Laynes' Line

Texas We are back in Texas with Mexico in our sights, hopefully by the end of this week. When we arrived back here we were literally wiped out. We had driven 4200 miles in a little over two weeks. That was fine just a few years ago, but it seems that the years have taken a toll on us as far as driving the long hours. Saturday we enjoyed a wonderful time at a church picnic for Memorial Day. Central Baptist Church of Harlingen is our church home away from home (when we are in Texas) and they have always made us feel at home. We enjoyed the day by seeing everyone in their "informal" dress and got to sit and chat on "common people" level. For those who know me (Gary) you'll realize that I have now fulfilled my social duties for the year. The menu was chicken, sausage and roasted wild pig. Wish you could have been here. Our family says that everyone is still being very careful about the flu, and still using masks. There are a few who are getting sick e...

APRIL NEWSLETTER April 2009 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:14. Dear Praying Friends, Praise the Lord for a terrific set of blessings the last couple of months. The church in Guadalajara sponsored the Pastor’s Conference this year with a great turn-out of pastors. All of our ministries were represented and we were able to plan this year’s activities including camp. It was one of the best meetings we have had and there was a wonderful feeling of unity among the pastors. The only difficulty was the 15 hour bus ride from the border to Guadalajara since our truck was in the shop. The day following the conference, we had a celebration of Quinceaños (15 year birthday) for María Consuelo, one of our third generation Christians. We had at least 170 persons attend, all deaf with the exception of about 12 people. There were several new deaf folk who came and several returned th...

April 13, 2009 At last we are back in Mexico, but sans truck . Our vehicle is still being repaired at the border, but since this was the week of our Pastor's Conference, we decided to come back, even without the truck. The insurance company from Mexico sent us to the body shop on March 2, with a green light to repair the truck to the original standards. They then began a game of cat and mouse between us, the body shop and themselves. They sent two doors from a wrecked truck (which we expected) but from the wrecked side of that truck! The doors had been damaged, repaired, damaged again and were being sent as replacement parts. The body shop (Ford dealership) refused to use them and the insurance company knew that from the beginning. They kept trying to force the body shop to accept the doors no matter what. The doors had been repaired with body putty, so the true damage could not been seen without completely removing the body putty (hours of work at no pay for the body shop), plus ...

March 28, 2009 Yes, you are reading right. We had a wreck in Guadalajara on February 12 and are still trying to get our truck fixed! The Mexican insurance company sent two used doors as soon as we arrived in hopes that they would be used to repair the truck. The only problem was that they had already been wrecked/damaged twice before. We objected since the purpose of a Stateside repair was to fix it to Ford's standards since we still have paint warranty. After checking with Ford several times, I was told they were being hindered by the insurance company who was insisting that the doors be used. After several lengthy conversations about the issue, I was told AGAIN that we had a green light. Ford estimated 5-7 work days to the finish. When I called again, I was notified that the insurance company still had things bottled up. Friday, a week ago, I was told that the wire transfer was approved to the body shop and that probably Monday (past) they would release the funds. ...

Please pray for protection on the highways as we travel this weekend. Mexico is in a very wild situation right now with daily battles between drug lords and the Army/Police. The border towns are being told to stay in their houses because of the danger, but we have to pass through at least one of them to get to Texas. The two doors and the running board are being held in Texas so we will go there to get the repairs taken care of. Pray that all goes well with the repairs and our stay there. No offense, Texas, but you are not one of our favorite places. We believe that Philippians 1:20, 21 are still just as true and vibrant today as it was 39 years ago when I took them as life verses. God knows all about our travels and needs and He goes before us to prepare the way. Thank you for praying.

We praise the Lord for the way He continues to bless the ministry in Guadalajara. Yesterday, at least 82 deaf showed up for our party commemorating Valentine's Day. There was at least one who asked Christ to save them, Carmen's mother. She has been in poor health and yet made the effort to come to the special day. She is at least 80, but felt she still had never really understood salvation. We are thankful that Ann was able to help her yesterday to understand the importance of taking care of her salvation immediately. We had two brand new deaf who came and many returning again after earlier visits. We are so thankful for the large number of younger people who are now attending. We have a good group of teens and a very healthy group of 20-30 year olds. They have gotten saved and now as young adults, are excited to see the church move forward. They have immediately moved in to become the movers and shakers in the aspect of every Sunday's necessary planning, exec...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! A funny thing happened on the way to the forum -- well, almost. We didn't go to prayer meeting on Thursday as it seems we got waylaid in the process. It seems that a young lady from Sonora did not know how to get around in Guadalajara and from the center lane attempted to turn left. The only problem was that Ann, Lance and I were in that lane. She did not turn in front of us, she turned into the side of the truck. Thankfully, no one was injured and the only damage was to the vehicles. After she asked MY insurance man to commit fraud and cover her car because she had no insurance, she called her boss here in town. After 5 hours of haggling between her boss and my insurance agent, an agreement was established and we headed home after 9:30 PM! We flagged four different transito (traffic police) and all refused to stop. The final result is that we will probably have to go to the border to find the repair parts. Tomorrow is our big party at the church an...