Laynes' Line

Dear Praying Friends,      Thank you for your faithful prayer for us these last days. We arrived back in Guadalajara on Tuesday evening and are certainly happy to be back. About mid-way through our trip to Chicago, Cheyenne wrote to tell us that the power had been off for days and that no one had told her. EVERYTHING was, well,rather ripe at that point. Several came out and tried to clean up and ended up outside throwing up. Our dear, sweet Cheyenne finally won the victory and got it cleaned for out arrival home. She kept noticing additional smell and we discovered the drip pan under the refrigerator was full also. Now, it runs and is almost odor free.     We also discovered that the water was off several times while we were gone. No problem for us, but the problems that caused continue. Today we are again without water as the main switching apparatus is burned out. This is a large area with five houses and a chicken farm on it. The electrical service is...

Dear Praying Friends,       We are happy to be back at the border after a long but wonderful trip with Horacio and Lupe Gonzalez, our pastor and his wife from Monterrey. Little has been said of their difficulties, but they finally admitted that their neck muscles had relaxed on the trip, relieving some of the stress of living in Monterrey. They have run into several of the blockades, but managed to get around them by alternate routes. The reality of their situation really struck home as they shared different stories from some of their deaf. They are willingly serving the Lord, but it is taking a toll on them. They are presently on the bus back to their home in Monterrey.      Before DBFA (see below), we met Debi Duryee in Missouri and we took Horacio and Lupe to see the production "Noah, the musical." We are not usually interested in "tourist attractions," but felt that this production might change their lives. We interpreted the parts th...

     Thank you for your patience and faithfulness in praying. I apologize for not keeping this up, but most of our time has been spent in driving!      Our field conference was a smashing success in our opinion. Bro. Rusty Smith was a tremendous blessing, preaching straight to us from Scripture. He is a very challenging, but loving preacher. He reached us exactly where we were at the moment, opened his own soul to us and made direct Scriptural applications to each point. Thank you PastorSmith.      I had to shake my head as I saw the camp facilities that were rented for the conference. This wasn't how our camp was when I was a kid and certainly isn't like anything we have in Mexico! We are thankful for our field director, Terry Jones and his wife Kay, for all the good planning and making the time well worth while.      We were able to visit Gary's brother, Mike and Ann's mother, Casey, as well as several frien...

April 2011 Psalm 121  1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.   2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. Dear Praying Friends, As I write this, we are making final preparations to travel to our BIMI Field Conference near Atlanta. We praise the Lord for His working recently in preserving what He has begun. As I reported in our blog, two families had apparently made a commitment with another disgruntled deaf person that as soon as we left for the field conference, they would jump Fernando Casillas, the acting pastor of the church, take his keys and then work to sell the church from under the deaf. However, the plan was openly discussed by them among LOST deaf who promptly reported it to us! After several days of investigation and prayer, the men decided that we needed to confront them openly and publicly. We did that in March, and were they ever surprised! The main leader attempted to proclaim that he knew nothing about it, ...

     We praise God for His continual blessings on us and the protection of His mighty hand. For yesterday, Fernando asked me to preach and have the baby dedication. The deaf paid good attention and seemed to understand the message. After the main service, we had the dedication service for our two new babies. Both families wanted to make it known to their families, that they were NOT going to have their babies baptized, even though they pressure them greatly. This was their own decision, but they have taken a stand because of their experiences with their family. We praise the Lord for their spiritual strength. One family was dedicating their fourth and the other were newly weds dedicating their first.      Yesterday also brought a rather disturbing announcement from the American Consulate in Reynosa that NO American should cross the border into Mexico because the drug people have announced that they are going to start killing American police person...

Dear Praying Friends,      Sunday God gave a victory that surprised everyone involved. I had not sent out a special request because I focused on trying to be who God wanted me to be for this event. We left for furlough the end of 2007 with the unique desire to return to reach the deaf in other cities in a radius of 2-3 hours from here. Before we returned, the church invited Armando to come and be the pastor. He did an excellent job and we enjoyed every minute of his ministry here.      For approximately five years, Pedro has not been faithful to church, averaging maybe three visits a year. During his absence, the church voted to make Armando the permanent, senior pastor of the church. As you recall, the vote was 38 for, three against. We never saw Pedro at the business meetings nor again for about four or five months after the vote. When he learned the church had voted, he was furious. He wanted to know why someone did not come and tell him so he...

Dear Praying Friends,      We have been praying fervently for our brother, Sammy Birchfield, and his battle with cancer. He was moved to a hospice center this weekend and we just received word that he has  passed on into Eternity. Please pray for the Birchfield family in their loss. Many of the family are Christians and are missing their loved one, but rejoicing that God saw fit to heal him in Heaven. Sandy, his wife, is Gary's cousin. Thank you for your prayers, but please do not forget the family in your prayers. Gary & Ann