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

VBS In Tepeyac and Beyond

Greetings from Tepeyac! We had a busy week with the group from Haskell in Tepeyac, San Carlos and Nava with the Vacation Bible School. It was a blessing to be a part of the group and to bring my Mexican friends to help with the teaching and crafts. Here are some photos of our fun with the kids and the group this week.

Back Home In Mexico

We are so grateful to be back home in Mexico. Bill is feeling better and we are grateful for all the prayers prayed for him while he was in the hospital last week. We thank the Lord for His healing touch on Bill. We still have alot of doctor visits but trust the Lord for every day He gives us.

It has been a difficult return, with the loss of a sweet boy in Tepeyac on Saturday from a car accident. We appreciate your prayers for the family of Manuelita. Her son, Jesus, was only 12 years old. We came back to Mexico on the 31st of May, and that was the day of the car accident. It has been a sad time for all of Tepeyac.

On Sunday, we spent some time with Rito and his family, enjoying melons and watermelons at their house.

We have been enjoying a visitor to the rancho.

Our neighbors are housing a donkey, who has made friends with Bill.

Yesterday morning, we joined Alejandro, Veronica and David from the Rehab in Centinella to help them bring their supplies to the center from Acuña's Banco de Alimentos (Food Bank.) We had a challenging time with their little pickup overheating and had to stop several times for water. Fortunately, we were able to get some JB Weld and repair the leak. 

We are so grateful for your love and support for us, and especially for your prayers. We pray our blog and ministry is an encouragement to you and that God receives the glory.

Keep being an instrument of His love, and keep reading His word. We love you and thank the Lord for you.

In His grip,

Toni and Bill

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