Sembradores de Cristo January 30, 2010
“Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:8) Paul and his contemporary Israelites were amazed that the Gentiles could also be heirs with Christ. The Gentiles and the Israelites could now be members together of one body, sharing in the promise of Christ Jesus. Paul realized that his task was an incredible one, taking the gospel to the Gentiles. God had called him to this task. (Acts 9:15 ) I today am amazed at God’s calling for my life: taking the gospel to paganistic Zacatecas. Just like Paul I know I am nothing-the least of all God’s people. It’s only by God’s grace that Sembradores de Cristo exists. This gospel of unsearchable riches is not only for the inhabitants of the United States but for all Gentile nations. Praise the Lord! The need in Zacatecas is immense. There are numerous villages, towns, and cities that are entirely without the gospel. Like Paul in vs. 7 I am a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. His power has been shown in amazing ways this past year of 2009. This newsletter is dedicated to giving glory to God for what He has done in our ministry/lives this past year of 2009.
Personal/ministry-Praise God this past February I was able to complete a seminary master’s degree in ministry and in November receive my ministerial ordination. I finished this correspondence master’s degree in 10 months studying in the afternoons and weekends. I can remember pouring out 8-10 hours of time on Sundays after church. What a blessing it was being immersed in God’s Word on such a continued basis yet exhausting. May we never cease to hunger and thirst after righteousness! The teachable man of God will never be comfortable in his relationship with God but will always passionately seek Him for more and more. Now that I have received my documentation as an ordained minister (thanks again to Pastor Jim and Marco) my next step will to be taking out an id as a Mexican minister. As a Mexican citizen I have the right to preach the gospel without any other paperwork. Full-time missionaries in Mexico who are not citizens must apply for certain religious visas. Shalom, Nehemias, and I obtained our Mexican citizenship back in April making us dual citizens. My wife passed her American citizenship test in November and is now awaiting her formal oath. God has decided that our family needs to grow so Diana is expecting and the due date is September. After returning from Zacatecas Summer 2008 God really impressed it on me to get in shape. Doing the baseball camps in Zacatecas would always wipe me out completely because I was in no kind of shape to keep up with these guys who walk their cattle 5 miles a day. I started running 2 miles 2-3/wk and then start increasing it to 3 ½ miles 3/wk. Summer 2009 I continued running and this school year God gave me a special blessing. My work schedule worked out for me to be able to run with a coach during a lunch period. Therefore, I have strived to run 4 miles 5 days/wk (M-F). Being in shape has not only been a personal blessing but a ministry blessing. The high mountain villages being steep and 8000 ft above sea level aren’t that bad for walking short distances for out of shape people but definitely a challenge for hiking and sports.
Ministry blessings-“La Ballena” was a great blessing among many that the Lord provided for us. I remember getting on my knees seeking the Lord for a 15 passenger van and the answer coming within 2 weeks. “La Ballena” (the whale) has now been through about every mountain road of Jerez county, plowing through and getting stuck in mud, getting us through narrow mountain passages, and more than anything making it possible to get the gospel to very isolated/remote areas. Since the Lord had blessed us with summer teams who were flying directly into Zacatecas those teams would have had to rent a van locally at very high rates and now “La Ballena” is at the Lord’s service to accommodate mission teams. The Lord also blessed us with much needed musical instruments and gear such as: electric acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mics, generator, drum set, etc. In September we were able to setup a ministry website-much thanks to Sarah Broecker. We are in need of somebody who would donate their time to help us updating that website. At the same token we are in much need of a new computer-our old one being very slow and on its last days. Believers who know nothing about our ministry/who we are can be led to that website by a random search engine. Donors can now donate to our ministry electronically.
Zacatecas village ministry-Summer ministry 2009 in Guadalupe Victoria village was awesome despite the catechist’s nuisances, the loss of many sheep due to the threats, and the burning of Bibles we had donated. Doing the Bible studies at the court instead of in homes turned out to be a real winner. We went through half the book of Genesis in the adult class making comparisons to the New Testament. You would have a group’s entire concentration in the reading of God’s Word and then be randomly interrupted by a drunk guy driving up on his 3 wheeler or trotting up on his burro. What moments! The disappointing moment for me as their pastor was when they decided they weren’t ready for water baptism. They understood well that by being baptized meant they would be completely identifying with the Christian faith. They knew how they could be ridiculed by the other locals for making that step of public confession. We love them and believe that soon they will surrender themselves completely to Lord Jesus Christ. The hearts of the people of Monte de los Garcia grew colder and colder to the gospel as the summer progressed. We are now seeking the Lord as to His will for our continued minister there for Summer 2010. Working in Parral de las Huertas was a definitely a Holy Spirit initiated thing. What a response from the people! To this date the catechist has not come through to pluck the seeds we have sown. In Parral there is a faithful group of believers and potential disciples who are in much need of nurturing. This people are a humble people with no public drainage system, very little land to work unlike Palmas Altas where there is plentiful land, public drainage, running water, etc. I learned this summer that part of being led by the Holy Spirit includes sometimes having to discontinue previous work. The village of Villa Hermosa had been evangelized time and time again with no signs of fruit bearing fruit. We had invested time in a local believer who has great potential but is not teachable. We had even offered help in the area of agriculture to study the men’s soils with Professor Lynn but not even that was received. I had thought to myself, I don’t want anybody to think that I start things that I don’t finish. As I sought the Lord I knew I had to shake the dust of my feet and move on to the fertile lands He was calling me to. I do not cease praying for that village that they will repent like Nineveh before that great day of the Lord. As my beloved pastor/friend C.J. Ellis had taught me where the Holy Spirit is that’s where I need to be. I was really excited when the Lord told me that it was time to start working in the more populated towns nearer to Jerez . This Christmas trip was our first trip to the town of Porvenir and we are looking forward to going this Spring Break to evangelize there, do VBS’s, and do agricultural work with the men. It’s amazing how the Lord has led Professor Lynn Brandenberger to partner with us in our endeavor to reach Zacatecas with the gospel. The Lord had led him to a certain type of corn that he wanted to share with the men this Spring Break. It turns out the principal crop of Porvenir is corn.
Urgent need/monthly support
We had really wanted to go full-time this next year but at this time we have not seen anywhere near the response we need to receive monthly support. Remember we have to raise our own support. We are not supported by a big organization that takes care of our financial needs. We really need you to pray about supporting us with $50/month. We did see some 4 individuals make the decision in 2009 to support us. Our full-time budget is $3500/month and we are almost at 1/5 of that. I have been very active in seeking opportunities to speak at churches but have not seen any response as of yet. If you are a family or you are simply an individual that reads this newsletter we really need you to consider supporting us with $50/month. God has called us to Zacatecas to take the kingdom by force. I hope our 4 years of perseverance in the area has showed you our dedication. Please respond to this e-mail with your commitment. If we have the support by the end of this next summer we will go. I also ask you to send me names/e-mails or info of any pastors of churches/individuals that might be interested in receiving me at their church on a Sunday.
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Summer teams 2010
At this time we only have one team committed to doing a mission trip for this summer. We need you to come and help us with evangelism, VBS’s, sports camps, etc. We have experience working with men/women, youth, college age, and families. We need a team to commit to doing a baseball camp in Porvenir. We may also have a pretty big construction project opportunity as well.
Thanks again for all your prayers and support, Sembradores de Cristo family
Tax exempt giving
% Sembradores de Cristo
Esperanza Del Rio Community Church
603 E. 17th St. Del Rio, TX 78840
www.sembradoresdecristo.com
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