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Divine Encountres

Update: Iglesia Casa de Oracion, Dios Habla Hoy

Christmas 2022

Baptisms at FMC

Don’t be a “Mule Faced” Christian

from Calvin

OK, maybe I had better explain. When Barbara and I were children, sitting under the pastoral care of her dad, Pastor Mason, he used this phrase quite often.

When teaching on the joy of the Lord, he would relate the fact that some Christians had lost the joy of their salvation and go around expressing sadness and a despondent attitude.

Then, he would tell the story of ole farmer Jones, who finally went to church, got saved, experienced joy, informed his face,  and went home rejoicing. Later, as he was feeding his animals, he noticed how long-faced and sorrowful his mule looked. Then he said, “Old mule, you must be one of those sad Christians because your face is so long and sad.”

Our mission work in Mexico presents occasions where we see sad faces turn to joy as the teaching of God’s Word lifts the heavy burdens of the lost. The children are especially expressive in this. Many come from unspeakably difficult home environments. But hearing the message of hope through Jesus is most certainly life changing for them.

Even among church going Christians, we see very positive results by the ministry of the Word under Holy Spirit anointing.  Paraphrasing John 10:10 Calvino version, “The devil comes to steal our joy and kill our zeal for God, but Jesus came to saturate us with abundant life and thereby restore our joy.”

From Genesis to Revelation our Bibles give us multitudes of reasons to rejoice and things to rejoice about. Many of my favorites come from the Apostle Paul:

Romans 12:12 KJV  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.

Philippians 4:4 KJV Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

I Thessalonians 5:16 KJV Rejoice evermore.

There are so many uplifting scriptures, and if I may choose a favorite, it will come from Luke 10:19-21a KJV  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit.

As I meditate on this scene, I see the disciples rejoicing with great exuberance after witnessing the amazing power of God released as they minister in the authority of Jesus’ name. Then the Lord says, “Hey guys, here is the ultimate reason to rejoice. Your names are registered in heaven!”

As we walk out our script of life, there will be times when our joy will come under attract. It’s so important to look at the bigger picture. Many of us would say death is the most violent attacker that tries to bring us down. Again, “The Bigger Picture.” Death can only separate us from our loved ones within the temporal time frame. Truth is, as Christians whose names are recorded in Heaven, we’ll soon be together for all eternity in the joyful bliss of the presence of our Savior Jesus, the Christ of God.

Give the devil a black eye. Take off that mule face and begin rejoicing with passion.

Divine Encounters

from Barbara

Angels are assigned to help people who are actively obeying what God has called them to do. We have experienced angelic help many times in dangerous situations.

I want to start by relating some testimonies from my Grandmothers.

When my Granny, Thelma Coats Custer, was a small child, she lived in west Texas where there were lots of tornados. Her grandmother would keep watch for tornados and get the family from their small house to a cellar. Granny was terrified of tornados. They had to go through a gate to get to the cellar.

One day during a violent storm when Granny was a little girl, she had a divine encounter at that gate. An encounter that had an impact on how she viewed dangerous situations for the rest of her life.
 
In Granny’s words, “A soft light appeared in the frame of the gate, Jesus appeared and stood looking down at me. He smiled and His lips moved, and He said, ‘Don't be afraid. I am bigger than the storm.’ He smiled again and left, and the light receded. All fear of the storm left me.” 

Her Grandmother, who didn’t see Jesus, came back and grabbed her up, and ran to the cellar. That experience so impacted her, that she was never again afraid of tornados.

When I was a little girl, my Granny, Edna Hinman Mason, was at home on the outskirts of Santa Fe, NM. They lived where there were no other homes. She was in the kitchen when a man knocked on the door. When she went to the door, he asked if she could fix something for him to eat. He came in and set at the table. He opened a violin case, took out his violin, and began to play. She said it was the most beautiful music she ever heard. When she had the meal fixed, he put up his violin to eat. When he finished, he thanked her for the food and left. She wanted to thank him for the beautiful music, so she immediately ran to the door. She went out the door and called to him. She looked all around and he couldn’t be found. There were no other buildings in the area where he could have gone. She went back into her home, thinking. That was an angel.

On one of our Christmas journeys in Mexico, we were traveling with a van load of people. We were on a narrow road where the weeds had grown up on the sides of the road higher than our vehicle. Suddenly, out of the weeds, appeared a horse trotting across the road in front of us. Calvin slammed on the brakes, but the horse was too close to miss. All of a sudden the house leaped in a manner that they only move in when a rider spurs them. That leap took him out of our way. It saved the horse’s life and probably ours. Calvin said, “Someone had to be on that horse!"

Nineteen Years Ago: Deep in the Copper Canyon, much deeper and larger than the Grand Canyon, along the Batopilas River, a young Tarahumara chief known for his violent character was upset that Pastor Luis' ministry was robbing his tribe and community of people. He came to Luis' house and began screaming and yelling curses and threats. Luis came to the door to see what was going on. The chief pulled a large knife from his belt and began to approach with violent death threats. Luis boldly led by the Spirit simply folded his arms and said, "You can't hurt me because God is with me."

Suddenly the chief fell backward to the ground. With a shocked look on his face, he got up, again moving towards Luis. Once again, the Spirit of the Lord knocked him flat. He cautiously got up and left, looking behind him with a look of fear and wonder on his face.

A short time later, he returned to visit with Luis and he received Jesus as his Savior. Soon thereafter, the chief, hearing of Brother Calvino and his ministry asked to meet him. Soon they were introduced and the chief presented Calvino with a beautiful handmade drum. Seventeen years later the drum still hangs on the wall at the Scott's Ranchito.

A few years ago Pastor Jesus Espinosa, of Cumpas, Sonora invited a tent evangelist to set up in the empty lot across the street from our Faith Ministries mission house. It was a very spiritual and fruitful revival. One morning after an especially active night of the Holy Spirit manifesting His presence through salvations and healings, Pastor Jesus walked into the local hardware store. The owners greeted him with a smile and said, “We drove by your tent meeting last night and we were wondering, "Why did you have everyone dress in white?" Few people had worn anything white. They saw the glory of God. 

Since establishing our Faith Ministries missions church in the border town of Douglas, AZ, we’ve been honored by the presence of angels in our services many times. Some of our spiritual prayer warriors have seen them. Many of us have heard them sing with us. We’ve heard musical instruments being played that were not in our band. Angles are real and they guard and they guide where the will of God is found.

When we are traveling in Mexico, we are very aware of God’s presence and of His angels surrounding us.

Iglesia Casa de Oracion, Dios Habla Hoy

Pastors Alberto & Zulma Ruelas

Alberto and Zulma’s house still needs two more windows and a back door to close it in. Then they need ceiling, flooring, and bathroom and kitchen fixtures.  Please pray about what you can do to help them finish this project and get moved into their new house.

We have been awed by their outreach to their community. The Lord led them to start Bible Studies in homes for people who are shy about attending church.  They now regularly have 8 cell groups weekly, besides services in their church. All of their cell group members are now attending church as well. Praise the Lord! While we were there, I (Barbara) was able to share at one of their women’s cell groups.

Christmas 2022

In spite of COVID, last Christmas season, we blessed 12,000 children in three states with gifts, Christmas meals, and the beautiful eternal message of Jesus’ birth, meaning God is now with us to save us from our sins. It’s wonderful to bring GOOD NEWS to hurting people in troubled times.

In October we will need to start sending out the money for buying toys to our team leaders and by the middle of November we will need to send the money for candy, so the gift bags will be ready by the middle of December. 

Words cannot express how thankful we are for our partners who make our Mexican children’s outreaches possible. Reaching children with God’s love and praying with them to receive Jesus in their hearts, promises a better tomorrow.

Statistics show that 80% of people who are Christians were born again before they were 18.

Baptisms at FMC

It is such a joy to see the young ones confirm their decision to follow Christ by water baptism.

FMC puts a lot of effort into continually planting God’s word and His love in the children’s hearts and minds.

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