The Flat Tire Gave Us a Long Ride to Matias Romero, Oaxaca (Still in Mexico)

back to Our Walk of Faith

(Thursday 5/24) We had only walked 2.5 miles when we got our first ride...Juan and Rafael stopped to see if they could take us a few miles. They both worked in the US for 10 or more years. Juan is ready to start a family and plant some roots. Rafael's girlfriend is still in the US so he's anxious to get back. Both of them accepted Christ while they were in the US...Praise God...this is a pretty common phenomenon from what we have heard. There's more good than many realize about the immigration to the US. If Jesus finds them while they are there and they carry Him back to their families, I'd say it's worth whatever price they had to pay.

They dropped us out about 10.5 miles later...right in front of a cross...we continued our walk...about 5 miles later we took a break in the shade. All of the sudden, I felt like I was going to pass out because I was so hot! I was fine... It was just God telling us it was time for a divine appointment. Almost as soon as we sat down, Abel, a waiter, walked out from the restaurant. I was sharing with him about our walk when we heard a tire burst and a white VW Bug coast to a stop right in front of us. They had a jack and 5 guys in the car, so we didn't think they needed any help initially. The jack didn't work thought, so Chris went over to see if he could help. They ended up having to pick up that end of the car. As we were helping, we learned that they are all Christians...4 of the guys were taking an evangelist, Jorge, to Tierra Blanca to catch a bus back to his house. They only just had a few minutes to get him there. One of the remaining 4 is the pastor. That's about all we had time for because as soon as the tire was on, it was time for them to hurry on.


We wondered why it was that we met them...It was definitely a God thing, but we didn't get to talk to them at all really...may be we were there just to help with the tire?! We went back over to pick up our packs, but 3 ladies were standing outside...Lulú, Carmen and Carmen. (in the picture with RE left to right) They were interested in knowing about what we were doing...Lulú is a Christian, so she was really encouraged. We debated about getting a bite to eat or heading on...we decided to head on...

When we were less than 2 miles from Tierra Blanca, a white VW Bug pulled over. Out hopped 4 guys...Pastor Jorge, Miguel, Magdiel, and Manuel. Pastor Jorge told us that they had been watching out for us since they dropped off the evangelist. If they saw us again, they had already decided to invite us to go with them to their church. (Pretty funny...Chris and I were already formulating a plan of what to do when we got to Tierra Blanca!!) We, of course, accepted even though it meant some backtracking--going NW instead of SE towards Peru. It meant adding on at least 50 miles in the "wrong" direction. We knew it was from God so we went without hesitation!! All 6 of us piled into the Bug with CE's pack because only mine fit in the trunk!!

Off we went to Acatlan de Perez Figueroa...a town not even on our map...oh, but what a huge God we serve!! Our first stop was a Miguel's parent's house-Hno Roberto y Hna Matilde Bonilla. They offered us a delicious lunch, and Miguel shared his testimony with us!




Miguel (in the orange shirt beside CE) was a coyote (He led groups of illegal immigrants to the US.) before he knew the Lord. He'd been caught 25 times. It was a very lucrative business for him...about 5 years ago he was put in prison, and his lawyer could do nothing to get him out...there wasn't enough money anywhere to buy his freedom...the least he would serve was 7 years. He was scared, so he called his parents in Mexico and told them what happened. When they found out, they were at a church conference with about 800 other Christians. They all prayed for his safe release. Miguel told God that if He set him free that he would always serve Him. Six DAYS later, Miguel walked out of prison a free man. That very day he was back with his old friend and up to his old habits. He said, “God is faithful and keeps His word...it's us who fail Him!” Two years later, God touched his heart at a revival meeting at the top of a mountain...fixing some one’s car brought him to the church. (Or so he thought)…But really God was reminding him of his promise and asking him to be faithful just as God had been faithful to him. Now, Miguel is a different man...God has changed him completely! He loves the Lord and seeks to serve Him with all he has. He explained that it was difficult at times to make ends meet, but he prefers this life to the other...there's no comparison!!

After lunch, we were off to the room that the evangelist had just evacuated. Within an hour we were back on the road...this time we were headed to a little ranchito (smaller than a town...way off the main road) called Guadalupe Reyes to the Church of God of Prophecy where Hno Jorge is the pastor. They had service that evening, and Pastor Jorge invited us to speak. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't what we saw...It's an open-air church with a palm-thatched roof. It was awesome!!


The Holy Spirit was so strong...it was a wonderful service!!





Hna Lety, Hna Eva, and Hna Raquel (pictured with RE) invited us to their house to eat supper after the service...homegrown beans, eggs straight from the hen, and hand-made corn tortillas...wow! I thought we had been eating fresh food before! It was oh so good! After supper, we headed back to Pastor Jorge and Hna Juanita's house for coffee, milk, and sweet bread and more fellowship. We even met their youngest son, Dony. They only just started pastoring this church 6 months ago, so they are still getting adjusted to small town life. Pray for them in their growth and in the growth of the church.

Friday (5/25) morning, the plan was to head out early and visit several families in Guadalupe Reyes to share the Gospel with them, but God had other plans...it was pouring rain, so we had to wait. Hno Elias from Guadalupe Reyes arrived right on time to give us a ride out to the ranchito. Hno Guadalupe (pictured with CE) went with Pastor Jorge, Hna Juana, and us to visit. Hno Guadalupe has such a powerful testimony! He accepted Christ, and his family left him...he was heart-broken, but he's not willing to give up his relationship with Jesus! He continues to pray for reconcilliation!!

Once we got to Guadalupe Reyes, we stopped in to pray for a retired teacher who is battling with a lot of health problems. The doctors think he may have lung cancer...after we prayed for him we asked if He had accepted Jesus as his Savior. He told us no...he was still thinking about it. It was a really important decision, and he was going to make it whole heartedly when he decided it was time.

Hna Eva joined us at the church, and we went on to another house...her sister and brother-in-law's house (Hno Concepcion y Doña Mari). We talked with them for about 2 hours...They both used to attend the Jehovah's Witness church, but not too long ago, Hno Concepcion decided that they weren't teaching the truth, and he was going to go to an evangelical church. His wife said that he went crazy. He's still a little confused, but we were able to answer some of his questions. His wife, however, is still attending the Jehovah's Witness church from time to time. She's even more confused than he is because she grew up in a Christian church. There was a Christian church in Guadalupe Reyes about 60 years ago, but the missionaries died and so did the church. About 20 or so years later, the Jehovah's Witnesses came in...because the missionaries hadn't made disciples, people weren't firm in their faith. They were easily confused and lead astray. About 20 years ago, the Church of God of Prophecy started the mission that is now a church. They've begun to take back what the devil stole. Unfortunately, Doña Mari's beliefs are really mixed up...please pray for her salvation!

After our visit with them, we went to visit another family. Hna Eva and Hno Guadalupe talked to the wife and Pastor Jorge and Hna Juanita talked to the husband. Chris and I talked to Leonarda--the wife's cousin. Both the husband, Telesforo, and Leonarda accepted Jesus as their Savior...pray that these seeds will take root in fertile ground and that Telesforo's wife will soon accept God's gift to her as well!






Hno Elias and Hna Reyna invited us to eat lunch at their house, so that was our last stop. We ate, and then the door opened for us to talk to Pancho, their son, Loreta, his wife, and their tiny, 9 day old baby-Francisco. Loreta just made a decision to follow Jesus, but Pancho isn't sure that he's ready yet.

Friday night, Hno Elias and Pancho played the guitar and keyboard, and we sang praise songs!! It was an awesome time of worship. Hno Elias picked out songs to encourage us on our journey...songs about unity in the body of Christ, God's faithfulness, and the Holy Spirit's guidance!! What a great gift!! We had a wonderful time fellowshipping with them! ( in the picture l to r: Hno Elias & Hna Reyna, Loreta & Pancho, Pastor Jorge & Hna Juanita)

After we left Guadalupe Reyes, we went over to the Bonilla family's house for supper. Then we got a big surprise...Miguel had talked to one of his friends who is a Christian truck driver. He was going to pass through Acatlan on his way to Tabasco...he would be willing to drop us off in Acayucan on Sunday. Then Pastor Jorge spoke up and said, “I've also taken up a collection for them to buy a bus ticket to Matias Romero, Oaxaca. They can go with me on the bus part of the way tomorrow (Saturday) and then continue on their own in another bus all the way to Matias Romero.” We told them that we would pray about it...Miguel thought we should take the pastor up on the bus tickets. We weren't sure what to do, but we don't like to travel on Sundays. It's the Lord's day, and we like to rest and to worship in His house. After talking and praying Friday night, Chris and I decided to head on with Pastor Jorge.

Saturday (5/26) we spent most of the day traveling...we hadn't slept much the two night we stayed in Acatlan because of getting in so late and leaving so early in the morning, so we basically slept the whole time on the bus. We arrived in Matias Romero around 4:30 pm. We looked around, ate lunch, and prayed. Nothing opened up by suppertime, so we decided to stay in a hotel. We got a really good rate and it had hot, running water!!! We rested a little more and then went to sleep early.

Sunday (5/27) we got up early to find a church. We weren't sure about bringing our stuff or not, so we decided not to bring it...sometimes when we arrive with our packs it's a distraction or it makes us stand out even more. At times we don't have another option, but this day we did, so we left them in the room...making the decision that we were going to stay another night.

We had learned about a church on Saturday that was nearby, but we asked the guy at the front desk if he knew of a church. We thought he was giving us the same directions, so we figured it was where we were supposed to go to church. When we got to the church, we realized it was a Nazerene church, not the one we had learned about the day before. It was obvious that we were supposed to be there though. The pastor was praying when we got there, so we went in and started praying too. When he finished praying, he approached us. He wasn't sure who or what we were (because we're so white...he thought we might be angels...I had to laugh about that...little did he know that I am an Angel...a Meredith College graduated!! ha, ha, ha) The pastor started asking questions, and we started sharing our testimony. Before we knew it, Pastor Jose Luis was inviting us to speak that morning to the church.

After we spoke, they had Sunday School. The Sunday School teacher makes her living as a teacher, so she did a great job with the lesson. She talked about the earth not being our home and that we needed to be focused on the Lord...working for Him! The Holy Spirit tied her lesson in with our testimony...it was as if they were meant to go together.

We told the pastor after church that we looked forward to seeing them in the afternoon. One of the women in the church invited us to her house for lunch and to spend the afternoon with them. Then the pastor told us that he and his wife--Hna Clemina--would like to invite us for supper. Also, Pastor Jose Luis asked if we would bring the message on Sunday night. We told him we would, but we didn't have any idea of what to speak about. We just knew God would speak to our hearts and give us words...His Words!

Hna Hilda (left of RE) is the lady who invited us to eat with her and her daughters--Nury (in peach and black) and Reyna(in green). We quickly learned that Hna Hilda's husband was the former pastor at the church, but 4 years ago to the day he passed away unexpectedly. This left her alone with 3 kids to raise and to send to school, and a church congregation looking to her. It was a difficult time in their lives...lots of struggles. They are beginning to come out of that time in their lives and are going through the process of restoration. Nury and Abimael (her husband--pictured with the family) attend church together, but Reyna's husband, Abisai has no interest in church. Nury and Reyna sang a couple of songs during the special music time. Please continue to lift up this family and this church...God is working through the pain and division that followed Pastor Josue's death. Pray for Pastor Jose Luis and Hna Clemina also...they stepped into the middle of this situation without really knowing what was going on, so they've been struggling as well!


Sunday night, God really laid discipleship on our hearts...so many times people read the great commission, and they get pumped up about the going and telling all the nations about Jesus and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but they MISS THE PART ABOUT MAKING DISCIPLES. If God's Word is taking root in your heart, you should be discipling someone. Someone should be discipling you too. We have seen numerous examples on this walk of what happens to ministries if you aren't making disciples. It's really sad...the work is abandoned when the person who had the vision is absent. Discipleship will be a part of whatever we do after this walk. The importance of discipleship is huge...it's where authentic growth takes place!

Monday (5/28) we worked most of the day on writing...it seems that every now and then we have to just stop and write down what God is doing...it's amazing how things get moving daily! He is amazing!! While we were writing at a restaurant Hno Abram from church on Sunday drove by on his tricicleta. We invited him in for a Coke, and he sat down with us to share his testimony. He shared of coming to Jesus because of a serious injury...he needed healing, and God touched his body! His daughter was also radically healed...the entire family now serves the Lord.

After Hno Abram left, it started raining really hard. This guy on his bike stopped right in front of where we were seated. Chris saw him looking for money to buy a drink, but he didn't have enough. So Chris offered him a Coke, and he accepted. It turns out that Pedro used to go to church, but then he went out of town to work for a while, and he got mixed up with the wrong crowd. Now he stays drunk and never goes to church. We had a good talk about the prodigal son and how Jesus was waiting for him with open arms...full of love and forgiveness. He was really interested in the pastor coming to visit him later. Praise God!!

We're planning to head out early on Tuesday (5/29)...God bless you and keep you! We love you!


Of course...more flowers!!


































These are actually docorative chili peppers!!