El Saladito is a rural community that is part of a small town named Marín located about 41 km north of the city of Monterrey. It is inhabited by about 250 families living in extreme poverty and with limited basic services.

Back in 2009, God put a heavy burden on the hearts of the congregation of Pan De Vida to share the hope of Christ with the families of El Saladito. The Pan De Vida family responded to their calling and started visiting El Saladito twice a week, sharing the gospel and applying the same model that impacted their own community in the past.  However, now by God’s grace, THEY were being the channel of blessing to others, freely giving what they freely received.

In only a couple of years, with the help of many friends of RIO Ministries, an outreach home was established under the name “Rio De Vida” (River of Life), where twice a week a group of 90 children receive healthy and delicious meals and participate in music lessons and sports activities.

El Ranchito is located in a garbage dump beside a contaminated river near the road to Laredo, Texas. This community is formed by nearly 100 families that survive daily from what they find in the garbage dump and from what the men and boys collect from nearby cities.

As you walk through El Ranchito you notice that houses are all built from pallets, tarps, plastic, and whatever material is available from the garbage dump. This is a place where every day is the same for them. Most kids don´t go to school because there is not one close to them or they can´t afford their school supplies.  For most of the children, their daily routine is to ride on the horse wagon picking up trash to bring some food back to their families.

RIO Ministries has had the opportunity and blessing of taking action for change in the community of El Ranchito with the power of the gospel and meaningful social outreach like sharing meals, school supplies, hygiene kits & more.

The ministry in El Ranchito is only getting started for RIO Ministries, but the certainty is that wherever Jesus goes, healing takes place and social change begins to occur.  That is our hope in El Ranchito, that the Glory of God shines on their hearts and that their streets are filled with His joy.