March-April 2009
God’s work is going to get done. It doesn’t depend on abundance or on friends, only on God’s providence. In Jesus` three years of ministry we never find that He was in want, even though he had a thief for a treasurer. Paul knew what it was to have abundance and to be in want in a physical sense, but through it all, the ministry he carried out kept going forward. There were times of physical work as well as ministry. He told the Thessalonian church that while he was with them he worked to not be a burden to them. Later on that same church became a donator into the ministry. Paul’s words in Acts are what catch my attention; Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. ¨
In the churches where we minister, one of the challenges is getting young people to work. With the minimum wage now only $3.50 a DAY in our part of Mexico, many youth prefer to not do anything. One of the passages of the Bible that we teach is that we work not only so that we can have money but also so we have money to give away (2 Thes. 3). In first place I don’t work for people, I work for God. In second place I don’t work so that I can have more, I work so that I can have more to give to people who have needs. This might be a good lesson for more than the youth to whom we are ministering.
Being constant is a virtue that makes things go. Our ministry team continues to minister in all the local churches in the area. More over five days a week we have classes in our Secondary School and four of those days are also used to minister in the Bible School. Children’s ministry, counseling. prayer and activities are all part of a life of ministry. The programming of our youth and children’s camps is also in the making. All this is necessary but more than all of this, what makes this work exciting is when we see people set on fire by the Holy Spirit.
A young man who I will call Jose had become disillusioned with God. In his time, in another city Jesus had touched his life along with the lives of his family. Trials and false accusation had made the family run and under the pressures that society placed on them they had slipped away from their walk with God. When Jose came to church with us for the first time he was an aloof, disinterested young man. He worked a menial job and lived without any apparent motivations in his life. One day while in service, the Lord told me to invite him to attend Bible School. I could see no interest of serving God in his life, much less the need to attend a Bible School. Eventually I obeyed God and gave him the invitation to attend our course that was starting in March. Much to my surprise (not God’s) he came. Within the first week he was transformed. His desire to serve our Lord Jesus was rekindled and the change is incredible. If that can happen in one week, try to imagine what 3 months of study and prayer will do.
To be able to fulfill the calling God has put on our lives, we have involved ourselves in the overseeing of a new business in our town. Through it we are able to minister to a lot of new people who we wouldn’t meet otherwise. Also we can supply good jobs to some people from our churches. We know that in the near future this will also bring financial blessing into our lives so that we will have more to give. Jesus´ words ring true still today; ¨It is more blessed to give than to receive.¨
We continue to pray rich blessings upon all you who support this ministry and the vision that we carry here in Mexico. We covet your prayers. We appreciate your faithful offerings that help us to continue moving forward.
Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman
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