Two days before Thanksgiving, Blanca Rodriguez, the pastor of Ministerio Voces Angelicales, moved into her new home on Lavender Jewel Court in Plant City.
Now, at Christmastime, Rodriguez has made progress unpacking — the daunting task that comes with moving into any new place. But there is one box in Rodriguez’s living room that isn’t hers. In the corner, she and the other members of her ministry have filled a box with wrapped presents, which will be handed out to Plant City’s homeless on Christmas Day.
As part of Ministerio Voces Angelicales, which in English translates to Angelical Voices Ministry, Rodriguez and her team volunteer to serve meals every third Saturday at the Winter Visitor Center on Dort Street. There, the homeless are fed daily as part of the Friends in the Park program. The ministry has been volunteering with the program for about three years.
“Usually on this holiday, we expect more than usual,” Rodriguez said. “We have food for about 100. I think it’s going to be a good experience.”
Though the ministry has served dinner to the homeless on Christmas Day in the past, this year it decided to bring as much Christmas cheer as it can to the center with activities, gifts and surprises.
This is the first year that the ministry has been able to put on such an event, as the homeless were formerly fed at Veterans’ Monument Memorial Park, where everyone was crammed under one pavilion. At the Winter Visitor Center, there will be more space to spread gifts and the word of God.
The ministry’s co-pastor, Jose Miranda, will dress up as Santa Claus. Besides serving Christmas dinner, which will be provided by Metropolitan Ministries, each dinner patron will receive a present. Adults will be given items like hygiene products, food and blankets. Children will be given toys.
“Some of them told me, ‘This is the only Christmas I will have,’” Rodriguez said. “Some of them have homes, but they don’t make enough to have food on their plate. We wanted them to have the same experience that we have.”
The dinner and festivities are a way to serve God and celebrate the birth of His son, as Rodriguez will tell anyone, but for her, it’s also a reminder.
Just a few years ago, Rodriguez was like many of the others that shuffle into the Winter Visitor Center on a daily basis. She was hungry, and she was homeless.
UNDER THE ORANGE TREES
At two points in her life, Rodriguez has lived on the streets.
The first time was when she was 19. After moving to the United States from Puerto Rico, Rodriguez was living with her sister until she was thrown out of the house. With nowhere else to go and a limited knowledge of English, she began sleeping in a grove of orange trees. For a few months, oranges were the only meal she had, day and night.
But eventually, Rodriguez got on her feet. She learned English and got a job, and within six months had her own small apartment.
Years later, Rodriguez found herself in a similar situation. Now married and the mother of a 10-year-old daughter, Rodriguez found out at the end of February 2015 that her landlord had not been paying the mortgage on the house she and her family were renting. They were evicted.
“I know how hard it is to get out of that situation and keep walking,” Rodriguez said. “There’s always people in need. Everybody needs love, everybody needs to know that somebody cares.”
Now, with a stable roof over her head, Rodriguez is able to turn her attention to helping others who have been in similar situations.
“Only God is the one that can make everything turn around,” she said. “Ever since I was a little kid I have always loved helping. I finally found my calling.”
A HELPING HAND
Rodriguez formed Ministerio Voces Angelicales eight years ago, and the ministry became a 501-c3 nonprofit on Jan. 1, 2014. After years of operating the ministry from her home, the organization will be moving to its first storefront Jan. 2, at 106 E. Reynolds St. in Historic Downtown.
The ministry will operate the first floor of the building as Libreria Cristiana de Jesus, which translates to Jesus Christian Bookstore. The second floor will operate as the ministry’s office.
As a nonprofit, all of the ministry’s proceeds go back to the community, particularly to helping the homeless. The bookstore will be used as a way to raise funds, as much of the ministry’s activities and benefits, such as the gifts for the needy’s Christmas dinner, were paid for out of pocket.
The bookstore came as a blessing to Rodriguez and the rest of the ministry. While searching for Spanish Bible study material, Rodriguez came across previous bookstore owner Wilson Zarzuela. After explaining her ministry and her need for Spanish study materials, Rodriguez asked Zarzuela if he had a few books he could donate to their ministry. Zarzuela took down Rodriguez’s name and number.
A month passed, and Rodriguez still hadn’t heard anything. Then Zarzuela called her and told her that he had decided to donate his entire bookstore to her ministry to run. The donations included the store’s entire inventory, including books, Bibles, bookshelves and cashier machines.
“We went over there, and we packed everything up,” Rodriguez said. “It was hard for him to give it away.”
Rodriguez said that Zarzuela told her that it was God who told him to give away his bookstore.
“God told him to do it so we have to be obedient,” Rodriguez said. “Being obedient is hard.”
Now, with the expected grand opening of the bookstore in January, Rodriguez hopes that the new store will bring her closer to her ultimate goal: opening a shelter for the homeless in Plant City.
Rodriguez has volunteered with Pinellas Safe Harbor, a program that helps the homeless. If patrons have drug or alcohol addictions, the organization helps them get clean and obtain a copy of their birth certificate, a job and an apartment. The program has inspired Rodriguez to bring something similar to the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.
“I would love to bring the same program here to Plant City,” she said. “What we do is not from us. It comes from God.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
Christmas Meal for those in need
When: 12 p.m. Friday, Dec. 25, Christmas Day
Where: Winter Visitor Center, 301 N. Dort St.
Cost: Free
ABOUT THE MINISTRY
Ministerio Voces Angelicales
Where: 106 E. Rey-nolds St., Plant City
Call: (813) 707-1111
Email: ministeriovocesangelicales@live.com