When Missions in Mississippi and Mexico Work Together

Hang with me for this complete story about how domestic missions to the Hispanic community in Mississippi relates to foreign missions in Mexico.  Sarah and I met Kent in 2005 where he was serving as music leader at West Ellisville Baptist Church in Ellisville, Mississippi.  Once you meet Kent you’ll never forget him.  He had a ministry to the Hispanics in his area that he had started some time before we met him.  Kent knew no Spanish at the time (he doesn’t know a whole lot more today but he understands much more than he speaks).  But that didn’t stop him from communicating with them.  He would knock on the doors of Hispanic people and say, “You come with me and we’ll play volleyball and eat”.  And they would go with him!  He would load up the church bus with 30-40 people every Thursday evening and take them the church’s gym where he would have arranged for someone to preach to them in Spanish.  Many have been saved in the several years that Kent has had this ministry. 

The great part of the Hispanics in the Laurel/Ellisville area seems to be from southern Veracruz, Mexico; where we serve as missionaries.  Whenever we are at home in Mississippi we like to go and participate with them on Thursday nights.  We have gotten to know several of the men who have been saved and are growing in the Lord there.

  These pictures were taken Sept 2005 when Gaby and Kenny were very young.

This was taken November 2007.  It was Gaby’s fourth birthday.  Kent’s ministry had really grown by this time and finally had some members of the church helping him.

Kent and Scott (Youth Pastor) came down recently from the 19-26 of July, 2011.  They flew from Mississippi to Veracruz, Mexico.  Kent had booked the hotel room for us all to stay in that night while he was in Veracruz.  LESSON LEARNED #1: don’t believe the pictures on the internet promos for hotels (especially in Mexico)!  We shared our rooms and beds with a great host of “cucarachas” who taunted us unmercifully us and called us spoiled gringos!

Kent and Scott came prepared with around thirty file folders with Google map directions and pictures from those that he is working with in Laurel area of MS.  We had been asking him to come down for some time and finally came the opportunity.  We had VBS daily from 10 AM -2 PM and planned to visit in the afternoon and night the surrounding towns and villages where the families of those in MS lived.  It was a lot of work and was a very tiring schedule but it was so well worth it.  We were able to make contact with most of the families for which he had information.

Humble homes and hearths are common for the people in rural Veracruz.  This is where a family lives and cooks.  The best homemade frijoles and handmade tortillas you’ve ever put in your mouth are made on these stoves.

This family took a bus from two hours south of us to come and receive the pictures and things that Kent brought from their father/husband. The children sat at our table and wrote notes and drew pictures for their daddy in MS.  Pray that daddy will come home and take care of his sweet family.

This man’s two sons have received Christ in MS.  We witnessed to him. He has used this same stick to cut weeds and grass for eighteen years!

This couple’s two sons are now saved and one is very faithful while one still struggles in MS.  They were able to finally meet the man who has been such a blessing to their sons in the United States.  They KNOW that Kent sincerely loves their boys.  This is the bad news part.  This precious little boy has never met his daddy in person and his sister is in her preteen years without papa at home to protect her and love on her.  Pray that God moves on his heart to go back to his family where they need him more!

Preaching in La Isla

Today I preached the two Sunday services for a national pastor in La Isla, a town about an hour away.  He has been there about a year and a half.  He left from Isla fifteen years ago and worked in Washington State the whole time.  He got saved and was trained up under a good Hispanic ministry and came back down to southern Veracruz to bring the Gospel to his people.  I am so encouraged in this.  God has been bringing in national pastors to this area over the last three to five years.

Almost everyone in the ministry here in Mexico understands the lack of Bible preaching churches in southern Veracruz and some have been sending pastors here.  I had previously met another national pastor in Minatitlan who has been there for almost six years.  God is moving and bringing people in to an area where they are really needed! 

We were talking along these same lines about four weeks ago.  I came here to Veracruz with a burden for the southern half of the state, roughly four million people.   There is just a small handful of Bible preaching, doctrinally sound, soul winning churches.  I can’t reach four million people but I can train up men and women who can and help send them out to establish local churches here in this state.  We decided to step out on faith and start a Bible Institute that would commence with classes in August.  We have several here in the church who would attend, and talking to the few national pastors around, they would send their students here as well.  We will also, Lord willing, start beginner and intermediate English classes on the same three days when we have institute classes.  This alone would bring in sixty plus people each week to hear the Gospel.  I believe that God has already begun to bless as we head toward this goal of August to start the school.