The New Year 2021

Greetings in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ!

When I think of last year, I can only say God is faithful and I am blessed to be writing this today. With all the challenges of 2020, those of us who remain living and breathing in this new year have much to be grateful for.

We have seen God’s hand on our lives and I hope we can say “It is well with my soul.” Our hope is in Jesus Christ and He has a wonderful plan for our lives if we only surrender to His will. The pandemic has helped most of us see what is truly important.

I am blessed to still be here in Mexico, and have experienced so many blessings and challenges over the past calendar year.

It’s almost impossible to share all that God has done here, but I will say that He has been faithful and protected me and provided for my needs and the needs of many in my sphere of influence here.

Last month, I had the privilege of handing out over 100 backpacks filled with school supplies, toys, and many other goodies from a group of churches in Oklahoma and Texas. The ministry of Bridge Builders for the Cross of Ada, Oklahoma brought over 1,500 backpacks to Acuña, and Shon and Janeene Young invited me to include the children of Tepeyac. Also, Chava and Elvira Rodriguez of Dallas, Texas brought down dozens more gifts to complete what I needed for the children of Tepeyac. It was a sweet time of sharing the love of Christ with these families.

 

Bill remains in the residential care home near San Antonio, and although I haven’t been able to visit him due to COVID restrictions, he is doing well and had his first vaccine on his birthday this month. He turned 76 this year.

Last week, I drove up to near Abilene to meet Greg and Robin Goza. It was wonderful to fellowship with them for even a short time. They have been in Texas for the past month and are heading back to Guadalajara this week, so it was a great opportunity to reconnect. They have been such a big part of our lives here in Mexico, and I am so grateful for their friendship.

 

I continue to attend Sunday services at Agua Viva Church in Centinela, with Pastor Alejandro Alvarado and his wife, Veronica. Most weeks, three friends from Palmira accompany me. The church is part of the ministry based in Juarez, Chihuahua, and is a place of healing for men coming out of drugs and alcohol. Alejandro is from Durango and has been ministering in our area for over a decade. The men he disciples have come from a wide range of backgrounds, but all receive a firm foundation of Bible teaching and instruction. I am blessed to be a part of the ministry.

 

I would like to thank the support of Aspermont Community Church, First Baptist Church of Swenson and Primera Iglesia Bautista of Corpus Christi. These churches have continued to partner with the ministry here in Mexico, as well as some precious families and friends. I would not be able to do what I do if it weren't for these partners. 

Every day is a gift. Be grateful to be alive and make your today better than yesterday.

God bless you as your serve the King of kings.

In His loving embrace,

Toni

Thanksgiving Meal at Agua Viva 2019

Greetings in the gracious name of Jesus Christ.

I am very behind in my updates this blog, so will try to play catch-up on with this update.

The past several weeks have been busy ones, transporting people to doctor’s appointments, emergency room visits, taking vitals and giving injections because the local clinics are on vacation for the rest of the year, and delivering food, clothing and blankets to families in need in our area. I have been so blessed to receive lots of donations from  Primera Asambea de Dios of Dallas, Texas during my recent visit to the Metroplex. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving at the Agua Viva Rehabilitation Center in Centinela on Sunday, November 24^th with 14 residents at the rehab and nearly 40 in attendance ate their fill of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli-cauliflower salad, potato salad, yeast rolls and cake. Everyone went back for seconds, and some for thirds and fourth helpings. It was a sweet time of fellowship and the Lord multiplied the food. We had 3 big turkeys cooked to perfection by Veronica, Pastor Alejandro’s wife, and Susan Carver and Robert Strickland helped me make the salads for the event.

I took vitals on the residents of the center before the meal, and with my blood pressure cuff, glucose monitor and pulse oximeter, I was able to get a good read on the men’s health.  Most of the men had high blood pressure, and I gave them each a list of their results to take to a doctor when they get a chance to be seen.

Thank you so much for your interest in the ministry, and especially for your prayers and support. I am so grateful for the Body of Christ partnering with us in our efforts here below the border.

God bless you as you seek His will in your life and share the love of Jesus with the lost and hurting around you.

I'm His loving embrace,

Toni

Tepeyac VBS 2019

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Isaiah 52:7

We are so grateful for all who came to our little corner of Mexico to bring the good news to so many. The group from First Baptist Church of Haskell, Texas was 40 strong, and brought encouragement and love to the children and families in San Carlos, Tepeyac, Centinela and Casa Hogar Bethesda. 

This year, they stayed in a church in Acuna, and we saw many attend the Vacation Bible Schools at each of the locations.

Here are a few of the pictures from the week in Tepeyac. It was a wonderful time of praise and worship, teaching of the Word and encouraging the new believers that came to Christ that week.

These few pictures don't nearly tell the story, but the faces should give you an idea of the enjoyment felt by the children and mother's who joined us at the church in Tepeyac.

Thank you for your interest in the ministry in Mexico, and for your prayers for the families in our area. We are so grateful to God for you and your love and support.

By His grace,
Toni

Children's Day in Tepeyac 2019

Greetings from Tepeyac in the gracious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! What a blessing to serve the Lord here in Mexico. I am so grateful for all of you who pray for and support this ministry and I apologize for not keeping you updated more often. Things are busy here and I am finally getting a chance to catch up on the ministry blog today. I pray these pictures and stories will bless you as the experiences have blessed me.

The Lord has been working here in our little corner of Mexico, and we have seen salvations and lives changed as I minister to families in our communities.  Here are some photos from our recent Children's Day Outreach in Tepeyac. We had dozens of moms and children attend the event and all enjoyed fun, games, gifts and a meal served by our friends from the Agua Viva Rehabilitation Center in Centinela. Pastor Alejandro gave a message and his wife, Veronica led the games and fun for the kids. The brothers that reside at the center also helped with the games.

Pastor Alejandro Alvarado sharing the Good News with the
 mothers and children at the plaza in Tepeyac.

This fishing for ducks game was by far the most

popular with the younger children. I love how the

kids waiting to play were already wearing their 

blindfolds!

Preparing for the sack race

Carrera De Niños de Ejido Tepeyac

Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and support of this ministry in Mexico. I am blessed for the privilege to serve the Lord here and pray this blog encourages you as you make a difference in the lives around you.

Serving with joy,

Toni

Christmas Eve In Prison

Greetings from Coahuila in the glorious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

We are so grateful God answers prayers. We had the privilege of going into the prison in Piedras Negras on Christmas Eve this year, and shared the gospel, along with pozole with all the fixin's.

We were blessed to have the presence and support of the guards to join us as three pastors shared the messages, along with the rest of us sharing testimonies and encouragement to the inmates. 

Manuel and Alejandro making the pozole

Cleaning out the ice chests

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Buying bolillos at the bakery

Pastor Alejandro Alvarado made a big pot of pozole and since we can't bring metal into the facility, we placed it in our ice chest, and brought rolls, limes, lettuce and punch to fill the stomachs of the men who attended the service in the small church inside the prison.

How glorious to hear the praise and worship of these men, giving God the glory in the midst of challenging circumstances behind bars. Many of the men came up to us to thank us for being there, and for the meal. It was wonderful hearing many of them share their stories. 

I have not been permitted to enter the facility since the escape of over a hundred inmates, and was so blessed to finally be able to enter, after praying for God to open the doors once again.

Lord willing, we will be going in to do Bible studies on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Pastor Alyejandro is working with other pastors to make it a regular ministry opportunity. God remains in control and we trust Him for His perfect timing in all things.

Me and Isabel Ruvalcaba, Christmas Eve at Agua Viva

Thank you so much for your interest and prayers for the ministry. May God use you and yours mightily as you seek His face.

In Him,

Toni

Agua Viva Thanksgiving Meal, 2018

Greetings from Tepeyac in Jesus' beautiful name!

Our Thanksgiving meal at Agua Viva Centro Rehabilitacion Center in Centinela was wonderful. We held it Sunday, Nov. 25th after the church service. The 22 lb turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, home-style beans, broccoli-cauliflower salad, bread rolls and 6 pumpkin pies was enough to feed 37 people, and we even had leftovers!

Thank the Lord for the sweet fellowship and Alejandro's message of gratitude.

Thank you so much for your interest in this ministry in Coahuila. God is our protector and our supply, and we are grateful for you and your prayers for all of us here.
May God use our lives mightily for His glory.

In His loving embrace,
Toni

VBS 2018: Full of Decisions And Blessings

Greetings from Tepeyac in Jesus' name. God is so faithful and we were abundantly blessed by the efforts of the 40-plus friends from the First Baptist Church of Haskell, Texas and several other churches in Texas and beyond. It was a week of sharing Jesus with children and families in San Carlos, Tepeyac and Centinela. We saw many friends we had seen before and many new faces joined the teachings. All together, it was a wonderful week of fellowship and outreach in our area of Coahuila, Mexico.

I worked in Tepeyac, teaching the youth Bible School. Our class had 15 children make decisions for Christ and we were so glad to pray with these young souls.

The last morning of the VBS in Tepeyac, we had a little grass snake visit the area where the kids were on benches, doing the study, and naturally, it caused a chaotic uproar. With the kids standing on the bench, yelling, I was able to catch the snake and release it in a lot next to the church, but not before it bit me on my finger. It wasn't painful and I knew the snake was harmless, but the kids were still having difficulty settling down to work after the incident.

One new friend who joined the group for the first time this year from Guthrie, Clell McCauley, asked if he could share something with the kids after the snake incident. I translated as he shared that during the Bible Study, all was well before the snake showed up, just like in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. They were walking with God and having a great relationship when along came the serpent. Everything became chaos from then on, as it is today. Without God, our lives are in chaos and it's only through a relationship with Jesus Christ that we can return to a peaceful life.

Our VBS Class in Ejido Tepeyac

It was such a profound revelation on Clell's part, I was nearly in tears as I translated that message. Then I shared the gospel and asked the children if they wanted to pray. All were willing and repeated the prayer of salvation, asking for forgiveness of their sins and asking Christ to give them the ability to walk in truth and obey the commandments of the Word of God, the Bible.
I believe the Lord gave us a profound reality with the little snake that day, and am so grateful He put on Clell's heart to share that message. God is faithful, all the time.

The Group who came from Texas for this year's VBS.

Yuki Refreshers

Joyful faces

Helping the little ones with their crafts

Evelyn's winning smile

Greg and Robin Goza joined us from Guadalajara

The littlest ones also enjoyed the VBS in Tepeyac this week

Spicy Watermelons suckers with chili are the best!

"Yuki Anticipation" in the heat of July

Loading up on donated clothing after the VBS

Thank you so much for your interest in this blog, and the ministry here in Coahuila, Mexico. We appreciate your prayers and you encouragement. May God be glorified as we bring His love and the good news to the lost and hurting here in our little corner of the world.

Serving Him with joy,

Toni