THE MEXICAN MILITARY

Soldiers with weapons stand guard at the entrance to Nuevo Progreso. Some are behind sandbagged enclosures, some stand watch on the balconies of nearby establishments and others stand near lanes of traffic keeping their eyes alert for problems. The Mexican Army is currently represented at the international bridge and the Mexican Marines have set up their headquarters in the police station they recently seized.

Lloyd wanted to ask permission to give them all New Testaments, but we didn't know who was in charge. Two soldiers walking down a side street appeared to be off duty, so we tried to follow but soon lost site of them. We walked around the block and found ourselves once again in front of the customs office. Without much hesitation, Lloyd took several Spanish booklets, walked out into the middle of the street and approached two armed and uniformed men. He explained what he wanted to do and asked if it would be okay. One of them said Lloyd could give them the books and they would see that they were distributed to the others. Lloyd then left several dozen booklets with the soldier in the bunker on the side of the busy street. Lloyd is pictured leaving booklets with a soldier.

Our next destination was the police station where we found a military truck blocking the road. Lloyd pulled the Jeep over to the side of the road and we walked to a small group of Marines standing in the shade of a tree. Friendly and courteous, they said good afternoon and waited for us to tell them what we wanted. The first young man we spoke to called an older man over and we repeated our question, "Would it be all right if we bring New Testaments to the men?"

When the man in charge saw the books of John and Romans we held out to him, he accepted them eagerly and thanked us. He said there are about 50 Marines now in Nuevo Progreso and they would be glad to receive New Testaments from us. Lloyd and I thanked him for being in Nuevo Progreso and for the work they're doing. He responded by saying, "Dios lo bendiga," God bless you.

Before leaving, I asked him his name. "Lazarus," he said. "The man Jesus raised from the dead."