The team from Country Haven Academy was able to make considerable headway on building the bathrooms for the church. The biggest element was digging the hole for the septic tank, which was over 3 meters deep.  They also helped us hold a health fair in Laurel. Many people from the community came out to get their physical health checked and the pastor volunteered Christian counsel and prayed with each person that came through. The pastor was pleased with outcome of the health fair, and asked us to hold health fairs in many other villages.

Two days later, we packed into the truck with some of our friends and neighbors and headed back to Laurel for the opening night of an evangelistic campaign. The town square was full of people from the whole region. It was great to see how many visitors as well as church members came from about 20 different churches.

One of the most powerful aspects of the meetings was the personal testimonies. We heard amazing stories about lives that were completely transformed by our loving Savior. Many times both the speaker and the listeners were moved to tears. By the end of the meetings, more than 70 people made decisions to follow Christ through the waters of baptism.

The group from Country Haven was a blessing to us and to the community, and it was sad to see them leave. We still have a lot of work to do to get unpacked and organized, but still balancing it with ministry. We have re-started Bible studies with Natanael. On a previous mission trip, he gave up drinking and started coming to church, but after we left, he fell back into drinking. Recently, he has given his life back to the Lord and even though he’s still struggling, he has committed to overcoming by the grace of God. He desires to be a good father and husband, but battles with his long time addiction to alcohol. Please pray for him, he lives virtually across the street from the bar and his ‘friends’ teasing him doesn’t make it any easier.

There is a need for medical missionary work behind every door. We are thankful God knows which doors to send us to, and when. The other day, we tried to deliver tamales to Rojelio and his 12 kids, but they weren’t home. Rojelio’s mother came out to take the tamales, but it was obvious she wasn’t feeling well. When we sat down and talked with her, she showed us a stack of pill boxes. She gave us a box of pills she was taking for pain, 2 a day. But upon reading the box, we discovered it was not a pain medication, and in fact many of its side effects were the very things she was complaining of. The other thing we learned was that they don’t even have a bathroom, which makes being sick even more miserable. After much prayer and natural treatments, she started feeling better.

This is just a few of the many stories here in Mazumiapan. We have included additional pictures of people, life and ministry.