Hands to the Work – Ron Winter

Dear Friends in Christ, 

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity.                          1 Corinthians 16:13-14

     Please pray for wisdom for the “Hands to the Work” ministry, to prepare, plan and execute all of the opportunities and take on the challenges!
     I’m often asked how often I take trips to Mexico.  I take trips when Mexican churches ask and pray for materials and God has provided them, and when I have money to make the trip!  I need to raise more support to be able to pick up and deliver the materials.  My support is almost entirely spent on the ministry, as I live off of my Social Security and love offerings.

     From October 11 to 30, I’m planning to take pews, pianos, chairs, etc. to 2 churches in the state of San Luis Potosí, in the indigenes Huasteca Potosina region; then to 4 churches in the state of Tabasco, below the Gulf of Mexico.  Please pray, as I’ve never been that far south on the east side of Mexico!      I’m to preach in a mission conference in Fredonia Kansas November 8 – 10 and a week later, take pews, pianos, etc. to churches in Chihuahua and Coahuila.
     I’ve been picking up pews, pulpits, tables, chairs, etc. in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and just got back from a 1,750 mile trip to pick up pews in Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri.  Praise the Lord, some folks also bring things to me!
     There are 70 pews being warehoused in Edmond, OK, that still need to be disassembled, and gotten to Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco, Mexico.  The duty and more than $500 for tolls plus fuel, etc. for 2 trips with my truck and trailer for more than 5,000 miles, would be very expensive!  We’re looking at the possibility of hiring a Mexican trucking company to pick up the pews on the US border and take them to Jalisco.  Of course I would still have to get them to El Paso, and hopefully go down there to help assemble them.   

     I was a missionary sent out of the First Baptist Church of Milford, OH for 37 years!  Thank you Pastor Keen, Pastor Duttry, Pastor Barclay & FBC!  
     I’ve joined the First Baptist Church of Del City, OK, to be closer to the Mexican border and because all my kids and grandkids live within 4 hours of Del City.  The church provides a warehouse for the materials and the bus garage to park and work on my truck and trailers.  My new pastor, Michael Scott, is very excited about this ministry and several of the men help unload and load the trailer, etc.!

Please continue sending my support to the First Baptist Church of Milford, as they continue to be my clearing house!

Praise:  Warehouse is about full; Safety on the trips picking up pews, etc.
Prayer:  Souls to be saved because of this ministry; Safety on the trips; Correct sizes of pews & needed materials; Trips to San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, Coahuila, Jalisco & etc.; Finances, support & organization

Please pray for the “Hands to the Work” ministry that God would be glorified by it!

Ron Winter
Your Co-laborer, Ministering to Churches in Mexico

Dear Friends in Christ,
     … ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.    1 Cor. 15:58
     The last of April, Pastor Russ Bishop went with me to the state of Chihuahua to take 5 pianos, a pulpit, chairs, doors and windows etc.  For the first time in 37 years, I was turned around at the border, because their estimated value of the load exceeded the maximum limit.  Unloading the windows and doors in El Paso, were able to import the rest of the load for $1,140! 
It was a great, trip and Bro. Russ was a blessing by driving and preaching in Camargo!
     On June 19, Randy Harrison from Valley Forge Baptist in Pennsylvania went with me to help me drive, to take materials to 5 churches in the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, but at the El Paso border we were turned around again!  Because Randy couldn’t stay an extended period of time, we left the trailer at BPS in El Paso and drove back to Oklahoma so he could drive home. 
     I returned 2 days later, towing a van to El Paso that was donated to a Mexican church and I crossed it into Mexico.  Though it had transmission problems, they will fix it at a minimal cost and it will be a huge blessing to them!  Mexican churches really need vans!
     I picked up my loaded trailer and headed to the border but had to pay $1,570 dollars to cross into Mexico with the materials!  When I got to Anáhuac, Chihuahua where we started our first church, my truck broke down.  We exchanged the 2 pianos and I limped the truck to Chihuahua City to a very good diesel mechanic.  I found the turbo actuator for $500 dollars, half the US price, and my friends paid the mechanic!  It runs great!
     On Sunday, June 30 I preached in Camargo, at the last church we started, and a 13 year old girl who had been attending for some time with her family, got saved!
     On Monday, 21 year old Cristian and I headed for Culiacan, Sinaloa, by way of Mazatlán and only had a flat tire en route.  We unloaded the pews, a piano and trumpets that night and assembled pews on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Pastor Saenz, his family and church were great hosts!
     Wednesday I had a root canal then 2 hours later preached in Las Brisas, a small town 2 hours north.  We enjoyed our stay with Pastor Efraín and his family!  On Thursday we assembled pews and Friday morning went back to Culiacan to get the crown on my tooth. 
     At noon Saturday we arrived at Jitzamuri, Sinaloa, where the natives call it “The end of the earth”, because the land ends at the Pacific Ocean.  We got the pews assembled, and Sunday morning I preached in about 100 degrees and 100% humidity!  Pastor José Gil and family shared their humble home with us!  I preached that evening in another village.
     We got to Navojoa, Sonora on Monday and the kids, helpers and workers from the children’s home unloaded all the pews, chairs, etc. in record time!  We got the pews assembled and loaded the trailer with some household belongings of Missionary David Scott who founded that church and two others.  On Wednesday I took the things up to him in Tucson, AZ.
      Before returning to OK July 13, I picked up chairs, tables, etc. in Bowie and Denton TX.
      It was a great trip that lasted 25 days instead of 14, which helped 5 Mexican churches!
      If you know of windows, doors, pews, pianos, chairs, musical instruments, vans, etc. please let me know!  Praise the Lord, several people are also getting materials and bringing them to me!  Thank you so much for your part in souls being saved and churches being helped in Mexico!
    Please pray for the “Hands to the Work” ministry that souls will be saved God would be glorified by it!
Ron Winter
Your Co-laborer, Ministering to Churches in Mexico

Dear Friends in Christ, 
Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.   James 4:13-14

Mission Conference: The first of February I preached in a mission’s conference at the Iglesia Bautista Ebenezer in Dodge City Kansas.  We had a great time, and it was a special blessing to present Faith Promise Missions to them for the first time, though they already supported some missionaries.  I knew some of the folks there which were originally from Camargo, where we started the last church.  They were a special encouragement to me!
    On my way to the conference, I went on to Colorado to visit my brother and sister and their families. I reported to the Calvary Baptist church in Sterling, CO where I was saved in 1976.  It was also good to reconnect with the church and the first person I led to the Lord!

Recovery: I had a hernia surgery the end of December, and it is pretty much healed, and I’m back to lifting 100%!  Praise the Lord!

Hands to the Work: I’m working to get the “Hands to the Work” ministry better organized. We’re setting up the warehouse and shop at the First Baptist Church in Del City, OK, where I can store the supplies and work on my equipment.  Several of the men of the church help me.
    I continue getting more materials, but I’m still not keeping up with the requests from Mexican churches for pews, doors, windows and etc.  Please inform me of pews, tables, chairs, a source for doors and windows, etc.
We plan to take up to 4 pianos at a time to Bro Eduardo, the pastor of the first church we started, in Anáhuac, Chihuahua, who will recondition and tune them, and I’ll pick them up and take them on to the churches.    
    Please pray for the support that I need to pick up and deliver the materials.  Also pray for the organization and planning of trips, as well as picking up materials, etc.!
    I need men, retired couples, families, students, etc. to come on a one week to 16 day trip, to help me drive, and be a blessing to Mexican churches. Please email me if you can help me, or would allow God to challenge you on a short-term mission trip to Mexico!

Praise: Opportunities to preach; Recovered from surgery, overall good health; The Lord’s provision and blessings to the “Hands to the Work” ministry; Partners who help me!

Prayer: Organization of trips, supply of materials and all the logistics for this ministry; Help to drive and deliver them to Mexico; Supply of materials in the US; Souls to be saved and Mexican churches to be helped because of the “Hands to the Work” ministry!

Ron Winter
Your Co-laborer, Ministering to Churches in Mexico

Dear Friends in Christ,
 
O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day…  Nehemiah 1:11
 
Happy New Year!  When I first got saved in 1976, I heard several messages assuring us that the Lord was coming back way before 2024.  I’m thankful to have opportunities to serve my Lord in another New Year!
    A special thank you to those who sent special Christmas offerings!  They were such a blessing, as I have so many expenses getting relocated.
 
Furlough:  I drove almost 8,000 miles on my furlough out east, from Arkansas, Alabama, on up into Canada!  It was a blessing that Caleb, my oldest grandson came along to help me!  I was encouraged by my supporting churches, even a couple without a pastor and one changing pastors, staying the course, still seeking to see souls saved through various outreaches.  It was a blessing to get to know them better and to minister to them!  I’m so thankful for churches that faithfully support the “Hands to the Work” ministry! 
Please pray that my support base would increase, so I can make more trips!
 
“Hands to the Work”:  In December I picked up pews in Missouri, then later that month took them on a 3,200 mile trip to Chihuahua with a piano, pulpit, tables, etc.; final destination Ruiz, Nayarit Mexico.  We took them 45 pews, a piano, pulpit, gospel tracts and several other things, for which they were very thankful.  The young men in the Bible institute jumped in and helped assemble the pews in 2 days!  It was also a blessing to preach in their midweek service!
    Leaving Nayarit, just after passing the city of Durango, Durango, a spring on the trailer broke.  Since the trailer was empty, I disabled that axle and came on to the border.  When the axle broke, it damaged 2 tires, so I’ll need to replace them.  On the way to Oklahoma I bought a spring in Odessa, TX and they let me change it out in their parking lot!  From there, I stopped in Weatherford, TX to pick up some pews and take them to the warehouse in OKC to disassemble and get them ready to haul them to Mexico.
    I gave a ride up to OKC to a man who had hit bottom, and he called on the Lord to save him!
 
Surgery:  I had a much needed hernia surgery on December 26.  It was supposed to be laparoscopic, but they had to open it up and remove scar tissue, etc. from a previous surgery, so it took over twice as long.  I’m thankful the doctor was thorough, but I can’t lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for 6 weeks!
 
Praise: Good Christmas and a New Year with new opportunities to serve; Uneventful furlough; Very good trip to Nayarit; Souls saved; God’s provision and protection; Hernia fixed
Prayer: Souls to be saved and God to be glorified through this ministry; Complete recovery
 
Ron Winter
Your Co-laborer, Ministering to Churches in Mexico

Dear Friends in Christ,
 
Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church…that we might be fellow helpers to the truth. -3 John 1:6a, 8b

   25^th Anniversary: My son Josh and his family of 6 went with me to Mexico to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the first church we started, the Iglesia Bautista Semilla Preciosa in Anáhuac, Chihuahua.  My son Andrew also came down to preach at the celebration.  It was a great time to reminisce and fellowship with the church, old members and new! 
    The day before the anniversary, José Luis, a pastor friend from Jimenez, Chihuahua married a young lady from the church in Anáhuac! 
    “Hands to the Work” ministry: After the anniversary celebrations on Sunday, we went 2 hours to Delicias, Chihuahua and unloaded a set of pews to their new church home that night.  On Monday, we left pews at the church in Camargo for another church in the area.  Then drove 2 days south to deliver a set of pews to Zamora, Michoacán.  Heading north, I preached Wednesday night in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, then left some windows in Los Mochis, Sinaloa.  We unloaded pews, doors, windows and 50 boxes of school uniforms in Navojoa, Sonora for the children’s home and Bible Institute there and for other churches in the area.  I preached in Navojoa on Sunday morning and 3 adults trusted Christ as their Saviour!  Sunday afternoon, we left the last set of pews in Los Hornos, Sonora, on the way to preach in Guasave, Sonora where another man was saved!
    It was a long, hard 14 day, 4,200 mile trip, but a big blessing to at least 7 churches!
    We had 3 breakdowns on the trip, but all were where we could get replacement parts, so we weren’t stranded by the highway, and the Lord provided for the parts!  Praise the Lord!                         
Furlough:  I’m currently on a furlough to report to supporting churches out East and North to inform them in person, that I’m changing my base of operations for the “Hands to the Work” ministry from Mexico to Oklahoma.  I also need to raise more ministry support!
    My 11 year-old grandson, Caleb came along to help me and is seeing many educational sites and beautiful scenery, and is making new friends at every church!  It has been great to spend some time with him, as I’ve never had much time with him or any of my grandchildren.
    We’ve also had numerous opportunities to witness and pass out gospel tracts in barber shops, laundromats, filling stations, etc.!  We find a person here and there that is very thankful we shared the gospel with them!  Some still want to know the truth!
    Community Baptist in Siler City, NC took the ministry on for support!  Praise the Lord!
    It’s been a blessing to update the churches as to my change of ministry, to renew old acquaintances and meet new people as far north as Aylmer, Ontario, Canada!
Praise: 25 years of 1^st church; Safety, 7 Mexican states, materials to 7 churches, preached 6 times with 4 saved!  Supporting churches still holding the ropes in spite of adversities!
Prayer: Safety on furlough; Opportunities to witness, souls to be saved; Churches challenged
 
Ron Winter
Your Co-laborer, Ministering to Churches in Mexico