Making Lemonade

"I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my supplications Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live." Psalm 116:1,2

Greetings from San Antonio, Texas.  I am sitting in Bill’s hospital room at the Audie L. Murphy Veteran's Hospital. They doctors performed a heart cath this afternoon to try to find out what has caused his numbness and pain in his left arm.

Two weeks ago, Bill suffered a heart attack while in North Dakota. He left Mexico the first week in April to go back to work truck driving. While he was there, he had severe chest pains and thought he was having heartburn that had damaged his esophagus. After he told me he had taken many different heartburn medications and had no relief, I told him I believed he was having a heart attack. It was another 28 hours before he got a ride to the Trinity Health Hospital in Minot, where they admitted him and were able to repair the blocked arteries with stints and angioplasties.

After he was released, he came back to Mexico by bus and finally arrived in Del Rio by Amtrak on Thursday morning at 6 a.m. Here’s a picture I took when his train arrived that morning.

We came up to San Antonio on Tuesday and went straight to the emergency room, where they performed an EKG and admitted him. He has several complications and the doctors have been trying to change his medications to help him feel better.

Yesterday and again today, we had a visit from Chaplain Larry. He visited with us for awhile and we prayed together for God to give the doctors wisdom. He's a pastor of a church and chaplains at two hospitals.

After Larry left, a man came and brought Bill a thank you for serving our country in the military, and gave him a hand-made quilt and a pillow that the North San Antonio Retired Teachers Association made for the veterans in this hospital.

Here's a photo of the blanket. It's beautiful and is a work of art.

Long ago, when I was a teenager, I remember hearing a saying that always made me smile. 

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

As Christians, we know that life can be filled with trials, challenges and difficult times. But only a personal relationship with the creator can give us the peace that passes understanding amidst those trials. 

In the Epistle of James, he writes, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:2-4

We are grateful for your interest in the ministry and for your prayers for Bill and me. May the Lord give you His peace as you seek His face and do His will.

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever!"    Psalm 107:1

By His grace,

Toni and Bill

Let There Be WATER!

Greetings from Mexico in the mighty name of Jesus of Nazareth!
We are so blessed to be able to announce we actually have a working pump in our new water well, and today we have a hose connected and a high pressure flow from that hose! God is so good!
Here are some pictures of the past few days with friends.

Visiting Friends in Dallas

Greetings from the Metroplex! It's a beautiful Tuesday in Texas and I am enjoying this time with my family.

Sunday morning, I had an opportunity to visit the Asamblea De Dios in Dallas and enjoyed the Escuela Dominical and the morning service in Spanish.

I don't know the brother's name that taught the Sunday School class, but I was impressed by his zeal and knowledge of the Word. He was an older gentleman, and had a joy that you seldom see in Christians of his age. It was apparent to me that he truly loves the Lord and His Word.

After the service, Pastor David Lara came up to greet me and told me he had some material for me to take back to Mexico. He honored me during the service, mentioning the ministry we do in Mexico and taking up a love offering. This church has been such an encouragement to me, and I am grateful for all they are doing for the kingdom of God in the Dallas area, and far beyond.

Chava and Elvira Rodriguez gave me lots of toys and other items for Mexico, and it was great to see them once again. They keep in touch by text and they are always an encouragement to me. Chava is planning a trip to the border in the next week and I pray God blesses his trip.

The first time I met them was our first Christmas in Coahuila when their church came down to bless the children of Tepeyac with Christmas gifts. Click here to see the blog about their visit.

It was a sweet time with friends at the church, and I look forward to bringing the toys to the children in Mexico. The mothers will appreciate the material, and I am especially grateful for the love, encouragement, support and prayers of the saints here in Dallas. I look forward to our next visit.

May the Lord bless you abundantly as you continue to seek His face. Thank you for following our blog.

In His loving embrace,

Toni and Bill

An Amazing Night In Prison

Greetings from Watauga, Texas. Tonight I am at my son's home for a week-long visit with him and his family, and I am so grateful to God for allowing me the privilege of coming away for this relaxing time.

On Thursday morning, I left Tepeyac and headed for Haskell, Texas, where I wanted to join the group of women from "Treasures of Grace" ministry. They have been sharing the gospel in that prison for nearly ten years. Last week, I received texts from two women in the group about the group of 91 women who had attended the Bible study at the prison, and ten women accepted Christ that night. I really wanted to join them for an evening of praise and worship and sharing the gospel with these ladies.

When I arrived in the parking lot of the Rolling Plains Correctional Facility, the women were just unloading cases of bibles to take inside to the inmates. We hugged and greeted one another, excited about what God is doing behind those walls. We were a large group, 8 in all, and after signing in, we were taken to the chapel. It was the first time I'd been in the chapel and it was surprisingly like a regular church sanctuary with pews and a baptismal in the back of the room. I had ministered in this facility for many years while living in Texas, and have missed my Thursday evenings sharing in Spanish with the immigration detainees.

We prayed before the first group was led in, and 5 maximum security inmates filed in, hugging each of us before they sat down. We prayed with them and sang praise and worship songs, and then Haley  from Treasures of Grace, gave a short message. After that, I shared a little about my life in Mexico, and we asked them to share some about their relationships with the Lord. They told us they have Bible studies and try to encourage one another. They aren't sure what the future holds, but they know Who holds their future. It was a blessing to spend time with these ladies, and although it was short, we were encouraged by their faith.

When the guard led them back to their cells, we prayed again for the next group, knowing it would be the ICE detainees and a much larger group of women. We prayed God would prepare hearts and have His way, giving the messengers His message of hope for the lost.

Finally, the woman guard led the ladies into the room, and gradually, after many hugs and greetings, they sat down in the pews, over 65 women in all. Many took Bibles with gospel tracts freely offered them. A few had their own Bibles with them. We prayed and began to sing a few songs, with the women singing with such exuberance, it was what I imagine it will be like in heaven. The ladies took their places and Haley shared her message with them, and I translated it into Spanish. When she finished, I shared what God had done in my life, and what He is doing now, taking what the enemy meant for evil and turning it around for good, and the Lord did something amazing.

When I asked the women to come forward and ask Christ to come into their lives, it was amazing. One by one at first, then in groups, then every last woman came forward. None of us could imagine such a move of God. We were all crying and hugging, and as I prayed a sinner's prayer, everyone was repeating the words and everyone was crying, hugging one another and wiping tears. (Two of the women asked for prayer to rededicate their lives to Christ, as they were already born-again but had turned away.)

I can't tell you how wonderful it was to be in that room at that moment. It was obvious God was doing a new thing in that place. The TOG group has been ministering there for many years, and praying for God to have His way in these women's lives. Obviously, He is answering those prayers and blessing those efforts. What an amazing God we serve. What a privilege to be a part of that ministry and that movement of the Spirit.
When we said our goodbyes, the hugs were long and heartfelt, the words were sweet and grateful and the promises to pray for these sisters were sincere. May God give them the grace and the strength to serve Him every day of their lives, and to be a light to their families when they go back to their countries.

After the immigration detainees left, the guard led in two women, one prepared to be baptized. She was a petite young lady, only 18, but with the sweetest spirit. She had been studying with the group for 3 months and was being transferred to an SAFPF Drug Program at another location the next day. Sue McCurley asked the young woman a few questions about her salvation and then asked if she was ready to be baptized. She allowed me to baptize her, and we were so excited about all that God is going to do in this young woman's life. He has a wonderful plan for her and she promised to keep in touch with the TOG ministry.
When we walked out of the facility Thursday night two and a half hours later, all of us were so excited. It was an amazing night and we were thankful to God for allowing us to participate, each in our own way, with what He had accomplished that night.

May God be glorified in your life today and every day as you keep putting Jesus first in your life. He's our only hope of glory and "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6

Be encouraged. If we are willing to be used by Him, He will use our lives for His glory.

Blessed beyond measure,

Toni


"And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." 1 Timothy 1:12

Fun and Games With The Children of Tepeyac

I’ve had a busy couple of weeks but am so grateful for God’s faithfulness and for friends and family.

The week before and the week after Easter, we had a VBS at the church in Tepeyac. We had 17-20 kids every day and several mothers joined their children. Each afternoon we started with prayer and songs, and then shared a Bible story.  Lucero and Estrella led the music and shared the story, and then we did a coloring page and a craft. A few days we did two crafts, and every day we had a snack and refreshments. One day, they decorated sugar cookies, and one day, cupcakes. The children were all so well behaved, it was a joy to have them fill the church during their Spring vacation from school.

Freshly-painted faces

Egg-on-a-spoon racers getting ready to go.

Blas sharing a message with the kids.

Waiting to start the three-legged race.

Sack racers in full motion.

Then, on Wednesday, the 30^th we celebrated “Día de los Niños” with an outreach at the church. Brother Blas shared a gospel message, we sang songs and then we began the fun. We gave out gifts to the mothers that attended and the outreach was complete with lots of games, hot dogs, cupcakes and drinks. The games were so fun, and we included a few new ones along with those we did at last year’s event. The children all won prizes for their performances, and we gave out bags of candy before they left.  

I am so grateful to be able to share the love of Jesus Christ here in Mexico. It is my heart's desire that every chance I get, He gives me boldness to share the gospel with the lost. What a privilege to serve the Lord and share what He has done in my life.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”       Colossians 3:16 & 17

Thank you so much for reading our blog and for being a part of this ministry. We greatly appreciate your love, prayers and support for us. May our Heavenly Father get all the glory as we serve Him in these challenging times.

By His grace,
Toni and Bill

To read our most recent newsletter, click here.