Dear Friends:
Happy New Year! And greetings from Mexico Ministries, our staff and the people of Mexico.
Today, I want to focus on the heart of God and the love that is in that heart for his creation. John 3:16tells us that He was willing to give His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. In the midst of that “whoever” are two very special groups who occupy a very special place in that heart of love. Widows and orphans (often called the fatherless).
Exodus 22:22-24 tells us “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you do afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to me, I will surely hear his cry, and my anger will be kindled and I will surely kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.” Isaiah 1:17 reads “Defend the orphan, plead for the widow”, and James tells us that “Pure and undefiled religion is this: visit the orphans and widows in their distress.” Psalms 10:14 says, “You have been a helper of the orphan”, and Psalm 68:5 goes on to say, “a father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation.” In Psalms 146:9, we read, “The Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widows.”
We have just returned from the orphanage in Chiapas in an attempt to express the love that God has for these beautiful children. We spent about 2 1/2 hours in a large store, much like a Walmart, with approximately 85 orphans. There we bought them everything they needed and much of what they wanted. Each child was allowed to pick out their own clothes. We then took them to a Burger King for lunch. While they returned to the orphanage, we went to another store and bought more gifts for all of them.
In the middle of the afternoon, we returned to the orphanage and had a Christmas party. Thirteen friends from the US came along to help. I want to thank them for their many hours of hard work. I want to thank all who contributed financially, helping to make this a very special time for the children. And I want to say a very special thank you to Paul and Judy Pogue for heading up this entire trip.
After our time at the orphanage we went to the mountains, where we visited a number of churches and blessed them with hundreds of pairs of shoes and 700 gift bags.
You may read this letter quickly, but please take a few moments to let the following photographs sink in. Each of these orphans has their own story. Some were abandoned at birth. Some were abandoned at one or two years of age. It really doesn’t matter what their ages. All were abandoned. With God’s help, and the help of the orphanage, they will never be abandoned again.
I want to sincerely thank all of you who helped make 2015 a special year for so many people. God bless you! And may 2016 be one of your best years ever!
So many speak of leaving a legacy. I pray that my legacy will be, “He was a man after God’s own heart.”
Larry Myers