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 16th, 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.
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| 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
