February/March 2009

^KJV Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Dear Pastor and Church,

Hello from Texcoco, Mexico! I hope this letter finds you well and blessed in the Lord. I usually send out my prayer letter every month; but due to travel to renew visas and problems in the mission (which started when I left), I have been distracted.

From February 23rd to March 9th my family and I made a trip out of Mexico to renew our permission to continue working in Mexico and to pick up school books for my children since we home school. We were able to spend a couple of weeks in our home church and with family and to get some odds and ends done. During this time a group in the mission in Mexico sent a letter to my pastor alleging that I was destroying the work there and saying that they had a problem with my leadership and teaching. As you can imagine, it was a shock and dismay to me. The Lord has been very good to us in spite of what we have gone through in this situation. My pastor wrote a response to this group, but to no avail. They are not Baptists, and do not accept the doctrine of the church, authoritative baptism, and pastoral authority. In short, they wanted me and those who continued to follow sound doctrine to leave. In the end, the Lord routed all their wicked designs. I am excited to report that everything is now calmed down, and the Lord has opened the windows of heaven to pour out blessings. We have seen eight new salvations among people we have been reaching out to; and the members of the mission are involved in winning souls and discipleship, which was not the case before. Instead of the remaining members being hurt by all this, they have been energized to serve the Lord, and their commitment to Him has been strengthened! I would ask you to continue to pray. The Lord is working mightily in peoples lives! I continue to work with Juan Arellano (who has a calling on his life to pastor), and am now giving him more responsibility in the mission here. If things continue on track this mission could be organized in the next six months. Please continue to pray.

I want to thank you for your faithful prayers and support! May God continue to bless you in your work for Him.

In Christ,
Michael Lea and family