“This is what the LORD says — Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty:
‘I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come — yes, let them foretell what will come.
Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.’” (Isaiah 44:6-8)
In these troubling and turbulent times how wonderful it is to know that we have a Sovereign Redeemer, the Holy one of Israel, the LORD of Hosts. How wonderful to be able to rest in him knowing that he is in sovereign control of everything and that he is not wringing his hands wondering what is going on around him.
I love the second Psalm where David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes in this messianic Psalm:
“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying,“Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,“I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”
I will proclaim the LORD’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” (Psalms 2:1-9)
We serve a King – The KING; The LORD of Lords, The SOVEREIGN ONE, The ANCIENT OF DAYS!
Despite the meltdown and shifting sands around us we serve the unchanging one — Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty. May God be praised!
I don’t have too much new news to bring you concerning the ministry in Mexico; however I do want to bring several prayer requests to you so that you can be praying more intelligently for the work there. To better let you hear Javier’s heart I will also include a letter which I recently received from him.
In talking to him (as you can also sense from his letter), it is evident that he has been discouraged of late. Covid continues to take its toll on Mexico and to grind down the spirits of everyone. Whereas there was relative freedom for renewed ministry only several weeks ago, once again the country is in lock down and government-imposed restrictions. This has also meant that churches have once again been forced to go into a severely limited mode, and that all ministry has again been hampered at all levels.
The missionary outreaches up into the mountainous Pame region to the west has recently also been restricted because of Covid. Whereas previously there was little evidence of any symptoms of the virus in the mountain villages and the people remained open to visitors from outside of the region, now with increased symptoms locally these villagers are no longer receptive to Javier and his ministry team out of fear of the virus. Javier told me that they are still able to minister and meet with the Christian brothers and sisters there; however, doors are no longer open to them among the general population within the communities. This is a heavy burden for Javier.
Also, please pray for clarity of direction for the new board and directorate of Casa del Obrero (the Training Center Farm) as well as of OUpC, the nonprofit which covers all of the various aspects of the ministry including the Bible Schools. As you probably remember, Javier has stepped down from being the president of the nonprofit although he continues to be the administrator of the Farm Center. However, with the change in directorship also has come a change in direction of vision, intensified now by Covid. Please remember this work in prayer.
However, I think that one of the biggest things which is burdening Javier and Cristina at present is an increasingly noticeable decline in Javier’s health and a feeling of depression because of his inability to minister as fully as he would like to due to health issues and the restrictions enforced upon him due to Covid. Please hold both Javier and Cristina up in prayer. Both of them face potentially serious health issues. Covid has placed considerable and unrelenting pressures on them in regards to ministry, and I have little doubt that at least some of their symptoms are stress related, or at a minimum are being made worse by it. However, Javier confided to me recently that he has not been doing very well physically, and that Cristina also is struggling with symptoms of diabetes and heart issues.
The enemy would love nothing better than to destroy their physical health so that they would no longer be able to serve the Lord fully. They are pouring their lives out for Him daily. Please lift them up and be their prayer support.
With these prayer needs in mind I will proceed into Javier’s letter:
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May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ bless you my beloved brothers and sisters. It is a great pleasure for me to write to you again and to be able to greet you even in the midst of these difficult times that we are experiencing due to the Covid pandemic and the trying circumstances that we are experiencing due to it.
We are now finding ourselves again in a serious health crisis in our city due to the Covid pandemic. Hospitals are overfilled, and healthcare has collapsed. There are many deaths again due to Covid, even among those who have been vaccinated. Now even young people and children are dying from the virus.
We are also about to be forced to close our churches again as we are at a level orange alert, with the probability that we will be moving into level red restrictions at any time.
Although the government is doing its best to vaccinate young people so that they will be able to return to school classes in person, only God has all things in his hands, and only He is sovereign and in control.
May God save us in this pilgrimage of ours on this earth.
Despite everything that is taking place we continue to shepherd the local congregation and to minister to the needs of our brothers and sisters here in the Cd. Valles region.
We also continue to serve and pastor our brothers and sisters in the mountains surrounding Santa Catarina to the west. it is a continual blessing to be able to visit and minister to our Christian Pame brothers and sisters in the mountain villages of Agua Nueva, Milpas Viejas, Tanlacut, El Coco, and Santa Catarina, as well as the surrounding areas. This is truly a privilege that God has given to us; to be able to bring the Word of God to these dear brothers and sisters. To Jesus Christ be the glory.
Although I have been in rather poor health of late we have been working and preparing the land to replant sugarcane. This is especially important now since we have not been able to harvest anything significant for the past two years due to the drought. We have finally had some rainfall and must plant while the soil is damp enough to allow germination. We do not know what this year’s weather will be and if the drought will go on longer or not, but we will continue to believe that our God will sustain us, and that we will receive a harvest this year which will make the expenses of planting that we are now incurring worthwhile.
I always thank God for you in my prayers my dear brothers and sisters, and I ask God that he will keep you in his blessing. May God bless you today and always. I thank God for your lives.
Your brother and fellow servant in Jesus Christ,
Javier
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Thank you for your ongoing care and love for the ministry in Mexico. It has not been easy for those who are faithfully carrying the burden of the labor. But God is, and has been faithful – always!
Remember, “There is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Your brother and sister in Christ,
Steven and Theresa
