April/May 2026 Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you ... and you will be a blessing.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:1-2

The stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, Saul, Esther, Deborah, and hundreds more have had a profound effect on my entire life and are still affecting the lives of every single person with whom I’m privileged to share them. I couldn’t wait to teach the final lesson of this quarter of the Tepic church OANSA council time last Saturday. The theme of this series was “Choices that Transform,” and the lesson was, “Obey or Sacrifice.” 

 I was transported back to the afternoon when my eight-year-old self sat on the floor of our family room, surrounded by a pile of my school friends, as our mom emphasized that Samuel warned Saul and, more importantly, that God says, “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 

AWANA didn’t exist for us back then, but my mom and dad made it possible to invite our friends to come home from school with us every Thursday for the best Bible Club ever. We walked into the house to the smell of home-baked cookies and a refreshing drink, then took our places on the family room floor to hear the well-rehearsed flannel-graph Bible story our mom had prepared for the week’s lesson. When the story was over, she gave each of us a corresponding Bible verse, handwritten on a construction-paper template, for us to memorize for the following week. I have repeated 1 Samuel 15:22 hundreds of times since the day it was first hidden in my heart, and it guides my decision-making to this day. 

From living examples, I learned the importance of caring for and teaching children simple, clear stories from the Bible and relating them to the Gospel message. Many of my school friends, now in their 70’s, will never regret the transformative choices they made in that little Bible Club. Neither will many of my Mexican and Huichol friends, some of whom are now pastors, leaders, and parents of children of their own, who are learning to hide God’s Word in their hearts as well. 

In yet another of those Bible Club stories, just as “the Lord promised Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you… and I will bless you,’” He has blessed and made His name great in Tepic. My parents loved hearing stories from Mexico. They especially loved hearing about the annual Huichol Youth camp; and along with others who love God’s work here, they had a tangible investment in providing scholarships and supplies. 

They dedicated the walls of one of the hallways of their own house for a gallery of framed portraits of the yearly camp group picture, donated by Arturo, the photographer. Seven years ago, I arrived from Mexico just hours before we said our last earthly “good-bye,” the night my daddy passed over the threshold into Heaven and into the open arms of His beloved Savior, and just in time to witness his smile of gratitude as I delivered the 2019 framed addition to his gallery. Seven more portraits have since been added to the collection. His gallery is now hanging on a wall of the Huichol church at Zapote de Picachos as a reminder to all of God’s promise and His delight in obedience more than sacrifice. 

The Zapote de Picachos church is a living testimony to God’s promise to His people: “I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Though the enemy has attacked them in ways we never dreamed possible, God has blessed this little church like no other I’ve ever seen. He takes joy in their very first faithful steps as well as in His finished work. 

Just this past week, they hosted the annual Huichol pastors’ conference, attended by pastors and leaders from churches throughout the Sierra Madre. The brothers and sisters from Zapote worked tirelessly, sacrificed generously, and served their guests with joy, along with Pastor Martín and Erén, from Tepic, who prepared messages and counsel for the pastors and their wives. Some arrived on foot, others via rural transport as far as it would go, and still others came by boat up or down river. All came eager to teach, learn, praise, and fellowship. 

Like with Abraham, God doesn't always provide all the details at once. He just says, "Leave, and go to this land; trust me and obey." He gives His orders one chapter at a time, and some of those chapters end with cliff-hangers to be completed at a later date. Like Abraham learned, like Samuel proclaimed, the mission is to obey, taking the step He shows today by faith. 

I will bless you … and you will be a blessing.