La Canasta De Vida Restaurant - Fulfilling God's Purpose

Our object in restaurant work should be the conversion of souls. If we fulfill the purpose of God in this work, the righteousness of Christ must go before us and the glory of the Lord must be our rearward.

But, if there is no ingathering of souls, if the helpers themselves are not spiritually benefitted, if they are not glorifying God in word and deed, why should we open and maintain such establishments?

If we cannot conduct our restaurants to God’s glory, if we cannot exert through them a strong religious influence, it would be better for us to close them up… But, I believe that our restaurants can be so conducted that they will be the means of saving souls.

4MR 287.2

For more than nine years, La Canasta de Vida Restaurant has been a bright and shining light in the town of Santa Barbara. Most of those who pass through these doors come here because they are seeking physical, mental and spiritual help, and we are thankful to be able to offer that help.

Meeting Olga…

Recently, a special lady by the name of Olga came by the restaurant to say how much she loved us and thanked God for the healing He gave her through this restaurant and the use of natural remedies. She said, “I just wanted to say thank you again, and to tell you that I will never forget what you all did for me!”

As we hugged, I recalled the day her daughter, Laura, came to the restaurant. I happened to be at the register that day when she asked about foods for diabetics. I asked if she had diabetes. She answered that it was her mother and her eyes filled with tears.

She said that her mother was very, very sick, and she didn’t know what to do or what to give her. She had taken her to a specialist, but her mom was getting worse and worse. She said, “I’ve heard that you do juice therapies and other natural treatments. Could you do that for my mother?”

I asked her a few questions and found out that her mother was taking three insulin injections a day, and that she could not get out of the bed alone. She was also losing sight in one eye, etc… It sounded like more than we could handle, but she looked at me with pleading and hopeful expectation, and I could not refuse.

I told her that I would have to see her mother, and she immediately got excited and said, “I will come pick you up immediately after I get off work.” And she did!

Meeting Olga’s Mother…

We arrived at her home, and went to her mother’s room. I never expected to see what I encountered. I found a woman la-canasta-vida-2 much younger then myself laying in bed in a listless state. Her daughter walked in, happily expressing how God had sent an angel and the help she needed and that God was going to use me to heal her.

I stood at the side of the bed praying to the Lord, and telling Him, that He had to be the one to deal with this case. All the lady could do was moan to all that the daughter was enthusiastically telling her. She proceeded to bring me the bag of medications her mother was taking; I could not believe it!

How could doctors prescribe more then twenty different pills to a lady who hardly ate? I felt what is termed “righteous indignation”. I said, “Lord, you have to do something. How can these doctors be prescribing all these pills to someone who hardly eats? All she has running through her system is numerous poisonous chemicals!”

I sat on the side of the bed and lifted Olga up to a sitting position. I introduced myself as I gently massaged her back. She moaned as I shared with her what the treatment would involve and that it was important to do it with much prayer and faith.

Her daughter asked if she was willing to try and she nodded yes. They both had tears in their eyes, for they believed that God had sent me. I was praying the entire time, because I knew it had to be God who had to do the healing.

I consulted with a conventional doctor, who is also a friend of mine. We discussed which medications could be eliminated immediately and which medications we could wean her off of in time; the ultimate goal being, that of eliminating all chemical medications.

And this was what God did…

la-canasta-vida-3 The next day, Laura happily came by the restaurant to pick up the juices for her mother, and we started Olga’s treatments with much prayer and faith; this was on a Thursday. On Sunday, I decided to go and check on Olga to see how she was doing.

When I got to the house, there were a lot of family members sitting on the porch. I quickly greeted them and proceeded to go inside the house to the room where I had left a listless Olga, but as I was about to open the door, I heard a voice from the end of the porch saying, “Dona Elsa, I’m out here.”

I looked, and I could not believe it. There was Olga sitting outside, smiling. I asked if she was feeling better and with a big smile she said, “Yes, a hundred percent better!” Different family members chorused in, saying that it was a miracle, because they thought they were going to lose her.

I, too, knew that it was a miracle of God. She continued her juicing and raw foods regime. And friends… In less than a month, her daughter came running into the restaurant and with tears of joy exclaimed, “My mother just came back from the specialist and she is no longer a diabetic! Praise God! He does perform miracles through His natural remedies.”

Recently, a group of ladies visited the restaurant hoping to enjoy a vegan lunchtime special. Wilson told them what la-canasta-vida-4 the special of the day was, and as always, while serving them he shares with them thoughts from the word of God. Wilson has a keen sense of those who show interest in wanting to hear more about God’s word.

While these ladies ate their delicious lunch, Wilson continued to share and was impressed to extend an invitation to visit the La Zona house of prayer. To my surprise, the following Sabbath morning, Wilson informed me that he needed to go into town to pick up two of the ladies who had called him and said they were coming to church.

la-canasta-vida-5 Not long after, these ladies were enjoying Sabbath School, church service, and a wonderful fellowship lunch at the outpost. These ladies are Evangelical, but they were very impressed with the Sabbath School and the message they heard.

While sitting on the porch awaiting lunch, we were able to share with them more in depth about health, and the soon coming of Christ. They were thoroughly impressed by all that they saw and experienced and expressed a desire to come back and also attend the upcoming evangelistic meetings held at Reach International in the town of Santa Barbara.