All Aboard! VBS In Tepeyac 2018

His Grace Is Sufficient

Greetings in Jesus’ mighty name. I am writing this while at my son’s home in Watauga, Texas. The past week I have enjoyed time with my family, specifically with my two granddaughters. Sewing, doing crafts and making cookies, it’s always fun with two girls, especially when they have a week off of school.

The Lord has blessed me in so many ways and I am so grateful for the friends and family that support this ministry through prayer, donations, correspondence and finances. Your support helps so many families that I work with, supplying transportation, medical supplies, food, clothing, Bible study materials and much more. Thank you for your partnership with this ministry.

Recently, the Lord has supplied the Agua Viva Rehab with finances through a government program to do improvements on the buildings and the property. The “muchachos” have already completed tile work in the sanctuary, plastering and painting in the new office and electrical work throughout the center. I was able to purchase a dozen LED light bulbs on this trip for the center to help reduce their electricity consumption. They are still raising sheep, and have now registered and licensed their mini-van for transportation. Pastor Alejandro and his wife, Veronica are working to create a presence in the community, as rehabilitation centers are often not welcome in small communities in Mexico, as in most other countries. Through the Christmas shoebox program and our bake sales in Centinela, we hope to break that stigma and help the center become an integral part of the community of Centinela.

 Successful apple-bobbing winner from Children's Day a few years ago

We are planning events for Children’s Day, Sunday, April 30th. Every year in the past since living in Coahuila, we have had a big event at the church in Tepeyac, with games, gifts and food for the children and the parents that participated. It’s a wonderful way to share the joy and love of Christ with the local community.

If you can help with this upcoming need, please contact me. We are in need of small toys/gifts for the children as prizes, gifts for moms that attend, like yarn, fabric, hygiene items, etc., and any financial gifts to help with the food for the events in Tepeyac and in Centinela.

Thank you for all you do, for your prayers and your encouragement. It means so much and I am very grateful for your interest in this ministry.

God bless you as you seek to serve our King and be a blessing to those in your sphere of influence.

In His loving embrace,

Toni

Here are some pictures from past Children's Day events in Tepeyac.

Children's Day Outreach in Tepeyac

Greetings from Tepeyac, Coahuila in the name of the King of kings!

 We had an excellent day, sharing the gospel and the love of Jesus Christ with the mothers and children in our little town on Sunday afternoon.

 Pastor Alejandro Alvarado and his family and church members cooked hot dogs for everyone.

 The kids had fun with the sack race, three-legged race, fishing for ducks and other games.

 They all enjoyed the bags of candy, some with chili flavoring!

 Lucero and Estrella Martinez were a great help with the gifts and games.

This was hard, walking with the ping pong ball on the wooden spoon, backwards to keep the wind from blowing it off!

Love their enthusiasm!

Fervent sack-racers!

The moms loaded up with fabric, yarn, cutlery, hygiene items, and much more.

It was a fun day for all and we are so grateful for all the donations from our partners in ministry. 

Shoebox Gifts~Special Delivery

Greg and Robin Goza and Laura Pilkinton arrived Friday afternoon and brought 106 Shoebox Christmas gifts for the children of Tepeyac and the surrounding area. The gifts came from individuals and several churches in Stonewall and the surrounding counties.
They were blessed to get their small vehicle across the border without revision as it was packed to the ceiling with shoebox gifts, in addition to their personal belongings.

On Friday afternoon, a group of ladies from our church made pozole for the group, and fried chicken. It was fun to spend that time together and we enjoyed the sweet fellowship of the saints. We ate too much but slept well that night, and were ready the next morning to deliver gifts. I left at 7:30 to pick up Maria, Socorro and the kids from Palmira to come help us with the deliveries, and as it turned out, Blas had a better plan. We pulled up to the front of his gate and the children on his street and surrounding houses came up to get their gifts.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal of tamales and beans with homemade salsa at Sandra's house on Saturday afternoon. When we got ready to leave, she said her Christmas tree didn't have any gifts under if for her grandchildren when they were to arrive that evening, but because the group gave her gifts for her grandchildren, her tree had presents under it for when they arrived. She was crying as she thanked us and hugged each of us goodbye.

We enjoyed giving the gifts to all the children and the mothers asked us to thank our friends who supplied the gifts. What a blessing it was to be a part of such an act of love for the children of Mexico.

We are grateful for Greg, Robin and Laura and their sacrifice to come to Mexico on this trip. We thoroughly enjoyed having them for even the few days they were here. They made it across the border without any problems and should be home this evening, Lord willing.

We hope you have a wonderful week. God bless you and your family as you keep your eyes on the King.
Always,
Toni and Bill

The Flying Horse of San Carlos

The Cabalgata Outreach was wonderful. I painted three banners for the floats and the group handed out 1,000 flyers to the people riding horses and floats from Acuna to San Carlos on Saturday. It was an all-day event, with over 8,000 horses and riders reported to have participated in the parade. It was amazing to see that many horses in one parade. In the evening, we went to the plaza in San Carlos where the groups played Christian music and the pastors from Brownwood and Uvalde shared messages. So many people gathered in San Carlos after the event that it was a great opportunity to share testimonies there in the midst of the crowds.

Not long after the music started, a man named Victoriano came up to me and I started to talk to him about the Lord. He was obviously intoxicated and I began to share with him about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We spoke for a few minutes when we heard a horse come galloping down the sidewalk with a rider, ran up the steps towards the gazebo in the plaza. A man on foot fell between me and the horse, carrying a metal baseball bat and apparently trying to hit the man on the horse. The man on the ground was being chased by the horse and rider, or so it appeared to me.

Several officers came running up to the horse and rider, yelling, “Policia! Policia!” One had a machine gun and two others had pistols drawn. Within seconds, the horse lost its footing and slipped, throwing the rider off.

I got up off the bench where the man and I were talking and we walked about 4 steps before the horse came flying over the bench and landed on its back with its hooves in the air. The poor horse just laid there, in shock, breathing, but not moving an inch. I started praying, as did the other Christians there, and the man at the microphone started praying for all the people in the crowd. Within a few minutes, the man who was on the ground earlier, mounted another horse, and was trying to explain to the crowd that is wasn’t his fault. He was bleeding badly from a machete wound across his stomach and arm, and the blood was falling on his horse and saddle. He was obviously very drunk.

Not a good picture because I was trying to get out of the way for the police men...but you can sort of see the horse with hooves in the air...

The other man tried to lift his horse up but was unable to get it to budge. Pedro, our friend from Tepeyac, helped him get the horse to its feet and amazingly, it seemed uninjured. Both men and horses left the scene without police escort or intervention. I was surprised but more in awe at God’s protection for me and the man I was speaking with. The horse had passed where I had been sitting, and landed right where my feet were, and I was only a few feet away and less than a minute earlier had been in the horse’s path. Amazing God. After the excitement died down, several people and the pastor came over to me to see if I was alright. I just kept telling them God had protected me and they all agreed. Unfortunately, Bill missed the excitement, as he had decided to stay home that evening due to his cold.

We had 12 children come for an impromptu art class Monday afternoon, and they spent two hours drawing and enjoying some cake and lemonade for a snack. We had fun and the kids are looking forward to the Christmas Program on Saturday morning.

We pray God's blessings on you and your family this holiday season. We know how easy it is to forget the reason for the season. Celebrating the birth of our Savior is a wonderful part of our Christian faith, and we are so grateful for His sacrifice for us.

Blessings to all of you from Tepeyac, Coahuila. We thank the Lord for you and for your encouragement as we share the gospel here in Mexico.

In His grip,
Bill and Toni