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First of all, I like to inform you this trip’s
destination was the same as last year: the town of San
Francisco de Ocotan,
State of Durango, Mexico, which is located south of the
City of Durango. In our first trip to that location we
were prohibited to preach the Gospel of Christ but, this
time there no different arrangements with the local
authorities, therefore the Lord decided that all 5
evangelists will act (literally) as fishers of men,
going from place to place throughout the compound
fishing for souls for our Lord Jesus. We didn’t take
with us Bibles, New Testaments or any other literature
to give to the people; this time the Clinic of the Soul
was not set up. But, as you will see at the end of this
report, the harvest was magnificent, because of God’s
Infinite Grace. The Lord came for the people that had no
hope; He went this time to a place nobody wants to go to
offer that hope and Eternal Life with Him.
This trip originated on the 31st of
October in the City of Cuernavaca, Morelos and arrived
13 hours later in the City of Durango, in the grounds of
the Local Church. The Sunday’s service was in progress
but, at that moment, there was a miraculous change: the
rest of the services were dedicated exclusively in our
honor. The entire congregation transformed itself in
Amigos sin Frontera; everything was said and done to
welcome us in sincere love and friendship. It never
fails, every time we arrive at this Church my eyes fill
with tears and my heart rejoices, because all those
brothers and sisters in Christ are something very
special; they welcomed us with such love that overflows
our hearts and souls. After the service, each one of us
was lodged by a family previously designated. The young
missionary named Coqui
and I were hosted by the Lara Family. How great is our
God when he provided the blessing to be attended by this
beautiful, loving and friendly family. This gives a good
example of the significance of Lord Jesus’ last
commandment: love one another. Even our dinner consisted
of 7 most delicious dishes. We ate wholeheartedly,
talked for many hours and, finally we went to our
respective bedrooms. Mine was so accommodating that I
slept for many hours.
. NOTE:
When we traveled to Durango a very modern bus
(rented) was used. But, for some unknown reason, the
heating system failed; inside got so cold that we even
reach 35 degrees Fahrenheit, thank God we were (some of
us) appropriately dressed. Earlier, in the afternoon, we
already had loaded all vehicles with all equipment,
materials, clothing food supplies, medicines and
luggage, in preparation for our trip next morning. This
bus was parked in front of the church building, to wait
for our return trip. And, in its place, another bus was
used (also rented; a very old one made of cheap metal, a
clunker.
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This type of transportation is “ideal” to travel
through mountains and rural roads. Yes, these trips can
be very tiresome, long
and very monotonous; but God gives us the opportunity to
rejoice in His Creation of very magnificent mountains,
rivers, and luxuriant tress, and a benign climate very
different that we experienced a year ago.
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2 November/7
a.m.: Departed toward San Francisco de
Ocotan; a village
situated south of the City of Durango. It took us 10
hours to get there. A total of 55 persons made the trip
including 4 Doctors, 5 Dentists and 2 Optometrists.
Cleaned all 3 class rooms to install clinics: Medical,
Dental, Optometry and the Pharmacy, with the exception
of the Clinic of the Soul. We didn’t know if we were
going to be permitted to evangelize.
This time, only 5 evangelists were present: 4 men and 1
women.
3
November/6:30 a.m.:
Devotional at 8:00 a.m., breakfast at 9:00 a.m. and
start work at 10:00 a.m. Many persons received Jesus in
their hearts, but we didn’t have any Bibles or Christian
literature to giveaway. The Church in Durango will have
the big challenge to send teachers so that all those new
believers may grow in Grace, and become mature and
effective witness for Christ in and beyond their
location. We know that the Lord produces the harvest;
this time the local Governor, the Assistant of the local
Professor and a “healer” or “witch doctor” were saved,
Glory to God.
NOTE:
On the next day, by the Lord’s Grace, I was the
instrument He used to convert the Governor, the
Assistant to the Professor and the “witch doctor”. While
I was presenting the Plan of Salvation to 7 adults that
were not paying much attention to me (except one) I
noticed that the Governor was behind me talking to some
persons and I went to him and asked him to please come
and talk to these persons in their “Tepehuano”
dialect, and he did. When he left, all of them changed
their attitude and received Jesus. The one that
previously had received Grace became a missionary.
Blessed be the Eternal God.
Please remember that, in each trip, there is a group
which only mission is to minister to children and young
adults. This time, again, their efforts produced many
miracles among them; to the extent many of them
memorized the hymn that says “I
have a Friend that loves me, His Name is Jesus”
and
you could hear them singing it, either in Spanish or in
“Tepehuano, everywhere
they went.
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6
November/5:00 a.m. Left towards
City of Durango.
The night before, we had already dismantled
all material and loaded it to their respective trucks.
About 1-2 hours before reaching the city, we stopped in
a thermal water park; the water was deliciously warm
and, after taking a badly needed shower (we had not
taken one in 3 days) got in the pool and swam, played
water polo, and had a wonderful time. After an excellent
meal we left and arrived in the Durango Church. As you
see, in the Lord’s Field not everything is work. He
always grants us the desires of our hearts.
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We arrived in Durango late evening. The local
Church had more food prepared for us: a delicious
Mexican dish called “tamales” and beverages. Thank you
Lord for so many blessings. Unloaded all local trucks
and transferred our things to the “modern” bus that will
take us back to Cuernavaca. We were welcomed again by
our respective family hosts where we stayed for the
night.
STATISTICS
MEDICAL CLINIC: A
total of 482 patients were seen (1 surgery).
DENTAL CLINIC:
A total of 160 persons examined who received 250
treatments.
OPTOMETRY CLINIC:
135 persons received lenses.
SOCIAL WORK:
Distributed dozens of tooth brushes and dental pastes,
clothing, shoes, toys, food supplies, etc. Also, we
provided the Community with dental hygiene classes and
the importance all women have in the Eyes of God.
EVANGELISM:
A total of 229 persons were saved and many more were
touched by God’s Holy Spirit.
7
November/12:30 p.m. Left City of Durango and
headed for
Cuernavaca.
8 November/2:30 a.m. Arrived
in Cuernavaca, unloaded all things and we say good-bye
to each other, until next trip. MISSION
ACCOMPLISHED, BY THE GRACE OF GOD.
To
all persons interested to travel with us, I wish to tell
you that I departed from Houston International Airport
on 28th of October and returned to same place on
November 10th.
PLEASE, WE ASK ALL
PEOPLE, CHURCHES, CONGREGATIONS THAT RECEIVE THIS
REPORT, TO FORWARD SAME TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, SO THAT
THIS MINISTRY CAN BE KNOWN MORE AND MORE, IN ORDER TO
INCREASE PRAYERS AND DONATIONS, SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE
WITH THIS LABOR OF LOVE.
TOGETHER, WE CAN CHANGE MANY LIVES. MANY
BLESSINGS FOR EACH OF YOU.
Sincerely,
Raul G. Sifuentes
On behalf of
Amigos sin Frontera, A.C. and United Pursuit, Inc. |
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