In Poza Rica and northern Veracruz, Mexico, Nazarenes have come together to serve those affected by the early October heavy rainfall. Latest reports show 64 have died and 65 others are still missing as 24 inches of rain fell over four days, causing flooding and landslides across eastern and central Mexico.
Nazarenes came together to set up shelters, share hot meals, offer medical consultations, and help to clean homes damaged by floodwaters. What has been an emergency for many of these victims has become a living testament to unity, hope, and love.
Since 10 October 2025, the Second Church of the Nazarene in Poza Rica, Veracruz, began preparing spaces to welcome its community. On 11 October, with the support of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM), the shelter and community kitchen officially opened.
Four Nazarene churches in Poza Rica take turns providing care. This rotation among the four churches ensures hot meals every day, cleaning supplies, and a welcoming shelter for those most in need.
Each day, the shelter serves an average of 100 people, providing 2,000 meals since it opened. Volunteer teams have worked in 30 homes, in addition to cleaning cisterns and removing debris. Medical services have included 100 consultations (70 in Álamo and 30 in Poza Rica), treating foot infections, lacerations, sprains, and monitoring individuals with diabetes and hypertension who require medication.
Pastor Rebeca Flores and a team of members from the Second Church of the Nazarene in Poza Rica run the community shelter and soup kitchen, taking care of every detail: lodging, food, daily cleaning, and a health checkpoint to protect those arriving seeking refuge. On the streets, Pastor Carlos Castro, also a missionary, coordinates house cleaning and sanitizing with support from the district and volunteers.
Since 16 October, NCM medical brigades — with Dentist Shalma Jazzel Hernández and Dr. Magdalena Nuño — have been evaluating and attending to families at risk, along with six doctors and a nursing team that organize shifts and follow-up.
Drawing on his experience responding to three hurricanes in Guerrero, Pastor Carlos de León Rufino traveled with volunteers from the Mexico Central District and young people from his local church to join the cleanup and sanitization efforts. On the ground, NCM area coordinators Edy Aroldo Montejo (South) and Cutberto Tenorio (North) are supporting and strengthening the response strategy, reminding us that unity makes the impossible possible.
“Thank you for the brigades you have sent from all over the country,” said Castro. “Thank you to everyone who has provided financial support, prayer, and mobilized the churches. On behalf of all the people of the Gulf District, the pastors, and those who lost their homes, thank you for all your support, and may God bless you.”