The Latest News out of Negritas

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.