This last Monday and Tuesday we had the opportunity to go to the State Fair to give out Gospel tracts. And although we did not give out as many tracts as we were hope for, we had the opportunity to talk to people and invite them to church.
On Tuesday I was able to give tracts to about 200 Catholics at once! They all came down from 5 buses that parked right were I was standing. Each bus had 3 or 4 nuns that were in charge of their groups. I thought for sure that they were going to get mad because I was giving the tracts to their people, but also, I think they probably thought that I was welcoming them to the fair with the tracts. They all came from Oaxaca to the Puebla Fair and all took the tracts and many were reading them! One man specially was sitting down on the side walk behind one of the buses and apparently ready all the tract. Then I sat down with them and asked him what he thought about it. We talked for a while, and although he did not make any decision to accept Christ, he was very open to hear what I had to say. Please pray for this tracts and for this man that they will soon get saved.
On Wednesday, my wife, baby Caitlyn and I had the opportunity to go Dallas, TX for a quick visit. We attended the Family Conference held by the Spanish Church at Trinity Baptist Church, in Arlington, TX. Bro. Ricky Gonzalez is the pastor of this church and he is doing a tremendous work. Bro. Ezequiel Salazar preached two times on Wednesday night. The first preaching was to all the church and the second preaching was a class for the man and husbands. To say the least, it was an awesome class! He said that the reason our wives are not submissive to their husbands is because we are not the spiritual leaders that we ought to be. He also said that our wives need to know that we love them. Anyway, this is an update, not a sermon, right?
The conference ended at 11:oo pm! I was tired, but I enjoyed seeing and hearing Bro. Salazar. His wife Miriam was also there. She thought a class for the ladies, and my wife said it was very good. She is already practicing some of the things she heard! — Gracias Hna. Miriam!
Saturday night we had the privilege to see my good friend, Bro. Mike Patterson. I believe I met Bro. Patterson for the first time when I was 14 years old. He pastored Mount Abarim Baptist Church in Cuernavaca, Morelos for 12 years. During his time in Mexico, Christians in Mexico learned to love him. He left, I believe, in 1996 to take over the ministry in Arlington of Mount Abarim Baptist Mission International. Anyway, I surrendered to preach on July 24, 1992, under the preaching of Bro. Mike Patterson. I love him and miss him… so, we visited him and his dear wife. We had a good time at one of our favorite restaurants, Cracker Barrel. The following morning we visited his home church which is Worth Baptist Church of Arlington, TX. We had a good time and the sermon by Pastor Weaver was encouraging and challenging!
During the time we were gone, Bro. Abraham preached a good sermon in our church. Our church was packed here in Puebla. They say that they had 8 extra chairs outside the auditorium! Praise the Lord.
Please pray for this Saturday, as we are having an special meeting at one of our new missions. I shall explain why is a new mission: Two weeks ago we celebrated our “Dia del Niño” which is a big day celebration for all the children in Mexico. A lady in our church brought 27 kids and 11 adults… from a far away suburb south of Puebla. They all wanted someone to go and teach them more about the Bible on Wednesday nights! So, I asked Erick, a graduate from Bro. Luis Ramos Bible Institute in San Luis Potosi, to help and teach them and preach to them. They are all excited about this new mission and we are going to have a big day this Saturday. We are expecting over 100 people to come from this poor area of the city. Please pray that I might preach the Simple Plan of Salvation to them and see many of them get saved.
On other good news: As we were gone, not only we had a good attendance in our church, but a man in our church called me to let me know that he wanted to give $2,500 dollars towards the church building expansion! Praise the Lord for this also! We only have room in our church auditorium for 120 adults, and we need more room. We are praying to expand our auditorium this year. If you are willing to help in any way towards this purpose, please let me know. Thank you and God bless you!