Prayer Letter and Update
We are very (im)patiently waiting for the new access to open to the Internet so we can permanently hook up. The law changed the first of May, but we have seen no opening of the available service. I am reminded of the connection at the mission in Texas. For years they were told there was no service and no plans to make any because they are located out of the major population in the area. We are not in the metropolitan area so we are last on the list. Thank you for your patience as we try to keep in contact by various work arounds. Our letter is as follows:
May 2014
Psalm 105:5 Remember his marvelous works that He hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth.
Dear Praying Friends,
We are still thrilled with the way the Lord has been blessing in His church. As we shared in our last letter, we are seeing souls saved and newer Christians growing in the Lord. One other deaf asked the Lord to save him in March. Easter vacation caused our attendance to fall, as expected. In Mexico, everyone goes somewhere for the holidays. We have always loved the week because the city basically empties.
We planned a camp for our grandchildren during the break. We had all seven at our house for parts of three days, using the Easter theme to teach the story of Christ’s death and resurrection. All the children learned all of the memory verses, learned all of the songs and joined in all the activities. We trust others of them will ask the Lord to save them as a direct result of these efforts.
We were privileged to have Roberto, a deaf pastor from Juarez with us for part of the vacation time. As we shared on the blog, he has wonderful abilities in drama and presenting the Word of God visually for the deaf. He was able to touch on several areas that helped our newer deaf. He also encouraged Fernando in the ministry. Roberto has been in the ministry for over 25 years, many hours of travel away from the nearest deaf pastor. He certainly has the experience to help a new comer. He preached several times and encouraged everyone.
For several months, the deaf have paid close attention during the preaching, and then as soon as the preaching is over, they come to Gary with Bible questions about the preaching, Christian living, finances or any other thing that pops up during the week. It is a wonderful time of casual (but usually deep) Biblical instruction. It is always a blessing when someone wants a full Biblical explanation of any given situation. They usually are totally satisfied once they view the relevant verses. Due to the fact that most are now working in factories with shift hours, it is almost impossible to have formal classes at a given time other than Sunday. This has allowed us to teach solid doctrine to newer Christians in a very informal situation.
As we look at the church now we realize God has changed the whole atmosphere of the church. We have five who are 60 or older. Almost all others are between teens and 30. That means that those attending now do not have the experiences of the 60+ group and have not been through the past 30 years of experiences. That also means that they were not here during the many years of Bible Institute and the doctrinal teaching that took place during those years. They are doing a good job of passing on Scripture to new ones, but many of those teaching the younger are also lacking in-depth doctrinal teaching. We do see a strong desire on their part to learn the truth.
The first city on our list for starting a new work is still closed indefinitely. At this moment it remains one of a few cities that are closed by the government due to continued violence. It was home to one of the major families that was behind the violence so much so that the government here has allowed the residents to form their own “army” to control the problems. They have government permission to carry firearms, something unheard of here. We will continue to watch and pray that if He desires, the situation will change.
We greatly appreciate your prayers, support and encouragement. Your faithfulness keeps us encouraged and desirous of serving Him more. May He bless you today.
For DEAF souls in Mexico,
Gary & Ann Layne
May 2014
Psalm 105:5 Remember his marvelous works that He hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth.
Dear Praying Friends,
We are still thrilled with the way the Lord has been blessing in His church. As we shared in our last letter, we are seeing souls saved and newer Christians growing in the Lord. One other deaf asked the Lord to save him in March. Easter vacation caused our attendance to fall, as expected. In Mexico, everyone goes somewhere for the holidays. We have always loved the week because the city basically empties.
We planned a camp for our grandchildren during the break. We had all seven at our house for parts of three days, using the Easter theme to teach the story of Christ’s death and resurrection. All the children learned all of the memory verses, learned all of the songs and joined in all the activities. We trust others of them will ask the Lord to save them as a direct result of these efforts.
We were privileged to have Roberto, a deaf pastor from Juarez with us for part of the vacation time. As we shared on the blog, he has wonderful abilities in drama and presenting the Word of God visually for the deaf. He was able to touch on several areas that helped our newer deaf. He also encouraged Fernando in the ministry. Roberto has been in the ministry for over 25 years, many hours of travel away from the nearest deaf pastor. He certainly has the experience to help a new comer. He preached several times and encouraged everyone.
For several months, the deaf have paid close attention during the preaching, and then as soon as the preaching is over, they come to Gary with Bible questions about the preaching, Christian living, finances or any other thing that pops up during the week. It is a wonderful time of casual (but usually deep) Biblical instruction. It is always a blessing when someone wants a full Biblical explanation of any given situation. They usually are totally satisfied once they view the relevant verses. Due to the fact that most are now working in factories with shift hours, it is almost impossible to have formal classes at a given time other than Sunday. This has allowed us to teach solid doctrine to newer Christians in a very informal situation.
As we look at the church now we realize God has changed the whole atmosphere of the church. We have five who are 60 or older. Almost all others are between teens and 30. That means that those attending now do not have the experiences of the 60+ group and have not been through the past 30 years of experiences. That also means that they were not here during the many years of Bible Institute and the doctrinal teaching that took place during those years. They are doing a good job of passing on Scripture to new ones, but many of those teaching the younger are also lacking in-depth doctrinal teaching. We do see a strong desire on their part to learn the truth.
The first city on our list for starting a new work is still closed indefinitely. At this moment it remains one of a few cities that are closed by the government due to continued violence. It was home to one of the major families that was behind the violence so much so that the government here has allowed the residents to form their own “army” to control the problems. They have government permission to carry firearms, something unheard of here. We will continue to watch and pray that if He desires, the situation will change.
We greatly appreciate your prayers, support and encouragement. Your faithfulness keeps us encouraged and desirous of serving Him more. May He bless you today.
For DEAF souls in Mexico,
Gary & Ann Layne
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