January 2009

Dear Friend and Partner,

            

It is impossible to visit a place of extreme poverty and be untouched by the need represented there.  Such was the case with Gary Bishop, who accompanied me to Saltillo this month.

 I was so blessed to have this new friend along with me and to see the impact that the trip had on him.  He not only shared the aviation, navigation, & communication work load that goes along with flying a private aircraft, but he also shared the joy of seeing our children.  He was truly moved by the experience and has already mentioned a return trip in 09.  

We arrived at Saltillo Monday afternoon, Dec 1^st. The airplane was full of boxes and suitcases with gifts for the children. These were unloaded and reloaded into one of our vans there and whisked off to Javier and Milly’s house for preparation for the Christmas party.  Our plans did not include being at the party, since that was held later in the month closer to Christmas day. 

            This trip was a busy one and we were on the go a lot. After being in the plane all day Monday, after a quick shower we headed to a home meeting. This was the first experience for Gary to have “Genuine Mexican” food. There is something amazing that happens when people break bread together.   Jesus knew this well kept secret and encouraged it.  An 

open and receptive attitude is the results of an evening dining together and I was asked to share a few thoughts before leaving.  I spoke about Jesus’ command that we make disciples. They are not born, or bought, they are made. It takes time, effort and money to do so. Once again we had invested all three into these fine people.

            We visited 

the Omega feeding center and were pleasantly surprised to see that the city of Saltillo is improving the area by paving the roads, installing water lines, electric poles and wires.  For those of you who have visited this area, you would not recognize it now. 

There is a new church building, the road in front is now graded and paved. I barely recognized the area. It’s amazing what the Gospel does to an area. We don’t take credit for the changes that are being made there but we do rejoice with our workers for what we are seeing done. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has a way of transforming people and places.

Before

We were blessed to be in all 3 centers on this trip. Each one is progressing nicely and doing the work we ask them to do. I was blessed to hear a powerful lesson in all 3 centers. This is extremely important to our vision. It’s not just a place to receive nourishment, but also to enrich and nourish the mind with the truths from Gods Word.

            2008 is now in the past and we must press on toward the needs and dreams for tomorrow. We pray for you and ask that you pray for us as we press on to do the will of God in our lives.

 

Your Friends,

Jim and Pam Stockdale

Latin American Ministry