Mexico (MNN) — In a country teeming with drug wars and gang violence, hope could not be more welcome. Unfortunately, many ministries that can deliver that hope have had to postpone mission trips in the face of danger.
In regions less likely to be affected by this violence, it is more imperative than ever that ministries and churches bring the truth and hope of the Gospel into the country.
A team with Christian Resources International recently returned from a trip to the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. After the team made certain in advance that they would be safe in this region, they headed in, and the Lord protected them fully.
"I praise the Lord we did not encounter anything [dangerous]," says CRI's John Lowrey. "We never had a hint of a problem the whole time we were there."
Free to safely deliver hope to the Baja Peninsula, the CRI team helped put on a camp and train children's leaders and Sunday school teachers daily on different methods to present the Gospel. Trainees were provided with several books and resources to help them instruct children in the Word. CRI also provided many of these teachers with an apron made by CRI volunteers–a practical gift that included Gospel-sharing resources in the pockets.
The team also worked closely with pastors in the area and provided them with pastors' libraries and other resources. Many of the pastors who benefited from the CRI trip are the leaders of churches still in the formation stages. Many of these churches do not have a building and are meeting in small living rooms. The CRI gifts of Bibles, theological books and Christian literature provided huge assets for these budding church pastors.
"We're hoping that now they will be able to go back and use these new advantages to really draw in some new interest and some new life to their church, and that a few years from now there will be full-fledged operating churches in all of these little villages," explains Lowrey.
With new hope in the hands of many ministry leaders, the region is bound to expand its Christian and church presence. Pray that the training offered and the resources distributed would enrich many communities and would be a clear conduit for the love of Christ.
CRI sent several resources to the Baja Peninsula that were written in Spanish. Because fewer Spanish resources are donated to CRI in the first place and now some have been distributed, more Spanish Bibles and books are needed on the CRI shelves. These resources will be handed out to pastors and believers in need all over the Spanish-speaking world. To donate new or used Spanish materials, click here. You can of course continue to send much -needed English materials as well.
