man and one young lady to go to Hyles-Anderson College as long as the college and the Annabel de Vallejo Home are in existence.
We would appreciate your prayers and support for the Annabel de Vallejo Home.
Yours for Souls,
Missionary Robert Murillo