Lost Sheep Ministries News May, 2016 – Mexico

The Great Commission: Matthew 28: 18 - 20 is a commission for all Christians to GO, make Disciples, and teach them to OBEY all that Jesus has commanded us. LSM is dedicated to evangelizing the lost and making Disciples of Christ that make Disciples of Christ according to II Timothy 2:2.

[John Overton just talked with Pastor Bob who has been released from the hospital.

He is now on the way home recovering from the installation of a stint. He sounds strong and says that he will require another stint in June. His heart is not in good condition. He told me that we would just have to take life a day at a time for the near future. Please continue praying for Pastor Bob and wife Carol.]Words from Pastor Bob:

This month we are covering our work in Mexico as told by Mark George who ministers to prisoners at Lockhart, TX and sponsors periodic mission trips into Mexico. Pastor Bob

_______________________________________________________________________________________Due to cartel violence over the last 5 years, almost all short-term missionaries stopped going to Mexico.

These short-term missionaries had long provided crucial support to the established missions in Mexico. As a result, many of the people who ran these missions had either to leave or continue with very little, many times with their own lives at risk.

Sixteen years ago through Lost Sheep Ministries, I met three couples who had on-going missions in Mexico. Bob Gibson had been working with and supporting these couples and their missions for some time. These three couples: John and Paulina Bivens of Casa Hogar Getsemani (Rainbow Ministries), Paulino and Gilberta Esquivel of Casa Bethesda, and Frank and Isabel Banda, elected to stay open through the gang carnage and financial hardship, never considering their own risk but rather focusing on the ministry that God ordained for them to do.

In May of last year (2015), I sensed that God was calling me to go back to Mexico. My wife, Elspeth, and I visited these couples and their ministries. From the encouragement of Bob Gibson of Lost Sheep Ministries and the participation and financial support of First Lockhart Baptist Church, we started going back. What follows is an update of these ministries from several of the mission trips.

Currently, John and Paulina Bivens of Casa Hogar Getsemani in Morelos are in the process of putting a home school inside their orphanage. The baby in this photo was born from a mother who grew up at the orphanage and is now living and working there. Their children are not learning as they should (many have learning disabilities), and they want the best for them. They have been struggling with terrible issues with the government, finances, and with not having enough help for the amount of children they have. We will be going back June 13th – 16th of 2016 to help build desks for their new school and to work with John and Paulina putting on a summer sports camp for the kids of Zaragoza. Every time we go to Mexico we stay with John and Paulina, as they have a very nice bunkhouse with separate men and women’s facilities. Prior to our team coming, John said it

has been three years since the bunkhouse had been used. I pray that others will begin to help John and Paulina once again. They are indeed heroes to all of the children they help.

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Paulino and Herberta Esquivel, who are in their seventies, run a home, Casa Bethesda, for special needs people. All the residents are there because their families cannot take care of them – they have either been given to the home or abandoned. Many years ago Paulino heard the voice of God and he obeyed by starting this home. Since then, he and his wife have saved many of the special needs people from dying on the streets of Piedras Negras – they are taking care of the least of these. Having started the only special needs home I am aware of in this part of Mexico, they are true pioneers. Every time we go, we stop by, play with the residents, and help with food. Changing over one hundred adult diapers a day, Paulino and Gilberta are always in need of relief. In fact, the last time our team was there Paulino and Gilberta only had one lady helping them change diapers, feed, and clothe twenty seven adults. We were able to give enough, so they could hire another person temporarily, but we are praying to God for more workers, and that they receive the finances to hire more workers.

Frank and Isabel Banda live in Eagle Pass, but spend most of their time in Mexico. They have several churches, a ministry on the railroad tracks, a homeless feeding and street ministry program, and prison ministry. In February of 2016, we sponsored the Olympic Games in the Coahuila State Prison – the first time the Mexican prison system had allowed such a competition. In October of 2015, Frank and I began to work on these games, and a month later Frank had the approval of the warden. And we began to plan the games. The sports represented were soccer, baseball, football, basketball, volleyball, and boxing. For the next several months, the inmates recruited players and began to play against each other for a chance at the playoffs in February. Every day they heard the word of God from Frank and were instructed on how to behave as a child of God. When it came time for the playoffs, the entire prison was focused on working together, as well as competing with one another. During this time, the prison had very little disciplinary problems, so that when we got there in February we were given the entire yard without any guards. Wow! What a difference God makes. At the end of the games, the winners received trophies and each player got a small financial gift. After the awards ceremony, we all went back to the church where over one hundred inmates gave their lives to God. You could see the Holy Spirit taking hold as most of them came to the altar with tears streaming down their faces.

On a sadder note, upon returning to the railroad tracks in early April of 2016, we were shocked to find the church demolished as well as the homes made of pallet/ cardboard. The Mexican government, because of safety and sanitation issues, had been threatening to do this, and after twenty years of threats, they finally did. The other side of the tracks had not been bulldozed yet, so, instead of having

church in a building, we had it underneath a tree – just exactly how Frank started out ministering on the tracks. The government has now built housing projects for these displaced people and Frank and Isabel will be starting another church there. We praise God for Frank Banda and his wife Isabel.

This past year has truly been amazing to see what God will do. We will be returning in June of 2016; please keep us in your prayers. Mark and Elspeth George

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Recommended Reading: Renovation of the Heart by: Dallas Willard. As Christians, we know we are new creations in Jesus, so we try to act differently, hoping this will make us more like Him. But changing our outward behavior doesn't change our hearts. Only by God's grace can we be transformed internally.

Renovation of the Heart lays a Biblical foundation for understanding how transforming the spirit, a divine process, brings every element of our being working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God.

Do not settle for complacency. Accept the challenge Renovation of the Heart offers to become an intentional apprentice of Jesus Christ, changing daily as you walk with Him.

___________________________________________________________________________Tax Deductable Donations to LSM: Lost Sheep Ministries is a 501(c) non-profit organization. Donations may be made to LSM, 2951 Marina Bay Drive, Suite 130-144, League City, TX 77573. We

seek funds to travel, equip, and commission others to take the Gospel of Christ to all nations. If you wish to have your donations support our work in Mexico, please write "Mexico" on the memo

line of your check or in your letter.This monthly newsletter will be distributed by email only. Email addresses may be removed or added

to distribution by notifying John Overton at dotnjohn@comcast.net. Note: All of our Newsletters and Power point discipleship presentations along with

student manuals are available free from our web: www.lostsheepministries.com

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