Recently, we have been receiving reports from our missionaries who have been planting churches through the Genesis initiative. They have been serving for more than a year in each of their assigned places and they are starting to see a great harvest. Here, we want to share one of the team’s testimonies in Queretaro, Mexico, written by Jhoselyn Barrios.
Christina is a 22-year-old young woman who has four siblings. She and her siblings live with their parents in Los Olvera. They moved to this place last year; previously they had lived in another municipality called Cadereyta. As a family, they have a plant nursery, which is their source of economic income.
We met Christina at the Community’s Center of Human Development, where we are serving as volunteers teaching computer classes and basic literacy. Some time ago, we enrolled in a Zumba class with the purpose of better getting to know the women of the community. Maybe some people will read this and say: That’s crazy! Zumba classes? But the truth is that it is a good place to meet people, to laugh, to empathize with others and to initiate conversations.
After two days of getting to know her, Christina got in touch with us. We let her know that we were having a special activity for Women’s Day and also a beauty workshop. That’s how Christina began to get involved in our activities.
After getting to know her more, we were able to schedule a visit to her home. Praise the Lord: that day all her family accepted Christ in their hearts!
A few weeks ago, Christina celebrated her birthday, and everyone was invited to eat at her home. We brought a birthday cake and a present for her. We spent time with her family and we felt at home when we visited them. Now they are one of the families that are receiving discipleship in order to be baptized. God is doing a marvelous thing in Queretaro!
Isn’t it exciting to see what God is doing in our cities?! Please pray for Christina and her family. Also, pray for our two teams of missionaries working in Panama City and Queretaro.
“I was sick from the moment I arrived and during the entire week of activities. God had other plans for me because I believe that, in the end, what is important is a willingness to serve and not our ability. The Lord knew my intentions were to help the team, and since my terrible health didn’t allow it, the Lord provided a valuable tool for everybody else that I was able to drive: a car. Even though everything turned out differently than I expected, today I can say that despite physical illness and weakness, the Lord used me for his purposes.”
The Lord blessed our efforts for the children and adolescents who were attracted to the different activities throughout the day. The house-to-house evangelism was not very successful because most people would not open their doors or were not at home. There were also challenges to handing out the evangelistic tracts. The local police stopped us several times from handing out fliers. According to them it was against the law. Thanks to the tenacity and creativity of Maria Eugenia Rodriguez, who was in charge of 4×4, and the bravery of the participants, things took a different direction. We ended up at the intersection of a main road passing out brochures, hugging people and wishing people a happy New Year and blessings for their families. In the end, we accomplished our objective despite the obstacles that always come up when someone tries to share the message of salvation.
My mother told me since I was six years old that I said I wanted to be a teacher, but I had forgotten. I think that to be a teacher was in God’s plan for me. It was through my profession that God prepared me for the mission field when I was sent to work far from home. Now that I am serving in missions, God has used my education, work with children and teaching to open doors. I know that we cannot separate the secular from ministry; everything that we know and everything we do should honor God. Only through our work will God open new paths to expand his kingdom.”
