VILLAGE IMPACTED BY MEDICAL CARAVAN

Deep in the mountains of the Huasteca Hidalguense lies the village of Santa Teresa. It is a villa ge that is as poor as it is remote. In that remote village not only are there hundreds of lost souls but also a BMA mission. This small mission would be the place for our BMMI medical-evangelistic campaign. Weeks before our arrival the county had granted us permission to come. Two nights before the brethren from the mission and I went to the village leader to get his permission. The county authorization meant nothing without the village leaders acquiescence. We met with about 150 village men at 10:00 PM to discuss the details of our visit. All those men together were a little intimidating but all had gone well.

 We arrived to find that the county had provided us with tables, chairs and a police detail. The village people lined up to get their turn to get a consultation. The medical team begin to check the patients finding a variety of diagnosis, arthritis, bronchitis, chronic pulmonary disease and gastritis. The evangelistic team found only one diagnosis … lost. 

We worked in Santa Teresa for three days and gave more than 700 consults bringing health to the sick, relief to the hurting, and comfort to the distraught. Each of these people heard a gospel presentation, bringing hope to the hopeless. More than 170 received Christ as savior. I thank the Lord for faithful men and women who will sacrifice time and money to save the lost souls of Mexico.

50 SAVED IN COSTA RICA EE CLINIC

On February 15 Eric and I traveled to San Jose, Costa Rica to support Dr. Ricky Williams in the training of local pastors in Evangelism Explosion witnessing. This EE Clinic is done through the BMA Theological Seminary so Dr. Charley Holms, Seminary President, and Dr Phillip Attebery, Seminary Dean. What a privilege to work with these men.

We began our trip with an 8 hour bus ride to Mexico City where we spent the night at the airport waiting till 4:00 AM to check in for the flight to Costa Rica. Once there we met with the professors as well as Will Rodriguez the Vice-President of EE International in Latin America.

We immediately began class with the 14 Costa Rican pastors along with at least two On The Job (OJT) outings per day. OJT is the key for success in evangelism. We will go to the streets in groups of three (one trainer and two students) to practice street evangelism. The trainees learn to approach strangers and share the Gospel with them.

In four days we led more than 50 people to receive Christ. Our Costa Rican Brethren will continue to train others.

NEW CHURCH IN MONTERREY

Last Saturday 120 members of First Baptist Huejutla boarded two busses and along with sound equipment, sack lunches, bibles, coats and enough Dramamine to sail to China. They were the delegation being sent to Monterrey as the delegates to organize our mission here into a church. This is an endeavor that had began many years ago in in 1988 when Northside Baptist Church sent Pastor Sixto Herrera and his new bride to Monterrey to begin a work. In 1998 because of changes in Mexican law Northside asked First Baptist Huejutla to “adopt” the Monterrey mission project.

Finally, a delegation of members, including our choir, was traveling ten hours by bus, to Monterrey, prepared to hold the organization services. The service was great! God blessed each of our hearts as we were privileged to participate in a new Church being organized. It is wonderful to be a witness to God’s sovereign will working through different churches, in time, to execute His promise, the perpetuation of His church. What a privilege to be a part of God’s plan!

BROTHERHOOD FELLOWSHIP

Once a year our National Mexican Brotherhood gathers to spend time in worship and Bible study. This usually implies a considerable effort by our laymen as they seek for the lord to lead us collectively as a National Association. This year it was in Chiapas, just a few miles from the Mexico Guatemala boarder. That is a very long way for most of us to travel. I was honored once again to be one of the speakers. I was asked to speak about community penetration, the influence that men can have on their communities through social organizations, their own occupations and volunteer service. I spoke of the importance of going to where the people live and take our Christian influence with them. The ability we have to take the witness of our church to our community.

 

It is always a blessing to spend time with our brethren better preparing for our Savior’s work. We trust every effort will translate into souls saved and churches planted.

THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED

There are many things that we take for granted. Some of them are as simple as running water or constant electrical service. In Mexico, especially in the mountains, easy is rare and almost nothing comes easy.

 As our mission work grows the need for places of worship grows as well. Most of the buildings that we have built over the last few years are not completed. We are constantly putting up roofs or installing windows or doors in churches that are in use but not finished. I raise monies for the materials and our brethren provide the labor. Our people are content with what they have, always aware that nothing comes easy.

This day we worked on pouring a floor in the mountain mission of Cochis. The building has been used for worship for some time now even though the floor was only dirt. Being true to form pouring the floor was a difficult task. The church is halfway down a mountain and all the gravel and cement had to be carried down. As I mentioned, inconvenience is expected and accepted. Our brethren know. Years ago the only property the village would let them have for a church was the side of a mountain. So they cut the mountain by hand to have a level place to worship. Carrying 90 lb sacks of concrete and buckets of gravel is simple par for the course.

 The result of our partnered effort both from the BMAA in partnering with offerings and our Aztec brethren with labor is a worthy place to worship. May God be glorified through his people’s faithfulness in his church. His Grace is granted!

Our brethren are elated to worship in a church with no doors, no windows, but a brand new floor!

NATIONAL PASTORS CONFERENCE

Last month we had the privilege of organizing and hosting our first National Pastors Conference in the coastal village of Paso Doña Juana, Veracruz. Pastors from all over our association were invited to the Youth Campground of the state of Veracruz to hear Bro. Buddy Johnson the Director of Hispanic Ministries of the BMAA and Bro. Phil Knott the Operational Director for Latin America.

On the appointed day 29 pastors arrived to study the Dynamic Church Planting International (DCPI)module taught by Bro Buddy and Bro. Phil during this three day retreat. As the Lord blessed and touched hearts we were all refreshed and encouraged by the teachings that God’s plan is unchanged. We are to evangelize the world by churches planting churches. The DCPI teachings will help us continue to do so in a more efficient and organized way. Our Mexican Pastors are grateful to Bro Buddy and Bro Phil for investing their time in our work here in Mexico. May great things come from this time spent together.

QUITE AN ADVENTURE

We have been preparing for the last couple of weeks to travel to a mission point in the village of Embocadero. This village is in the state of Veracruz. To get there we would have to travel to where the road ends and then hike for about an hour down the mountain the back way into Veracruz. There are two families that have accepted Christ in this village and we wanted to encourage them and show an evangelistic film to the village. On the day of the visit we drove to the village of Tecacalax where we left the vehicles. The road was in pretty poor condition and we had to cross several creeks to get there.

 Thunder was rumbling in the distance as we began the hike down the mountain toward Embocadero. We were excited about the prospect of pioneer mission work and reaching people who had never heard the gospel before. The trail we were walking wasn’t really a trail at all but a deep gully that had been cut in the mountain from flooding water. The scenery was beautiful. It is amazing to see the work of our father’s creation.

As we arrived in Embocadero about dark it began to rain. Bummer. The mountain people don’t move around when it is raining. We rested for a few minutes and presented the message anyway in the town center. About 20 people came out and a couple accepted Christ as Savior. After the service we began a 50 minute forced march back up the mountain. We had to get back through the “flash flood gully” before the water began to flow. Our guide set a killer pace to the top. For the next 50 minutes all I could see was the back of his head. After about 20 minutes there was I was only aware of two things, the falling rain and the horrible burning in my legs. The guide simply would not let up on the pace. It did help my ego to see our guide gagging from the exertion when we finally did reach the top.

On the way back there was one other incident that really scared me. We drove across a portion of road that I am sure has slid down the mountain by now. It is true that God protects his children especially the dumb ones.

Pray with us for the village of Embocadero that many will be saved and we will soon plant a church in that village.