CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER 2006

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:14

To God be the Glory for the wonderful things He has done during this past year! Its hard to believe we are at the close of another year, but what a great year it has been!



Some of you may recognize the children from Chacte’ and Monte Bonito on the Christmas card. We thought their photos could express more to you about our year than all the words we could possibly write. Those of you who have been to these villages have had a direct impact on their lives, but all of you have helped in some way to bring joy, peace and hope to the dear people of Chiapas.

It is with great joy that we can report to you that 7 more block churches were built in the mountains of Chiapas this past year through Mexico Outreach. An additional 12 churches were completed with windows, paint, benches or whatever else was needed. The housing above the medical clinic in Chenalho is almost completed. It was a very joyous occasion for us to be able to provide 4 senior pastors with their very own truck during these past months. Some of our US teams have had a little taste of what it is like to climb a mountain to reach their work locations. It is very challenging and even though our pastors were born in these mountains and are use to walking everywhere they go, it takes a real toll on their knees and feet. They have been so appreciative of this blessing! As in previous years, we hosted a youth conference in July and 2 women’s conference in November. The April convention in Chenalho was attended by around 5000 believers and 133 were baptized in water. 3 medical teams led by Dr. Jim Nichols served so compassionately offering various sources of medical care in many villages and in the Tuxtla orphanage of Casa Hogar Alegre. More Bibles were purchased and donated. Yes, not only was it a great year, it was incredible!

JOY, PEACE, and HOPE

John 14: 27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you.” American teams who work among the poor of Chiapas are always moved by the sense of peace that can be observed in the lives of those who know Christ. It is a peace that goes beyond our understanding. Peace is a blessing and promise to all who come to know Him! We have seen this peace among all we work with - Tzotzil, Tzetal, Zinacantan, Chamula. Only knowing Christ can give peace when faced with great persecution as some of these believers have experienced for their faith in Christ.

Hebrews 7:19 “there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” The people living in the highlands of Chiapas are in a time of transition in so many ways, some influences are good, others are not. Having been closed to the outside world until the last 25 to 30 years meant being closed to the Gospel as well. The door is now opened and God is bringing hope to a whole new generation through His Word.

We thank all of you who have joined one of the 13 US teams that worked with us this past year. So many sacrificed their finances and time away from work and family to help the poor of another land. Many of you did not go, but you gave generously and prayed for all the mission endeavors - you are just as vital to the work God is doing in Chiapas.

We hope you always know how very special you are to us and the people of Mexico. We pray that the spirit of joy, the blessings of peace and the beauty of hope will be yours as you celebrate Jesus’ birth!

Russell & Charlotte

Women's Conferences November 2006

What comes to mind most about the 2 women’s conferences is growth - spiritually and numerically! And that is a wonderful encouragement to all of us! Two women’s conferences are held because of the differences in culture and language.



November 3-5 were the dates of the Tuxtla/San Fernando conference. Nell Lamury, co-pastor of Word of Life Fellowship, Patterson, LA, and a team from this area along with Billie of Billie Hunt Ministries from The Woodlands, TX returned again this year. Prior to the conference, we began our week with a visit to Chenalho, San Cristobal and a children’s service at the Tuxtla orphanage, Casa Hogar Alegre. One visit to the orphanage, and you are impacted for life!

Billie ministered each evening on The Power of Words. Generally, as many men attend these services as do women. The hunger is so evident, and so we rejoice in all who can be ministered to during these days for growing in the truth of God’s Word. Many special prayer times were set aside to address the needs of the people, with the last service concluding with a prayer tunnel of blessing over each individual who walked through. It seems there was a 100% response to this - men, women and children! God has used Billie Hunt in a tremendous way to inspire all of us to rise higher in our walk with God, both individually and collectively. We thank her for ministering in the conference! We are seeing much fruit come from her labor and God’s anointing!

Nell Lamury ministers in such a variety of ways, but one area of special anointing is with children’s ministry. Much was taught, illustrated and put into practice for the women during the day sessions and the concluding evening service that furthered the women’s interest and knowledge in ministering effectively to children. And we had lots of children to work with! We thank you Nell and the team that helped you! It gets better each year!

Also, we thank all of you for the abundance of gifts given to our pastor’s wives - dresses, purses, jewelry, gifts of money, etc. - and all the puppets, portable puppet stage, and props left for the children’s ministry in Tuxtla, so the work can continue. They were blessed above and beyond what they could have imagined! By way of testimony - Nell has reported to us that God has already given back to them more than they invested in all of these donations, so we give God praise for it all!

God sent us a very special interpret for the conference this year - Barbara Horn who was only one week away from her marriage to Pastor Carlos Tovilla, the president of the association of churches we were working with. Having so many others things to do and plan for, we thank Barbara for your very effective ministry through interpreting each message while in Tuxtla and San Fernando.

Reinforcements from Texarkana arrived over the week end and joined us during Sunday’s services. It was very special to have both teams together. LaNell Miller, co-pastor of Church on the Rock, Texarkana, TX and her ladies helped us birth women’s ministries among our friends in Chiapas, so they will always have a special place in all of our hearts. They joined us for a powerful prayer time with the pastor’s wives at the conclusion of the morning service. We always set aside a special time to pray for women in leadership. God met with us so powerfully during this time of refreshing in Him with new vision and anointing!

We had to say good bye to our first team, and then begin making preparation for another week of work for the conference to be held in the mountains on November 8-10 . We thank God for all the donations that had been given to fund our conferences. Additional tables and chair were purchased for our ladies luncheon with the Indian pastor’s wives. We also purchased all the special food and additional small appliances for gifts (several people brought some from home).



A service in Chenalho packed out the building, and it was so exciting to see the vision of women’s ministry really blossom even among our friends in the highlands. LaNell ministered powerfully to the ladies and distributed a prayer booklet she had prepared in the Tzotzel dialect. Each lady received this special gift and was instructed on how to pray for their families.

This service introduced the girls of Chenalho as a newly formed team of worshippers with tambourine and dance. Wanda of Texarkana instructed them and gave a Biblical foundation of the responsibility of this ministry, and its importance even today. The girls have continued with the dance team, and it was time well spent. We thank Wanda for allowing God to use her to inspire so many young girls to draw closer to God through such a beautiful expression of worship. Wanda birthed the dance ministry in Tuxtla/San Fernando area several years ago, and it has brought forth much fruit.

The next day we gathered with the leaders and pastor’s wives. It is one of my favorite parts of the conference. It is so personal, and we really get to know each others heart. The culture and language barriers are removed when we are in God’s presence, and we just have a wonderful time together. My dear friend Terry preached an awesome word to the women called “Feed My Sheep”. So many could relate first hand to this message since the Chamula women are shepherdess. We sang and prayed and had a marvelous time!

Our special luncheon was prepared by Carmen Nichols. She is such a gourmet chef, and this meal was a fabulous Thanksgiving spread. Thanks a million Carmen and to all who helped her! It took so many hands.

We displayed gifts on a table and allowed the women to make their own selection. Even the very basic things that we may all have in our homes is a luxury for them - coffee pots, blenders, irons, etc. I remember asking if they all had electricity. That is something we take from granted in the US, but in the highlands, it is not always available.

We concluded our conference in Rancharia Sinai. We appreciate Vicki and Olga for interpreting in Spanish and Tzotzel. We couldn't have had a conference without your help!

It thrills me to see God working in the lives of all the women - the Mexican and Indian ladies and in us as well. The women of Mexico have grown so much that they could conduct their own conferences if need be. We do enjoy being a part of their lives though and are honored by the hospitality that is shown to us, and the openness they have to the gospel of Christ. So many worked so hard to make it all possible. We thank each one of you, and we thank God for two incredible conferences that will not be soon forgotten.
Charlotte

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER NEWSLETTER 2006

I Peter 3:12 "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."

Pastor Jorge and his wife, Maria Antonia, have pastored a small church in San Fernando, Chiapas for many years. They have been very faithful to the call of the Lord on their lives. Jorge has also been evangelizing other areas surrounding their community. On Sundays Pastor Jorge and his congregation have a good problem. Their small church is filled to capacity and many people are sitting or standing outside the church looking in through the door and windows. His prayer has been that God would help them to be able to reach more people of their community by having a larger church building in which to worship. This year in his prayer time, Jorge told God that something needed to be done soon to help the people or he would know it was time to move on to another area to evangelize.

Recently, we had the opportunity to visit Pastor Jorge with the same urgency of wanting to find new property for his congregation. That same afternoon the Lord answered our prayers with a beautiful piece of land for the new church location.

In our rejoicing the enemy was not happy with what was going on and within a short time thieves broke into their church and stole all of their musical instruments.

The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous!

"But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. In spite of Satan's temporary discouragement, we know that San Fernando is doing something right. We are believing with Pastor Jorge and Toni for God's provision for this larger church on the new property. God is faithful and His ears are open unto our prayers!"?

Thanks for making it possible!

Our busy schedule continues, but that always means good news for Mexico. Leadnow was so refreshing to host.

It was wonderful being around college students again. There is now a new church in Los Chorros, thanks to them, and one in Tz'acuclum built by Quest of The Woodlands United Methodist Church. The men of Quest had a real work out just to reach the project location, but they rose to the challenge, and the block church looks great! 4 additional churches have been painted and many supplied with benches. Pastor Augustine of Pechiquil received his first vehicle. Some of our leaders walk 8 hours to reach one location under their supervision, so we rejoice with each head pastor when he is supplied with his own means of transportation.

Prayer Request

Oct. - Medical/Construction Trip
Nov. - 2 Women's Conference
San Fernando - new building

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You may have been praying and believing for God's guidance or provision in some area of your own life. God loves the people of Mexico, but He is just as concerned with your need as well. Psalm 32:8 tells us, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye."

God bless you!
Russell and Charlotte