"For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise..."(1 Chronicles 16:25 NIV)
Praise God for what He is doing in Morelia, another very strategic place for the gospel to start spreading! They were actually taken to the place where the grenade incident happened last year.
For lack of time, a short version of the evangelism seminar was held in one of the churches there. 31 people attended, many of them very passionate about learning. Out of those 31, two women want to get certified by EvanTell to be able to teach those same seminars Armando gives. This is a BIG deal and an answer to prayer! (To put it mildly, many churches in Mexico do not allow women to have leadership positions.) SO, not only are they WOMEN, one of them is a doctor and it is very unusual to find highly educated, well-off people in Christian churches in Mexico to begin with! Imagine the impact this doctor can have in her sphere of influence!! They are both very eager to start sharing the gospel, then start teaching others how to share it as well!
Please pray for Saturday's event to be a success and for everything to go smoothly. Leadership Conference Day, a short version of the Leadership Summit 2008. It was very successful last year and the attendees wanted to have it again this year. Pray for open hearts and a willingness to be teachable (for those who may be new this year).
On a different note, three other people from the U.S. flew out this morning (Friday) to join Armando and Guillermo--David Souther from EvanTell, who will be conducting the certification classes to raise more Armandos's to be able to teach the evangelism seminars themselves; Julio Garza, the pastor who planted the Acambaro church; and Michelle Davis, from Chase Oaks Church, who read about what Armando is doing in Mexico and decided she was going to go...heard God's call and was willing to leave her family and comforts of home to be a servant for God!
Your continued prayers are much appreciated. More to come this weekend!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
2nd Annual Trip to Central Mexico (2009)
What's a trip without some excitement??!! I'll tell you about that in a moment. First, the boring details. Armando, Guillermo, and Armando's brother, Hugo left Tuesday night around 11:30 PM, drove all night to be able to cross the border in Laredo, then get to Acambaro before nightfall.
The Cherokee was LOADED to the brim with mostly care box items for kids and some clothing donations. We had such a great response for care boxes for kids that they ended up having to leave most of the shoe boxes here and just take the items in them to be "re-package" in Acambaro. Still, some will be going as luggage with the other 3 individuals flying out to join them this coming Friday.
SO, they get to Laredo in the morning. They get a green light, so they cross. However, there was a group of men (not in any kind of uniform) who wanted them to stop. Knowing they were not officers, but seemed to be just street guys, Hugo told Armando NOT to stop. Of course, the men got a little angry and tried to run after them, but Armando was able to drive off. Not sure what they wanted exactly, but Armando said some police officers saw the whole thing and did nothing...Makes you want to say, hmmmm??!!
With that behind them, they had to cross a second immigration post about 40 minutes into Mexico. The officer stopped them saying they had to go back to the border to get a permit. Mind you, they have all the proper documentation to begin with! He had them drive aside then proceeded to "ask" for money (i.e., a bribe). Not wanting trouble and definitely not wanting to drive back unnecessarily, Armando gave him some money to allow them passage. Somehow, the officer ends up telling them that he has a son who is sick, but when Armando offered to pray for the son, he declined and simply asked, "Are you a Christian?" When Armando replies, "Yes!" the officer basically says, "I believe in that stuff..." (not exactly his words as I'm not sure how he said it in Spanish). Then, he asked Armando if he wanted his money back! Armando told him to keep it and they went on their way.
Just a couple of things to keep them on their toes!!! They arrived safely in Acambaro around 6:00 PM Wednesday.
Thursday, someone will be picking them up in Acambaro to take them to Morelia, in the state of Michoacan, where they will be giving an evangelism seminar. The gospel is definitely needed in this area!! This is a place where a grenade attack occurred last year carried out by members of a drug cartel during the Mexican Independence Day--killed civilians and wounded over 100. One rapidly growing cartel based in this area, called La Familia, is now using religion as a way to recruit and create discipline within its members. Needless to say, spreading the gospel in this area is vital!
They will stay in Morelia overnight and will be driven back to Acambaro Friday morning. My next communication with Armando will be Friday night, so I will update you after that. We truly appreciate all your prayers!! Please continue to pray...
"to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen." (Romans 16:27 NIV)
The Cherokee was LOADED to the brim with mostly care box items for kids and some clothing donations. We had such a great response for care boxes for kids that they ended up having to leave most of the shoe boxes here and just take the items in them to be "re-package" in Acambaro. Still, some will be going as luggage with the other 3 individuals flying out to join them this coming Friday.
SO, they get to Laredo in the morning. They get a green light, so they cross. However, there was a group of men (not in any kind of uniform) who wanted them to stop. Knowing they were not officers, but seemed to be just street guys, Hugo told Armando NOT to stop. Of course, the men got a little angry and tried to run after them, but Armando was able to drive off. Not sure what they wanted exactly, but Armando said some police officers saw the whole thing and did nothing...Makes you want to say, hmmmm??!!
With that behind them, they had to cross a second immigration post about 40 minutes into Mexico. The officer stopped them saying they had to go back to the border to get a permit. Mind you, they have all the proper documentation to begin with! He had them drive aside then proceeded to "ask" for money (i.e., a bribe). Not wanting trouble and definitely not wanting to drive back unnecessarily, Armando gave him some money to allow them passage. Somehow, the officer ends up telling them that he has a son who is sick, but when Armando offered to pray for the son, he declined and simply asked, "Are you a Christian?" When Armando replies, "Yes!" the officer basically says, "I believe in that stuff..." (not exactly his words as I'm not sure how he said it in Spanish). Then, he asked Armando if he wanted his money back! Armando told him to keep it and they went on their way.
Just a couple of things to keep them on their toes!!! They arrived safely in Acambaro around 6:00 PM Wednesday.
Thursday, someone will be picking them up in Acambaro to take them to Morelia, in the state of Michoacan, where they will be giving an evangelism seminar. The gospel is definitely needed in this area!! This is a place where a grenade attack occurred last year carried out by members of a drug cartel during the Mexican Independence Day--killed civilians and wounded over 100. One rapidly growing cartel based in this area, called La Familia, is now using religion as a way to recruit and create discipline within its members. Needless to say, spreading the gospel in this area is vital!
They will stay in Morelia overnight and will be driven back to Acambaro Friday morning. My next communication with Armando will be Friday night, so I will update you after that. We truly appreciate all your prayers!! Please continue to pray...
"to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen." (Romans 16:27 NIV)
Monday, June 8, 2009
June 3-7 Puebla, Mexico Trip
Armando's Summary of his most recent Mexico trip: Puebla and Mexico City.
Wednesday
I arrived in Mexico City in the afternoon and was scheduled to present the You Can Tell It seminar from EvanTell, to teach people how to present the gospel in a clear and simple way. Over 40 people from 3 different churches were in attendance. We had a great 3-hr session and during one of the breaks, one of the leaders came up to me and said that there were 2 non-believers in the crowd. It is my understanding that at the end of the session, one of them put their trust in Christ or at least understood what salvation was. I was supposed to only teach 3 sessions out the 8, but the people were so eager to learn that I made a decision to come back to MX City after my trip to Puebla to complete the seminar.
Thursday/Friday
I traveled to Puebla, Mexico, home of the Puebla Bible Seminary, to participate in the 50th anniversary celebration of the Seminary, where I manned a table to represent the EvanTell organization. I taught 5 workshops, one of them unscheduled. People were really open to learning what it means to trust Christ. Out of this conference, I was invited to give 3 seminars in other parts of Mexico; one of them has a confirmed date and time in the state of Michoacan, where drug dealers have a big presence. It will be in July, which will coincide perfectly since I will already be in Mexico (close to Michoacan) during that time.
Saturday
I was scheduled to be in Mexico City by 7:00 PM to complete the seminar started on Wednesday night. Around 1:00 PM, I received a call from the person who was supposed to drive me to Mexico City to tell me that his car had broken down. By now it was too late to even take the bus and make it to the conference on time, so the director of the seminary and other people tried to find someone to give me a ride, but were unsuccessful. As I was next to my EvanTell stand, I had one packet of evangelism tracts on my table left. One lady came up to the table and picked them up to look at and so I said, “If you want them, they’re yours.” It turns out her husband has been to Dallas to take the EvanTell training and uses those tracts, so she was very thankful to have more. It also turns out they live in Mexico City and had one space left in their minivan. We encountered a lot of construction traffic and an accident, but I made it a few minutes past 7:00.
To my surprise, we had more people on Saturday than we did on Wednesday, even though the Mexican Nat’l soccer team was playing a very important game and usually people would rather stay home to watch. This group in particular was very attentive (over 50 people from 3 different churches). One of the churches in attendance meets at a house in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Mexico City, named Tepito, in which one of the leader’s sons was killed (shot over 20 times). The pastor that invited me to present this seminar told me that these small churches are very evangelism-oriented, so they were very eager to learn. No one even flinched when they found out Mexico lost the game.
Sunday
On Sunday morning I had a pleasant surprise. Just before services, they had 2 groups in Sunday school and one of them had 3 non-believers and that morning they used what we taught them the night before to present the gospel to them and ALL three of them trusted Christ and they stayed for services and worshiped with us. As I was passing by where the other Sunday school group met, I very clearly heard how they wanted to start to pray for Laborers, Opportunities, Boldness, Success, Safety, and Salvation (LOBSSS, an acronym, which was part of the seminar) for their community. These 2 things completely made my day and my trip so worth while! The pastor wants me back in Mexico City to teach the seminar to five other churches he knows.
When I arrived at the Mexico City airport, I had an opportunity to present the gospel to one more person before I left. He didn’t clearly put his trust in Christ, but he does want to be at my next seminar in Mexico City and he wants to bring his wife. I thank God for allowing me the opportunity to at least plant a seed. I know He will do the rest! Thank you all for your prayers…it always makes a big difference!
Wednesday
I arrived in Mexico City in the afternoon and was scheduled to present the You Can Tell It seminar from EvanTell, to teach people how to present the gospel in a clear and simple way. Over 40 people from 3 different churches were in attendance. We had a great 3-hr session and during one of the breaks, one of the leaders came up to me and said that there were 2 non-believers in the crowd. It is my understanding that at the end of the session, one of them put their trust in Christ or at least understood what salvation was. I was supposed to only teach 3 sessions out the 8, but the people were so eager to learn that I made a decision to come back to MX City after my trip to Puebla to complete the seminar.
Thursday/Friday
I traveled to Puebla, Mexico, home of the Puebla Bible Seminary, to participate in the 50th anniversary celebration of the Seminary, where I manned a table to represent the EvanTell organization. I taught 5 workshops, one of them unscheduled. People were really open to learning what it means to trust Christ. Out of this conference, I was invited to give 3 seminars in other parts of Mexico; one of them has a confirmed date and time in the state of Michoacan, where drug dealers have a big presence. It will be in July, which will coincide perfectly since I will already be in Mexico (close to Michoacan) during that time.
Saturday
I was scheduled to be in Mexico City by 7:00 PM to complete the seminar started on Wednesday night. Around 1:00 PM, I received a call from the person who was supposed to drive me to Mexico City to tell me that his car had broken down. By now it was too late to even take the bus and make it to the conference on time, so the director of the seminary and other people tried to find someone to give me a ride, but were unsuccessful. As I was next to my EvanTell stand, I had one packet of evangelism tracts on my table left. One lady came up to the table and picked them up to look at and so I said, “If you want them, they’re yours.” It turns out her husband has been to Dallas to take the EvanTell training and uses those tracts, so she was very thankful to have more. It also turns out they live in Mexico City and had one space left in their minivan. We encountered a lot of construction traffic and an accident, but I made it a few minutes past 7:00.
To my surprise, we had more people on Saturday than we did on Wednesday, even though the Mexican Nat’l soccer team was playing a very important game and usually people would rather stay home to watch. This group in particular was very attentive (over 50 people from 3 different churches). One of the churches in attendance meets at a house in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Mexico City, named Tepito, in which one of the leader’s sons was killed (shot over 20 times). The pastor that invited me to present this seminar told me that these small churches are very evangelism-oriented, so they were very eager to learn. No one even flinched when they found out Mexico lost the game.
Sunday
On Sunday morning I had a pleasant surprise. Just before services, they had 2 groups in Sunday school and one of them had 3 non-believers and that morning they used what we taught them the night before to present the gospel to them and ALL three of them trusted Christ and they stayed for services and worshiped with us. As I was passing by where the other Sunday school group met, I very clearly heard how they wanted to start to pray for Laborers, Opportunities, Boldness, Success, Safety, and Salvation (LOBSSS, an acronym, which was part of the seminar) for their community. These 2 things completely made my day and my trip so worth while! The pastor wants me back in Mexico City to teach the seminar to five other churches he knows.
When I arrived at the Mexico City airport, I had an opportunity to present the gospel to one more person before I left. He didn’t clearly put his trust in Christ, but he does want to be at my next seminar in Mexico City and he wants to bring his wife. I thank God for allowing me the opportunity to at least plant a seed. I know He will do the rest! Thank you all for your prayers…it always makes a big difference!
Monday, May 25, 2009
May 2009 Weekend Trip, 5/21-5/25
This is what Armando sent out, so I just copied and pasted it here...
Presenting the Gospel at 30,000 feet
Guillermo and I were supposed to leave at around 9:40 AM, but American Airlines had canceled the flight and we ended up on another flight and sat separately. Next to me was this gentleman in his 50s, ponytail, boots and hat, he said he was going to Mexico for his Mother’s funeral. As we continued to chat he mentions how sad and depressed he had been after he heard of his mother’s death. You could tell his heart was heavy, but I told him he looked very composed. He said he was getting ready because he knew that he had to confront one of his brothers, whom he doesn’t have a good relationship with, and he mentioned he was getting ready in case the confrontation got physical. During our talk he actually mentioned something about God and even mentioned something he had read in the Bible. I had been praying as we were talking to have an opportunity to present to this man the gospel and the moment the conversation turned to spiritual things I presented the gospel and at the end I asked him if he had any objections about trusting Christ as Savior and Lord and right then and there at around 30,000 feet he said “I don’t have any objections” and he trusted Christ as his Savior; I then prayed for his situation, his family and his safety.
Arrival and my grandmother
We arrived Thursday night in Guanajuato and I went to see my grandmother. I had a chance to once again pray with her and talk to her about God and salvation. Thanks to God and all of you who prayed, she is doing much better, she began to eat again and gained some strength. I spoke with her again this morning after we arrived in Dallas and her spirits are high. She told me how much she loves me, which felt really good because she seldom mentioned that before and for those of you who don’t know, she raised me as a little boy and I do actually call her mother.
Friday Conference in Acambaro Church
On Friday, Guillermo and I presented 7 principles (from Josh McDowell’s Belief Matters) on how to build a healthy relationship with our kids, over 30 people in attendance. We talked about unconditional acceptance, appreciation, affection, availability, accountability, etc., and gave part of our testimonies. We had no idea that people would react so positively to the presentation. A lot of people shed tears, I guess God touched a few hearts there. This area of Mexico is known for a lot of broken families, single mothers, lack of affection; we can see families love each other, but affection and I love you's are not a norm. One lady in particular was crying so much that the Pastor and his wife had to console her; later on she came to us and said, "thank you for showing me this, I have never ever told any of my kids that I love them, I need to go home to call each of the!!" The lady was over 50 years old.
Saturday Evantell Seminar
On Saturday, we presented a seminar to a congregation, two pastors and several church leaders on personal evangelism, how to present the Gospel clear and simple from the Evantell Organization. One of the pastors was actually shocked to hear what we had to say about the gospel and the way to present it from the Bible. He was particularly upset when we explained that in order to be saved we have to Trust, believe in, have faith in Christ alone for salvation, he was upset because that is not the way he presents the gospel, or … teaches it. He happens to teach the class on evangelism at a Bible Institute. Guillermo and I explained the meaning of the word “believe” using a digital Strongs Dictionary on our laptop, which we left with him as a donation. After the class he came to us and said, "I need to teach this course in my Bible Institute!" We will be training him in July so he can actually teach this class himself.
Sunday presentations on 3 hours of sleep.
On Sunday we had 3 more presentations in the City of Irapuato about 2 hours away from the first city we went to. We again presented the 7 Principles in the morning to about 60 people. In the afternoon we did a presentation about the Center for Church Based Training founded by Dr. Gene Getz which helps local churches bring people to maturity and leadership. Later on, we taught a seminar on personal evangelism on how to present the gospel to children from the Evantell organization.
There are a lot more details about this trip. These are just some highlights. There is movement in those small churches...God is being glorified and as such, Satan is working hard to cause disunity in each of the churches, so please continue to pray. Thank you!!
Presenting the Gospel at 30,000 feet
Guillermo and I were supposed to leave at around 9:40 AM, but American Airlines had canceled the flight and we ended up on another flight and sat separately. Next to me was this gentleman in his 50s, ponytail, boots and hat, he said he was going to Mexico for his Mother’s funeral. As we continued to chat he mentions how sad and depressed he had been after he heard of his mother’s death. You could tell his heart was heavy, but I told him he looked very composed. He said he was getting ready because he knew that he had to confront one of his brothers, whom he doesn’t have a good relationship with, and he mentioned he was getting ready in case the confrontation got physical. During our talk he actually mentioned something about God and even mentioned something he had read in the Bible. I had been praying as we were talking to have an opportunity to present to this man the gospel and the moment the conversation turned to spiritual things I presented the gospel and at the end I asked him if he had any objections about trusting Christ as Savior and Lord and right then and there at around 30,000 feet he said “I don’t have any objections” and he trusted Christ as his Savior; I then prayed for his situation, his family and his safety.
Arrival and my grandmother
We arrived Thursday night in Guanajuato and I went to see my grandmother. I had a chance to once again pray with her and talk to her about God and salvation. Thanks to God and all of you who prayed, she is doing much better, she began to eat again and gained some strength. I spoke with her again this morning after we arrived in Dallas and her spirits are high. She told me how much she loves me, which felt really good because she seldom mentioned that before and for those of you who don’t know, she raised me as a little boy and I do actually call her mother.
Friday Conference in Acambaro Church
On Friday, Guillermo and I presented 7 principles (from Josh McDowell’s Belief Matters) on how to build a healthy relationship with our kids, over 30 people in attendance. We talked about unconditional acceptance, appreciation, affection, availability, accountability, etc., and gave part of our testimonies. We had no idea that people would react so positively to the presentation. A lot of people shed tears, I guess God touched a few hearts there. This area of Mexico is known for a lot of broken families, single mothers, lack of affection; we can see families love each other, but affection and I love you's are not a norm. One lady in particular was crying so much that the Pastor and his wife had to console her; later on she came to us and said, "thank you for showing me this, I have never ever told any of my kids that I love them, I need to go home to call each of the!!" The lady was over 50 years old.
Saturday Evantell Seminar
On Saturday, we presented a seminar to a congregation, two pastors and several church leaders on personal evangelism, how to present the Gospel clear and simple from the Evantell Organization. One of the pastors was actually shocked to hear what we had to say about the gospel and the way to present it from the Bible. He was particularly upset when we explained that in order to be saved we have to Trust, believe in, have faith in Christ alone for salvation, he was upset because that is not the way he presents the gospel, or … teaches it. He happens to teach the class on evangelism at a Bible Institute. Guillermo and I explained the meaning of the word “believe” using a digital Strongs Dictionary on our laptop, which we left with him as a donation. After the class he came to us and said, "I need to teach this course in my Bible Institute!" We will be training him in July so he can actually teach this class himself.
Sunday presentations on 3 hours of sleep.
On Sunday we had 3 more presentations in the City of Irapuato about 2 hours away from the first city we went to. We again presented the 7 Principles in the morning to about 60 people. In the afternoon we did a presentation about the Center for Church Based Training founded by Dr. Gene Getz which helps local churches bring people to maturity and leadership. Later on, we taught a seminar on personal evangelism on how to present the gospel to children from the Evantell organization.
There are a lot more details about this trip. These are just some highlights. There is movement in those small churches...God is being glorified and as such, Satan is working hard to cause disunity in each of the churches, so please continue to pray. Thank you!!
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