Mexico on my heart

Mexico has been on my heart lately.

Most of us are probably aware that our neighbor to the south has been coping with a caravan of people from Central America who, apparently hoping for a better life, have been slowly making their way toward our southern border. Whether we feel compassion toward the needs of these people who seem vulnerable and oppressed, or we’re skeptical about the true nature this mass migration, the larger picture that comes to my mind is that of our common human search for freedom and blessing.

I believe that we’re all looking for some form of a “promised land,” ultimately not found in a country but in a relationship with God. I’m praying that the Lord will overrule the “designs of men” and use this experience to lead many of those seeking a “better life” to the true source of it—Jesus Christ!

Another reason Mexico has been on my mind is that Bobbie’s (my wife) sister, Beth Sandoval, who went to be with Jesus a little over a month ago in Puebla, Mexico, was part of God’s witness to our true hope in Jesus for over 40 years. 

Before she passed away at the age of 67 on October 3rd two days after contracting pneumonia, Beth, along with her husband Chalo, left a legacy of the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus in Mexico. Through the more than half a dozen churches they planted in the Puebla area over the past four decades and the handful of nurses who came to know Jesus through Beth’s frequent hospitalizations with leukemia, God showed his power to transform the lives of those hungry for meaning and purpose.

Though losing a sibling has not been easy, I am so thankful for the love and prayers that Bobbie and I have received from you all over these past four weeks.

The final reason Mexico has been in the forefront of my mind is that a couple of weeks ago, we had to cancel our Amigo 21 Mexico Family Missions Trip to Children’s Haven International’s children’s home in Reynosa. Having taken a team down for the last twenty consecutive years, it was hard telling CHI Director Betsy Chacon that we wouldn’t be bringing a team down in March of 2019 (due to our not having a “quorum” of those who were able to go).

Thinking of those kids at the home that we won’t be able to see and share with this coming year makes me sad. Still, I’m super grateful for the many years we’ve been able to serve there, and, since I believe that God sees what I can’t see, I’m trusting him to work out this out for a higher good.

Would you pray with me that the Lord would meet the needs of Children’s Haven’s team of house parents at the home and those children they serve in Jesus’ name? And that he would continue to raise up a generation of young people who know, love, and serve Jesus?

Please also be praying for Pastor Jack and Courtney this weekend, as they have left to be with Courtney’s family in Mississippi due to the sudden passing of her dad, Ricky Ferguson, on Tuesday. I’m grateful that Dave Reimer will be stepping in to preach this Sunday. I will be pinch hitting in the pulpit at Whitewater Community Church. 

Blessings,
Pastor Steve