Dear friends of Mexico Ministries:

     Why in the world would an 80 year old man start a fresh venture like planning and building a new ministry headquarters for the Tuxtapec, Oaxaca region of Mexico? I have been asked that question a time or two and I know people have thought it more than they have asked it. “Shouldn’t you slow down and rest and enjoy what you have already accomplished?” 

     I suppose I could give a dozen different answers to that question - a dozen reasons to stay in the game and not sit on the sideline. But the answer that burns in my heart right now is, “I do it for the sake of the children.” Beyond the mountains in Oaxaca lie the valleys scattered with villages where families live; men, women, and children who know nothing of the great love of God. Those towns are home to children who have never been to Sunday School or Vacation Bible School, who have never sung, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world…” It is important to reach the present generation with the Gospel, but reaching the next generation is where the real transformation happens. We do it for the sake of the children. Those children will grow up formed in Christ and knowing and sharing the Good News of Jesus. Those children will be the ones who make a difference long after I am out of the picture. 

     There is a story in Exodus and Numbers where the people of Israel refused to enter the Promised Land out of cowardice, but they used their children as an excuse for not crossing the Jordan. Sadly, that generation died in the wilderness and it was their very children who crossed over forty years later. We are determined to not make that same mistake. We are committed to going forward for the sake of the children.

     Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to me: for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these (Mt. 19.14).  And, please don’t forget, that there was that one old man, Caleb, who also entered Canaan at the age of 85. So, I still have five years to catch up with him. Now is not the time to stop. Now is the time to move forward. For the sake of the children.

God bless you all,

Larry

Comment