Current Events and Updates of the Ministry

We are now less than one week from leaving Mexico, and the countdown is definitely ticking hard and furious. Things are going remarkably well, but still I will rest much more peacefully when the van is actually loaded, the door of the house locked one last time, the keys handed over to the landlord, and everything is resting securely in the hands of the national leaders. As always happens, things have gotten pushed back to the bitter end, and we are just now finishing off some of the major things that should have been done weeks ago. But, at least they are getting done. It just means that the pressure remains on until the very last day that we leave.

Since my last blog Theresa and I have also had the opportunity to go down to Coxcatlán with Javier and Cristina and their children, along with Armando and Alicia and their little girl, to visit Pastor Fransisco Martinez Hernández and his dear wife. You may remember the delightful elderly couple that I wrote about in my December 16^th blog who were such a blessing to us as well as to Javier (“It’s Fixin’ To Be Jolly” http://www.vitwministries.com/wordpress/2014/12/its-fixin-to-be-jolly). At that time they had spent some days here in Cd. Valles with us and we were very impressed with them and their authentic walk of Faith

over so many years of ministry. At that time Javier decided that he would like to have them take an active part in teaching practical, real-life missiology to the Bible Institute students, and specifically to Armando and Alicia at the Missionary Training Center. However, we also decided that it is sometimes best to see people in their own environs rather than simply away from home, agreeing that it is easy to be a flimflam artist in places where no one knows you, and to bamboozle the world as to your great Christian character as long as you are unknown. Because of this we felt that we would like to see our friends in their own village, and interacting among their own neighbors and family.

We were not disappointed. The article was as genuine under the acid test of family and village as it was in the glittering lights of Cd. Valles – the “big city”. I think that God has a definite place for this couple as grandparents in the ministry of the Missionary Training work.

Then, over the past weeks Theresa and I have also hosted and been loved by many of our friends who have wanted to come by to visit and say goodbye, knowing that the time to do so was quickly coming to a close. We have shared many meals, cups of coffee, and muffins and loaves of fresh-baked bread over the past several weeks. We have been blessed by knowing the depth of friendship that we have with so many dear friends here in Mexico.

We have also been able to get the wiring completely finished inside the Casa del Obrero. What still needs to be done now is to have it hooked up to the grid. That is to say, we now have a lovely wired house, complete with all of the switches and plugs, but we have no power coming to the house. In order to have power to the house we need somewhere around three to four thousand dollars in order to buy the transformer and get it installed by the electric commission. We are trusting that God will soon provide the money for this. In the mean time, Armando and Alicia are running lights off of a 12 volt battery and an inverter.

Also, as I alluded to in the beginning, we are actually finishing off many final projects that were looming over my head. I am still under the gun, trying to shuffle packing the house and getting ready to go, with work on the Casa del Obrero farm site. But, the Lord willing, it will all get finished in time for us to leave on Sunday, or Monday morning early.

This past weekend we were blessed to have two special fiestas thrown for us, specifically as farewell parties, and as a time of honoring Theresa and me. On Saturday the Bible Institute, Project LAMBS, and the Missionary Training Center, along with friends of the ministry met at the Bible Institute building and had a time of remembering, honoring, blessing, and saying goodbye to Theresa and me. Of course, in good Mexican style, this was followed by a hearty feast of delicious food.

For Sunday we had been invited to Javier and Cristina’s little church in Solidaridad for what I suspected would be another time of honoring us, and saying goodbye to that group of friend. It was all of that, but what I didn’t know was that it was also to be a surprise birthday celebration (a little bit early) to honor me on my 60^th birthday (coming up on May 2^nd). It was really a beautiful time of remembering what God has done over the past seventeen years of sharing my life with our friends here in the Huasteca region of Mexico, and remembering his mighty works as we have been willing to be his servants.

With your permission I would like to share with you what I felt God giving me to present to the Bible Institute students at our gathering on Saturday. Actually, what I presented were not my words, but rather I felt that I should share out of Acts 20 where Paul met for one last time of sorrowful goodbyes and final instructions to the leaders of the Church in Ephesus. If you remember the setting – they met on the beach, where Paul shared a tear-filled goodbye, knowing that this would be the last time that they would ever see each other in the flesh.

In Theresa and my case this may not necessarily be true. It is very likely that we will see our friends again during visits to Cd. Valles in the future. Still, this brings to an end a very real chapter in the book – one that will probably never be repeated. We will most likely never live here again in order to work directly with the ministry in Mexico.

I felt that I should start off with a very brief recap of the work since 2003 when the vision for a nondenominational Bible Institute was birthed. Some of the student body is new and have only a very vague idea of the history of the work. For those of you who have been keeping up with the ministry and the ministry blog over the years, none of this will be news to you. Still, it serves to remind us of God’s grace over the years.

– In 2004 the Bible Institute Luz de Las Naciones (Light of the Nations) began under a 24 foot X 45 foot tent in la Pimienta. The vision was for the work to be completely non-denominational in its ministry. Later, the school was moved into a rented room of a sister of the church. Later still, it moved into the loaned facilities of a denominational church building in Cd. Valles.

– In 2006 Project L.A.M.B.S. began for the first time in Mexico with teachers coming down from Canada and the United States. Project L.A.M.B.S. courses were an added blessing to many students seeking training in God’s Word.

– In 2009 Theresa and I moved back to Cd. Valles from Canada with the mandate to purchase a piece of property in order to build a physical building to house the Bible Institute. The vision at that time was to incorporate training in trades with the Bible curriculum already being offered so that pastors could be equipped in practical areas so that they could earn a living when they served in village churches and far-flung communities.

– 2011 saw the finalizing of the purchase of a property in the Zona Tenec, about four kilometers south of the city of Cd. Valles. Work on the Missionary Training Center began. Later, that particular part of the ministry would become the Case del Obrero Centro de Entrenamiento.

– In October 2012 the last cycle of Project L.A.M.B.S. classes were taught by expatriate teachers, and both Project L.A.M.B.S. and the Luz de las Naciones Bible Institute were placed under national leadership.

– January of 2013 saw the Bible Institute Luz de las Naciones begin the new school-year session in its own rented space at Madero 16 (where the schools continue to the present). This finally marked a time when the Bible Institute, a nondenominational school, could at last be freed from having to share space with a denominational work, and be tied to it by association. It could now finally find its own expression and independence, and grow in its ministry without denominational ties.

Of course, none of this came without great birth pangs and persecution.

– Today, in 2015, after much struggle, sweat, tears, outright abuse and maligning, and many prayers, we have three divisions of training under the ministry covering called Obreros Unidos para Cosechar, a Civil Association covering the work of:

–         the Bible Institute Luz de las Naciones,

–         Project L.A.M.B.S.,

–         and the Missionary Training Center, Casa del Obrero.

– Each of the divisions / schools has a slightly different function, and each is preparing the Body of Jesus Christ in a slightly different way. But the purpose of each is to equip leaders for God’s Kingdom, and for those so trained to move forward into servanthood in the Body of Christ.

After this brief review of the history of the work I had the students look at the 20^th chapter of Acts, and at Paul’s final salutations to the leadership of Ephesus (Acts 20:16–36). I explained to the students, as I do so to you now, that since Theresa and I have had the privilege of being a part of much of the birth of all of these different areas of the ministry, we have a vested part in each of them. Although we will be leaving Mexico in a week, we have already handed the leadership of all of the different divisions of the ministry into the very capable hands of national leaders. We implicitly trust each leader as a friend, a godly person, and as a capable leader who will continue on with the vision which has begun – bringing it into a higher level than Theresa and I could ever have attained, and indeed, than we could have ever dreamed possible.

I then stated that although I am not trying to compare myself to the Apostle Paul in any way, the situation of Acts 20 felt very firsthand to me presently, and what Paul said to his friends in his final address to them was what I also wanted to say in farewell to those sitting in front of me.

Let me briefly recap:

1)  verses 18b, 19:  “You know that…I have done the Lord’s work humbly”.  There is an absolute demand for humility in God’s servants. Specifically addressing the student body of the Bible schools, I reminded them that the second that we allow pride to turn our heads we become useless to God. One does not need to look far afield to see Christian leaders who were once useful servants, but who are now useless in God’s Kingdom due to pride and their seeking for self glory.

REMAIN HUMBLE!

2)  verse 20:  “I never shrank back from telling you the truth”.  We must only speak Truth.

3)  verse 21:  “I have had one message…the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus”. We must remain pure in our doctrine. God’s message is plain and simple. Do not complicate it or seek to “tickle people’s ears” with false teaching and contaminated doctrine.

4)  verses 28 – 31a:  “I know full well that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you…Beware!”  Watch out! False doctrines surround us; many of them sounding wonderful.

KEEP PURE IN DOCTRINE.

5)  verses 33 – 35:  “I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”  Do not covet wealth, or ever use the Gospel of Jesus as a business. Learn to work with your own hands. Learn the DIGNITY of work and labor. Verse 35 states that we are to be a constant example to others of working hard. Paul was not speaking theoretically either. We know that he used his physical hands, and by sweat and labor provided for himself and others.

DO NOT FALL INTO THE FALSE TEACHING SO PREVALENT IN MEXICO THAT PHYSICAL WORK (so called “secular work”) IS BELOW THE DIGNITY OF A SERVANT OF GOD (or specifically, a pastor or church leader).

A quick look at I Thessalonians 4:11, 12 leaves no question in my mind: “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others”.

II Thessalonians 3: 6-14 – written to a group of first century Christians who had decided that the return of Jesus was very imminent, and therefore that there was no need to show up at the job site anymore, but rather to sit on the sofa and wait – is perhaps even more clear and to the point:

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”

Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed”.

It doesn’t get much clearer than that. Paul pulled no punches when it came to false doctrine. Jesus’ own words about himself were that he came to serve, not to be served. If Jesus, God, came to be a servant, than how can we possibly think that we can strut and preen ourselves, peacocking around with our tail feathers rattling in human pride? We cannot, and we dare not do so! We are called to be like Jesus.

Then in conclusion we returned to verse 32 in which Paul lovingly, and with tears in his eyes stated: “And now I entrust you to God”.

With that we said goodbye – well, actually, with that we celebrated with some good, Mexican food and hospitality.

_____________________________

I think that there have been some questions among the friends of the ministry, as well as those who are more casual readers of the ministry blog, as to what this upcoming move will mean for the work, and for the continuance of the ministry which Theresa and I have begun in Cd. Valles. In order to be straight to the point on this matter I want to say that nothing in the ministry, nor in its vision has ended with us leaving. In fact, we pray that it will find even more air under its wings under national leadership. I will remain in close contact with the national leaders, especially with Javier Santos, and the work will continue to move forward after we have gone.

As far as the need for continued finances is concerned – there will continue to be financial demands on the work when we are not here, just as there were while we physically lived here. True, Theresa and my personal support will no longer be necessary, however, we will still have ongoing national staff whose honorariums will need to be covered on an ongoing basis. Further, although we will continue to work as hard, and as fast as possible towards everything becoming self-financing, we are not there yet. There will still be the need for ministry funds for the next several years.

So, the bottom line is – it ain’t over yet by no means. The fat lady has not sung, and we believe that she never will. We believe that God will lead this ministry on to bigger and higher vision under the leadership of its national directors. Theresa and I are not scuttling the ship or quitting, we are just moving into a different form of this particular ministry for one year. We continue to wait with expectancy to see where and how God leads the work when we are no longer here in person.

We still need you to believe in what God is, and has been doing here in the Huasteca region of Mexico.

This will probably be the last blog that you will receive from my desk in Cd. Valles. The next one will address you from the outback of Texas, somewhere in the semi-desert between Laredo and San Antonio.

Be blessed in the Lord our Redeemer and King.

Your friends,

Steven and Theresa

The following blog is directed to the Canadian supporters of Voice in the Wilderness Ministries. Pastor Fred Erb asked me if I felt that it would be okay if he were to include a short message in a blog. Of course, I am happy to do so.

Although the particulars of the information presented is specific for the Canadian friends of the ministry, the needs are general, and fairly large. As such, I (Steven), personally want to state that the need for a thrust in taking care of some final financial needs, and in finishing strong, is not limited to the Canadians specifically addressed in Fred’s enclosed blog.

For those of you who may not know who Pastor Erb is; he pastors Listowel Community Church which is the Canadian covering for the work of Voice in the Wilderness Ministries. As such, Fred, and the board of directors of LCC are very closely involved in the work that Theresa and I have been doing in Mexico. Also, as all of the Canadian donated funds which maintain the ministry pass through LCC they have needed to be critically concerned with the financial aspects of the ministry as well. As a Church Body they have also borne the financial burden (and sometimes debt) of the work in Mexico as ministry expenses have at times surpassed giving.

So, again, although the particulars of the following blog will be directed to Canadians, the needs presented by Fred are equally urgent for American givers as well. The truth, simply stated, is that the financial needs of the work are higher than the giving at present. We are deeply thankful to those who have been faithfully giving for the cause of the ministry over the years. We are humbled and blessed. But, as we continue to hand over everything to national leaders we need to ensure that we also fulfil the financial commitments which we have made.

Enough said on my part. I now turn the rest of the blog over to Pastor Fred Erb.

Steven

______________________________________

Pastor Erb writes:

We stand amazed at how God is working to bring the details together for Steven and Theresa as they hand over the ministry to the national leaders with whom they have laboured for so many years. Over the past several years sometimes it has seemed as though God was not bringing answers to the prayers for this transition. At other times it felt as if He was testing our faith and not bringing answers quickly in order to see if we would endure, and if the work would indeed progress and the vision be fulfilled.

But God is faithful, and He has answered our prayers. He is showing that He does work everything together for our good. In this we rejoice.

However, currently, Voice in the Wilderness Ministries is also finding itself in arrears as a ministry. As the pastor of Listowel Community Church which covers the work of Steven and Theresa both spiritually and legally, I would like to express our desire to see their current ministry financial crisis met as they transition the work to national leadership.

For the Canadian friends of the ministry who have an interest in joining in this effort, or who have been supporters of the work of Voice in the Wilderness Ministries over the years, I would like to ask you to prayerfully consider the following request:

Listowel Community Church, its board of directors, and the Canadian friends of VitW Ministries are seeking to raise $5,000 dollars by the end of March in order to help Steven and Theresa complete several major projects at the Casa del Obrero Missionary Training Center farm before they leave for Texas to begin the next phase of their ministry on the 1^st of May. The completion of these particular unfinished aspects of the farm will make the transition over to national leadership more seamless, and will ensure that there are minimal loose ends left undone.

If you feel it in your heart to give towards this financial need in order to assist the work of Steven and Theresa and Voice in the Wilderness Ministries as they transition it over to our national Mexican brothers and sisters, then please join us in this effort. We are grateful, and thank you for whatever gift you are able to give.

As is always the case, in order to receive an income-tax deductible receipt please make all cheques payable to Listowel Community Church. Please do not place any personal names onto the cheque, but write “Voice in the Wilderness Ministries”, or simply “VitW” in the memo line. For tax receipting purposes all cheques need to be sent to:

Listowel Community Church,

156 Halstead Ave. N.,

Listowel, Ontario, N4W 3C4

 

Thank you again for your faithfulness over the many years, and for your love for the people of Mexico.

Sincerely,

Pastor Fred Erb

Listowel Community Church

“But the people grew impatient along the way, and they began to murmur against God….’Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?’ they complained. ‘There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this wretched manna!‘” (Numbers 21: 4b – 5).

I have been spending some time of late enjoying rereading the Pentateuch. “Enjoying” may sound like a strange word to use to express the reading of these somewhat heavy books, but it has really been true – it has been a delight to spend time in them.

One of the things that hit me straight between the eyes right away was the short memory of the Israelites and how unthankful and self-centered they were constantly. Just for starters let’s take the miracles of the ten plagues which struck the Egyptians, and their own miraculous delivery from them, and their incredible subsequent exit from Egypt. Exodus 12 says that Moses had told the Israelites to ask their Egyptian neighbors for articles of silver and gold and clothing before they left. Verses 35 and 36 state: “Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.” (NKJV).

Thus they plundered the Egyptians!

They didn’t just sneak out with their tail between their legs; rather, they plundered Egypt and

put them to eternal shame.

Then, let’s recall the parting of the Red Sea for their crossing on dry ground; the gushing of water from solid rock to quench their thirst; the supplying of quail in the desert to satisfy their taste for meat; the fact that their shoes never wore out; the defeat of innumerable enemies long the way; the column of smoke and the pillar of fire constantly indicating God’s direct presence with them along the journey; the opening up of the earth and the swallowing of people who complained against God; the nuking of Aaron’s two sons due to their disobedience and nose-thumbing against God’s direct command; and then of course, let’s not forget the incredible miracle of the manna.

When the Israelites complained about food yet again (and remember we are not talking about once or twice, or even three or four times, but unceasingly), at that point God answered and said okay, I will give you food to eat, “I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you.” According to Exodus 16, this food supplied directly from God’s inexhaustible provision arrived the next morning in the area around the camp which was wet with dew. When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it because they had no idea what it was. Moses explained to them that it was the food that the Lord had given them to eat. According to Exodus 16: 31 it was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers. The Israelites called it manna. According to Strong’s Concordance “manna” literally means “What is it?”

Okay, so these people had just been delivered from Egypt where they spent 400 something years as beaten, bruised, crushed, miserable, futureless slaves. In Egypt their children had been murdered upon birth, their lives and liberty had been destroyed, and they had nothing, no hope, and no future. But fast forward to Numbers 16:13 where the first words out of their mouth in complaint against Moses’ leadership, and directly against God, are: “Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness?”

A land flowing with milk and honey? Egypt? Where you were beaten and pitiful slaves? You have got to be kidding!

But it didn’t end there. In verse 3 of Exodus 16 their incredibly stupid statement was “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt. There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you (Moses) have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

Incredible! Unbelievable!

But, just a minute – how much like me I am afraid.

“And I hate this wretched manna!” Haven’t I also spoken those same words against God’s generous provision at times? Oh, maybe not directly in those terms, but how much longer is my own memory of God’s incredible provision then was that of the wandering Hebrews?

Actually, despite what I have written above, over the past weeks and months I have been

constantly encouraged as I see God making it clearly evident that we are heading in a direction that he has set for the work. The handing over of the ministry is going extremely well. I am constantly being blessed as I see my national brothers and sisters taking more and more of the responsibilities and shouldering the load. Projects and unfinished details are being completed. Armando and Alicia are doing extremely well as they take over the daily tasks of the Training Center farm and of their Bible and leadership training. Javier is proving himself to be a trustworthy and capable leader, as are Janny, Mario, Aminadab, Cristina, and the others with whom we work so closely, and with whom we have knit our hearts.

On a personal level for Theresa and me: we have been able to buy a travel trailer for our housing needs over the next year. We were able to get it moved to the area where we will begin working on the 1^st of May. We have been able to finalize work related details so that we can move back to Texas at the end of April and begin the new job on the 1^st of May without stress. This includes apparently “little” things like finding an affordable health package for the U.S. when we begin to work in Texas; primary care providers (doctors) that we can trust and feel comfortable with that will cover us in our HMO; finding someone to help us make the final move of the trailer onto the job site on the day that we will begin working, getting a rural post box address set up for our new location, etc., etc.

God has proven himself to be so very true and generous yet once again.

But, perhaps the biggest thing that has happened for Theresa and me over the past month since my last blog is the continued concluding of unfinished business that has been taking place for us here in Mexico. It feels so good to watch as God is bringing closure to these areas of the ministry – issues that seemed so overwhelming to me as I tried to imagine how I could possibly wrap them up – suddenly are finding good and logical closure.

A huge issue for Theresa was the handing over of the sewing school. Only days ago there didn’t seem to be any good way to bring proper closure, and Theresa and I were discussing the possibility of selling the sewing machines and handing the money over to the ministry rather than simply leaving the equipment to rust after we left. On Sunday Theresa and I decided to follow up one last time on an offer that Theresa had made several months back to Aminadab, one of the sisters with whom she had worked closely over the past several years, and who had shown both gifting and desire to head up the sewing school ministry. However, since Ami had not gotten back to us since the original offer was made months ago, and since her life was now getting complicated with issues of living as well as a risky pregnancy, we were sure that her answer to a second offer would be a polite “no”.

However, to our surprise and joy we found both she and her husband to be excited about the prospect, and indeed waiting with open arms to embrace the ministry presented to them. The husband’s words to us were that only days before our Sunday visit they had spoken together about a longing that they had for a ministry that would be their own. They saw the sewing ministry to be a way to evangelize through friendship throughout the Huasteca. They explained that they desire to use their money and vehicle (the husbands), and their talents and skills (the wife’s) to be able to reach villages throughout the region.

Incredible! More than we could have even imagined in our wildest dreams. This is what Theresa’s heart and vision has been all along. It just never seemed that there was anyone to fill the role. But there it was. A direct answer to prayer, and one more loose end closed well. Praise the Lord.

But it doesn’t end there either. We also found to our surprise and joy that Cristina has taken the cottage industry concept of the ministry that Theresa has begun, and has run with it. Her thrust in the ministry looks different than that of the village evangelism aspect mentioned above which is Ami’s vision. Rather, as a pastor’s wife in a tiny church in which many of their congregant’s are extremely poor, she is working with several of the wives to train them in sewing so that they can use their skills to begin to generate an income for their families. Through this they are then able to take on work contracts as I have mentioned in some of my previous blogs. Cristina now has a number of women working directly under her tutelage learning how to sew with electric machines, take on sewing jobs, and sell their products. Again, this is exactly what Theresa’s dream was in beginning sewing classes. Cristina’s ministry is different than that of Aminadab’s, but both serve the Body of Christ. It has been Theresa and my privilege to be able to provide the sewing machines and supplies for both aspects of this ministry.

For me it has been other issues, mainly ones that involved finishing off work begun, but never completed on the Missionary Training Center farm staff house and landsite. Some of these were things that I felt that I should complete before I left so that there would be no confusion in the handover. This was especially true were the work involved a distinctly American way of doing it, rather than a Mexican way. This involved the finishing off of the well and water system, the completing of the septic, and the wiring of staff house.

At issue for me is not only the actual physical completion of the work over the remaining weeks that we will be here, but also the constant lack of funds that the ministry is now facing. We are increasingly being confronted by being behind the 8 ball in the area of finances. It is for this very reason that Theresa and I have committed to working for the next year in order to give our income into the ministry – so that a ministry fund can begin to accumulate so that the transition into self-financing by a completely nationally directed work can actually take place. However, the complication is that the money to complete some of the work is needed now, before we leave, not later, after we are able to earn it to give it to the ministry.

But God is good. He is opening doors in unexpected ways. He is providing for the ministry through unanticipated methods so that the work is being accomplished bit by bit. This does not mean that I am not loosing what little hair I still have left as I try to figure out what we should be doing, and how we can possibly find the funds needed to complete the work before us. It just means that despite my desperation, God is still in control.

I am trying to learn to rest in God as I hand over more and more. The icing on the cake in this relaxing in God is that in the process I am also seeing more and more loose ends finding closure and looking wonderful.

Birthing babies (figuratively in my case) may not be easy, but it does bring much joy in the end.

Your friends and fellow laborers,

Steven and Theresa

On Thursday night, February 19^th, Armando, Alicia and little Ana spent their first night in their new home at the Casa del Obrero Centro de Entrenamiento – the Missionary Training Center farm. There still remains tons of work to finish, but this begins to bring to closure years of work, dreams, visioning, prayers, planning, and sweat. This also occasions one year, almost exactly, from when we celebrated Koinonia 2014.

Let me take you on a little journey over the past year to encourage you in our Lord, and in what He has been doing here in Cd. Valles in our small part of the harvest, and in our little corner of the world.

You will recall that on February 1^st of last year we celebrated a time of Christian unity and fellowship in our Koinonia 2014 party. The event was written about in my February 16, 2014 blog entitled “Koinonia 2014 and Other Miracles” (http://www.vitwministries.com/wordpress/2014/02/koinonia-2014-and-other-miracles-2/).

In that blog I mentioned that pastor Moisés, the director of the new Christian radio station

Cielos Abiertos FM had planned and organized a “blow-em-out-of-the-water” event on the Training Center farm which he dubbed Koinonia 2014. It was designed to be truly nondenominational and not overtly religious in nature so that it could draw both Believers and nonbelievers to enjoy a day of shared fellowship together. On that day we enjoyed food, live Christian music, festivities, clowns and gifts for the kiddies, and generally a good time together in shared communion and friendship, celebrating what God had done.

It soon became very evident that our celebration of God’s goodness had also stirred up a hornet’s nest in the camp of the Enemy. Two days after extolling the goodness and extravagance of God’s mercy we squared off with the raw forces of evil in a Board of Directors meeting in Theresa and my living room. A brother, and former associate, had allowed himself to be wooed by greed, ambition and pride to try to destroy what God was doing, and to try to rob and control the work of the ministry.

One year ago today we were very unsure if we would have anything at all to work with, and uncertain if the ministry of the Missionary Training Center would even exist and if we would have anything at all to hand over to the rising Christian national leaders involved in the ongoing work of the ministry.

Through much difficulty, financial expenses, and outright miracles, God intervened and the attack of the Enemy was turned back and destroyed. Sadly, it also brought about the destruction of unity and ended years of co-ministry with our former brother and friend. But God thwarted the attempt of the Enemy to use this brother for the evil that he had intended. The title on the land was secured, and the ministry of the Missionary Training Center could go forward as God intended it to.

But this still left just Javier and me to do the labor of the farm, as well as that of church

planting in the surrounding villages.

Alejandra (Janny) and her husband Dr. Mario Cázares, along with the other dedicated staff of the Bible Institute Luz de las Naciones, and Project L.A.M.B.S. continued to devote themselves sacrificially to the advancement of the Bible Schools. None of them has ever received any salary or remuneration for their committed labor. Indeed, since the number of students in both schools is so low, the tuition fees of the students is not even enough to keep the doors open on the rented building that houses the schools. The women began sewing cooperatives and selling their wares in order to attempt to raise money to assist in paying the rent. But it has been Mario himself who has personally shouldered the load of paying the rent on the building so that the doors would not close.

The Bible Institute and Project L.A.M.B.S. still are not out of the woods financially even today. But praise God, there are more students coming in all the time. There still are not enough students attending that their tuition fees cover the rent completely, but we are grateful for the increase in numbers that we have experienced, and in the encouraging interest in the schools that is being shown within the Christian community. Some of the difficulties associated with the breaking of relationships that occurred over the past couple of years are being healed.

Then, September and November brought a personal “to-the-wall” crisis to me. Actually, I think that both Javier and I felt the same thing. As you will recall from the blogs, we had to plant, and replant one area of the farm five times, each time having all of our work washed away in torrential storms. I was at the point that I wanted to nuke the whole shooting match and just throw in the towel and quit. Javier was not too far behind me I think. I was beginning to feel like a tired old man boxing the wind.

It seemed like God was not answering, and was not about to answer our desperate plea for

someone to take over the work of farm. We were praying and actively looking for a disciple to take over the labor – someone who would train and study under Javier’s tutelage and who would be able to take more and more of the ongoing responsibilities and vision of the ministry. We were not looking for a farm hand or for someone simply to do the grunt work (although we couldn’t even find that). Rather, we were looking for, desperately believing for, and praying for, someone with vision and passion for the purpose of the missionary training center farm. We were not looking for a self-serving freeloader, but for a disciple trainee filled with passion for the Lord. Not an easy role to fill, and not a small order as it turned out.

We looked and prayed. We visited church leaders and Christian village workers. We even drove into the southern Huasteca and began to grovel and beg, but no one came forward or showed even the slightest bit of encouragement. The heavens remained brass as we pounded on them for help. Was God not interested?

Then, something unusual began to happen. You might recall reading about the process because I blogged about something mysterious that God was beginning to do in my own life at the end of a rather “blue” November 11^th blog entitled “Why Art Thou Cast Down?”  (http://www.vitwministries.com/wordpress/2014/11/why-art-thou-cast-down/).

Then, later, in my December 16^th blog entitled “It’s Fixin’ To Be Jolly” (http://www.vitwministries.com/wordpress/2014/12/its-fixin-to-be-jolly/) I wrote “…the big, big news, and the mega-praise report is that we have a couple who will be living in, and beginning to take over the work at the Casa del Obrero. What an answer to so many prayers! Armando and Alicia will be beginning on the first of January”.

What a journey this all was!

Incredibly, Armando and Alicia were under our noses all along. In fact, Javier had spoken of

them often and expressed his feeling that some day they would be involved in the ministry, and that at some point they would become a part of the vision of the Training Center. But for many months we simply passed them over – they were too close to see. They were, and are, a committed part of Javier and Cristina’s little church in Solidaridad, and an active and faithful part of that little congregation. For many years they have been discipled by Javier and Cristina as their pastors. The transition into full-time ministry was obvious; it was just too obvious to be seen by us.

Then suddenly, excitingly, in December – KABOOM!

Have you ever watched one of those weird clockwork contraptions where gears suddenly begin to mesh, pieces rotate, sections click into each other, wheels whirl and spin, the whole thing makes a clicking and humming sound, and things begin to move all over the machine to do crazy things?

This is a little bit how December was for me. Suddenly there was clicking and humming beginning to happen. At exactly the point that Theresa and I made a definite commitment to end our role as in-country missionaries, and rather, to move to Texas in order to work for a year in order to be able to establish a financial fund for the ongoing work – right then, precisely at that time, things began to whirl.

At that point Armando and Alicia came on board as our first students/disciple trainees of the Missionary Training Center and Javier began to mentor them one-on-one. At that same point God almost literally threw a confirmed job into Theresa and my lap in Texas which we would be able to begin on the 1^st of May. At that point we also began dialoguing with two Christian ministries to explore the possibility of some sort of an ongoing cooperation in a ministry partnership. At that point God laid it onto the hearts of dear friends of ours, and fellow visionaries in the ministry to take it upon themselves to personally pay Javier’s honorarium, thus allowing him to continue in the ministry as the Director of the Casa del Obrero Missionary Training Center

farm. At that point also, as I personally began to hand over more and more of the responsibility of the work and ministry of the Casa del Obrero, as well as that of its administration to Javier, I found that he was soaring on wings. His shoulders were broadening, and he was even catching on to how to run a computer and send emails; how to use the Skype phone and MagicJack to communicate; how to scan and send copies – and in short – how to take over. I gave him my filing cabinet along with file hangers and a handful of manila files. I set him up with one of the computers that we had brought down for the school several years ago. I gave him my printer and desk and a used phone for his MagicJack. He got set up with internet access in his new office, and he is now ready to go. Wow! Several months ago he couldn’t even turn on a computer, and the thought scared him. Now he is fixin’ to take over the administration of the Missionary Training Center. Oh, there will be glitches I am sure, but God is bigger than little setbacks.

When Theresa and I got back from Canada, and from spending some time visiting friends and churches on our way back, we arrived at Cd. Valles on the 27^th of January to find that intensive one-on-one Bible School classes had begun for Armando and Alicia in our living room at the beginning of the year. Javier has been meeting with them for direct training with a custom-built, missionary-oriented curriculum two to three times per week. He envisions that this will continue for three or more years, over which time he intends to pour his heart and passion into them. So, not only is Armando being taught to run the physical farm, and not only is he being given hands-on leadership training in church planting by taking over the ministry of the little mission plant in San Antonio Huichimal, but he and Alicia are also being instructed in intensive classroom-based Bible teaching. It is truly a pleasure for me to watch as Javier and Armando work side-by-side in the daily work of the farm. There is rarely an occasion which does not lend itself to allow Javier to use it to mentor Armando in either a natural, physical skill, or a spiritual discipline or application of leadership. Armando is being truly mentored and fathered. Wow, how beautiful!

We fully believe that soon both Armando and Alicia will themselves be able to begin to take over more and more of the leadership and mentoring of others under the careful guidance and tutelage of Javier and Cristina.

It is beginning – the dream is beginning to become reality. The very thing that the Enemy tried to stop and rob is growing. True, it is just a grain of mustard at the moment – a tiny seed – but it is beginning to grow! It will, by God’s grace, grow and expand. It will grow strong and become a tree that the birds can build nests in, and where they can be safe and secure.

The same is happening for the other schools as well – the Instituto Biblico Luz de las Naciones, and Project L.A.M.B.S.  God is doing the work. The ministry is growing.

As the Newboys joyously proclaim in their song “God’s Not Dead”:

My God’s not dead
He’s surely alive
He’s living on the inside
Roaring like a lion

Praise his name!

Your friends and fellow laborers,

Steven and Theresa

Happy New Year!

As you can see, I didn’t quite make my promised year end greeting that I had committed to in my last blog, but as Jane Hardesty would now be able to say, “Oh well”! (It’s an inside joke, sorry).

Wow, we are now into February already, and absolutely tons has happened since my last posting. Without ranting on and on and boring you half to death, I will try to encapsulate the past weeks into something of a nutshell. It will be a difficult process since so much has actually taken place in the interim.

As you will recall from the December post, Theresa and I were able to spend a couple of weeks in Canada with family and friends over the end of the year. It was a working holiday in a way since, not only did we want to see our Manitoba-residing family again, but James, Jessica and the boys were to be back from China for a visit. This would afford us the chance to see them again after a several-year absence, and also to pick their brains and beg their excellent advice and assistance in applying with a number of partnering ministries. But I am jumping ahead of myself – more about that later in the blog. However, this was the excuse that made the decision to go north for the New Year celebration with family possible.

We had been invited to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with good, missionary friends of ours, Mitch and Kathleen, who now work as gate guards in the petroleum industry in south Texas. It was through them that we were first introduced to gate guarding, and through this introduction that we started to consider this as a possible answer to our prayers for transitional funding for the ministry when we left in the near future. Theresa and I have been realizing that although our time in Mexico may be ending very soon, our role in the ministry must still continue for a little while longer.

Since our physically leaving Mexico will cause an economic vacuum in the work until the

farm can begin to become more fully self-financing, we were seriously considering moving to Texas for a year where we could both work in order to raise the needed funds for the ongoing ministry in Mexico. We believed that God was showing us that this was an honorable exit plan for us, and a way that we could continue to bless the work in Mexico. However, we were also unsure if we were hearing from God clearly, and if this was really what he truly desired for us. We were looking for his confirmation.

On our drive to visit our friends on Christmas Eve we received a text message from Kathleen stating that she believed that she had a job for us. She had just received a call that very day from someone that she didn’t even know, asking if she knew of anyone who would consider taking over their gate in the spring. We drove over to the site on Christmas day to talk to the couple and took the job, setting the beginning date for the first of May.

Because of the dynamics of the work which we will have, we will be able to live on a small portion of our salary and give the majority of it to the Mexican work. In this way we will be able to assist in the transition of the ministry over the potential financial pitfalls that it will face over the next year as it finds its own wings. We are confident that it will do so. Realistically, however, it will take a little time. Theresa and I are simply committing to assisting in this transition by working for another year in order to raise funds for the ongoing ministry. Further, as a dear friend in Houston encouraged us last week, this work will be a gift to us as well – a sabbatical year to spend with God in a quiet, solitary location with minimal outside distractions.

We are excited. However, this has also upped the ante for us now since we have a definite departure date, with much to complete before we leave Mexico at the end of April.

As I alluded to earlier, we have also been in contact with a couple of ministries to see if we can partner with them in the ongoing work of the Missionary Training Center farm. Although we still do not have any definite commitment on their part, they have both shown great interest in the work that OUpC is involved with in the Huasteca region of Mexico. Please pray with us that they will be willing to partner with us. This would not only make a huge financial difference to the work as it transitions, but it would also provide agricultural training personnel for the farm for a period of time as well.

I also want to express a big thank you to James and Jessica for their invaluable assistance in writing up ministry proposals, and in making these organizational contacts with us. We are so glad for their expertise in this, and for all of their help.

On January 1^st Armando and Alicia began working at the Casa del Obrero. This, you will remember, is the couple who are the first disciples and leadership trainees at the Missionary Training Center. We are delighted in their progress, and it is increasingly obvious that they are exactly the couple that God had in mind all along for this role. They will work and train directly under the guidance of Javier and Cristina. In fact, Javier has begun their apprenticeship by meeting with them three days per week in our living room for intensive Bible School training. Not only is their preparation to be intensely practical in scope, but also fully academic so that they become completely grounded and prepared for leadership, as well as for the advancement of the training vision of the farm.

When Armando is not working shoulder-to-shoulder beside Javier and me on the farm he is

being mentored for ministry by Javier in academic study. And when he is not doing this, he is himself taking leadership in a little mission church in San Antonio Huichimal over which he ministers without further assistance every week. Alicia, for her part now meets with Theresa several days a week during which time she is being taught what it means to be a woman of leadership, as well as how to keep a clean house and an active schedule as a young mother and a Christian wife involved in ministry. We are so blessed that God has brought this young couple into a dynamic part of the ministry.

We have had one disappointing turn of events over the past couple of weeks in which I wish that you would pray with us. The couple that had been planning to come down to wire the new staff house at the Missionary Training Center is unable to do so after all due to a family crisis. This means that we now do not have an electrician to come down to wire and prepare the house for electric service. If you are an electrician, and if you feel God tugging at your heart to come down for a week or so and bless the ministry with your talent, then please contact me as soon as possible. We desperately need this done before the middle of April since I feel that we need to do so before Theresa and I leave. Please hold this up in prayer with us. It is not a big house and will not be difficult to do, but I am not an electrician, and we are praying that someone will come to help us.

At the risk of making this blog extra long, I want to finish off with segments from a proposal that we recently wrote concerning the work of OUpC. You may find it helpful to see it in a condensed and truncated format rather than through my usual rambling style.

_________________________________

Obreros Unidos para Cosechar is a Mexican civil association that was formed approximately four years ago in the Huasteca region of the state of San Luis Potosi, just outside of Cd. Valles.  The work of this association is overseen by a completely national board of directors and branches into three divisions: a Bible institute called Luz de Las Naciones; a mobile Bible training school called Project LAMBS, and; a farm-based missionary training center called Casa del Obrero.

The Huasteca Potosina lies within a largely indigenous zone which is one of the poorest and most marginalized areas of Mexico. Great socioeconomic disparity exists not only between indigenous and non-indigenous populations, but also between rural and urban dwellers.  The area in general is wracked by deforestation, mono-cropping, corporate control of farmers, and drug trafficking.

Families may be in possession of up to 1 hectare of land; however the land often goes uncultivated. Most of the cultivated land is dedicated to sugarcane production and the many small holders find themselves in the shadow of several giant corporate farms that completely control the market. With fewer resources at their disposal, it is impossible for small holders to even be noticed by big buyers, or to receive a fair price for their product.  Other than rare (and low paying) construction and day labor work, farming is the only option for making a living.

Amidst the poverty, local families also fall prey to many of the issues that often arise among

marginalized groups: alcoholism, lack of education, gambling, sexual abuse within families and violence are all present in force, and significantly dampen the incentive to escape from poverty.

OUpC, has identified several needs in the region. Poverty is not only an external affliction, but also an affliction of the mind and of the spirit.  Strong Christian leaders are needed to address this poverty. The dominant religion is Catholicism mixed with animistic and superstitious elements, which combine to make an oppressive and restrictive environment, rather than releasing the life giving love of Christ. Priests can exert a powerful hold over their constituents by evoking their sense of the superstitious.

An additional limiting factor that has become apparent over the years is that the urban-rural divide is often too great to entice educated urban dwellers (even those who feel a great missional calling on their life) to engage and work with those in the countryside. People with professional training are understandably more interested in income and upward mobility than engaging with the pressing issues that face the rural poor. For this reason the unique focus of OUpC is to train rural people in life-giving ways of living, and equipping them to impart those skills to others.

A disappointing fall-through in partnership occurred at the end of 2013, when the long-term urban church partner (and visionary) experienced a change in vision and withdrew their support of the rural initiative in favor of expanding their urban influence. This was, and continues to be, a painful disappointment for the leadership of OUpC. The character and integrity of the nationals working with the organization has been demonstrated in the perseverance they have shown through this and other difficult periods over the years.

The purpose statement of OUpC is to equip and train individuals, both indigenous and non-indigenous, in the areas of Christian leadership, trades, alternative farming methods, sewing, baking, micro-business, and entrepreneurship. Over the years the ministry has observed that receiving training in these areas empowers individuals, and enables them to overcome mentalities of poverty and oppression.

The long-term impact statement of the ministry is, “To equip men and women to return to their own communities in order to bring the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as freedom from the slavery of alcoholism and other addictions, poverty, and mentalities of inadequacy so that they can become missional Christians, as well as productive citizens within society.”

The farm (Casa del Obrero) has already developed valuable infrastructure, including: 6.6 hectares of cleared land; a 60 m² house; a well (39 m deep) and small holding pond; a septic system with an approximately 40-person capacity; a small tractor and some implements; approximately 120 fruit trees; as well as building sites prepared for future expansion. Additionally, the farm is in possession of a contract with the local sugarcane mill to sell 5 hectares of cane annually.

The indigenous farm director (Javier Santos) has been active with the farm since February 2011, and has been integrally involved in the day-to-day operations and decision-making. He has some knowledge of the agricultural production practices used in the local, traditional context, but he has limited experience or exposure to anything larger in scope.

A young indigenous couple (Armando and Alicia) lives on the farm in the staff house. They have been recently appointed as managers-in-training, and are the first trainees on the farm.  It is anticipated that this couple will take greater responsibility for day-to-day operations on the farm, releasing the farm director, Javier, to perform administrative and training functions.

_________________________________

The rest of the report is directly related to our proposal, and will not be of interest to you. However, I thought that the above might be written in a format that will be helpful for you to be able to better visualize the ministry itself, and what we are doing.

I had better close as this blog is now getting to the point of critical mass in length and some of you will soon be snoozing soundly, if you have not done so already.

We appreciate each of you, and continue to ask for your prayers as we finish strong in the race that we have been given to run.

Your friends and fellow laborers,

Steven and Theresa