Letters from the Missionary - Chihuahua, Mexico

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO
April 30 - May 12, 2003
LETTER #1

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105)

    Wednesday, April 30, 2003. By God's wonderful grace, our group of "Ambassadors for Christ" from various parts of the US arrived in Chihuahua City, northern Mexico, on another Family Radio Mission trip today. We plan to proclaim the Gospel of Grace to the inhabitants of this city and its environs over the next two weeks by distributing thousands of "Does God Love You?" tracts and hundreds of Bibles in the Spanish language. The team that visited here a few months ago to set up this trip found that many of the residents of Chihuahua are open to the message of salvation according to God's Word. They handed out close to 1,000 tracts and estimated that over 90% of the people to whom a tract was offered graciously accepted it. The people seemed to have an open respect for our Savior who came into this world to seek and save sinners from eternal damnation. Please pray that our righteous Lord will use the materials that we distribute here to change that outward respect to a God-given inward salvation by the power of the Scriptures for many in this part of the world.
    Family Radio has visited Mexico on four previous occasions and our Lord apparently blessed that work with an outpouring of people seeking the truth of the Gospel. Chihuahua is different from other Mexican cities in that the streets remain busy from 4:00 PM well into the night. We expect to find markets teaming with people up to 10:00 PM on almost every night of the week. Our ongoing desire will be to put a tract into every outstretched hand that our Lord sends our way and also to distribute a large number of Bibles free of charge to everyone who wants one. The eleven volunteers (five men and six women) who have joined this Family Radio mission group understand the doctrines of God's sovereign grace and believe that God does all the work of salvation in the hearts of His elect. Please pray that we will be faithful to God's Word in all that we do in the name of Jesus Christ for God's honor and glory.
    Thursday, May 1, 2003. After breakfast and a meeting to organize the work at our centrally located hotel, our teams went out on foot to their assigned locations. However, our plans were quickly changed when we encountered tens of thousands of people marching in a Mexican Labor Day parade that lasted over two hours. Most businesses were closed today so that the employees could participate in a demonstration of labor solidarity. The procession of people was orderly, and we all emptied our backpacks by distributing the "Does God Love You?" tracts to the marchers on the street and the spectators. As expected, the acceptance factor was high and the discard factor was low. To our great delight, the tracts that were dropped on the street were conveniently cleaned up by a convoy of sweeper trucks following the procession. We were able to purchase over 600 Spanish Bibles from a couple Christian bookstores at a very good price with money donated for that purpose, and more have been back-ordered for delivery early next week. In the afternoon we worked in some parks and at a large pedestrian plaza in the city center, which is only about one mile from our hotel. A couple teams went out after dinner to some busy locations and experienced the same good reception of the tracts in the evening. We are thankful for God's provision and guidance during our first day of ministering to the people of Chihuahua City and are looking forward to what He has planned for us in the days to come.

"O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles." (Psalm 43:3)
In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Mexico

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO
April 30 - May 12, 2003
LETTER #2

"And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." (Genesis 6:7-8)

    Friday, May 2, 2003. Businesses were open today, and our tract distribution progressed at a rapid rate in several busy market areas. We continued to experience very high acceptance (over 90%) and very low discard factors everywhere we worked. Several people stopped to ask questions and to encourage us, thus affording us opportunities to provide them with free Bibles and other Family Radio materials if they so desired.
    As is customary on these trips, we immediately try to get permission from the penal authorities to distribute Bibles and "Does God Love You?" tracts to prison inmates. We visited the Director's office of the largest prison in this state yesterday. Since she was unable to meet with us at the time, we left a Bible and tract for her and contacted her by phone today. She was very receptive and told us to come in the afternoon.
    A team of four was given permission to visit and was put through a rigorous security process that included being photographed twice and submitting to thorough personal searches. Our team was allowed to enter several cell blocks in both maximum- and minimum-security sections. Each cell block had about 20 small cells housing seven inmates, and the team provided each cell with one Bible, seven tracts, and a few booklets. The inmates were very appreciative of the gifts.
    Our team also gave materials to the security and administrative personnel and made plans to return next week with more Bibles as the Lord allows. We hope to visit the women's section when we return. By God's wonderful grace, we placed about 400 Bibles in that institution.
    Please pray that our order for additional Bibles, which are being transported from a storage facility in another city, will arrive early next week as promised and that God's Word will set many of those prisoners spiritually free in Christ Jesus.
    Saturday, May 3, 2003. Some teams worked in several new locations within the city, and a couple teams traveled to two different cities today. One took an hour and a half bus ride to Delicias (pronounced "Day-LEE-see-as"), which is located about 50 miles southeast of Chihuahua City. The other team went by taxi for an hour and a half to Cuauhtéémoc ("Kwah-TAY-mok"), which is about 80 miles to the southwest. This is high desert country, similar to parts of New Mexico in theUS, and is arid, mountainous with little vegetation, and sparsely populated.
    Both teams distributed Bibles, tracts, and booklets in some very windy and dusty open-air markets and in the central plazas that are common to Mexican cities. The residents of those cities were cordial and the reception of the tracts was equal to what we have experienced in Chihuahua City.
    It is always interesting to see how God's Word affects people's daily routines. People are usually absorbed with the mundane things of day-to-day living and are suddenly confronted with the spiritual when they start reading a Gospel tract. As an example of this, one of our members shared this experience:

I was handing out tracts to people in vehicles waiting for a traffic light at a busy intersection. A man from the other side of the street was selling newspapers the same way, and sometimes we got in each other's way as we hurried between the vehicles. After a while I wondered if he might be getting upset about my interference with his work and realized that I hadn't even offered him at tract. So I walked across the street and gave him one; and he immediately forgot about selling papers and started reading the tract. I watched him sit through many light changes intently reading the tract, so I went back again and asked if he would like a Bible. He eagerly accepted it, torn off the plastic wrap, and proceeded to read it for a long time. He was still reading when I finally left the area. Could it be that he is one whom God plans to save in this city?

Sunday, May 4, 2003. After breakfast and our Lord ´s Day worship service in the hotel, our teams again went to various parts of the city seeking places where people might congregate on Sunday. We found many people in the pedestrian mall and plaza in the city center from before noon to about 3:00 PM until high winds and dust thinned out the crowds. Several of our group returned to that area after our dinner and Bible study and were able to distribute many more tracts there at night.
    In general, the people here have been very polite and respectful to us. For example, two members of our group had positioned themselves on both sides of a narrow passageway where people cross the street when coming to and leaving from the mall. Our team found it humorous that most of the people felt obligated to either take a tract or make a special effort to show our "gatekeepers" that they already had one as they squeezed past. We pray that many of those dear souls will find the "narrow way" that leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14) by the grace of God and the power of the Scripture verses that are on the tracts.
    One team set out by bus this morning to find a large market. When they got off at what they thought was the right stop they were standing in front of a huge cemetery, but there were only a few people in sight. They asked the caretaker in limited Spanish where there was "mucha gente" ("MOO-cha HEN-tay"), or "many people". The caretaker said they should follow him into the cemetery. Thinking there might be some kind of a ceremony taking place, they followed the man for quite some distance handing out a few tracts to visitors along the way. Finally, they arrived at a grave site where the man explained that "mucha gente" were buried there. After clarifying that they were looking for living people, the caretaker directed them to a large market about four blocks away the with the same name as the cemetery. As a result of all that, the man received a Bible, a tract, and some booklets, and he was very grateful for the gifts.
We pray that many of the spiritually dead people that we encounter in this country will be "quickened", or made alive, by the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:5).

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee." (Psalms 84:11-12)

In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Mexico

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO
LETTER #3

"The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly." (Proverbs 3:33-34)

    Monday, May 5, 2003. Today was another Mexican holiday called "Cinco de Mayo". More stores and shops were open than on the May 1st Labor Day, but it was not a regular business day, and there were no special events taking place. Since our whole time here has been during a general vacation period for most schools and businesses, we have not experienced a normal pattern of city life so far. Hopefully, things will return to normal tomorrow, and we will encounter a different group of people on the streets because we are seeing many people who have already received a tract from us.
    Two teams of two went by bus to some small towns and villages south of the city today. One made several stops in villages and ended up in Cuauhtéémoc, which we had visited on Saturday. Both teams met Christians that were very happy that we were visiting their towns and asked for some extra tracts to distribute to their families and friends. We told them to come to our hotel to get more Bibles and Does God Love You? tracts and are praying that God will make the arrangements for that.
    The rest of our group worked in Chihuahua City, especially in the central area where many people could again be found on the pedestrian mall and in the markets there. One of our members saw some policemen frisking a young man with his hands spread out against a wall. We do not know what they were looking for but about all he had in his pockets was a folded Does God Love You? tract. The police looked at it briefly, gave it back, and let him go. The police, many of whom ride bicycles, have been very receptive to the tracts and tolerant of our work here.
    Many people to whom we have given Bibles have profusely thanked God and the members of our group with tears in their eyes for the precious gift of the Words of Life. Most who ask us for a Bible offer to pay for it, and we tell them it is free - just like salvation. Strangely, one woman insisted so strongly on paying that she refused to accept the Bible as a gift and walked away without it.
    Thankfully, we received notice from the bookstore this afternoon that our order for additional Bibles had arrived, and we will purchase them tomorrow. We see God's hand on so many things as we seek to do His will on these trips.

"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5:21)

In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Mexico

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO
LETTER #4

"That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:7)

    Tuesday, May 6, 2003. Things did return to normal as expected today. Schools were back in session, and businesses were in full operation for the first time since we arrived. Our teams visited a large university and several schools. The students here are courteous and generally very receptive to the Gospel tracts.
    One team was working at a large shopping mall when a security guard told one of our lady missionaries that we could not distribute outside the main entrances. A lady overhead the conversation and asked the guard, "Why?" He said we needed permission from the management, the lady then took our member to the main office and helped get the necessary permission to distribute tracts in certain locations near the entrances but not close to the doors. Our team was then able to hand out many tracts as people passed between the parking lot and the mall. We constantly are thanking our Lord and Savior for sending us His people to help us at the right times.
    We experienced another example of the Lord's provision and timing this morning when two of our group went back to the Christian bookstore to pick up the shipment of 1,500 additional Bibles, which came in about 40 boxes. Two young men came in wanting to buy some Gospel tracts, but the available tracts were in small quantities and were quite expensive. We told them that we could give them a supply of Does God Love You? tracts if they first read it carefully and agreed with the message that salvation is by God's sovereign grace alone. After reading it and helping us with the hard work of loading the tracks into a rented truck and unloading them at the hotel, they were very happy to get a couple boxes of Bibles and tracts for their street ministry.
    Wednesday, May 07, 2003. We sent one team back to the large prison outside of the city that we visited last Friday. This time we went into the women's section with another man we met through the same Christian bookstore who has a prison ministry. He was very helpful in providing transportation and getting the necessary clearances at the prison. There were about 80 women prisoners, and we were able to give them all Bibles, tracts and a few of our remaining Family Radio booklets.
    The team then went to a smaller and older facility in the city to do the same thing in both the men's and women's sections of the prison. We met one lady inmate there who has received a degree by correspondence from the Family Radio School of the Bible. She was very excited to see us and thanked us profusely for bringing the Word of God to that institution. By God's wonderful grace and the generous donations from Family Radio listener/supporters, we placed over 500 Bibles and tracts in that prison and are praying that God will set many of those prisoners free in Christ for His honor and glory.
    Other teams again worked at busy shopping areas and schools today, and many Bibles were given away to those who asked for them. Most schools operate on a two-shift basis with the first shift leaving at about 1:00 PM and the second at 7:00 PM. We plan to have teams stationed at several schools this evening to catch the second shift. Every aspect of our work is progressing smoothly, and we are thanking God for His constant protection and guidance.

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)

In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Mexico

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO
LETTER #5

"Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 1:2)

    Thursday, May 8, 2003. By God's wonderful grace, today was another good day of tract distribution. Although many people have received tracts already, the distribution rate remained quite high at our usual places in the city center area.
    One team visited the largest hospital in the city and was able to give out many tracts in the busy clinic waiting rooms. Other teams positioned themselves at the gates of several schools as the students exited. As a general rule, the children here are well-mannered and very receptive to the tracts.
    We are getting more requests for Bibles from people on the streets as the word gets around that we are giving them away on an individual basis. We have also received several requests from people with small home fellowships and street ministries for Bibles and tracts as well, and we are thankful for the privilege of helping them in this manner.
    We did not have our usual evening Bible study tonight so that several teams could continue handing out tracts after dinner. The pace in the evening tends to be more relaxed with families out for evening strolls, and the reception to the tracts continued to be very good.
    Friday, May 9, 2003. We are grateful that we are staying healthy and that everyone is still functioning at full capacity. The work continued at a rapid pace again today, and we seem to be getting more friendly greetings and wishes for God's blessing on our work. We have also met several people who listen to Family Radio by short-wave radio, and they are always happy to see us in their city.
    Very few people have expressed any displeasure with us or the Gospel message of salvation on the Does God Love You? tract, even though many must certainly disagree with it. Even the street sweepers, many of whom use portable vacuum cleaners, just nod and smile as they suck up the tracts that are thrown down.
    It is always a great blessing for us to see so many people reading the tracts as they wait for buses, pause from their work, wait in their cars at traffic lights, and so on. One team member walked up to a man sitting alone in a small park who appeared to be intently writing something on a piece of paper. When he got closer he could see that the man was studying the tract by underlining portions and making notes on the margins. He stopped, took off his backpack, and offered the man a Bible. The man gratefully accepted the gift of God's Word, and our man walked away with the joy of the Lord in his heart for the opportunity to present him with such a precious gift.
    We intend to continue our work this evening and during this holiday weekend. We are expecting some large crowds at several Mexican "Mother's Day" events tomorrow and at the cemeteries on Sunday. God willing, we will return to our homes in the US on Monday and will send in our final report on Tuesday covering our weekend activities.

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:4-5)

In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Mexico

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO
LETTER #6

"That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:7)

    Saturday, May 11, 2003. Two of our group went to a convention center complex where busloads of high-school students were coming and going for some kind of exhibition. They were allowed to distribute Does God Love You? tracts to the students waiting inside the buses. Then they stationed themselves on both sides of the main entrance handing out many tracts for over an hour until a security guard told them they were not allowed to work there and had to leave. As it turned out, they were just about to leave anyway because they had a combined total of only seven tracts left. Our Lord’’s timing is perfect as we faithfully proclaim the True Gospel of Christ.
    Several street evangelists stopped by our hotel requesting Bibles and some Family Radio tracts and booklets to copy and distribute. They travel to many parts of Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries in the region, even Cuba. We pray that God will bless their efforts and will allow Gospel of Grace into Cuba by means of the tracts. We gave them a few of our remaining booklets and suggested that they write to Family Radio for additional free materials.
    A lady we met on the street came to the hotel to get some Bibles and tracts to share with people in the suburb area where she lives. She wept great tears of joy and praised God for answering her prayers for the resources. We all rejoiced with her and understood her happiness for the opportunity to serve the Lord in that manner.
    Two of our members took a 40-minute bus ride to a small town northeast of the city called Aldama. They covered the whole town on foot and were allowed to go inside a theater where there was a talent show being taped for TV. They gave tracts to the performers, the TV crew, the audience of about 100 people, and the security personnel. Everyone gratefully accepted the tracts, and our people thanked God for opening that door for the Gospel.
    Two of our group went back to the large cemetery where last Sunday the caretaker had shown another team a grave where ““mucha gente”” [MOO-cha HEN-tay], or ““many people””, were buried. However, this time we encountered ““mucha gente”” who were visiting their mothers’’ graves on the Mexican ““Mothers’’ Day”” holiday. Thousands of people came with flower bouquets and plants as well as garden tools, brooms, and pails for maintaining the gravesites and watering the plants. Many vendors were selling flowers near the entrance and in nearby markets, and one of our members worked in that area while the other stood at a speed bump on the street handing tracts to the people in the vehicles that were backed up for miles because of the congestion at cemetery. The traffic was coming from outlying areas and heading for various places in the city center where other teams were working in the busy plaza and markets.
    A friendly and helpful fruit vendor in one of the downtown markets, who said he was a Christian, always wanted a supply of tracts to give to his customers. He said he would tell them ““Christ loves you”” when he gave someone a tract. One of our members explained to the vendor that the headline on the tract asks in Spanish, ““Do you know if God loves you?”” because God loves those whom He saves, and those whom he saves love God in return.
    The vendor then started telling his customers, ““If God doesn’’t love you, you will go to Hell.”” Although that’’s a true statement, our member suggested that his friend simply say that the tract presents many verses from the Word of God, the Bible, that will explain to the reader the nature of God’’s salvation and judgment.
    Sunday, May 11, 2003. We finished distributing our remaining 3,000 tracts this morning and held our Lord’’s Day worship service in the hotel after lunch. Our group of five men and six women spent the rest of the day personally studying the Bible and making preparations for our return to the US tomorrow.
    By God’’s wonderful grace, we placed 200,000 Does God Love You? tracts, 2,135 Bibles, and many Family Radio Bible-teaching booklets (all in the Spanish language) in the hands of the gracious Mexican people in Chihuahua City and several other towns and villages in the state of Chihuahua. Please pray that God will grant repentance unto salvation to many in this part of the world and will raise up faithful men and women here to continue the work of the Gospel through the use of the biblical resources that Family Radio freely provides.
    We thank God for His provision and protection and give Him all the praise and glory for what He has done for us and through us on this trip. We also thank the listeners/supporters of Family Radio for their prayers and financial support that make these mission trips possible. We consider our being ““Ambassadors for Christ”” in this manner a great privilege and honor and highly recommend participation in this ministry to others.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

In Christian love,
The Family Radio Mission Group in Mexico