August / September 2013

Dear Friends and Family in Christ,

    Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for us and for your support for the ministry in Mexico.  We know that your prayers and support are a vital part of  our ministry.  The Lord has been faithful to supply our needs and shower us with many blessings, which we certainly don’t deserve.  We have been blessed to see several souls make professions of faith and the altars full in recent services.

Update on Fractured Hip:  Until just a few weeks ago it seemed like I was making good progress towards a full recovery.  My doctor had given me permission to start training again and I had worked up to 12.5 miles on my bike and 6 miles walking/jogging.  Since I’ve never had a broken hip before I wasn’t sure what I should feel. My doctor recommended that I go for a MRI since I still had a considerable amount of pain.  The results showed that the fracture was not healing and I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon.  This Dr. thinks I could possibly have avascular necrosis where the bone is dying.  I have been told for the next 90 days to not exercise (except for swimming), avoid stairs and to use a cane when I walk, to see if the fracture will start to heal.  If not, I am looking at a hip replacement eventually.  I know that the Lord is in control of everything and I trust in His will.  Pray that my body will heal, and that the Lord will give me the wisdom to follow the doctor’s orders and recover.

Ministry Updates:

Iglesia Bautista “Castillo Mio” – Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua – We have been able to participate with this church and pastor Hugo Luna several times over the past few months.  They continue struggling a little bit since our departure, but I believe they will soon be back up to speed.  They have been averaging around 50 on Sunday services and recently had 50 children attend the special Saturday program.  Pray that the people will be faithful to the Lord and reach new souls for Him.  They are planning a VBS for early August.

In early May, Gerardo Angel became the 7^th student to graduate from the Bible institute from this church.  He is still young in age, but has a good grasp on spiritual things.  Please pray for the Lord to guide him to his future ministry.

Iglesia Bautista “Esperanza Mia” – Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua – We recently attended the first anniversary of this new church, what an exciting time it was!  There were well over 100 in attendance and several baptisms on this day of victory!  Missionary Marshal Dies and Pastor Alberto DeAnda along with their families have done a great job establishing this church.  I consider this church our first “Grandchild” in the ministry since it was a mission off a church we helped establish.  What a blessing grandchildren are! Praise the Lord!

Iglesia Bautista “La Gracia” – Bermejillo, Durango – I have been invited to preach the 8^th anniversary service for this church on July 21^st and Lord willing we’ll be able to be there to help celebrate this exciting day.  Pastor Lorenzo Ballenas has done a good job leading the church in evangelism and discipleship since taking over from Brother Angel.  Please pray that the Lord will supply their needs as they continue reaching their “Jerusalem”

Brother Angel Luna – Bermejillo, Durango – Please continue to pray for Bro. Angel’s health, he still cannot stand or walk, but has seen some progress in his recovery.  He is heading up the mission in a ranch where he lives and preaches and helps lead the services from his wheelchair.  Pray that he would soon be able to stand and walk on his own.

Looking for that Blessed Hope and Glorious Appearing!  

 May /June / July 2013

Dear Friends and Family in Christ,

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for us and for your support for the ministry in Mexico.  We know that your prayers and support are a vital part of  our ministry.  The Lord has been faithful to supply our needs and shower us with many blessings, which we certainly don’t deserve.  We have been blessed to see several souls make professions of faith and the altars full in recent services.

 Update on Fractured Hip:  Until just a few weeks ago it seemed like I was making good progress towards a full recovery.  My doctor had given me permission to start training again and I had worked up to 12.5 miles on my bike and 6 miles walking /jogging.  Since I’ve never had a broken hip before I wasn’t sure what I should feel. My doctor recommended that I go for a MRI since I still had a considerable amount of pain.  The results showed that the fracture was not healing and I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon.  This Dr. thinks I could possibly have avascular necrosis where the bone is dying.  I have been told for the next 90 days to not exercise (except for swimming), avoid stairs and to use a cane when I walk, to see if the fracture will start to heal.  If not, I am looking at a hip replacement eventually.  I know that the Lord is in control of everything and I trust in His will.  Pray that my body will heal, and that the Lord will give me the wisdom to follow the doctor’s orders and recover.

Ministry Updates:

Iglesia Bautista “Castillo Mio” – Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua – We have been able to participate with this church and pastor Hugo Luna several times over the past few months.  They continue struggling a little bit since our departure, but I believe they will soon be back up to speed.  They have been averaging around 50 on Sunday services and recently had 50 children attend the special Saturday program.  Pray that the people will be faithful to the Lord and reach new souls for Him.  They are planning a VBS for early August.

In early May Gerardo Angel became the 7^th student to graduate from the Bible institute from this church.  He is still young in age, but has a good grasp on spiritual things.  Please pray for the Lord to guide him to his future ministry.

Iglesia Bautista “Esperanza Mia” – Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua – We recently attended the first anniversary of this new church, what an exciting time it was!  There were well over 100 in attendance and several baptisms on this day of victory!  Missionary Marshal Dies and Pastor Alberto DeAnda along with their families have done a great job establishing this church.  I consider this church our first “Grandchild” in the ministry since it was a mission off a church we helped establish.  What a blessing grandchildren are! Praise the Lord!

Iglesia Bautista “La Gracia” – Bermejillo, Durango – I have been invited to preach the 8^th anniversary service for this church on July 21^st and Lord willing we’ll be able to be there to help celebrate this exciting day.  Pastor Lorenzo Ballenas has done a good job leading the church in evangelism and discipleship since taking over from Brother Angel.  Please pray that the Lord will supply their needs as they continue reaching their “Jerusalem”

Brother Angel Luna – Bermejillo, Durango – Please continue to pray for Bro. Angel’s health, he still cannot stand or walk, but has seen some progress in his recovery.  He is heading up the mission in a ranch where he lives and preaches and helps lead the services from his wheelchair.  Pray that he would soon be able to stand and walk on his own.

Looking for that Blessed Hope and Glorious Appearing!  

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  – 1 Thes 5:18

Have you ever struggled with that verse?  I have – even more so in days since our last letter.  Well, here goes…

PRAISE – Fractured Pelvis! – As many of you know, on the 31^st of January I was riding my bicycle for exercise when suddenly a red nosed pit-bull charged from behind a stone wall and rammed the front wheel of my bicycle like a bull.  In the ensuing crash I flew forward over the handlebars and landed mostly on my right hip.  Praise the Lord that the dog did not attack me, as he whelped with pain and ran back into his property.  To make a long story shorter, I ended up in the hospital and the x-rays revealed that I had fractured my pelvis in 3 distinct places.  The largest fracture even tore the cartilage in my hip socket.  Since we did not do an MRI we can’t be sure about muscle damage although my doctor is sure there was some.  It has been nearly 90 days since the accident and I am finally to the point where I can put some weight on the joint and I can now walk with the aid of a cane.  I am still not recovered completely and it will probably be a 6 month process altogether.  Most days I do fine and most nights I am awakened with pain, although recently I have had a couple nights where I was able to rest without getting up.  The doctor is hopeful for a full recovery and so am I!

So… Thank You Lord for allowing this in my life.  Even though my personality is not suited to be sitting on the sidelines like I have had to do, it has given me a chance to rest and reflect on all the blessings the Lord has given my family and me.  Many times in the past I have talked about furlough but circumstances seemed to draw me back to the field after just a few weeks.  This time the Lord has forced me to rest and take this much needed time to recover emotionally, physically and spiritually.  Please pray that the Lord would grant me a full recovery and that we would be able to continue to serve Him in the way He wants us to.

PRAISE – Iglesia Bautista “Castillo Mio” – Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua – Pastor Hugo has reported to me that although attendance initially dropped after we turned the work over to them they have been able to win new souls to the Lord and now the church is full again most Sundays.  On Easter Sunday they were able to baptize several new converts and seem to be on the right track.

One of the exciting ministries this church has is a breakfast for the poor children that live close to the church.  The drug violence has left many children orphaned and many mothers widowed without any regular income.  Many children have little to eat.  The church has been averaging between 30 and 50 children and mothers coming on Saturday mornings.  They are fed a nutritious breakfast and then have a Sunday school type class with crafts and other fun activities.  Many of the children and mothers have accepted the Lord and several are now attending the other services of the church.  Please pray this ministry will continue to have fruitful results.

PRAISE – Juarez Campaign 2013 – Our two churches once again took part in this annual campaign to distribute tracts and gospel portions on the streets of Juarez as well as preach the Gospel in open air events twice each day.  We were able to see many souls accept the Gospel message and many more heard or read the Gospel for the first time.  We feel privileged to participate in the great campaign.  Please pray that many more people would be saved as a result of this campaign.

PRAYER REQUESTS – Physical recovery for Tim and Pastor Angel Luna, Fruit that remains, More Laborers, Guidance and Direction, Protection

Looking for that Blessed Hope and Glorious Appearing!