Happy New Year and belated Merry Christmas

Dear Ministry Friends and Family!

- by Pastor Andy Alvarez

It’s a joy to share with everyone the events and stories of life and ministry. Have you ever had “one of those days”? I mean just when you think, “Naw, it can’t get worse than this? Can it?” that it seems as if we “spoke too soon.” I’m sure we’ve all had our share of days like that. The wonderful thing is how the Lord has much to teach us through these things that stretch our faith and our patience.

For us, it was a recent trip to the US. What we thought would be a typical and innocuous trip across the border became at least briefly, an ordeal of insanity! During the holiday season the border crossing can take countless hours, mired in snarled lanes of traffic. Innumerable cars and their drivers desperate for an opening, any one at all, that will provide a chance to jockey into a better position, or (like in football!) gain a few yards. Incessant honking, epithets hurled about, overheated engines and tempers are the norm.

Knowing full well all of this, we decided to strike out at night, hopefully avoiding much stress and confusion. Alas, it wasn’t to be! Arriving at the border at almost midnight, there were hundreds of others who must have thought the same thing! Faced with such a tide of would-be commuters, the border officials closed all but four crossings. Compounding the chaos, for each of the open lanes there were two or three others trying to merge into them! Like snails racing along, we measured our advance in inches.

Suddenly after having waited over an hour, we began to shoot forward! It happened in a flash, but in all the commotion, I inadvertently bumped the car in front. Lightly tapped. Touched. Thus began our ordeal of insanity. Never in my life would we imagine the person’s reactions that followed! Jumping out of the car and with a most horrendous face and gestures of severe affront, they repeatedly looked at us, and then their bumper.

Inspecting the area in question, I knew immediately it was only an easily removed smudge. With some slight polishing the offending mark was easily removed. (Seeing so greatly deflated their ego!) They then continued to rub and look over the entire rear of the car! Doing so they found this tiny speck. It was really more like a miniscule shadow. (Seriously!) They then continued ranting and raving, “Look what you did to my car! Look!” That’s when I really thought I was going to lose it! I mean like slap some sense into them or something! But the strangest thing happened. The Lord’s peace began to overwhelmingly flood my soul. (This was truly a “God thing,” as in all honesty I was only thinking about sharing something else!) The Scriptures that coursed through my mind caused me to reflect on what our Lord has done for us. Looking at the other driver with compassion changed my attitude, and we soon resolved the issue. One of the beautiful verses that instilled the “peace that surpasses understanding” was “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” And; “But God demonstrates His own love for in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5: 6&8) That our Sovereign Lord would reduce Himself to be born in a stable, only later to be laughed at, being mocked scorned derided and ultimately barbarically suffer an agonizing and tortuous death on the cross is beyond our scope of comprehension.

Yet that He did so to demonstrate the power of His unfailing love is what motivates us daily to continue onward. It is therefore with great joy we serve Him here in Mexico with the Mixteco people, who are like our family and yours as well. Thank you for the prayers and gifts you have lovingly shared this past year, as well for your continued prayers for the ministry here. It is our prayer for you that you would “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (2 Peter 3:18) May the Lord bless and keep you

published by Jaira Hill