Dear Praying Friends,
We hope that this letter finds you happy in the Lord and enjoying His daily blessings. We are thankful for the way God is working in our lives and the lives of our people. We praise Him for the opportunity to be here on the field and to see Him changing people’s lives. Our family is well, and it has been a typical winter in the mountain country. Along with most of the people of our pueblo, the cold and flu bugs have passed through each member of our family, but thankfully we are beyond that now. We’re sure that you are as amazed as we are at how quickly time passes. In February of this year, Deb turned 29 (wink), in March Craig turned 43, Bethany 16, and we celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary. It is our pleasure to invest our lives in the mountain people and we appreciate each of you who continue to be such a blessing in working with us to make it possible.
The ministry here is encouraging and we thank the Lord for the way He continues to work. Our services are going great, and even though we still miss several people who left to find work in other towns, the spirit seems to be as good as ever. Mario and Lulu our good friends who trusted Christ a few months ago, recently called from their new home in Puebla, Mexico. They were really excited to share with us that they had visited a Bible preaching church there. That was really neat to hear and a real encouragement to us. Even though they have moved on, we will always be friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. It makes the work here seem very real to see it carried on in other lives. Undoubtedly, God will continue to work in their lives to expand the cause of Christ through them. Here, God has given us a good group and recently several new families and individuals have been attending. We have been using the one on one approach, inviting those whom we witness to or lead to Christ. By following up on the network of friends and family, God keeps increasing our opportunities to reach new people while maintaining a fairly stable foundation. As we have endeavored to follow the example of our Savior’s public ministry, God is honoring this philosophy of ministry and is richly blessing.
We have had three new Indian families visiting for the past few weeks. The indigenous people are very difficult to reach and it is an answer to prayer to have the opportunity to minister to them. One of the families is that of the young boy we befriended over two years ago named Nacho. Nacho, excepted Christ under our ministry at an outdoor service which we held in a wilderness area. We have been encouraging and helping him since then, but his father has a serious drinking problem and his mother is very distrusting of non-Indian people. In their culture, outsiders are referred to as Chabochis, “white devils.” They are taught that “we” have been brought into their lives to oppress them. It has been a real blessing to have Nacho, his mother Rosa, and his sisters in our services recently. Rosa is still very reserved, but is becoming more comfortable around us. These people have been so exploited and abused by outsiders that they don’t quickly place their trust in anyone. It is a great honor to see her begin to trust us and to understand that we are here to be their friends. We have known them for almost three years now, and maybe finally they realize that we are here to stay. One of the fears of the people here is that if they commit to Christ, which in their minds includes a commitment to us and our fellowship, what would happen if we are not really serious and likewise committed to them. Many face social and religious ridicule for their involvement with us. If we were to leave, they would feel abandoned and the cause of Christ would certainly be harmed for years to come. It is an awesome responsibility and we thank the Lord, for allowing us to remain on the field. We know that it is because of your prayers and love for our family and people that have made it possible and we sincerely appreciate you.
One of the other Indian families that is attending was invited by Maria Rosa, an Indian lady who trusted Christ and has been faithful to our services since the beginning of our ministry here. Maria Rosa, is very shy and timid. She is normally very quiet and doesn’t volunteer herself or readily answer questions without prompting. It has been a tremendous blessing to see her reach out to others in her community and to see her become a leader of sorts, among our new Indian people. She has really come alive, setting the example for the ones who are still not too sure about us. We believe that the key to reaching the Indian people will be through the testimonies of other Indians as God draws them. Although we have been here for three years now, we are still very much at the onset of a wonderful opportunity to see what God will do in the lives of these people. Please pray that God will continue to work in their lives and to allow us to lead them in trusting Christ as Savior.
Please continue to pray also for our friend Jesús. In our last letter, we mentioned that he has been helping us at the mission property and is becoming increasingly interested in our ministry. He recently began attending our services, which is a real encouragement and blessing. He lives on the other side of town and walks well over a mile one way to attend. Jesus is 67 years old and retired from his work with the railroad. He has been hearing the Gospel and we pray will soon put his faith in Christ.
We recently visited a young couple named Jorge and Monse in their home. They are the couple who named their baby, Bethany, after our daughter. Monse had been attending our services prior to the birth of Bethany. Jorge, Bethany’s father, has been faithful to our services since just after her birth. Monse trusted Christ under our ministry last year, but Jorge still needs to be saved. We have tried to be an encouragement to them. They make a great young couple and Jorge is doing a good job of making a home for them. He has made some rustic furniture for their little two-room house with scraps of wood from the sawmill where he works and we want to help them succeed. They are living without an indoor bathroom or a kitchen. We took a bag of clothes for little Bethany and they really appreciated it. They have very little money, and now once again, the sawmill is having trouble paying their workers and so they are waiting for money. When we arrived at their house they were somewhat embarrassed but very pleased that we came to their home. As we sat around their little wooden table, Monse ran out and bought a small bottle of milk (they have no refrigerator) and a package of cookies to give us with coffee. We felt very honored by their hospitality knowing their financial situation. We see hope in this young couple and want to help them. Jorge wants to make some more furniture, but needs a piece of plywood. Here, a piece of plywood costs about a week’s pay. Both Jorge and Monse are going to help us put on a puppet show for the children. As we work with them, please pray that God might use us to help them in establishing the priorities of their young family, the first being that Jorge will trust Christ as personal Savior.
Some good news to share about the mission property is that the documents have been approved and we have received permission from the government to have the property deeded to us. The approval has been submitted to the appropriate office and we are waiting for the next step in the process. Praise the Lord! As you know, when God is blessing, Satan is on the attack. Recently, he has been getting some punches in that have left us feeling emotionally body slammed. One situation involves an old friend in the ministry who is facing serious health concerns. He is constantly on our minds and hearts and we would like to see God work to heal his body. Please be in prayer for him. God knows the details. Also, about a month ago, someone all but destroyed the front door and burglarized the mission building. Many hand tools were stolen as well as an 1100 liter water storage tank that we used during construction and planned to use for the storage of rain water runoff. Also about 40 blankets and some clothing were stolen which we planned to give to needy families. It causes a hardship on us, because it will require several hundred dollars to replace the stolen items and to repair the damage. We don’t understand, but are trusting God to work it out for good. The incident shows us, that much more clearly, the need to finish and occupy the mission property. We have been trying to focus this past year on people and though we greatly need the building, have let the work slow in order to concentrate on them. God is using this episode to refresh our efforts to complete the building that we might have a base to better serve the people He is bringing. On Sundays, we can hardly walk through the room and we use our dining table for a pulpit. After the break-in, God brought two young men who needed work and a place to stay. They worked for two weeks and slept in the building at night. It was a blessing to them and us as well. We were able to install a temporary barbwire fence and put in the foundation for the permanent block fence. We put in a cement base to secure the main gate and finished primer coating the interior walls. The window frames are also painted now and ready for glass. We praise the Lord for our good friends who provided the funds for an air compressor. It is a tremendous blessing and has allowed us to do much more than we could have working by hand. It feels good to have done so much. We are trusting God to provide the time, energy and capital to be able to finish the floor coverings, bathroom and kitchen details and security bars. Thank you, for continuing to labor with us toward the establishment of the mission base. By God’s grace, it will soon be an active part of the ministry.
We recently had the opportunity to be used of God in an unusual way. A company from the US puts RVers on train flatcars and takes them on a tour of Mexico. We met the leaders of the caravan in town several months ago. They became interested in our ministry and began bringing fruit, school supplies and children’s clothing to drop off for our people on their way through town. We were expecting their arrival last Sunday afternoon and were monitoring the radio frequency that the caravan uses. When they arrived, we made arrangements to meet them at trackside. Isaac went first to meet them, but when he met the leaders, they said there was a change in plans. An elderly woman on the trip was displaying symptoms of a heart problem and needed immediate care. Isaac let us know what was happening and we rushed to meet them. The people had no transportation and didn’t know anyone in town but our family. The doctor’s office was closed, so Isaac took the woman to the doctor’s home where he examined her and got her stabilized. In the mean time, we met them there to help with translating and to reassure her that we would be here to help, including transporting her down the mountain to the hospital. Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary and the symptoms subsided. It was quite a lot of excitement for our quiet town, and we were glad to be available to help.
Another new opportunity that is very exciting to us is the opportunity to visit the government school where some of our Indian children are now attending. It is located in the village of Gonagochi where we hope to establish a work. We trust that our visit will initiate an opportunity to get to better know the people of that community. The children are very needy, many without shoes, or even school supplies. We are praying that God will allow us to work through the school to minister in the lives of the families. It could be the first step in establishing a relationship with the leaders of that community, and developing an on going ministry.
In closing, we want to tell you again, how much we appreciate you and your part in the ministry. You are a valuable member of our team and are making a true difference for Christ. As we continue to go forward together in the work, we are mindful and thankful that God is using you and your prayers to affect the lives of our people for eternity. We pray that God will richly bless you.
Sincerely, For Souls Who Have Not Heard,
The Chambers
