New Prayer Letter

January, 2023 

 Psalm 26:7 

That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. 

 Dear Praying Friends, 

     We are so thankful to God for blessings He gives in the ministry. Our attendance is staying regular although we still miss some of our regulars. God has given the increase and it appears that those who are attending, have a renewed interest in the Word. Upon arrival yesterday, we discovered that our sanitation drain was stopped up and we had a lake of water in the entryway. We started before the services to open the ground covering a register outside, with the hope that this week we can find a plumber who can work on the problem. Meanwhile, Cheyenne moved continually between teaching the children and sweeping the water out the front door. Hopefully, even this will turn into a blessing as we see it repaired. 

     We have finished the manger scenes and everyone has taken theirs home. This month we have provided crossword puzzles (which they had never worked before), find-a-word, and various Bible search puzzles which we work after the service. It requires them to use their Bibles, look up a variety of verses, and understand what they mean in order to work the puzzle. It sometimes takes more than an hour, but they joy in seeing their page correctly filled in with the lessons they learned. How wonderful is the Word of God! 

     For years we tried to explain to the work force here that Deaf workers are not a liability but a tremendous labor force. More recently, many factories from the States have entered the markets here and have influenced all about the advantages of Deaf workers. The majority of the workers in our church now work in factories. The good is they get better pay and benefits. The negative is they are required to work whenever scheduled, including Sundays. As long as they place the Deaf in work stations away from another Deaf, both work extremely hard and consistently all day. We are thankful they finally have a place in the hearing world with respect. 

     Please pray that all Deaf will desire to reach others around them with the Gospel. In other times we had as many as 14 major ministries throughout the country. We now have six ministries with other outreaches, but the population continues to grow. Few seem to really grasp the need to reach out to others, although all of the missionaries here teach and show the “how” and the need. Only God can open their eyes to the “fields white with harvest.” 

     We have been approved for a furlough in mid-2023. We have purposely stayed longer than our normal four years because of the devastation that the pandemic brought. We will begin scheduling meetings very soon. If you have a specific date preferred, please contact us now at the email below. Thank you so much for your faithful support. 

 

For DEAF souls in Mexico, 

Gary & Ann Layne