[About the photos: The new stadium in Tuxtepec is taking shape and coming together!]
Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:
I will be leaving home in 3 days to spend nearly a month in Mexico, and it will be a very busy month indeed. I will spend some time visiting with families who have lost love ones due to a variety of causes, including Covid. I will visit with several pastors who have all requested help to build churches. By the time I return home we will have also completed the stadium in Tuxtepec, and will be making plans for a dedication service sometime early in the new year. I promise to send photos of the completed stadium in the December newsletter!
In Acts 27 the Apostle Paul and 275 other souls found themselves on a ship in a ferocious sea storm. First they threw all their cargo overboard to lighten the load, the next day they tossed the ship’s gear. Finally, Luke wrote, “all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.” That’s when Paul stood up and exhorted everyone to, “take heart,” to “keep your courage.” God had spoken to him about his future, and he knew his life wasn’t going to end by drowning at sea. It seems that in our own time there are many storms we face: chaos in government, pandemic disease, financial setbacks, not to mention the personal and family storms we all endure from time to time. The Spanish word for storm is tormenta, and sometimes people are so tormented by the storms of life they blame God, or others, or even the whole world. But how we respond to these storms can have a huge impact on how we get through them.
I suppose it must have been easy for Paul to have hope, because an angel spoke directly to him. But those other 275 people? They had to trust Paul and his word. They did trust him, and every single one of them reached the shore and survived.
I see angry storm clouds forming on the horizon. In our own nation, clouds of division, partisan talking points, skewed news reporting, politicians vying for your vote and many being untruthful. My prayer is that God guide us through these storms, and that in the midst of the tormentas we respond in a Christ-like manner, loving our neighbors as ourselves, loving the Lord with our whole being, and seeking first the Kingdom of God.
I am committed to continuing the work in Mexico until my dying day, because together you and I are offering these dear people a faith that withstands the tempests; houses built on the solid rock so that when the storms come, they endure.
God bless you,
Larry