| LOST AND FOUND: Four young people who were
lost have been found and everyone concerned is rejoicing, especially the
angels around the Throne. Cristina Perez (21), Rocio Ponce (23),
Daniel Arrellano (17), and Gerardo Villanueva (15), were all found by the
LORD'S search and rescue mission. They were then restored to the FATHER
through baptism. Twenty-five of us gathered in the chilly morning air at the
beach to witness their new birth. Later we all enjoyed a "pozole" dinner
at our house followed by "birthday cake.” All four had accompanied Peggy
to the Christ in Youth Conference in San Martin de las Piramides. They,
along with four others from the congregation here, participated in the classes
and activities designed to bring them, and the other 400 youth attending,
into a closer walk with the Lord. Peg was a "D" group leader and was very
impressed with the depth of sincerity in her group. Cinthia co-led the group
with Peg. Next year she will be leading a group of her own.
“REJOICE WITH ME; I HAVE FOUND MY LOST SHEEP.....”
JOHN 15:6
HOSKEN'S HELPFUL HINTS:
1) DON'T set your hair spray next to your spray deodorant!
2) If your detachable mixer cord loosens and falls into the mashed potatoes,
DON'T lick the potatoes off before you unplug the cord from the wall.
3) DON'T put on your tie before you brush your teeth!
4) DON'T try to flatten your fax with a hot iron!
* Source of information: EXPERIENCE ?
NOT SO HELPFUL HINTS:
1) To fool the doctor or your mother into thinking you are sick so you won't
have to go to school or work, put mustard in your socks and wear them for
several hours. Guaranteed to raise your body temperature above normal! (And
ruin your socks.)
2) If your baby has hiccoughs, put a red string on his forehead.
3) To get rid of warts, take a dead cat to the graveyard at midnight. Swing
it around your head three times. Throw it at the moon, telling it to go to
the devil and take your warts with it.
4) To lower a fever, put tomato slices on the soles of your feet.
* Source of information: Selected gems from papers our English students
did on Home Remedies. The rest of the advice was common sense remedies, like:
lemon and honey for a cough, a cold shower for a headache, warm milk for
insomnia, warm com-presses (or a hot tortilla) for a stomachache, etc.
We thought you would enjoy reading these tidbits. Do they remind you
of some home remedies in your hometown? When I was a child, I was told I
could "cure" my warts by rubbing them with a raw potato, then burying the
potato on the south side of the house at full moon (?). My mom used to make
a cough syrup out of red onions and honey. It really worked, and was
a lot cheaper than what we use now. We must be careful to distinguish between
common sense remedies and witchcraft. Many "cures" offered by herbalists
today are occultic, and therefore should not be messed with.
** NOTICE: We have three new addresses: Home
(Corp.) Office plus Field and Package addresses.**
[Please Click Here for New Addresses]
MUST BE WILLING TO RELOCATE: Rocio (mentioned above)
received a job offer and has relocated to Campeche, some 900 miles south
of and 20 degrees hotter than Tampico. She likes her job, but is homesick
for her family, the church and Tampico's "cool" weather. She hasn't found
any other Christians to fellowship with yet, so she reads her Bible and prays
at the time she knows we are meeting here. We pray she will soon find someone
there to encourage her and be encouraged by her. We don't realize how precious
fellowship is until we are in a position where we no longer have it.
1990 NISSAN SENTRA, 250,000 KILOMETERS (156,250 miles) EXCELLENT
CONDITION is the way an ad for our car would read as we just got it back
from the mechanics after having major "surgery." We had gone to pick up Cinthia
from the university and just about 1/2 mile from home, the car stopped. A
huge cloud of white smoke erupted from our exhaust, totally enveloping a
young man on a motor bike. He wasn't very happy, if the look on his face and
the words out of his mouth were any indication. We managed to get the car
started and got home escorted by the beautiful (?) white cloud. Someone asked
us if we felt like Moses and the Israelites as God led them out of Egypt.
We truly felt God's presence, but somehow I think the cloud was a bit different.
We had blown the head gasket and warped the head. Along with some other odds
and ends which needed fixing, the bill came to $900.00. The part needed to
fix our fifth gear, which has been out for a long time, has been ordered
and when it arrives they will call us to bring the car in to have it installed.
Another $125.00. We spent approximately $400.00 on car rental while the car
was in the shop. We had around $2,000.00 set aside toward a new vehicle,
which we used to fix the car. We are very glad we had the money available.
Once more God's hand of provision was evident. We are back to around
$500.00 in the new car fund.
** PLEASE NOTICE our new field/courier address at the link
below. Mail will no longer be forwarded after May!**
[Please click here for new
addresses]
NEWS FLASH: Rejoice! Our grandson, Amos Jakuro Maddux, was
baptized Sunday by his father in Joplin, Mo. Pray with us that his childlike
faith will grow and bear fruit. Praise the LORD!
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TAKE CHARGE! Sixteen young people are currently
attending youth meetings on Saturday. While we were in Mexico City,
Cinthia and Cristina were in charge. There were several new young people from
Daniel and Toño's neighborhood, plus two new ones from the university.
The youth were really impressed with Cinthia and Cristina's testimony.
The young ladies worked hard on the program, and the Lord blessed their efforts.
HELP NEEDED: We are praying for and seeking help here in
Tampico/Madero. We are hoping that someone from one of the Mexican Bible
Colleges will come and minister with the congregation this summer while we
are in the States. Our hope is that whoever comes will decide to stay
and work with us for the Lord's glory in this area of Mexico. We will need
financial help to pay living/work expenses for whoever comes. The congregation
can probably help some, but is not in the position yet to pay a living wage
to a minister. We really feel this step is necessary for further growth. Would
you consider helping in this way? Mark your gift "Mexican Minister Fund"
and it will be applied to his salary.
TRAVEL NOTES: We were able to spend Christmas with Jim's
mom. Mom came down to spend Christmas with us in Mexico once, but this
is the first time in our 36 years of marriage that we have been at her house
for the Christmas season. Then we went on to Missouri for Jeremy
Peterson's wedding. Jeremy has been our "nephew" ever since his family came
to Mexico 18 years ago.
Raymundo Gonzalez Gaytan and Violeta Camacho Lara were married
on March 28th in Mexico City. We have known Ray since he was
a very young man, and we baptized Violeta 11 years ago. They will continue
working with the children and youth of the South Christian Church in Mexico
City. We were overjoyed to participate in their joy. Jim officiated,
so we took a bus and traveled all night Thursday the 26th, arriving at 6:30
a.m. the 27th. We were overwhelmed with the changes in the city and
the increased traffic during the four years we have been in Tampico. Ken
& Jodi, along with Jodi's brother, Jeff made it down for the wedding
too, so we got to enjoy being with them as well. We also saw our son, Steve,
which was like frosting on the cake. The wedding was very lovely, and only
began two hours late. We rejoiced in seeing, hugging, and visiting with all
the old friends we hadn't seen for so long. Just a little taste of what heaven
is going to be like. We learned that Jim still cannot handle the altitude
and pollution. He had to use his portable oxygen tank (a little larger
than a softball) several times each day we were there. I'm grateful that
such devices are available.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: Teaching English at the
university again this trimester has given us the opportunity to love more
students for Christ. The English club continues to provide an informal
atmosphere for them to practice their English. Some of them are now
participating in the Spanish youth meetings as well. Cristina and Rocio
(recently baptized ) are two of our former English students from the university.
Sergio, Dione and Claudia (current students) are showing a lot of interest,
not only in English, but in spiritual matters.
HEXED HER HUSBAND - We are currently studying with a lady
who was very deeply involved with witchcraft, and had effectively placed
several hexes on her husband. She is in earnest about leaving all this behind
and becoming a sincere disciple of the only ONE who can defeat satan. Her
husband thinks she is just fooling us and him by the apparent changes in
her life. Please pray for Norma that she will yield 100% to the LORD and
that GOD will crush satan's head under her feet. Pray that her husband, Marco,
will also put his trust in the SAVIOR. When we study with them, the enemy's
presence is palpable and we are very much aware of the spiritual warfare
we are engaged in. (Someone asked why we don't write satan with a capital
S. We simply don't feel he is worthy of even this recognition. However, we
gladly write JESUS and LORD with all caps, for HE is worthy!)
SUMMER PLANS: We plan on visiting our supporting congregations
and friends this summer. We were in the U.S. in the summer of 1996,
and visited half of the congregations then, so this summer we want to share
with the other half. Our son, Jim, will be contacting the churches, letting
them know what dates we will be in their area and setting up a speaking schedule
for us. If you would like to visit with us while we are in your area, call
Jim at: (614) 781-1991 or drop him a note at Box 29292, Columbus, Ohio 43229-0292
so we can get together.
MAJOR DENTAL WORK is being done on Peg's mouth. Aspirin
has been her constant companion for some time now due to the persistent pain.
She is currently seeing the dentist several times per week to have her mouth
in better condition when we leave for our summer in the States. Besides having
misery from an extremely sore mouth, Peggy began suffering with kidney
stones. Ouch! No one understands how she could keep up with all the commitments,
lessons, youth meetings, etc. during this time, but we know how. The LORD
gave her strength from HIS supply! PRAISE HIS NAME!
BABY? BABIES! Is there anything quite as exciting and wonderful
as a new baby? I don't think so! We are expecting two new grand babies this
summer. Merilly and Stephen Maddux are expecting their third child around
July 15th, and Ken & Jodi Hosken are awaiting their firstborn around July
28th. We will be planning our summer schedule around these dates so we can
be on hand for the blessed events. (Does that surprise you?) They (Stephen,
Merilly, Ken & Jodi) sent us a video tape of the babies still in their
comfortable wombs. WOW! What a thrill! We are even more impressed with
GOD'S awesomeness after viewing (and reviewing) that tape. Psalm 139 says
it all!
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