In the year 2013 we were offered support to help “high risk” children in our Secondary school. In the high sierra of our State of Nayarit the indigenous children fall into that category because of the drugs grown in the mountainous areas. We brought three students in from the sierra. It was a challenge since we had to arrange room and boarding as well as some one that was responsible to look after them and arrange weekend activities. We were able to get it all together and they started classes. About two months into the project we found out that the support for them was not going to come in. We had the option of paying for it ourselves or sending them home. We decided to make it work and they were with us for two years. There were two boys and one girl, her name is Fidelia, or as we called “Fide”. The children never became Christians and when they returned home we lost track of them.
Fast forward to 2018. Fide calls us and tells us that she, her husband and 2 children are moving to our town (the girls in that culture marry between 14-15 years of age). After moving here they went to church a couple of times and then stopped coming. At the beginning of this year they start coming to the church once again and Fide's husband Blas felt God's presence touch his life. That changed everything. They are now constant in church and they are preparing themselves for making a lifelong commitment to Christ. What we sowed in Fide's life years ago is staring to give fruit. This is just a beginning and we know that a lot more reaping is coming into our ministry.
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| Four siblings on the couch and one in the picture |
As I am writing this letter my siblings who can come are joining us in Mexico to say “goodbye” to Dad. He slipped into semi consciousness this past Sunday, the 8th of September as he reached the final stretch of his race to be with the Lord. He converted to Christianity at the age of 17 along with his first convert, who later became his wife. Four years later he was on the missions field running in the front lines of God's army. He was raised hard-line holiness Pentecostal but he was able to break the chains of legalism and touch lives through many denominational lines. He carried many coats through his years of ministry; pastor, missionary, missions ambassador and teacher. His heart was in teaching and through his classes he formed many people. There are so many things that I could mention about him, as I really got to know him these last 16 years as I became his caregiver. Two things stand out in my mind above all. The first one is that he ran this race as a Christian for 70 years. His faith was strong and God honored his faith and his faithfulness. The second thing is that he made me the missionary that I am today. I am a living example of his calling and his vision to reach the lost. “Dad it is hard to say goodbye as I sit here and cry but I want to follow your example of being a faith warrior right up to the end. Thank you for making me the person that I am.”
We want to thank all of you for your prayers for this ministry and your financial support. Thank you also to each one of you that have kept supporting Dad right up until the end. We bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Philip, Lucy, and Vanessa Tolman
