Author: ronwintermissions

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” I Thes. 5:24

Anáhuac: The “Iglesia Bautista Semilla Preciosa” continues to be faithful with its Faith Promise commitment that it made in January. Praise the Lord! It has taken some time for them to see that the church is their responsibility, but little by little they are growing in their faith and faithfulness.
We have had eight people make professions of faith, and four baptized.
Guillermina, the grandmother of one of our teens, broke her leg. We visited her in the hospital, but could not convince her to trust the Lord, as she cannot get past trusting in her “Virgin of Guadalupe”. Please pray for her as we continue visiting her that she would understand and be converted. She has a lot of family in Anáhuac, and could be the key to many coming to Christ. After praying with Guillermina, a lady in the hallway called us back to pray with her husband. He had obviously heard the gospel, but had never accepted the Lord as his Savior. He called on the Lord once and for all, and was saved!
Saul, the brother of a lady in our church had an accident working on a big truck, and should have died instantly, but the Lord had other plans. We had visited him several times, and were just now able to lead him to Christ. Praise the Lord! His family is very Catholic. Please pray for him and them.
Ricardo and Monia were expecting their first baby, and it died shortly after being born. We had tried to win Ricardo to the Lord, but his business and life were just too important. Since this tragedy, we were able to get them to come to church one time. Please pray for their comfort and salvation.

Teens: Our teens had really gotten discouraged with the daily attacks of Satan by teachers, other students, rock music, and even parents. Four churches got together for a picnic to which 58 attended, and the fellowship and preaching really gave them a shot in the arm.
We went to camp the week after Easter. The theme of the camp was “Transformed to Serve”. The Spirit of God came down. At least half and sometimes all of the 80 teens came forward at the invitations. The next Sunday, most of the 17 teens that went with us, came and gave testimonies. It was great! Please pray that they will stay strong, and serve as they committed to do.
Twelve teens just finished a 26 lesson discipleship course! Praise the Lord!
God called Adrián, 20, to full-time service, but Satan has really been fighting him. He had two car wrecks within three weeks of each other, one car was completely demolished. Please pray that he would put his confidence and future in the Lord’s hands.

Workers: Otoniel and his family will be graduating from a Bible institute, and will be coming to work with us for one year of service, as of the 21 of June. Please pray for them and for our church.

FM-3 Visas: Please pray that our work visas would come back soon.

Prayer: Salvation of Guillermina, Ricardo and Monia; Teens to stay encouraged; Adrián – Surrender; Saul – growth & family; Pastor for the church; Otoniel and family – year of service; FM-3 visas
Praise: People saved; Saul; Baptisms; Great camp

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. “ 1 Corinthians 4:1

Mission Conference: The “Iglesia Bautista Semilla Preciosa” had its annual Faith Promise Mission Conference the middle of January, and it was a huge success. The majority of our folks came out every night for the preaching, followed by a meal. Brother Bill Wall, a missionary who has a church about a half an hour away, preached the conference and was greatly used of the Lord to challenge our people to faithfulness. We weren’t meeting our Faith Promise commitment before, and now we have raised each of our 5 missionaries by $10 a month, as well as taken on a sixth missionary and the church is giving enough that we can still take on a couple of others. AMEN!! In fact, they are giving more to Faith Promise than for the tithe, which has also increased after the conference!

Kid’s Day: Some people in the U.S. had contacted us about sending down some special gifts for kids at Christmas time. The gifts didn’t arrive until the 2nd week of January, so we had a special service about God’s great gift to us, with special lessons, puppets and message for children. We had asked for fifty gifts, but they sent over a hundred nice gifts. We invited kids all over town and had 92 kids in the service, plus a few of their parents, so with our regulars, we had a new record attendance of 152!! Afterward, 13 adults and kids made a profession of faith. AMEN!!

Soul Winning: We have knocked every door in this town of 16,000 several times, and have had quite a few make a profession of faith at the door. Although we try to be sure they understand, and keep going back to visit them, we can’t get people to come to a service even one time. God has still blessed and sent others, but we are really searching for the key to getting this people to understand the truth. Their Jesus, that they still have on the cross, who shares his glory with saints and virgins, is not the Christ of the Bible, the creator of all things. Pray for the church to be more effective here in Anáhuac.

Valentine’s Day: Ten couples from our church went out to eat together for their “Day of Love and Friendship”. Besides the food, games, and special message, it was a great time of fun and fellowship.

Construction: We had no idea that the Lord would still have us here to build the main auditorium for our church, but we need the room, especially a nursery. A Christian friend loaned us a backhoe so we could dig out for the foundation. AMEN! The church has been saving money, and should have enough to get the walls up and the roof on, and then they will finish one part at a time as they have the money.

Prayer Requests: Faith Promise and Tithe to keep coming in; Wisdom for outreach – Soul winning; Construction – wisdom and money; Continued prayer – Otoniel & family coming to work with us in June; Pastor for the church

Praise: People saved; Good Faith Promise Conference; Unity in the church

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

We hope that all of you had a blessed Christmas time and that you will have a wonderful NEW YEAR!!  We want to thank the churches and individuals for the special Christmas love offerings; they met several needs!

Anáhuac: After much planning and preparation, the “Iglesia Bautista Semilla Preciosa” had a wonderful Christmas program with 122 present. (Our highest attendance) The teens presented a drama “The Message”; the real meaning of Christmas written by Miguel, one of our older teens. They also had a puppet show for the kids, and did a great job on both productions. The children’s classes also had a part in the program. It was encouraging to see the participation.
The ladies brought food and we had a great time of food and fellowship after the morning service. We also gave each of the kids a goody bag, and a small gift that had been provided for us.
Connie and the ladies of the church had a baby shower for Angélica and her baby Abigail. David and Angélica work with our youth group. They had one girl, 12 years old, and are so thankful that the Lord blessed them with another. We also had a special baby dedication service one Sunday.
With the weather getting colder, so have hearts – we only had 9 people saved since we last wrote.
The 17-21 of January we will be having our mission conference. Please pray for our folks to see their faith increase, to be faithful with their Faith Promise giving and be obedient with their tithe.

Pastor: We have been praying since we began the work here in Anáhuac that the Lord would provide the right man as pastor. We have been in contact with several preachers and Bible institutes, and a young couple, Otoniel and Gabriela and their 2 kids, will be completing their formal studies in June, and will complete their last year of service, working here in our church. If after the year they feel led to stay, and the church calls them, they would be the pastor. At such time, we would relocate to begin other works. Please pray for the Lord’s will.

Family: Our oldest son, Seth, is engaged and will be married in August. Amen!
Connie, Bethany and I went to a pastor’s retreat down in Zacatecas. It was good to meet new pastors and renew old acquaintances. The teaching and preaching were great and such a blessing.

Prayer Requests: Outreach of our church; Mission Conference; Otoniel and family – Pastor for church; Our next place of service.

Praise: Great Christmas program; people saved; Seth’s engagement.

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Romans 6:22

Anáhuac: The Precious Seed Baptist Church has been having some wonderful services in which the Holy Spirit has been working mightily in the church. Although some seem cold to serving the Lord, others are getting their hearts right. It’s good to see spiritual growth!
Tránsito, seventy three, died the first of October. He and his wife have been coming to our services for about two years. He never would admit to being lost, so unless he repented on his deathbed, he is not in heaven. Hopefully, he did. When I preached the funeral, I said that I didn’t know where Tránsito was, but that wherever he was, he would want all of his family and friends to be saved and not go to hell. Only three people asked the Lord to save them but many more heard! Amen!!
In services, and through the outreaches of our church, we saw 21 people call upon the Lord as Savior in the last two months. More of our teens are coming out for the weekly visitation – soul winning, as they are seeing their responsibility of reaching the lost with the gospel.

Teens: Since our teens have been back in school, we have seen their excitement wane. The very schedule of the schools and so much homework is designed to keep them out of church. Then some reprobate teachers telling them that premarital relations and abortions are perfectly fine, Satan sure tries to undermine Biblical teaching.
They started raising funds for camps, and other activities for which they need money. It has been good to see their participation as a group. On September 15, the eve of Mexico’s Independence Day, they set up a booth to sell funnel cakes, corn dogs, pop, etc., and did pretty well.
Manuel, Iván, and Adrián, who have surrendered to full-time service, are struggling with family pressures and other temptations. Please pray for them.
Manuel, preached in our church one mid-week service, and did real well. AMEN!!

Pastor: We have been in touch with some men who are possibly interested in coming to candidate as pastor of our church. So far we don’t know anything, but we covet your prayers. We really feel like the church could support their own pastor, and continue on fine without us. We don’t know where in Mexico the Lord would have us go next, we know that He will show us in his timing.

Citizenship: Some time ago we asked you to pray about our decision of applying for Mexican citizenship. After much prayer, we felt the Lord would have us submit the application. We won’t know anything until next summer, but we sure appreciate your prayers.

Prayer: Family of Tránsito; Faithfulness of church; Manuel, Iván & Adrián; Citizenship application; Pastor

Praise: Souls saved; Good services; Privilege of serving Christ!

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. … Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” John 4:34-35

Church: The “Precious Seed” Baptist Church in Anáhuac celebrated its eighth anniversary. We had a special dinner, with 91 in attendance, 5 people saved, and 8 baptized! We had a great time of food and fellowship, and a testimony time that lasted well over an hour! Many of the testimonies were of gratefulness to the Lord for bringing a church into town that preaches and practices the Bible, and for their family’s lives that have been changed. Praise the Lord!!
Please pray for Rigo and Ofelia, and their 4 kids, for Jesús, Susana and Rosa – adults who were saved at the anniversary celebration.
We have had 20 saved through our church efforts in the last couple of months. AMEN!

Teens: We took 11 teens to camp, with more than 200 teens in attendance. Most of our teens surrendered to do whatever the Lord would have them do, and to get involved winning souls.
Two young men surrendered to serve the Lord full-time. Please pray for them to keep their priorities straight, and to go to Bible institute as soon as possible. We also had three saved; one new girl, and two who thought they were already saved. AMEN! Since camp, the teens have won 12 other teens to the Lord! Pray for all the teens and that their excitement will continue!!
We have been praying for over a year for 17 year old Perla, who had been saved but had gotten into rock music and the world. She has been coming around little by little, and went to camp with the youth group. She surrendered to do the Lord’s will at camp. Upon returning home, she was baptized on our anniversary Sunday and brought her mother and an aunt to the services. AMEN!
Please pray for Alejandro who is 15, and says he is saved but won’t submit to the Lord for baptism.
Also, please pray for César, who used to be faithful and fell away from the Lord. He came to church for the first time in months, and needs to get right with the Lord.

Pastor: We are still asking God to give us the man that He wants in Anáhuac as pastor. While at camp, I had the opportunity to talk to some pastors who have Bible institute graduates working in their churches, and there are three good possibilities. I have been in contact with them, as well as with a couple who is completing their last year of institute this next spring and they are also praying for the Lord’s direction.

Praise: Great camp, safety to and from, and for decisions – salvations, and for the difference we’re seeing in our teens; Wonderful anniversary celebration;
People saved in services, as well as on visitation; People who have been baptized

Prayer: Teens to serve the Lord; Pastor for the church; Saved to grow in the Lord; Alejandro; Cesar

In His Service,