Today we are sharing our thankfulness to our friends at Relevant Church, and the community  for partnering with us in our yard sale this past Saturday!  We asked for donations, and were able to raise more than we expected toward our trip to Mexico 2013!  Praise God who takes care of us and supplies all our needs from His glorious riches! (Phil. 4:19)

SHARING  THE   SWORD - MEXICO - 2013

GREETINGS  to all our special friends, who have followed us for the past 7 years, and those who have just joined us!  Please pray with us, that the Lord will meet our needs to be able to leave by January 2, 2013. 
   This year we have been blessed by having volunteers who are willing to fly to two places in Mexico to help us in our ministry!  Lord willing, Dave Sanders will meet us on the first leg of our work to canvas two very poor villages, and pass out "gently used" shoes and Spanish New Testaments.  Then when we arrive in Puerto Vallarta in February, Scott & Kim Aldridge and their children:Luke & Faith, will meet us with even MORE shoes, that they will bring with them on the USAirline Scott works with, and help us in poor areas for a few days!

   We have already started bagging some of the shoes given to us, and we are very thankful for other churches, and individuals who are donating them.  We hope to give you more updates before we leave.
  
   

Praise God! We had a safe crossing on Wed., Apr.4th! A friend followed us to the border, and once in the USA, we parted ways for the rest of the trip. I took a couple of pictures of the Rio Grande, which divides the USA and Mex. borders while we waited in a long line on the bridge. Right on the border line is a stone marker which shows the place. We are alittle sad to leave so many contacts that God has led us to, but will be even more excited to return next year, Lord willing.

We will be worshipping our LIVING SAVIOUR tomorrow with Carole's nephew & family in Alabama, and returning to S.C. on Monday. Luke 24:5b-6a "...WHY DO YOU LOOK FOR THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD? HE IS NOT HERE; HE HAS RISEN!..." Yes, HE has risen indeed, and we thank you all for standing with us as we shared this GOOD NEWS!!

Peter & I will be leaving Villa Corona on Monday morning, and will drive to our "overnite" stop in Zacatacus. Then on Tuesday, April 3rd, we will drive to our last "overnite" stop in Saltillo. The 4th, we will be driving to the border in Larado. Hopefully, we will cross mid to late afternoon into the USA. We would covet your prayers for this phase of the trip.
We have one more full day here, and are trying to tie up all our contacts here. We have spoken to the couple who are struggling with their marriage, and have let them know that we have other Christians praying for them in the USA.
As we were reading God's Word & sharing together, we wanted to share with all of you who have "partnered" with us, some verses God has laid on our hearts. Hebrews 10:23-25:"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for GOD can be trusted to keep HIS promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together,as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near". (NLT) We thank God for each of you who have journeyed with us.

I love to take pictures of interesting things here in Mexico, so I thought I'd share of couple.

Sometimes it's hard on a 72 year old missionary when he's asked to play with a bunch of teenagers!! Twice a week, the Church invites all the teens & whoever wishes to join them (the Pastor's wife, Jill, in pink shirt, is the best one on the team), as an outreach to them, and after two hours of basketball, they return to the Church for a Bible study.

Peter & I took a drive into several neighboring towns, and passed MILES of berry plants that were being harvested. They cover them with white plastic for protection from the sun, etc. We bought lots of raspberries, blackberries, & strawberries, & brought them back to Jill's house, so we could make pies. She was able to give them to the two sets of people we are working with, to let them know we care, and God especially cares!