Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ!
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of blessings, reconnecting with
friends and family, and seeing God’s
abundant provision for us as we travelled nearly 1,500 miles from Mexico
through Texas and home again.
We are so grateful for travelling mercies, and did not have
even a flat tire along the way. Our tires have given us much trouble as we’ve
put lots of miles on them in the past year, and the roads in our area are not
smooth. But we were blessed with sweet hospitality, fellowship, opportunities
to share the work here in Mexico and opportunities to share with people along
the way.
We left Mexico on Friday, August 9th, and headed
for Del Rio. The first thing we had to get was an inspection on the Tundra. We
passed after buying two lug nuts for the wheels and then headed up the road to
Aspermont. We stopped to see Greg and Robin Goza in Anson, and had a sweet
visit with them. Then we went to spend some time with Todd, and headed out to
Steve and Eileen Cochran’s to spend the night. They were gone to Andrews for
the weekend, but invited us to stay at their place. We rested and then headed
in to town to have lunch with Laura Pilkinton at Hickman’s. While we were
there, we saw lots of friends and had a nice visit with Laura. We went by Steve
and Debra Petterson’s house and had a nice visit with them, catching up on the
news of grandbabies and such.
After we left Aspermont, we met Greg and Robin at their
house and went to the Bumpis home outside Anson where Larry Goff was sharing
about his recent trip to Papua New Guinea. What a blessing to hear all the
things God did on that trip, and we were excited and encouraged by Larry’s
testimony.
We stayed the night with the Goza’s and then went to share
at Aspermont Community Church on Sunday morning. It was great seeing everyone as we reconnected
with old friends there. That was our church the 10 years we lived in Aspermont,
so it was coming home for us.
Several of the families met at Uncle’s for lunch, and then
we headed back to Anson with Greg and Robin to rest up for the evening service at the First Baptist Church of Swenson. We picked Todd up to join us for the service that night. We didn’t
share but got to meet the new pastor, Mickey Wagoner, and saw several old friends. They support us and provide
shoebox gifts for children and families in Tepeyac.
After the service, we headed for Brandon’s in Watauga, and
arrived a little after 11:30. It was so good to see him and we talked a few
minutes before heading to bed. He had an early day Monday at work, and I was
there to watch Abigail when Jessica came home just before 8am from work.
Spending time with Abi is always a joy, and she is growing
up too fast. We had a great week, making cookies, coloring together, going to
the Jump House and for ice cream, and just hanging out together. ![]()
Wednesday afternoon, we headed for Primera Iglesia
in Dallas, and we had an opportunity to share about the ministry when Brother
David Lara invited us to come forward. The saints there loaded us up with
clothing, shoes, and cases of notebooks for the school children and school
supplies. We were so blessed.
We took Todd to the bus early Friday morning so he could get
a little rest before work on Monday. Then Saturday morning, we headed to Corpus
Christi. It was a long drive and we didn’t arrive until about 7:30 that night,
but Jim and Brenda had a meal ready for us and we had a sweet visit before we
headed to bed.
Sunday morning we had a wonderful breakfast, made by Jim
himself, and then headed to the Primera Iglesia Bautista. I shared during the first service about
the ministry (in Spanish) and then again in English for the second service. The
church had a wonderful lunch in the fellowship hall for us, with a beautiful
cake. They really made us feel welcome.
Bill shared during the evening service and we all joined
Juan and Martha for supper at one of their favorite restaurants. The next
morning, we said our good-byes after visiting Halleluiah, the local Christian
Bookstore. Jim and Brenda ordered copies of Stormie Omartian’s Power of a
Praying Wife in Spanish for our studies. What a blessing to have this resource
for the women in Mexico.
We got on the road and headed towards Eagle Pass. When we
arrived at the aduana, we gave the woman there a list of the school supplies we
were bringing to Mexico, and paid the 16% taxes they charged. We were blessed
it only came to $40. US.
We arrived home about 9:30 Monday evening and were so glad
to be back home. Our neighbors, José Alberto and Guadalupe took great care of
the dogs. We received this photo of José
serenading Max with his harmonica.
We are grateful to God and to all of our friends and family
for the sweet time we had while we were in Texas. Thank you for your prayers
for us. We appreciate every one of you.
May the Lord be glorified in your lives as you seek the King
of kings.
In His loving embrace,
Toni and Bill
