Misión Montana Vista
Montgomery Family Newsletter, June/July 2004
On Wednesday, June 30, I stood in the baptistery with Mage Perez. She’d studied and realized that she wanted peace with God but didn’t yet have it. In all her 70+ years she still hadn’t found what she was looking for. After that night she said, “tengo paz con Dios” (I have peace with God)! What a glorious night it was for Mage. But the angels had more to rejoice about on that night! Jenny Armendariz, whom some of you may know from Pine Springs, also decided that she wanted to commit herself to the Lord. She had thought and studied about it for months but decided it was finally time. Praise God for the new sisters whether young or young in heart! Please keep them in your prayers as they begin their new life in Christ.
Earlier in June we had a group come from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to have a medical mission in Juarez. In addition to the medical side, some of the group was involved in a VBS and others in building a church building there in south Juarez. Up to this point the church had been meeting in the preacher’s house . Alicia and I both helped translate various things and spent time getting to know people of the neighborhood or playing soccer with the kids in hopes that they might eventually become brethren. I also helped in construction of the church building. In having to translate “hey, give me that saw” and “put the nail right here” all day, I must confess at times I felt like we were trying to build the tower of Babel and God had really confused our languages. Unlike the tower of Babel, however, the building was indeed finished and is already being put to great use! Praise God.
As many of you know, during July 21-23 we held a VBS here in Montana Vista. A group was scheduled to come and conduct the VBS but unfortunately had to cancel a couple of weeks before it was scheduled. So, needless to say, we were in a bit of a rush to get everything done at the last minute; however, I do believe that this worked out for the best. For one thing, the members here were forced to take more responsibility for the work here. Also, it gave other brethren from some other congregations here in El Paso the chance to work together for the Lord. Indeed we got to see the Psalmist’s words in action: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” It was so exciting for three different congregations in the same town to work together for a common goal. I also want to express our deepest appreciation for those from Hobbs who offered to come and help when you heard of the cancellation. Isn’t it great to be so close in proximity!
Overall I believe we had a very successful three days of VBS. We had 31 children the first day, 28 the second and 32 the last day. Any more and we would have busted the seams of our little building, so I believe God gave exactly what we could handle (and probably a couple more). We were especially excited that well over half of the kids that came were from the community! On Friday evening we had a cookout and a program put on by the kids. This gave us a great opportunity to get to know a number of new families from around the area. PLEASE pray that God will use these new contacts effectively and that we’ll be able to help these to become part of God’s kingdom.
Please continue to pray for open doors, for boldness and clarity in speech, for protection and for a response to the Gospel. May God richly bless you in his grace.
Kevin, Alicia and Bethany Montgomery