Three King's Day in Tepeyac

Greetings from Mexico in Jesus' name!

It's been busy here for us lately and we are always blessed to share another opportunity to bring the love of Jesus to the people of Mexico.

Sunday, the 5^th we were able to bring a group up to the Rehab in Centinella and enjoy the service with the saints there. We brought a cake and had “La Abuelita” hot chocolate to warm us up. It was great fellowship and we all enjoyed our time there. We’ve been visiting the rehab during the week, and spending time talking with the men who live there.

 

Cake with friends at the Rehab in Centinella

 In Mexico, another big celebration relating to the birth of our Savior is Three King’s Day, the sixth of January. It is a day dedicated to the memory of the Magi who came to visit the Messiah and they often celebrate with a special meal and a special bread known as a Rosca, round with dried fruit baked on top and a small plastic baby representing the Christ Child.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other part of the celebration for children is gift-giving. We were able to participate in this part of the day by handing out stuffed animals, Beanie Babies and Porcelain dolls to the children of Tepeyac. We loaded up the pickup with 4 large boxes of toys my sister, Jennie, sent down after Christmas. We went to every house in Tepeyac and the children were able to pick the toys they wanted out of the boxes. Moms and Grandmothers picked out dolls, too, and it was a sweet time of hugs and “Feliz Año Nuevo’s”  (Happy New Year) greetings to all the women I know here in town. It was sweet and we enjoyed the time together. Maria, Socorro and the girls, and our friend Veronica from the Rehab in Centinella joined us with her daughter, Priscilla. It was so cold outside on Monday, we were all bundled up but it was fun. We are so grateful to my sister, Jennie, and her friends, Clay and Sharon who donated the dolls for Mexico. What a blessing to the children here.

The afternoon was a wonderful time of fellowship with Alejandro and Veronica and Maria’s family enjoying pozole here at our house with the fireplace warming us up on this cold winter day. We had cupcakes and peach cobbler for dessert and lots of coffee and hot chocolate to warm us up for the gift-giving adventure.

That evening, we enjoyed the last of the pozole at Maria and Rito’s house by lantern-light and the last evening of the visit of Margarito, Rito’s brother who lives in Saltillo, the state capital. He came last week when their uncle passed away.

I had an amazing conversation with Margarito over coffee. I shared my testimony with him and we talked about the Lord, the gospel, and salvation. He was very receptive and we talked about Christians being persecuted in other countries for their faith. Rito wanted to know more about this and said he didn’t know anyone was being persecuted for being a Christian. I get the Voice of the Martyrs mailings and want to share with him about what’s going on in these other countries. I told them we are blessed that we presently don’t have a problem sharing the gospel freely here in Mexico but that can all change. Margarito was adamant that that will never change, and I pray he’s right, but in my heart, I feel he’s not.

We are so grateful for all of your prayers and love for us, and we thank God for the privilege of serving the Lord here in Mexico. We pray this year brings many good things and wonderful opportunities for all of you to share your faith with the lost.

May God be glorified in our lives as we share the gospel with the lost and hurting around us.

In His strong embrace,

Toni and Bill

The New Year Is Here!

Greetings from Mexico in the magnificent name of Jesucristo!

So many things have happened over the past several weeks, it’s difficult to bring you up to date, but I will do my best.

Monday, December 16^th, Bill decided he wanted to try once again to visit the prison near Piedras Negras. It had been over a year since they had closed the doors to outsiders ministering inside the walls, and although we had tried several times to visit, they had denied us access to enter. Monday, we prayed and went to the prison, going straight to the gate guard and asked if we could come inside and share the Bible. The man hesitated, but an inmate we knew was walking one of the prison drug dogs nearby and told the guard we used to come inside and minister frequently. The guard went to the office and came back several minutes later and said yes, we could come inside. We were elated, needless to say. We gave our identifications to the woman in the small office and she gave us each a “ficha” to hold on to in order to get our ID back after our visit.

We walked the short corridor between the cyclone fence walls near the holding tanks for the recently arrested, and went through the inspection area, where they frisked Bill in a nearby room, and went through my Bible to see if I was bringing any “contraband” inside. Satisfied we were “clean,” they brought us to the big iron doors that separated the guards from the prisoners. They opened the door and let us inside. We walked toward the back of the prison, where we knew the inmates had church services. On the way, past the volleyball court and near the maximum security area, we heard men singing praises in Spanish. We walked toward the music and in a courtyard surrounded by hallways and laundry hanging on makeshift clotheslines, we saw several men in a circle, with wooden crates for seating, welcoming us to the group. The brother who preached was playing guitar and leading worship. He and another brother told us they would not be leaving the prison for many more years. Everyone greeted us with a handshake and welcomed us to the church service.

We thoroughly enjoyed the church service there, and the message was one of freedom on the inside through a relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. The time we spent was short, as it was time for count and the men said we had to leave the prison. We pray God continues to open doors for us and others to minister behind prison walls. Although the men encouraged us more than we encouraged them, we feel God’s leading us to continue to be a light in the darkness in that facility. Please keep the men and women of this facility in your prayers.

 

Our Christmas was sweet and we enjoyed our time with friends and neighbors. Christmas Eve was spent with Rito and Maria’s family, enjoying a meal of tamales and “frijoles del rancho.” When we arrived at the gate to our place, there was a female Great Pyrenees dog sitting at the gate. We brought her in as she was thin and looked so bad. It was cold out and we gave her something to eat. She had several health issues and at first we thought she was one of the dogs from Rito and Maria’s place. But after asking around, we found out she lives in Tepeyac and came from a family in Piedras Negras. She’s an old dog and we returned her to her owners the next day.

 

Christmas day, we had the Martinez family and our neighbors, José Alberto and Guadalupe, along with their daughter, Griselda for a turkey dinner with trimmings. Afterward, we watched the movie, “The Grace Card” in Spanish. It was a sweet night of popcorn, hot chocolate and fellowship. No tree, decorations or gifts, but we all prayed and gratefully thanked God for His provision and protection for our families during the past year.

New Year’s Eve was spent with Yessica and her family, enjoying playing games with the children and she made pizza for all of us. It was a sweet way to ring in the new year with friends here in Mexico.

 

Jahaziel enjoying a cup of juice on New Year's Eve

Our neighbor, José Alberto, laid the forms and poured cement for our well and pump stand this week. Lord willing, we’ll be able to do more work on the pipe and lines to finish the project in the next few months. Greg brought us a pump to get the water out of the well, and that’s a big blessing. Slowly but surely we trust we’ll have running water in our home.

We want to thank all of you for your prayers over the past year. We know that they are the backbone of the ministry here in Mexico.

By His grace,
Toni and Bill