Amazing Grace

Greetings from Mexico in the awesome name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

What a privilege to wake up and see the moon shining, listen to the roosters crowing and know that God remains on the throne, ready to use us if we want to be used by Him!

I woke up at 4 this morning, with excitement knowing that God is going to use me today.

Lately, I had been feeling like I’m not making a difference here, but my strength is renewed by His Word and I will not let the enemy take that away from me. The devil wants to discourage us and make us feel we aren’t touching lives or serving God as we should. Yesterday I got a “shot in the arm.” And today I am excited, knowing that God’s promises are “Yes” and “Amen!”

I read two devotionals this morning, both encouraging me to remember that I don’t need to get into debates about religion, but just to do what God has called me to do. I need to bring every thought captive, including those that bring discouragement. God has called us to be a light, and we don’t have to worry about how He’s going to use us, we just need to be ready to be used, for His glory.

Yesterday morning I took Henriquetta’s daughter, Hortensia, to Piedras Negras for blood work at the Seguro Hospital. Guadalupe, my neighbor (her sister-in-law) came with us. We left at 6 as we had to be there by 7. We had a smooth ride until we came just into Piedras, where the car broke down and wouldn’t run. We let the car on the side of the road, leaking “fluids” and hailed a taxi for remainder of the ride to the hospital for 30 pesos (that’s about $2.50 US.)

The hospital was full of people, and I would estimate over 200 persons were waiting in line before 8 am for consultations. When we got up the stairs to the line where Tencha (Hortensia) was to wait, she realized she had left a bag in the taxi when we got out. Guadalupe and I quickly walked back downstairs and out the hospital doors to find the taxi driver who had given us a ride. Needless to say, he was long gone. We spoke to another driver waiting there, but he didn’t seem to know the man who drove the other taxi. No sooner did we speak to that driver, a horn honked and behind that taxi was the other driver, with the bag in hand. He had gone around the corner, apparently, and realized we left the bag in his car, and brought it back to us! To me, that was a miracle. Not many people would do that. But he did. I gave him 20 more pesos for his trouble and thanked him profusely. Praise God for touching that man’s heart. Although I doubt he knew it, the bag contained the contents of Tencha’s grandson’s wallet, with his clothes he had left at his parent’s house in Tepeyac. God is so good!

Tencha was relieved when we arrived back upstairs with her bag, and she was already finished with her blood work. The next thing we had to do was get a mechanic, hopefully with a tow-truck, for the car.

I checked my phone for numbers of mechanics in the area that Bill and I had used previously. (I think we’re a little rough on our vehicles here in Mexico.) The only one I had was a welder who did our muffler work on the van months ago. Then I realized Brother Hector would probably know a mechanic, and called him. Hector gave me the number of a man named Rene, and I called him right away. Still sitting in the hospital, Rene gave me his address and we walked down to get another taxi to his house.

He was waiting for us, and got a neighbor to take us to the car, along with his tools. The neighbor dropped us off at the car, and I decided to turn the key to see if it would start. (It just died on the way and wouldn’t start again, so we left it.) Amazingly, it started and he told us to all get in and head for his house, where he could work on it. We made it about halfway, and it overheated, so we pulled over to a feed store and turned it off to let the radiator cool down. Then he filled it with water and we headed to his house, after he got a sack of feed for his goat and loaded it in the trunk.

When we got to his house, he started checking out all the things that seemed to be wrong, and to make a long story short, we spent over 9 hours with Rene, while he worked on the radiator hoses, removed the thermostat, disconnected the air conditioner and told me it was missing major bolts, like for the motor mounts. I knew the car had problems, but didn’t realize how many problems it had.

The wonderful part was I had hours to talk to him about the Lord. He is a believer, just not really faithful about fellowshipping in his church yet. He is single and wants to return to the states, but had been deported so has 5 more years to wait until he can try to get legal. He grew up in Southern California, and doesn’t like living in Piedras, but is originally from Michoacan. Rene speaks perfect English, but I didn’t know that until I had been there over 5 hours because I don’t speak English to people in Mexico. When he had to go get parts for the car, he drove his bicycle, and came back within 15 minutes.

We walked to get something to eat at a little café called “Chavito’s,” and left there to deliver the package to Tencha’s grandson by taxi ride on the other side of town. Then the taxi driver brought us back to the mechanic, where we spent the rest of the day.

Another blessing was when I asked him what I owed him, he said “Three-hundred and fifty.” I immediately asked, “Dollars?????” and he said, “NO, pesos. But the thing is, you have to let me do all your mechanic work in the future.” What a deal! That came to about $30.US dollars. Praise the Lord. I doubt many mechanics in Texas would have worked on a vehicle all day for that price. He really knew what he was doing, and told me what parts I needed to get to repair the vehicle correctly. I am so grateful the car ran great and we got home safely, about 7 o’clock. It was a very long day but a very good one. God is faithful.

Today is Tuesday, and I look forward to another day serving the Lord most high! What a privilege it is!

Serving Him with joy;
Toni