Author: ronwintermissions

Dear Friends in Christ,

“The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” Lamentations 3:25

Happy New Year!! We trust that all of you had a great Christmas. Praise God He sent His Son Jesus Christ, the greatest gift of all! Thank you for your faithful support and also all who sent special Christmas offerings and gifts! God always supplies our needs and we so appreciate your part!

Opportunities for Ministry: I’ve had several opportunities to preach, and we’ve had a part in other church services. We have knocked doors, made visits and handed out tracts. In Los Mochis, a young woman came to church after a tract and invitation were left on her door, and she got saved after I preached on Sunday morning! Amen! A man from Guanajuato knocked our door looking for work, so he not only got paid for washing our car, but he also heard the Gospel and got a John & Romans. We’ve also had opportunity to witness to friends and neighbors again.

God’s Direction: We have been looking at some areas where there is still much to be done in spreading the gospel and for New Testament Churches to be started. We have mostly been looking in the states of Chihuahua, where we started another work, and in the state of Sinaloa. We might also have a short-term opportunity to help a missionary in transition as he leaves, and a man from the church takes the reins. We’re looking forward to relocating and beginning again soon. Please pray with us as God directs our paths.

Anáhuac: Pastor Eduardo Orozco and the Precious Seed Baptist Church that we started are doing great, for which we are thankful. We attended their Christmas service, and there was a great spirit and several visitors. Praise the Lord!! They invited us back for their New Year’s Day service the next week. Gabriel and Teresa, whom we won to Christ several years ago, were celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary and renewed their vows. What a blessing to see them and their children serving the Lord! Amen!

Health Update: Connie’s blood counts still appear to be in the normal ranges. Praise the Lord!!

Christmas: We were especially blessed to have our daughter, Bethany and Kyle, our son-in-law, come visit us for Christmas! She had him enjoying “real” Mexican food by the time they left.

Prayer: Opportunities to witness & compassion for the lost; God’s direction for us; Connie’s health

Praise: God’s provision for our salvation; His constant protection and provision; Pastor and Church in Anáhuac doing well; Connie’s continued good health; Having family with us for Christmas

In His Service,

“For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.” Psalm 31:3

Southbound: We’ve been asking the Lord to allow us to go back to Mexico, and here we are! Amen! This was the first time we ever took a full year’s furlough, and then with the time that Connie was in treatment for leukemia, leaving friends and family in the U.S. was especially hard. We were able to spend a few days with my family in Colorado, Connie’s family in Missouri and
Oklahoma, and with each of our four kids and their families before heading down to Mexico. We also reported back to a couple more supporting churches, preached in a mission conference in Missouri and presented the ministry in a church in New Mexico on the trip down. God was so good to bring us back to Mexico with no problems!

Mexico: We arrived in time to celebrate Connie’s birthday, which she enjoyed! We have come back temporarily to the area where we last lived to get back into the Mexican culture and language. A lot has changed in Mexico since we left. We will be traveling out from here to look at other cities, as well as seeking council from other pastors and missionaries, to know what areas might be the best to go to, and that have the greatest need for the gospel. We are praying and fasting to know where the Lord would have us start another church. Please pray for God’s direction and our safety.

Anáhuac: We were encouraged by the unity of the Precious Seed Baptist Church that we started. The members kept preaching, teaching, giving and working together for several months without a pastor. Shortly before we got here, the church called their new pastor, Eduardo Orozco. The Sunday before their new pastor got here, the church allowed me to preach to them. I challenged them concerning their pastor and family, to encourage and help them, follow his leadership and pray for him to have wisdom to lead the church to move forward. The Orozcos are originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, and have been working with Missionary Jerry Collins in Los Mochis, Sinaloa for the last three years. We were able to help the church fix a few things on the house they are renting for them, as well as encourage this young family and get to know Eduardo, his wife Miriam and two small girls a little bit. They are talented; he plays several instruments, and she plays piano. This is his first pastorate, and they are excited to get into the work! Please pray for God’s blessings on the Orozcos and the church as they work together to reach this area for Christ!!

Contact Info: We can be reached in Mexico by our internet telephone or email. We won’t have an address in Mexico until we get moved to our new place of service.

Prayer: Connie’s health; Direction and safety; Precious Seed Baptist Church, Pastor Eduardo Orozco and family

Praise: Connie’s continued good health; Opportunities to serve; Safe travels; Faithfulness of the church in Anáhuac – new pastor

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“…we…do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;” Colossians 1:9c-10

Ministry: We are finalizing things in the U.S. for our return to Mexico. We have reported to a few more churches, filled the pulpit in others and God continues to give us new support!
I brought a charge at a sportsman’s clinic with Fellowship Baptist in Lincoln NE. I have been fixing and doing maintenance on some of the equipment at Midlands Bible Baptist in Bellevue, as well as visitation for the church. Praise the Lord for opportunities to witness.
I also worked some at West Omaha Baptist on their new store-front building. The devil has sure been fighting them through city inspectors, etc.; surely the Lord is going to do great things with them. They need to move into the new building soon. Please pray for Bro. Doug Robertson and the church.

Health Update: Connie finished with physical therapy for her “frozen shoulder.” She still has pain but the doctor believes if she will continue stretching and exercising at home, she should regain complete mobility in a few months.
She had another blood test and the counts are still in the normal ranges. Amen! The oncologist wants us to fax results of periodic blood tests done in Mexico, to alert us to elevated white blood cell counts.

Mexico: As God continues to bless, we will be going back to Mexico later in October! Amen!
Please pray for direction to know the area where the Lord wants us to plant another church!

Address Change: We have left the Omaha area and our dear friends at Midlands Bible Baptist Church in Bellevue, NE. The Lord used Pastor Dave and Sandy Lydick and the church to be a great encouragement and blessing to us through our time there! We will sure miss them.
Please note our new temporary address from which mail can be forwarded to us. We will let you know when we have a new field address. You can always contact us by e-mail, or check our website for updated info.

Prayer: God’s direction in Mexico; Connie’s frozen shoulder, leukemia – complete healing;
Doug Robertson & West Omaha Baptist

Praise: Faithful supporting churches; Connie feels well; Blessings of Midlands Bible Baptist Church;
Returning to Mexico; Opportunities to preach, witness & serve

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.” Psalm 62:5

Health Update: As of July 5, Connie’s blood counts were still in the normal ranges! She does still have leukemia, but it seems to be dormant for now; what an answer to prayer!! She will still need to continue with periodic blood tests. She has also had increasing pain in her right shoulder, which an orthopedic doctor says is “frozen shoulder.” She is beginning physical therapy that will teach her how to continue exercises at home.

Ministry: We have decided that the blood tests and exercises can be done wherever we are, so we’re making plans to go back to Mexico! Amen! We need to finish reporting to a few supporting churches, secure insurance that will provide medical coverage in Mexico as well as in the U.S., see the orthopedic doctor again, and wrap up everything in Omaha. In the last couple of months I preached at a preacher’s fellowship meeting and at a couple of other churches, with First Baptist Church of Del City, OK taking us on for support. Amen! Connie spoke at the Mother/Daughter banquet at Midlands Bible Baptist in Bellevue, NE. I have also worked on vehicles, equipment and buildings at Midlands Bible Baptist and West Omaha Baptist churches. We attended the 33rd anniversary at Midlands BBC, and 50th anniversary of Wyldewood Baptist Church in Oshkosh WI; the first independent Baptist church that Connie’s family attended. We asked that you pray for Bruce. He and his wife Lisa have come to church but still are not saved.

Anáhuac Mexico: The Precious Seed Baptist Church we started is now without a pastor. Some of the men in the church are sharing preaching responsibilities until the Lord sends the right pastor.

Prayer Update: Bro. Doug Taylor, assistant pastor of Midlands Bible Baptist Church, went home to be with the Lord May 12. He is greatly missed! Please pray for Kelly and children, ages 16, 13 and 11.

Family: The last couple of months have been busy. We celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary. Our daughter Bethany and Kyle Martin graduated from Heartland Baptist Bible College in May, and were married in June. It was a beautiful wedding! We are glad to have Kyle in the family!! On July 2, Ella Rose was born to our son Andrew and wife Shana and sisters Hannah & Julia.
(We have a 4th grandbaby coming in Jan.!) God has sure blessed our family!

Prayer: Connie’s continued good health, healing & shoulder; Preparations for returning to Mexico; Bruce & Lisa salvation; Pastor in Anáhuac; Taylor family

Praise: Connie’s blood counts normal; Returning to Mexico; God’s provision; Opportunities for service; Liberty Baptist Church in Siloam Springs, AR paid a month’s hospital bill; God’s blessings to our family

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” Philippians 3:10

Sending church: First Baptist Church of Milford, OH brought us home for a long weekend, to show us their love and that they are praying for us. They really spoiled us – it was quite overwhelming and humbling for so many to let us know they are praying for us daily, and for their outpouring of love and generosity. Thank you First Baptist and Pastor and Mrs. Duttry for expressing your love and concern for us! What a blessing!!

Health Update: Connie saw the doctor April 5, and she said that the blood counts are all back in the normal ranges. In fact, Connie is doing so well that she doesn’t need to see her for three months.
Praise the Lord! The doctor still believes she has leukemia, but until it causes the blood counts to change or Connie feels worse, they will not continue with more treatment. We are still praying that the Lord will heal her. Meanwhile, we are taking some nutritional cleanses to help clean toxins from the body. Please pray with us to know God’s will; if the blood counts are still normal in three months, whether He would have us make plans to go back to Mexico then.
Connie has had opportunity to do some things that she seldom gets to do. She enjoyed a ladies retreat in St. Joseph, Mo, and we went to be with her mom and dad to celebrate his 83rd birthday!
During these three months, our daughter Bethany will graduate from Heartland Baptist Bible College and get married. We are also expecting another granddaughter from our son Andrew and his wife Shana. Thank you for praying for her pregnancy, she is doing better! Amen!

Ministry: We had the privilege of participating in the Mission Conference here at Midlands Bible Baptist Church in Bellevue, NE. Their new Faith Promise goal exceeded their giving from last year by about twenty percent!! We also preached at the conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Seward, NE, and upon having a good increase in their Faith Promise commitment, they voted to take us on for monthly support! Praise the Lord; He continues to bless us with new support! Amen!!
We have had the privilege to fill the pulpit in a couple of churches as well as preach a home-school chapel, take teens to a youth rally, work with visitation, sing in the Easter cantata, and do several maintenance projects here at Midlands. What a blessing to serve our great and mighty God!!

Prayer: Connie’s health – healing; God’s will as to when we go back to Mexico; Bethany – graduation May 12 & wedding June 18; Shana’s pregnancy (due in July); Continued prayer for Bro. Doug Taylor

Praise: Generosity and love of FBC, Milford; Connie’s blood counts normal; God’s provision and opportunity for service.

In His Service,

See enclosed letter from Midlands Bible Baptist Church (pdf)