dungan norman mary 1975 mexico

8/16/2019 Dungan Norman Mary 1975 Mexico

1/8

tUG aJORM DUfiC

APDO. POStAL 7 4

QUEeGtASO QRO.

MGXICO

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY

AUGUST 1

Meet the Men

W e ' d

l i k e f o r

y o u t o

k n o w t h e m e n w h o a r e

c a r r y i n g t h e

m a j o r l e a d

e v a n g e l i s m

a n d t e a c h i n g i n

t h e

B a j i o . I n t h i s i s s u e , J u a n A v i f i a , e v a n g e

ist

in

Celaya, Guanajuato, gives his testimony.

G o y e i n t o a l l t h e w o r l d a n d p r e a c h t h e g o s p e l u n t o e v e r y

c r e a t e

T h i s c o m m a n d

o f

t h e L o r d w a s a

c h a l l e n g e

f o r m e

f r o m t h e

d a y

o f

m y

c o

v e r s i o n

when I was

only 15.

But

it was not until 1967 that

I

made a d

c i s i o n t o l e a r n m o r e a b o u t t h e W o r d , s o

t h a t

I m i g h t m o r e

e f f e c t i v e l y

f u

fill

this Great

how was I to learn

Bible?

The answer

it

i n t e n s i v e l y . B u t

have

time

to

teach

of

a

Bible

college

to enroll

there,

desire

was

strong,

dition was weak.

I

had

just barely

in auto

mechanics.

I

urned to God,

v i d e d

t h e m o n e y

for official pa-

enrollment

fee in

in Eagle Pass,Tex-

gan

a

new

life.

^ ommission. B

S

m o r e a b o u t t

was easy—

tu

where? Who wou

me? I had hea

so I determin

But

although

my financial co

had no job, for

completed

a

cou

In my frustrati

and

He

soon

pr

for bus passag

pers

and for

Colegio Bibli

as. There

I

I d u g i n t o t h e

Word

o f

G o d

a n d , t h a n ks

t o

m y exc e l l e

teachers,was soon able

to

teach and preach

for

c o n g r e g a t i o n s near

the bo

d e r .

f

t h e

m a n y

b l e s s i n g s i n v o l v e d i n t h e w o r k a m o n g t h o s e c h u r c h e s , o n e

^e r e a t e s t w a s

m e e t i n g M a r i a M a g d a l e n a G a r c i a . S o o n

a f t e r

o u r

f i r s t m e e

ing,

n e a r

the e n d

of i r ^ f i r s t s c h o o l y e a r ,

I

e n c o u r a g e d h e r to c o m e to t


2/8

c o l l e g e to s t u d y . W e bo t h a t t e n d e d t h f e n e x t y e a r; a n d on A u g u s t 23, 1 9 6 9 ,

we were

married.

In due time our first child--Ruth—was born.

I

a d

s t u d i e d

t w o y e a r s;

n o w

I

h a d to f u l f i l l o b l i g a t i o n s

to a f a m i l y

S o w e l e f t

C o l e g i o B i b l i c o

w i t h o u t

g r a d u a t i n g . ( I

w i s h

n o w

t h a t I

h a d s t a y

e d

o n ,

n o t because

I

feel incapable op doing

the

work

of G o d , but

because

I w o u l d l i k e

t o

be a b l e to

say

tliat

I

a c o l l e g e g r a d u a t e . N o n e t h e l e s s ,

I b e l i e v e that

I

l e a r n e d e n o u g h in t h o s e two g o o d y e a r s at

E a g l e Pass

to

e n a b l e

m e

t o

f u l f i l l t h e

G r e a t

C o m m i s i j l o n .

1

k n o w

t h e T r u t h ,

a n d

I

a i a

n o t

a s h a m e d o f

the

G o s p e l . I praise

God

p o r what He has done,

for

I have had

t h e j o y o f bapt izi n g

m a n y

s o u l s i n t o C n rist . ) H a v i n g l e f t t h e c o l l e g e , h o w

e v e r ,

I r e t u r n e d

t o

m y h o m e

i n

G u a d a l a j a r a , a n d t o o k

a

s e c u l a r j o b . It

a s

t h e r e

t h a t

a s e c o n d d a u g h t e r ,

C r i s t i n a l w a s b o m t o u s .

O ne

d a y ,

h o w e v er, another t \ i m in g p o i n t

c a m e

i n t o m y

l ife .

Returning

h o m e f r o m

w o r k ,

I

f o u n d

a

l e t t e r waitmg

for

m e .

It

w a s a n i n v i t a t i o n t o

m o v e

t o

a n a r e a

o f M e x i c o

w h e r e t h e r e | w a s a s p i r i t u a l

h a r v e s t

w a i t i n g f o r

r e a p e r s . I a s i n t e r e s t e d ,

but

I

a l s o

k n e w

of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y

to m y f a m

i l y . I prayed

t h a t

G o d wo u l d l e a d .

In

a matter

o f

d a y s , the s ame brother

who

h a d w r i t t e n t h e l e t t e r

c a m e

to

G u i i d a l a j a r a

i n

p e r s o n

to

p l e a d w i t h

m e

a g a i n .

A l t h o u g h h e

d i d

n o t f i n d u s j u t h o m e ,

w h e n

I l e a r n e d

o f h i s v i s i t

a n d h i s c o n c e r n ,

I

e t e r m i n e d t o accejpt

t h e

c a l l . I

q u i t i r y j o b ,

a n d w e

m o v e d t o

t h e c i t y o f

S a n M i g u e l d e

A l i ( i n d e , w h e r e

a f e l l o w C h r i s t i a n , T o m a s

d e

l a C r u z, w a s w a i t i n g

for

u s . I n

t h e

t w o

m o n t h s t h a t f o l l o w e d ,

h e i n tro

d u c e d u s t o

t h e

w o r k ,

a f t e r w h i c h

w e m o v e d t o t h e

c i t y

o f C e l a y a . F o r t h r e e

y e a r s w e h a v e b e e n s o w i n g t h e

G o s p e l

^ i e d h e r e a n d i n s u r r o u n d i n g a r e a s ;

it has

b e e n

a

g r e a t

p l e a s u r e

to

s e e t t u s f r u i t of t h e

G o s p e l , i n t h e f o r m

of

baptisms

and strong,

growing

c o n g r e g a i i i o n s . It w a s here th at ou r thi rd

c hil d , Jo h n Mark,

w a s

born (a

s o n w h o m

: c pray

w i l l

be a.faithful

s ervan t

o f

the Lord.)

It is

my prayer that God will c o n t i n u e to be sble to use m e . There is

m u c h

y e t t o b e

d o n e . T h e h a r v e s t

i s| t i l l

p l e n t e o u s a n d

t h e l a b o r e r s

a r e

still few. But

I have

faith in my ( p o d

to

fill us all with the

wisdom to

teach others

t o

preach

t h e Word

a n d

t h u s h e l p

t o

increase t h e number o f

l a b o r e r s in the field.

I m co n t e n t . G o d

h a s

g i v e n m e a

failJiful,

ob e d i e nt wife a n d a beautiful

family.

Although

our trials hav e been

l i i a n y ,

both

in

our personal lives

a nd

i n our Christian

life,our

faith i n G o d h a s

carried

u s through ev ery crisis

a n d d i f f i c u l t y . L a b o r ,

f a t i g u e ,

s i c k i p o s s , d i s c o u r a g e m e n t , e c o n o m i c

n e e d - -

all

these have

been

overcome thanks

to

the

faith that Christ has

put

withi

u s . C 3 o d has

p r o v i d e d m a t e r i a l l y

a n d blcissed s p i r i t u a l l y W e p r a i s e

H i s

n a m e

FINANCIALISTATEMENT

Balance 3/31/75

Income

4/1/75 - /30/75

$ 721.64

3972.40

Expenses

4/175 -

6/30/75

Balance

6/30/75

3697.

996.

(Note: Expenses for firs1: 15 days of July = $807.80)


3/8

Embers

from t h e

Campfire

T h e 1 9 7 5 c a m p ,

h e l d

o n t h e

n e w c a m p g r o u n d s

j u s t o u t s i d e

Q u e r e t a r o d u r

i n g

t h e

w e e k o f J u l y 14- 1 9 , w a s

s u r e l y

o n e o f t h e b e s t h e l d i n t h e

l a s t 6 y e a r s . F i g u r e s c a n n o t r e f l e c t

t h e

s p i r i t u a l b l e s s i n g a n d u p l i f

t h a t t h e w e e k

p r o v i d e d ; n e i t h e r , c o m p l e t e l y ,

c a n

t h e

f e w

p i c t u r e s

w e

h a d

t i m e t o t a k e . O n l y

t i m e a n d p e r h a p s o n l y

e t e r n i t y w i l l

t e l l t h e w h o l

s t o r y . S u f f i c e i t t o s a y

t h a t

t h e n e w c a m p b u i l d i n g w a s w e l l u s e d d u r i n g

t h e 6 d a y s . O v e r 1 4 0 p e o p l e f i l l e d t h e

t w o

d o r m r o o m s , a n d

t h e

c o o k s p u t

i n

18-hour

d a y s

preparing

a n d

serving t h e f o o d .

T h e h e a v y r a i n s o f M o n d a y , T u e s d a y a n d W e d n e s d a y t a x e d t h e f a c i l i t i e

for a l l e v e n i n g

a c t i v i t i e s

a n d

s o m e

of t h e m o r n i n g

c l a s s e s

h a d to be h e l

i n s i d e t h e b u i l d i n g . T h e b o y s '

d o r m r o o m w a s

l a r g e e n o u g h

to

h o l d

e v e r y

o n e ,

e v e n

w i t h t h e b e d d i n g a n d

c l o t h i n g

w h i c h

h a d

t o b e s t a c k e d a l o n g

t

w a l l s ;

t h e

p r o b l e m

w a s t h e

t r a c k e d - i n

m u d .

I t c a m e

i n

f a s t e r

t h a n

c o u l d

s w e e p

i t

o u t .

F o r t u n a t e l y ,

t h e

L o r d h a d p r o v i d e d

u s

w i t h c o n c r e

b l o c k s

a n d p l a n k s , s o w e d i d n o t

h a v e t o

s i t o n t h e

f l o o r .

B u t i n

s p i

of t h e r a i n a n d the

mud,

t h e r e

was

a

g o o d

a t m o s p h e r e f o r l e a r n i n g , t

p r e a c h i n g

w a s

e x c e l l e n t , a n d a

g r o u p

s p i r i t s o o n d e v e l o p e d .

O n

T h u r s d a

F r i d a y a n d

S a t u r d a y , h o w e v e r ,

t h e

s k i e s w e r e c l e a r , a n d t h e e n j o y m e n t i n

c r e a s e d . E v e n i n g s e r v i c e s w e r e s t i l l

h e l d

i n s i d e ,

but

o t h e r a c t i v i t i

m o v e d o u t d o o r s . S p o r t s c h a m p i o n s h i p s w e r e h o t l y c p n t e s t e d ; t h e T h u r s d

n i g h t b o n f i r e w a r m e d t h e b o d y , w h i l e t h e p r a y e r a n d

s i n g i n g w a r m e d

t

h e a r t ; t h e B i b l e d r a m a s w e r e c a r r i e d o f f w i t h

s t r o n g

s p i r i t u a l i m p a c t ; a

f a c u l t y n i g h t , w h i c h f e a t u r e d a f l o u r - f l i n g i n g

M e x i c a n

v e r s i o n

o f

T

K e y s t o n e

C o p s , b r o u g h t

\ a n i f y i n g

l a u g h t e r

t o

a l l . O n F r i d a y a f t e r n o o n , t h r

y o u n g p e o p l e

c o m p l e t e d

t h e i r i n i t i a l

o b e d i e n c e

t o t h e c o m m a n d s o f

C h r i

a n d w e r e b a p t i z e d

in

the pool.

Some

of

the most e n c o u r a g i n g sings that we m i s s i o n a r i e s saw w ere: ^

a l m o s t t o t a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a s s u m e d b y

t h e

M e x i c ^ e v a n g e l i s t s , t h e d e s i

t o e x p a n d

n e x t

y e a r ' s c a m p i n g p r o g r a m ,

t h e

w i l l i n g n e s s a n d a b i l i t y

o f t

c a m p e r s a n d

c o n g r e g a t i o n s t o u n d e r w r i t e

a n

e v e r - g r e a t e r p o r t i o n o f t

costs, and an e a g e r n e s s to k n o w the

d a t e s

of

next y e a r ' s camps.

A l t h o u g h

w e w e r e

t h r i l l e d w i t h t h e b u i l d i n g t h e L o r d p r o v i d e d

f o r

u s ,

believe

t h a t i t

will be

necessary t o add a second structure by

next

y e ar

a

c o v e r e d , p a t i o - l i k e

a r e a , f o r

d i n i n g a n d

f o r

s e r v i c e s a n d p r o g r a m s .

a r e a t w o r k

o n

a

p r o p o s e d p l a n f o r t h e

s t r u c t u r e ,

o n e w h i c h

w o u l d p r o b a b

cost a r o u n d $2500

t o

build; but the final w o r d is

in

the

Lord's

hand

for we

h a v e

no

f u n d s

w i t h w h i c h to

b u i l d .

We

will

p r a y a n d wait,

for

k n o w s b e s t .

A n d a s

w e p r a y , w e ' l l n o t f o r g e t

t o

t h a n k

H i m f o r w h a t

H e

h

already done.


4/8


5/8

ALUDOS

MOM

tUC

^ORM

DUACAH5

APOO.

POStAL

7 4 1

Q U t R C t A R O . QRO.

M€XlCO

PUBLISHED

QUARTERLY

NOVEMBER 1975

MEET

THE

In

the August issue

of

Saludos

we presented the first in a series

of

articles

about the

Mexican

men

who

are carrying the major load of

evangelism and teaching in

the

Ba-

jio.

The article was a

translation,

a

act which

we

forgot to

mention.

Now

we

present the

second sketch

—

again a transla

tion—this

time

of

Hermilo

Gasca,

evangelist

living

in the city of San

Juan del Rio,

state of Queretaro.

I am a native

of

the

Baj o

of

Mexico. I was

born

in

the village

of

Seui Pedro

de

los

Naranjos ( t.

Peter of the

Orange

Trees), in

the state of Guanajuato. p e u : -

ents

still

live

and

serve the Lord

there. My education as a child was

minimal— did not finish junior

high

school in San Pedro. My par-

MEN--I.I

ents have always been poor,

so

I

had

to help with the work.

From the time I was

a

child, how

ever,

my desire was

to preach the

Gospel. One day

I

left my h c a n e

thinking I

would

find a good

job

and

thus be better

able to help

family

economic

ally.

But

God

led

me to a student

of

Colegio Biblico

in

Eagle

Pass, Texas.

That student spoke

to me about what

I

might do to pre

pare myself

to

better serve the

Lord; he even

offered to help wb

arrange my pass

port

so

that I

could

attend Bible

College n^self.

With

the encourage

ment of that student and the help

of

the Lord,

I

went to college,

d i e r e I

first finished my high

school

work

and

then went on to

receive y f

coll

ege degree (in

1974).


6/8

"Meet the Men," continued

W h i l e in

school,

i wanted

to

preach;

so

I

went out

to

many cit

ies a n d

congregations

a n d shared the

Gospel.

I

thank God

that

the bro

t h e r s

g a v e

m e m u c h

e n c o u r a g e m e n t ,

a n d

t h e m o re

t h e y

e n c o u r a g e d me, h e

more I gave

myself

over to the Lord.

W h e n I graduated, I

got

married;

and I thank God

for the wonderful

wife

He has given me. Marta did not

study in a Bible College, but she

was

a

Bible School teacher in her

home congregation.

Since our

marr

iage she

has continued

to teach.

We will soon be celebrating our

first anniversary as man and wife.

(Continues on next column)

So

ny life has

returned

to

it

e a r l y - p l a n n e d goal. For a time

w a s i n t e r e s t e d

in

e a r n i n g m u c h m o n e

but now

I know

that

it

is much mor

profitable to win

souls for Christ

Since early in this

year of 1975

have been laboring

for

Him in an

around

the

city

of San

Juan

del

Rio

A n d

the Lord

has

blessed

the

work

a

number

of people, e s p e c i a l l y teen

agers,

have

accepted the Lord.

would

ask

you

to pray for them, fo

it is very difficult to

continue i

the

Lord faithfully

in this city

The

Lord has also opened

a

n u m b e r

o

new

doors through the

Bible corres

pondence courses.

With the

Lord'

help,the

church in San

Juan

matures

THE CAMP R WS

On

October

13, work was begun on

the

s e c o n d

building of

the

Campa-

mento

del Bajio, just

outside

Quere-

taro, on the

grounds

of the Christ

ian orphanage.

Designed

to

accomodate

150

people

the building will

serve

as

both

din

ing

hall a n d

chapel.

Dimensions a re

8 by

15

meters (about 25 by 48

feet).

Basic design will be identical to

t h e

o r i g i n a l , d o r m i t o r y building—

c o n c r e t e

floor,

cement-block walls,

and wooden

trusses

supporting a dou

ble-slope roof.

The major differ

ence will be, Lord providing, the

asbestos-sheet roofing, in

contrast

to

the

tarpaper

roof

of

the

dorm. A

raised stage will be

incorporated

into the building; a n d

portable

c h a i r s a n d

t a b l e s will

s e r v e

to

k e e p

the

building

extremely versatile.

Total cost will

probably

be

about

3000.00 fully done.

But we

e:^ect

to wait at least a y e a r to

lay

th

floor

and

put

up

all 4

walls—we'l

be using

concrete

pillars

to

suppor

the roof anyway, so the blocks

wil

just be to

keep out the

elements.

Bro.

Steve

Shold,

missionary

i

the

state of Hidalgo, has bee

d i r e c t i n g w o r k o n t h e bu i l d i n g , w i t

Norm

serving

as incompetent assist

ant. In addition to the work don

so far

on the

new

building, finish

ing

touches

have

been added

to th

kitchen

in the

first building: tw

doors have been

bought

and

installe

two windows made

and

fitted; and

ceiling laid in. These improvement

should

make the

work of the

cooks,i

no easier, at least more pleasant.

Additional

minor projects for

th

y e a r include

laying a

sidewalk alon

the front of the dorm, puttin

l i g h t s

i n t h e

o u t h o u s e s ,

i m p r o v i n

the drainage system, a n d upgradin

the

sports facilities.


7/8

We

want

to use

this column

to

give you a

word*s-eye

view

of

the

congregations

that form the most

important part

of

the

work in

the

Bajio.

This time

let's look

at

one

of

the four

churches

in the state of

Queretaro.

San Juan del Rio is

the

ci ^ out

of which

Hermilo Gasca (see Meet

the Men

article) works.

The work

here began in 1971, through

contact

with two students of the Bible cor

respondence course. Since then,

there has been steady growth, in

spite

of

many

obstacles.

For

two years, services were

held

in

the tiny

hcanes of

the

Christians, and jeering, cursing

e u i d stone-throwing neighbors

pro

vided the

accompaniment

for

the

studies.

In 1974, however,

a down

town

building was rented,

and

the

congregation

has been meeting

there

ever

since. An outbreak

of

perse

cution last

year

caused real prob

lems;

but

the Lord answered pray

ers and the

Christians endured and

grew.

With the

coming

of Brother

Hermilo

this year, there has been

growing

excitement.

Attendance

runs

between

25

and 40, with services

being held

on

Sundays

and

Wednes

days. The youth

meet

each Satur

day; they

are the strongest

part

of

the

congregation. At least seven

families

are

actively involved

in

the work, although there is not one

complete family (father, mother and

children). Hermilo's

e i r 5 h a s i s on

stewardship has as

an

immediate

goal

the

congregation's

assuming

the responsibility

of

rent

pay

ments ($28

monthly).

VISITING

THE

CHURCHES

Within the last

month,

a secon

work has

been

b e g i i n

in

the

city, i

one of the

edge-of-city colonies

About 10 people have been

involve

in

the studies which are held

i

the home of one of the Christia

ladies.

sum'

facts 'n f i g u r e s

Number

of

radio broadcasts, August

through October:

566

Ntanber

of stations

carrying the

pro

gram: 15

Number

of

new

requests for Bible

correspondence course, August -

October: 39

Number

of requests

from

July,

1974

to July, 1975: 622

Active

students as

of

Oct. 1

(stu

dents who have completed

at

least

one course

in

the last 3

month^lBO

Percent

of

total requests that con

tinue,to study: 18%

Average

number of

new

requests per

day,October,'74

-

October,'75: 2.2

Just

a

little reminder.

It

will

help

us immensely

if

you will send

your financial gifts directly to

our Forwarding

Agent: Mrs.

Barbara

Green, P.O. BOX 628, YUMA,

ARIZONA

85364. But any letters you write

should

come

to us

here.

We

do enjoy

hearing

from you.


8/8

Familq

I

don't

know

what the

Chinese

call it,

but

this has

been

thei

Year

of

the Grasshopper

in

our

area. They are thick as carpet

in

our

back

yard, and

they

have eatenj

every

tender,

green thing around.

We're beginning

to

wonder

when Pass~

over will come.

We

did

manage

to

salvage squash

from

our

garden,

though, and have

been enjoying squash

pie,

which

hasi

proved to be a very good substitute

for pumpkin. So

I

guess I

can mark

p x i m p k i n o f f m y d i m i n i s h i n g

U .

S |

grocery list.

I've been

spending

a

lot

of

n^ <

t i m e l a t e l y s e w i n g

f o r

H e a t h e r

thought

that surely Iwouldn't

have

to do much this year. But whenI

tried

last

year s clothes

on her,

i

Affairs

to see that most

three inches too

was

astonished

were at least

short.——

It's

hard to

believe

that the

seven-month-old

baby

we brought to

Mexico is now a young lady of s e v e r j

years.

She wanted

to

do

something

more grown-up this year

for her

birthday, so I took her and six

little

friends roller skating.

(Yes,

Queretaro

does

have a new

skating

rink).

It was

quite

an ex

perience for all

of

us.

It's a good

thing

I

had planned

plenty

of food,

because by the time we

got

home

they

were

famished

frcxa

all

the

effort they had expended trying

to

stay

off

the floor

Norm has been

kept hopping

late

ly

trying to

work

with

both

the

Mexican

church

here

in

Queretaro

and the

ever-growing

American con

gregation.

It's quite

a

week-end

meeting schedule

now

(to say noth

ing of

the

other work

that

must be

done), but

we

praise the Lord for

letting

us

in on

all

the excite

ment. We hope you

will

keep both

of these

congregations

in your

prayers.

We are praying especially

that the

Lord will lift up a

Mexi

can

man

who can serve as leademship

material for the Mexican church.

Revised Balance 6/30/75

Income 7/1/75 - /30/75

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

751.26

Expenses 7/1/75

- /30/75

4043.69

4000.71 Balance

9/30/75

708.28

^

Bajio

Christian

Mission

c/o

First

Christian Church

221 East 26th Place

Yuma, Arizona 85364

U. S. POSTAjCS

P ID

Yuina,AZ

85364

Permit

No.

86

NON-PFT. ORG.

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

dungan norman mary 1975 mexico

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