IN MEMORY OF GABRIELE

In memory of Gabriele.

Beloved wife, mother and faithful member of Bethesda Church of God in Nuevo Progreso.

Gabriele loved to go to church.  This happy picture was taken in May 2014 at the church.

Gabriele is pictured with us, her husband and her son and his family.  They are from Rio Bravo.

"Charm can be deceiving, and beauty fades away.  But a woman who honors the Lord deserves to be praised."  Proverbs 31:30

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dulce, Judith, Alana, Jael and Francisco send you Christmas greetings!

The children wish you a Merry Christmas!  And they send their thanks to you for all your prayers and your help in their lives.

Between 65 and 70 children gathered with us for a very happy Christmas party on December 20th.  They learned a new song they were not familiar with that they called Night of Peace.  We know it as Silent Night.  They sang it several times, first one side of the church and then the other side as they learned the words.  Pastor Gerardo told the story of the first Christmas, describing the greatest gift of all that was sent from Heaven.  Then when he invited the children to accept this great gift of salvation, about 15 children came forward for prayer.

Several children came forward acknowledging they wanted to accept the greatest gift of all time - Jesus.

After songs and games, steaming hot tamales were served along with flavorful spaghetti with meat sauce.  Big cups of orange fruit drink finished things off before everyone rushed outside to attack the large star shaped piñata that was stuffed with candy.  It didn't take long for the bigger kids to break the piñata and there was a rush to gather up all the candy from the ground.  Not a single piece of candy nor a scrap of paper was left behind as evidence of the traditional event.

Huge kettles of tamales provided plenty for everyone.

The pinata was larger than most of the children!

All the children lined up to receive a treat bag from one of the big bags.  Things were quiet for awhile as each one opened and explored the bags' contents.  Some contained tiny dolls and little girl trinkets and others had matchbox cars or action figures, but they all contained candy.  These treat bags are always a big hit because they hold a lot of little surprises to delight every child.  Thank you for making 100 treat bags possible this year.

This little girl hugged her treat bag while watching the activities.

As the party ended, some of the children volunteered to sing special choruses they had learned in Sunday School.  Francisco and his brother and sisters were not timid at all, but really enjoyed singing behind the microphone.  We were proud of them.

Stuffed animals, matchbox cars, pencils, games and candy.  Each bag was different.

These children bravely sang on the platform accompanied by Pastor Gerardo on the keyboard.

"Our God we thank you for being so near to us!  Everyone celebrates your wonderful deeds."  
Psalm 75:1 CEV

JOSÉ'S ANSWER TO PRAYER

José and his new portable oxygen machine.

José has problems breathing and is in constant need of oxygen.  Until recently he was anchored to his house with a four foot oxygen tank.  The tank which lasted him about one week, had to be taken on a bus to nearby Rio Bravo to be refilled.  But last week José received a big answer to prayer - he was given a portable oxygen machine to replace the enormous tank he'd used for years.  And now he can once again go to church.

Scott and DiAnna brought the answer to Jose's prayer!

Scott and DiAnna, founders of Life on the Border, flew from their home in Minneapolis to bring José this life giving machine.  They also brought José and Lupita their prescription medicines and a blood pressure monitor.  Scott, who is a physician, reviewed José's ex rays and advised him on the best way to treat the problem in his lungs.  He also checked his blood pressure and said it was good.

Jose's old oxygen tank was very heavy.

Doctor Scott checked Jose's blood pressure with their new monitor.

José and Lupita were overcome with emotion when they were presented with so much medical assistance.  Scott and DiAnna received warm hugs and words of gratitude from the happy couple.

Scott went outside and held Jose's ex rays up to the sky so he could properly diagnose his condition.

DiAnna instructed Jose on the use of the oxygen machine while Pastor Gerardo watched.

Many thanks go to everyone who made this gift of oxygen possible.  And special thanks to Doctor Scott and DiAnna who took time from their busy lives to minister to José and Lupita in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico.

HILDA

Hilda

Hilda is a new Christian, recently converted during a worship service at José and Lupita's house.  Hilda is a single mother who works extremely hard for her family.  Getting up at 3:00 am, she cooks oatmeal for atole, gorditas, tacos and makes coffee to sell to the many truckers who line up on the road to cross the international bridge into the United States.  At 6:00 am she loads up her 3 wheeled cart and begins traveling back and forth along the long truck route circling the east side of Nuevo Progreso.  Since truckers have such a lengthy wait of many hours to pass through customs, they welcome refreshments at all times during the day, beginning with breakfast.

Recently Hilda received a severe blow to her family when her 23 year old son was kidnapped by the cartel.  Her son disappeared from Nuevo Progreso 26 days ago and there has been no word of where he is or if he is still alive.  Pastor Gerardo and the church immediately began praying for the young man's safe return to his family and Hilda has received tremendous encouragement and hope from her new friends at the church.

We met Hilda one evening at José and Lupita's house and she shared the story of her grief with us.  She pulled her shirt up around her face to hide her tears and distress while all of us gathered around her and prayed again for her son.

Please join us in urgent prayer that the Lord will take her boy by the hand and lead him to a safe and sheltered area and then home to his mother.

"I tell you all of my worries and my troubles, and whenever I feel low, you are there to guide me."  Psalm 142:2&3 CEV

SURPRISE BABY GIRL!

Surprise baby girl!

Surprise, it's a girl!  Apolinar and Carla were told that their baby expected last July would be another boy to join the five boys they already have.  But they received a very welcome surprise when Carla gave birth to a beautiful little girl. They named her Cynthia.

We stopped at Apolinar's house carrying baby clothes, expecting to see another little baby boy, but we were shocked to see that the clothes we'd brought wouldn't be appropriate.  We'd brought little blue outfits with baseballs, cars and trucks and other distinctly male decorations on them.

Apolinar came home for lunch to spend time with Cynthia.

I had sorted out the pink ruffled things and added in the superman outfit and the workman styled undershirts.  They laughed at our confusion but said they'd make good use of the good warm sleepers and other items even if they weren't pink with ruffles.

Cynthia looks serious, but she's a happy well adjusted baby who loves to be held and cuddled by her big brothers.  Carla and Apolinar say they have been blessed by the Lord to have this little girl.

Carla and Baby Cynthia.

Little Cynthia is not accustomed to strangers and only allowed Lloyd to hold her for a few minutes before she decided she didn't like his glasses.  The instant her face began to show distress, Apolinar had her in his arms again trying to reassure her not to be afraid.

Carla's oldest son Carlos is now 19 and working in Mexico City, Rogelio is 18 and working alongside Apolinar in construction, Julio is 14, Esteban is 6 and Javier is 4 years old.  After years of raising boys, Carla is really happy they have this new female addition to the family. We join Apolinar and Carla in giving thanks to the Lord for Cynthia.

NUEVO PROGRESO UPDATE

The international bridge was full of traffic going through customs on our return into the United States.

November 29, 2014 marked our return to Nuevo Progreso for another season of working with our church and Pastor Gerardo and his family.  Unseasonably cold wet weather has provided challenges and many people have colds or the flu.  There is standing flood water in outlying areas from heavy tropical rain in the month of September.  But the church, the body of Christ, continues to grow stronger and continues to impact the city and surrounding area.

Nuevo Progreso has a new Delegado (mayor) who is very sympathetic to evangelistic churches.  The new Delegado met recently with the city's ministerial alliance where he shared his thoughts about his country's problems and how churches play a major part in solutions.  Nineteen pastors including Pastor Gerardo in attendance at that meeting gathered around the new Delegado to pray for him and his co-workers.

In August there was a huge march of evangelical Christians down the main street of Nuevo Progreso. Everyone was dressed in a red shirt and there were many colorful banners and lots of music.  Crowds of people lined the streets showing their approval.  The city has remained relatively peaceful all summer.  The general opinion is that this peaceful atmosphere is because of prayer and unity among believers.

Pastor Gerardo and his wife Miriam recently attended the Church of God assembly meeting in Monterrey, Mexico.  While there along with many other Church of God leaders, they heard statistics about how evangelical churches are growing rapidly and making a difference in Mexico.  November 28th, Church of God pastors from the state of Tamaulipis met at the church in Nuevo Progreso.  After the meeting, a meal was served by ladies of the church.

On our drive to the church we met our friend Pancho who lives near the church in Colonia Jardin.  He told us that he and Reyna lost another family member to the Rio Grande River.  Their daughter-in-law drowned while crossing the murky brown flooded river three months ago.  Their son Benjamin drowned in June.

Pastor Gerardo and Miriam travel to the nearby city of Rio Bravo each Wednesday where they have a church service in the home of Jose Luis, a member of the congregation.  The elderly mother of the family has been ill and since she isn't able to come to church, they take the church to her!  Several neighbors have joined the group and there were recently two who accepted the Lord as Savior.

There are many needs and there are constantly new challenges to the faith. Please pray with us for the city of Nuevo Progreso.

"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12:9&10 NKJV

PRAY FOR VERA CRUZ

The ladies we met at the church in Vera Cruz.

Monte de los Olivos (Mount of Olives) is a small church along the coast in the Mexican state of Vera Cruz.  Even though it's been several years since we visited that church, we again sense the urgent need to pray for Pastor Benito Zamora and his congregation.  Pastor Benny told us that there are many who need healing in their congregation and in that town. He said that the state of Vera Cruz has more cancer victims than any other state in Mexico; and there are many other health problems.

An amazing series of events led us to Monte de los Olivos while we were distributing Spanish Bibles to churches throughout Mexico.  Late one night outside our motel room Lloyd heard music that sounded like praises to the Lord. Since we had been looking for small churches in that area, he was excited about visiting them the next morning. Because the music was so clear, he was sure it would be very near the motel. The next morning we left the motel and searched for blocks but didn't see a church of any kind. Not knowing what else to do and a little disappointed, we kept driving through that side of town until we found a pleasant little church called the Mount of Olives. A woman came walking down the street and we asked her for information. She offered to send for the pastor; and meanwhile she and some others who happened by got the key and opened the church.

Soon the pastor and wife showed up, out of breath with excitement and curiousity. When we told them about the music in the night, they confirmed that they had held a meeting the night before and had been singing together. But our motel was not near enough to have heard the music. Several others joined the group inside the church along with Pastor Benito Zamora and his wife Anita and we had a great time of fellowship and prayer together.

We promised to pray for their church and their needs, and before leaving we encouraged them to keep on singing those worship songs in the night!

Join us in prayer for Monte de los Olivos in Vera Cruz.

"He shall call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him."  Psalm 91:15