Spring Break 2012

Sembradores de Cristo Spring Break Trip Newsletter 2012
“And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, if Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” (Exodus 33:14-15)
Indeed His Holy Presence did go with us all week long in the black heart and the team is now getting much needed rest. I love Moses’s attitude as he lets God know how He knows that without God they weren’t going to do anything, go anywhere. He recognizes that the lost world won’t be able to recognize that they are any different than the rest of the pagan nations without God’s mighty presence. Everyday our team held intense times of worship, devo, and prayer, seeking for His presence. On Monday we climbed onto the roof of Angelina’s house and prayed in unity over the four cardinal directions. God heard us and went ahead of us preparing the territory in every village and town we worked in. From start to finish that ole toothless lion fought against us but there was our Almighty God like a shield about us. To start with, two of our team members missed their connecting flight to Del Rio, one of them also forgetting her passport at home. We were greatly amazed that their airline offered them a free connection to Zacatecas. The only problem was the passport didn’t arrive on time. Our team really prayed as we knew it was the enemy trying to deter them from being in Zacatecas as they were to play the two main parts of the drama. The passport finally arrived Monday morning and the airline graciously changed their flight to Monday afternoon. All week long we saw folks come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, saw folks be healed physically, many folks encouraged and exhorted, and many folks blessed with a basic staple of beans and rice.
Villages
This trip we were able to visit Parral de las Huertas twice. Be encouraged that Francisca and Delia continue growing in their faith as does Gabriel. Gabriel has made the decision to be baptized this coming March. The lady from the store who had seen the mighty hand of God bring rain from heaven after spending years organizing processions up and down the mtns to call upon the dead saint idols has went back to her old vomit of idolatry. Pastor Kevin (PK) was able to exhort Arnulfo (whom we nicknamed Nuf-dog) to come back to God. PK’s New York team was the first team to go into Parral with us to evangelize back in summer 2009. Arnulfo was told he wasn’t ever going to walk again after being ridden with bullets. We prayed for him and he felt a supernatural warmth come over his leg. The rest of that summer I sent different brothers to read the Bible with him and pray over him. By the following summer, Arnulfo was up and walking just fine. His believing mother was down for the summer but he didn’t want anything to do with us, only showing up once when I cooked hot dogs. God has a calling on that young man’s life and I pray that he will stop running from it. In Villa Hermosa we visited the one believing man, Daniel, and had a little service with him right in his home. The team was surprised to see the biggest group they had ever seen come together at the court there. The people really responded to sister Pastor Mike’s word on Jonah. A few of one us went to pray with a sweet woman in her 90’s who says her leg pain goes away every time we pray for her-hallelujah! PK’s balloon making was a constant hit everywhere all week and in Villa Hsa a few men felt obligated to stay (ha) after PK made them a balloon. Monte de los Garcia continues to be the place that we see the greatest move of God among the villages. Here the team performed the drama right on the street outside the store/church. The children and the adults were cut to heart by the message of the drama (Everything by Lifehouse). One young woman couldn’t hold back her emotions after the drama and during PK’s followup message. He preached on Galatians 5 listing all the sins that were represented in the drama and how those who practice them will not enter the kingdom of heaven. She received Christ and let it all out-amen! We also handed out hot dogs at the end of the service. I had realized that I had never done a meal for the people of Monte de los Garcia. Martin, Myra, Beto, and Faviola are really starting to step it up. They were helping us out with church order, passing out Bibles, and even praying for folks with the laying on of hands. Beto was excited when I gave him the first guitar I learned guitar on which had been given to me by a border team from Illinois in Dec. 2004. Luis has declared his intention of being baptized in June. Every member of the team played their part this week. We seriously would not have been able to do it this time without all of their help. I have no idea how we did it in December with me suffering from bronchitis, gastritis, and that foot pain. My foot’s getting better again but the doctors still have no idea what the issue is. Praise the Lord, this time I had drivers, cooks, musicians, translators, greeters, children’s workers, preachers (un poquito de todo!)
Team Sembradores Spring Break 2012
One of those musicians was our beloved brother Ezequiel Hdz (Cheque) from Saltillo. Cheque really blessed our team with his tremendous anointing in worship. Those who have worked with Cheque know how much music just bubbles out of him. I call him my personal “karaoke.” With him, Jeremy Payne, Mere Limones, and Alejandra Urteaga we had quite a music group this week and guess what-I didn’t have to help out with that. Yeah! There were three preachers among the group (myself, PK, and Mike.) Again, sister Linda (Cheque’s mom) helped out with the meals in Palmas Altas and Laguna Grande and shared the gospel at every gas station, house, park, and work site. We even had someone who helped out with Hadassah since Papa Toño and Johana couldn’t make it. Brother Gary would just hold her and hold her while my wife taught the children. Sister Sarah did a great job leading the team and taking awesome “fotos” like she always does. Hector and Ana did a great job translating and doing about anything and everything asked to do. Hector and sister Jen’s humble ways of sharing their testimonies of converting from Catholicism to Christianity struck many hearts. It was brother Tim’s second mission trip ever-first to China and then to Zacatecas. It can’t get much more hardcore than that. Sister Wendy is a sweet-spirited sister who just glows as she works with people of all ages. Shalom and Nemi helped out a lot too-they took care of their own station (coloring Bible pages) at the carnival on Thursday!
Monte Escobedo
For the fourth time in a row, the deputy mayor of Monte Escobedo granted us the auditorium for the event for FREE! Normally he rents the place for $200/night. The place is a huge gymnasium, a great place for outreaches. The Lord moved so strongly that we held off with our planned evangelism day in Teul. PK and I were able to meet with the deputy mayor (Antonio) and thank him again for the permission to use the building. We were able to even encourage him with a word and pray for him. I was surprised when he allowed PK to give him a huge bear hug right in front of his armed bodyguard-hallelujah! He was excited to hear that we were going to hand out rice and beans as there was no harvest this last year. The people were hungry physically and spiritually in Monte Escobedo and all the villages. I have no idea how we had enough beans and rice to bless all the villages (Parral, Villa, and Monte de los Garcia) and also have enough to hand out bags of beans and rice two days in Monte Escobedo. We also had a lot of hot dogs leftover from the outreach in Monte de los Garcia so I decided to do a hot dog distribution there the last day. There were a lot more buns then hot dogs so one of the local sisters (Elvia) had a great idea-slicing them in half. She and Lupe have begun to grow spiritually and were a great help all three days passing out things, keeping order in lines, praying for folks, etc. Erica Bonilla also helped out and brought a friend the first night who gave her life to Christ. It was all God because she had prayed for this friend but hadn’t invited her since she hadn’t seen us and there she just showed up! Both ladies that clean the auditorium’s restrooms have now been saved and also helped out. They now let all my team members use the restroom for free! God really blessed Sister Guadalupe Villarreal this week as well. During devo one morning the Holy Spirit led me to have the team lay hands on her and she was really touched by the Spirit. On Friday morning she took us to her aunt’s home where Sister Sarah shared a testimony that identified with her life. The Lord told me that one of her family members was very wayward. As we layed hands on her and prayed for her wayward son (in an out of drugs), she got on her knees and was healed of her back pain. She told us that she hadn’t kneeled or really bent down now for years. Mike and Tim began rebuking the ugly virgin and Juan Diego idols she had in her house and then the Lord told me to be bold and tell her that the depression and anxiety she suffered would depart if she got rid of those idols. Another healing occurred as we went out to evangelize. Wendy and Sarah arrived with a lady who wouldn’t put the headphones on because she could barely hear. Wendy and Sarah didn’t give up praying until she could hear. The Lord opened up one ear completely and the other she was able to hear out of a little bit. We evangelized in the colonia that Guadalupe’s niece’s house is in. We were able to use this empty house for the two nights we stayed there. Most all teams that I sent out had great responses to the evangecube and evangelism. Mike and I got to lead the neighbor kids to Christ who later came to the carnival after apprehension about going due to the cartel violence. We also ended up at the local nursing home where two elderly men wouldn’t stop making a big deal about the virgin Mary. Hector had just given us a great devo on the wisdom of preaching the truth about the idols while respecting the local’s innocent beliefs. Since neither they nor the workers would listen we went to the lady they claimed “needed” to hear the message since she always fought with them. Guess what, she was the only one to receive Christ! On Thursday, the day of the carnival, we saw about 250 people-probably close to the number we had the first outreach and this summer with the New Covenant Woodward team. The police helped us oust some rowdy youth and men who wouldn’t submit to the rules and leave their basketballs and volleyballs out till after we were finished. Cheque overheard youth in the internet café complain about how the “Ballena” was here again meaning they couldn’t play ball and how they were surprised that the policia was on our side-ha! We rejoiced to see many folks come back on Friday even after I had told them there wasn’t going to be any “material” gift. We had already decided to specially bless that group with whatever candy, rice, and beans were left as well as the hot dogs. PK brought some thunder from the book of Nehemiah about the sacrifice and cost of rebuilding. He related the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem with the building of His church in Monte Escobedo. He encouraged those interested to submit to my leadership. I saw their serious faces as PK asked for those volunteers to raise their hands and stand up and I realized that “YES” these were the church of Monte Escobedo. There are now quite a few folks who have told me that they want to be part of our church. Hallelujah! God has done it and is doing it! It’s not about me nor has it ever been about me. He is building His church that the gates of hell shall not prevail against!
Travel mercies
I want to thank all of those that prayed for us this past week. The Lord’s hand was upon us all week. The lives of His saints our precious to Him! I do have to mention that the brakes on the Ballena completely went out as did the sliding door break again. By the grace of God we made the 12 hour trip back without any trouble even without brakes. It will probably cost some $800 to fix all of that. Let me know if you would like to help out with that.

Please pray about partnering with us financially so we can go full-time.

Love ya’ll, Sembradores de Cristo family

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603 E. 17th St. Del Rio, TX 78840

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Phone: (830) 719-9731