July 11th & 12th - Mexico Missions Testimonies

As we were getting ready to pray and depart for our short term missions trip to Mexico this past Sunday, Johnny Villa asked the seven of us to be mindful of God’s Word and meditate on a verse of scripture throughout the day. Immediately, I blurted out Nehemiah 6:3…”I am doing a great work and I cannot come down…” (NKJV). I believe the reason I did so was because the last time I did anything similar to what we would be doing that day, I was on top of a ladder in Wichita Falls, Texas, painting an elderly lady’s house with a bunch of guys from our church’s men’s group. You guessed it…I was singing this verse all day long, driving everybody crazy! Naturally, I found myself doing the same thing, this time in Mexico and Johnny and I couldn’t get the verse off our minds.

Nevertheless, one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is the true account of how Nehemiah rebuilt the wall in Jerusalem in just 52 days. There is so much to be gleaned by a thorough study of his book and what God was able to do in and through Nehemiah. However, what I will never forget is Nehemiah’s response to all the chaos, distractions, and naysayers around him, and perhaps some doubt and confusion in him as well, in that verse. Likewise, there were tons of details that could easily have distracted Johnny and Ray this past Sunday, but like the great leader and man of God, Nehemiah, they were single-minded and focused on getting the schoolhouse painted and getting us safely on our way home. As you can tell from the pictures, our mission was accomplished and a job done well by all.

That was my 5^th missions trip to Mexico with Pouring Out Hope Ministries and Lamb’s Fellowship and you would think that it would start getting old by now. After all, the novelty of going down there, sweating in the heat, getting filthy dirty, and waiting 3 hours in line at the border crossing would somehow begin to diminish my spirit but not so this trip. We were ‘doing a great work…’ and getting busy about Kingdom business and that verse that stuck in our heads conveniently reminded us so! But that wasn’t all that made this trip special. We had the wonderful opportunity to re-visit the family that my wife, Janice, discovered last year that really needed a helping hand, to put it mildly. In fact, the kids had grown so much that we hardly recognized them and they were actually smiling and having fun, like they were enjoying being children again. Oh, how I pray that Almighty God will make a way to allow us to build them a house as well. It was so difficult to leave them and it turns out that they did not want us to leave them, so I went and wrestled with little Antonio (cool name!) on his brand new mattress one last time. Then, I pulled myself away and loaded up in Linda’s truck for the long ride home.

Needless to say, I can’t wait for the next Mexico Missions Trip and the privilege of “doing a great work, so that we cannot come down” and to do so alongside my amazing brothers and sisters in The Lord Jesus: ‘Jumpin’ Johnny Villa, Ray ‘Let’s stay and pray’ Orozco, Bobby ‘Cheeps, Coke, Pepsi’ Morales, ‘Sergeant’ Angela Williams, Linda ‘I never forget the toilet paper’ Hayes, and Eric ‘I wear my sunglasses while I paint’ Uber!

Doin’ A Great Work by God’s Grace,
Tony ‘Where’s the food and a clean restroom?’ DeVeto

What happens when God..... By Jim Thomas

What happens when God gives a few people a vision? If it is of Him, it will come to fruition. Well, the school house in Baja was a vision born when it was realized that children watching children were unable to go to school for their education. The result, there is no opportunity to change the culture of a people.

Not only was a building idea born for a school which provided child care along with teaching, but the building can be used for church services, Bible study, vocational training in sewing. It can and will become a beacon to the community to bring people to God through the expression of love by the body of Christ in Southwest Riverside County.

The plan for the actual construction was for 12-15 experienced builders to go down and “stick-build” the school from scratch. Materials would be dropped on Thursday and work would begin early Friday morning and culminate, according to predictions, shortly after noon on Saturday. Men may plan, but God moves as He deems.

When we came closer to our departure time, our numbers dwindled. Work conflicts, delayed passports, and/or wrong dates resulted in the numbers dropping significantly. We ended with 2 active contractors, 3 semi-experienced in construction, and 5 additional helpers making up the construction team from Murrieta Lamb’s. Pouring Out Hope brought an additional 10 helpers with them. What do you do with this group that was short on experience, but gifted in heart and desire? You build a school.

When the advance team arrived Thursday night, June 25, materials had not been delivered. What could we do? What happened? A crew went to the lumber yard to find our materials bundled, but no driver. We’d have to wait until 9:30 Friday morning for materials to be delivered. Once there, it all had to be unloaded by hand. The first pieces of lumber we needed were on the bottom of the stack. We all formed lines and had the truck unloaded in 30 minutes.

By the end of the first day, the floor, walls, and roof had been erected. Saturday saw the team put up the roofing, siding, doors, windows, and paint the school. This was all done by 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

We did run short of materials and a group will go down again on July 11 to hang drywall, paint trim, complete front and side landings, and build a cover over the front porch.

This experience with reduced numbers was likened to Gideon. He was told to field an army to defeat the Midianites. He started with 32,000 men and ended with 300 men. This small army defeated their enemies – with the power of God behind them. (Judges 6 and 7)

Well, our small army of workers came against initial discouragement and witnessed God’s hand working. What a joy it has been influencing a community in dire need, physically and spiritually. Having God use this ministry locally and in Mexico has been a true blessing. However, we know that our trips have been bathed in prayer for safety and this could not have been possible without the charitable giving from His children.

May God be Praised.

Jim Thomas
The Lamb’s Fellowship, Murrieta


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What’s Pleasing to God... By Ray Orozco

Well a very important man in my life taught me something by reminding me it's all about the heart. In Hebrews 11:6 it says "and without faith it is impossible to please GOD, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him". It's about the how and why we do things, not the fact that we do things. We can be busy "about the Father's work" and still not be pleasing to him. As is said in Matthew 7:22,23 "many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? 'then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you, away from me, you evil-doers!"

We must walk in faith with a surrendered heart, a heart open to the leading of the spirit. As said we must believe that he exists, having believed this we must also believe that his work must be done in his time and in a manner glorifying to him, no matter what the circumstances. As you all know by now Pouring Out Hope Ministries is building a school house / multipurpose facility in Manadero, Mexico. John and I believe that it is God's purpose to minister to the least of these, so we embarked on a project to do this very thing. The Lord gathered support around us, we made plans and set date and hired two teachers. This all sounds like God size work right, but his word says something else:

Romans 13:1-7

^“1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ²Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. ⁴For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. ⁶This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

The only thing that had not been done was to submit ourselves to the governing authorities. So God's work must be done his way not ours. We can't go ahead and do, then get caught and have to ask forgiveness for that would reflect poorly on God. All this to say that may 18^th John, Eric, and I went to see the "Delgado Municipal" municipal delegate to gain his permission and blessing knowing full well that he could say no. However if we go forth in faith, with a surrendered heart believing that God has sent us then God is pleased. The good news is that God went before us and cleared the path. We have the authority and blessing to move forward without fear and more than that if anyone does question our undertaking we were directed to tell them to see the "Delgado Municipal" and he or his assistant would tell that with his authority that we build. Praise God he clears our path, he is our rear guard, he is our mighty fortress. Praise God!!!! Praise God!!!!!!

Learn about the Peppertree Homework House - Summer to Remember 2009

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