Dear Praying Friends,
We hope that this letter finds you happy in the Lord and enjoying His blessings. It is a thrill once again, to share with you, the wonderful work that God is doing. We know that this has been a busy summer for you as it has for us as well. Our family is fine and reunited after various travels. Our oldest daughter, Jessica, just returned from a trip to southern Mexico, and Bethany, our youngest, just returned from summer camp with her friend in Arizona. Our son, Isaac, has been home with us working at the mission property, and enjoying some time fishing and playing soccer on a local team. This leaves us, (Craig & Deb) wondering when our vacation is. :) But, the Lord has blessed us with a wonderful season of ministry, allowing us to see Him work in peoples lives in a wonderful and rewarding way.
It is hard to believe that fall is just around the corner. We have been so busy, the summer has just been a blur of activity. Our services continue to be a blessing and we have enjoyed having several visitors. Along with memorizing the books of the Bible, we have been working on verses to share the plan of Salvation, and teaching the significance each one. It has been a blessing to hear people stand and recite the verses from memory and to see them begin to understand the value of the Word of God and the impact it has on our lives. Our goal is that all of our people would have the resources and knowledge to lead someone to Christ. The salvation of souls is paramount in our ministry. Antonio, is one man in particular for whom we would ask you to pray. He works at the junk yard in our town. With our old vehicles, we seem to spend a lot of time there. :) He has become a good friend, and started attending our Sunday services several weeks ago. Antonio, has a real interest in the things of God and is very open. We can see how the Lord is drawing him, and pray that soon we may have the opportunity to lead him to Christ. Antonio, is also interested in learning English, so we have started an evening class to study with him. Please pray with us that this will be an avenue that God can use in Antonio's life.
The ministry continues to grow and challenge us each day. One of the ladies that attended our services died unexpectedly. It was a real shock to all of us. She was pregnant and went to the hospital to deliver. There were complications and she didn't survive. Her name was Clara. Her baby survived and is being cared for by family along with three other small children. It is an especially difficult situation because her husband is a drunk, and the doctors think her death was caused by a previous blow that she had received. Clara trusted Christ through our ministry last year and had been out of town for a couple of months, visiting her family. She had just returned and last Sunday was the first time we had seen her. As she left that afternoon, with a smile on her face, she said that she was going to invite her neighbor to come with her next week. That was the last time we saw her. It makes us realize the importance of our ministry, and we find great peace in knowing that she has a home in Heaven. If you have unsaved friends or loved ones, please share Christ with them. He is our only hope! Through Clara's testimony, we were able to comfort her family, and encourage others to put their faith in Christ. Will you please pray for Clara's baby and the other children left behind? We will be helping with their needs and watching over them for Clara.
As you may remember, our friend Martin, who was recently saved, and his wife, Andrea, were also expecting a baby, and a few days after Clara's death, also went to the hospital. Andrea, was nervous after the experience with Clara, and wanted to get to the hospital at the first sign of labor. Deb, had been keeping a close eye on her, and one evening Andrea announced,"It's time!" We found Martin in town and hurried him home. Their car was broken down, so we loaned them ours for the twenty-mile trip down the mountain to the hospital. We stayed with them until mid-night, and Isaac stayed up with Martin all night waiting for the news. The next day, Andrea delivered a healthy baby boy. Praise the Lord! His name is Carlos, and you can see his first picture on our web page, in the recent activities section. Andrea and Carlos are fine and enjoying being home together. Last month, we started an addition to Martin's apartment to accommodate the baby and their other son, Adrian. The walls are now in place; insulation and sheet-rock installed, and this week we will complete the finish work and paint. We ended up a little behind schedule, but will have a nice home for their family.
Other happy news is that our friends Mario and Lulu, trusted Christ as Savior. Mario, is a welder, and worked with us to build some of the windows and doors in the mission building. Recently, they invited us to their home for dinner. While visiting, we began to talk about spiritual things and they began asking questions about a relationship with God and how to go to Heaven. We shared the testimony of Clara's salvation and how we knew she was safe in Heaven.
We used their Catholic Bible that they had displayed on a shelf, and for several hours had the privilege of explaining God's plan of salvation, their need for Christ, and God's desire for their lives. It was one of those wonderful times when you know God is working and that someone was going to be saved. As you know, Christ did all the work necessary for our salvation when he died for our sins on the cross, and our faith is either 100% in Him and His finished work or it is in something else. After explaining all of these things to Mario and Lulu, both readily said they were ready to put their faith completely in Christ and didn't want to wait another minute. Even, if it meant that their religious family and friends might misunderstand them. They said that if the whole world was against them, they wanted to stand with Christ. Hallelujah! That night around mid-night, we all held hands around their table as they prayed asking Christ to forgive their sins and be their Savior. Praise the Lord! Please pray for them, as they will certainly face many social pressures. And, for us as we ask the Lord to help us in helping them to live for Christ.
The mission building project continues and has also been a source of joy and serious challenges. As you know, we have been trying to do everything as legally as possible, concerning documentation building projects and all of the associated registrations and fees. The mission building's walls are now completely finished inside and out, and it really looks great. We are pouring the floors this week and have put up another section of the perimeter fence. In the next few weeks, we hope to paint both the inside and outside as well as install glass in the awaiting window frames, making it nearly ready for use. At the same time, we have slowly been working on the activity building at the edge of the property. Here is where the challenge comes in. We have been working under a temporary building permit and the assumption that everything was all right. We have all of the paperwork in order and were proceeding with the foundation and even had some walls up when two weeks ago, the government told us that they were planning to put a road through our land in the future. Having been given approval two years ago and assurances all along, this news came as quite a surprise. We are in the process of investigating all of this now. If they do decide to put the road where they described, it will pass directly through the activity building site. Please pray about this, with us. If the government decides to take the land, there is nothing we can do about it. The one thing that we have in our favor is that the government officer with whom we are working is sympathetic with us because he realizes that the county office of public works, which has done all our paperwork, has not been coordinating with his office. Most people in our area of Mexico don't actually hold a deed to the land they possess. It is a complicated system. But the official has the authority to deed the land to us. We are praying that he will do that, or if we must loose the land where the activity building was to be located, that he will help us by deeding us another parcel that is available adjacent to the mission building. We hope to find out more this week. We know it is in the hands of God, and we are asking Him to protect His interests and to give us wisdom in how to handle the situation. Whatever happens, there will probably be some serious expenses involved. It would be nice to say that we are ready to proceed financially, when the time comes, but actually this is a work of faith in progress. We are trusting the Lord to make the necessary funds available, when they are needed to obtain the deeds to the land. If God chooses to do this, we will be some of only a few people in our town, who have a complete legal right and title deed to their land. We have been told that one of the best things we can do to secure our legal standing is to finish and occupy the building. Along with that, complete the perimeter fence and gates, to define and separate the property. Please pray that God would lay it on the hearts of people to help us to this end, and with the many opportunities that lay ahead. We know God is able, and are so thankful that you continue to stand with us as we follow God through these challenges. Pioneer missionary work certainly is exciting! And it will be great to see what God will do!
Other Current Needs:
*Thank you, for praying for our family dog, Penny. She is recovering well, from the car accident.
*We praise the Lord, for the donation of a video projector. Please pray for the villages of Realito, Gorachi and San Antonio. We still need Christian videos in Spanish for the village meetings.
*Praise the Lord, for a new van tire to replace the one that blew out. We still need three more. @$400.00
*Praise the Lord for a donation for a keyboard for services. It will be in service on the field this month, Lord willing.
*Please pray for our visas to work in Mexico. We thought they were approved, but received word that they are being held-up in Chihuahua. We are in the process of working out the details.
*We have the opportunity, and have taken the first steps to nationalize our pick-up truck. It will cost around $375.00, but will no longer be required to return to the US for temporary importation permission.
*Please pray that we may finish and occupy the mission property. We lack about $4,500.00 to finish and enclose it.
*Also, please pray that God would lead in obtaining the land deed, and provide for the expenses involved.
As we write this letter, and think of all that God is doing and has already done, we realize that He will continue the work that He has begun. It is an awesome thing to be involved in the work of the Lord, and we want you to know that we greatly appreciate you, for laboring together with us. Your partnership in the work is making a difference for all of eternity and you are a tremendous encouragement to us. Thank you, for standing with us, as we look toward the great things that God has before us. As we think of our Savior's return, our one desire is that we might be found faithful upon His arrival.
Sincerely, For Souls Who Have Not Heard,
The Chambers Family
