Mexican Baptists and volunteers working together to sow seeds

"I went there with no expectations, but I was very surprised with how gracious the people were - and we were complete strangers," said team member Earl Parris from First Baptist Church in Lexington, Mo.

A few months ago, Earl and his wife, Janice, traveled to Leon, Guanajuato, with two other members of their church, to sow the seeds of Jesus. They went to work with International Mission Board church planters, Mike and Jennifer B., and Operation GO missionary, Jim R., to assist a newly forming Mexican Baptist church get off the ground.

Twenty-two members of the parent church, "Iglesias Bautista Estrella de Belen" worked hand-in-hand with the missionaries and volunteers to distribute around 5,000 Gospels of John to the residents of three neighborhoods in the city. This opportunity to work so closely with the Mexican Baptists was a blessing for the team.

Ken Jobe of FBC Lexington, who has been on six mission trips, described the role of the volunteers as "prayers and encouragers." Because of the language barrier, this goal could have been difficult, but three of the missionary couple's children served as translators for the group as they went door-to door sharing the love of Christ. Everyone was eager to hear the Good News and warmly welcomed the prayerwalkers into their homes.

Three unreached Mexican people came to the first Bible study. One of the attendees was a person who was not home when the group was in their neighborhood, so they left the gospel material near the door. Praise Jesus for this person who read the material and came on their own to hear Christ's message of love and salvation. Janice commented, "This was a sowing mission and the missionaries and people of that church will be the ones planting, reaping and harvesting." With God's guidance, that is exactly what the workers in Leon plan to do.

Pray for the newly formed Mexican Baptist church.

Please see the contact information to the left under "Volunteer Opportunities" to learn more about becoming a volunteer with the International Mission Board. Thank you for your consideration.

God’s light now shines where darkness prevailed!

A team of volunteers recently joined three International Mission Board missionaries and 44 Mexican Baptists to take the “light of Jesus” to many Mexican families by distributing 3,650 Gospels according to Matthew (or) John to their homes.



How did this team from Enterprise Baptist Church in Littleton, N.C., arrive at the decision to choose Guadalajara? First, they began with prayer. Second, a missionary and member of their church alerted the team to the fact that Mexico has only 3% evangelicals. This persuaded the members to explore into options to serve in Mexico.

As the team leader and missionary from their church began to search into mission opportunities, the name Jerri Younkman kept surfacing. Jerri is a missionary with the International Mission Board and lives in Guadalajara. She is the Operation GO Mexico Coordinator. Because of the Lord’s clear directions, the team knew He was leading them to Mexico to serve Him.



Carla Little, the team leader, writes:

“The awesome experience here was that the nationals from the church that sponsored us were with us every step of the way. When the two days were over, they wanted to know where they could buy more gospels so they could continue on their own what the team members had started. Not only did the adults go out and knock on doors, but also so did the children. The children would excitedly go to the door, tell the people where their church was, and tell them about Jesus and the gospel. They were an inspiration to all of us. Acts 1:8 was so exemplified here because the nationals were in their Jerusalem and we had gone to the ends of the earth.”



The volunteers plan to return next summer to work in the Santa Cruz de Las Flores area.

“I was never afraid, for the Lord was with me…it was an awesome experience,” replied one team member.

Jerri Younkman shares,

“One street, “Reál Oriente,” seemed to have an unusual amount of ripe fruit, and this was attributed to answers to prayer from the U.S. prayer warriors supporting the team. Prayer before and during the trip, are all contributing factors for the success of this team. God’s light now shines in many areas where darkness prevailed because five members of Enterprise Baptist Church said “Yes, God, send me!”



Come and be part of God’s work in our region. It will change your life forever!



If you have questions, or need further information, please contact us at the addresses listed at the top of the page under “Volunteer Opportunities.”

May God bless you abundantly for your caring spirits and willingness to serve Him. Thank you!

Mission Trip Begins with Prayer!

A small group of volunteers from Terrace Heights Baptist Church, Yakima, Washington went to Tijuana Mexico to work with Tommy and Beth Larner, missionaries with the International Mission Board, and with a local pastor. Understanding the importance of prayer, the group prayerwalked the area where they planned to hold block parties. The Lord blessed their efforts with over 40 attending their first event! Pastor Gabriel was thrilled with the team's efforts because the block parties were areas where he wanted to start cell groups and to build a church.

The volunteers read stories, taught crafts, played games and presented the Gospel by using a wordless book that one of the volunteers made from foam. God moved five boys and one woman to make a profession of faith. These pictures give you a visual glimpse into the excitement of the children and adults as they learned about Jesus and engaged in activities with the volunteers. The volunteers formed relationships for life with this community and gave encouragement to the national pastor.

Because the volunteers came home and reported to their church that this mission trip was an "awesome adventure," Terrace Heights Baptist Church is catching the vision of the importance of being on mission with God. They have several members already interested and ready to answer "yes" to God's call to serve Him internationally.

MAC region has a multitude of opportunities for service.

For volunteer opportunities contact
The MAC Region at
954-340-1193
http://www.macregion.org/
http://going.imb.org

Or
Mike and Sue Monroe
954-675-7198 (Cell - FL)
Volunteer Mobilization Coordinators
Middle America and Caribbean Region
International Mission Board, SBC
volunteers@macregion.org

Costa Rica Blog Site

Be sure and check out the blog site of Mike and Kathy Kemper from Costa Rica Operation GO. They have some GREAT stories and photos to share of how God is working in Costa Rica! Go to: Other blogs of interest, and click on their link.