Years of Service           20

This year, up until mid-April, we have already seen 37 people saved and we have baptized 3 people. We are excited to see how God is working through the different ministries of the church. I will include baptism pictures in my next letter.

Years ago, when we first arrived in Mexico, the Lord led us to a language school in the state of Aguascalientes. We immediately looked for a church where we could attend and try to get involved. The Lord led us to the Iglesia Bautista la Libertad (Liberty Baptist Church), pastored by Missionary Bill Hart. We did not previously know him, but we learned so much from him in that ministry. We also formed a wonderful friendship with the Hart family that we have maintained for over 20 years now. In March, I had the opportunity to preach at Bro Hart´s family conference. We are thankful for the way that the Lord worked. We got to have a small part in seeing three people come to know Christ. Two of those souls are people that the Harts have faithfully worked with and prayed for through many years. We were very encouraged to see what the Lord can do when His servants remain faithful.

Here in Mexico, Valentines Day is called the “Day of Love and Friendship.” It is not simply a romantic day for couples, but also a day to appreciate friendships. This year we decided to have a banquet to focus on God´s love for us and to build more unity in the church. Bro. Hart came from Aguascalientes (with his wife) to preach to us. Our people know him and love to hear him preach. We were all very encouraged.

In my last letter, I asked you to pray that the Lord would keep the door open for us at the rehab center, that it is now under new ownership and management. The Lord has answered those prayers and more! There has now been a merge of two different centers, which has given us about double the number of people in our services. This year we have already seen over a dozen people saved! We will continue to preach the Gospel, but we are now also teaching a discipleship material to help them grow in the Lord. Our prayer and goal are to see some of these people in our church when they finish the rehab program.

Our missions conference this year was a blessing. We had four different speakers who helped us see the need for missions, starting in our own Jerusalem (Morelia) and reaching all the way to the uttermost parts of the earth. I challenged our people before the conference to give sacrificially so that we could be a special blessing to each missionary. Our people rose to the occasion, which allowed us to give some very generous offerings. I am thankful, as a missionary, that our church is learning to give for the work of missions in other places. I’m praying that we can do more.

Please pray for us as we will be up in the States for some important family events. We have three “kids” graduating from The Crown College. Andrew and his fiancée are finishing their degrees, and Daniel is finishing his Master of Ministry. In early June, Andrew and Megan will be getting married! We will also be visiting my dad and his wife, my mother, and my mother-in-law. In addition to the family activities, we will be attending a couple of conferences and having a several meetings in the areas where we will be for those events. It will be a very busy time, but I pray that it will be refreshing for our family and for the advancement of our ministry.