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Reading the Bible was considered to be a sign of rebellion in rural areas of traditional Michoacan, Mexico in the 1950's. For Miguel Padilla, however, the Bible was a source of comfort. Word began to leak out around his village that he was a Bible reader and he began to receive threats, instigated by the village priest. Fearing for his family, Miguel finally decided he would have to leave the town of his birth. He never returned.
Miguel drifted with his young family through central Mexico, taking odd jobs here and there but he found no place to live. Finally someone told him that the government was giving land away to peasants in the scrub lands of northeastern Mexico near the town of San Fernando, about 75 miles south of Brownsville, Texas. He moved there with his family and along with other homesteaders cleared land to eke out a living. Their little settlement came to be called Francisco (or, Pancho) Villa.
"Do you know what it's like not to have any food to give your little children?" brother Padilla asked me as he recalled those days. Many inhabitants of Pancho Villa resorted to eating rats. Fortunately, brother Padilla had an old shotgun and was able to kill enough rabbits in the surrounding countryside to keep his family from starving. They drank water from a pond.
The rumbling of an empty stomach was not the only kind of hunger that Miguel felt in those days. Late at night, he would open his Bible and read of Jesus. He wanted to serve Him, but how? There was a small Pentecostal church in the development and Miguel began to attend their services. However, in spite of fervent prayer, he could not receive what he was told to be the baptism of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues. One night in the services, a friend who was supposedly filled with the Holy Spirit smashed a chair over Miguel's head saying, "thus the Spirit does to those who refuse to talk in tongues." That was the last straw for Miguel and he realized that this was not the way of Jesus. But where could he go?
One day he heard of someone coming to community, named Arturo Rodriguez, who taught that we should serve Christ without belonging to any denomination. He went to the Bible studies, heard the gospel and was soon baptized into Christ. He immediately began talking to his family and friends about serving Christ and many of them obeyed the gospel. A congregation was formed and began to grow. A small building was erected and brother Miguel began to look for the best teachers he could find to come teach the new brethren.
The names of those who brother Miguel invited to teach in Francisco Villa form a list of highly respected pioneers in the Spanish speaking work: Arturo Rodriguez, Glenn Rogers, Mack Kercheville, Wayne Partain, Bill Reeves, Fernando Coronado and others. With this kind of teaching and the example of brother Miguel, the brethren quickly outgrew their little ramshackle meeting place. Brother Partain hauled down several truckloads of wood donated by Joe Fitch from Texas and a larger building was built which was able to hold the large crowds.
In the past 30 years Brother Padilla has waged an unceasing war against denominations and wordiness in Pancho Villa and yet he is highly respected by the inhabitants. They know that his uncompromising stand for his convictions comes not from any partisan pride, but rather from a deep respect for the Bible.
Brother Miguel's body that has worked so hard for his family's survival and for the extension of the kingdom is starting to show the signs of age. Wency Garza, a loving brother and frequent visitor in Pancho Villa says, "Brother Padilla has slowed down a lot." Brother Miguel has asked his family to move a bed to the front yard where he can greet his brethren and friends who walk by even when he has to lie down. But though his body is worn out, the sparkle in his eye reveals that he is a happy man with a living hope. His wife, children and many grandchildren constantly hover over him, trying to take care of his every need. It is obvious that they love him dearly and know that their remaining time with him is short. Though Miguel Padilla was once chased out of his home village for reading the Bible, I don't think it will be long before he will be welcomed in triumph into the presence of the Savior.
If you ever drive south from Brownsville Texas on Mexican highway 180, watch for the village of Francisco Villa. Ask anyone there for directions to the house of Miguel Padilla. It will be the one along the highway with the bed in the front yard. You will be welcomed with heartfelt love and will enjoy basking a little in a light that has shone on many, not only in Pancho Villa but throughout Northeastern Mexico.
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