A Few Days of Ministry in Mexico

Arlen “Arlando” Williams (Stephen’s brother) had not been on a mission trip, in fact he had never been into the interior of Mexico. He did not want to venture south of the border, but the Lord changed Arlen’s mind. After about a week of visiting the Galeana, NL, area he came to love the people and the beautiful mountains that surround the town.

Digging holes for the new church wall footings required a lot of work (click on a photo to see it larger).

Arlen is the kind of person who has to be doing something most of the time. No problem, there is always work that needs to be done in a ministry… and work we did.

He helped chip away at the rocks for the building footing at the new Getsemani church building construction site; made a trip with twenty Christians to Palmetio (see Praising the Lord with the Palmito Church); assisted with the weekly kid’s club; delivered meals to the elderly for Nuevo Corazon; looked at what electrical wiring was needed at another church; delivered a gift to a pastor in another village; was part of Sunday worship; and even got to see some of the local tourist sights.

Arlando (his Mexico name) also made a lot of new Christian friends, even though he speaks virtually no Spanish. These folks may speak a different language, but it is the same spirit that unites us through Christ.

Paul wrote in Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Stephen also pitched in to get several holes finished.

Arlen’s visit to Galeana started with the weekly Marco 10:14 Kid’s Club after a ten hour drive from Texas.

 

 

 

Preparing meals for delivery to home-bound elderly was part of Arlen’s ministry work.

Rey, Mari and Sandra faithfully work each Tuesday to prepare and deliver meals.

We always enjoy giving food to the elderly on Tuesday’s with Nuevo Corazon.

Sunday services at Getsemani Church in Galeana is an uplifting time of worship.

The current location of the Getsemani church meets in a small building on a busy street near the center of Galeana.

Lulu and Pastor Ruben sang a beautiful song during the service at Palmito (see Praising the Lord with the Palmito Church).

Arlen delivered a special gift from friends in the US to Pastor Berenice

We stopped by Pastor Reynaldo’s home on our way to work at the new church building site.

Arlen met several Christian friends including Armando who operates a local hardware store.

We made a trip to see the “Bridge of God” a local tourist attraction.

A mountain stream runs through the Bridge of God.

We also visited a huge “cenote” or naturally formed pit. It is deep with water at the bottom.

Some of the streets in Galeana are narrow.

Traffic is sometime interesting.

La Laguna is a nice clear water lake in the area.

Arlen found it intriguing that the local appliance store also sold motorcycles.

There are many small local shops.

The town square is popular and well kept.

There are also many street vendors.

Barrel Cactus are abundant in the area.

Linemen climb poles with ropes in Mexico.

There are many murals around town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praising the Lord with the Palmito Church

Twenty Christians from Galeana, NL, loaded in the True Path Ministry Suburban and the Williams’ Ford Edge to make the trip to the mountain village of Palmito, named for the short Palm trees that grow in the area. Eighty five year old

Lulu and Pastor Ruben sang a beautiful song during the service (click on a photo to see it larger).

Pastor Ruben has been working hard to get the Christian Church reestablished. His work is paying off as the tiny church building was overflowing with worshipers eager for a word from the Lord.

True Path Ministry (TPM) was in the village during the Christmas season (see Village of the Tiny Palm… Palmito) and it was good to be back to see the church thriving. Stephen’s brother, Arlen, was also with the Galeana group and was impressed by the experience. It is his first mission trip and first time into the interior of Mexico. He has been a big help with some TPM projects including preparations for the Palmito ministry.

Pastor Reynaldo, Lulu, Evangelist Ramiro, Mari, Ana and several others were also involved in making the day extra special for the church and Pastor Ruben. Lulu and Mari lead the wonderful song service. Ana had the kid’s outside for a time of song, teaching and art while the adults were inside listening to Evangelist Ramiro’s spirited sermon.

After the service we spread out four containers of clothes, children’s back packs and hats. We also offered some bars of soap that had been donated, gave Bibles to those who requested one and a small gift bag to all the children. The congregation thanked us and began walking home with their arms full of gift items and hearts bursting with the love of Christ.

The Galeana group gathered in Pastor Ruben’s house to eat food they brought. One of the items was cooked blooms from the Joshua Trees that have flowered. It was Arlen and Stephen’s first experience eating them. It was a nice end to a fulfilling day of ministry.

Pastor Rey was also part of the worship time.

Evangelist Ramiro gave an excellent Bible-based sermon.

Many people brought Bibles and followed along as the sermon unfolded.

It was a spirit-filled time of worship.

Ana taught the children about being a good seed.

The art project was popular with the children.

Each of the kids got a small gift bag with candy, a ballon and a ball.

The boxes of clothes we brought went fast.

We also gave out Bibles to those who asked for one.

The Church building was not used for several years and it needs some repairs.

A pile of sand is all these kids needed for fun.

 

 

 

The blue pan contains cooked blooms from the Joshua Tree.

A town we went through was having a big Fiesta.

It is Arlen’s (in red shirt) first missionary trip to Mexico.

Every available spot had a rider or material in it.

 

 

 

TPM 2017 Annual Report: Touching Lives in Jesus Name

Lourdes, Pastor Reynaldo, Abiel, Elis and Ayrela are big supporters of TPM in Mexico.

Lives touched

This (2017) was the second year of full-time ministry in Mexico for True Path Ministry Inc. Through our various ministry activities we had a successful year touching lives in the name of Jesus in both the USA and Mexico. We post stories about our activities, and supporters have told us how they feel involved with our work through FaceBook, web-page postings and newsletters (see “News” on our website for our latest article). We also made several live presentations showing our ministry work in 2017 in the USA.

Our three main focuses in 2017 were:

  1.     Marcos 10:14 Kid’s Club
  2.     Supporting Nuevo Corazon (elderly food program)
  3.     Gospel on the Move (taking gospel to remote villages)

Good Mexico Help

In Mexico we have a number of active ministry supporters who have proven to be the reliable help for our mission. Pastor Reynaldo, wife Lourdes and members of the Gatsamini Church in Galeana, NL, are our greatest supporters here by providing:

  • the teachers, cooks and workers for kid’s club each week;
  • the cooks and delivery help for the meals on Tuesdays;
  • and the preachers, singers, drivers and helpers for our visits to remote villages.

Pastor Reynaldo, is very trustworthy and is our manager when we are away. We plan to continue our close relationship into the New Year. We also enjoy the support of local evangelist Ramiro and many other Christians.

Some Major Projects 2017

Gatsamini Church – Purchased additional new property for the building project. We also constructed a road and begin the building site work at the new location.

The Marcos 10:14 Kid’s Club continues to go well with 35-40 kids coming each week. The children show they are learning scriptures, basis’s of Christian faith and courteous fellowship with each other.

The Women’s Event was very successful in deepening the faith of the 100 or so who attended. Feedback was positive and local support with workers was great.

Our Christmas Gift Giving Tour was a huge effort. It delivered hope to the hundreds of children who received gifts. We had tremendous support from six churches in the USA:

  1. Damascus Road Fellowship, Ennis Texas
  2. Grace Tabernacle Church of God, Kemp, Texas (new supporter in 2017)
  3. Hiway Tabernacle Church of God, Buffalo, Texas (new supporter in 2017)
  4. Gateway Midlothian Youth, Midlothian, Texas (new supporter in 2017)
  5. Christ Chapel, Bandera, Texas
  6. Lighthouse Assembly of God, Sweetwater, Texas

Plus, a number of individuals making it our best year yet for gifts.

The kids at Canous were overjoyed to get the gifts bags with toys and personal care items.

Gospel on the Move made many trips in 2017. We take about four boxes of clothes, reading glasses, Bibles, a worship team, a kid’s time team, and a blessing bag with food and kitchen items for the pastor or local contact. 

Special Projects – Additionally, TPM took on many special projects in 2017. We helped repair pastors and evangelists vehicles. Installed plumbing in churches, repaired homes and various electrical wiring projects.

1995 Chevy Suburban is an essential part of our ministry. We use it to get kids to the weekly club meeting, get people to Gatsamini Church on Sundays, get stuff and people to remote farms, and a number of special meetings.

The 1995 Chevy 4X4 Suburban allows us to take many people and gifts to remote villages.

2010 Ford Edge is our personal and ministry vehicle. It has over 240,000 miles on it, but still runs well. It too is essential to our ministry.

The Ministry House is where we keep all our ministry supplies, host kid’s club weekly, house visitors and allow other Christian activities. It is an important part of our work.

Focus for 2018

We plan to continue with the same three main focuses as 2017, plus one more:

  1. Marcos 10:14 Kid’s Club
  2. Supporting Nuevo Corazon (elderly food program)
  3. Gospel on the Move (taking gospel to remote villages)
  4. Special projects:
    1. Gatsamini Church building project;
    2. Bathrooms: Pastor Berenice’s; Poor Family’s bathroom
    3. Electrical wiring at Palmitto and Canoas Churches.

 Financial Status and Approach

  • True Path Ministry Inc. (TPM) is financially healthy
  • TPM is operated without debt and none is planned in 2018
  • Missionaries Stephen & Tonyia Williams do not pay themselves a salary
  • All money given to TPM goes directly to ministry
  • TPM uses QuickBooks to keep up with its accounting transactions
  • Every expense transaction has a receipt on file
  • The bulk of money spent in Mexico is by cash (petty cash account)
  • No cash is received from persons in Mexico (we are here to give not take)
  • TPM had its annual meeting with outside director Paul Penfold on January 26, 2018.

Blessings for Pastor Berenice

Pastor Berenice was called to serve the Lord in the tiny village of San Francisco, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She is a young, single lady who moved into a room attached to a very old rock church building. There was no kitchen, no shower, very poor wiring and make shift plumbing. True Path Ministry (TPM) was able to change all that and more.

Berenice is pastor to her church and is an especially gifted children’s teacher. TPM has had the privilege of working with her at several remote village services we hosted. Plus, Pastor Reynaldo has had her instruct the teachers at his church on the subject of how to teach children about Jesus. She is a dedicated servant of Christ who is “all in” for the Kingdom. It was TPM’s pleasure to assist in making her life a bit easier.

“This was a big project for us that began in November (see New Bano for Berenice). It is good too see it completed,” said Stephen.

TPM upgraded the electrical wiring (click on a photo to see it larger).

Pastor Reynaldo (left) and his nephew Osvaldo helped with wiring and plumbing.

Salatiel (right) is a local craftsman who built the bathroom including this new septic system.

The new bathroom is in a private courtyard just outside her back door.

New metal door for bathroom.

Pastor Rey and nephew working on  the plumbing.

There was no way to turn off the water while Osvaldo replaced the supply line.

A new kitchen sink was part of the project.

TPM had a local furniture maker, Lupe, build this chest of drawers to improve storage in her living quarters.

A small sound system (and the toilet) was donated by TPM’s niece Jeanette.

New shower area.

Tonyia and Pastor Reynaldo check out the new shower.

 

 

 

 

 

‘You Shall Love Your Neighbor as Yourself’

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31 ESV)

The Marcos 10:14 Kid’s Club learned on February 8th that Jesus told us these are the greatest commandments. The club meeting began with games and singing outside, but as the sun sank in the west it got very cold. The kids and adults crowded inside Casa Alfarero (ministry house) to finish the lesson, drink their hot chocolate and eat Mexican sweet-bread. The paper hearts with the kid’s hand prints was an especially appropriate project just before Valentine’s Day. It is also celebrated in Mexico.  It was another fun and educational club meeting. The Marcos 10:14 Kid’s Club meets every Thursday and is open to any child in the area who wants to come.

The art project was hand prints inside a heart (click on a photo to see it larger).

The games were held outside before it got too cold.

Teacher Patty stood on the stairs to talk to the children inside the house.

Hot coco was well received by the kids.

Mexican sweet-bread is always a treat.