Missionaries and their fruit: National missionaries Pedro Carballo and Juan Velazquez standing behind recent converts Juan, Josefina, and two of their four children.
Dear Friends,
I’ve got a story from Mexico that will make you smile!
Juan was a heavy drinker, and he often abused his family members. His wife, Josefina, and their three young children lived in constant fear, imprisoned in a little shack made of scavenged sticks and discarded plastic sheeting—the place they called home.
About two years ago, Josefina learned that she was pregnant with their fourth child. Rather than rejoicing, Josefina feared that she would not be able to feed another mouth. Juan wasted their meager income on his “fire water” addiction, making it difficult to feed the three children they already had—and impossible to pay for schooling for any of them.
Desperate for help, Josefina began attending a house church pastored by national missionaries Juan Velazquez and Pedro Carballo. She turned her heart over to the Lord and began blossoming into a woman of God. And she began to fervently pray for her husband’s salvation.
Juan could not ignore the changes in his wife. Her transformation convicted him of his own sin, and he finally came to the Lord last January, repenting and forsaking alcohol. Now being discipled by pastors Pedro and Juan, he is learning how to take responsibility as a godly husband and father. Instead of wasting his income on alcohol, Juan is saving what he can in hopes of providing his family with a small wooden house.
Josefina’s eyes well up with tears as she marvels at how God miraculously redeemed her marriage and replaced abuse with love. Please keep this wonderful young family in your prayers as they start their new lives together.
At left, three of Juan and Josefina’s four happy children; at right: Josefina’s joyous baptism
Juan Velazquez and Pedro Carballo are faithfully serving the Lord as national missionaries in Mexico, striving to reconcile their fellow countrymen to God. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with either of these servants of God, enabling them to better fulfill their callings by helping them pay for travel expenses, gospel literature, and living expenses?
Your fellow servant,
Jody Walter
Director, National Missionary Fund
