“The Joy of the Lord is my strength”

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“Do you have any shoes for my children?” said the concerned father. The answer was “yes we do” and we were able to give all his kids shoes. It was part of a great day of sharing the love of Jesus in an area where few Christian missionaries have gone. Texas visitors Arlen and Linda Williams were among the Christians who traveled deep into the mountains of Mexico to the tiny village El Madrono on Saturday October 26th.

In the village there is no cell or phone service. It was a two hour drive on steep dirt roads to get there and we showed up unannounced and unexpected. Plus, it was a totally new area for True Path Ministry. We only knew one person and we were unable to find her. But the Lord used us to carry His word.

The man at the house where we stopped welcomed us and allowed us to use his restroom. To the surprise of us Texans the man spoke perfect English. He had lived in Tennessee a few years back. Our contact was Gloria and she is the school teacher in the area. Our voices echoed down the canyons as we shouted her name, but she was too far away to hear us.

We decided to go a couple of miles down the road where there was a place we could hold a service. As we were about to leave our new friend asked humbly if we had some shoes for his children. We had brought some and it turned out we had a pair for each of his five kids. The smallest child was so overjoyed that he ran up and down the road in his new shoes.

We went down the road and set up for a service in a covered pavilion. Several in our group went door-to-door inviting folks to the service. We plugged-in the amp and Lulu began to play the guitar. Pastor Reynaldo interrupted her music long enough to invite folks to come on in for the service. Many in the village came with open hearts to worship the Lord with us. After a few songs we formed a prayer circle – it was a moving time in the Lord.

One in our group came out with their face made up to look like a friendly clown. His simple humor was met with laughter from the kids and adults. After the service we laid tarps on the ground and spread out the boxes of clothing we had brought. It was gratifying to see so many smiling faces.

We handed a small gift bag and candy to each child. Our good friend Edith grabbed the remaining shoes and began matching them to the feet of the kids at the event. There was also a table set up and Lulu helped give out reading glasses. We handed all the Spanish Bibles we had to those who asked for them.

When we were about to leave we noticed the van had a flat tire. At the same time our new friend from two miles down the road showed up along with Gloria. He and a couple of other men put on our spare tire and we were set to go.

Wow, what a day of ministry. The ride back to Galeana somehow seemed shorter. “The joy of the Lord is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Note: click on a photo to see it larger

  • He was happy in his new shoes
  • the Galeana worship team
  • Edith has a gift for working with kids
  • Everyone enjoyed the friendly clown
  • The one room school was new
  • we offered reading glasses
  • The kids always enjoy the candy
  • The kids liked the gift bags
  • Linda and Arlen Williams from Texas helped give out gifts
  • We handed out Bibles