Four men. Tough times.
Arturo (#1) happened just two weeks ago. It was 2 a.m. and he was supposedly walking home. I am sure there is more to that story than I care to know. I have no idea what he was up to and I don’t know whom he ran into, but someone hit him hard, on his head, with a pipe. Arturo’s 25 years came crashing to a tragic end. Tough times. Tough times for Arturo’s young wife and their two-month old baby.
Manuel’s (#2) demise, unlike Arturo’s, was slow and drawn out. It happened about three months ago. You probably don’t know a lot of folks who’ve died of tuberculosis, but here in Mexico it is, unfortunately, not all that uncommon. Manuel left behind five children, a wife too young to be a widow, and a sixth child due to be born about the time this letter reaches you. Mom is washing bottles at a local winery, trying to keep food on the table, trying to erase a monstrous debt of hospital and funeral bills, trying to find a way to pay for a birth. She and her kids know no Jesus, they know no hope. Tough times.
It was night when Miguel (#3) knocked on our door. ―Marcos, I need your help. I have been doing cartel stuff with the Mexican mafia. I got in too deep. I work for a patrón, but my two partners were shot and killed. I want to get out, but my patrón is calling me, he wants me back. Marcos, what can I do?” Tough times.
At 22 Alex (#4) has been living with Lupita for six years. They have two kids, and were wed earlier this year. Lupita recently met someone else. She told Alex all about it. But it wasn’t just anybody, Lupita met Jesus.
Alex was openly skeptical, and he cruelly heralded his opinion that it was all a bunch of malarkey. But as the days turned into weeks his sarcasm turned to awe as he witnessed the change in his wife. “Marcos, Lupita is so different since she started going to church! We used to have these awful fights, and she isn’t like that anymore.”
Three nights ago I invited Alex to ride along with me to a youth event where I was speaking. At the end of the message he literally jumped to his feet to come forward in response to an invitation for salvation. His skepticism had turned into I-need-this-too-ism. He had had enough tough times and is opting for something so much better!
Four men. So many more like them. Tough times.
Something exciting on our plate right now is a church plant in the nearby town of Termo. This started three months ago and certainly needs prayer. We do some things very well, but we have never attempted a plant like this! I am not the upfront guy. We formed a team of 11, headed by Rey & Lidia Sanchez—the Porvenir couple who were missionaries with the Huichol Indians for four years and returned home this past summer.
Another tremendous highlight has been the growth of the local church. Two years ago we were averaging 140 in attendance on any given Sunday. Now we are at about 250 worshipping together each week. But it isn’t the numbers that are exciting; it is the changed lives. It is people taking a hold of who they are as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and taking a stand, no longer pushed around by spirits of darkness and old lies.
On a more personal note, we have been blessed by the arrival of our 12th grandchild. Little Micah was born to Paul and Milca in December.
Two questions we are often asked: ―Where do Kim and her family live?‖ and ―How is Rebecca?‖
Shady and Kim and their two kids (ages 9 and 6) live in San Diego. Shady started new job in January and Kim and the kids stayed in Egypt during the popular revolution and joined Shady in April. Rex and Rebecca moved back to Kansas City at the beginning of December. Rebecca is still battling for wellness and is still fairly unable to fall asleep before 5 a.m. most nights.
At the close of December I made two trips to speak at youth events, each with between one and two thousand young people. What an astonishing concept that the Spirit of God would chose to use human beings to do carry out His plans. What an absolute joy to have a role in that! I am highly honored! You, too, play a part. You who join hands with us in prayer make the difference between us only making noise, or truly being heard! Thank you! Thank you for believing enough in what God is doing here so as to invest in us. We are humbled.
Please pray for:
Because there is work yet to be done,
Marcos and Veronica Schultz
Site contents © 2010, Quail Lakes Baptist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Site design and maintenance by
Brentwood Video Productions