A Trip into Paradise?

We are half way through our trip in Mexico.

Last week we drove through Puerto Vallarta on our way to visit the family of Gaby Martinez.  They live on the coast just south of Puerto Vallarta… or so the map says.  The road out of Puerto Vallarta was very difficult to find and so full of pot holes that it took us almost an hour to go the first 10 miles.  Getting to Puerto Vallarta was almost as difficult as we were on a small windy road going up and down steep hills.  The country side was nice but we were stuck with everyone else behind large trucks that could only crawl up the hills and wouldn’t go much faster down them.  It took us over 3 hours to go what we thought would be the last hour into town. 

We originally thought that we would make our destination an hour or two before dark but that became impossible.  We were driving since 9am and it was getting dark when we found a hotel to spend the night in.  An hour earlier I had said to Jerilyn that probably God wanted to use us in a great way in Campo Acosta (our destination) because, due to all the problems and stresses I was facing, my attitude was going south faster than our car was.  We needed to stop at that hotel to wash up, to rest up, and to pray up before we arrived to minister to others.  The rest and our prayer time was just what we needed.

The next day the road was much better and we arrived by 9am and found the family easily.  We had a great visit.  Gaby’s brothers took us to the beach and Gaby’s mother treated us to some yummy meals.  That night we had a great time of singing praise and worship songs together.  One of Gaby’s brothers, Antonio, appears to be a believer.  He started reading the Bible while in an Oregon prison.  His wife and three children live in Salem and he will be returning there next spring.  He told me that his wife is “very Catholic” and does not want to read the Bible.  I got their address and will make contact when we get back.  I am hoping to have an evangelistic home Bible study with them in the spring when he returns.  We had a great time and the whole family wants us to return for a longer visit.

We are Visiting Mexico Again.

We are leaving for Mexico on October 22, so many of you will be reading this as we are on the way.  We will return from Mexico on time to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family.

The primary reason we go to Mexico is to encourage the believers that we sent back to shine Jesus’ light in their community — especially Lupe and Leti.  Lupe is pastoring the church in their small town of Negritas.

Lupe’s mom passed away a couple of months ago (after receiving Jesus as her Savior in March) and the believer’s are facing a lot of rejection as they were not following tradition as to what to do when a loved one dies.

We will also be visiting the families of several people that we minister to in Oregon.  When someone comes to Christ they want their family to know him.  Their family is often very concerned for them because they are leaving the religion and traditions of their  ancestors.  We have often faced hostile family members in Mexico and been able to calm their fears and share Jesus with them.

We will also be visiting several people who we have ministered to while they were in Oregon.  Many people that we have ministered to and led to Christ are now back at home in Mexico.  We want to visit them and encourage them to follow Jesus where they are.  We also want to follow up on some    people we ministered to in    Oregon that did not receive Jesus here — to encourage them to seek him.

 

Good News from Lupe and Leti

Today I just received a text message from Lupe while I was out of cell phone reach. This is his message in its entirety (translated):

 

"Hello Mr. Jon Sousa, I’m Lupe.  I tried to call you but you did not answer.  I will try another day.  We are moving forward, having the studies on Saturdays and encouraging the people who give us opportunity.  May God bless you.  Thank you."

What this means is that God is answering YOUR prayers by encouraging Lupe and Leti.  They were extremely discouraged less than a month ago (read the previous posts).  Please continue to pray for their ministry in Negritas, Mexico.

Keep Praying for Lupe and Leti

For those who are new to this blog, Lupe and Leti Alvarez went back to their village in Mexico 3½ years ago to shine Jesus light and plant a church with some of Lupe’s brothers.  Living for Jesus in their small community where no one else is a believer is extremely difficult.  Lupe’s mom just past away last week after receiving Jesus as her Savior a few months ago.  While Lupe is happy that his mom is in heaven, her passing has brought new challenges that are greatly distressing to them.

We talked with Lupe and Leti over the weekend and they are very discouraged.  Many people in town are very mad at them and are not speaking to them.  Others are spreading many lies about them.  Most of this stems from the fact that Lupe and Leti are not following the traditions of the town concerning what “must” be done when a loved one passes away. 

Another source of grief is coming from Gris’s mother who is blaming Lupe and Leti for changing her daughter.  Gris came to Christ a few years ago under our ministry in Oregon and is now back in her town trying to live for Jesus.  (If her mother is mad, she must be doing something right.  Matthew 10:34-39)

None of what they are suffering is unusual or unexpected, but that does not make it any easier.  (John 15:18-21, 1 Peter 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:12)  They need our prayers. 

If you would like to send and encouraging card to Lupe and Leti, Email me and I will give you their address.  My Email is sousaj@bauercom.net

Pray for Lupe and Leti

Pray for Lupe and Leti in Negritas, Mexico, as Lupe’s mom just passed away.  She has been in various stages of liver failure for over two years due to excessive alcohol consumption.  The good news is that a few months ago Lupe’s mom put her faith in Jesus and was growing in faith little by little.  Lupe’s dad is also in very poor health as he has had tuberculosis for years and is now on oxygen all the time.

                                                                                      Lupe's parents.

This situation gives Lupe and Leti an opportunity to show to their community what faith in Jesus and Biblical Christianity is all about.  Normally, when one dies all of their family and friends get together every day for 10 days to pray for the person’s salvation.  Lupe and Leti will be under a lot of pressure to conform to this tradition.  Pray for strength and wisdom to shine Jesus light in a loving yet uncompromising way.

 

We had a great 10 Days of Prayer

We started to pray on Saturday evening, March 24, and continued until Tuesday evening, April 3. God blessed us with some great times of worship and intercession. For me, this was the best 10 Days of Prayer we have ever had, even though our total man hours were down some (1,384).

One exciting thing happened on March 26. One of the people that we were praying for lives in Mexico and is the brother of my assistant pastor, Miguel Velarde. Margarito called and after a brief conversation received Jesus as his Savior! We have been praying for him for years and during our prayer time when we were again praying for him, he received Jesus. God is good.

During the 10 Days of Prayer we were praying for hundreds of Hispanics by name that need to put their trust in Jesus. Every year we pray for people before our big outreach on Good Friday.

Please pray for a great outreach on Good Friday. We want to share Jesus’ love in such a way that people respond positively to the Gospel. While I am preaching to the adults, Jerilyn and Miguel’s wife, Zeila, will be teaching the children’s program and Diana Alvarez will be leading the children’s craft time.

10 days of Prayer start today.

Pray for our church as we begin our 10 Days of Prayer this evening at 7 pm. Our little church will be trying to reach over 1500 "man hours" of prayer through Monday evening of Holy Week.

We will be praying primarily for hundreds of pre-believers by name, asking God to reveal truth to them and to draw them to himself. We will also be praying for our most important single outreach of the year - Good Friday.

Please uphold us in your prayers and ask God to bless us with his presence and guidance. Pray that many people would come to our Good Friday outreach and that people would come to know Jesus as their Savior.

Thank you for praying.

Saul and Gris - Keep praying.

Saul called his family from Mexico today - a good thing.

He talked to the girls and told them that it is all their mom's fault that he was in Mexico and could not be with them - a bad thing. He told them that he would never forgive their mom for calling the police on him (after he hit her and left her face bruised).

So Gris and the girls are once again in shambles. Saul continues to blame everyone else for his bad behavior and his family is suffering. Jerilyn and I are going to visit them today and tonight they will be in church.

Pray for faith to be strong. Pray for wisdom for us and for Gris. Pray for the girls that God would give them understanding. Pray for Saul's salvation as it is becoming more and more clear that he is not a believer and was playing a religious game for a couple of years before he decided to leave his family and shack up with someone else.

Thank you for praying.

Saul - Gris Update

We got some more things happening in the ministry and so need to update on the last update which was way back in December.

I had a successful and safe trip to Negritas in December. (Read the last post. A special thanks to those who gave towards this trip. We received exactly what we needed to cover the expenses. PTL!) The trip was not, however, uneventful. Lots of problems but God brought me through all of them.

Saul was deported and has not tried to communicate with his family in three months. He has instead reignited the flame (fling?) he had a year ago. Gris is crushed and really struggling. We are helping her and loving her and holding her up in prayer.

Gris has decided to move to Texas to be with her brothers. This is of great concern to us as they are not believers and she will not have any encouragement in the faith except for our long distance calls. We have tried to convince her to stay but she seems resolute.

Pray for Gris to be strong in faith. Pray for her to find a church home in Texas.
Pray for God to bring Saul to repentance.
Pray for us for wisdom and encouragement.