We Have Done The Baja 1000!

 The Baja 1000 is a desert race from the tip of Baja California del Norte (Tijuana) through the desert all the way down to the southern tip of Baja California del Sur (Cabo San Lucas).  Some 1,000 miles of desert track.

Well we were not in the race and we did most of our travel on the very skinny two lane roads rather than the dirt tracks but we did go all the way from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas pulling a trailer loaded with some 69,000 pieces of Gospel literature.  All told from here in Magdalena we covered approximately 3,000 miles in ten days.

Most of the pastors and church works we met along our journey were starving for fellowship and most did not have any scripture literature to give out!  What a blessing to be involved in a very small way in such a great need!  God gave us safety in some unbelievable driving circumstances and it was a great joy to enjoy the trip by invitation of Gary and Tammy Schwer and Pastor and Sister Ed Bragg.  When can we go again?

 Picking up a load of scriptures from Broken Arrow 

Baptist Church in Oklahoma 

 Transferring the load in Magdalena

 

 Delivering some scriptures in La Paz, Baja California de Sur 

  

 Enjoying Mexico Highway 5 

More enjoyment on Highway 5 

The Blessing of Hosting a Group

This past week we were blessed to host a group from our home church:  Cozaddale Baptist Temple.  There were fourteen in all which worked out great in that by the time you add our family of three we had just enough seats between our two vehicles to have a legal seat for everyone.  Mind you that once in Mexico such considerations are not as relative.  (We once put thirty-five in our twelve passenger van.)  But between Tucson airport and the border such requirements do matter.

The groups arrival coincided with the celebration of "Kino Days" here in Magdalena which is a Catholic celebration that lasts for a couple of weeks.  During those weeks we will have up to one hundred thousand outside visitors pass through our town and it is a good opportunity for missionary work allowing us to reach many that God sends to us.  As such we armed our visitors with a few clear directions of safety, a few words of Spanish and a couple of armfuls of gospel tracts and John/Romans and sent them forth to sow.

During the week we also introduced them to our "normal" work of soul winning from house to house and in the marketplace.  Some were introduced to the getting down and dirty work of serving (never mind those two dozen scurrying mice), while all pitched in to help ready our building for a big Sunday.  

We had a great week!  Now as to why most of the pictures I am sharing are around the table.  Well yes, we did eat twice a day and we gave the group the grand tour of options but the real reason that most of the pictures are from meals is that mealtime was the only time I was not too busy to snap a picture.  It was a full week.  It was a blessed week!

Travels Down Under!!

Five years ago you may remember that we were blessed to be invited to Australia to preach a mission's conference for Emmanuel Independent Baptist Church in Canberra, ACT.  That was a tremendous blessing and in reality an answer to a desire and prayer that God had put in my heart.  But as much as being able to go for that conference five years ago was a great blessing, the far greater blessing was that Emmanuel Independent Baptist Church became a very active and faithful supporting church.

Since returning from that first visit, God renewed that desire in my heart to be able to return and consequently I have made that a point of prayer.  It was with great joy then that through Emmanuel Independent Baptist Church I was invited back for their 2018 mission's conference.  They kindly purchased Peggy's and my tickets and our home church very graciously purchased Anna's!

God also kindly opened up opportunities to be with most of the other Australian churches that I had begun to pray for daily.  Peggy, Anna and I ended up being able to extend our travel to include New Zealand, the Brisbane area, the Perth area, the island of Tasmania as well as Sydney.  

It would be our desire in this update to give God the glory and honor due His name for the answer to our prayer both in the opportunity granted, the provision provided, as well as the wonderful reception given to us and the preaching of the Word of God.

We are now back in Magdalena enjoying the good hand of our God upon us.  Please continue to pray for:   A PEOPLE, A PLACE & A PASTOR

 On our way

Emmanuel Independent Baptist Church

 New Zealand

 

Making a new acquaintance

Sharing a moment with a friend

A TRAVELER and TRAVELS:

It was our joy to have a visitor all the way from Australia come and see us!  How we know James is a rather long story going back to our time in New Zealand some twenty-eight years ago.  The short version is that James' dad is a pastor of a supporting church in Australia and James was on a vacation in the U.S. and went out of his way to come see us.  I did not know that I was in such need of encouragement, but James' short visit with us left us greatly encouraged!  Thank you James.

Peggy, Anna and I also made a rather long trip ourselves this past month due to an unexpected death in the family and my dad's request for help.  My dad's brother was involved in a fatal car accident that took the life of his wife.  We heard on a Sunday and by Tuesday afternoon were in the car on our way to Ohio to pick up my dad on Friday to drive to Iowa to make the viewing on Sunday afternoon and the funeral on Monday.

Anna and I were able to get Dad (age 97)  to Iowa to be with his brother, attend the funeral and return him safely back home.  While in Iowa we were also able to visit my dad's home town.  

Isn't that about the prettiest picture you have ever seen?  The one with Anna in the snow at the Shell Rock River - like you needed me to explain which picture!

Sadly the church that sent out my Dad to Africa back in the late 1940's has closed it's doors.  As a second generation missionary church planter - that really breaks my heart!

Well, some 7,000 miles later here we are back in Mexico.  But that trip was just a practice run compared to the one we leave for on Monday!  But that will be for our next update.

Thank you for praying.

First Baptist Church, Shell Rock, Iowa 

 

Anna at Shell Rock River, Shell Rock, Iowa 

Brothers: Ward and Jim Harris

 

Sunday Fellowship with James 

 Our Sunday with James 

Closing out 2017

A quick note and a few pictures to bring you up to date.

Every year our town celebrates Kino Days in October.  Every year we see it as an opportunity to get thousands of pieces of literature out and into the hands and hopefully hearts of people.  People come to Magdalena from all parts of Mexico as well as from the southwest of the United States to celebrate the superstition that is Kino Days and enjoy the vices that Mgdalena is infamous for.  I teach our people that God gives us this opportunity to be missionaries to areas we may never be able to go to because God brings these people to us!

Samuel and Yolanda also invited me to witness their vows of marriage.  This is a couple with a whole lot of potential which has evidently also caught the Devil's attention as he is doing his best to distance them from being where they need to be – in church. 

Vicinte is a special encouragement.  He is 78 years old in the flesh but only a few months old in the Lord.  After a life of vainly searching in religion, he was found of God.  He knows it and he rejoices in it!  He is perhaps the most physically limited in our work yet he has become the most faithful.

Just look at this great up and coming crop of new men to serve the LORD.  What a great pleasure to have an instrumental part in training another generation from an early age!

Thank you for praying.

A New Crop of Sunday School Boys 

 Vicente's Baptism 

 Samuel & Yolanda's wedding 

 Kino Days Witnessing 

 Kino Days Witnessing 

A Beautiful Wedding

In September we were able to be back in Ohio for our home church's Mission's Conference which although planned some three years ago coincided with our daughter Abigail's more recent wedding plans.

Peggy was able to fly back to be in town earlier to be part of all of the final plans while Anna and I enjoyed a father and daughter road trip.  Abigail had asked "Dad" to build special trellis for her wedding which was part of the need to drive separately.

Anyway, Anna and I had a good trip back while Peggy enjoyed being able to be with Abigail to finish off the final details.

The wedding was a great success.  Abigail's desire was to have an outdoor wedding and God blessed with gorgeous weather.  The setting was perfect and the bride was beautiful!  Pastor Burke excelled in explaining the Godly purpose of marriage and bride and groom were happily wedded.

We are grateful that God has put James into our daughter's life and wish all the best to James and Abigail as they start their new life together.

"Then They That Gladly Received His Word"

We were blessed to have the five shown in the pictures below follow their Lord in believer's baptism on September 3rd.  For each one it was a decided step of faith in their own life.  

For Leonicio and Marta (especially Marta) it was a step of faith in getting past a bad "religious" experience with a charismatic cult.  She had a great distrust of organized religion and of pastors.

For Raul and Roberto it was a step of faith in front of a life time of wrong friends and bad living.  A personal testimony that God had made a difference in their life, that they were indeed new creatures.

For Marta not only was she taking a stand against her Catholic raising and the strong pressure continually put on her by her home but she had a very real fear of water.  She was the smallest one to be baptized that day and most definitely not the easiest.

We are grateful to God for His work in theses five lives and appreciate your prayers with us for their continued walk.  It is no surprise that our enemy has already sent his attacks.  God is able!

Leonicio & Marta 

Raul 

Roberto

Marta

 "They that gladly received His Word"

YOUTH CAMP 2017

Anna has just completed her second youth camp this summer. Her first week was with our home church in Ohio and this last week with our work here in Mexico. The two camps are about as different as two youth camps could possibly be and still be called by the same name!

Our home church puts on the youth camp back in Ohio and God has put it on our pastor's heart to invite and pay for Anna's travel back to Ohio to maintain a connection with her home church. I fully concur with his desire and thank God for his generosity.

The youth camp here is a combined effort of Independent Baptist Churches in the state of Sonora. Although we do not have any big responsibilities in it we are blessed to participate and enjoy the fact that the camp facilities that are rented are literally right down the road from our house. We get to sleep in our own bed and come home every night! Anna is a keen youth camp camper though and stays at camp and participates in every part. She wouldn't dare miss a minute.

CAMP as a Controlled Atmosphere for the Ministry of Preaching is a real help to our young people.

Youth Camp 2017

 Our three campers 

 Playing in the rain 

  Careful ball "handling" 

 Youth camp service 

DRIVING, DISCIPLESHIP & DINING:

Anna is taking driving lessons!  Sarah, Simon, Ezra and Abigail all had the liberty of open spaces and a four wheeler or a riding lawn mower to learn the basics long before actually taking the wheel of a proper vehicle.  They learned well and they have all done well.

For Anna it has been a bit different.  Our town life has not given her that opportunity.  So we have taken to the arroyo (dry river bed or wash).  She has been learning to drive in my 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser.  Her experience will no doubt be the envy of all her siblings and she will learn to drive a proper vehicle with a stick shift!

Recently a church in Arizona donated to the work some round banquet type tables.  What a blessing!  What a difference it makes compared to the rectangle tables as far as fellowship is concerned.  Our people love the round tables and we keep a couple set up so that they can be used before and after services.  With a cup of coffee and a bowl of peanuts we share in many impromptu discipleship classes after our normal service.

For this past Mother's Day Peggy took our ladies out to eat rather than plan a meal or activity at church.  Not all of our mother's were able to participate but those that did had a great time.  Dining out was a treat that few of our ladies very rarely get to experience and a first time experience for some.  With the husband and children out of sight and out of shouting range I hope that they were able to relax and just enjoy some personal time.

Thanks for making our ministry here in Mexico possible through your thoughtful care and prayer.

 Driving lessons for Anna 

 Anna at the wheel 

 Youth Song Special 

 Round table discipleship 

 Mother's Day Outing

Good Activities & Great Attitudes

The pictures included with this post tell of more good activities and great attitudes!  We thank God for both.




Maria Magdalena and her three boys have been attending for about a year now.  They are not consistent as she is limited by circumstances in the home but we continue to pray and trust God to open her heart as well and the heart of her husband and their boys.  




We were also recently blessed to have Missionary Samuel and Maribell Mendoza with us for a Sunday which "automatically" necessitated a fellowship.  Samuel started a new work in Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) which his brother has taken as pastor and Samuel is now in a helps ministry.  Our people enjoyed getting to meet and know them.  My hope is to introduce our people to as many other Mexican pastors and missionaries as God will put in our path.




Of course we also had the opportunity to celebrate the Mexican holiday, "Children's Day".  Having been here now for a good number of years we have we have had the opportunity to see our first set of children become teenagers but thankfully we have a new group of children to raise in the work for the Lord!




Thank you for praying.

 Maria Magdalena and her boys

 Missionary Samuel & Maribel Mendoza

 A group of our younger ones 

 A turn at the pinata 

 Fellowshiping with the missionaries