The Messenger :: Missions Department Newsletter    •    February 2005

In This Issue June Mission Trip November Mission Trip Bibles For Mexico Honduras Trip Mission House Future Mission Trips Information Needed About Your Mission Efforts June Mission Trip On June 24, 2004, twenty-five members of Bethesda joined fourteen other people from other cities and other churches to conduct a medical/dental/evangelistic mission trip to two churches in Piedras Negras. The mission team was united by their love of the Lord and by their desire to help a flood-ravaged area. In the spring, the sleepy, little Escondido River, which runs through Piedras Negras, became engorged by rain from the mountains surrounding the city. Ironically, it was not raining at all in Piedras Negras. The floodwaters poured through the city at about 10:30 at night when many people had already retired to bed, having received no warning of the impending disaster. The river swept coffins refrigerators, cars, and other debris through the area, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. A number of people died; houses were destroyed or damaged; and families were separated. A helicopter rescued one woman as she sought refuge in the top of a submerged tree. When the mission team arrived, they found a group of dispirited and discouraged people. The children, fearing another flood, grew anxious at each thunderstorm. The adults faced the very real concern of sheltering, feeding and clothing their families. The Mexican government had given them limited help by razing damaged houses, getting rid of the rubbish, and supplying some building materials. They did not, however, help with the labor. Therefore, many people were hard pressed to turn the building supplies into habitable dwellings. Thursday evening the mission team set up temporary examining rooms in El Buen Pastor, dividing the church into appropriate areas to conduct the business of a medical clinic. Wires holding sheets criss-crossed the church. Team members prepared cards for each patient, divided the medicine into correct portions, and prepared for the VBS. Thursday evening and Friday were spent at El Buen Pastor, and Saturday was spent at Nuevo Jerusalem. The team members treated over 150 medical patients. Each evening Johnny Eason, John's son, conducted services for the children, interpreted by Angel Perez. Following this service, David Brauchler, a retired missionary to Latin America, preached in Spanish. In all, 165 people trusted Christ as their Savior! Hallelujah! The dental patients were seen in a special school bus that has been outfitted for dentistry. The team included two dentists and two dental assistants. They saw forty-one patients. About seventy-five children came to hear Bible stories, to have their faces painted, and to make bracelets of colored beads symbolic of Christ's life and death. A weary group returned late Saturday evening, happy that they had planted the seeds both of health and of salvation.            November Mission Trip Dale and Linda Hood accompanied twenty-two other members of Bethesda to Piedras Negras to conduct a second medical and dental mission trip. The group set up a temporary clinic in Bethel Assembly of God, located in a colonia on the outskirts of Piedras Negras. A church of about two hundred members, it has an enthusiastic group of young people. On Saturday the team saw eighty-seven medical patients and worked with thirty-six children in the VBS. The team recorded twenty-three decisions to accept Christ as Savior; in addition, they prayed for sixty-seven special requests. On Sunday, the team worshipped with the Bethel Church. They were happy to see present six families that had come to the clinic expressing a need for salvation. The six families met the pastor and were bonded to the members of the church. Praise God for His many blessings! Bibles For Mexico George Rodela's ministry in Mexico is greatly increasing both in scope and in quality. During 2004, he took five groups of people to Acuna, Mexico, near Del Rio, Texas. In all, he has distributed 950 Spanish Bibles: 271 children's illustrated Bibles and 679 adult Bibles. George has met a great number of Mexican pastors with whom he works closely. One pastoral family especially attracted the attention and admiration of the mission team. This pastor Roberto Martinez and his family minister to the village of Santa Maria, Mexico, a few miles from Acuna. They live in a modest, unheated stucco house. The Bethesda members took the family Christmas presents and gave them a love offering. The pastor does not receive a salary; thus, they live every day by God's grace. Include this family in your prayers!       Honduras Trip The following is an account of Pastor Vic's response to the Honduras mission trip. We arrived home from Honduras late on August 7, 2004. We came back to: Homes, • Air Conditioned homes, • Homes with running water, • Homes, free from flies, • Homes, with carpet or tile floors, • Homes with electricity, • Homes with furniture, refrigerators, deep freezers, fans, and other appliances that work, • Homes with toilets that flush, • Homes with showers or bathtubs, • Homes with washing machines and dryers, • Homes with manicured lawns. We came home to: Closets, • Closets full of clothes, • Closets full of shoes --real shoes. We came home to: Food, • Food in thousands of restaurants, • Abundant food in super- markets, • Food and money with which to buy it, • Sanitary conditions to prepare it, • Tables on which to set it; and chairs for us to sit on, • Food, safe to eat. We came home to: • Running water, • Drinkable water from the tap instead of a bottle. We came home to: • Automobiles that run, • Automobiles with air conditioners, • Automobiles with good tires. We came home to: • Towns with city fathers who are, by and large, without corruption, • Clean towns, • Towns with trash removal, • Towns with sewer systems, • Towns with water treatment plants. We came home to: Literacy, • Libraries, • The ability to read and write; and our own books to read. We came home to: Friends and Family, • Some who gave of their own means so many of us could go, • Family and friends, some who would love to go, but for various reasons cannot, • Family and friends, some who are unwilling to go; who simply say "no" to the tug of the Holy Spirit! We came home to: Things we don't need, but are grateful for, • CD players with CD's to go with them, We came home to: Bethesda Community Church, a place of • Awesome worship, • Wondrous music, • Glorious praise, • Accurate and passionate preaching of the Word, • Stability and accountability in leadership. What did we leave behind? We left behind: People, • People who are soft-spoken and gracious, • Poor people who are rich in the things of God, • Children who are wonderfully beautiful and loving, • Children you can't resist hugging, even though you are taking a risk, • Children who love to give you five (high or low), • Children who will come hug you the second time they see you and know you're part of the team, • People who are on fire for God, • People who are excited about God's love, • People appreciative and grateful for our coming. We left behind: New converts, • Children and adults (80-100 adults) and an uncountable number of children. We left behind: Medicine. • We saw some 500 patients. • Gave out thousands of medicines, although inadequate in types and quantities, • Left boxes of medicines for the clinic. We left behind: Teachers, • Young ladies and gentlemen from the USA and other places, who decided to go for God, then go for education or other pursuits, • Young people giving three months to two years to bless other, by living in miserable conditions, with long hours, great responsibilities and wondrous hope. We left behind: • Streams that serve as the local laundry mat, • Beautiful mountains that hide the misery of poverty, • A work to rescue Honduras' children. We left behind: • Bags of candy, • Lots of dirty clothes and shoes, • Blood (from the construction crew), sweat(from all of us), and we left many tears. We left behind, for the people: a new hope, a new touch, the Fire of God, and the knowledge that Bethesda Community Church cares for the people of Honduras. Thank you for all you have already done. What is left? You! What will you do? Will you join us next time? If it's impossible for you to go, will you give to missions so others can? However, if you are still uninvolved, the harvest is ready.       Mission House The McLean St. mission house is being readied for a new tenant, Lee Bueno, a missionary to Central and South America, who will be moving in this spring. Plans are underway to fence a section of the back yard for the sake of security. We are re-roofing the house and adding a larger patio. At this time, the greatest need is for money and workers to build the fence. Soon, we will be having one or more work sessions on the fence. Come help us on this project or donate money to help purchase supplies. Future Mission Trip Three trips to Mexico are planned for this spring. Mike Mattocks will be taking a men's construction team to Chihuahua March 16-19. Cost is $400. This team will by putting roofs on three churches. See Mike for more information. George Rodela will be taking a team to Acuna April 8-10. He will be distributing Bibles and attending a conference of pastors. Check with George for information on cost. Dale and Linda Hood will be taking a medical team to Piedras Negras, date to be determined later. Cost is $125. In addition to the Mexico trips, we plan to take groups to Guatemala and to Columbia, respectively. The plans for these trips have not been completed. Check the bulletin and future issues of The Messenger for more details. Become a part of these efforts by going, by giving, and by praying. Designate some of your offering envelopes for missions. Information Needed About Your Mission Efforts This second issue of the Mission Task Force publication is in need of information about all mission activities carried on by Bethesda Community Church. Give information to Shirley Edwards, Lavinia Williams, Stephen Evans, or Vic Bartlow. Remember to designate at least one person of a mission team to take notes, so that the information might be shared with the entire church.