BRINGING LIFE TO THE KIDS'

La Vina Church Members Cross The Border To Save Souls, Distribute Toys And
Necessities To Mexico's Poor Children

TECATE, Mexico - He used to covertly run heroine, cocaine and marijuana
into the United States across this same border. He carried a bottle of
tequila in his hand, which he took slugs of to help numb his nerves as he
scurried through the hills, ducking behind boulders and scrub, avoiding
border patrol.

But that was more than 20 years ago.

On Wednesday, Pastor Jose Ramon Coronado of Costa Mesa's La Vina Church -
joined by seven volunteers - carried a stash of more than 4,000 stuffed
monkeys, lions and chickens, as well as blankets, sneakers and packets of
cereal, back to Tecate. The group planned to distribute the gifts, along
with colorful brochures providing instructions about where they could find
God, to the city's needy children.

"I poisoned a lot of youth with what I used to bring over," Coronado said
as he gulped down one of 12 tacos at a tiny stand on the city's main drag.
"But now we're bringing life to the kids."

This time, the operation was far from covert: A white truck painted with a
cross and the logo "Jesus Lives, Jesus Vive" - The Jesus Van, as the
volunteers call it - carried the goods. A local radio station, La Tremenda
1600 AM, announced their arrival. The volunteers were even given a police
escort into town - by the same official who Coronado said interrogated him
20 years ago after catching him trafficking drugs.

The journey began with a prayer at the Laguna Beach home of Jennifer Wilde,
who has organized the toy drop with fellow church member Luis Armendariz
for more than five years.

"I used to live a very selfish unholy life," said Wilde, a former Hollywood
producer, actress, model and partyer. "But I realized life on this earth is
basically meaningless. I am much more concerned about peoples' souls."

She said Wednesday's expedition was a missionary effort. While she enjoys
giving toys away, she said it was more important to spread the word of
Jesus through the brochures.

After a 3 1/2-hour drive - which led the three-car caravan through the same
hills Coronado crossed 20 years ago - the seven volunteers crossed the border.

Seconds after entering Mexico, a police car pulled the truck over. The
officers wanted Coronado to give them the toys to distribute themselves,
through their Social Services Department.

"They'll take out all the good toys for their own children," said Mary
Coronado, the pastor's wife.Eventually, the officers relented, and the
caravan headed for the hills.

The first stop was Colonia Luis Donaldo Colosio, a dusty village of
scattered concrete-block and corrugated tin houses. Employees of large
international factories - which frequently set up shop in border towns to
exploit the cheap Mexican labor - inhabit the village.

The homes are as temporary as the materials used to build them. They sprout
up when a new factory moves in and are often washed away by the heavy
January rains.

Hundreds of children, whose clothing, skin and hair were colored by the
gray dust blowing in the air, came running down from their homes in the
hills. Urbina began throwing the stuffed animals from the side of the van -
their brilliant primary colors glaring in the otherwise monochromatic
landscape.

"Look, look!" shouted hundreds of children in Spanish as the truck stopped.
They swarmed around the back of the truck, eagerly pulling each other's
arms, calling for brothers and sisters, and jumping with excitement.

The pastor threw Daniel Isaac Guerrero, 9, a new red sweatshirt. The newest
sweatshirt in the village. He draped it over his shoulders and proudly
walked around the van.

"I love it," he said in Spanish. "It's marvelous."

After an hour of handing out the gifts, one per child, the volunteers moved
to the parking lot of a downtown mall. The radio station announced the van
would be there, and there were clusters of people waiting in line.

The sun had set but the sky was illuminated by this century's brightest
moon. And the neon of a Blockbuster Video. And the Gigante supermarket.

People waiting there for toys wore blue jeans, school uniforms, ski parkas
and colorful sweaters. They put down their grocery bags filled with toilet
paper, Cup O' Noodles and rental videos to gather stuffed animals by the
armful. They sifted through for the biggest and brightest.

"Are these free? What are they for?" asked one woman in Spanish as she
stepped out of her Ford Taurus.

"They're to give to poor people," replied Gaby Urbina, 8, who helped her
mother, Yaneth, distribute the gifts.

The woman walked to the end of the line.

"I would have preferred to have given them all out in the hills," said
Wilde, as she handed out a colorful brochure. "But we are blessing the
kids. You keep learning every year."