February/March 2025. Redemption from the power of darkness. Colossians 1:13-14

February – March 2025 

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14 

God’s eternal plan of redemption is powerfully revealed in the lives of believers who, having been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into Christ’s kingdom, now witness the same transformative grace at work in their children. 

So, I wish there were time for an entire book about this redemption story: Modesto and Santa are an amazing, God-loving, hard-working couple from the village of Zapote de Picachos. A few years ago, they were excitedly awaiting the arrival of their precious gift from our Father, their first baby. She came very early and severely malformed; she died before delivery. Her parents were devastated, but they trusted that God’s plan always is best. Years have passed, and no new babies. They work hard to receive meager income from a local fishing co-op and harvests from fields all around our state, and though income is limited, they generously share their time and resources with their church family. They are faithful leaders in the Zapote OANSA children’s club helping every child but their own to hide God’s Word in their hearts, while their own hearts are aching. Pastor Martín and Erén have taken them to see a doctor friend who has not charged them for her services, and we have helped with the cost of nutrition, fertility studies, and medications, but still no baby. 

A couple of months ago, a very young Huichol girl with a severe intellectual disability began wandering into the Zapote church compound. Her family, living amid despair, has rejected the Gospel, and struggles to care for her. It became obvious that someone in her dominion of darkness had abused her; she was expecting a baby. It’s a horrible situation, and it’s heart-breaking to think of her profound suffering. 

There are too many details to relay, but the rest of this story is one of radical redemption. Santa’s mother ended up being the midwife at the birth, and Santa was there to receive the newborn baby girl into her open arms and heart. The young girl, the baby’s biological mother, never even wanted to see the baby; she honestly doesn’t realize her role in the relationship and could never care for her. Modesto and Santa and some of the other Christians have taken her for medical treatment at their own expense, and she has returned to her family. That beautiful newborn baby was given to Modesto and Santa with her first breath, just as she came into the world, hopeless, helpless, with absolutely nothing but the love of a Creator Who arranged for Modesto and Santa to adopt a beautiful, perfectly formed, naked baby, in need of everything. 

Now, back to July 16, 2007. Jonatán García, Pastor Martín and Erén’s 10-year-old, eldest son, celebrated a very significant date in the history of God’s work in the Tepic church. He was among seven redeemed believers, who, in the horse trough on the lot adjacent to the Tepic church, followed Jesus’ example in baptism. Jonatán was the very first person of the second generation of believers in Tepic to be baptized. As a young person, his father had received Christ’s forgiveness in our early years in Tepic, and he and his wife had the privilege of leading their own son to Jesus. Pastor Martín baptized his son under the banner which reads, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 

Now advance to 2025. Jonatán and his wife, Paulina, have been blessed with little Ana Raquel who recently made her very first mission trip to visit her adopted newborn “cousin.” Paulina praises God that Anita’s “Huichol aunts and uncles” love her little girl and that God has blessed her with more than enough to be able to share with Anita’s new little cousin. Not only did they share clothes to keep the new baby warm, but also, they delivered a supply of packages of Anita’s own mommy’s milk that God has abundantly provided, for the baby’s tummy to be filled, as well. 

The story of redemption for this beautiful, adopted baby is nothing short of miraculous! Our prayer for Anita (and her “cousin”) is that one day she will place her faith in Jesus as her Savior and follow His example, too. If God chooses to answer our request with a "yes," Anita could be the first of the third generation of the redeemed from the IBBM-Tepic church: following her grandfather, Martín, who baptized the first believer of the second generation, his own son, Jonatán (Anita’s father)! 

God’s plan for redemption rescues us from the dominion of darkness and by His grace, adopts us, naked and destitute, into the Kingdom of His Son… no longer slaves to sin but heirs of His eternal promise and citizens of His Kingdom. 

…Delivered from the power of darkness…Translated into the kingdom of his dear Son…Redeemed. 

January/February 2013 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

January/February 2013

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5

Praise God for the faith He gives, the strength to carry on, and the power to overcome. An immeasurable dose of that divine power has been evident these past two months in Tepic as He has softened and transformed hard hearts, comforted and refreshed hurting hearts, and reinforced and energized committed hearts. This outpouring of His power could never be attributed to human wisdom.

Huichol students of Theological Education by Extension from the village of La Quemada studied Personal Evangelism the week before Christmas. The seven mother-tongue-translators working on the Huichol Old Testament also agreed to meet at La Quemada during the week of Christmas to continue the task of revision and in the process, to encourage the believers of that village. In addition, Huichols from several neighboring villages converged on the little church there to celebrate Christmas together.  By the end of the two-weeks filled with non-stop activity, eight new believers whose hearts were softened and transformed by the power of God were baptized in the frigid river just outside the village.  

The power of God that comforts and refreshes hurting hearts has been especially evident at a personal level lately. Jacob and Kiki’s 18-month-old son, David, was diagnosed 29 days ago with pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). David is my 7^th grandchild. This new trial is not an easy one; it will include days, weeks, months, and even years of surgeries, biopsies, chemo and hospitalization, but we are determined to glorify God through it. Kiki summed up our feelings well: It is definitely not the path I would choose, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is sovereign and in control over every cell in David's body. It's still hard, but I pray that David will be a trophy of His grace (as we all are) and that God will use this trial to bring Himself glory, salvation to some, and strengthen the faith of those who believe. David has had more discomfort in the past month than I have in a lifetime. It's hard to watch, but comforting to know that the God who wouldn't spare His own Son for me loves my son more than I do. We have been so blessed by the prayers, encouragement, practical gifts/help and kindness from the bride of Christ. Without her coming along side us to bear this burden, it would be unbearable. Thank you for bearing it with us. Love, Kiki.  This summarizes the power of God that comforts and refreshes hurting hearts. That same power of God was also extended to Julián’s family this month.

Julián was among the group of 20 believers that pastor José López baptized on Good Friday in 2010.  They are from the remote village of Guásima del Caimán, but they came to be baptized in the village of La Bendición (The Blessing) where their brothers and sisters had relocated after Julián and his coconspirators had made their lives miserable, persecuting them with all their might. When the first believers fled the village of Guásima under the weight of the persecution, Julián later told us he was so furious he drank non-stop for an entire week, pausing only long enough to regain consciousness after blacking out. The testimony of those persecuted believers, now in their new village, The Blessing, has been spread far and wide, and many from neighboring villages have believed the Truth as a result, including at last, Julián. His hard heart was softened and transformed by the power of God, but his body suffered the consequences of his former lifestyle. Julián died of complications of cirrhosis of the liver on February 4. While Julián is experiencing the power of God in person, his friends and family are experiencing the power of God that comforts and refreshes hurting hearts left behind.

Guest Helpers, a group of 20 retirement-age workers from Santa Ana, California, opted to leave comforts of home behind, give generously of their resources, and use their God-given talents and gifts to serve sacrificially for a solid week. They set an enormous example working alongside their Mexican brothers and sisters at IBBM-Tepic to put in insulation and a drywall ceiling in order to combat the intense heat that radiates into the church. They also crafted a beautiful new pulpit, did cement work on sidewalks and floors, electrical work, painting, and garden work.  The best job they accomplished was demonstrating God’s love in action and their dedication to His service proving that nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. The power of God reinforced and energized committed hearts in ways human wisdom never could. For assorted pictures of the teamwork click here. 

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5

“… the quickening of dead sinners, the enlightening of blind eyes, and unstopping of deaf ears; the softening of hard hearts, the delivering of persons from the slavery of sin and Satan, the transforming and renewing of them both inwardly and outwardly…the comforting, enlivening, strengthening, and establishing of the saints…can never be ascribed to the persuasive language of men, but to the power of God…:” ~John Gill

November/December 2008

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens... What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?...
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Psalm 8

Management consultants call it MBO—Management By Objective; God would call it POHG—the Praise Of His Glory (Eph. 1:12). This prayer update is all about celebrating the many ways that God’s plan has run by that single objective of bringing glory to Himself in the works in Tepic and the surrounding villages during these past two months.

The village church in Zapote de Picachos celebrated its 5th anniversary the first week in November. The little chapel, built in love and with great sacrifice, is to the very center of their village as our Savior is to their hearts. A true relationship with Jesus IS the center of their lives. Ten new believers were baptized during the 3-day celebration.

At the end of the festivities the brothers of the village along with some from the village of La Bendición who came to join in the commemoration decided to combine efforts to clear a large plot of land to plant a community corn crop so that next year they will have plenty for feeding their families and enough to share. During the arduous task, one of the men up the hill felled a tree which tumbled down on top of another brother, Vicente, breaking his back and right foot. For two months the brothers, and a few of their American brothers, have given sacrificially of their time, labor and resources to get Vicente the very expensive medical care necessary to begin the healing process, and as Vicente is beginning therapy and learning to walk again our Father’s objective of bringing glory to Himself (POHG) is functioning perfectly. You may read more details about Vicente and the Huichol “good Samaritans” here.

The month of December was filled with motives for the POHG, as well. There were nearly 100 children at this year’s OANSA (Awana) Christmas party at the Tepic church. Every child received lots of love, a chance to play organized games and break piñatas, a plateful of delicious food, a bagful of fruit and candy, and best of all, the opportunity to listen to the true story of Christmas and receive the greatest gift of all, forgiveness of sins and a permanent place in God’s family.

Caleb surprised us all when he announced that he had transposed the Christmas song he had learned on his flutophone/recorder to his new sax, and he was selected by his teacher to play along with his singing classmates in their performance in the grade school Christmas program! Caleb loves his saxophone; he is thankful that God provided it for him; and he did a fine job of playing his instrument for the POHG.




Luis Armando has taken on the task of teaching six junior high boys from the Tepic church to play the guitar. They meet every Tuesday evening at his house and every Sunday after church to study. They played their first ensemble arrangement in church for the POHG.


Thirty-three years ago this December, as Kirt and I entered Mexico for the first time as missionaries, neither of us realized what all God had in store for us. We knew no one in Tepic, we weren’t invited, and we soon found out that the message we came to share was not really wanted by most. Nevertheless, we prayed that God would make it possible for us, together with those vital partners who sacrificed to help send us, to help lead those whom He placed in our path to Him and plant and establish one biblical, autonomous Mexican church for His glory. Neither of us imagined the course along which God would lead us in order to make that prayer a reality. As Pastor Martín, gave the final invitation to over 200 people in attendance at the annual community Christmas celebration the Sunday evening before Christmas in the Tepic church, it occurred to me that he was wearing a dress suit that had been Kirt’s, he is fruit of the seed that was sown, and he is concrete evidence of many answers to those prayers, many more than we expected, as we all celebrate God’s single objective of bringing glory to Himself – the Praise Of His Glory (POHG).

Quick Reference – January-February Prayer Requests:

• Huichol OT translation project – 6th workshop January 23 through February 7
• Huichol NT - MegaVoice Mp3 player continued distribution to Huichol villages
• Tepic Church – OANSA children’s Bible Club

September/October 2008

“The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” Psalm 126:3

“There is so little of happiness abroad that if we possess a full share of it we ought not to hide our light under a bushel, but let it shine on all that are in the house... the Lord himself has blessed us, blessed us greatly, blessed us individually, blessed assuredly; and because of this we sing unto his name.” C.H. Spurgeon

OANSA started up again the first Saturday in September. In the Tepic club, each leader is randomly assigned to a specific group for the year, and, I’m glad that again I was assigned to adolescent boys! I think they’re my favorites. As the past 30 years has proven, they certainly have enormous potential if at this age they hide the truth in their hearts. Please pray with me that God will continue to do great things with Fredy, Alexis, Luis, Cesar, Eduardo, and Waldo.

Anders Kirt got a new little sister; Elianna, a new little cousin; and Debbie and Kirt, a new grandbaby. Mara Kate arrived on September 12 at 5:15 AM. She’s a healthy blessing from heaven, a great thing the Lord has done for us, and we are glad and thank God for her safe arrival. May all three of them follow Jesus’ example and “grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”




Caleb could hardly contain his excitement as he opened the case that contained his new saxophone. He gently lifted it from the velvet liner as if it were still a dream. He snapped the strap in place, wrapped it around his neck and began reciting by memory the “do, re, mi’s” that correspond to each of the keys. It was pretty obvious he gone over their position hundreds of times in his dreams. He could hardly wait for class time at the school of music.

Thank you all who had a part in praying, networking, donating, transporting, servicing and even covering the expense of his classes at the school of music. Once again, the Divine Director has “done great things for us, whereof we are glad,” and we are anxious for the day Caleb is able to join the praise orchestra in the Tepic church.

See the whole Caleb/Sax story here and here.





The Huichol believers from La Bendición who relocated from the village of Guásima del Caimán celebrated their 3rd anniversary on October 5 as part of God’s family. They gave thanks for the great things they are glad God has done for them as they continue to grow and reach out to their unbelieving Huichol brothers in other mountain villages.


The 17th anniversary celebration of the Iglesia Bíblica Bautista de Tepic is yet another great thing for which we are glad. The theme of this year’s activities is: A Church Conformed to the Heart of God. Pastor Phil McKeown from North Village Baptist Church spoke on Saturday night from Ecc. 9:4, “A living dog is better than a dead lion,” encouraging the body that it is better to be the least in the kingdom of heaven than the greatest out of it. Steve Evers, director of In Touch Mission International, reminded us in his message on Sunday morning that though we are immeasurably glad for the great things God has done during these past 17 years, our prayer for the next 17 years must be that we see this life from God’s perspective and plead expectantly; “God Make Me Bigger.”

Quick Reference – November-December Prayer Requests:
• Huichol OT translation project
• Huichol NT - MegaVoice Mp3 player distribution to Huichol villages
• Iglesia Bíblica Bautista de Tepic – increased vision and faithfulness
• Annual Tepic church community Christmas Celebration outreach