In just this past week, Victor and I have had the honor to be a part of several different kinds of harvests. The first type of harvest happened during the most recent Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade (EMMC) to the state of Guerrero. Victor, as director of Fishers of Men, has the primary responsibility of scheduling, planning, preparing for and supervising the carrying out of the EMMC's. However, the Lord gave Victor a special blessing on this crusade by giving him the opportunity to personally share the Gospel with several gang members. It was a true joy for Victor as he could use his strongest spiritual gift, evangelism, and also see the marvelous way in which the Lord could use his own horrid past to bring others to the Lord.
Victor sharing the Gospel with a local gang member. Notice the beer bottle to the right and the lit marijuana joint between the gang member's fingers. We praise God that he is now a member of a new gang - God's gang!One day during the crusade, Victor suddenly began to smell the odor of a marijuana joint, having recognized it from his own marijuana smoking days. He began to walk around the crusade area when his sight rested on a tattooed man standing on the fringes with, sure enough, a lit marijuana joint dangling between his fingers. Memories began to course through Victor's mind as he was transported to the streets of Mexico City, surrounded by similarly tattooed fellow gang members, passing a marijuana joint among themselves and drinking in a futile attempt to fill the gaping emptiness inside. Brought back to the moment by the Acapulco heat, Victor approached the young man. He quickly reverted back to his old way of greeting with a series of hand slaps common among gang members. Victor's vocabulary and manner of speaking immediately changed, almost like a second language from years past. He could easily identify with each experience and feeling expressed by the gang member, having lived the same life himself.
As the Lord continued leading and guiding the conversation, Victor was able to share the hope, forgiveness, purpose and love that he had found in Jesus Christ. When asked if he wanted to pray to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, the gang member answered affirmatively and Victor led him in a prayer of salvation. As they prayed, the gang member repeated Victor's words with great passion and forcefulness, as if they required great work to say them. As soon as he said "Amen", he sighed very deeply and commented: "Wow! I feel totally different! It is as if something came out of me!" Satan and his demons cannot stand against the power of the Lord Almighty! He didn't light the next joint, asked his buddy to get rid of the rest of the alcohol they had brought with them and said he was exhausted and was going home to sleep awhile.
Throughout the remaining time of the crusade, several other gang members came to Christ, including one that had arrived at the crusade armed with a pistol under his shirt. The local missionary has a good relationship with the gang members and they respect him, so we look forward to some excellent discipleship taking place.
Also during the crusade, Victor had the opportunity to reap a different kind of harvest. The seeds for this harvest were planted by Mark and Aaron Marshall who dressed up as clowns and blessed the children with their smiles, juggling, skits and other antics. The Lord used them to prepare the children's hearts for the gospel message. Victor commented that when it came time for him to share the Gospel with the children and invite them to pray to ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, their little hearts were very prepared, open, willing and had already understood the essence of the Gospel message.
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." I Corinthians 3:5-7
As the Lord continued leading and guiding the conversation, Victor was able to share the hope, forgiveness, purpose and love that he had found in Jesus Christ. When asked if he wanted to pray to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, the gang member answered affirmatively and Victor led him in a prayer of salvation. As they prayed, the gang member repeated Victor's words with great passion and forcefulness, as if they required great work to say them. As soon as he said "Amen", he sighed very deeply and commented: "Wow! I feel totally different! It is as if something came out of me!" Satan and his demons cannot stand against the power of the Lord Almighty! He didn't light the next joint, asked his buddy to get rid of the rest of the alcohol they had brought with them and said he was exhausted and was going home to sleep awhile.
Throughout the remaining time of the crusade, several other gang members came to Christ, including one that had arrived at the crusade armed with a pistol under his shirt. The local missionary has a good relationship with the gang members and they respect him, so we look forward to some excellent discipleship taking place.
Also during the crusade, Victor had the opportunity to reap a different kind of harvest. The seeds for this harvest were planted by Mark and Aaron Marshall who dressed up as clowns and blessed the children with their smiles, juggling, skits and other antics. The Lord used them to prepare the children's hearts for the gospel message. Victor commented that when it came time for him to share the Gospel with the children and invite them to pray to ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, their little hearts were very prepared, open, willing and had already understood the essence of the Gospel message.
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." I Corinthians 3:5-7This past Saturday night Victor and I had the opportunity to plant a different type of seed and, by the grace of God, bring in the harvest, too! As members of Iglesia Cristiana de Paz, the church we have been members of since our arrival in Mexico nearly seven years ago, we try and seek the Lord's will as to how to be involved in our local congregation, while balancing that involvement with the call the Lord has placed on our lives here in Mexico to lead Fishers of Men. One of those opportunities took place this past Saturday night. The high school and young adult youth groups held a campout here at Refuge Ranch. About 30 teenagers and young adults descended on our property at sunset. The guys set up the tents while the girls made hotdogs for supper.
The youth group enjoying some ice breaker games.
After our own youngest children had been put to bed, Victor and I headed out to the campfire to meet up with the youth and our own five oldest girls: Angie, Diana, Martita, Lolis and Martha, along with Erika, our staff member, Magda's, daughter and Aaron Marshall.
The youth leaders had planned this campout specifically at our place wanting Victor and I to speak on purity. The Lord's view on sexuality is so neglected in churches and, sadly, the dating and relational habits of Christian youth are almost no different from those that don't know the Lord. This is a topic that both Victor and I are very passionate about. The Lord, in His grace and mercy, gave me the opportunity, which I chose to take and obey, as a young lady to make a purity promise to Him and my future spouse. The day of our wedding, I gave Victor my purity ring as a symbol of having saved myself for him. Victor's story, as many of you know, is quite the opposite. As a gang leader in Mexico City, Victor had many intimate relationships before coming to know the Lord. Our Heavenly Father has so blessed our marriage, but we are passionate about teaching, and showing, others to live their lives fully committed to the Lord, including their sexuality.
So, Victor spoke to the group as a whole and then, at about 11:30 p.m. we divided into two groups. I spoke alone with the girls and Victor with the guys. It was a wonderful, intimate, fun, blessed time! We hit our pillows at 3:00 a.m. with grateful hearts for the opportunity the Lord had given us to share with such a great group of young people who are truly seeking to live in a way that honors the Lord in midst of a society that seems bent on offending Him at every turn. It is also always a great privilege to be able to minister together as husband and wife.
Me (Julie) sharing with the girls around the campfire at about midnight!
It is not very often that you can plant a seed and receive an almost instantaneous crop! However, the next morning at church, the youth leader approached me, herself a young woman, saying that several of the youth members were interested in taking place in a purity ring ceremony. I agreed to meet with them after the service that morning. As soon as church let out, the youth leader came up to me with .... 16 other young people, both girls and guys, who want to participate in a promise ring ceremony at our church! Praise the Lord! I immediately got our senior pastor and we shared with him what the Lord was doing in these young people's lives.
So, this coming Sunday, March 14, 2010, these nearly 20 individuals will present themselves before our congregation, publicly declaring and signing their commitment to live sexually pure lives. Our pastors will then place their purity rings on their fingers! Praise God!
Please keep this group of young people in your prayers as they declare war on Satan and his lies regarding God's plan for sexuality! May they stand strong in the Lord! If you feel so led, at least four of the youth came up to me after church and expressed their lack of finances in order to purchase a ring for the ceremony. While the rings need not be expensive or elaborate, I encouraged them to buy a ring with some silver or gold in order to symbolize the purity of their promise and also a ring of some value in order to make it something of worth and valuable to them, just as they are of great value to the Lord. So, if you feel led to help purchase one or more purity rings for these young people, many of whose families are not yet believers or are just starting to walk with the Lord, please email me at: fishersofmenmexico@gmail.com or mail a donation marked "purity rings" to Fishers of Men, 1039 Compton Ct., Toledo, OH 43615.
Thank you for the seeds that you have planted through your prayers, giving and participation in Fishers of Men! Thank you for the seeds that you have enabled us to plant! We thank the Lord for the harvest that He has provided! May the seeds planted in each one of our own lives continue to bear more and more fruit for the honor and glory of the One and Only Jesus Christ!
"But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:23
The youth group enjoying some ice breaker games.After our own youngest children had been put to bed, Victor and I headed out to the campfire to meet up with the youth and our own five oldest girls: Angie, Diana, Martita, Lolis and Martha, along with Erika, our staff member, Magda's, daughter and Aaron Marshall.
The youth leaders had planned this campout specifically at our place wanting Victor and I to speak on purity. The Lord's view on sexuality is so neglected in churches and, sadly, the dating and relational habits of Christian youth are almost no different from those that don't know the Lord. This is a topic that both Victor and I are very passionate about. The Lord, in His grace and mercy, gave me the opportunity, which I chose to take and obey, as a young lady to make a purity promise to Him and my future spouse. The day of our wedding, I gave Victor my purity ring as a symbol of having saved myself for him. Victor's story, as many of you know, is quite the opposite. As a gang leader in Mexico City, Victor had many intimate relationships before coming to know the Lord. Our Heavenly Father has so blessed our marriage, but we are passionate about teaching, and showing, others to live their lives fully committed to the Lord, including their sexuality.
So, Victor spoke to the group as a whole and then, at about 11:30 p.m. we divided into two groups. I spoke alone with the girls and Victor with the guys. It was a wonderful, intimate, fun, blessed time! We hit our pillows at 3:00 a.m. with grateful hearts for the opportunity the Lord had given us to share with such a great group of young people who are truly seeking to live in a way that honors the Lord in midst of a society that seems bent on offending Him at every turn. It is also always a great privilege to be able to minister together as husband and wife.
Me (Julie) sharing with the girls around the campfire at about midnight!It is not very often that you can plant a seed and receive an almost instantaneous crop! However, the next morning at church, the youth leader approached me, herself a young woman, saying that several of the youth members were interested in taking place in a purity ring ceremony. I agreed to meet with them after the service that morning. As soon as church let out, the youth leader came up to me with .... 16 other young people, both girls and guys, who want to participate in a promise ring ceremony at our church! Praise the Lord! I immediately got our senior pastor and we shared with him what the Lord was doing in these young people's lives.
So, this coming Sunday, March 14, 2010, these nearly 20 individuals will present themselves before our congregation, publicly declaring and signing their commitment to live sexually pure lives. Our pastors will then place their purity rings on their fingers! Praise God!
Please keep this group of young people in your prayers as they declare war on Satan and his lies regarding God's plan for sexuality! May they stand strong in the Lord! If you feel so led, at least four of the youth came up to me after church and expressed their lack of finances in order to purchase a ring for the ceremony. While the rings need not be expensive or elaborate, I encouraged them to buy a ring with some silver or gold in order to symbolize the purity of their promise and also a ring of some value in order to make it something of worth and valuable to them, just as they are of great value to the Lord. So, if you feel led to help purchase one or more purity rings for these young people, many of whose families are not yet believers or are just starting to walk with the Lord, please email me at: fishersofmenmexico@gmail.com or mail a donation marked "purity rings" to Fishers of Men, 1039 Compton Ct., Toledo, OH 43615.
Thank you for the seeds that you have planted through your prayers, giving and participation in Fishers of Men! Thank you for the seeds that you have enabled us to plant! We thank the Lord for the harvest that He has provided! May the seeds planted in each one of our own lives continue to bear more and more fruit for the honor and glory of the One and Only Jesus Christ!
"But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:23
2 comments:
Wow!! Julie, my heart is so full of thanks to God for his amazing grace! The stories about the gang members and then about the young people wanting to stay pure are miracles, pure and simple! Thanks for sharing, and of course, you and yours are daily in our thoughts and prayers.
Love, Aunt Joan :)
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