Hands to the Work – Ron Winter

Dear Friends in Christ,
 
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.                   1 Corinthians 15:58
 
Iglesia Bíblica Bautista, Camargo:  We are still trying to encourage our people to get back in, and trying to reach new people as well!  We continue visiting, but it seems people are more reluctant than ever to allow us to talk them, with the quarantine, masks, etc.
    We had a couple’s banquet and invited two other churches, for a total of 16 couples.  Our teens served, and it was a good time to celebrate God’s plan of marriage!
    Saturday Bible Clubs still haven’t recovered, but we’re back up to 55 kids.  Thank you to the churches that sent prizes, school supplies, personal hygiene items, etc.  They are a huge blessing!  We are visiting and promoting for the kids clubs.  Hopefully we’ll have a good base to build on for VBS in August!  We pray many of these kids and their families will be saved!
    Our Missions Conference had to be reschedule from January to April.  We are praying for a good response, as our Faith Promise is barely fulfilling our present missionary commitments!
    The first of January I brought a load of tables and chairs etc.  A week later three teen boys and I went to San Luis Potosí, 14 hours away, to help a missionary our church supports, put a roof on their church building.  We made some visits and I preached on Sunday.  A couple of families that I met the last time I was there, committed to getting back in, and faithful!
    A day after getting home from S.L.P., I flew to Lancaster, California to attend the funeral of Marty Collins.  It was a blessing to see how the Hispanic church loved her and Bro. Jerry!
    Three churches helped get ready, import, license, etc., 2 church vans a church in MO had donated!  One is for our church, and the other for the church in Anáhuac!  What a blessing!
 
New Ministry:  The Lord has given me another ministry of helping Mexican churches get chairs, church pews, tables, doors, windows, pianos, etc.  American churches donate, or we purchase good used equipment and supplies.  I pick them up and bring them to Mexico.
          If you know of others in the U.S. who have similar ministries, I’d like to know of them!           Eduardo pastors the Precious Seed Baptist Church in Anáhuac, Chihuahua that we started almost 23 years ago.  He overhauls and tunes pianos, and wants to help churches get a piano.  I bring them down, he reconditions them, and I can take them to churches.
          I need to pick up some pews in Colorado for a church in Chihuahua City, but I don’t have a full load yet!  If you know of things churches might need, please e mail me.
There’s always a need for chairs, pews and tables, etc.!  Older washing machines, working or not, are also in demand.  We need a double industrial kitchen sink and stainless steel tables.
 
Jovanni:  One of our teens, 15 Year old Jovanni is still fighting for his life.  He has Aplastic Anemia, so his bone marrow doesn’t produce new blood cells.  He depends on blood and platelet transfusions, and praise the Lord, several people have donated!  They think his marrow is responding to the medicines he is receiving.  Please pray for him and his mom!
 
Praise: Couple’s banquet; Kid’s clubs and regular attendances recouping; Provision for vans
 
Prayer: Souls saved & baptized; Missions conference in April, Faith Promise commitments; New helps ministry, supplies; Jovanni’s health
 
In His Service,
Bro. Ron Winter
Camargo, Chihuahua

Dear Friends in Christ,  
 
I trust all of you had a blessed Christmas and that we will have a prosperous New Year, with our churches more dedicated to preaching the gospel to this lost and dying world, as we see that day approaching!  Thank you for the special Christmas gifts, and for all the faithful support and prayers as we work here in Mexico!
 
In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.                                                                    Proverbs 14:26
 
Iglesia Bíblica Bautista, Camargo:  Praise the Lord for His continued faithfulness to me, and that most of my supporters have been able to continue faithful!  The church here, with some difficulty, continued supporting our missionaries as well!
    We had good seventh anniversary services!  Bro. David Lydick preached and challenged our people to stay by the stuff and not waver in our resolve!  The day our conference began, they heightened the Covid restrictions!  So not allowed to meet together, we had to publish it on Facebook, which is not nearly as good!
Bro Lydck was sure disappointed not seeing our church as he did last year!!
With the quarantines and restrictions again since the end of October, only a few people have been able to come to the services.  We are just now allowed to meet, with all of the “safety guidelines.  There’s a lot of apathy, as only about a third of our folks coming to the main service on Sunday, but we are praying and visiting!
    We had to cancel our Christmas program, and Watch-night service, but did have a special Christmas celebration with the kid’s club, with 70 in attendance!
 
Sick Teen:  Please pray for 15 year old Jovanni, whose body isn’t making blood cells!  Pray the treatments will be effective, and that the Lord would lift him up, according to His will!  Also pray for his mom that she can hold up, as her husband is in the U.S. and her other 2 sons that came down to help her, will soon have to go back home to the U.S!  She will be alone, at the hospital in Chihuahua, more than 2 hours from here!  Because he was born in the U. S. he is a U.S. citizen, so the socialized health-care system here won’t pay for any of his treatments.  They have to pay all the expenses for private treatment, which is much better, but expensive.   In hospitals here the family has to take care of all the patient’s personal needs, and locate, buy and provide specialized medicines!
Jovanni played guitar in the services and was very active with the teens! 
 
Building:  Our building remodeling is going well, removing walls to make bigger classrooms for the kid’s clubs, and making offices and a bigger kitchen.  We feed the kids that come to the Bible clubs, because many come without breakfast.  They are very appreciative, and I believe listen better when they aren’t hungry!
 
Praise: Faithfulness of my supporters; Able to support our missionaries; Kid’s clubs doing well
Prayer: Souls to be saved and baptized; Churches to congregate again as they should; Jovanni healing; Building remodeling; Mexican Pastor for the Iglesia Bíblica Bautista
 
In His Service,
Bro. Ron Winter
Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico

Dear Friends in Christ,

Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Luke 18:16

Iglesia Bíblica Bautista, Camargo: In my last letter I wrote that my assistant Jorge, his wife Michel and I, took teens to camp in the mountains. While at camp, Michel learned of the death of her brother, in the state of Sinaloa. Since they were already a third of the way there, they went on over the mountains and got to the funeral just in time! (Since they don’t embalm the body it’s normally buried within 24 hours of death!) So we piled everybody else into the van and I brought them home. Less than three weeks later we had our Vacation Bible School, but I had told Bro Jorge and Michel to take a couple of weeks with their families, so they only had one week to prepare for the VBS. But with the help of the Lord, several ladies and many of the teens, they made the necessary preparations! Because of COVID, we planned for a maximum of 60, about half of what we had last year! The first day we had 122, and 125 on the last day, I believe because people are tired of the quarantine! With no age limits, we had over 50 teenagers in attendance every day, and most of them made a profession of faith, and several of the 8 to 12 year olds did as well! Praise the Lord!
Ever since the VBS, we have been promoting, visiting and running multiple routes. Last Saturday we had a record attendance of 79 at the weekly Bible Club, Several younger teens are coming to the youth meetings and from 30-60 coming to the church services! Amen!
Of course these kids aren’t like our church kids, they are wild and unruly, so we’ve had to change some policies and practices! But it has been a blessing and a challenge to minister to these kids, and hopefully reach some of their family members!

I have a request: If any of you would want to help us by sending small, like happy-meal toys, etc., as well as candy, pencils, crayons, school supplies, etc. it would be a huge blessing! Most of these kids come from broken homes, and all that comes with that! We may be too late for Christmas, but whenever we could get some things would be GREAT! If you can help, please e mail me at rncwinter80@msn.com for a mailing address in Texas. Our state of Chihuahua still has a mask mandate, with a limit of 50% attendance. For testimony’s sake, we tried to comply with the ordinance. The first couple days of VBS we were all wearing masks, but only about half of the kids even had a mask, so came on any way! In our regular services as well, we suggested everyone at least come into the building and leave with a mask, but very few have complied! But the Lord has protected us, and no one has gotten sick! So we encourage all who can, to come out to the services! Most people have come back to services since this all started, though some are still not as faithful! We’ve been having some visitors as well, and continue publishing the services on Facebook.
We had a “Noche Mexicana” to celebrate Mexico’s independence the 16 of September, with over 90 in attendance! It was a great time of preaching and fellowship, with several
visitors!

Building: We continue with our building remodeling. The auditorium should be pretty much finished by our church anniversary, the last week-end of October! There is still a lot to do, but we are getting some things finished up, which helps our morale as well!

Praise: Safety in our travels; Great VBS, kids saved and coming to services: No one sick

Prayer: People to be saved; A right balance of ministries in the church; Kids saved and families reached; Attendances to stabilize; Our special services for our 7th anniversary

Thank you for your prayers and faithful support,
Ron Winter
Camargo, Chihuahua, Chihuahua

Dear Friends in Christ,
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. 2 Thessalonians 2:16,17

We are certainly living in perilous times! I have every reason to believe that we are ministering to the last generation of believers! Though these are perilous times, it’s exciting to see how the Lord fulfills His prophecy!
Oh that the Lord would find us faithfully standing on His promises, when He comes for us!
Camargo: The pandemic has taken its toll on the Iglesia Bíblica Bautista!
We’ve published our services on Facebook since day one of the lock-down. I had thought we should continue publishing them, so that some who can’t attend, or who don’t live here, could hear the preaching. But it seems that some are replacing church attendance with the on-line video. We’ve been increasing attendance limits, but some are apathetic, and aren’t taking advantage of the opportunities to meet together as a church!
Our door knocking has been suspended, but we have been able to make specific visits!
   Thank the Lord, since June, we’ve been having Bible clubs and youth meetings!
   The end of July, Bro. Jorge, his wife Michel and I took 17 teens to camp in the mountains, here in Chihuahua, about 6 hours away. Though not as many attended as before, it was a great time, with most of the 50 teens in attendance making decisions and recommitting their lives to the Lord! One teen boy from Indiana who was visiting family, was saved on the last day! Praise the Lord!
   Continue praying the Lord would show me the Mexican pastor God wants for this church!
Building: We continue remodeling our church building! We pretty much have the auditorium done, we just lack the doors!  I challenged the church to buy the ceiling tiles and LED lighting for the suspended ceiling, and they are responding little by little as they can!  We are about done shortening, refinishing and assembling the pews that were donated to us.
Some have helped on the building and the pews, as work schedules permit.
Family: My oldest son, Seth, led his 7 year-old twins to the Lord! Amen!
I’m so thankful the Lord allowed my daughter Bethany and her husband Kyle, to give me another grandbaby, and that momma and baby are doing well!
I am so blessed, with 13 grandbabies, all of them being raised in Gospel preaching churches!
I thank the Lord for those who faithfully support me, and for their confidence in the Lord’s provision!
I praise the Lord for my family, for His provision and good health to be able to serve Him!  I’m overwhelmed with the Lord’s love for me, and the privilege He gives me to know and serve Him!
Praise: Church meeting back together; Great camp, decisions made and 1 saved! Building progress; Grandkids saved and #13 born! Faithful supporters! Good health!
Prayer: For Christ to come back soon; Church to be encouraged and to evangelize / for people to be saved!; Mexican pastor for the church

In Christ’s Service,
Bro. Ron Winter
Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico

Dear Friends in Christ, 
 
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20
 
Camargo:  The Iglesia Bíblica Bautista has been quite limited, as no more than 10 personas are allowed to congregate.  So not only can we not have regular services, but door-to-door visitation has been suspended.  Not even Jehovah’s Witnesses are proselyting!  We still have no idea when we’ll be able to resume regular services!  Offerings are down, but we’ve been able to keep up with our missionary support, bills, etc. on schedule!  Praise the Lord we are able to post the preaching on Facebook, and plan to continue after this is over!
We’ve seen some lost family members of the church watching and sharing the videos!
   Many small businesses have been closed, destroying the already fragile economy, as many people live from day-to-day!  Ironically, bigger businesses, where there is supposedly more risk of contamination, remain open, with restrictions!  It is very unfortunate, as there have not been any confirmed cases of the Corona Virus here in Camargo.  It seems the decision to limit congregating, closing “non-essential” businesses, etc. is determined by each city in Mexico.  I’m told that traveling on the federal highways they check your temperature at the toll booths.  Here they physically closed some restaurants that tried to stay open, then most closed voluntarily.  The city seems like a ghost town!
   So, when it all started, I invited the teen boys to come every day to have a part in their own church building, getting them out of their houses with too much down time.  I told their parents, they would be working with men, to learn how to be men!  Four boys came, two of which have no father figure in their home.  For about 4 weeks, they were learning welding, mechanics, tools, building trades; house wiring, carpentry, sheet-rock, painting, etc., and a lot of discipline and hard work.  They seem to have learned a lot!  Beside all that, they were in a Christian environment, with Christian music playing, with my assistant Bro. Jorge, myself, and sometimes another man.  Some of the ladies were taking turns providing noon meals for us.  Then the schools started doing classes online, so now they only come on Saturdays.  Praise the Lord for the help, and the progress made on the auditorium!
 
Assistant / Teen Pastor:  Bro. Jorge came down with an inner-ear infection that the doctor says started from allergies.  He has been on antibiotics for about 4 weeks, each time something stronger, but continues with pain, drainage, and can’t hear very well.  It’s a hard way to start off your married life!  Please pray for him to recover soon!
    Pray we can take the teens to camp the end of July, if it’s the Lord’s will!
           
Building:  Praise the Lord we are making steady progress on the building renovations, as funds are available!  When we have most of the auditorium done, we will need to shorten and install some church pews that were donated.  We are trying to get the auditorium pretty well done by the time we can meet together as a church!
 
PRAISE:  Able to publish preaching on Facebook; Still able to pay the bills; The church is all healthy; Work done on the auditorium, experience and help of the boys, meals;
 
PRAYER: THE CHURCH to MEET TOGETHER, DOOR KNOCKING and OUTREACH TO RESUME SOON; Bro. Jorge’s ear infection; Wisdom, safety and provision for building renovations; More people to hear the gospel on line and be saved; Rain for the ranchers!
 
In Christ’s Service,
Bro. Ron Winter
Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico