Javier at Agua Nueve with Pame brothers and sisters at the Pame Missionary Center, “Casa de Fe” (House of Prayer).
How is it possible that we are already entering headlong into 2020? On one hand it seems like only recent history that we were awaiting our fateful (or not!) entry into Y2K, and yet it also seems like an eternity has passed. Twenty years ago, on the brink of the new century we were told that the world would end in a dramatic computer-fizzle of missing data. Now we enter 2020 being told that we will all be annihilated in a massive environmental melt down.
In a world that appears to be flying apart at the seams I am so very thankful that our God reigns, and that He is sovereign and in complete control over ALL THINGS!
It has been a very long time since I have written an update, and many of you are no doubt wondering what is happening with the work in Mexico. I am happy to say that the ministry continues strong and healthy, and that the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ is reaching many who would otherwise not hear.
I continue to be in close communication and relationship with the leaders, especially Javier and Cristina, and to have a part in the ministry, albeit, from afar. The age of WhatsApp has revolutionized our communications, and what would have been impossible only years ago now has become common fare. Javier and I chat via video call whenever the need, or whim to do so arises, and Cristi sends me reports, photos, and little tidbits on an almost weekly basis. Technology, for all of its evils has proven to be a valuable tool as well.
In this update I want to very quickly mention some of the highlights since my last March blog entry, and then I will take a little different approach and simply paste some of the most recent correspondence and reports from Javier and Cristina. In this way you will see and hear the work through their eyes and voice and will be brought up to date on the issues that are close to their hearts.
New kitchen at the Buenos Aires Children’s Feeding Program “Hidden Manna”.
Women hard at work in new kitchen at the feeding center preparing food for the children.
You will remember that one of the big things that I reported in March was that the children’s feeding program in Buenos Aires was growing out of the ashes of the fire and that it was bigger, stronger, and more blessed than ever. Today the first stage of the build is completed and there is a thriving adult, as well as youth and children’s ministry and church growing in this little squatter’s village on the outskirts of Cd. Valles. Cristina will speak more about this in her report so I will let her explain what is happening now.
In my blog I also mentioned the thrust into the western mountains – into the indigenous Pame zone – a tribal group which has been only minimally reached with the gospel in any viable way to date. God has placed a tremendous burden onto Javier’s heart to minister to this people group. He has also provided a building and property directly in the heart of this region for a mission center from which to minister. I have previously explained why this center is so important to this work, and I will not rehash it again. However, I do want to give praise to God for the fact that He has provided the funds to assist our Pame brothers and sisters to purchase the roofing material that I mentioned in several of my last blogs. What they still need now is funds to fix up the collapsing and cracking walls of the building so that it will be safe for use as a training center and living quarters for missionaries who come into the area. It is already being used as a church building and for overnight stays, and the Pame Church is growing, but for basic safety reasons the walls will need to be repaired very soon. Critically, it will take funds to do so.
Hungry children at the Hidden Manna Feeding Program in Buenos Aires.
Javier will speak more about the work that is taking place at the Casa del Obrero Training Center farm and I won’t try to steal his thunder, except to say that they have finished off a small dormitory room on the side of the main staff house, turning what was originally an open storage area into a room for one or two single men, or perhaps a married couple. Javier now hopes to begin the foundation work for a further dormitory and other necessary rooms as God provides the funds to do so.
Then finally, the long-awaited and long prayed for ability to transfer the ministry property legally and completely into the name of the nonprofit Obreros Unidos para Cosechar, AC (the legal Mexican entity which covers the Training Center farm as well as the Bible School and Project LAMBS) is now, at along last in process. The land title is being transferred and Javier expects that it should be completed within the coming months. We have been hitting the brick wall of impossible bureaucracy in the inscrutable murk of Mexican land laws for literally years – since the work first began on the farm. Praise God, it is finally now only a matter of waiting for the paperwork to be processed and sent.
I could go on and on (as I am too apt to do), but I want to let Javier and Cristina tell you of their ministry through their own words. So I will now step aside and let them speak:
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Cristina Nuñez Zuñiga December 31, 2019
Month End Report Children’s Feeding Program (Hidden Manna) and Sewing School/Workshop – Cd. Valles, Mexico:
Receive a huge hug and many blessings my dear brothers and sisters. Season’s greetings from the familia Santos Núñez.
Some of the beautiful children whose stomachs and hearts are being filled at the feeding program.
Hidden Manna Feeding Program (Maná Escondido), Buenos Aires:
Happy New Year! On behalf of the Children’s Feeding Program Hidden Manna I want to thank you, and give praise for all of the blessings which we received during this past year.
We are very thankful for our new kitchen, and extremely happy with it. It has allowed us to serve the children much more efficiently than we were ever able to do before.
Hearty and full meals for the children being provided every Saturday along with a Bible teaching at their level.
The new facility has also enabled us to have two more services apart from children’s breakfast feeding program and teaching time which we have always held on Saturday mornings. Now we also hold a weekly service on Mondays at 6:00 pm, as well as a youth service every other Saturday for the young people.
We have a total of 25 to 30 children, and 4 or 5 moms who come with their children weekly on Saturdays. But in total we have around 9 women who attend. There are 16 youth who attend the youth services on a regular basis and 2 or 3 women who are firm in their attendance.
On December 23rd we celebrated Christmas at Hidden Manna. Everything was very beautiful and well attended. Piñatas and candies were donated by various friends and Christian brothers and sisters desiring to bless the children.
God is doing wonderful things in the work in Buenos Aires. I too want to emphasize again that most of the young people are also assisting us in various other areas of mission outreaches as well, besides what is taking place here in Buenos Aires. What a blessing it is to see these young men and women growing up into a deepening faith in God.
On January 3rd and 4th we were in Tanlacut, Agua Nueva and Milpas Viegas areas (around the Agua Nueva Missionary Center in the Pame region) preaching the Word and taking clothing and footwear which we were able to distribute to our Pame brothers and sisters . I thank God for providing us with footwear and clothing which we could give to those with meager financial resources.
Hearty meal prepared in the new kitchen facilities for hungry children.
Sewing School / Workshop:
In the sewing workshop the women continue to work hard. This past month we focused completely on Christmas projects; however, the coming year will see us tackling new projects once again.
We are very happy for this time in our lives. To be able to sew every day is the fulfillment of our dreams as leaders, as well as that of the other women in the program as well and I hope that the following brief report will answer any questions that you have concerning this part of the work:
1) During this month we have two new students – Carmen Araujo, and Lelsy Trinidad – besides those who have been in attendance already.
2) What is the total time that is spent at the sewing school?: Alicia, Karla, and I (Cristina) spend the most time at the school. Cristy from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Karla and Alicia from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. However, sometimes when there is a lot of work to be accomplished they also work through till 5:00 pm. This is true for Monday through Friday. The school is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
3) How many women/girls attend each session during the week: The numbers vary; in the mornings there are three and in the afternoons there are four. In total there are seven; however this number can vary day to day.
Alicia working in the sewing school/workshop. Alicia is one of the key teachers in this ministry school.
4) Who is in charge of the school when I (Cristina) is not there with the women?: When I must leave Alicia is in charge. She is very capable in all areas. When both Alicia and I must be gone due to other obligations (for example with the church) then Karla is in charge. She is very capable to receive clients and to do the work. She has advanced much since she began some time ago and we are all very happy with how much she is now capable of doing.
Little Ana is one of the youngest students in the sewing school.
5) Has there been progress, and what is our vision for the future of this project for training women?: I have seen tremendous progress over the past year because the women and girls are constantly learning. Also now since Karla and Diana are able to take on project work as well we have become a very good work team together. God has blessed us with women who want to advance and learn. Even more importantly, the women are growing in their walk with God, and some who came without any faith in Him are now Christian sisters having trusted Jesus Christ for their salvation.
Our vision for the future of this sewing ministry is to continue fulfilling the dreams of more women who want to be here at the school and to see their faces also light up with joy and satisfaction as they do their work, or when they accomplish a new part of a project.
Our students presently are:
Jaribeth – 17 years old, Lesly – 10 years old, Ana – 10 years old, Abigail – 13 years old, Lucero – 32 years old, Diana – 27 years old, and Mariana – 29 years old.
The women and girls are seldom all together at the sewing school at one time because those who are in other schools as well go from their classes directly to the sewing school, of from the sewing school to their other classes. What is very helpful for this is that the sewing school is centrally located and has good access to busses so that coming and going is easier for the women and girls.
One of the proud women of the sewing program displaying her finished projects.
Receive greetings and a big hug from all of us, and from the Santos Núñez family in particular.
May the Lord always bless you, and may His blessings fill your home.
Sincerely,
Cristy
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Javier writes:
All glory be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who blesses us with joy. It is a pleasure to be able to thank each of you through this letter, who, even though we do not know personally, are participating in our work here in Mexico.
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. … And so we will be with the Lord forever.
With these words of hope the apostle Paul awakens our ears and heart and encourages us to move forward with the sole purpose of reaching the end of our life believing in him who died and rose again and gives us the victory every day to overcome obstacles and temptations day by day. To him is the glory for ever and ever.
Receive a very cordial greeting, hoping that you had a wonderful time this Christmas and New Year with your family and friends. Blessings from our family. We wish you the beginning of a year filled with love and hope. May the God of Israel fill you with peace, love, and joy in Christ Jesus.
A group of believers meeting in one of the house churches. This is how much ministry happens in the villages.
Here, as always, we enter the year with a lot of work but this is the nature of ministry; there is no schedule for us, only the privilege of serving God and others.
Concerning the question of clear title for the ministry land: I expect that the work of the transfer of the title of ownership of the land will be completed during the year 2020, with all involved in the said transfer and the agreements that have been made with the Civil Association here in Mexico.
This has been a very heavy burden for me until the present, but the Lord willing I will achieve it according to what was planned in the beginning for this ministry. I will also hand over the presidency of the Civil Association at the end of this year (2020), allowing me to concentrate strictly on other ministry and for reasons of caring for my health.
By God’s grace I will continue to enter and evangelize the mountainous Pame region until the time that God establishes several congregations there. I continue to pray that God will provide faithful workers for this ministry.
Javier and Cristina with a group in new believers
Also concerning the sugarcane on the ministry farm: I thank God that it is recovering somewhat despite the severe drought that we had this year. We finally did receive a little rainfall very late into the season, but it is not nearly enough. We place our hope in God alone that he will be merciful to us. Most of the sugarcane growers lost everything this year due to the severity of the drought. But we thank God that, despite the drought, some of the sugarcane on the ministry farm managed to survive and is growing again.
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The following is a report that Javier gave to the Board of Directors of Obreros Unidos para Cosechar, AC, the Mexican nonprofit which covers the various phases of the ministry in Mexico. Since Javier is the direct administrator of the Training Center Farm (Casa del Obrero) his part of the report to the board focused specifically on it:
Report: Javier Santos Hernandez
President OUpC, A.C.
Board of Director’s Meeting OUpC
Cd. Valles, December 4, 2019
To the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who blessings us continually in Him we give glory and honor and for ever and ever.
I am very pleased to be able to present myself to you, and it is an honor to stand before this legally constituted Association, Obreros Unidos para Cosechar, A.C. Today is a special day for each one of us to provide our reports according to the work accomplished in this 2019 school year.
Distributing clothing and shoes to poor Pame villagers.
Within my role as president of this Association; Obreros Unidos para Cosechar, A.C. I make my report of the work accomplished and the activities that were carried out in this period of almost twelve months. I also wish to recognize that these have been unusual times and that the 11 month drought has affected us all greatly. But I thank God that the loss was not total and complete.
Although the rain came late this year we benefited from the fact that the sugarcane cut was delayed last harvest, and by negotiating with the sugarcane union I had managed to be allowed to leave the roots for another year’s growth. That fact benefited us during this year’s drought since the old-growth sugarcane stalks were already well rooted and were therefore better able to endure the drought conditions, and indeed with the application of fertilizer much of the crop on the ministry farm was able to recover. Also the new growth on the 1.8 hectares, although it was minimized in its growth due to the drought, has gradually recovered with the arrival of rain. Still, the rainfall has not been enough and we certainly need more rain in order for the vegetation to develop and recover fully.
In January of this year the full title for the ministry land (dominio pleno) was processed before the attorney general’s office. I have been waiting for the arrival of the finalized documents but because of change of the federal government that took place this year the arrival of these documents has been delayed.
Christmas just isn’t complete without a piñata and a good meal. Christ is honored at the Christmas celebrations in Buenos Aires.
Three hectares of sugarcane were harvested without any problem and also with less harvest costs than we sometimes accrue. Thank God for this blessing.
In July we completed the digging of a retention pond at the farm site for the collection of rainwater and runoff soil, and to avoid further erosion due to the extreme passing of water in the rainy season. The money that was used for this earthwork was from a missionary economic fund that we still held from last year, and which was specifically intended and given for that purpose.
Works and Projects To Be Carried Out The Following Year 2020.
1) Harvest of the sugarcane on the farm property. The first part of the harvest will take place in January or February according to the present schedule of the sugarcane mill. This harvest will be of the new-growth sugarcane planted last season.
2) The second part of the harvest will also take place. This will be the cutting and harvesting of the old-growth sugarcane and will take place at the end of April or the beginning of May.
3) After the harvest has taken place the land will need to be cleaning again of remaining thatch and stocks, and the existing sugarcane roots will need to be cultivated for the following year’s growth.
4) Fertilization of the sugarcane plants will also need to be done.
5) We will continue to raise sheep and chickens.
Jesus is preached in the open air. This again is where the rubber truly hits the road in rural Mexico and many other places around the world where the gospel is proclaimed.
6) We pray that God will bless us with rain and favorable weather so that we can continue with the production of vegetables again this year.
7) Complete the construction of the small housing quarters at the farm property which has already been begun by building into the former equipment storage area of the present building.
8) Construct a free-standing apartment on the farm property for a couple or small family.
9) Depending upon the availability of funds coming into the nonprofit this coming year for construction, I hope to begin the earthwork and the purchase of rock in order to begin foundation work for dormitories and other associated rooms.
Although currently we have no new students at the Casa del Obrero training center farm we will continue promoting for the next year ahead. We trust that God will send more laborers to his harvest, and we will keep preparing facilities to accommodate those that valve this work and who will come for training in Christian ministry.
I thank you for the confidence that you have placed in me. It is a joy to me to be able to serve you in this way.
Sincerely, your servant,
Javier Santos Hernandez
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Remember the children.
There then is the heart-felt reports of those with boots on the ground in relation to the training center farm, the sewing ministry, and the children’s feeding work and adult and youth ministries in Buenos Aires.
Please remember to pray for the children (and adults) of Mexico. The harvest is ripe, pray to the Lord of the harvest for laborers.
Obviously there is much more which could be addressed including the Bible School, Project LAMBS, a more complete update on the work in the western mountains with the Pame, the mission church plants closer to the Cd. Valles area, the churches which are being pastored by the various national leaders, the various children’s ministries and outreaches, and the many other ministries of helps taking place. However, this is enough for now. One cannot eat an elephant in one gulp, and trying to do so is seldom helpful in the end.
However, I trust that this update has been helpful for you to get a renewed sense of the ongoing work in Mexico, and that it will renew your commitment to praying for those who labor in unflagging ministry there.
Blessings from your fellow laborers,
Steven and Theresa
