Laynes' Line

     We are finally home and are recuperating from our travels. Did you ever realize that you don't travel as easily as a senior citizen as you did when young? We had a really good trip and were able to accomplish much. The property was in need of a lot of little repairs and we were able to scratch a few of them off the list. We certainly enjoyed spending the time helping, as the Kilpatricks are always a joy to be with.      Praise the Lord. Brother Kilpatrick is doing well with his treatments. After he started the treatments, he had a few side effects and the doctor cut the quantity to half. He seems to be tolerating it well. We are praying that this takes care of the two small nodules when the entire process is finished.      The problems at the border continues to get worse. While we were there, the state of Texas again announced that no Texan should travel into Mexico after a series of shootings, including the incident at...

Psalm 107:8  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!       Yesterday was another terrific day with the Lord. We had a good attendance and everyone paid really close attention. Hector, whom we see every other year appeared. By the way, our wayward Pedro has not been back since he declared he was returning to be faithful! After the service we had baptisms with two of our newer folks getting baptized. It is always so good when a person gets saved and wants to be baptized without persuasion. We all know that baptism is only the good testimony before the Lord and others and is not part of a works salvation. How wonderful that these folks come forward on their own and ask when they can follow the Lord in baptism, without any pressure from the outside.       Our wayward deacon has declared that he will not return, ever. We are heart-broken that a brother for 25 years feels he ne...

     Praise the Lord for another wonderful Lord's day. We had good attendance, good preaching and good attitudes. Our dear friend, Pedro, says he has returned. We trust that is true and that he continues to be faithful.      Folks are getting excited as we are planning our Independence Day celebration for Mexico. Just as we celebrate the Fourth of July, they celebrate the 16th of September. The church is planning a big day on the 12th as a means of inviting more deaf as well as celebrating liberty. Pray that souls will be saved this day.       Please really pray for our country. We have now confirmed that the cartels are approaching churches in northern Mexico and demanding a monthly fee, or pay the consequences (two eye witnesses and an AP report). Some are giving in and some say, "Shoot me." The President of Mexico admitted this past week that in places, the cartels are not just interested in the money, but are taking ...

August  2010 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time...   Ecclesiastes 3:11 Dear Praying Friends, If ONLY we could wait for His own time. God has a plan for Mexico and He is working it out whether or not we are able to see it. Such as, since August 3, we have been without Internet even though we filed several complaints to the company. They eventually got here this week, and we now have Internet, sometimes. Oh if we could only learn during our times of impatience! Our only deacon has been causing a lot of problems because he was not in agreement with the vote of the church that Armando be our permanent pastor (vote was 38 to 3), and so he had been stirring discontent with some of the deaf on the fringes of our membership. Suddenly without much notice, he walked out of the church and has not been back. We certainly pain in our hearts to see them go, since we led them to the Lord in the early 80’s, but if this is what it takes to stop sowing discord, we will be bette...

Hi again!      Since August 3-4 we have been with little or no Internet. We filed three reports of failure and finally got some action yesterday afternoon late. From our front wall at the highway to our yard, there were four patches in the wires which we allowing false contacts. The technician rewired everything except our house. So finally, we have at least a little confidence in starting an Internet connections again. I will be getting an update here and a prayer letter out today. Thank you for your patience. Gary & Ann

     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...

     Many of you wrote to expressed that you specifically prayed that going through the hurricane would keep the cartels at bay! We were floored that so many had prayed exactly that way. It worked!       We have just been sent pictures of the damage in Monterrey. Ever wonder why the Lord led us AWAY from Monterrey even though it put us right in the middle of the big band of rain. We have driven these roads many times and know almost each of these locations well. Our deaf folks are all OK. CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE.