Laynes' Line

     Thank you for your interest in our ministry and your faithfulness in praying. I know many of you are praying for us as we make this trip. Yesterday, Cheyenne and Roberto brought a large tarp to cover the patio are of the house and we spent all day on ladders and the roof fixing it so it won't rain in on our dryer and other equipment. Last night my arthritis was acting up so much I knew we could not leave early today. SO, we are planning an early leave tomorrow (Wednesday) with the possibility of going straight through. Sunday are all of the local elections and the government is expecting the drug lords to interfere, stop or make difficult any voting, especially in the border areas. We definitely want to be out of Mexico before the weekend.      Even the less dangerous route we have chosen involves going through two check points where the gangs have this week attacked the Army & Navy who are stationed at these checkpoints. We KNOW He is f...

     Another wonderful Sunday as the Lord blessed the time together around the Word. We often have a few hearing folks that come, but yesterday was all deaf and I enjoyed preaching "deaf." Armando was in Monterrey for a wedding over the week end and asked if I could preach for him. We had a smaller crowd but one that really got into the message. I preached on 2 Timothy 2 on the four examples given of a strong Christian. I used 27 pages of illustrations with the video projector and the deaf really liked the visual effects.      Rains have finally started here and they bring a tremendous relief from the heat. There are years when we have very little hot weather, but this year was an exception. We had more than two months of 95-100 degree weather. Remember that we are at 5200 feet elevation which helps with the warmer weather. I cannot imagine what it must have been at the beach areas. A "normal" year means that we have rains the three summer months...

     As you can imagine, it has been quite crazy trying to move from three houses (A FEW ARTICLES IN FIVE HOUSES AND THE CHURCH) to one fifteen miles away. We have done it all in my truck with the help of Roberto's VW Combi (van) and Jonathan's pickup truck. But first, a catch-up of the news.      Mother's Day was a good day with a good number in attendance. The men served the meal after the service and two received Christ. By the way, I am not in pain, I am praying for the meal and the mothers. Since the service, we have been able to lead one mother and three sisters to the Lord because of their attention at the service.       Last week, Christian Carlos and his girlfriend asked to talk to the pastor and I. They have decided to get married! His girlfriend, Guillermina (Willimina) was one of the many people that Carlos won to the Lord shortly after getting saved himself. He made his rounds of all his friends and won more...

Dear Praying Friends,      The latest update on our requests is that Tere is better, even though she passed through another crisis during the night. The doctors told her she did not have to worry about another total failure because of the medicine they have her on. She is still in danger, but is in the hospital with specialized care 24 hours a day. That will make a big difference. Please continue to pray for her.      Wendell Drake is home, doing very well after a five by-pass operation. He wishes to thank all of you for praying and for those of you who responded to tell us you were praying. He will continue on through cardiac therapy to strengthen the areas disturbed in the operation, but he sounds very strong and very positive. I promised we would continue to pray for full recovery and would appreciate your prayers as the Lord calls him to your memory. Let me give you a quick background with Wendell. As you realize, a missionary is normally on...

Sunday Dedication of Fernando's Baby      Anna (much like her Biblical counterpart) was unable to conceive but begged God for a baby. After two years, the Lord heard and answered her prayers. The baby is just over a month old and was dedicated to the Lord today. I could not help but think of other second generation "members" and one third generation member. God has been so good to allow us to reach many of these deaf and are now seeing their children filling the pews.      Please pray for Wendell Drake (my hunting partner) who will be undergoing open heart surgery in the morning. Wendell is a faithful Christian who teaches an adult class at his church and has held various positions in the Lord's work. He will be receiving between 3-5 by-passes. Please pray for a speedy recovery and for successful surgery.      More news will be coming this week in our regular letter. Keep tuned.

     How wonderful it is to get people to stop long enough to think about what Easter is all about. Fortunately, here, no one has any idea of what the "mythological quadruped" is (Easter Bunny) . My Greek teacher taught his kids that phrase when they were toddlers. To our folks, Easter means vacation. They say that for these two weeks in certain areas, you cannot find enough room to place a beach towel. For our deaf who stayed in town, it was a chance to be reminded about who Christ is. Our attendance was low, but that is normal for a city that almost empties for two weeks. For us, it reminds us of the city we discovered in 1983, a quiet, laid back colonial city. That city no longer exists.      We are very concerned for the folks with whom we share our lives. This country in is the midst of a struggle for existence. Please note that where we are in Guadalajara, there are problems but consistent with any large city. However, in the last four weeks, mu...

     I apologize for not getting this blog updated for several days, but my main computer was down and took almost a week to repair it. Let's get to the news. Praise the Lord, Junior (the man beaten up) was not seriously injured. The men attacked him as he opened his front door and immediately threw him to the ground. Chances are, they said something to him or asked him something, but since he is deaf, he never heard them. They tried to stab him several times with a knife. He screamed loudly several times and his neighbors ran out and scared off the men. It ended up that they took nothing! He protected his new Bible in front of his chest, and the solidness of the Bible inside his backpack kept the knife from entering his body. He praises the Lord that his new Bible was not damaged and thanks Him that his injuries healed quickly. He bought the Bible THAT VERY DAY!      This country where we minister is in a state of grave danger and appears it will be ...