Author: ronwintermissions

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
Joshua 1:9

FM-2 Visas: After a year and a half since we started the renewal of our Mexican work visas, we finally have them in hand!! Thank you for your prayers concerning this matter.   We had come up to the United States for our son Joshua’s wedding, and to begin our furlough when we received word (a couple of weeks later) from Mexico City that they had finally been approved. After returning to Mexico, we turned the documents in to the Immigration office in Chihuahua City, and they got the visas prepared for us in just 3 days! Praise the Lord!

Anáhuac: When we went back to Mexico for our visas, we attended a service at the Precious Seed Baptist Church. Bro. Gonzalo seems to be doing well and the church is stable.
They took several teens to camp and many of them made life-changing decisions. The church had just completed Vacation Bible School, with a high of 136 and around 20 kids have continued coming to services, at least Sunday mornings. Amen!
It was a blessing to see things doing well!

Furlough: We’re getting a new video presentation made and are setting up meetings with our supporting churches. We also need to raise some additional support, to cover the additional expenses of moving and starting a new work. Please pray for us to know the Lord’s direction in relocating to another area of Mexico.

Family: Joshua and Kristin had a beautiful wedding on June 27! We have been able to spend a day here and there with each of our kids (and grandbabies) since we have been in the states. What a blessing!

Prayer: Our furlough, that we’d be a blessing to the churches, to win souls, to raise the additional funds needed to relocate, also for safety as we travel; The Lord’s direction as to where we should move and begin another church; The church in Anáhuac to grow and go forward; For us all to be found faithful until the Lord comes for us!

Praise: FM-2 Visas!!! Bro. Gonzalo & the church; God’s protection and provision in our travels

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Psalm 27:14

Anáhuac: On April fifth, The Iglesia Bautista Semilla Preciosa celebrated a long awaited day!
It was my last day as missionary/pastor, Bro. Gonzalo Garcia celebrated his first day as pastor, and the church ordained him into the gospel ministry. We dedicated the new auditorium to the Lord, had a special dinner followed by testimonies – which was a very emotional time for everyone and we finished the day by celebrating the Lord’s Supper and then turned the responsibilities of the church over to the new pastor.
We had been working on the construction of the new auditorium for nearly two years, as we were trying to build with only volunteers from the church. When we saw the possibility of the church calling a Mexican pastor, it was close enough to be able to get the new auditorium useable. Some men came out after work and on Saturdays to help get the building ready. The last Saturday before the big day, we had 24 people come out to help finish up last minute things and clean for Sunday. They still have several details to finish on the building, but the new pastor has plans and a desire to see it completed! The first building will be used for Sunday school classrooms for teens and children, and will serve as the kitchen and fellowship hall.
The new auditorium is really nice – to the honor and glory of God! They also now have a nursery, men’s and ladies bathrooms, an office for the pastor, and changing rooms for baptisms. There were over a hundred in attendance for the special day, with several visitors, and 2 saved. Praise the Lord – that is what it is all about!!

FM-2 Visas: After almost a year and a half, we still do not have our work visas! Please pray!!

Furlough: We have needed to leave for a furlough, but thought it best to wait on the Mexican government to get our FM-2 work visas approved, (the reason why this letter is a month overdue).
May first, Mexico’s Labor Day, through May fifth, another Mexican holiday, government offices were closed. Of course the swine flu scare came at the same time, and although there were no confirmed cases in Chihuahua, the government pushed for the shut-down of restaurants, businesses, as well as churches during that time. Now things seem to be back to normal and although we don’t have our visas, we are making furlough plans anyway. If you would like for us to be in your mission conference, or to preach some other time in your church, please let us know.

Family: Joshua, our third, will be getting married June 27th in OKC, so we are planning to be there. Of course we will have to come back to finish with our FM-2 visas when they are approved!

Prayer: The continued growth of the church in Anáhuac; Wisdom for Bro. Gonzalo and for the church to follow his leadership; Our furlough and next place of service; Our FM-2 Visas; Joshua’s wedding

Praise: Great day turning the church over to their new pastor, building dedication, etc…; God’s faithfulness in spite of the circumstances

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;” 2 Corinthians 5:18

Mission conference: The middle of January, the “Iglesia Bautista Semilla Preciosa” had its annual Faith Promise Mission Conference, and it was a big success. Bro. Arnulfo Nieto, a Mexican missionary, preached exactly what our church needed. The promise was about what it was last year, but with the crisis, it is an increase. We had several lost visitors every night, and although none were saved, they heard the gospel. Amen!

February 13th: We had a special time for our couples, with a special dinner at a local restaurant. We invited another church to join us, and their pastor, Bro. Enrique Giesbrecht preached to us.

February 14th: Our teens invited the teens from all of the churches in the area to celebrate the love of Christ, and had 75 teens in attendance, and 3 saved. Amen!

Construction: A member of a church in Chihuahua donated his time and came over and laid the ceramic tile in the new auditorium. It really looks nice! We are now getting the inner dividing walls in for the bathrooms, nursery, office, etc. We would like to have the building useable before turning the church over to the new pastor.

Pastor: The church called the new pastor, the middle of February. We had prayed from the time we started the church, that God would give us the man who should pastor the church. We didn’t realize God’s will in the matter until we made our plans to take a survey trip to know where the Lord would have us go next. We heard about Bro. Gonzalo Garcia, who had taught in a Bible institute and worked in churches and an orphanage. He had never pastored, because he didn’t feel qualified until he was married. Two and a half years ago he got married, and the Lord led us to him through a mutual friend.
When we secure housing for their family and get them moved we will be turning the church over to them. Please pray for a smooth transition, and for the church to win souls, grow, and go forward for the Lord.

Visitors: We have visitors in the services most every week. Please pray for their salvation, and for those who get saved to follow in believer’s baptism.

Our Plans: Since our survey trip, we have been praying about several cities here in Mexico to know where to go and start another church. We will need to go on a furlough to raise more support, as we have lost some supporting churches due to the crisis, as well as everything is more expensive.
If you would like for us to be in your mission conference or to preach in your church, we will be available starting in July.

FM-2 Visas: Our Mexican work visas have been in the renewal process for some time, but we are seeing progress. Please pray that we will get them soon.

Prayer: People to be saved; Construction; New pastor & church to go forward; Our furlough, additional funds; Next place of service; FM-2 visas

Praise: People saved; Successful Mission Conference; New pastor; God’s faithfulness

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5:8

Happy New Year!! We trust that all of you had a wonderful Christmas! We’re excited to see what wonderful things the Lord has in store for this New Year! The Lord could come for us in 2009!

Anáhuac: The “Precious Seed Baptist Church” had a special Christmas program to celebrate Christ’s incarnation, to save us from our sin. The teens had a special drama, contrasting the world’s view with the Bible perspective of Christmas and the joy & happiness that only Christ can give. The ladies fixed a great dinner as always, and we had special goodie bags for the kids.
Please pray for the success of the Faith Promise Mission Conference we will have in January.
The church is looking forward to God’s blessings in this New Year. Please pray with us that during this year we can have the pastor in place who will lead this church on to greater success.

Construction: The church hired some Christian men to put the sheet rock up in the new auditorium, and they have completed the outside walls. They will put the dividing walls in as soon as we get the ceramic tile on the floor. We challenged the church to give a Christmas offering for the ceramic tile, but because of the crisis, they have only given a small part of the $2,000 dollars needed.

Survey Trip: We made a survey trip to see with our own eyes the need in other areas.
We went to the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, and saw a city of 450,000 people with only one Independent Baptist mission, with less than one year in existence. There were a few works in some areas, but still a lot of cities with no works. There is a lot of need in several areas of Oaxaca.
We also went through the western states of Sonora and Sinaloa, and had the privilege of preaching in some churches there. There are a few missionaries and Mexican pastors in most of the large cities, but only one church for every 150,000 to 400,000 population, so obviously tens of thousands are still unevangelized. There are also a number of works in some small cities, but we saw cities with populations of 50,000 to 250,000 with no known independent Baptist church. We also visited a couple of cities in Chihuahua state with very little being done.
To be honest, we were surprised at the need for good Bible preaching, soul winning churches that still exists in the areas that we went, not to mention other parts of Mexico.
Please pray for Mexico, and for the Lord’s direction in our lives.

Family: Our son Andrew and his family visited us for Christmas, and brought Bethany with them. We had a great time – especially with our grandchildren! Amen!

Prayer: Pastor for the church in Anáhuac; Souls saved; Mission Conference; Construction – funds;  Compassion for the lost; Power of God; Direction in our lives; FM-2 Work Visas

Praise: Blessings of 2008; Safety in our travels; Progress on the construction

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.” II Corinthians 8:7-8

Anáhuac: We had a week of vacation Bible School, with an average attendance of 72. Several children made a profession of faith, and on the closing day 10 parents came out, and heard a clear presentation of the gospel. It was a blessing to have the three girls who attend Bible Institutes home for the summer, helping with the Bible School, special visits, etc.
We have made several hospital visits lately, visiting family of members of the church, and the Lord has allowed us to win several others that were in the same or adjoining rooms. Amen!
We celebrated 10 years since we started the “Iglesia Bautista Semilla Preciosa”. Please pray that the Lord provides the national pastor that the church needs to allow us to go forward in our ministry, and start again in another place here in México.

Conferences: We have had the opportunity to preach in some other churches here in México this summer. One church invited us to preach to them on “the family.” It was a blessing to us, to see this Mexican church striving to fortify the family in these days of unfaithfulness.
In another church we preached their second annual mission conference. It was a 5 day conference, with a meal every night after the service. They would stay past 10 PM every day, but the attendance just kept increasing each day. On Sunday, the last day of the conference, they took up the Faith Promise commitments, and more than doubled the promise from the year before. It was exciting to see the people trusting in the Lord and accepting the challenge to increase their faith!

Youth Camp: We only took 6 teens to youth camp in July. With conflicting schedules, attitudes, and just general apathy attacking from all sides, several wouldn’t or couldn’t commit. The theme of the camp was, “Rompiendo Moldes” (breaking molds), dealing with spiritual warfare, and how to leave the past in the past. It was an excellent camp, with almost 200 in attendance, and most every teen making the decision to entrust their life to the Lord.

Personal: Our youngest, Bethany, came home for the summer to help us in the ministry, and was a big blessing to us and to the church. She has now gone back to Bible College to begin her second year.
We still have no news about our FM-2 work visas which have been in the renewal process for 7 months.

Prayer: Souls to be saved, and come to church; Bethany returning to school; Pastor for the church;  FM-2 visas

Praise: Souls saved; Good conferences and VBS, Decisions made at camp

In His Service,