With that said we also wanted to tell you that probably the most heartbreaking thing which happened yesterday was that in a moment of weakness our friend, Mario (“Clawfoot,” see last newsletter), actually agreed to start working for these drug terrorists.

So… please pray.  We do believe that Mario is still at a point where he can get out of this, but it will require tremendous, supernatural, will power on his part… And these next 72 hours will be critical.

Thanks so much for praying.

We will try to get more details out to you soon…

Love,   Larry and Kim

In our regular Thursday evening service, a group of 5 of our friends, some of the youth involved in the local gang, came in and joined us for the sermon/Bible discussion!

This is an awesome breakthrough, because they’ve shown a lot of interest when we talk with them and pray for them out in the plaza, and they’ve come when we do special stuff to invite them, like a movie night. But the only one who has come before to a regular service on his own is Mario. And this time a whole group of 5 of them came!

It was great, because God worked so beautifully through it all! Gera (Gerardo), a young man with a real passion for God from another church who God has called to work with the Vineyard for about the past 6 months, shared his testimony with them and talked about the amazing call that God has for them to join with Him in serving and reaching out to the other youth. And everybody else at the service had words of encouragement and wisdom for them.

Please pray with us for these youth, because the enemy will definitely attack them, but greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world, and we know without a doubt that God will have the victory in their lives! He is fulfilling His Word, rescuing those without hope, and giving them new life and a worthwhile purpose. And He’s fulfilling the vision that He had given for the Tierra Blanca Vineyard, that it would be a church that would raise up powerful radical lovers of God who would go out to transform their neighborhoods, their families – and only God knows what more? the city? the nation? … with the power of God’s redeeming love!

Praise be to the Name of Him Who Is Worthy!

• For the Tierra Blanca area – That it would not be dominated by the drug lords.  That people would not live in fear.
• For Jani’s family.  For those of you who read our newsletter about Jani, we should report to you that she did eventually die of cancer this September. We do praise God however, because the cancer was detained long enough in order for some deep emotional wounds in her family to be healed.  Please pray specifically for Jani’s sons and daughters who have had a hard life and lost their brother only about a month after their mother’s death.
• For Ivan’s family, as Ivan’s uncle was killed recently in a violent run-in with the drug cartels.  Please pray for the safety his family, as they are still being threatened.
• For Patrick Guy’s family.  Patrick was a long-time friend who also died of cancer just a few days ago.  Please pray for Pat’s wife, Esther, that she would somehow find strength to go on and that more than anything she would be ushered into all that we know God still has for her
• For Kim’s grandfather, “Buddy” Hamblin who is struggling with congestive heart failure and other health issues, and for Kim’s grandmother Doris.
• Again, for our time – that in the midst of all our responsibilities we would be able to find the kind of time and energy it takes to really be able to minister to the kind of youth we feel lead to reach out to, and that we would also have time for one another.
• For Mario, who is still searching, and for so many others like him…

Well, brave readers, without any further adieu, let’s begin: Our story opens at a point in time about six months ago, when our Tierra Blanca pastor, Fili, had the idea of starting a youth group in the church neighborhood… Now that sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it? And in fact you might even be asking yourself why, after seven years of working with the church in Tierra Blanca, hadn’t we started a youth group before…?

And of course that’s a very good question. We don’t actually have a good answer, except that one of the main reasons was probably, um… fear, since the closest contact we’d ever had with the youth in Tierra Blanca was to cower inside the church building as we watched the fighting gangs throw rocks at each other outside…  There were also other reasons, though, like the fact that most of the young people in Tierra Blanca have at least one child by the time they are 17, or the slightly daunting reality that the majority of them spend their evenings ‘high’ under the influence of some drug or another… Yes, and in fact we should probably also say that the Tierra Blanca area has even become somewhat notorious in the area for its gang members… To put it bluntly, many of our friends from other neighborhoods just ‘don’t go there.’  Even the local taxi drivers tend to hesitate when you ask them to take you in… And of course we’ve lost track of the countless comments we’ve heard from people such as “Tierra Blanca!!? Oh my GOSH just watch your BACK…!!”

Now to be sure, we should tell you that there are already at least two other evangelical churches in the neighborhood, both of which have been there longer than we have. We’ve noticed that these churches are not lacking in members, but that not surprisingly nobody has attempted to do anything with the young people involved in gangs.

So… What could we possibly do to get the attention of the youth in this neighborhood…?

After thinking rather intensely, we decided that instead of doing some sort of cheesy pizza-party debut sort of thing (PARDON THE PUN) that it would work much better to actually venture outside the church and start “hanging out” with these kids in the neighborhood plaza… So, we all took a very deep breath one Sunday evening… and wandered out…

Youth from Tierra Blanca hanging out in the plaza at night

The response we received was surprising.  Most people were ‘high,’ but other than that, incredibly friendly, so we spent the next few Sunday nights just sort of chatting with folks, or praying for them, buying them hamburgers, and not least importantly, helping them to stumble repeatedly on and off of the park benches.

One of the guys present in some of our interactions in the plaza was named Mario, also known as “Clawfoot,” a notorious neighborhood fighter and gang leader.  We ourselves had actually heard of him and had seen people go to the emergency room after fighting with him on more than one occasion, but after getting to know this young man we developed a real affection for him.  So one night when he showed up with several large cuts on head from his latest adventures, we were moved and decided we were going to try and dress his wounds.

At first we couldn’t figure out why no one was willing to help us clean and bandage Mario’s sores…  After a lot of cajoling somebody finally went and got iodine, but when we asked who would like to help us put it onto the cuts, we were surprised to be met only with comments like “Hey, go ahead. No, really. We’ll just WATCH…” But even so, there was no talking us out of doing it.  So, thinking happily about the actions of the Good Samaritan, we didn’t notice as most of the neighborhood stepped back in fear as we innocently prepared to pour iodine on Clawfoot’s gaping wounds.

Now the events that followed were actually quite surprising, to everyone but us, that is, since Clawfoot did not actually beat anyone up or even so much as leave anybody with a black eye!  We do have to confess that he thrashed a little, but that was quickly put to a stop, since Kim wasted no time in catching him in her arms and crying “Poor baby!!”

When we had finished all our doctoring, we finally glanced up from a now-whimpering Clawfoot. At that point we noticed many of the other gang members, who had long since been just sort of staring at us in shock…  It was then that we appreciated the magnitude of what we had done, since the only comment they made to us was that nobody from that neighborhood had ever tried to cure Clawfoot’s wounds and had it go so, um… well for them… J

So, to make a long story short our reaching out to the youth in Tierra Blanca has had a number of implications.

One is that we can almost no longer drive through the neighborhood without our car being stopped as we are surrounded by gang members…  This may sound rather frightening, and for most people it would be, but in our case it is only because they are asking for peanuts…, in little packages which we keep in the trunk and have started giving away for free in order to establish a better rapport with the youth. J  (And in fact it seems to be working…  So far we’ve only had 200 pesos and a camera stolen from us…!  That’s pretty good!!!)

Another implication was that in a sudden burst of inspiration we decided to offer “Movie Night” out of the church building once a week, which actually proved to be rather interesting, since we didn’t have enough chairs to seat all of the gang members at once, and found ourselves to be quite unprepared for the fighting which broke out over the popcorn and potato chips…  J

Another defining moment came during a medical missions visit from our ‘old’ college friend, Dr. Minh Han, who, in the midst of conducting free clinics in poor neighborhoods to treat over 400 patients also had time to talk with some of our youth about the effects of drug abuse…  Most of our guys were very disappointed to find out that smoking cigarettes could affect their sexual virility!

Indeed, some of our church members have even tried playing soccer with the gang members on occasion, which is the closest we’ve ever come to being in any real physical danger (except for witnessing a few hold-ups), since some of our church brethren are a bit out of shape and we’ve wondered whether any of them might go into cardiac arrest.

Ah, yes… but probably the most important implication of all this is that, slowly but surely, these guys are actually starting to darken the door of our church during some of our service times.

…And “Clawfoot” (now Mario) has been one of the most regular attenders so far.

Mario at the end of a church service, with his kids

We should clarify here that sometimes Mario comes ‘high’ to the services, but at other times he seems to be O.K…  Either way, though, we’ve noticed that he’s always eager to participate, and even to turn to the right verses in his Bible.

In closing, we’d like to say that our efforts to reach these youth so far have been just overflowing with fruit, but the truth is that the results have been very inconsistent and disheartening at times. The saddest thing of all was when Mario showed up at the Sunday service a couple months ago with his entire wrist and palm split open through several layers of skin, apparently as a result of a knife-wound from the Zetas… Yes, and in fact it’s been rumored that they’re looking for him, probably to force him into selling drugs for their network.

Unquestionably, the fight for these kids is real.  We know for a fact that over eleven people have been killed in the Tierra Blanca area during the past month or so in the different battles of the drug lords…

So the reality is that if we want to win today’s youth over to our side we’re going to have to fight, and fight hard… harder than the Enemy.  This is a huge challenge, and as of yet we’re not sure how of to go about doing it…  Certainly, though, what we know is that we will have to stop cowering inside our church building.

Indeed, we will have to stop hiding from them and be bold enough to seek and find them…

Bold enough to reach them, that is. …

And to dare to cure their wounds.

We just wanted to send out a quick prayer request for our friend, Ivan. He has been struggling for some time with serious addictions to several kinds of drugs.

Though it has been hard, Ivan has been working to gain victory over his drug habits, and we’re happy to report that he’s stayed totally clean during these last few weeks.

The only problem now is that we’re worried about his immediate safety due to the fact that he’s trying to drop his contacts with the particular drug-trafficking group he used to give business to.  Ivan was not a seller, he was only a client, but even so it’s hard to get out.  We are especially concerned because a friend of his was shot and killed a few weeks ago, less than a block from Ivan’s house, apparently because he’d been trying to buy from two different trafficking groups.

As for Ivan, he has told us that recently some of the group members from his neighborhood have made threatening comments to him and seem to be going out of their way to drive by his house.  So, Ivan and his family need God’s protection. We know beyond a doubt that God is able to protect him, but we do ask you to pray that Ivan would have the wisdom and the will power to handle his circumstances,  and even more importantly that they would drive him to continually seek God.

Please also pray that the church (the Expo Vineyard) would continue to minister boldly in the neighborhood, sharing God’s love, shining God’s light, breaking the power of the darkness, and continuing to transform the spiritual atmosphere there…

Having said all this, we repeat again that we don’t want you to go into panic, but if you have, please click here for a more detailed explanation of why we do not think we are in any immediate danger.

Our story begins…

For those of you who are ready to continue reading, we want to clarify that the real purpose of our letter is definitely not to cause panic, but to glorify God and demonstrate just how He is working through all of the disturbing things that are happening here… With that in mind, we wanted to share an experience we had a few weeks ago which we feel captures the essence of what is really going on, and how God is using it.

The story we’ve chosen to share actually begins as we were sitting down to start one of our in-home Bible study groups, which we do in the different houses of our church members on a weekly basis. Larry was lazily tuning his guitar as group members chatted, waiting for the others to arrive in order to start the evening with our regular worship time. All seemed to be going according to the usual plan until suddenly a young girl from a neighbor’s house raced through the door, frantically informing us that the sound of “gunshots” could be heard in the distance outside.

Immediately, the entire room was thrown into a state of turmoil. Some people rushed outside to see which direction the shots were coming from, while others jumped out of their seats to make sure their family members were safe. Still others fell into silence and remained frozen in their places, nervously waiting to hear word of what was actually going on.  And though we should probably say that the occurrence of gunshots in the distance is something that has become much more common than we would like, it never ceases to strike fear in the hearts of those who overhear it, as was evidenced by the fact that everyone in the group was consumed by panic for a few brief moments that night.

Everyone, that is, except a young member named “Josue” (translated ‘Joshua’ in English). In the midst of the surrounding commotion, thirteen-year-old Josue sat calmly, holding a baby which in the frenzy of the moment had been left unattended.  He began softly singing in Spanish – a song called “Jesus is my Shepherd.” A few minutes later, it was established that the gunshots were over and had occurred far enough away not to cause a threat to our immediate safety, so things settled down. And when the rest of the group decided to join Josue back in the meeting room to worship and pray about the situation, this young man was more than ready to begin.

And so, as the group sang, first half-heartedly as they recovered from the incident, and then increasingly more whole-heartedly, Josue continued to dandle the baby on his lap.  He alone lifted his voice to Heaven just as if nothing on the streets outside had ever happened. When our group had finished its prayer time and began processing the events of the evening, one of the group members shared her confusion about why God would allow these types of situations, and more importantly about how He would have us respond to them.  And as the others nodded, equally baffled about the divine purposes of God, Josue sat calmly, and then said only three words… “It’s harvest time.”

…And so it is.

Certainly, the harvest has not come without a price.  As we mentioned earlier, the sound of gunshots has now become a common occurrence and can happen at any hour of the day or night. And again, almost everyone we know has had some sort of encounter with the drug mafias.  In fact, the majority of our close friends can tell at least one story about some really scary experience, including being threatened, made victims of extortion, held at gunpoint, temporarily kidnapped, beaten up, having their vehicles car-jacked, etc. To give you an idea of the general crime here, there have been three police strikes, two jail-breaks, and at least three hospital “raids” by the mafias over the past year.  Hundreds of people have died in our area.  In fact, over two hundred homicides have been registered in the city over the past year and a half.  (Almost all victims were apparently involved in the drug cartels).  In addition, hundreds of policemen have been fired, sometimes from one day to the next, in government efforts to clean up the police force.  Hundreds of other people are also “missing” – some are being held for ransom, and many others who were involved in the drug movement have not been seen or heard from again.  Some businesses have shut down due to threats or extortion.  Hardly a day goes by when we do not see a detachment of soldiers, sometimes positioned with rifles to block off the street where we’re driving.  It’s also not uncommon to see police chases at any time of day or night.  To be honest with you, we’ve had stretches where for days at a time we’ve felt like the only reason for buying the newspaper was to read the updated death counts from the day before.

…So, needless to say, we were thankful to young “Josue” for his comment in our Bible study that evening, since it was then and there that we began to gain a new perspective, to try to see God´s perspective on the violence that surrounds us.

And do you know something?  Josue was right, perhaps even more than he knew…

Signs of the Harvest

We’d like to continue here with just a few comments that will help you appreciate the magnitude of the harvest that God is raising up here in the midst of all of the confusion.

Our friend, for example, is a Christian who works at an all-night convenience store. He has tried for years to share the gospel with a steady stream of ‘night-lifers’ who constantly stop in for beer and cigarettes. The other day he shared with us that to his amazement people have finally started “listening,” and that his customers are beginning to ask questions about the Bible – not out of ignorance, but because in their efforts to reflect on things they have actually gotten Bibles and started reading them!

And as for our own experiences, we are also quite shocked because the gang members in Tierra Blanca are showing real interest in church now.  Even the tattoo-covered guys who clean our windshield at local traffic lights are asking for Bibles…  We honestly feel bad at times because we forget to bring the Bibles or don’t have enough of them.

Yes, and the Catholic church, known here in Mexico mainly for its traditions of wordliness and saint-worship, also seems to be stepping up to the plate.  On February 19th of this year their was an area-wide “mass for peace” held in one of the local arenas, and more than 1,000 people were in attendance to lift their voices in prayer for peace.

Peace?

So … Will there be peace here in Mexico?  It’s difficult to say.  But we think there’s actually a more important question, the one Jesus left for all of us: “When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?”  (Luke 18:8)

We want to be found with great faith – faith to continue working in His harvest, no matter what the situation is here in Mexico.

So in closing, we’ll just say that we know that Mexico is no longer a “nice” place for vacationers…  But we’re not vacationers.  And in fact we feel the call to ministry here is stronger than ever.  So for as long as God wants us to be here, our plan is to stay.

Whether there will be peace in Mexico, we have no idea.  What we do know is that we can “open” our “eyes” and see the harvest around us (John 4:35).  That’s what Josue did.  And as long as there’s harvesting to do, we don’t want to be far behind him.

We don’t want to sound like we’re just taking things lightly, but the truth is that we feel there’s not a whole lot to worry about in terms of our personal safety.  As we’ve said before, the only time that we’ve had a direct encounter with the drug terrorists was a clear mistake on their part and could be explained by the fact that our truck strongly resembled the truck of the guy they were after. To avoid further problems we have painted and sold the truck and are now driving a slate blue (and totally unsuspecting) Ford focus.

Totally nondescript and definitely not to be confused with any drug mafia vehicles!

But even with that said, the more important point we’d like to make here is that it is totally unlikely that any real harm would come to us precisely because of the fact that we’re Americans.  Let us explain…

Though you may have heard about crimes committed against Americans in places like Mexico City, the most probable thing is that they were actually random crimes and not a result of the drug movement.  We feel it’s fairly obvious that since President Calderon has started his crack-down on crime, the last thing the drug lords want is to get more bad press or risk any more involvement on the part of American authorities by threatening the security of Americans in Torreon, which is not even a border town.  In fact, even the people that we’ve talked to who’ve been forced into the drug mafias confirm that there’s a penalty of death for anyone in them who accidentally “gets the wrong guy,” which as we think about it is corroborated by the fact that we ourselves were able to drive away from our encounter, since all of the bullet damage to our truck indicated they were only shooting at our tires.

And as if that weren’t enough, we should probably also say here that we are fairly well-known in most of the neighborhoods where we minister, and that the drug traffickers in these areas (if we don’t already know them or their families) most certainly have us ear-marked as people who are last on the list to be bothered by them and who are most certainly not to be confused with other people in the area. So in short we feel it’s safe to say that the people who are in much more danger than we’ll ever be are actually the Mexicans all around us, who in fact are being exploited on a constant basis and who for that very reason need our continuing ministry…