Saturday, July 24
Thank you so much for praying for the direct guidance of God in our lives. He has been so good to show us His will. Thursday afternoon we boarded a bus in McAllen, Texas for our trip back to Guadalajara. We decided to leave our vehicle with a friend there and come in by bus. That obviously puts us at a disadvantage here, but we found peace in the idea. You prayed us through the hurricane and our arrival to Texas. While there, the conditions in Mexico continued to worsen. Without petitioning any information, we learned of Mexican and American missionaries, pastors and American citizens who had been stopped or held for ransom, their vehicles stolen or threatened in some major way (we learned, not third hand stories, but from the individuals themselves). National pastors had begged that American missionaries not enter most of the most heavily contested areas. The day before we left, The US State department issued another warning, the strongest yet, that no American should travel in the state of Tamaulipas until further notice and should not attempt to travel south in either a pickup or a SUV. It is not possible for us to return to Mexico from Texas without crossing through Tamaulipas! The five states across northern Mexico were marked as unsafe about a year ago. Some continue to try to get through, but some are paying for it.
We prayed and ask for wisdom from above because we understand that God CERTAINLY is able to protect us, regardless of the location. However, we felt that pushing the issue at this time was more like double daring God, rather than walking by faith. Although a few continue to make the trip, the cartels have no plans of reducing their activity. We found peace in returning to continue the work of the Lord, but doing so in the safety of a bus.
To use the words of our pastor when we are at the border, he says, "People do not understand that northern Mexico is now in all-out WAR." The cartels have no morals, no concern or no interest in who or what happens if they are confronted. They simply open fire and spray the entire street. They have killed a dozen in order to kill the one person they wanted.
Much of the route we took in coming out has been taken over completely by the cartels. Only God allowed us to pass through without problems. They are bold enough to run their vehicles up and down the highway with their logo painted on the sides of the vehicles!
We arrived Saturday morning after traveling for 15 1/2 hours through about 12 hours of pounding rain. We are exhausted from the trip, but thrilled to be back. Please pray for our country and for some real answers to this mess. We read both USA news and Mexican news, and we believe that the truth about this conflict is not being covered adequately by either. Only eternity will tell how many of the non-drug related population has been murdered through these actions. Pray that those of us involved in ministry here will be able to reach others effectively for Him. Thank you so much for praying.
Gary & Ann
We prayed and ask for wisdom from above because we understand that God CERTAINLY is able to protect us, regardless of the location. However, we felt that pushing the issue at this time was more like double daring God, rather than walking by faith. Although a few continue to make the trip, the cartels have no plans of reducing their activity. We found peace in returning to continue the work of the Lord, but doing so in the safety of a bus.
To use the words of our pastor when we are at the border, he says, "People do not understand that northern Mexico is now in all-out WAR." The cartels have no morals, no concern or no interest in who or what happens if they are confronted. They simply open fire and spray the entire street. They have killed a dozen in order to kill the one person they wanted.
Much of the route we took in coming out has been taken over completely by the cartels. Only God allowed us to pass through without problems. They are bold enough to run their vehicles up and down the highway with their logo painted on the sides of the vehicles!
We arrived Saturday morning after traveling for 15 1/2 hours through about 12 hours of pounding rain. We are exhausted from the trip, but thrilled to be back. Please pray for our country and for some real answers to this mess. We read both USA news and Mexican news, and we believe that the truth about this conflict is not being covered adequately by either. Only eternity will tell how many of the non-drug related population has been murdered through these actions. Pray that those of us involved in ministry here will be able to reach others effectively for Him. Thank you so much for praying.
Gary & Ann
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