Prayer Deters Attempts by Colonia President to Halt Gospel Presentations

Jim and Peggy S. are retired missionaries who returned to Leon with the First Baptist Church, Cassville, MO, to work with church planters Mike, Jennifer and their four children. Their main objective was to distribute the Gospel door-to-door during the daytime in two areas where there are Bible studies and to share the Gospel in parks in the same areas in the evenings.

Each day, the volunteers walked the parks and bathed the areas in prayer. They wanted to seek the Lord's guidance on how to encourage attendance for the planned activities and to deter confrontations that might surface. The first night the volunteers cleaned the park area and prepared it for the evening events. As some volunteers continued to pray, more and more people arrived and stayed to see the dramas.

Everything seemed to be going well, except the second day the colonia president contacted the pastor of the small Baptist church that the team worked with and he told the pastor the team had to leave the park area. After a lengthy plea from the pastor of the church, the president accepted an invitation to come that night and see the activities first hand. If he did not approve, the team would agree to stop their plans for the next night. Everyone began to pray about this dilemma. Praise the Lord, the president came and all ended well. He gave his approval for the team to continue their work.

Following the puppet shows and dramas, the church planters gave the people an opportunity to sign up for a CD about family issues. Many couples requested the CD and follow-up visits.

Because of the Operation GO saturation project, new people are coming to the Bible studies. Praise Jesus for His goodness in guiding the team during their efforts, and for protecting the team while on this mission trip. Seekers in this area reported several incidents of persecution, but the volunteers were safe during their time in Leon because of the prayers said for them and the Lord's hedge of protection.

After the volunteers returned home, the church planter visited a woman who had received the Gospel from the U.S. team. She was open to the Word and explained that her psychologist recommended she fill the emptiness in her heart with God. The church planter reinforced what her psychologist had shared and explained that only a personal relationship with Jesus could fill the void in her heart. We praise the Lord that this woman continues to seek information, that she reads the Truth, and attends Bible sessions in her neighborhood.

Jim and Peggy shared other exciting news from the harvest field: "One single young man (20ish) attended the festivities one night at the park. We shared Jesus with him and gave him a Bible. Our contact in Mexico told us this young man has recently begun one-on-one discipleship classes with the church planter. Sometimes we see immediate results, but like this young man, we see God beginning a work in his life after six months. We praise God that the Holy Spirit works in the lives of the nationals long after the teams are back in the U.S.!"

Pray for the Christian witnesses in this area to have a unity of spirit and a common vision so they can find true freedom in Christ and help bring others to Him.

John 3:16 explains God's boundless love – won't you allow Him to lead you toward opportunities in the MAC region to evangelize His love for others? Contact us for more information at the address listed on this blog.