July, 2020: JUST A LITTLE BIT LONGER

(About the photos: All of Mexico is under a “red alert,” but the ministry continues. In Nuevo Laredo, we were able to rebuild the roof of a church blown off during a recent storm, and help with building rooms for children’s ministry there.)

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

Greetings, brothers and sisters in Jesus. As you know, my heart yearns to be in Mexico, but I simply cannot be there yet. I have to wait just a little bit longer. I am, however, in constant contact with the leaders there, and am helping from afar in every way I can.

Pastor Carlos called and told me to, “please wait, we are one month behind the USA…” He told me that we have lost our “first brother, a musician from our church in Chetumal,” who died from the virus in early May. He was 50 years old, and a close friend to Carlos. The hospitals in Tuxtla are nearly full, and Dr. Paco reports that he lost three patients to the coronavirus in one day. Carlos informed me that in one family very instrumental in helping build the church in Tuxtla, both the father and mother have died from the coronavirus, and one grown son is now on the ventilator. 

Mexico has adopted a red, yellow and green light system for gauging the impact of the virus, and right now the entire nation is designated red. I am hoping and praying that the light changes to at least yellow so I can return in July. In the meantime, I am checking in several times a week with all the regions we serve, sending monthly operating money, and sending extra offerings to help the needy survive these difficult times. In addition to the regular support, last month we were able to reroof a church in Nuevo Laredo that was damaged by a bad storm. In other words, though I am not “boots on the ground” in Mexico, the work and ministry there continues to move forward. I want to give a special thank you to all of you who continue to support the ministry. Clearly the pandemic is affecting many businesses and families, and your faithfulness is very appreciated.

Mary Lou and I are being careful to protect ourselves by not getting out in public areas much, and following all the precautions being recommended by doctors. In my daily prayers I always pray for God’s blessing and favor on you who stand with us in this ministry, and now I am also praying for relief and restoration from this awful plague. 

I ask that you also pray for me, for the work of Mexico Ministries, and for the people of Mexico. “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.” (Psalm 82.3). “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” (Isaiah 1.17) Thank you for joining with us in bringing the Good News of Jesus to the people God loves.

God bless you,

Larry

June, 2020: WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?

[About the photos: While I am unable to return to Mexico during the lockdown, the churches are in the capable hands of the many leaders there. Here are some of them: Carlos Tovilla, Alejandro Hernandez, and Cesar Osario.]

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

I pray that all is well with you and your’s as our nation and world try to slowly return to normal. Of course, that will take hard work, time, and prayer - and we aren’t sure what the new normal will look like exactly. Now is a time for some personal reflection on how we have lived, are living, and will live our lives. Are we totally satisfied with who we are, or if we could do it all over again, would we make any changes?

As a younger man, my answer to that question was always, “I wouldn’t change a thing!” Of course, that was pride speaking, not wisdom. Now that my hair is whiter and thinner, my answer is, “I would change almost everything!” I have been reflecting on my life, and on the life of men in the Bible, and have asked myself the question, if I could do it all over again, who would I most like to imitate. The obvious answer is Jesus - he is the one we all strive to be like. But I think Joseph would also be my choice. Think of all he went through: losing his mother at a young age, as a teenager being sold into slavery by his half brothers, falsely accused of attempted rape by his owner’s wife, tossed into jail for two years and forgotten by those who promised to remember him. And then the glorious things: elevated to second in command under Pharaoh (at the ripe age of 30!), reunited with his treacherous half brothers and saving them during a time of famine - not filled with anger, but with love: “Be not angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.”

Joseph had two sons; the first he named Manasseh which means “to forget,” because, Jospeh said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and my father’s household.” The second he called Ephraim, which means “fruitful,” and he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my afflictions.”

Joseph lived to be 110 years old, and I can find NO PLACE in Scripture where he ever blamed God or anyone else for the difficulties he endured. Instead, he trusted in God through the bad times and the good. Oh that my own life would reflect that trust and lack of complaining. I am an old man now, but Joseph is my model now! May the Lord grant me his qualities as I serve Him for the rest of my days.

And may God grant those qualities to you too - that through this difficult time, we not lose trust in the Lord, nor place blame on Him or others. Instead, let us look for His hand at work in our lives. And while we are at it, never forget the poor, the hungry, and those in need - in Mexico, in our own communities, and throughout the world. May the Lord raise up among us new Josephs who will forget all our troubles and be fruitful in His Kingdom!

God bless you,

Larry

MAY, 2020: SPECIAL LETTER

MAY 25, 2020

[About the photos: Pastor Carlos Tovilla; Pastor Alejandro and his family, including his daughter Esmirna; Doctor Paco and his wife]

Hello friends. This is a special “online only” newsletter that I felt compelled to write and send to you. As you know, I can’t be in Mexico right now because of the coronavirus shut down, but my heart aches to be with the people there, and I often find myself literally weeping with compassion for my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ.

When the Holy Spirit sent the Apostle Paul to Jerusalem (in Acts 20) he called the people of Ephesus to himself and said, “You yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and tears and with trials which came upon me from the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from declaring to you anything…Now, behold, bound in the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.”

On the one hand, Paul’s heart was with the people in Ephesus, on the other, he was called by the Spirit to Jerusalem. I too am being pulled in two different directions - I am being pulled in one direction by passion (or compassion) and in another direction by wisdom. Do I go, or do I stay?

Some might think I am not doing much during these days of lockdown, but I am in constant communication with the leaders in Mexico. Last Friday I received several calls from all over the nation, with very important news and very important decisions to be made.

From the northern part of the country, I received news that Pastor Samuel’s church roof was destroyed by a strong storm. From Tuxtla, Chiapas, Pastor Carlos informed me that our Doctor Paco, who has lost three patients to the coronavirus, has now himself tested positive. 

In that same call Carlos told me he was leaving immediately for Tuxtepec, a six hour drive, to be with Pastor Alejandro Sabini, whose 11 year old daughter, Esmirna, underwent an emergency appendectomy, during which a tumor was discovered. The tumor was removed, along with an infected ovary. We are waiting now for the results of the tumor biopsy.  

We are helping with replacing the roof. I have sent money to help with the surgery costs. We are all praying for Dr. Paco. The strong pull of compassion in my heart is to go and be with these dear people. The strong pull of wisdom is to be cautious for a while more, because contacting the virus and exposing it to my dear wife would be fatal for her.

And so, I am torn between the two, and I covet your prayers for the clear direction of the Holy Spirit. I do plan to return in July. 

God bless you all,

Larry

May, 2020: UNITED WE STAND

[About the photos: How are you spending your “quarantine” time? My little cabin is where I get away every day to pray, to study, and do what Peter, Andrew, James, and John did: fish!}

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

“In a severe test of affliction…they gave according to their means…”  This is what St. Paul wrote about the Christians in Macedonia, but the entire long sentence is very much worth taking a moment to read slowly:

We want you to know, brothers,[ about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,  for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.  For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor[ of taking part in the relief of the saints. - 2 Corinthians 8.1-4

The Macedonian believers, themselves enduring “extreme poverty,” were nevertheless insistent on helping care for other far away brothers and sisters in Christ who were suffering even more

We are in a “severe test of affliction” today as well. A few months ago none of us could have imagined the difficult times brought on as the coronavirus sweeps through the world, causing harm not only physically, but mentally and economically as well. Our little town of Denison has now reported 9 cases, and it will only increase in the days to come; one dear friend had to close his restaurants and lay off 100 workers.  It will take years for everyone to recover from the effects of this pandemic.

In times like this we must stand together. Mary Lou and I have received calls from all over the U.S. and Mexico from friends and fellow laborers checking on our wellbeing. I have been in communication with the leaders and pastors of all the areas we serve in Mexico, and they too are struggling at this time, most of them living week to week even in the best of times. I have no answers to the many struggles. I don’t have the finances to meet all the needs. But I can weep and pray and encourage them that this too shall pass and that, “it will be well.” (2 Kings 4.23)

I received a video this week of several Latin American presidents (from Mexico, Bolivia, Uruguay, Panama, and other countries) imploring their people to stand together in unity, prayer, and repentance. Now is not the time to despair. Now is the time to seek God, to have hope, and to stand together. We shall overcome.

Paul ended his letter with words of blessing and hope and I pray them for you today: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13.14)

Larry

April, 2020: REFLECTING JESUS

(About the photos: Two dear friends, Dr. Russell Romero and Dr. Dan Moore [pictured with our Dr. Lulu], who lived their lives in service to others and in service to Jesus. We can see Jesus in their lives. May others see Jesus in us. )

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

I just returned from a funeral in Lafayette, Louisiana where we said goodbye to a great friend and supporter, Dr. Russell Romero. A surgeon of renown, over the span of 20 years the good doctor served the poor in Mexico, making regular medical mission trips with a team of doctors and nurses who together performed complicated, life changing, and life saving surgeries

Losing this friend reminded me of another dear friend and supporter of our ministry, Dr. Dan Moore of Texarkana, who passed away as the result of a stroke in August, 2013. I had just been with him in Mexico a month earlier, and we had talked of a stroke I suffered down there in 2011, and like that, he was gone and I was still here.

“Why Me, Lord? What have I ever done, to deserve even one, of the pleasures I’ve known?” Kris Kristofferson wrote the song, but sometimes I ask that question too. Why are these two men gone, both younger than me, and I am still here? In September, my family will be having a big reunion celebrating the 300th anniversary of our family in America. My 6th great grandfather Pierre Mayeux and his young bride left France and everyone they knew to try and carve out a new life in the Louisiana wilderness. They survived brutal conditions and even a massacre, and their family has endured until now. The astonishing thing, for me, is that I am the longest lived male in my family line. Pierre died at 50, his son Francois died at 42, my father died at 79. By the grace of God I have lived nearly 83 years. Why me, Lord? Whatever the reason, it is humbling to ponder. Why me? One answer for certain is it is not for my pride or boasting, and whatever time I have left God has called me to be a servant to his people, especially, “the least of these.”

In Greek mythology there is the story of the most handsome of men, Narcissus. Women saw him and were instantly enchanted. One day he saw his reflection in a pool of water and became mesmerized by his own beauty. He couldn’t tear himself away, he fell in love with himself, and died tragically, unable to fulfill his self love. St. Paul describes another kind of gazing in a mirror: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.” (1 Co. 13.12) But it is not ourselves that we will see “face to face.” Like Moses, it will be our Lord that we behold “face to face.” (Ex. 33.11) “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Co. 3.18). For whatever years any of us have left, let us not gaze upon our own beauty or achievements or fame or glory, but let us strive to be like Jesus and serve others in His name, until we are “conformed to the image of His Son” (Ro. 8.29)

God bless you,

Larry

March, 2020: STORMS WILL COME

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{About the photos: This is pastor Pedro, who has weathered some storms in his own life. He pastors in the mountains of Oaxaca where we are building a church for his congregation. He lives in a tiny house where he and his wife sleep on a small cot, while his four children sleep on the floor.  Their kitchen stove is not much more than a campfire, using wood and open flame to cook for the family.]

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

The end of February has arrived and it has already been a busy year in Mexico. In January I traveled back to Tuxtepec helping kick off what I believe will be another great year of expanding God’s kingdom in that part of Mexico. The first thing I did was check on the new water well to make sure it was operating correctly and producing good water. Then, we purchased a new 4x4 pickup truck for the ministry there, and went into the mountains to check on the construction progress of a new church. Finally, we also looked at several new sites where people are waiting for us to help build new churches.

As I travel and minister to people who are among the poor and suffering, I am troubled by a change in theology that I am hearing back in the U.S. The idea is that because God is love, nothing will ever go wrong in life, and there will always be an abundance; it will be, as the saying goes, “smooth sailing.” But sometimes storms arise and our days are not all sunshine. What happens when the storms come? Some will blame the preacher, some will blame the church, some will even blame God. But God is God before the storm, He is God during the storm, and He will be God after the storm. We can’t be guaranteed no storms, but we can be promised that the unchanging Lord will be with us through them.

The Bible recounts the story of a man named Job, who was blameless, upright, God-fearing, and who shunned evil. He had great wealth, a wonderful family, and was held in high esteem by those who knew him. Clearly, God was in his life. Then the storm hit and Job lost literally everything - his family, his wealth, even his health. But God was still with him in the midst of the storm. In the end, God restored to Job all that the storm had taken, and he lived to be an old man seeing four generations of offspring carry on his dynasty. God was with Job after the storm.

Please don’t fall for the false promise that everything will always go wonderfully in your life. There will be storms, and if you are convinced there won’t, you will some day be sorely disappointed and even have your faith shaken. There will be storms, but put your trust in the Lord who promises he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Larry

God bless you,

February, 2020: HERE WE GO AGAIN!

[About the pictures above: Some photos of Pastor Carlos and I meeting with pastors, and visiting the mountains to meet with believers and plan new churches. Notice the soup being prepared in the ancient way: by placing hot stones in the bowls to heat the soup.]

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

I want to give a great big thank you to all of you friends and partners who have stayed with us since the birth of Mexico Ministries in 1982. For three years before that I worked in northern Mexico building churches, then as the Spirit led we moved further south to the central part of the nation. From there we moved even further south to Atoyac and the state of Guerrero, near Acapulco, where we built many village churches, a Bible school and a medical clinic capable of handling major surgeries. From there we went into the state of Chiapas and spent thirty one years building more churches than I can count, a Bible school, medical facilities, and a large stadium to host gatherings of thousands who come from the mountain villages to worship the Lord.

Now I am hearing that same voice of the Spirit that the prophets and elders in Antioch heard when the Lord said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the world to which I have called them.” (Acts 13.4) I hear the Lord calling me to Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, to continue what we have begun and to establish an expansive work there like we have in other regions.

But, I have never abandoned any area where God led me to minister, I have simply expanded the scope of our ministry. I am not abandoning northern Mexico, or Guerrero, or Chiapas. I am still, and will remain, in contact with the leadership of all these regions, and they are all in the very capable hands of Mexican, Indigenous, and American leaders who labor alongside me to serve the people of Mexico.

Over the last few years we have built beautiful facilities in Tuxtepec, but that is only the beginning of this new chapter of ministry. There are hundreds of villages and tens of thousands of people scattered throughout the mountains of this region that God loves and calls us to care for - poor people, sick people, spiritually lost people. So, here we go again!

Last month we spent ten days with local pastors of mission churches with the purpose of establishing a strong base of men and women who will compassionately take the word of God to these waiting people.

I wish I had 30 more years, but that would make me nearly as old as Moses! I intend to give the rest of my life to this calling. I pray you can stay with me until that last moment, and when the Holy Spirit says it is complete we will pass the work on to capable hands both in the U.S. and Mexico, and I will join that great cloud of witnesses in heaven, cheering on the work that continues below, until, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

God bless you,

Larry

January, 2020:

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

It is now officially 2020 - TWENTY TWENTY! In 1978 when I resigned as pastor of Evangel Temple in Denison and went on the mission field, 2020 seemed like a science fiction date so far out in the future we would never reach it, but here we are, 42 fulfilling years of missionary ministry down the road from those first difficult days of serving in Mexico.

The years have been fulfilling, but there have always been difficulties, including spiritual battles. We all have spiritual struggles from time to time, and over the last year I have wrestled with something that has given me many sleepless nights and caused my flesh to want to lash out but my spirit, my better self, kept saying no. Then the answer to my problem announced itself as I was reading Matthew 20 a few weeks ago, where Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for the vineyard...” I wish you would take time to read the entire parable, but it ends with the master of the vineyard asking, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own?”

What settled the battle between my flesh and my spirit was the realization that the vineyard in Mexico - the churches, the congregations, the clinics, the buildings, the schools, the houses - none of that belongs to me. Although I already knew it in my heart, the Lord brought it to the forefront that the vineyard of ministry isn’t mine, it is the Lord’s. I have just been invited to labor for a while in that vineyard, remain faithful, and do all I can to help it prosper and expand and bear much fruit.

I often forget the name of a church (in Mexico or in the U.S.) and I refer to it as, “Pastor Jim’s church,” or, “Pastor Manuel’s church,” or whoever the pastor may be. But, those churches were never the pastors’ churches. Like me, they are workers invited to labor in the Lord’s vineyard. These churches belong to Christ alone. “And he gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of

Christ.” (Ephesians 4.11) None of these - from the apostles and prophets in the beginning, to the pastors of today - are vineyard owners. We are all just workers, called to be faithful during our time.

In a few days I will be back in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, doing what I have been doing for 42 years. Laboring in the vineyard. May the Lord grant me faithfulness to serve, and grant all of you faithfulness and strength in your own labors for the King.

God bless you,

Larry

December, 2019: A PLAN COMES TOGETHER

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

I love it when a plan comes together! Seeing God’s plan come together for Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, and Bethesda Church gives me great joy, pleasure, and stirs up compassion and commitment to see His complete plan fulfilled.

What I see and sense of God’s plan will probably take the rest of my life to complete. You may remember that old song, “My house is full but my fields are empty, who will go and work for me today?” - truly the new field before us is ripe for harvest. This is a vast new area that we are just beginning to touch. We have already built six new mission churches and many more villages are waiting. Pastor Cesar and his wife Maudy have taken groups from their church in Tuxtepec to many of these waiting villages. They take food, clothing, and medical supplies, along with several nurses from the church there, and minister to the needs of the people in these villages. Most of the people in these remote villages are indigenous and speak their tribal languages instead of Spanish. We have plans to purchase a four wheel drive pick up to help reach them.

More good news: after trying and failing to drill a water well at our church in Tuxtepec, we finally succeeded in finding water 110 feet deep, so now we will have fresh, clean water on the property instead of having to haul it in! And, more good news: Russell and Charlotte Linscombe are in the process of building a dormitory to house the students for the Bible school which will begin in May, 2020.

Some may say I have taken on more than I can carry, but truth be known, I have never carried the load alone. God has always been there to help carry my load and has given me one of the most compassionate support teams anywhere. Stay with me and pray for this new field of harvest, and together we will see God’s plan completed! And let us guard ourselves against any of the devil’s attempts to divide us. The Psalmist wrote, “Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity” (Ps. 133.1), and Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Let us do the Lord’s work TOGETHER.

I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year and pray that you enjoy precious time with your family and friends.

God bless you,

Larry

November, 2019: WHAT UNITES US IS BIGGER

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

The last couple of months have been very busy both in Mexico and back home in the U.S., and like the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4) who showed hospitality to the prophet. When her only son died she was determined to find Elisha but before she left home she said, “It shall be well.” When Elisha saw her coming and asked how her home was, she replied, “It is well.” This grieving mother was a woman of faith and had confidence that the God of Elisha would come to her aid. When Elisha returned with her, he prayed and the boy was brought back to life.

When I stand back and look at our own nation my spirit is troubled. Our great democracy is 215 years old, and I know of no other nation in the world as blessed as ours with freedom, hope, and prosperity. But now I am seeing too much anger, division, and hate, with politicians trying to destroy one another, families in strife, and even turmoil within and between the churches across our land. It brings to mind that now famous question asked by Rodney King - “Why can’t we all just get along?” President Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” echoing the words of Jesus.

In spite of the troubling things I see, I am not pessimistic. I am like the Shunammite woman. I have faith that all shall be well. I believe a day will come when we will be able to say, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony.” (Psalm 133.1) I believe the work in Mexico is a great example of what good things can be accomplished when we come together. The people who help Mexico Ministries, both in giving and action, are not all the same! There are Republicans and Democrats and Independents working side by side. There are Catholics and Baptists and Pentecostals working hand in hand. What unites us is bigger than what divides us.

What can you and I do to help heal these wounds in our nation? I believe God and God alone can restore what Satan tries to destroy. The greatest way we can help is to stand together in prayer for our great nation and for the nations and people of the world. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

God bless you,

Larry

October, 2019: THE FOUR EVANGELISTS

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

The writers of the four gospels are known as, “The Four Evangelists.” While at the dedication of the Tzabalho church on July 26, I took pictures of four modern day evangelists, four indigenous pastors, so I could show you their faces as I tell you their stories.

Pastor Victorio is the pastor of the new Tzabalho church, and has already established 22 missions in the area! Over the years we have been blessed to be able to build each congregation a place to worship. When I first met Victorio he lived in a one room house made of 1x12 boards with a dirt floor, and his family cooked overburning wood outside.

When Pastor Antonio started Bible school in Chenalho he could neither read nor write and he became discouraged and went back home. Asked to return to school, he learned to read and write and finished a two year program of pastoral training. I rode horseback over high mountains to reach his village when there were no roads to the town. Now Antonio has established 24 congregations, all for which we have built buildings!

Pastor Alex, pictured with Pastor Jose, was a very young man living with his parents when I arrived in Chenalho. He now pastors our large church in Chenalho and has also established 26 mission congregations, for which we have built buildings!

Pastor Jose perhaps tops them all. He pastors a beautiful church and has 24 missions. In addition to these, we also built an additional 10 churches. His responsibility has become so large that it was impossible for one man to carry the load, so we gave the oversight of the 10 congregations to another pastor. I have only mentioned four pastors that help oversee the works, which we call presbyters. We have a total of 12 districts with 12 presbyters. The last time we gathered in Chenalho for a two day campmeeting, we had over 5,600 people from these congregations gather to worship the Lord. Next April we will gather again to celebrate.

I just wanted you to know how great God is and how much we appreciate you for what you do for the sake of His Kingdom.

God bless you,

Larry

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September, 2019: A TALE OF TWO TEMPLES

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

Greetings once again in the love of our Lord.

When King Solomon fulfilled his father King David’s dream of building the Temple as a habitation of the Lord he had unlimited resources — finances, materials, craftsmen, manpower — and he wanted to build for God the very best he could build. “I have surely built you a lofty house, a place for your dwelling forever,” he prayed. (1 Kings 8.12)

Way down in the middle of Chiapas, the most southern state of Mexico, another temple will also be a dwelling place for God. In the town of Tzabalhó, nestled a mile high in the Sierra Madre mountains, pastor Victorio also had dream of building the best he could offer for the glory of God. The inside should be “lujo,” he said, “luxurious.” It was more important than the outside, he said, for God’s presence would inhabit it. In the Old Testament the people of Israel gave generously for the building of the Temple. The temple in Tzabalhó became a reality through the generosity of friends who love the indigenous people of Mexico. Solomon hired craftsmen and used slaves. Victorio had a combination of hired workers and volunteers. The Old Testament Temple had a dedication that lasted for days and multitudes of people were present. Tzabalhó’s house of worship only lasted for a day, but there were a thousand people present to celebrate! In that one day of celebration they ate two bulls, a ton of tortillas, and more than two thousand cans of soft drinks.

It took King Solomon twenty years to build his house and the Temple. It took Pastor Victorio thirty years to see the Tzabalhó temple completed. Solomon’s benediction was, “May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us.” (1 Kings 8.57) Victorio prayed, “May the Lord be with us, watch over us, and bless us.”

My question is, as God watched over both temples, both dedications, which was most proud of? I think the answer is neither. As magnificent as both structures are, what is more magnificent, and what God loves more, is the people who come to His house to worship him. In the heavenly Jerusalem, already begun in God’s Church on earth, it is his overcoming people who are “pillars in the temple of my God.” (Revelation 3.11). 

God bless you,

Larry

August, 2019: AN EXCELLENT WIFE

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

I met Mary Lou Ross in December, 1956 when I was stationed at Perrin Field Air Force Base in Denison, TX. She was a local girl attending a church I visited and I fell for her in a flash. Five months later, on May 27, 1957, we were joined in holy matrimony and two polar opposite worlds collided! At 17, she was refined and intelligent and beautiful. At 19, I, on the other hand, well, not so much. You might say I was uncultured. You might even say uncivilized. Right off the banks of the Atchafalaya River in South Louisiana, I was more comfortable with the ways of the wild outdoors than with a life of what they call, “domestic tranquility.”

Would it even be possible for two total opposites to succeed in marriage? My dad said no, it wouldn’t be possible. My mom, she just said nothing. Just a few short years after our marriage I was in the ministry. My job was to preach, and Mary Lou’s job was to civilize the preacher! If God ever asked a woman to do the impossible, this might have been the time. I’m sure that she cried out, “God, help me!” many times, and I suspect that on occasion God cried out the same, “Mary Lou, help me!”

62 years later I am still preaching, still ministering the Gospel, and Mary Lou is still working at civilizing me, and likely singing those two Kris Kristofferson songs under her breath,“Why me, Lord?”, and, “Lord help me, Jesus!”

You are receiving this letter early because July 25 is Mary Lou’s 80th birthday, and I will be in Mexico and we will be apart (as so often happens on some of our special days). So as friends to Mary Lou and to me, I’m asking you to send her a text, an email, or a birthday card, and wish her your love and mine too.

David said to the beautiful Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who sent you this day to meet me.” (1 Samuel 25.33). And now, these many decades after the first time I laid eyes on Mary Lou, I continue to echo these words of thanksgiving.

God bless you, and God bless my dear wife Mary Lou Myers,

Larry

July, 2019:

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Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

“Though your beginning was insignificant, your end will increase greatly.” These are the words Scripture records about Job (Job 8.7). These are also fitting words for the life of Pastor Victorio Perez Perez, of Iglesia de Jesucristo Sobre La Roca Templo Maranatha in Tzabalho, Chenalho, Chiapas, Mexico.

I have known Pastor Victorio since the beginning of his ministry. We build his first church building for him in Tzabalho, a very small room constructed of 1x12 planks with a dirt floor. Later I visited him in his home which was also similarly built. His family cooked and ate outside, and his family shared the tiny house with his married son and his family, with only a curtain separating the two families. I asked Victorio if he would like a concrete block house and he told me it was a life long dream of his (on the back of this letter is an old photo of me on the top of that house about to pour a concrete roof).

As time passed I visited him again and his wife told me he wasn’t home but had gone to serve communion to his mission churches. At the time he had 13 missions and she told me he would be gone for 13 days, traveling by foot from one mountain village to the next encouraging pastors and ministering to the people. Today Victorio still doesn’t drive, speaks little Spanish (and prefers his native Tzotzil language), and serves 20 mission churches.

We built a new mission for him and as the men were finishing the painting Victorio was standing and looking at the church and weeping. I said, “It sure is a pretty church,” and he replied that was not the reason he wept. “Now I know we are not alone.” Others had come from the United States to help and serve.

I marvel at Victorio’s faith and determination to give God his very best. “Though your beginning was insignificant, your end will increase greatly.” And I am happy to announce that in the last week of July we will dedicate his new church!

God bless you,

Larry

June, 2019: FEED MY SHEEP

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

We are halfway through the year. Have I done my best? Will I do my best? That is what God asks of us. Forty years ago I went to Mexico to be a missionary, and people asked why. Now, as I approach 82, people ask me why continue. I think my answer is found in the question Jesus asked Peter: “Do you love me more than these?” Peter said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Then Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

The very thing that took me to Mexico is what keeps me in Mexico - tending the Lord’s sheep. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd, a good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10.11) God has called me to be an under shepherd and to show compassion for the sheep. In the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15), Jesus asked, “What man among you, if he had one hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine and go after the one which is lost until he finds it. When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulder rejoicing.”

For three weeks I have been recuperating from back problems. During this short time I have had many phone calls asking, “Can you help?” The orphanage in Chiapas, the church in Monterrey, a congregation in Nuevo Laredo, another near Atoyac, a mission near Tuxtepec. Calls for help from all over Mexico; these are not people begging, these are God’s sheep with real needs.

There is a popular trend in the Church that focuses on our own desires and teaches us we should just ask God for whatever we want and he will give it to us - just make out a wish list and seal it with a prayer. My wishlist would be just one thing: “Lord, help me feed and care for your sheep.

Those of you old enough will remember the immortal words of President Kennedy when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” How much more true is this of the Kingdom of God! We are called to seek first His kingdom, then all these other things will be added. Thank you all for standing with me all these years as I have sought to be a faithful servant, a faithful shepherd. Great will be your reward in heaven!

God bless you,

Larry

May, 2019: HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

Springtime has come, my favorite time of the year. New life, green grass, and spring flowers everywhere. Last year was a difficult time for so many in our nation and world: storms, floods, fires, and other natural disasters. If only we could use the spiritual words of the Apostle Paul and apply them to the natural things of life: “forgetting the things which are behind and reaching forward to the things which are ahead…” Already, the scorched ground devastated by the fires in California is now blooming with wild flowers.

Springtime is also a time to plant gardens. I have a small vegetable garden at my homeplace here in Denison, and when I am home it is a place of peace and joy for me. Forty one years ago I also started a small garden in northern Mexico. This garden would contain, not vegetables, but mission churches. Like a spreading vine, this garden has grown to cover an enormous area in Mexico. The “plants” include hundreds of churches, medical facilities, pastors, doctors, dentists, nurses, and tens of thousands of people. A few weeks ago one of my close friends and supporters said, “It is now getting bigger than us!”

In Luke 10 Jesus said, “the harvest is truly great, but the laborers are few; pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send laborers into the harvest.” We welcome you to join us prayerfully, physically, and financially in helping us care and maintain this beautiful garden of the Lord’s which provides so much help to multitudes of people.

I can’t work my home garden like I did years ago. Now I use a chair and sit by the side of a row. I reach as far as I can to either side, then move the chair a few feet and do it again. Even in the large garden in Mexico, there is always someone nearby with a chair if I need it.

Remember the words of Jesus: “A man went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. Some went out at the third hour, some the sixth, others the ninth hour, and some the eleventh hour at the end of the day.” In the end, they all received the same reward. Someday our garden will be over and we will be welcomed home. Our reward will be the same. I pray to hear the Lord say, “Well done.” I welcome all to join me in the harvest. Pray for us. Come and labor physically. Support the ministry financially. Or, maybe you can just help me move the chair.

God bless you,

Larry

April, 2019: LOVE AND COMPASSION

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

In Acts 3.5 Peter and John saw a lame man begging for alms. Looking intently at him, Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” What Peter gave the lame man was what Christ had already given Peter when he called him to follow him and become a fisher of men - a heart of love, compassion, and a willingness to help.

I am often asked for the key to my longevity in life and ministry. A few weeks ago I was having breakfast with friends and fellow ministers and someone said to me, “You are wealthy!” And I said, “Yes I am, but not in silver or gold.” What this person saw in me is that God has placed in me the same thing he placed in Peter - a heart of love, compassion, and a willingness to help.

Sometimes people see a need and say, “I wish I could help, but I can’t.” I believe if we would instead respond to that need and do what we can, and say, “such as I have give I thee,” that God would use us as instruments of blessing in the lives of others. And it may be that, as we become conduits of blessing, in the future we will also be able to give out of our abundance. “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9.7)

Recently I built a house for a poor widow and her two children. The house alone was a great gift, but seeing its emptiness I cheerfully gave more. I bought new furniture and appliances and what was an empty shell has now become a home. While I was doing this, I thought, how can I give less when God has given me so much?

The answer to the question of the key to my longevity in life and ministry is perhaps not about me at all, but about the gift God gave me when he called me to follow and serve him - a heart of love, compassion, and a willingness to help. A willingness to say, “Such as I have give I thee.” The truth is I am simply passing along what God has given me.

God bless you,

Larry

March, 2019: HERE COMES THIS DREAMER

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

Here comes this dreamer. In Genesis 37 Joseph had a dream and shared it with his brothers and they hated him for it (v. 5). Sometimes our dreams are met with negative comments like, “It won’t work,” “You can’t do it,” “Impossible!” Imagine the negative words the Wright brothers heard when they dreamed of building a flying machine. Or Thomas Edison (light bulb) or Benjamin Franklin (harnessing electricity) or Eli Whitney (cotton gin) or Alexander Graham Bell (telephone). In the pursuit of their dreams they all must have had bad days and set backs and naysayers speaking words of discouragement. If they had given in to the negativity, none of us would be able to flip on the light and pick up the phone and order a cotton shirt from the store! But they pressed on.

One of the greatest sermons in modern history was Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have A Dream sermon. Much of his dream has been accomplished, and much remains to be achieved. My favorite part of that sermon is when he said, “I have a dream one day every valley will be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, rough places plain, crooked places made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, and some day we will again sing, ‘My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountain side, let freedom ring!”

I also dream of and await that glorious day. My prayer for you is to keep on dreaming - not of the negative things that can happen, but of the positive things that will happen.

Forty years ago I dreamed I could cross the Rio Grande into Mexico and could make a difference. Now, four decades later, I look back and see that difference. As I approach my 82nd birthday I still have dreams of things I would like to do. Join with me, and together we will dream, dream, dream.

God bless you,

Larry

February, 2019: WHAT GOES AROUND...

Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

Greetings in the grace of our Lord. “What goes around comes around.” I have no idea where that old saying comes from but it has been around a lot longer than I have, and the truth of it can be found in both personal and biblical examples. What you do to others will be done to you, whether good or bad. “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” “What you sow you shall also reap.” What goes around comes around.

In the early 1980s I arrived in Atoyac, Guerrero, a town about two hours northwest of Acapulco. Together we built a church, a Bible school, a medical clinic/hospital, and many mission churches in the surrounding hills. When I felt my work was complete in Atoyac I went to the state of Chiapas, on the other side of southern Mexico. There, with the help of many friends and workers, we built a major headquarters, more churches than I can count, a medical facility, and dormitories for various gatherings including training pastors. I stayed there until I sensed God saying, “Go to Oaxaca,” the massive state between Guerrero and Chiapas. Once again, with the help of many others, we built a beautiful major church there, a carbon copy of the one in Atoyac.

But, what goes around comes around. Today I am back in Atoyac building a parsonage for the church pastor. There are grandparents in this congregation who were teenagers when I first arrived. What a great feeling it is to return to a place where you have given so much of your life and find it thriving and more beautiful than ever!

Now I must go back to Tuxtepec, Oaxaca and build two mission churches, and go back to Chiapas to check on the progress of the church we are building in Tzabalho. There’s another saying that ties in with what goes around comes around: don’t burn your bridges behind you. For me, at least, with all this going around and coming around, I might need to cross those bridges again!

God bless you,

Larry

January, 2019: ASKING FOR EIGHT MORE YEARS

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Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

Greetings and Happy New Year! I’d like to share a brief report of how 2018 ended and the new year is beginning. As I say each year, this last one was one of the very best: new headquarters completed in Tuxtepec, many mission churches built throughout Mexico (from the north to the south and lots of places in between), a very nice church including balcony started in Tzabalho, Chiapas, Christmas for the orphanage and for many children in the mountains of Chiapas. All of this was accomplished by so many people coming together for a common cause. Pogue Family Missions, Mexico Outreach, Mexico Ministries, and many medical teams have all united to make 2018 a great year, and I want to send out a big THANK YOU to each person and team. And of course, none of this could have happened without the faithful support of so many wonderful friends throughout the United States. Thank you all so very much!

Now - what lies ahead in 2019: I just arrived in Atoyac, Guerrero where I am beginning construction on a parsonage for a local church. Next month I will be back in Tuxtepec building two new mission churches, then in March I will be in Atoyac again to continue work on the parsonage. When the Tzabahlo church is ready to be roofed I will return to help finish the church.

While returning home from a brief trip to Louisiana to visit family, all of a sudden I felt impressed to ask God for eight more years of health to complete the ministry God has given me, “to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.” (John 11.34) That will bring me to my 90th year. With the help of Jesus, Peter walked on water. With a boy’s lunch Jesus fed 5,000. By the Holy Spirit working through Peter and John, a man lame from birth stood up and walked (and even leaped!).

With the help of God I believe I can make it. If so, we will have a party to end all parties, and if for some reason I don’t, we will have that party in heaven. Una fiesta que dura para siempre!

God bless you,

Larry