The Mission Diaries

I write this because yesterday marked a special anniversary. On July 25, 1987, I landed in Mexico City with my wife Mimi and our children Ruben (7), Bianca (5) and Darren (21 mos.) We had left Boston on July 13 after a whirlwind of activity: packing, preparing paperwork, re-structuring our ministry group, and finally a big farewell Sunday service! We had spent two weeks in Puerto Rico with our families. Some of that time had been tense because I knew my parents had serious misgivings about our decision to move to Mexico, but they wouldn’t talk about it.

I had been praying since June about my own fears about moving to Mexico City. From a non-faith point of view, it was a crazy idea. The city was overpopulated and known worldwide for its smog and crime problems. My son suffered from asthma. Although I had a job, from a professional perspective it was a step backward from my original career plans. Because he didn’t speak Spanish fluently, our son would have to repeat second grade. And, ministry-wise, we were up against a very traditional religious culture. We didn’t have a place to live, we didn’t know anybody there, and, although we were Hispanic, we didn’t really know the local culture…

So on that Saturday afternoon of July 25, 1987, we stepped off the plane, went through immigration, luggage retrieval, and customs, and took a taxi to the hotel where the rest of the mission team was staying. After we had settled in, the whole group came over to our room to welcome us and cheer us up. They were all so excited … I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I was scared and wanted to go back!

Little did we know that we would end up having to stay in a hotel for about a month! To rent a house or apartment in Mexico City, you need a cosigner, someone who owns real estate property. But we didn’t know anybody!

Well, everything worked out in the end. A member of a local Church of Christ cosigned for us (for a fee!) We found a bilingual school for the kids. The house that we rented ended up becoming the meeting place for a whole house church group for three years! The institution that I worked in was full of wonderful people and I felt that I could make a valuable contribution to their research. And the church … well, God took care of that and you can read about it in this blog! The rest, as they say… is history!

Comments(0)

(From the website of the Guadalajara Church) On July 5, the church in Zacatecas, Mexico, bid farewell to a beloved couple, Victor and Minelia Torres, who were sent out to lead the church in Merida (Yucatan). Victor was a member of the mission team that planted the church in Aguascalientes, and later on he was sent as a missionary to help plant the church in Zacatecas. Minelia had been on the mission team to Leon (Guanajuato) and was also sent on the Zacatecas mission team. Victor and Minelia met, fell in love and were married in Zacatecas!

Victor and Minelia Torres

Victor and Minelia have always been an example of sacrifice. Jobs are scarce and not well-paid in Zacatecas, but Victor and Minelia never gave up. They lived frugally and served the church wholeheartedly. When they were asked to go to Merida, they promptly went to the town market and sold their possessions to help finance their relocation!

They will be in Cancun training with Gilberto and Angelica Tello, and then they will be sent to Merida. The church in Merida has been without a full time minister for several years. God has answered their prayers!

Comments(2)

This story is translated from the website of the Monterrey Church of Christ…

My name is Sandra Razo-Huizar; I was baptized in Mexico City in 2000. My job got me transferred to Mexicali, where I met Rogelio. We were married in 2003. When we got married we knew that I had some health problems, and that it might be difficult for us to have children.

For several years we tried unsuccessfully. I was on an emotional roller coaster. Sometimes I felt full of faith that I would have children. Other times I just felt resigned to accept God’s will. And some times I felt desolate and hopeless. It was difficult to see other sisters and friends get pregnant: I was happy for them but hurt in my heart. It was specially hard to organize baby showers for other women. In my heart I struggled to be joyful, but deep down I questioned, “Why not me?” At night I would pray to God and put myself in his hands, begging for his blessing. In the meantime, I would visit several specialists; I even tried Chinese medicine, herbal treatments, homeopathy, massage therapies … with no results.

My husband would encourage me, and we even considered adoption, but it was a difficult topic because it was not what he really desired. Many people in church prayed for us.

One day I found out about a reproductive medicine specialist in Tijuana. After a few days my husband and I talked about it and decided that it would be our last try. We prayed to God and put ourselves in his hands. After a couple of months of treatment, the answer came back: I was pregnant … with triplets!!! Our joy was so great that we wept and wept… God had given us much more than we had asked for.

The pregnancy was considered high risk, so I had to stay in bed for most of it. And, finally, on February 3 of 2009, we received Monserrat, Rogelio Isaac and Mayra into our family!

Huizar Family

They are now almost 4 months old, and they are so beautiful! Sisters, God truly knows our inmost desires. He has an answer, but he also has his plan and his timing. We just praise him for loving us so much and giving us this precious gift. And we are very grateful to so many disciples who prayed without losing hope for us. we are a living testimony of how prayers are answered. Let me encourage you to never give up on your faith: God is just, God is good, God is faithful…

Sandra Huizar

Comments(0)

Time for some history! MCA Missions is part of a movement of churches, generally called the International Churches of Christ, that has been very succesful in planting new congregations all over the world for the last two decades. As mentioned in previous posts, our mission strategy in Latin America, and also in other continents, was to build pillar churches in the major metropolitan areas, and from there to spread out to the smaller cities of each region. The majority of the church plantings during our first “wave” of missions was done by first world, English-speaking missionaries who learned the languages and adapted to the local cultures of the planting sites. However, many second- and third-wave plantings were done by native missionaries, converted and trained during the first wave.

In contrast to the mission strategies of other organizations, our work has focused on large urban centers. However, at some point we will have to reach out to and into the remote villages and peoples who have little contact with the rest of “westernized” Latin America. When I think about that, I become more impressed with the work of other missionaries, in other times when the world was not as small as it seems now. One such man was Adoniram Judson.

Adoniram Judson

Comments(0)

Unfortunately not all the news we receive are encouraging. Today we share about a tragic event, however with the hope that three children will be in your prayers.

Luis and Emma Fuentes were baptized 8 years ago in Guatemala City. They were in their early thirties and had three children. The oldest, Jonathan, is 14 years old and recently began studying the Bible. On the evening of July 3, the Fuentes’ and Emma’s mother, Elsa, were returning from a business activity, when they were attacked by some men. Luis tried to escape but their car got stuck in the railroad tracks. The attackers just opened fire on them. Luis and Emma lost their lives. Elsa survived and was taken to the hospital, where she is recovering.

Fuentes Family

Amidst the sadness of such tragedy there is comfort in knowing the Luis and Emma are with the Lord now. We are praying for their children. Jonathan is going to be baptized soon. The main need if for the government to assign proper custody so they are not split up. Please keep them in your prayers.

J De Anda

Comments(1)