Mexico 2010 Trip Report

The more I travel, the smaller the world becomes and yet my view of God continues to grow larger and larger. Our trip to Mexico a couple of weeks ago just added to the concept.

As always, part of the value of a trip is spending time with some great people. I so enjoyed getting to be with Wayne and Lynn Myrick, Manny Fernandez, Jimbo Barrett, my wife Susan and our son Brian. They worked hard and served well and it was wonderful to see the team pulling together to minister to the people in Puebla.

The Lord did some really amazing things while we were there. Karina, one of our church planters, organized two festive evangelistic events in small parks. We shared the gospel with the people and saw 9 people come to faith in Christ.

Karina also planned a panel discussion where we could teach and share with the people in her home church in Tecali, Mexico about how to have a Godly marriage and how to raise children in the things of the Lord. The people were very open to share about their families and asked excellent questions of the panel who did a great job in sharing how God has lead them in their families over the years. It was a great encouragement to all.

We got to meet a man at this church in Tecali whose name is Adelfo. He was first saved in this community 17 years ago and as he began to share his faith and the church began to grow they came under persecution from the Catholic Church.  One day over 1,000 people came to their church to stop the evangelists. As the tension heightened, the people began to stone these new believers and they thought their lives were over. All of a sudden the attackers stopped in their tracks and backed away.  Just last year, some 16 years later, Adelfo was able to have a conversation with one of the leaders of this mob and he asked him why they stopped throwing the rocks. The man said, "Did you not see it?" "See what?" Adelfo asks.  "The shining! The shining that was all around you!" he replied. The Lord is truly at work around his faithful servants protecting them as they preach the gospel. What an incredible moment! I will never forget these people and God's promise to them and to us.

Obed, another of our church planters, challenged us to help him and his church to reach into their community by putting together food bags to give to families in need. We assembled 100 bags of rice, beans, pasta, sugar, salt, and cooking oil. We piled on the back of trucks and in cars and traveled all over the town giving out food and sharing the love of God with the people. We had a service that night that was well attended and several new families were there as a result of us making those contacts. It was great to give "a cup of cold water in Jesus' name". There were no decisions for Christ that night, but people were introduced to the church and to God's love for them. We are praying that the seeds that were planted that day will bear fruit in the future.

The last story that I want to share is about Jose and Areli. They are one of our husband and wife church planting teams. Their first church plant is about two years old and is growing and doing very well. Four weeks ago they started a second church on the opposite side of their town. They are meeting in a member's home of the mother church on Saturday's and are launching by reaching out to the children and playing games with them and then sharing the things of God with them and their parents who bring them.

Jose and Areli planned an event on the last day of our trip at their new church and invited the people to come for sandwiches, to play games and receive a food bag. Our team met early that day to assemble more rice, beans, pasta, sugar, salt and cooking oil.  We had 100 men, women, and children present and the event was a huge success. We played games, ate a meal, gave away food and shared the gospel. 30 people came to faith in Christ. Praise the Lord!!!!!

Thank you for your prayers while we were in Mexico. I would also ask that you pray for two teams that will be in Cuba the last two weeks of this month. Team one will be there the week of July 17^th - 24^th and team two will be there the week following which is the 24^th - 31^st. Please pray for our safety and that the Lord will greatly bless our efforts and will be with our families while we are away.

If you would like to go on a trip with us or be more involved in the ministry of Doulos Partners, please go to our website and send us your contact information and the ways that you would like to be involved and we will contact you right away. Thanks again for your support and may God richly bless you and your families.