Packing the van in Cd. Valles as we prepare to leave
So, where in the world are Steven and Theresa Frey anyway?
That is a valid question; but let me first of all give you the long version of the saga – the larger picture, as it where…
If you have been even a casual reader of this blog over the past year or more, you will know that it was becoming increasingly clear to Theresa and me that our time of direct service and living in Mexico was drawing to an end. It certainly was not that the ministry that we were involved in – the work itself – was not advancing and pressing forward. On the contrary, the Bible Institute (Instituto Biblico Luz de Las Naciones), the Leadership-training Bible School (Project L.A.M.B.S.), and the Missionary Training Center (Casa del Obrero) were all growing and pressing forward under strong national leadership.
But that was exactly the point – each of the areas of ministry that Theresa and I felt
Friends saying goodbye on our patio in Cd. Valles
mandated to serve with were already moving forward under trustworthy national leadership – exactly the way that we had always intended and prayed that it would do. I saw that we were no longer necessary in situ, and indeed, I was beginning to get the strong sense that our continued presence in Mexico was having a negative rather than a positive effect on the sustained maturation to the work. For one thing, as long as Theresa and I were physically living in Cd. Valles where the work continued, because of several factors (my age, the cultural mores of our Hispanic brothers and sisters which demanded that they show deference towards us due to the fact that we began the work and represented age and leadership, my persistent inclination, like a hovering parent, to attempt to problem solve and pick up the financial tab for every boo-boo in the ministry, etc., etc.), I began to realize that we were hampering our national leaders rather than assisting them to fly with their own God-ordained wings. It was time for us to get out of Dodge.
Beginning to unload at our new location at the job site (and our new home)
But, again, if you have been reading the “As The World Turns” of these blogs over the past months and years you will know that one of the very big issues for us as a ministry has been the lack of funds, and the decline of finances to maintain the work exactly at a time when the on-going needs were escalating rather than decreasing. Sugarcane, the only crop grown in the area, and the very crop that we had hoped would become the ongoing financial basis for the work, experienced a huge price-slump and has proven to be unreliable and insufficient to meet these needs.
We have been extremely grateful to each faithful supporter of the work over the years. We could not have continued without your faith, love, and generous financial giving. You are literally what has enabled the ministry to continue over the years. Thank you so very much.
As a ministry we have also desperately been seeking alternative, and varied multiple
My home is my castle (unfortunately, it is not the other way around as well)
revenues sources beyond sugarcane for the farm. We know that it is time to become truly Mexican based and Mexican financed. However, to date we still have not found anything adequate to meet this pressing need. For one thing, any start-up requires capital to begin. As the old adage states: “It takes money to make money”. It is pretty hard to begin with nothing (despite all of the motivational stories to the contrary). For one thing, we still don’t have power at the farm. The power line runs right in front of the property, but we need to purchase a transformer in order to have it hooked into the farm. This is about a $6,000 dollar tab by the time it is all said and done. In order to even consider a welding shop on the Training Center (we have been very seriously looking at this option), of course, we need power. Then also, we need welders, grinders, a small pickup truck, etc. All of this takes startup capital. None of which we have.
Theresa at her gate guard duty. STOP. There ain’t nobody getting past without checking in
We are also looking at animals – perhaps raising chickens and pigs – with the intention of not only sustaining Armando and his family as they live at, and manage the Missionary Center, but also being able to sell eggs and meat in order to create a good income source. We are also looking at small, covered garden areas in which to grow vegetables and other marketable crops for self-sustenance as well as sale in the community. The issue that makes this difficult though is the 120° plus degree weather that scorches Cd. Valles for much of the year.
We have looked at many ideas for auto sustainability for the ministry, but we always have come back to the same niggler – the lack of funds to begin.
In all honesty, there is probably another hindrance to us as well – the lack of knowing how to do it. Desire to do so certainly is not an issue. Both Javier and I see the extreme and utter importance of viable auto sustainability for the ministry. However, Javier, for all of the gifting that God has given him, is not an entrepreneur; and sadly, nor am I. We see the big picture, but don’t know how to get there. It is in this area that the Body of Christ must come forward and function. Where there are businesspersons and people with entrepreneurial know-how to take the work forward into the next step – that of producing finance-generating resources to sustain the ministry – let them come forward. These persons with business insight and savvy may be Mexican or other.
Perhaps it is you, dear reader. God intends for this ministry to go forward; that is obvious
Gate guarding or not, normal living still goes on, and clothes still need to be washed and dried
despite (and perhaps, most obvious BECAUSE OF), the incredible attack that the work has been under over the past years. The Enemy has no intention that the work should go forward; but God has other plans. Perhaps you can have a role in the current need – not necessarily in giving cash, but rather knowledge and business and entrepreneurial know-how.
We started off this blog with the question; “So, where in the world are Steven and Theresa Frey anyway?” We have gone around the bush several times to do so, but we are getting closer to closing in on the answer to that query.
It was because of the above mentioned issues that Theresa and I took the opportunity that God laid directly into our laps to take a job for one year in the petroleum industry in southern Texas as security gate guards. It is not a very glamorous job, but it allows us to live and work in Texas; transitionally out of Mexico, and en route to Canada so-to-speak.
A truck arrives. Steven at the note pad
Because of the nuances of the work that we are involved with, we can live fairly inexpensively, save our money, and give a large portion of our income back into the work in Mexico. It is our intention in this way to personally assist for one year as the national leaders in the Mexican work transition over from our leadership, to becoming fully autonomous and self-reliant. Certainly, I continue to remain in close contact with the national leadership there via emails and telephone calls as needed. But, we are no longer present to get in the way of their autonomous decision making. And this is a very good thing.
I realize that our one-year salary is only a Band-Aid, and that it negates nothing of the stated need that the work has for becoming truly Mexican, and Mexican-run and financed. But you tell me what else we could have done in the interim. Until God provides the missing link that will begin to generate income from the 6.5 hectares of beautifully rich land at the Missionary Training Center farm through agriculture, animal husbandry, production shops, etc., I don’t know what else we were supposed to do. Certainly, neither Theresa nor I could simply smile, wash our hands, slap our brothers and sisters on the back, and walk away with a “Have a great life” as we rode off into the sunset. We had assisted in the birth of a baby. God is in the process of bringing that baby into maturity, but we still had to be available to be there during the interim.
So here we are in southern Texas, having arrived here for our work to begin on the first
Cutting blocks for bracing supports for the trailer. Our new “pad” in the background. Thank goodness for pop outs that give so much more room inside
day of May. If you have access to Google Maps or the likes, simply look for Catarina, Texas. If you are of the “old school” variety then you will need to flip your atlas to Texas/Eastern and look for Laredo (along the Mexican border). Interstate 35 runs between Laredo and San Antonio. Just north of Laredo, highway 83 branches off to the northwest towards the town of Carrizo Springs (population of around 5,500). On its way north, about 60 miles out of Laredo, it runs past a gas station and a turn in the road. That is Catarina. We are a bit over a mile outside of “town” on a very “Mexican” road. Needless to say, our location is not on the map! But, Carrizo Springs, our city of glittering bright lights, is only 20 miles away, and where we do shopping and the likes.
In Cd. Valles the work still moves forward. Javier gives the Casa del Obrero house a new paint job
Our job consists of literally watching the gate leading into a number of petroleum well sites. We needed to purchase a travel trailer (a whole, incredible story of blessing in itself), in which we live right at the gate entrance. Theresa and I run shifts, one of us always being prepared to register traffic, and open the gate to allow entry and exit from the site. Some days it is a breeze, and some days we wonder what ever made us (or, should I say “me”) decide to do this in the first place. But through it all, we are conscious that God has blessed us to be able to be an ongoing part of the work in Mexico in this way. Also, it, like any job, has periods of absolute perfection when Theresa and I look at each other and have to simply say “This is so cool”. But, the alarms that run continuously throughout the night making more than snatched snippets of sleep impossible, or the days that are absolutely non-stop truck traffic coming and going, more than make up for the times of quietude. But, you tell me what job doesn’t have its ups and downs; its highs and its lows.
We have been blessed. We have been able to put in little vegetable pots around the trailer,
Mean while, back in Cd. Valles the rains have been playing havoc on the crops. Javier is all decked out and spraying for weed control
and are anxiously (and impatiently) waiting for our crops of tomatoes, pumpkins, squash, lettuce, herbs (Theresa’s project), chilies, and more, to produce their abundance. We are busy, mostly happy, enjoying each other, and learning how to live in a 31’ travel trailer without inflicting undue emotional distress onto one another, and very, very happy for air conditioners in the trailer.
If you have been watching the news you will know that the south, including Texas has been hammered with incredible rain and flooding. In Mexico, Javier and Armando have been unable to harvest the sugarcane due to flooding. In fact, the sugar-processing mill has been shut down due to the inability of the trucks to transport the cane from the outlying areas due to the mud, flooding, and bad roads. This is, of course, a major set-back for the Training Center farm because that crop – now months past its optimal harvest time – represents one full year of labor and investment for the ministry. Please remember Javier and Armando in prayer.
Armando takes advantage of the muddy soup to plant grass. Not much better to do right now in the incredible rains
The Bible School and Institute are going well. Eva Alejandra and Dr. Mario are directing these training institutes. Also, Javier continues in one-on-one training and discipling of Armando and Alicia, the first leadership trainees at the Missionary Training Center.
We continue to need your prayers and faith in the work. Transition is always a time of uncertainties and questions. Please know that although Theresa and I have moved into another phase of the work, it, the ministry, still is going strong, and has not skipped a heartbeat. Our Mexican brothers and sisters continue to need your faith, love, prayer, and generous giving of finances.
Be blessed, and drop us an email when you get the chance to do so:
Your fellow laborers in the harvest,
Steven and Theresa
