So I wanted to take an entry and make it a blast from the past. AKA: I’m going to write some updates I’ve been receiving from Mexico. Last year I spent 9 months at a missionary training school in Oaxaca, Mexico and these are updates from things (baptisms and a major healing) that have been going on during the school this year.

Well for starters, Yucunama. Last year some of the students had the priveledge of being with the village President (Francisca) when she accepted Christ. Just a few short weeks ago, at the end of January, Tino (who was there last year) and 2 of this year’s students, had the privilege of baptizing her in a river. Here’s an email update that Tino wrote about this:

This morning Pam, Angela and I had the privileged of baptizing the President of Yucunama in a river! It was so surreal! We had it planned last night but because of her duties as president there was no time. But she looked at us and with many tears just prayed to God a prayer of repentance and her desire to draw close to God! I never seen anyone cry as passionately as she did, I do believe the angels in heaven were rejoicing(Lk15:10)! She looked at us again and explained sincerely that she is conscious of her decision, she knows she wants to do this. In couple of months, she said is the village festival to the village idol. She told us that she will be there as her duty as president, but for us not to worry, her heart is not in it, her heart is with Christ! This morning we got up and left the base at 6 am to the village I was soo excited!. Got there at 7. We drove to the river, she cried some more in JOY, not sorrow. And then we baptized her! She was sooo different after wards! She seemed to have so much joy and release as she was now committing herself to Christ! She so badly wanted to fellowship after wards so we did. She wanted to tell the whole world immediately what Christ has done for her, and badly wanted to go to church with us in town... but instead we had church in a house with her just rejoicing at what Christ has done for her, sharing scripture of praise and worship and then breakfast, nothing organized, it was great! Thank you all for praying! Her name is Francisca! Please keep her in prayer as it will be a whole week before we see her again. As well as the group bible study that will take place Thursday night again! I heard Elias enjoyed it! This time more are interested in coming since it has started! Praise God!!

And here is another email that I received from Tino. David was also a student last year and Nundaco is the main village where I went last year.

Praise
God! Last week I was just speaking with the other missionaries and MTS students about the joy of seeing MTS students Pam and Angela baptize the President and how I cant till it starts to happen in in Nundaco and Yucuane. And what do you know.. The following week as David and I were staying in Nundaco, we did a bible study with Arnulfo and his dad. That night his dad repented and wanted to make that commitment and be baptized as a sign of his love for Jesus. 2 days later David and I took him to the river and we baptized him. It was during the day and in the middle of working on a house. I wasn’t sure if he was serious till I went back to see if he was ready and there he came out walking with different clothing, putting someone else in charge for the meantime. He was walking fast and asked me are we ready? I was shocked with joy and encouraged at his faithfulness and desire. And off we went to the river. I am currently working on placing the photos at my website. It was such a joy. Again I can’t imagine what the angels are doing in heaven.

Yucunama is going great as we had 3 families and a teen come to the bible study in Juana’s house. This topic was the prodigal son and repentance. They all agreed they want that permanent change and for the Holy Spirit to baptize them. So we discussed commitment and expressing their repentance through baptism. Please keep them in prayer as this week they consider the cost of following Jesus.

(note one is not saved through baptism but through turning to Jesus in faith.. But a true lover of Jesus will desire to express his love through loving obedience to the first basic: baptism. Where as in the states we do it differently, we express it through sinners’ prayer. But did not want to cause confusion as to Baptism.)

And finally, a healing update as written in Gord and Deb’s newsletter (the pastoral staff):

Have you ever heard of stories of healing that are always a friend of a friend or something small that comes back or could have been something other than supernatural? Well here is a first hand account of God miraculously healing of one of our own students this year. Catherine came down to the missionary training school with a mountain of health issues. She is one of 11 ?7? people in the US with a rare collagen disorder. It causes constant joint pain, but somehow also affects her bloods ability to clot (like hemophiliacs, but her blood itself is fine, it's the joints that are the problem). Anyway, she's been in and out of hospitals all her life, had more blood transfusions than she can remember. A simple cut for her, often leads to a transfusion. She has been taking many different medications for the last 17 years for her many health issues, heart and kidney problems as well as severe allergies which cause anaphylactic shock from which she has come close to death several times. In Nov, she got very ill with a staph infection in her heart line, so we sent her home to get proper treatment. A year earlier she had almost died of the same thing. God told her many years ago that He would heal her. In Jan during a prayer meeting He told her to ask for prayer for that healing. The group prayed, and she was healed. She's off
all her meds, has no joint pain. All repeated blood tests have shown all her levels normal. A few days ago, she reached into a sink of dirty water and sliced her hand open on a knife. Blood was spurting and yet the bleeding stopped with some pressure and a few stitches. Always before, something like this would have meant a transfusion, but now, a couple stitches and she's fine. PRAISE GOD. She has also been playing with balloons and with her past allergy to latex that would have killed her. Her heart has been to be a missionary ever since she could remember, but with her medical issues, it wasn't possible. Now, God has called her to go home for a year and testify to everyone who has known her forever to what God has done (and to pay off school loans from her training as a special needs school teacher) and then she's off wherever God calls, fulfilling the call to missions she got when she was a young girl.