MIRIAM'S GIFT

Miriam with her new washer.

A washing machine! What a great gift for this very busy pastor's wife in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico. No more scrubbing clothes by hand in a concrete trough out in the back yard. And with four rapidly growing youngsters, Miriam said that was a daily chore.

Miriam has many talents, one is being a leader of women. Weekly she conducts a meeting for women that is held in various homes throughout the city. By having the meetings in homes, the women are able to invite their neighbors to join in the fellowship. Besides those meetings and taking an active part in at least four church services a week, Miriam has a home business of baking and selling empanadas. Her fruit filled empanadas are well known and she sells them by the dozens. But one of her favorite pastimes is to be with Pastor Gerardo when he visits friends and members of the congregation. Needless to say, doing all these things and keeping Gerson, Nahum, Dana and Esly in clean school uniforms is a challenge.

This very welcome gift of a new washing machine was made possible by DiAnna Olsen of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband." Proverbs 12:4

ROMAN'S ANSWER TO PRAYER

Roman enjoys working at the church.

Roman and his family attend our church in Nuevo Progreso. He and his wife Karen live just a block away and rarely miss a service.

Whenever he can, Roman spends his time working at the church. He helped pour the concrete floor and enjoyed putting stucco on the walls. According to those around him, Roman is always singing and praising the Lord even when he had a tremendous need. He had been out of work for some time and needed a job.

During the Monday evening womens' meeting called "Bread in your house," Karen asked those present to pray especially that Roman would find work. Then at the Tuesday evening church service he went forward for special prayer. Both of them being new Christians, they were not accustomed to such bold requests. But the next day Roman was again working at the church singing worship songs with all his might.

That day Roman received a call to start working on the Pharr International Bridge highway on the Mexico side. Their prayers were answered. The job of working on the highway overpass involves heavy duty spray painting and other tasks he enjoys very much. And it looks as if the job might last for awhile.

Roman needed heavy clothes and shoes for his new job and our contribution was a pair of heavy thick soled rubber boots for working in concrete or for wet and muddy weather. We're very proud of Roman and his desire to work and support his family. He's learning a lot about Christian living, especially that it's good to praise the Lord even when there are problems.

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" Psalm 107:8

"AND THE LORD PLANTED A GARDEN...."

Hundreds of packets of gardens seeds!

Packets of garden seeds, hundreds of them!  We received this generous donation last week from Bethalto, Illinois Church of God and we send them our thanks!

This spring we will be able to distribute a large assortment of garden seeds to many families, not only those who attend our church in Nuevo Progreso, but to other friends in the area.  Several families in the nearby settlement of San Francisco are waiting for this gift of seeds.  This is a great way to help provide a lot of fresh food to families who are willing to work.  Garden seeds are not available for purchase in Nuevo Progreso.

Noah and his mother Ninfa show off his garden on the south side of town.

Noah uses a small plot of ground alongside a road at the edge of town.  The ground is dry and poor, but Noah has a watering method that keeps his garden looking fresh.  Noah looks forward to receiving packets of seeds from us each year.  He does not seem interested in attending church, his main interest is in his prolific garden.  Noah plants thick prickly cactus around the sides of his garden to discourage predators.

Magdalena and her daughter.

Magdalena lives near the church in Colonia Jardin, the garden.  She and her family have a garden plot each year, plus they grow and tend many varieties of fruit trees.  They have several pomegranate trees they are proud of.

The ground is poor for planting in Nuevo Progreso.  Near sea level, there is a high salt content plus the fact that the weather seldom cooperates.  After a wet and cold winter, we may experience a dry period.  Anyone who wants to garden here must be committed, tireless and inventive.

This big donation of garden seeds is a gift of great value to the people.  It will inspire them to do their best and then inspire them to pray for the Lord to put His blessing on the results.  The Lord will help them, after all He planted the very first garden eastward in Eden!

"And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed."  Genesis 2:8

SERVING THE LORD THROUGH MEDICINE

Two volunteer nurses from Minnesota assist an eye surgeon at the clinic in Nuevo Progreso.

Doctor Scott Watkins and his wife DiAnna are from Minneapolis, Minnesota.  March 11 they came to Nuevo Progreso along with three volunteer nurses to examine and treat people who could not otherwise afford a doctor.  March 12, 13 and 14 they talked with approximately 150 patients, conducted 3 eye surgeries and did an assortment of tests including cholesterol and diabetes.  This medical missionary team was a great blessing to the people!

Bottom row left to right:  Nurse Jenny Johnson-Erickson, Doctor Scott Watkins and his wife DiAnna.  Behind them on the left is Lindi who volunteered to interpret and Nurse Patty Greene.  Nurse Lauree Hanson took the picture.

 Doctor Scott and DiAnna received permission to use the offices of Mabel's Clinic for this project.  Many times the clinic was packed with people and the team worked long hours each day to see them all.  One woman said she had come 300 miles for her eye surgery and she left the clinic very happy.

Two of the nurses are with a group of children at the school in nearby La Posta.

One day the team went to a nearby country school where they talked to the students about better health.  The emphasis was on eating better, getting plenty of exercise and plenty of sleep.  DiAnna's vision is to encourage better education about healthy living starting with the children.

We look forward to many more projects like this through the church in Nuevo Progreso.  One day it would be great to have a designated physicians' room at the church so such projects could be conducted on site.  This would require having our own medical equipment and supplies which would be available for use by visiting teams.  Please join us in praying about this vision and the other projects being conducted by the church. 

"Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing."  Psalm 100:2