Foreign Missionaries in Oregon

Thank you for praying!

2011-12-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

Thank you for praying. God is working. I had a very good visit with Saul in the jail on Tuesday and we made some good headway. Gris is starting to calm down so she can think rationally.

I have decided that I need to go to Mexico to visit our believers in Negritas. It will be a fairly quick trip. I will drive down to Nogales, Arizona and cross the boarder there. After helping someone with some business there I will be heading farther south. I am hoping to arrive in Negritas on Wednesday evening. I hope to be returning on December 20 and arriving home no later than the 22.

Pray for:

Safety, especially on Tuesday afternoon. This will be the most dangerous part of the trip.

Success. There seem to be real problems that I cannot discuss here. I am very concerned.

If you would like to contribute to the cost of this trip you can go to:http://InFaith.org/. Then:

Click on Donate.

Click on Give Online.

Click on Give Now. (- a lot of clicking but they are all easy to see.)

Fill out the info.

Under categories click on Missionaries.

Under sub-categories click on Sousa.

Fill out the amount you would like to give.

Under comments write "work funds"

Follow the rest of the instructions to finish. (Very brief.)

Thank you very much for praying and considering giving towards this mission trip.

We need your prayers

2011-12-05T14:42:00.000-08:00

Please pray for me (Jon) as I seek God's wisdom and guidance in dealing with four concurrent very stressful situations. I decided today to enter into a time of fasting and seeking God's face. I am considering making another emergency trip to Mexico. Our church elders are meeting in a few hours to also seek God's wisdom and discuss some of the situations that we are facing.

Pray for Saul and Gris

2011-11-29T16:08:00.000-08:00

A year ago Saul went home to Mexico to visit family and got envolved with another woman. He came home in March but things were never the same. Two weeks ago Saul hit Gris and last Sunday he hit her again. Gris called the police and Saul is in jail. Saul is going to be deported and Gris is left with 5 little girls.

Pray that Saul will stay in jail a while so that God has a chance to speak to his heart. Pray for God to win the battle with Saul just as he did with Saul of Tarsus so many years ago. Pray for Gris to have peace in her heart regarding her future. Satan is sowing seeds of discord back home in Mexico malicious rumors are flying against the believers. (This is where Lupe and Leti are pastoring a church). These rumors directly affect Gris' peace and state of mind. Pray for Gris to stand firm in the faith. This is a tremendous test for her.

1 Corinthians 10:13
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

Romans 8:28
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

Pray for us that God would grant us wisdom as we deal with this situation.

Church Family Camp

2011-09-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

After the first week of school we had our 5^th annual church family camp. This year we went (for the third time) to the Umpqua River. Ten families enjoyed the perfect weather and being surrounded by the beauty of nature. As usual, there were a couple of families that do not attend any of our churches. It was great seeing some of those people in church the following weekend.

New Name for the Oldest Home Mission in America

2011-09-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

American Missionary Fellowship was founded in 1790 by George Washington’s pastor. As of September 1, 2011, American Missionary Fellowship has changed its name. Its new name is “InFaith”.

Our ministry has not changed in any way, but the mission we serve with, American Missionary Fellowship, is now called “InFaith.” The mission continues to serve the Lord by bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people across the United States. In fact, our ongoing effort to communicate unchanging truth in a changing world is the primary reason for our name change. The new name is intentionally shorter and, we believe, more memorable. We pray it will open doors to growth for our mission and for the church in the United States.

I ask you will join us in prayer for the release of this name and for our mission to continue to reach many people with the good news of God’s sacrificial love as we walk in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We still need your support! Please help us spread the word that former American Missionary Fellowship missionaries continue to serve across the United States, now under the banner of InFaith.

Report on Juan and Vicki

2011-07-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

In April I put out an urgent prayer request For Juan and Vicki Herrera. (See last entry below.) I now have a report on what happened. Juan did get a flight home the very next day and was with Vicki in the hospital ASAP. Unfortunately, most of the outcome was not very good. The baby came before Juan got there. Vicki was not allowed to even see her child. The hospital staff even refused to tell them if the child was a boy or a girl – they will never know! (How is someone supposed to find closure?) Juan’s family was not at all supportive. When someone from the church tried to visit, the family cussed them out and told them to get lost. Another disappointment was in the lack of support from the church. They really did not know what to do in such a tragedy, and so, for the most part, they just stayed away. (Juan is in Oregon again and I told him that when he goes back to Mexico God, can use him to teach his pastor and his church how to respond and support people in crisis.)

Now the good news! In spite of how poorly everyone did in supporting Juan and Vicki, Juan told me that this time the crisis was so much easier to face. The first time they lost a fully developed unborn child they did not know Jesus as their Savior. They had no peace and questions filled their minds. This time while Juan and Vicki had no earthly comforters to help them through this crisis, they had a strong relationship with their Savior. “The God of all comfort” was with them in a very powerful way. They experienced a great deal of inner peace and confidence.

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

Thank you for praying for Juan and Vicki. Juan returned to Oregon because he needs to earn money for medical bills. His plan is to go back to Mexico when he also has enough saved up to be able to go to Bible school in Oaxaca.

Urgent Prayer Request

2011-04-08T00:10:00.000-07:00

Several years ago we were called to go to be with a young couple in the hospital as they had just lost their baby. Vicki was nine months pregnant and the dead baby was not yet born. Jerilyn was with Vicki in the delivery room as their full term and perfectly formed little son was born.

Juan and Vicki and their family.

That day was the beginning of our relationship with Juan and Vicki. About two years later I (Jon) baptized them as they shared the testimony of their faith in Christ in front of a small group of believers. At about the same time they learned that their oldest son Emanuel has serious kidney disease and will probably eventually go into complete kidney failure.

Now to the urgent prayer request: Vicki is nine months pregnant again and has just learned that this baby is dead also. She has not yet given birth and is facing this horrible task in the next few days. Vicki is in Mexico and her husband Juan is here in Oregon. Pray for comfort. Pray that Juan can get home to her today or tomorrow.

There is another sad twist to this story. Vicki is surrounded by Juan’s family who very fervently worships the “saints”. They believe that the “saints” will punish a person for not worshipping them. A few years ago Juan’s brothers surrounded him and tried to force him to go to the church and ask for the “saints” forgiveness for his belief in Jesus and leaving saint worship behind. They will look at this situation, as they have all of Juan and Vicki’s troubles, as the “saints” punishing them and trying to bring them to repentance. Juan has been very steadfast in his faith but Vicki has waivered a little at times. Pray for Juan and Vicki to remain strong in the face of opposition from family and friends in the middle of this horrible crisis.

Pray for Juan’s family and for Vicki’s family to be drawn to Jesus as Juan and Vicki are the only believers in either of their families. Pray for the church that Juan and Vicki attend to come around them and support them with love and comfort.

Thank you for praying.

Los 300 in McMinnville

2010-11-24T12:40:00.000-08:00

Los 300 is a cooperative outreach between 7 or 8 Spanish speaking churches in the Willamette Valley and the Oregon Coast. Once a month we gather at one of the churches for a unified evangelistic effort in their city. The cities include Newport, Corvallis, Albany, Jefferson, Salem, Eugene, and McMinnville. Our first outreach was in Albany in July. We have also gone to Corvallis, Salem, and Newport. This last Saturday we were in McMinnville. We gathered for a great meal together. After a training session we broke up into teams and went door to door witnessing and inviting people to come to an event that evening. Over 80 people come from the participating churches. We made some very good contacts as we went door to door. At the event there were games and prizes. Several people responded to the evangelistic message. God is good!

Fighting Syncretism

2010-11-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

Syncretism is the mixing of truth and error. One common way it is found is when people have their own belief system and then hear about Jesus. They decide to ask Jesus to forgive them of their sins but never break away from their previously existing belief system.

We have been fighting syncretism among the people that we minister to both in Oregon and Mexico. People want to trust in Jesus for forgiveness but do not want to turn away from any of their previously held beliefs. “What fellowship does light have with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14).

I am convinced, after many years of studying this problem, that the fundamental reason that people syncretize their beliefs is due to their completely inadequate view of God. The ancient Syrians thought that “the LORD is God of the hills, but not the God of the valleys” (1 Kings 20:28). In the same way, most people think that God is no where close to the infinite, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Creator and Sustainer that he is. “Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised!” (Ps. 48:1).

I am equally convinced that one effective way to combat syncretism is to expose people to the majesty of God through presenting his story as revealed in Scripture starting with before the beginning of everything. “In the beginning God…” “In the beginning was the Word…” “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

This is what I am working on right now. Soon, I hope to have several people in our ministry both here and in Mexico trained to teach who God is, what he has done for us, and what he expects from us. Please pray.

Follow us on vacation.

2010-09-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

We are on vacation! For the next two weeks Jerilyn and I will be riding our tandem bicycle down the northern California coast from Eureka to San Francisco. You can follow along by reading our journal at: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/eu2sf

I will be updating the journal every day (that we have internet access) with pictures and story line.

This is a picture of us on our last bicycle tour that went from Eugene, OR to Eureka, CA.

We had a great Church Family Camp!

2010-09-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had our best church family camp ever. We were at Sawyer’s Rapids Resort camping along the Umpqua River. The weather was perfect – in the 70s. It was a little cold at night but everyone had plenty of wraps. Everyone pitched in with the camp chores and cooking and so we had a more relaxing time as well.

The children enjoyed catching baby fish and crawdads and everyone enjoyed swimming and fishing. Julio caught his first fish ever on Saturday and then caught a huge steelhead. He got the bug and spent every moment he could with a fishing pole in his hand. Everyone enjoyed eating roasted marshmallows and fire roasted corn on the cob.

On Saturday night we had a great time of singing and testimonies around the campfire. On Sunday morning we had church in the sand.

After a Week in Mexico

2010-08-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

Things are going well. We arrived safe and sound in Negritas and spent nine days there. We spent all day Tuesday giving a Bible conference - Jon preached 5 times. Saturday was an all day of prayer and Sunday he gave two more messages. Jerilyn had many good conversations with the ladies and taught children's church several times so that all the ladies could attend the messages that Jon gave. Jon met with the leaders of the church two times and Jon and Jerilyn had a very good meeting with Lupe and Leti on Monday morning.

We are now in Huajuapan, Oaxaca, Mexico with Juan and Vicki Herrera - a couple we ministered to for many years in Oregon and Jon baptized 5 years ago. They are doing well and Juan is starting Bible School this month. He is helping to start a church in his home town.

On Thursday we will be traveling to Jessie's in-law's house for a couple days of R&R before heading back towards Oregon.

Pray for the fan in our car to work as it has been on and off. When it is hot and off we have no air conditioning and traveling in Arizona can be unbearable with 100+ temperatures. Mexico is green and much cooler.

On our way to Negritas

2010-07-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

Jerilyn and I are on our way, driving to Negritas, Mexico, to visit the church we planted a year and a half ago with people we led to Jesus in Oregon. Lupe is the pastor and Leti his wife.

Their ministry seems to be continually in flux as the situation there is always changing. There are currently a couple of Bible studies going as well as a regular weekly prayer meeting and an all day of prayer the first Saturday of every month. Pray that we can be an encouragement to everyone in the church and especially to Lupe and Leti.

Lupe’s mother is in serous condition as her liver is failing. This is of great concern to the family as she is still rejecting faith in Jesus. This visit will probably be the last time we will be able to see her alive. Pray for wisdom as we visit with her. Pray for her salvation.

We are also going to visit Juan and Vicki Herrera. They received Jesus and were baptized several years ago in Oregon. Now they are living for Jesus in their town as the only believers. Circumstances are sometimes very discouraging and we are going to encourage them.

Pray for safety as we will be passing through a couple of areas where there has been violence recently. Pray that we will be able to encourage believers and be used by God to share Jesus with those who do not yet know him.

Carne Asada Outreach is Tonight

2010-06-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

Pray for our Carne Asada tonight in Jefferson. We are praying for 100 people to come. We will serve barbequed beef, tortillas, salsa, beans and rice. Afterwards we will play basketball and soccer until midnight. Pray for Miguel Velarde who will preach and for Remedios and Zeila who will teach children’s church.

After the service Jon will be immediately driving to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to bring Luis, our son-in-law, home to his family as he received his legal papers to immigrate today. Jessie and their daughter Citlali have missed him a lot.

Urgent prayer request for Lupe in Negritas.

2010-05-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Please pray for Lupe, the pastor of our church plant in Negritas, Mexico. His mother is an alcoholic and of course the family (and especially Lupe) has been trying to get her to quit for some time. This week Lupe's mother drank too much and fell down. She received a large bruise on the side of her face. To save face, she is telling everyone in town a lie - that Lupe was trying to get her to stop drinking and hit her.

Pray that people would not believe her as Lupe has a good reputation of being a Godly man.
Pray that Lupe and Leti would have wisdom to answer the questions and allegations in a way that would glorify God.
Pray that the Holy Spirit would convict Lupe's mom and bring her to salvation.

1 Peter 2:12, "having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation."

Good Friday went well!

2010-05-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

On Good Friday we served a great home cooked meal. Then we had a worship service. Then we played basketball past midnight. Our Good Friday Outreach is an outgrowth of our Open Gym ministry. Way back in 1994 when we first started our Open Gym we had a first Good Friday service. Open Gym was held on Friday nights and when Good Friday came around we couldn’t just ignore it. We had a special short service in the middle of our gym night. In 1997 it grew to what we have today with a full blown meal and an hour long worship service followed by playing basketball “until we drop”.

This year Carmelo and Cristina gave their testimonies during the worship service. Two years ago Carmelo received Jesus as his Savior during our 10 Days of Prayer. Cristina received Jesus in our living room a couple months later. Jon had the privilege of baptizing Carmelo and Cristina last September during our family camp. Carmelo is teaching an evangelistic home Bible study. Also, our church van sits outside their house and they fill it each week bringing unsaved neighbors and friends to church.

This year we only had 120-130 come to Good Friday. This is down quite a bit from our normal 180 or so. On the bright side, of those who attended there were about 100 people who do not know Jesus as their Savior. Several people expressed an interest in receiving a Bible and/or attending a home Bible study. As a result one new Bible study has been started. We hope to start at least one more as a result of this year’s Good Friday outreach.

10 Days of Prayer were Great!

2010-04-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ten days of prayer were great! We prayed a total of 1745 “man hours.” The children played a huge role in the number of hours we prayed this year as together everyone under 18 prayed a total of more than 600 hours.

Primarily we were praying for people who need Jesus - by name. We had over a hundred cards with several names on each one. We were also praying for our Good Friday Outreach. (News on that to come later.) Another focus of our prayer was the 10 Days of Prayer that our daughter church was having in Negritas, Mexico.

The church in Negritas had a goal of praying at least 1000 hours during their 10 Days. God blessed them greatly as they prayed a total of 1560. In Negritas, they wrote down the names of every single person in the community on the cards and prayed repeatedly for them to come to know Jesus.

Some people from a nearby community of Lindero came and spent a good amount of time in prayer. They have been attending the church every week since Jon was there in January. The work there is growing!

Emily came to pray - at two days old!

10 Days of Prayer starting

2010-03-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

We are beginning our annual 10 Days of Prayer. We will begin Saturday, March 20, at 7:00 pm and end Tuesday, March 30 at 8:00 pm. We are primarily praying for our Good Friday outreach. We pray for unsaved friends and relatives by name (we write them all down on cards). We pray that they will come to Good Friday and that God would draw them to himself. Pray for us, that God would move in our hearts as we spent time with him, seeking his blessing.

To encourage people to come and pray we remove some obstacles by providing childcare and food. Our goal is to pray at least 1500 “man hours” – very difficult seeing that we are a small church. We strongly believe that the more we pray, the more God will bless. God answers prayer!

At the same time we are praying here in Oregon, our little church down in Negritas, Mexico will be having their own 10 Days of Prayer. Last year they prayed over 600 hours and had an outreach of their own on Good Friday.

The Latest News out of Negritas

2010-02-17T22:25:00.000-08:00

Guadalupe Hernandez is referred to as “the Grandpa of Negritas”. He was very ill for a long time… and several times very close to death. Everyone knew that he was very afraid of death and fought death very hard. Last week Lupe and Leti went to visit Guadalupe – and the family allowed them to. They told him about Jesus and how Jesus loves him. They told him about Jesus’ death on the cross and about putting his faith in Jesus. They told him about repentance – turning from one’s sins. Guadalupe received Jesus as his personal Savior. And Jesus forgave him and gave him peace with God. The Grandpa of Negritas just passed away with peace in his heart. He was not afraid to die and everyone knew it. Guadalupe Hernandez is now with his Savior.

Pray for Lupe and Leti to continue to shine Jesus’ light. Pray for people to continue to take note of fact that Guadalupe’s attitude towards death was radically changed and that Jesus gave him peace in his heart. Pray that more people would put their faith in Jesus because of his testimony. Lupe and Leti are trying to visit another grandma in the nearby town of Lindero who is also in her last days. Pray for permission to visit the grandma and for wisdom for how to share God’s word with her.

Three Elders Named in Negritas

2010-02-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

In Acts 14:21-23 it says that Paul and Barnabas revisited the churches they had planted to encourage the believers and appoint elders in every church. This is a pattern that Paul repeated throughout his ministry. On Monday evening, January 25, I met with all the men in the church in Negritas. After reviewing these verses and then reading through and discussing the qualifications of an elder in 1 Timothy 3, I told them it was time to appoint elders in the church of Negritas. I told them that my choices were Lupe, Fidencio and Francisco. All of the men present agreed that these three were the most mature in Christ and that they would be the best choices for leaders in the church. We then discussed what responsibilities they should have and closed the evening with a time of prayer, asking God to bless the church and it’s newly appointed leaders.

Little did I know that when I appointed these three men, they would immediately find themselves in a crisis. That night Fidencio shared with me that one of the men in the church was having inappropriate contact with a woman of a nearby town. This contact was bringing reproach on the church. (I should point out that this does not mean he was having a sexual relationship with her. In the culture with any kind of close friendship with an unrelated woman there is an automatic assumption of a sexual relationship.) Knowledge of this contact is spreading and at least one person said to Fidencio that they would have nothing to do with our church because of this inappropriate contact.

Since I was leaving the next morning I could do nothing directly about this problem. I shared 1 Corinthians 5 and Matthew 18 with Fidencio and told him what the leaders of the church must do. Pray for Fidencio and the rest of the leaders as they must confront the offending person. Pray for repentance and restoration. Pray for the church to come out of this with a much higher reputation in the community.

Pray for My Trip to Mexico

2010-01-07T22:11:00.000-08:00

Please pray for my trip to Mexico. I well be leaving the country on January 14 and will be returning home before the end of the month.

It is critical that I go and visit Negritas to encourage the believers at this time. Among the people that are regularly involved in my ministry in Oregon (that do not know Jesus) there is a widely held belief that while it is possible to be a believer here in the US and live the Christian life, it is impossible to do it in their home town. The reason this is a widely held belief is because some people have gone back to their home town who appeared to be believers and subsequently completely reverted to there old way of life. Just this last year of the people we sent back, one of them could not stand the pressure of friends and family and he stopped attending church and reading the Bible. The non-Christians there told our people that it would just be a matter of time before they all would fail as well. Also another person who returned earlier went to Lupe, the leader of our church in Negritas, and told him flat out that he would fail, that it is impossible to live for Jesus there, and to give it up before he made a complete fool of himself.

The believers have been subject to open criticism and rejection from almost every possible source. A month ago the local Catholic priest began an attack against our church and its leaders. Since that time 3 evangelistic home Bible studies have been put on hold because of this pressure.

If the work in Negritas fails my ministry in Oregon will, to a great degree, fail with it. Right now there are about 10 pre-Christians eyeing the Negritas group to see if they will stand or fall. Since all of them plan on returning to Negritas area some day, it makes no sense to them to trust in Jesus here if it is impossible to trust in him there. Also there are two other couples who are considering returning to their home towns close to Negritas to start Bible studies there. If Negritas fails this will be a big discourager to these two couples. Negritas has the best chance of success because there are more believers involved.

Please pray for the believers in Negritas.
Pray for Lupe and Leti as they lead Bible Studies and the church.
Pray that we can register the Ford Explorer I took to Lupe last August in Lupe's name. This is not a done deal. Pray!
Pray for Bible Studies to start up again and for more Bible studies to start as well.

Pressure in Negritas Increasing

2009-12-24T11:44:00.000-08:00

We need to pray for Lupe, Leticia, and all of the believers in Negritas. Ever since they returned to their home town in Mexico believers have suffered a great deal of criticism, mocking, and open rejection. Until now, that has not slowed them down very much. About a month ago, the local Catholic priest spoke out in church about those who want to read and study the Bible at home. He called these people dangerous members of bad sects. He also called on the people of the Catholic church to immediately identify anyone who might be participating in such activities. Little did the priest know that Lupe and Leti and three others who attend their Bible studies were present in the congregation that day. Since then the priest has said that those who participate in such independent Bible studies would not be allowed to attend Catholic mass.

When the priest first mentioned brought this subject up a month ago, Lupe visited all of the people in his home Bible studies to find out what their response was. At that time everyone told him that they wanted to continue in the Bible studies. Since that time presure has ramped up and two of their Bible studies have been at least temporarily cancelled.

Pray for Lupe and Leti, Fidencio and Rosa, Francisco and Lupe, Modesta, Dul, Reyes, Reina, and Victoriano. Pray for their children. Pray for the Catholic priest to come to faith and begin preaching Jesus. Pray for Lupe as he is praying about going and speaking with the Catholic priest. Pray for Carmen , Flaviola, and Jenaro as they continue to have Bible studies in their homes. Pray for Beto, María Guadalupe, and Teresa as they have temporarily suspended their Bible studies. Pray that all would continue to read the Bible, that God would open their spiritual eyes, that they would wholeheartedly follow Jesus.

Lupe and Leti last year at our church in Jefferson.

Pray for José

2009-11-25T10:19:00.001-08:00

José received Jesus as his Savior over two years ago and almost immediately began devouring God’s word. During 2008 he read the New Testament over 10 times and he told me he was interested in teaching God’s word.

José was one of those we sent back to his home town in Mexico to share Jesus with others and start a church. When he arrived last January he started to witness but within two months he stopped reading the Bible and stopped coming to church. It is very difficult to live for Jesus in a small town in Mexico.

I have been praying for the Holy Spirit to convict José and not allow him to drift away. Lupe had a chance to talk with José and he told Lupe that he had no peace in his heart. 1 John 3:9, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

José has started to read the Bible again some. Pray for him to be fully restored and to become a strong witness for Jesus in Negritas. Pray for Lupe, Leticia, and the rest of the believers in Negritas to be strong in the face of open opposition.

Pray for Mari and her friend.

2009-11-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

Mari is a young lady who grew up in our ministry. She is a junior at a University here in Oregon. She has a Muslim friend who would like to study the Bible with her. We sent her a Bible study for the book of John that she will be using with her friend starting this week. Mari is excited at this great opportunity. She has never led any kind of Bible study before. Please pray for Mari to be led by Jesus and for her friend to come to know Jesus as her personal savior.

We had a great time at Family Camp

2009-11-09T22:41:00.001-08:00

Church Family Camp this year was the second weekend of September. We had a great time. Here are some pictures:

We also baptized 2 people: Carmelo and his wife Cristina. They received Jesus as their Savior last year and are really growing and living for Jesus.

Mission to Negritas Report (from our newsletter)

2009-10-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

In our last newsletter we shared that we sent 11 people from our ministry back to their home town of Negritas to live for Jesus and share the Gospel.

They started a new church which meets on Sunday evenings at 5 pm. Lupe and Leticia Alvarez have taken the lead and he is now pastoring the new church. Lupe and Leti also teaching 4 home Bible studies every week.

Leticia teaching a Bible Study

We went to visit them in Negritas in August. We drove down in a donated Ford Expedition which we left there for Lupe and Leti to use as a ministry vehicle. The trip down took three and a half days, including driving all night the first night.

Jerilyn visiting Andrea

The main reason for our visit was to encourage Lupe and Leticia as well as the rest who are meeting together every week. It is amazing how the enemy uses every little thing to try to discourage. Satan does not want an evangelical witness in this little community.

Jon teaching a Bible study

One of the things we did while we were there was to set up an office for Lupe and Leti. We took them a used computer and spent time almost every day teaching them how to use it. We took them into town and found an internet café that they could use to Email us and even talk to us using Skype. All of this is new to them and they need a lot of practice and prayer.

Outdoor church

There are four new believers in Negritas and several more who are interested. Most people are afraid to express their interest openly because of the fear of persecution. Everyone there is struggling to stay strong in the face of open opposition. Please pray for them!

This family is reading the Bible together every day. Fidencio came to Christ in our ministry in Oregon. His wife Rosa has put her faith in Jesus within the last year.

If you would like to know how you can support Lupe and Leticia please email us at sousaj@bauercom.net.

We are in Mexico!

2009-07-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

After driving all night the first day we arrived in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and spent the night. One and a half days later we arrived at our destination - Negritas, Mexico. Pray for wisdom as we encourage Lupe and Leticia. They were anxiously waiting for us and expressed a great need for our fellowship and encouragement. They feel very alone at times and many people are trying to discourage them. Just two days before our arrival someone from the community visited Lupe and told him to give up; what gave him the right to teach anyone?; you are going to fail anyway!

The only training that Lupe has is sitting under our ministry for 8 years. We were not expecting God to send him back to Mexico to start a church. But that is what happened! A church is started and Lupe is doing a great job of pastoring it. Please pray for Lupe and Leti.

Lupe teaching a home Bible study Thursday night.

Pray for us - We are on our way to Mexico!

2009-07-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

Jon and Jerilyn are heading to Mexico to visit and encourage Lupe, Leticia and the rest of those that we sent back home to start a church and shine Jesus' light in their community. Pray for God's protection on the way - pray that Jerilyn will not get a migraine from the travel.

We are taking a Ford Expedition to Lupe and Leti as a ministry vehicle. Pray that we can import the vehicle without problems. We are also taking them many other ministry tools. Mostly they need encouragement because just as Paul wrote, "For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries."

Pray for wisdom for us to know how best to encourge them. Jon will be preaching and teaching a lot. We will be visiting a lot of people.

Lupe and Leticia leading worship in the liquor store.

Pray for Juan and Vicki Herrera

2009-07-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

A few years ago Juan and Vicki Herrera received Jesus as their Savior. Jon baptized them in 2005. Later that year they moved back to Mexico because of some health problems that their oldest son has. For the last three years Juan has been coming up to work at least part of the year because they need money for medical expenses. Whenever Juan comes he is actively involved in our ministry. Since he lives in Salem, it was natural for him to help out in the starting of our Salem church, which he has been attending since its beginning.

Juan is learning to play the bass guitar to help out with the music. He is also how to lead a Bible study. A couple of months ago he had his first practice at teaching by leading the adult Sunday school class in Salem. Today Juan preached for the first time during a regular worship service. This is very exciting to us!

Pray for Juan and Vicki. Juan is growing tremendously and is very strong in the faith. His wife is having a hard time back in Mexico because there is no encouragement from their non-Christian family. He calls her every week to encourage her but it is still very difficult. Pray for her faith to strengthen. Pray for healing for their son (kidney problems). Pray that Juan can soon go back to his family and that he would be able to stay with his family more. Pray for his ability in the Word to continue to grow and that God would use him to lead his family and his community to Christ.

Juan Herrera after preaching on Sunday.

Pray for Diana Alvarez

2009-07-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

Diana Alvarez is a young lady who has grown up in our ministry and loves Jesus very much. She spends a lot of time in God’s word and she has a real burden for the lost. Diana has been helping Lebanon First Baptist Church with their Vacation Bible School since she was 12.

Diana is now 16 and is working as a volunteer with Larisa Craig for the summer. Larisa is an area missionary with American Missionary Fellowship. Her field is in east central California and western Nevada. Larisa and Diana will be leading several VBSs and helping in two summer camps.

Pray for Larisa and Diana. Pray for protection as they travel. Pray for wisdom as they minister to people. Pray for success as they share Jesus. Pray for sufficient finances to fund the ministry.

Diana's Testamony as given at her quinceaños:

When I was 6 years old, my family and I moved here from Mexico. At that time I did not understand why this happened to me. But now I know that God has a plan for me. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

When I received Jesus he opened my eyes so that I could see the truth. He helped me to understand that I am a sinner and that he died on the cross for my sins. He helped me to understand that if I trusted in him, he would cleanse me from all my sins – and he did so.

Later I began to read the Bible and I found many promises that God has made. What God promises he fulfills because he does not change. I also found promises that assure me of my salvation. John 5:24 says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

I know that God has helped me and I know that he will help me because I have put my confidence in him. I know that when I need strength to do his will he will give it to me.

Diana Alvarez and Larisa Craig

Prayer Retreat

2009-06-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend 31 people from our churches (including babies) went for a weekend retreat to seek God's face in prayer. People trickled in on Friday night after work and we stayed until Sunday afternoon. On Friday evening we focused in on Mark 6:31 and expressed to God our desire just to be with him and rest in him.

On Saturday morning after a time of worship and prayer we separated and spent a good time alone with God and John 6:24-69. Later we came back together and shared with each other what God was saying to us through his Word. This was followed by a good time of corporate prayer and worship. In our afternoon session we had a good time of interceding for each other as several people expressed prayer needs regarding personal and family growth issues. We gathered around each one and lifted them up before God's throne of grace. This was a very powerful time as God touched people at their point of need. Saturday evening we celebrated the Lord's Supper together.

Also, on Saturday we had special activities for the children. Jerilyn took the youngest children for the day to Bethel Church where they had a great time and also did a craft – making and coloring a book about how to and what we can pray for. Our son Joel took the younger teens and spent the day in Salem, mostly at our daughter Jessie’s house.

On Sunday morning after a time of singing praises we separated into family groups and parents and their children had a good time of praying together - hopefully starting a tradition that will continue at home. We all agreed that we wanted to have another prayer retreat soon - maybe in 6 months or so. God is good. This weekend was truly a blessing!

Some pictures:

We met in this log house close to Amity, Oregon. Thank you Lee and Irene!

Praying and worshipping together.

Time alone in God's Word.

Everyone agrees - all day in prayer can be very tiring. This is our beautiful granddaughter, Citlali Rose.

This group picture was unfortunately taken after 3 families had already left.

Carne Asada Outreach

2009-06-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

Every year for the last 4 or 5 we have offered a free meal and game night after our regular worship service in Jefferson. Carne Asada (barbequed beef) is one of the favorite meals on the Mexican menu. This year's turnout was a little disappointing as we had only about 40-45 visitors -- way down from last year. BUT... we had a great time and we had 40-45 visitors to church!

Here are a few pictures:

Serving up the good stuff!

Children and ice cream go together.

The kids enjoyed the lesson and the craft.

The men played basketball and soccer.

Cleanup went faster because everyone pitched in.

Negritas Needs Prayer

2009-06-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Please pray for those we sent back to Negritas, Mexico. It has been four months now since 11 of the people from our ministry in Oregon returned to Mexico to reach their small community and the surrounding communities for Christ. Of those we sent back one has left the faith entirely for now (peer pressure is very great there). Three others are waning in their ferver for seeking God and reaching the community. Those who are remaining strong are suffering persecution and other attacks of the enemy.

On the positive side, there are at least two new believers in Jesus who are reading the Bible faithfully and growing in Christ. Victoriano has stopped drinking and instead reads his Bible throughout the day. Reina, an unwed mother of an infant, has also trusted in Jesus and is reading her Bible every day.

Lupe and Leticia are very encouraged that new people have visited the church and several are interested in having a home Bible study.
Francisco and Maria

Please pray for the believers in Negritas: Lupe, Leticia, Fidencio, Dul, Francisco, Modesta, Reina, Jose Alfredo, Victoriano, Reyes, Itzel, and Andy.

Pray for Lupe and Leticia in Negritas, Mexico

2009-05-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16:9, "a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." The same is true of our new outreach and church in Negritas, led by Lupe and Leticia.

I just spoke with them and many exciting things are happening. They are now leading 5 different Bible studies and one weekly prayer meeting. There are also two more Bible Studies that may be starting soon. They are also actively serving the community in practical ways. They are helping out some of the poorest of the poor with food and transportation to the doctor. Meeting felt needs is opening more doors for ministry and hearts to the gospel.

Lupe and Leti are pleading for prayer. Their first and foremost prayer concern is for their own spiritual lives. They stressed to me that they need prayer to help them spend more time in personal Bible reading and prayer. With the enemy working overtime trying to discourage them in every way and with the business of an active ministry, Bible reading and prayer is sometimes not given its due priority (Acts 6:4). Pray also for the people in the Bible studies and the church to grow in faith and to stand firm in Jesus.

Good Friday in Negritas

2009-04-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

Our new church in Negritas, Mexico decided to have a Good Friday Outreach of their own. During their 10 Days of Prayer God led them to invite everyone town to eat elotes with them. Elotes (corn on the cob) is a special treat and much less expensive then a full meal. After eating they had a piñata for the children and then showed The Passion of the Christ on a big screen.

Four families came and everyone said they had a good time. God is blessing their efforts as a few people have come and privately asked Lupe and Leti if they would come and read the Bible with them in their homes. These are tremendous results as people in the small rural towns of Mexico are generally speaking very hard to reach. They are steeped in tradition and peer pressure is high to conform. Pray for this small group of believers who are courageously trying to shine Jesus' light and love to their home town.

Good Friday was Great!

2009-04-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Our Ten Days of Prayer were leading up to our Good Friday Outreach. Every year we serve a homemade meal prepared by ladies of our churches. After the meal we have a worship service that features a testimony from a couple in our church and an evangelistic message. Finally, we play basketball all night or until everyone goes home.

This year we had about 180 people in attendance. There were about 120 people who stayed for the worship service and there were 50 people in the children's program. We have never had so many people stay for the worship service before.

At the end of the worship service an invitation is given to pray to receive Jesus as Savior. This year a record 25 people indicated on response cards that they did.

Pray with us for efective follow-up. Five couples in our church will be contacting everyone who came by phone and with personal visits.

10 Days of Prayer

2009-04-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

Each year before Good Friday our churches in Jefferson and Lebanon spend 10 days together, asking God to draw many people to himself during our Good Friday outreach. We write the names of as many pre-believers as we can think of on cards. Then we pray for them to come to Good Friday, to enjoy the meal and the worship service, and to eventually give their hearts to the Savior. During our prayer time we also spend time worshipping God in song, in reading scripture together, and in silence before Him. We always have great times together in God's presence and the 10 days of prayer is everyone's favorite time of year.

In these two churches we have very few believers but they have a heart for the lost and a strong belief that God answers prayer. In all we can identify only 25 believers in the two churches, including children. The low number is in part because we just sent 11 believers back to their town in Mexico to start a new church there (see our last post).

Each year we try to pray as many "man hours" as we can. One "man hour" of prayer is one person praying for one hour. That means that with only 25 believers, if we are going to pray 500 man hours of prayer each believer in the church would have to spend 20 hours in prayer during the ten days. In order to reach 1000 hours each believer would have to average 40 hours during the ten days. Adults work and the children go to school, so having any kind of high average is very difficult. Of course, we also have a few pre-believers spending some hours with us which helps reach a higher total. Well, we just finished and we were able to pray a total of 1625 hours! Praise God!

But that's not all! Our new church in Negritas, Mexico also had their own ten days of prayer. They wrote the names of every single person in their small town on cards and prayed for them to come to know Jesus. Only 11 believers managed over 1130 man hours of prayer. Now, THAT is commitment to prayer.

We are looking forward to seeing what God does!

New Church Started in Mexico

2009-03-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

In January Jon took Lupe and Leticia Alvarez with their four children and two other men back to their home town of Negritas. Their desire to win their neighbors for Jesus. In all we sent eleven people home to Negritas to start a new church. That church met for the first time in Lupe and Leticia's house on January 25. There were 25-30 people in attendance. This picture was taken about half an hour after the service ended and some had already left.

Pray for this new adventure. Negritas is a very small town and closed to anything but their brand of catholicism. Pressure is very great to conform. The team has already suffered one casualty. José recieved Jesus as his savior a year and a half ago and was growing quickly as he was reading the New Testament once a month and the Old Testament once a year. When he got back to Negritas his old friends surrounded him and José has succumbed to the pressure - he is no longer reading the Bible or attending church services. Pray for José.

Other members of the team are staying strong and shining Jesus' light. They are Lupe and Leticia, Fidencio, Francisco, Dulfrano, Reyes, and Modesta. The children are also doing well. Jon and Jerilyn are going to be returning to Negritas to strengthen the believers in August.

God answers prayer! More prayer needed.

2008-08-26T22:22:00.000-07:00

Before going on vacation we asked for prayer for Julián, a man that Lupe wanted to have a Bible study with. The great news: Lupe and Leticia had the privilege of leading Julián to faith in Jesus a week ago! The not so good news: Julián was arrested on Sunday on a parole violation stemming from a crime he committed about 13 years ago.

I visited Julián in jail before he was sent to another county. He says he was unaware that he had any further obligations to the court. From a human perspective it seems sad that just when Julián is coming to faith and in an encouraging environment he would be snatched away and sent to another, less encouraging environment. But God is on the throne and he is not limited in the way he can work in the lives of Julián and others that are affected by his arrest.

Julian will probably be deported. If he is he will go to Tijuana and work in a restaurant operated by his niece. We have contact information for him there and we can follow up when he eventually arrives.

Please pray:
For Julián’s faith to grow.
For me to have wisdom in knowing how to encourage him.
For Lupe and Leticia to continue to shine Jesus to Julián’s friends.
For God to use this situation for his glory and the spread of the Gospel.

- Jon

Follow Us On Vacation

2008-08-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

We are going to ride our tandem bicycle from Eugene, OR to Eureka, CA from August 11 to August 23. You can come along by reading our journal on line it is at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/eu2eu

We will be updating the journal whenever we have access to a computer and the internet.

Prayer Request - Lebanon

2008-08-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

Members of our church have been visiting families in Lebanon since May, 2007. The primary purpose of the visit is to develope a good relationship with the people in the community by asking people if we can pray for them in our church prayer meeting. We revisit each family every month or so to see how they are doing and to ask if they have any new prayer requests. Some people we visit have become interested in spiritual things and have been asking questions.

This prayer requests comes from Lupe and Leticia Alvarez. Leticia wants prayer for a woman named Angélica who has an interest in spiritual things. Leticia asked her if she would like to read the Bible with her on a regular basis. Angélica is interested but hesitant because she is alreading reading the Bible with two JWs who come to her house every week. Pray that Leticia would be filled with wisdom and that Angelica would want to read the Bible with her.

A similar prayer request comes from Leticia's husband Lupe. He just asked a man named Julián if he would like to study the Bible together with him and Julián said, "yes, but...." Pray that Lupe and Julián will find a time they can get together on a weekly basis. Pray for wisdom for Lupe as he tries to lead Julián towards Jesus.

Family Camp

2008-07-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend we will be having our second annual church Family Camp. One of the goals in having family camp is to teach our people how to have a vacation and how to spend time just relaxing with their family. Last year was the first time camping for almost everyone in our church. We camped at Beverly Beach State Park and had a great time. This year we are going to camp on the Umpqua River close to Elkton, Oregon. Pray that everything will go well, that God would keep us safe, and that people would be more drawn to Him.

Next week we will publish some pictures!

Reaching Back Home to Mexico

2008-07-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

One of the exciting things happening this year is that some of the Hispanics that we work with in Oregon are planning to return to Mexico to share Jesus with their family and friends in and around the small town of Negritas, Guanajuato. We are having a monthly Bible study/prayer meeting/strategy session for those interested in seeing the people of this town come to Christ. This story is the main feature of our upcoming newsletter due out on August 9th. We don't want to totally tell the story until after our newsletter is in the hands of our readers. Sooooo, we hate to do this but... if you want to get the whole story and get it sooner, you can sign up to receive our newsletter by Emailing us at sousaj@bauercom.net.