Sunday Like No Other

Today was a different kind of Sunday for us in Mexico.

It all started with a bang about 6 am. There was a loud noise outside and the electricity went off for several hours. Bill cooked his coffee in the fireplace...he's got to have his coffee!

I got ready for church in the dark until the sun came up. The electricity came back on about 8:30 am and I went to pick up Maria de Jesús and her three grandsons. We got to church about 10 minutes early.

It was a great time of praise and worship and there were 18 people in church today.  Last Sunday Blas had asked me to bring the message so I shared the first chapter of "Created to Be God's Friend: Lessons from the Life of Abraham," by Henry Blackaby. I translated it and shared it from my heart, praying for God's anointing. It was a blessing as I seldom feel capable of bringing a sermon to a group of people.

Early in my Christian walk, I took a Preaching and Teaching course, taught by Jim Arnold at Heart Ministries in Sacramento. He told us to always carry a sermon in your pocket.

After church, I took Maria and the boys home and her daughter, Erika, needed a ride to San Carlos. I took her the 12 miles to her home, with a load of firewood we loaded in the back  of the pickup, and about 3 miles from San Carlos in Emiliano Zapapta we came upon a young mother pushing a double stroller with her two small sons. I asked her if she was walking to San Carlos and she said yes. So I loaded her and her babies in the back seat and placed her stroller in the back, on top of the firewood.

We dropped her off at her sister's house in San Carlos, and then dropped Erika off at her house with her firewood.

I drove back home, thanking God for His faithfulness in providing the vehicles we have and the gasoline to be able to give folks a lift when they need it.

Maria and her family were waiting for me at the house when I arrived. We all loaded up in the van and headed for the church in Centinella at the Rehab there. The service had just begun, although we were nearly 30 minutes late.

It was a wonderful time of praise and worship, and a great message brought by Pastor Alejandro. Afterwards we enjoyed sweet fellowship and a wonderful meal of chili rellenos, frijoles, rice and tortillas. Then we all loaded up in the van and headed home. We dropped Bill, Rito and the kids off and then Maria, Socorro and I headed for San Carlos to see her grandmother who was near death. Our prayer was that God would give us an opportunity to share the gospel.

We were there from 4:30 until 9:30 and we read the 23rd Psalm and prayed with the whole family in the room while Santos was breathing her last breaths. About 7 pm she slipped into eternity, one year short of her 90th birthday. It was sad but it was good to be there, and we were able to share the gospel with the family.
I arrived back home just before 10 pm, after dropping Maria and Socorro at their house.

I thank God that I don't have to worry about what circumstances I will be encountering if I give my day to Him. His agenda is by far the best and I'm so grateful He directs my steps.

Thank you so much for your patience with us as I have not updated our blog for such a long time. I will try to fill in the gaps as soon as I can.

Praising God for His faithfulness,
Toni and Bill

Billy and Cecilia's Christian Wedding at the Courthouse

Greetings from Tepeyac in Jesus' mighty name. We are grateful for God's faithfulness and for our friends and family and their loving support and encouragement for us as we serve Him here in Mexico.

Last week, we had the privilege of attending the wedding of Bill's oldest son, Billy, and his wife, Cecilia. They got married in Fort Worth and Billy's mother and stepfather came from Louisiana to join us as we witnessed the Christ-centered ceremony in the courthouse.

They got married by a Christian woman judge named Lisa Leaton and she shared the most beautiful message of a covenant they were entering in to as man and wife. The Christ-centered ceremony blessed us so much. She even prayed with them and it was an encouragement to all of us attending the ceremony.

On Saturday, we moved their furniture to their new place in Jacksboro from Cresson, and then Sunday morning, attended church with them at High Ridge Church and had lunch with the family.

We enjoyed two days with Brandon and Jessica in Fort Worth after we left Billy and Cecilia. Abigail and I made lots of cookies. It's always a fun thing we do when I visit.

 

We thank the Lord for all of you reading this blog, and appreciate your interest in the ministry here in Tepeyac.

May God bless you as you seek His face, and use your life for His glory.

In His strong embrace,

Toni and Bill

Welcome To The 21st Century...

Greetings from Tepeyac in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

We just had a sweet weekend of work and fellowship with two friends from Austin, Texas. Burl Fulenwider and Carlos Lopez came down to put indoor plumbing into our home. They were able to put in a toilet, connect our bathroom sink and install a kitchen sink. They also connected a shower that will be complete when we lay the cement floor over the plumbing there.

It was a quick, busy weekend, but we were able to have several meals with our neighbors, Guadalupe and Jose Alberto Rios, and their children, Griselda, Epifanio and Changel. The men all helped Burl and Carlos do the plumbing and Gris even did the tar on the cover for the septic tank.

We wanted to share photos from this weekend. Thank the Lord for my sweet friend, Janeese Fulenwider in Seattle, Washington who convinced her brother Burl to come down and “give Toni a flushing toilet.”

Burl has done mission work in Tanzania and has been all over the world while he served with the US Marine Corps. Both he and Carlos have servant’s hearts and love helping others.

We went to the Rehab in Centinella while they were here and had a short but very nice visit with Pastor Alejandro Alvarado and his wife and daughter, and the “muchachos.” I am sharing some of those photos from our visit.

The residents cooking area

Pig Pens

Back In Prison

This has been an exciting week for us in  Mexico. Our pastor and friend, Greg Goza came down with a friend from Aspermont, James Cochran to frame our doors and windows on the house. It was great having them there, even though the two days wasn't as much time as we would have liked to have. They accomplished alot in those two days.
Tuesday afternoon, James stayed to work on the framing and Bill, Greg and I went to spend some time at the prison. We arrived in time to join a church group, Bethsaida, for a service in the women's area. There were about 40 women inmates attending the service  and Brother Frank and his family led a praise and worship time, and then Frank shared a message about faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
We are grateful for every opportunity to visit inmates inside prison walls. Please pray God prepares hearts to receive the gospel when we visit.

Hallelujah!

It has been a busy time for us lately, and we hope to catch you up a little on our lives in
We are thankful for all God is doing in our midst and pray we can encourage others with the Good News.

A centenarian friend whom I have been visiting with more frequency recently prayed with me to receive Christ as His savior. He has been bed-ridden and we have often had talks about the importance of knowing where we will spend eternity. He is a gentle man, and always so happy to see me. I am grateful we have developed this friendship over the few years I’ve known him.  I pray that our time in the word will be fruitful in his life and give him joy in the midst of his trials. His response receiving salvation was to raise his arms high in the air and profess, “Hallelujah!” Oh, that every one of us would display that unfettered zeal professing the Lord of lords.

Bill and Juanito

We have recently had come more work done on the house, namely, the bathroom/laundry room. Rito and Jose Alberto recently poured the floor for us, and we are looking forward to the day when we can do the plumbing and pour the shower floor and the base for the toilet. Indoor plumbing is in our future! We have a bathroom sink the Gozas gave us and will eventually have electricity in the bathroom so we can put the washer and dryer. We still lack 220V so it will be awhile before the clothes dryer is a working item. Slowly but surely, we’re getting there.

Recently, Bill and I drove Manuelita, her husband, Nacho and their son, Cristian to the hospital in Acuña. That’s where they caught the bus for Monterrey, Nuevo Leon for Cristian’s doctor’s appointment regarding his kidney transplant. Nacho also had to have some tests run as the donor. They still don't know what date the surgery will be, so we continue to pray for Cristian and the wisdom of the doctors.

Thank you for you interest in this ministry and for your prayers for the people of Mexico.
May God give you boldness as you share His love with the lost in your area of the world.

In His steps,

Toni and Bill

Planning For Your Exit

Greetings in the name of our glorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

It has been a long time since I last updated our blog, and during the next few days, I hope to update you on several events from the past two months.

On a recent doctor’s visit to San Antonio, Bill and I had an opportunity to visit with an old friend of his from Odessa. Randy has been very ill, and we were blessed to have to chance to spend time with him while we were there.

During our visit, Bill felt led to ask Randy about his salvation, as he has been told by the doctors that he doesn’t have much time left to live.

Randy immediately told us that everything was taken care of. He’d already made arrangements with the funeral home, picked out his casket, chosen the songs that would be played during the funeral and had his plot picked out.

Bill once again asked him about his “salvation.” Randy told us everything was taken care of. All his family had to do when he died was make a phone call to the funeral home and it was a done deal.

I wonder how many of us think that is all the preparations we need to make to leave this life. What I’m afraid of is that many people think that’s really all they need to do. But there’s so much more.

We naturally spent more time explaining to Randy his need for salvation, to know where he’ll spend eternity with assurance.

Unless we make a choice now to surrender to the Lord of lords, and choose to follow Jesus, the funeral plans are the least of our problems as we leave this life on earth. The Word is very clear. Once to die, then the judgement. (Hebrews 9:27)

I doubt this is a popular subject with the majority of people here on earth, but for me, it's very important to make it clear to anyone reading this blog where I stand on the issue of salvation.

May God have His way in your life, and give you a desire for His will and use your life for His glory.

Be encouraged, He has a wonderful plan for your life. (Jeremiah 29:11)  

In His loving embrace,

Toni and Bill

Agua Viva Visitors

We send greetings from Mexico in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  It has been so long since we last updated our blog, we wanted to catch you up on the events of the past month.

We have been enjoying some wonderful visits with the “muchachos” at Agua Viva, the Christian Rehab near Piedras Negras. The Pastor, his wife and daughter and 5 of the residents went to Juarez to a pastor’s conference, and during the two weeks they were away, we were able to visit the men several times, and it was a blessing to us, and to them, we trust.

We had a sweet visit with friends from Knox City, and were able to stop by and visit the Rehab while they were here. 

It was a quick trip, and while they were at our house, Robert and Susan set up an outdoor shower for us.
We are so grateful for their help and their love for the people of Mexico. God has given us some sweet friendships during our years on the mission field.

Thank you so much for your interest in the ministry here, and we pray God will use your lives for His glory.

By His grace,

Toni and Bill