Hands to the Work – Ron Winter

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” I Timothy 1:15-16

Camargo: Camargo is an agricultural community. The vast majority of the people earn a living, (if you would call it that – taking home around $10 dollars a day) planting, weeding, and picking, in fields of all types of vegetables. They are still in a severe drought here and the water in the irrigation reservoir is so low they are not able to plant all they used to, which makes jobs scarce. With the economy as it is, they work whenever they can. Although we are having good Bible studies each week, it becomes challenging to work around schedules.
Please pray for Amalio, who is on a waiting list for a kidney. He has lost his ability to speak; having reacted to some medication they gave him.
Continue to pray for Joel, as he will have more surgery in June, to remove the cancer in his cheek.
We just started a new study with Victor and Raquel. He works in a mine in the mountains, so is gone a month and back here one week. It is difficult for them to maintain a schedule to study, with the needs of the family and friends who draw them away from God. They just need the Lord.
We are starting a new study with an elderly neighbor couple, Manuel and Rosa. He reads his Bible and really wants to study, but she really thinks her church is enough. Please pray for his health and that they get saved.
Mirta, from whom we rent the store-front, is already saved, and attends very faithfully. Her mother says she wants to study the Bible; pray for her.
There is so much to be done here!

Family: Proverbs 17:6 says, “Children’s children are the crown of old men…”
Kade Lee and Khloe Lyric, a double blessing, were born April 9, the first for our oldest son Seth and Ashley.
Our son, Andrew and Shana had their 4 weeks premature, and is in the NICU for now. We pray she will be able to come home soon.
Our son, Joshua and Kristin are having another boy the end of May.
That will give us 9 grandbabies! Praise the Lord for His blessings; lots for “Grandad and Mema” to pray for!

Praise: Good Bible Studies; Mirta; New grandbabies

Prayer: Souls saved; Amalio; Joel; Victor & Raquel; Manuel & Rosa; Mirta’s mom; Josie Lynn

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. …evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;” II Timothy 3:1,13,14

Thank the Lord for the Word of God and His gospel and your prayers for us here in Camargo! Four Bible studies are still going every week and we are averaging a good number of folks in each. One was getting too large to meet in the home, so we rented a store-front building to meet in. Amen! The people are allowing us into their lives with the birth of babies, health needs, family problems and financial needs as we pray with and counsel them, showing them the love of Christ. Pray for Joel who has a cancer on his cheek that will be removed March 13. Also, pray for Janet and Manuel and their family as he works away and is home one week a month. Please pray for Jose’s family that just can’t or won’t find the time to study any more and also pray that God will lead us to more people to share the gospel with.

We had asked prayer for Zeferino to have time to study. We are now studying with him, his mother, his brother and a niece and nephew. Please pray for his family as he and his wife are separated.

Satan of course is fighting as well. The first time we met in the store-front; instead of having 20 people for the big Bible study, we had about half of the normal attendance. Lord willing the others will come back and continue. They all seem excited to study!   We went for a regular scheduled Bible study with a young couple, Mauricio and Rayna, and someone in the family had allowed Pentecostals into the house with their big speakers and commotion. Everybody was wailing, and moaning and just a big mess of emotions (we thought someone had died). They were putting hands on people and when they fell back they caught them. Excusing ourselves, Mauricio told us how sorry he was and that he just didn’t “feel anything” with them and we were able to tell him that it is not about a feeling, rather a relationship with Jesus Christ!

Many people who will allow us to teach them the Bible will also let just about any religion in to talk to them as well, because they have no peace with their religion and having tried them all, (except the truth), are simply confused! After studying with some of these people for several weeks, they still struggle with the exclusive superiority of the God of the Bible, making comments like, “The gods of all the religions are one and the same God.” Please pray for wisdom that we will know how to deal with these situations, and especially for the convicting presence of the Holy Spirit, that He would turn these people’s confidence to the Bible and Jesus Christ alone to be saved!

Prayer: Holy Spirit to convict and give understanding of the Bible; Souls to be saved; More who would allow us to present the gospel; Joel; Janet’s family; Jose’s family; Zeferino’s family; Mauricio & Rayna

Praise: Rental of store-front; Bible study with Zeferino; Opportunity to share the gospel

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:10,11

We hope that you enjoyed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with family and friends. We trust that you will have a Happy New Year, filled with God’s blessings. Our prayer is that the Lord would find us faithfully serving Him when He comes! Thank you to all who sent Christmas greetings and to those who sent special Christmas offerings!!

Camargo: God has opened doors and we are having weekly Bible studies in 5 different homes, Amen! I teach the adults and teens and Connie teaches the children. We are averaging between 25-30 people in total. It is encouraging when they allow us to show them who God really is, and His desire for all mankind to be saved. It has been a blessing to see the one-on-one interaction. Mayra, a young mother was so proud of her first Bible, she wrote her name on the front cover, the date and from whom she had received it. Janet
said she had never had a Bible, and that her family wanted to know what it is to be a Christian. At first it is quite difficult for people to make time for God and His Word in their busy schedules as most work 6 days a week, some all 7, barely making enough to live. Please pray for Zeferino, who works at a gas station and wants his family to study but is struggling to set a time. We continue visiting and knocking doors, looking for people who would allow us to introduce them to the Saviour. Our goal is to see people saved and a strong church that reaches their own.

Health: Connie had blood tests done in December and they all came back in the normal ranges. It has been 2 years since her last chemo treatment, and though they say she still has leukemia, she feels well. Praise the Lord!

Holidays: We celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas alone with turkey and all the trimmings, just smaller quantities. How wonderful to receive phone calls and skype (live video) from all of our family. We really feel spoiled with the technology that makes it possible to “be with family”, even when we are a country away! Connie shared some home-made treats with neighbors and the Bible study families; everyone seemed to enjoy them!

Prayer: More Bible studies; People to be saved; Wisdom starting the church; Zeferino – schedule; Continued good health

Praise: God giving His Son to redeem us; People whose lives God is allowing us to influence; Connie’s good test results; Holiday blessings

In His Service,

“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” I Timothy 2:4

As we come into the Thanksgiving season, we are reminded of God’s goodness and for all we have to be thankful. For life, health, family, and most importantly His saving grace.

Camargo, Chihuahua: It is a blessing to be settled in the house! There are still things that need attention and we will continue making improvements as we can.
We have been making visits to people who have expressed an interest in studying with us. As we witness, we’re finding the religious community adapting the same vernacular as Bible believers. Many are convinced that they are trusting in Christ 100% for their salvation, although they still have images of saints and virgins in their houses and places of business. Please pray that the Lord would convict hearts as we knock their doors and that more and more will allow us to share the gospel with them. A few families and individuals have agreed to study the Bible with us. We plan to start next week. Some are still convinced that their religion is correct and that they are alright, but at least they seem willing to see what the Bible says. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will give understanding, that people will be saved and then see the need to reach their own. We are excited to see what the Lord is going to do through us and with us in Camargo.

Family: Our daughter Bethany and her husband Kyle had their first baby, Gary Evan Martin born October 25. He is our fifth precious grandbaby! Our family is growing; we have twin grandbabies coming in April and another in May! God is so good!!

Praise: God’s protection and provision; Settled in house; Opportunity to start a new work; Healthy grandbaby

Prayer: Holy Spirit to give understanding and convict of sin as we teach His Word; People to be saved and to reach their own

In His Service,

Dear Friends in Christ,

…Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed… Isaiah 40:3 & 5

Camargo, Chihuahua: We found a house to rent! Four students from a Bible Institute in Hermosillo, Sonora, who were doing a summer internship in Anáhuac, helped us paint inside the house and move our things! Praise the Lord; they were a huge help and blessing! The house is only about 7 years old, but needs several things fixed which we will do a little at a time. There were no kitchen cabinets or closets; it was a blessing that our last house came with them. There is very little water and/or pressure, so we are trying to figure out the best method to increase that. We have an evaporative air conditioner, but we haven’t been able to get anyone to come and make the duct to put it on the roof, so the temperature inside the house is between 85 and 90 degrees. On one trip to Camargo the power steering on the van blew all the fluid out, though we just had it overhauled. We finally had to change the whole steering gear box. There have been a lot of expenses but we have been able to save up to cover most of them. Amen! More importantly, we have been encouraged by some who say they would like us to teach them the Bible! We are really praying that we can teach and win souls and for men that we can train to pastor and begin more churches.

Ministry Opportunities: The Precious Seed Baptist Church in Anáhuac recently celebrated its fourteenth anniversary. They have allowed me to preach every Sunday night and we have been door knocking with them every Saturday. It has been a special blessing to get to know Pastor Eduardo and his family better. The last Sunday we were in Anáhuac, the church had a going away service and dinner in our honor. It was a great time of fellowship and testimonies.  After the anniversary service we visited the Lazo family, our neighbors and good friends. We’d witnessed to them on several occasions and they had attended special services at our church, but
they never trusted the Lord. Before we left, I told them that they really need to be sure they are saved. Immediately Marta said she needed to be saved and wanted me to show her how. Luís said he just wasn’t ready yet. I couldn’t convince him otherwise, but Marta got saved! Amen!!

Visas: We were unable to get our FM-2 visas which later convert to permanent visas but were able to get FM-3 visas which have to be renewed every year. Not what we had hoped for, but Praise the Lord!

Health: Connie had blood tests again and all appears to be good. Keep praying for our continued good health!

Prayer: Getting house in order; Souls to be saved & church started; Luis Lazo, salvation; Good health

Praise: Housing; Ministry opportunities – Marta saved; Visas; Connie’s test results, Good health

In His Service,