EL BARRANCON

One more bend in the road and we saw houses and signs of life. There was a town of about 1500 people on the coastline and five evangelical churches in the desolate area! The name of the town was El Barrancon Campo Pesquero or the Ravine, a fishing camp.

Only one of those churches had a pastor who lived at the church. Pastor Francisco (Frank) and Lupita Coazozon greeted us and invited us into their home. Frank is from Tabasco and Lupita is from Oaxaca. Frank was not a Christian when he was a soldier in the Mexican army and he was in a severe accident. For two years he was in the hospital with many broken bones and they thought he would never walk again. He had an experience with the Lord and he was told he would be healed but he must dedicate the rest of his life to serving Him. That was nine years ago and Frank is still pastoring and preaching in their church and on the streets. He and his wife travel to Vera Cruz and to Oaxaca once a year where they take the gospel.

The couple told us about having a strange experience a year ago when they were planning one of their missionary trips. An elderly couple they didn't know came to their door and greeted them with embraces. The man had white hair and a white beard. The first thing he said was, "Don't worry! Jesus loves you." They brought a box of food into the house and they all sat down to eat. Then the man picked up a musical instrument and played and sang about the love of Jesus. Before leaving, the man placed money in their hands that would pay their way to Oaxaca. No one in town saw them after that. Frank and Lupita are convinced they were visited by angels!

Frank and Lupita are missionaries, excited to go deeper into Mexico with the word. This is an opportunity for us to share in their efforts by providing many gospel tracts to spread among the churches in southern Mexico. They live only 4 hours away, so we will return to El Barrancon before their departure.

Frank and Lupita are convinced that the Lord sent us. Our visit was a great encouragement and confirmation to them. Before leaving, we prayed together for their ministry. And Frank prayed that angels would be with us and bring us back again.

In a short time we found several churches and gave out our supply of Bibles. We were in the right place at the right time and did encounter the person we were destined to meet. And it could be that we met more than one important person on this trip!

The picture shows Lloyd with Frank and Lupita with their three children and a neighbor.