A FAMILY EVENT AT THE CHURCH

Bellem is raising her hands and worshiping the Lord. It's automatic for her even if she is only two years old. Celino who is a member of her family, watches her proudly.

Many people participated in a family event which included a wiener roast at the church in Nuevo Progreso on Saturday. After a time of praise and worship, specific prayer requests were taken and everyone committed to pray for each other. There are many needs among families in Nuevo Progreso because so many are without jobs.

We all need to be as trusting as Bellem when we bring our needs to the Lord.

"HE'S MY PRODIGAL BROTHER!"

"He's my prodigal brother," Marcelino said about his friend Apolinar. "He went away for a long time, but now he's here working with me. He was lost and now he is found!"

Apolinar was glad he could work on the church building again and Marcelino was saying how close they had become and how well they worked together.

Marcelino has changed dramatically since his conversion last fall. He talks about the Lord and about the church a lot while working and he keeps the radio on a Spanish Christian station. Apolinar admits he is interested in Marcelino's experience and because he has so many problems to face in his life, he is leaning more and more toward God. Marcelino is sensitive and caring. Just a word of encouragement here and there, understanding that Apolinar needs to come to a decision on his own. What he needs most right now is a friend.

Apolinar went away from his family and was in the United States for four years. He has never seen anything wrong with drinking and partying; and on his return to Mexico he left his wife and family and took another woman. So Marcelino's words had double meaning. Apolinar really has been the prodigal brother.

We're sure that with continued prayer and Marcelino's good influence, Apolinar in time will completely surrender to the Lord and be saved. Marcelino's words held so much feeling when he said, "He's no longer lost, my prodigal brother has been found."

How many people do we know that are lost and without God? One day we'll rejoice and say that our prodigal brother has been found!

The photo shows Marcelino on the left and Apolinar on the right with Lloyd between them.

SOLEDAD

Soledad was walking along the dusty gravel road outside Nuevo Progreso on a very hot day. She looked old and tired and she carried a small heavy bag in each hand. Lloyd suggested we stop and offer her a ride to wherever she was going. She was headed out of town and had to be going quite a long distance on foot.

The friendly little woman gratefully accepted our offer and with a little help climbed into the back seat of our Jeep. "Where are you going?" we asked. "To Rio Rico," she answered in Spanish as she proceeded to tell us that Rio Rico was a little settlement to the east of Nuevo Progreso.

Soledad told us that she started out early that morning and walked all the way to town to buy medicine for her son who is crippled. She thought it took two hours to walk the great distance from Rio Rico to Nuevo Progreso. Soledad is seventy-nine years old!

In Rio Rico we met Soledad's husband and her son who is about forty years old and cannot speak or walk. Then she was proud to tell us that there are three churches in the tiny village and two of them are near her house. She took time to show us around her yard which was bare dry ground with many pots of plants and flowers. She told us they had lived on that place for thirty-four years. We wondered how many times during those years Soledad had to walk the four miles one way to Nuevo Progreso.

LORD, PLEASE OPEN HIS EAR!

Carlos Guerrera is fifteen years old and he attends school in Nuevo Progreso. He is friendly and likable, but a little shy. He is Carla's son and the stepson of our friend Apolinar.

When we ate lunch with Carla and her four boys, we learned about the special need that Carlos has. His right ear which is usually well covered by his thick hair, is deformed. Not only that, but he cannot hear out of that ear. His mother told us that he has difficulty in school because he can't hear everything the teacher says. Carla said she has tried for a long time to get help for Carlos, either an operation or for a hearing aid. But no one has offered help.

Carlos said that he has accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and he gave us permission to take his picture and tell everyone about the need for his ear to be healed. Before leaving the family, we anointed Carlos with oil and asked the Lord to open his ear.

THESE ARE OUR PEOPLE

It's amazing how involved we are in families in Nuevo Progreso. Wednesday we went from one family to another, visiting, catching up on the family news, eating a meal together and taking pictures. We felt so at home and so included in everything, just like we were family. What a blessing it is to feel that we belong with these families. These are our people.

First we stopped to talk with Christela where we heard good news and not so good news. The bad news is that Christela twisted her ankle this week and can barely walk. Since she walks back and forth to her job on the other side of town, she is missing work. And when she doesn't work, she isn't paid. We know Christela enough to know she'll be limping back to work soon.

The good news is that Nayeli whom we've known since she was ten, is going to have a baby. She and Mario are very happy and this will be Christela's first grandchild.

Next we stopped for a visit with Marcelino and Apolinar who are doing some work on the interior walls of the church. They were having their lunch break and some of their kids were eating with them. Apolinar said Carla was preparing a meal for us in their house and it would be ready by the time we got there.

At one time Apolinar and Christela lived together next to the church with their daughters Nayeli and Nancy. About four years ago Apolinar left Christela for another woman who already had three boys. This situation was very difficult for us because we loved them all very much and we knew the heartache Christela endured when Apolinar left. It forced her to have to take a job and raise Nayeli and Nancy alone; It was difficult for us to forgive Apolinar. With God's help we focused our prayers on his salvation.

The photo shows Apolinar who is always happiest when he is working. But jobs are hard to find in Nuevo Progreso.

CARLA AND HER BOYS

That day was the first time we'd visited with Carla other than stopping to talk to Apolinar. Her three boys, Carlos 15, Rogerio 12 and Julio 9 are friendly likable kids and now there is a fourth boy, Esteban. Carla shyly invited us in and served us steaming bowls of chicken soup and tortillas with chopped serrano peppers and onions. By this time we were hungry and the soup was good.

Apolinar, Carla and the boys live in a one room house about 12' x 14' that was built for them by missionaries. Everything was clean and tidy. There was a double bed on one side, a small sofa and one chair. A small narrow table with a little bench was against one wall. A tiny chihuahua puppy shivered and shook but stayed near Lloyd's feet while we ate. Probably because Lloyd kept giving him little bites of chicken. Already we're beginning to feel that we're part of this family.

Our next stop was to purchase some sand and gravel to be delivered to the church. Carmen, who works at the store was glad to see us. She wants to learn English but can't take off work to attend our classes. So she uses every opportunity to glean a few English words from us. We began giving her lesson pages and now she won't let us leave the store until we go over more English together. Sometimes customers have to wait because she gets so involved. That day she told us she is gaining a lot from our visits and lessons with her. She's beginning to feel like family.

The day wasn't complete until we visited Bardomiendo and his son Ruben who sell jewelry among the tourists near the international bridge. There were a lot of people on the streets but they weren't buying, just looking. Bardomiendo wouldn't let us leave until we promised to come to their house for a meal some time soon.

During the day it became apparent how much we know about these people, the "ins and outs" of their lives, their problems and their concerns. I watched as Carla's boys looked up to Lloyd with respect and little Esteban kept going to him for attention. I listened as later Bardomiendo told Lloyd how pleased he is to know him and how glad that we take the time to stay in touch with them. And I heard him say that Lloyd's name is very good in Nuevo Progreso.

It's a mystery how we came to be such a part of these families, but we know one thing for sure. These are our people.

IN MEMORY OF VICTORIA HERNANDEZ ZARATE, December 1950-February 2010

Victoria Hernandez Zarate was known to everyone as Gloria. She and Sergio had been married thirty two years. They had no children. Gloria was from San Luis Potosi, but lived many years in Nuevo Progreso.

Gloria reminded us of the disciple named Tabitha or Dorcas in Acts 9:36, a woman who was full of good works and love for God. Gloria had been ill for a year and had been hospitalized three times. During her first stay in the hospital she talked to everyone about accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour and ten people became Christians! During her second stay five more people were saved including her doctor.

Gloria helped raise three of Sergio's nine brothers and was like a second mother to them. They talked about what a good cook she was, how much she loved all kinds of flowers and how she always talked to them about God. When women in the neighborhood had problems, they came to Gloria for counsel and for prayer. And she was a worker and encourager in the church.

Gloria was laid out in their home in a pink and white casket surrounded by many large sprays of flowers. Relatives and friends kept vigil with Sergio until Monday afternoon when they all formed a procession and carried her casket to the cemetery where she was interred.