Kingsville, Zapata, & Missions in Mexico

We escaped a cold front coming toward our home in Hillsboro, TX in mid-January and headed south for Kingsville, home of the famous King Ranch. We reconnected with friends at University Baptist Church; we were surprised to learn that Pastor Jerry Tanner had retired. Our activities were limited, as the Naval Air Station where we were parked was much less active than during previous stays. It was the weekend of MLK Day, and Tuesday was the historic inauguration of President Obama. We watched all the events with fond memories of our 30 wonderful years in the Washington, DC Area.

Thursday, January 22, we met our Wisconsin friends who were camped in nearby Riviera; we had met Anne and Tom while we were camp hosts in New Mexico a couple of years ago. We saw them several times during this stay and enjoyed good Bridge games, tasty food, and Christian fellowship. Their active RV Park was filled with “Winter Texans” who loved to play horseshoe, table games, ping pong, and fishing, and they even sponsored trap shoots. We hope our friends will stop by to visit us in Hillsboro on their way home in late-February. Both Anne and Tom have qualified for the 2009 Senior Olympics to be held this summer in California.

On Wednesday, January 28, we traveled on to Zapata to see our good friends, Pastor Raul and Amelia. We also met Pastor Preston, the new minister of First Baptist, Zapata. The two pastors serve together ministering to Spanish and English speaking congregations. The five of us traveled in the church van across the Border to visit several churches/missions and an orphanage. We spent the night with Pastor Hose Marin in Sabinas, Mexico. (We learned that Mexican roosters crow all night long.)

Evangelical churches in Mexico are small with little money, but they have great faith and love doing God’s work. Pastor Hose took us to his church that we had come to paint. He had one ladder and the church had a very high ceiling. When he told us it would cost 500 dollars to hire a professional painter, Preston and we quickly pledged the full amount and continued on with our tour. We also visited an Assembly of God mission with a petite lady pastor, Elena, and her husband Jamie. Our tour was interrupted while Gloria stepped from the van to meet a smiling man pulling a cart with two donkeys and two mules in tow. (See photo.) Gloria climbed to the driver’s seat on the wagon, and while holding the reins, offered to take Raul for a drive, he quickly said, “NO! These animals don’t understand English!” We delivered food, materials, money, and encouragement wherever we stopped. We had prayer with a troubled cleaning lady in a national park and a needy store owner who served us coffee.

The day was sunny and became warmer as we traveled. Our last stop was at a small, newly formed village where Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida (New Life Baptist Church) has a startup mission. Two Mexican pastors were there to greet us and show off their newly poured foundation. Pastor Luna is a mason and plans to build the church with cement blocks. Pastor Roberto Zuniga of Iglesia Bautista Jezreel, in Meir is now a mission coordinator and works closely with Pastor Raul. Pastor Luna said he had only 100 blocks at 60 cents per block and was waiting on the Lord for the rest. Before we left we made sure he had a few more. The Mexican government is paying for the tiny 50-60 basic masonry home structures in the hot, barren, treeless area next to the church. This will be the first time these people will have owned an earthly home. As a result of the mission’s efforts, we hope they will all have an eternal Heavenly Home.

We were most thankful for AC in the van as we drove back into the US. Sunday we attended Bible school and church with Pastor Preston at First Baptist. Following a wonderful time of praise, special music, and message, we went to a restaurant. Pastor Preston treated the entire church (over 100 attendees) to a chicken fried steak dinner with all the trimmings. Preston is a remarkable servant for his Lord. We were truly blessed to get to be with him while in Zapata. Our day was enhanced with a trip to a scenic park in Sabinas. The three men took advantage of a hike up the side of the mountain. There were numerous picnic areas and trails for hikes. Amelia and Gloria enjoyed a stroll around the park as the men climbed. Later in the day we visited a National Park that has a protected a grove of beautiful, huge cypress trees. The visitor center also had a lovely brick conference center, educational labs, and facilities for receptions.

After a day of rest and doing laundry back in Zapata, Pastor Raul knew Gloria was disappointed that we had not painted anything. He suggested that if we wanted we could paint the car bumper stops in the parking lot of his church, Nueva Vida. He was delighted when we said yes, and he furnished us paint and needed supplies. Another volunteer, Manuel, helped us. Raul built a neat frame template for striping the parking places. We used small rollers and with Raul’s practical invention, we created 10 parking places in front of the church building. We rushed back to our trailer to shower and change in order to travel with Raul and Preston for Benavides, TX about 45 miles from Zapata. We attended the Coastal Bend Baptist Association’s first quarter meeting. It was amazing to see the enthusiasm that the people in attendance had for missions. We were especially blessed to meet Mike and Michele who direct the Baptist Student Ministry in Texas A and M University, Kingsville. Mike is also the interim pastor for University Baptist, Kingsville. We were served a scrumptious dinner and were impressed by the committee reports. Pastor Raul, who served as moderator, is one of the most faithful ministers we have ever met. He inspires, teaches, and sets an excellent example. He truly has a heard for our neighbors across the Border. We count it a blessing to be a part of his and Amelia’s work in Zapata and Mexico. While he takes his ministry seriously, he makes sure that we, as volunteers, take time to have fun.