"AQUI LOS ESPERO, HERE I WAIT FOR YOU"

"Aqui los espero!" That's what Marcelino always says when we start to leave him. Now when he says that, we all laugh together. It has become a habit for him to say, "Here I wait for you." But he means it sincerely and he's always there when we need him.

Marcelino has dug ditches, laid concrete blocks, worked with long pieces of rebar and wire, made up forms and poured concrete at the church since it's beginning. He is so dependable and trustworthy that we don't know what we'd do without him. Marcelino and his wife and three children live next to the church where he acts as both caretaker and watchdog for us, always on the alert. A small wirey man, he is surprisingly strong and agile. But his health is not good.

He admires "Mr. Lloyd," and seems to want very much to please him. For years when we talked to him about living for the Lord, he would say, "maybe some day." And meanwhile his wife and kids went to church faithfully.

In the fall of 2009 Marcelino had some health issues and had a close encounter with death. At that time, he called on the Lord for help and was saved. Now his face is bright and his words are uplifting and different. "Don't worry, Mr. Lloyd, God will help. No problema!" And his sentences are peppered with "Gracias a Dios, Thanks to God."

Every time we give him building instructions his new habit is to say, "Yeah, I know." He has become so involved in building the church that he seems to know what must be done next before Lloyd tells him. And now every time he says those words, he catches what he said and we have another laugh together.

Marcelino is not the only person in Mexico who say to us, "Aqui los espero, Here I wait for you." The Apostle Paul in the New Testament was haunted by a vision in the night of a man from Macedonia who said, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." Acts 16:9 Just like that call from a man in Macedonia, we are haunted by many in Mexico who have said goodbye to us and added the sincere and meaningful words, "Aqui los espero, Here I wait for you."