OUT OF RETIREMENT

This past week we had to call our 99 GMC van out of retirement for a trip to Navojoa for a wedding. Although the GMC is our main use vehicle here in Magdalena we retired her from long trips as she has become less than dependable on long efforts. True to form we had gone less than an hour when she began to complain. Thankfully she endured to the end and took us there and brought us back although at one point we were traveling at the break neck speed of 35 MPH!

We traveled the eight hours down and eight back with two of the families of our work. What a tremendous blessing it was to be able to travel with them and enjoy the few days of fellowship. This is the first for both families to see and experience other churches of like precious faith. We gave them a self guided tour of our former labor in Navojoa, they saw their first christian wedding and enjoyed being part of the christian reception that followed. Now they too want to have their own christian wedding!

We had fourteen in our twelve passenger van on the way down but if we thought we were full going we were sardines returning! We added a washing machine, two sacks of 120 pounds of potatoes and all of the brides presents and suitcases. Space was at a premium!
We also took them out on Friday to an excursion to the colonial town of Alamos. They have added stairs to their lookout point since our last visit some four or five years ago. 474 to be exact. We drove everyone to the top but the youth wanted to go down the stairs and back up. Not to be left out (actually to keep an eye on the younguns) I exercise my legs and lungs. Maybe I need to be retired like the GMC from such strenuous efforts!

EXCITEMENT IS BUILDING!

I write a weekly update for our home church which our son Ezra reads before the church during their mid-week service each Thursday. To do so I keep a diary here and although the reports are a little long - they are actually condensed versions of what I keep here. I attempt to be completely honest in my perspective of the work and be neither all flowery nor alarmist.

Still, almost each contain the comment for our services "Great Services". That is the simple truth. I strive to be an optimist but must admit to leaning pessimistically. I say that to say that I am not just saying that we have great services to bolster some idea but it is the simple truth. Yes, I have been in services that were not great but after all these years in church planting the majority of any not so great a service that I have been in were in dying churches not in churches being born. I have been blessed.

So, we have great services! Our people come excited, listen attentively and hang around after services. God has allowed us to rent a building that has some elbow room and the kids and the men love to play indoor soccer after the service. This keeps everyone inside where the only safety concern is from a soccer standpoint. The ladies fellowship and the older men (that now includes me) watch and talk. It is not uncommon to have one of our closer families ask to ride the whole route so that they can be dropped off last and enjoy the fellowship just a little longer. Yes, excitement is building!

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Anna loves avocados. This was her expression when opening this one. Mostly seed and very little flesh. I bought three for her that day

Sowing, Sowing, Sowing

Someday when all the world is won to Christ and every Christian is right with God, I want to be a farmer. Okay, so my current calling is quite secure but I love the farm. The reality is that I am a farmer. It is my seed that differs from most farmers. I am a sower of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God.

Look at the seed I have stored in my barn to sow! Isn't it beautiful? Our home church has designed these John and Romans for my specific field. Wow, I just think this seed is so neat! We received our shipment in mid November and have been busy sowing in fields that we have been preparing for seed. My pastor has assured me that more seed can be sent as soon as I run out of what I have so I have been busy sowing, sowing, sowing. My confidence is in the seed and the omnipotence of God to send the rain and Son that is needed for it to grow. There will come a harvest - after all that is the hope of every farmer. That and we just love the farm.

By the way, take a look at just a sample of the crop that this precious seed produces! Isn't that just the prettiest thing you have ever seen? Man - I love this life!

Our Seed



                   

A New Crop Starting to Sprout!

A Former Crop Maturing!

 

 

Work For The Night Is Coming

One of our supporting churches asked us recently to send some sunset pictures of our area here in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico. The sun sets opposite of any good location to get a sunset picture over our town but I was able to take a few that give an interesting contrast. The Mexico soul enters a Christ-less eternity in the shadow of many "church" steeples.

Religion is still a hopeless choice. Salvation is in a personal relationship with the Person of Jesus Christ.

We also took a few new family pictures as the one we have been using is over a year old. Go figure - I have aged! The contrast is worse because it seems that my family is still ever so young.

Special Days-Part Two

The second part of our special days on October 8th and 9th when we had the Ortiz Family with us was our first baptismal service and pot luck. We began the day with our normal service here in Magdalena and after the service immediately made our way out to San Ignacio to combine the two works for a pot-luck meal, the baptismal service and a evening service.

We had seven new believers lined up to be baptized that day. As it ended up only two, Angel and Janet, followed through and we added one, Jael, who came forward during the actual service also wanting to be baptized. I took Jael aside to question him concerning his salvation and then asked Brother Ortiz to double check for any translation issues. Jael was sure of his salvation and just as sure in his question: "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?"

Jael's mother was one of the original seven to be baptized and agreed with his desire to be baptized. They come from a very Catholic family and when they returned home and told the family Jael's grandmother's question was, "So what is your name now?"

God blessed the day. It was good to have the Ortiz Family with us and good to see God at work in these first steps of the establishing of the Iglesia Bautista de Magdalena.

Special Days

October 8th and 9th were the dates of two special days for the work here in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico.

Since the very first day here with the work we have emphasized and actively supported other missionary works. In August I led the work to make a decision of faith to commit to the support of one specific missionary on a monthly basis. Their decision was to support the Ortiz Family and their ministry in Miquel Aleman, Sonora, Mexico.
With this decision made I invited the Ortiz Family to come for the weekend for our families to get to know them personally better both to encourage our people to be faithful in their support of the Ortiz family financially and prayerfully. To this end we had two special days planned with the Ortiz Family.

This group of pictures is of our Saturday Fellowship here at our house. Some of our ladies came by earlier in the afternoon to help Peggy prepare the meal and then all those who were able to come came by that evening to enjoy the food and fellowship. Although some were missing we had a full house and a wonderful time.



"And Of Some Have Compassion, Making A Difference"

Thinking of compassion, there is another verse that comes to mind, "For God so loved the world .." I am so glad that God had compassion on me. How could I not or why would I not extend that compassion on to others.

This past Wednesday one of our ladies came to church with a very heavy heart. She has been really growing in the Lord and Satan had been doing his best to destroy her growth. "And of some have compassion, making a difference." What a blessing to have the fellowship of believer's to help encourage and help each other grow in the Lord. I thank God for the people He has given me to love and that they in turn love their "pastor" and his family.

We appreciate your continued prayer for us as God opens new doors each day to reach others with the love of Christ.

Growing Pains

God continues to bless the ministry through blessing the individuals in it. It is exciting to see these new Christians grow and there is evidence of their growth every service. With growth though come persecution - "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" 2 Timothy 3:12


Two of our families are really going through persecution from family for having professed Christ as Saviour and making their commitment to follow Him. I don't like to see it and my heart goes out for the adults and more so for their children but I also know that God will use this to grow strong Christians here in the work. We have been studying such topics as "How do we know that God really does exist?" and "How do we know that we are right?".


As you can see from the pictures in this update we also do all that we can to encourage each other in fellowships and in partaking in the work of the ministry. Our temperatures have yet to break here so it is our plan next week to take advantage of the heat and have a Banana Split Sunday! Come on down and join us.



Go Out & Bring Them In-Part One

Monday a week ago I was out with Brother Juan and the lower ball joint on the old GMC gave way. With 227,000 miles and the last six spent in Mexico I cannot fault the GMC. We were able to chain the A-arm up and cripple her home. I wish I had had my camera with me - the poor girl just looked so forlorn with that front wheel hanging like a broken wing and of course it broke down in no man's land.

Anyway the Toyota got called up for service for the next Wednesday and Sunday as the van waited for parts and time to put it back together.

On that Thursday we took a trip over to Nueva Casa Grandes, Chihuahua to preach for a mission's conference. Being over there is very risky and travel through the mountains between here and there even a greater risk, but God blessed with safety while we were there and for the travel there and back. The Mexican pastor began that work twenty years ago and that was his last week. He is now a missionary to the U.S.A. and had his first service in Demning, New Mexico on Wednesday. He and his family have gone with very little support - maybe $400 a month! The church he left in Nueva Casa Grandes has a new pastor and this year their faith promise was $130,000 pesos (about U.S. $ 11,000) for the year! He has left his heart and dedication to reach the world with his people.



Our work here has also committed to take on our first missionary family. Alfredo Ortiz and his family work in a town west of Hermosillo. Our people have committed to support them for Mx. $1,000 each month. An impossible challenge if faith is not factored into the equation. With God we will.

The Broken GMC

The Tacoma Bus Route

Arriving at church

The Ortiz Family + One







Go Out & Bring Them In-Part Two



Preaching in Nueva Casa Grandes, Chihuahua



Church service at Inglesia Bautista "El Redentor"





The Chihuahua excursion

 


The Chihuahua excursion #2





Rare, Gringo Chihuahua Monkeys!

  

 

Anna on foot bridge with friends





Entertaining Angle(s):

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" Hebrews 13:2

As a missionary if you did not entertain strangers you would not be very effective in your calling! Afterall, everyone is a stranger at first.


Those who know me also know that I am not of the youth pastor cut. All the way back to my high school days I have been know as being too old for my own years. I love kids and I love young people - its playing their games that has never been my forte. Not much of one to "horse" around. Work and serious stuff is more down my alley.

But if you cannot become all things to all ages then as a missionary, again you cannot be very effective in your calling. So, in that spirit I try. I admit it takes a lot and it takes it out of me but I do enjoy seeing the fruit in lives.

Enter Angel(s). Angel is the young man in the light blue shirt, big green glasses, in the first photo. The other angels have different names: Juesus, German, Jael, Irvingh, Evone, Sophia and of course Abigail and Anna. We call them messengers. They are the generation that are now being trained to know God, to know Christ and to carry the precious gospel of salvation on to the next generation here in Magdalena.