I (Aaron) have been doing a lot of reading lately for my "Nazarene History and Polity" class for ordination. This morning I was been reading about the denomination's early (and persistent) emphasis on compassionate ministry to widows, orphans, and the homeless when I came across this gem:
"Santos Elizondo maintained a church and orphanage on the Mexican side of the border near El Paso. The Mexican government was ready to close the orphanage.
The Mexican law said that 'no man shall have an orphanage in connection with the church.'
But, as Santos Elizondo was a woman, and not a man, the government allowed her to continue operating it!
On the Texas side of the border she ministered to Mexicans, most of them widows and children, waiting for deportation back to Mexico.
The Church of the Nazarene, under her ministry, became known as the church the cared for widows and orphans."
That's beautiful.
Floyd Cunningham, ed. Watchword & Song: The Centennial History of the Church of the Nazarene
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