Bringing Up Children

Since I will soon be caring for orphans I have been studying the role of being a mother. I compiled some commentaries on the scripture below, hope it's a blessing to you mom's!

“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” -Ephesians 6:4

Matthew Henry:

1. “Do not provoke your children to wrath. Though God has given you power, you must not abuse that power, remembering that your children are, in a particular manner, pieces of yourselves, and therefore ought to be governed with great tenderness and love. Be not impatient with them, use no unreasonable severities and lay no rigid injunctions upon them. When you caution them, when you counsel them, when you reprove them, do it in such a manner as not to provoke them to wrath. In all such cases deal prudently and wisely with them, endeavouring to convince their judgments and to work upon their reason.” 2. “Bring them up well, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, in the discipline of proper and of compassionate correction, and in the knowledge of that duty which God requires of them and by which they may become better acquainted with him. Give them a good education.” It is the great duty of parents to be careful in the education of their children: “Not only bring them up, as the brutes do, taking care to provide for them; but bring them up in nurture and admonition, in such a manner as is suitable to their reasonable natures. Nay, not only bring them up as men, in nurture and admonition, but as Christians, in the admonition of the Lord. Let them have a religious education. Instruct them to fear sinning; and inform them of, and excite them to, the whole of their duty towards God.”

Albert Barnes:

A command addressed particularly to “fathers,” because they are at the head of the family, and its government is especially committed to them. The object of the apostle here is, to show parents that their commands should be such that they can be easily obeyed, or such as are entirely reasonable and proper. If children are required to “obey,” it is but reasonable that the commands of the parent should be such that they can be obeyed, or such that the child shall not be discouraged in his attempt to obey. This statement is in accordance with what he had said Eph_5:22-25 of the relation of husband and wife. It was the duty of the wife to obey - but it was the corresponding duty of the husband to manifest such a character that it would be pleasant to yield obedience - so to love her, that his known wish would be law to her. In like manner it is the duty of children to obey a parent; but it is the duty of a parent to exhibit such a character, and to maintain such a government, that it would be proper for the child to obey; to command nothing that is unreasonable or improper, but to train up his children in the ways of virtue and pure religion.


Provoke not your children to wrath- That is, by unreasonable commands; by needless severity; by the manifestation of anger. So govern them, and so punish them - if punishment is necessary - that they shall not lose their confidence in you, but shall love you. The apostle here has hit on the very danger to which parents are most exposed in the government of their children. It is that of souring their temper; of making them feel that the parent is under the influence of anger, and that it is right for them to be so too. This is done:
(1) when the commands of a parent are unreasonable and severe. The spirit of a child then becomes irritated, and he is “discouraged;” Col_3:21.
(2) when a parent is evidently “excited” when he punishes a child. The child then feels:
(a)     that if his “father” is angry, it is not wrong for him to be angry; and,
(b)    the very fact of anger in a parent kindles anger in his bosom - just as it does when two men are contending.


If he submits in the case, it is only because the parent is the “strongest,” not because he is “right,” and the child cherishes “anger,” while he yields to power. There is no principle of parental government more important than that a father should command his own temper when he inflicts punishment. He should punish a child not because he is “angry,” but because it is “right;” not because it has become a matter of “personal contest,” but because God requires that he should do it, and the welfare of the child demands it. The moment when a child seem that a parent punishes him under the influence of anger, that moment the child will be likely to be angry too - and his anger will be as proper as that of the parent. And yet, how often is punishment inflicted in this manner! And how often does the child feel that the parent punished him simply because he was the “strongest,” not because it was “right;” and how often is the mind of a child left with a strong conviction that wrong has been done him by the punishment which he has received, rather than with repentance for the wrong that he has himself done.


But bring them up- Place them under such discipline and instruction that they shall become acquainted with the Lord.
In the nurture- ἐν παιδεία  en paideia. The word used here means “training of a child;” hence education, instruction, discipline. Here it means that they are to train up their children in such a manner as the Lord approves; that is, they are to educate them for virtue and religion.
And admonition- The word used here - νουθεσία  nouthesia means literally, “a putting in mind,” then warning, admonition, instruction. The sense here is, that they were to put them in mind of the Lord - of his existence, perfections, law, and claims on their hearts and lives. This command is positive, and is in accordance with all the requirements of the Bible on the subject. No one can doubt that the Bible enjoins on parents the duty of endeavoring to train up their children in the ways of religion, and of making it the grand purpose of this life to prepare them for heaven. It has been often objected that children should be left on religious subjects to form their own opinions when they are able to judge for themselves. Infidels and irreligious people always oppose or neglect the duty here enjoined; and the plea commonly is, that to teach religion to children is to make them prejudiced; to destroy their independence of mind; and to prevent their judging as impartially on so important a subject as they ought to. In reply to this, and in defense of the requirements of the Bible on the subject, we may remark:
(1) That to suffer a child to grow up without any instruction in religion, is about the same as to suffer a garden to lie without any culture. Such a garden would soon be overrun with weeds, and briars, and thorns - but not sooner, or more certainly, than the mind of a child would.
(2) people do instruct their children in a great many things, and why should they not in religion? They teach them how to behave in company; the art of farming; the way to make or use tools; how to make money; how to avoid the arts of the cunning seducer. But why should it not be said that all this tends to destroy their independence, and to make them prejudiced? Why not leave their minds open and free, and suffer them to form their own judgments about farming and the mechanic arts when their minds are matured?
(3) people do inculcate their own sentiments in religion. An infidel is not usually “very” anxious to conceal his views from his children. People teach by example; by incidental remarks; by the “neglect” of that which they regard as of no value. A man who does not pray, is teaching his children not to pray; he who neglects the public worship of God, is teaching his children to neglect it; he who does not read the Bible, is teaching his children not to read it. Such is the constitution of things, that it is impossible for a parent not to inculcate his own religious views on his children. Since this is so, all that the Bible requires is, that his instructions should be right.
(4) to inculcate the truths of religion is not to make the mind narrow, prejudiced, and indisposed to perceive the truth. Religion makes the mind candid, conscientious, open to conviction, ready to follow the truth. Superstition, bigotry, infidelity, and “all” error and falsehood, make the mind narrow and prejudiced.
(5) if a man does not teach his children truth, others will teach them “error.” The young sceptic that the child meets in the street; the artful infidel; the hater of God; the unprincipled stranger; “will” teach the child. But is it not better for a parent to teach his child the “truth” than for a stranger to teach him error?
(6) Religion is the most important of all subjects, and “therefore” it is of most importance that children on that subject should he taught truth. Of whom can God so properly require this as of a parent? If it be asked “in what way” a parent is to bring up his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, I answer:
1.   By directly inculcating the doctrines and duties of religion - just as he does anything else that he regards as of value.
2.   By placing them in the Sunday school, where he may have a guarantee that they will be taught the truth.
3.   By “conducting” them - not merely “sending” them - to the sanctuary, that they may be taught in the house of God.
4.   By example - all teaching being valueless without that.
5.      By prayer for the divine aid in his efforts, and for the salvation of their souls. These duties are plain, simple, easy to be performed, and are such as a man “knows” he ought to perform. If neglected, and the soul of the child be lost, a parent has a most fearful account to render to God.


Hodge:
“The duty of parents, who are here represented by the father, is stated in a negative and positive form. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath. This is what they are not to do. They are not to excite the bad passions of their children by severity, injustice, partiality, or unreasonable exercise of authority. A parent had better sow tares in a field from which he expects to derive food for himself and family, than by his own ill conduct nurture evil in the heart of his child. The positive part of parental duty is expressed in the comprehensive direction, ἀλλ ̓ ἐκτρέφετε αὐτὰ ἐν παιδείᾳ καὶ νουθεσίᾳ κυρίου, i.e. educate them, bring them up, developing all their powers by (ἐν instrumental) the instruction and admonition of the Lord. Παιδείᾳ is a comprehensive word; it means the training or education of a child, including the whole process of instruction and discipline. Νουθεσία, from νουθετέω (νοῦς and τίθημι) to put in mind, is included under the more general term, and is correctly rendered admonition. It is the act of reminding one of his faults or duties. Children are not to be allowed to grow up without care or control. They are to be instructed, disciplined, and admonished, so that they be brought to knowledge, self-control, and obedience. This whole process of education is to be religious, and not only religious, but Christian. It is the nurture and admonition of the Lord, which is the appointed and the only effectual means of attaining the end of education. Where this means is neglected or any other substituted in its place, the result must be disastrous failure. The moral and religious element of our nature is just as essential and as universal as the intellectual. Religion therefore is as necessary to the development of the mind as knowledge. And as Christianity is the only true religion, and God in Christ the one true God, the only possible means of profitable education is the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That is, the whole process of instruction and discipline must be that which he prescribes, and which he administers, so that his authority should be brought into constant and immediate contact with the mind, heart and conscience of the child. It will not do for the parent to present himself as the ultimate end, the source of knowledge and possessor of authority to determine truth and duty. This would be to give his child a mere human development. Nor will it do for him to urge and communicate everything on the abstract ground of reason; for that would be to merge his child in nature. It is only by making God, God in Christ, the teacher and ruler, on whose authority everything is to be believed and in obedience to whose will everything is to be done, that the ends of education can possibly be attained. It is infinite folly in men to assume to be wiser than God, or to attempt to accomplish an end by other means than those which he has appointed.”


JFB:
fathers — including mothers; the fathers are specified as being the fountains of domestic authority. Fathers are more prone to passion in relation to their children than mothers, whose fault is rather over-indulgence.
provoke not — irritate not, by vexatious commands, unreasonable blame, and uncertain temper [Alford]. Col_3:21, “lest they be discouraged.”
nurture — Greek, “discipline,” namely, training by chastening in act where needed (Job_5:17; Heb_12:7).
admonition — training by words (Deu_6:7; “catechise,” Pro_22:6, Margin), whether of encouragement, or remonstrance, or reproof, according as is required [Trench]. Contrast 1Sa_3:13, Margin.
of the Lord — such as the Lord approves, and by His Spirit dictates.


Poole:
Provoke not your children to wrath;  viz. by unreasonable severity, moroseness, unrighteous commands.
But bring them up in the nurture;  or correction, as the word signifies, Heb_12:6-8.
And admonition;  this denotes the end of the former; instruction in their duty must be, as well as correction to drive them to it.
Of the Lord;  the Lord Jesus Christ; and so it is either that admonition which is commanded by him, or whereby they are brought to be acquainted with him. 


PNT:
And ye fathers. Parents have duties as well as children. Two are named.
Provoke not, etc. Passionate and unreasonable rebukes, intemperate language, or cruel usage, would provoke resentment on the part of children.
In the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The Revision reads: "Nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord." Training and restraining as well as admonition are implied. The Lord holds all parties responsible for a Christian training of their children.


ETW:
Eph_6:4  "Provoke not your children to wraft." This is an exhortation to parents, and especially fathers, not to treat their children unjustly, severely or any way that will make them rebel and not submit to authority. The father is addressed here because he represents the governmental head of the family and is responsible for the discipline of the children. The NIV translates this verse, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children…" J.B. Phillips says, "…don't overcorrect your children or make it difficult for them to obey the commandment." "Nuture" is the whole training and education of our children and the cultivation of mind and morals. It also includes the discipline of our children. Some commentaries in fact say that nurture means discipline. We find that indeed the scripture teaches the application of punishment for disobedience. In fact the word of God warns parents of the consequences if they do not physically  discipline their children. Look at several verses that clearly teach corporal punishment.
Pro_13:24  He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. Pro_19:18  Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Pro_22:15  Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Pro_23:13-14  Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Pro_29:15  The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
Pro_29:17  Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.


Next we come to a positive way of raising a child. We are told to bring them up in the "Admonition" of the Lord. This means training with words of encouragement, and word of reproof when necessary. However, we must also notice that the discipline and the training of our children is done as we are obedient to the Lord.


Gaebelin:       
Children are to obey their parents in the Lord. And the fathers are not to provoke the children to wrath, "but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." And how much wisdom this takes! Parents must show constantly to the children the love and patience of Christ and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Then the promise will be made good. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Act_16:31).


Geneva:
⁽⁶⁾ It is the duty of fathers to use their fatherly authority moderately and to God's glory.
^(c) Such information and precepts which are taken out of God's book, and are holy and acceptable to him.


Gill:
Eph 6:4  And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath,....Neither by words; by unjust and, unreasonable commands; by contumelious and reproachful language; by frequent and public chidings, and by indiscreet and passionate expressions: nor by deeds; preferring one to another; by denying them the necessaries of life; by not allowing them proper recreation; by severe and cruel blows, and inhuman usage; by not giving them suitable education; by an improper disposal of them in marriage; and by profusely spending their estates, and leaving nothing to them: not but that parents may, and ought to correct and rebuke their children; nor are they accountable to them for their conduct; yet they should take care not to provoke them to wrath, because this alienates their minds from them, and renders their instructions and corrections useless, and puts them upon sinful practices; wrath lets in Satan, and leads to sin against God; and indeed it is difficult in the best of men to be angry and not sin; see Col_3:21. Fathers are particularly mentioned, they being the heads of families, and are apt to be too severe, as mothers too indulgent. 


But bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; instructing them in the knowledge of divine things, setting them good examples, taking care to prevent their falling into bad company, praying with them, and for them, bringing them into the house of God, under the means of grace, to attend public worship; all which, under a divine blessing, may be very useful to them; the example of Abraham is worthy of imitation, Gen_18:19, and the advice of the wise man deserves attention, Pro_22:6. 


Guzic:
A. Do not provoke your children to wrath: Parents certainly have the opportunity to provoke their children to wrath, through an unkind, over-critical attitude that torments the child instead of training them. But Christian parents should never be like that.
-"The gospel introduced a fresh element into parental responsibility by insisting that the feelings of the child must be taken into consideration. In a society where the father's authority (patria potestas) was absolute, this represented a revolutionary concept." (Wood)
B. Provoke your children to wrath: This harsh kind of parenting Paul speaks against gives an unnecessary justification to a child's natural rebellion.
-"When you are disciplining a child, you should have first controlled yourself . . . What right have you to say to your child that he needs discipline when you obviously need it yourself?" (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
C. Bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord: This does not mean merely scolding your children in the sense of admonition. It means to train and admonish. Encouragement and rebuke must be combined with training and teaching.
- This is a responsibility for fathers. They must not neglect their responsibility to teach and be a spiritual example for their children. It is not a responsibility that should be left to the mother or the Sunday School.
-Training is the same word translated chastening in Heb_12:5-11. It has the idea of training through corrective discipline. Admonition has more of the idea of "teaching" - both are necessary, though it may be significant that training comes first.
-Significantly, both training and admonition are used to describe the purpose of the Scriptures (1Ti_3:16 and 1Co_10:11). Parents are to raise their children on the word of God.
D. Bring them up: This ancient Greek word was originally used of bodily nourishment as in Eph_5:29. But the word came to be used for the nurture of body, mind and soul. The form here suggests "development by care and pains" or as Calvin translated, "Let them be fondly cherished."


Calvin:
And, ye fathers. Parents, on the other hand, are exhorted not to irritate their children by unreasonable severity. This would excite hatred, and would lead them to throw off the yoke altogether. Accordingly, in writing to the Colossians, he adds, “lest they be discouraged.” (Col_3:21.) Kind and liberal treatment has rather a tendency to cherish reverence for their parents, and to increase the cheerfulness and activity of their obedience, while a harsh and unkind manner rouses them to obstinacy, and destroys the natural affections. But Paul goes on to say, “let them be fondly cherished;” for the Greek word, (ἐκτρέφετε,) which is translated bring up, unquestionably conveys the idea of gentleness and forbearance. To guard them, however, against the opposite and frequent evil of excessive indulgence, he again draws the rein which he had slackened, and adds, in the instruction and reproof of the Lord. It is not the will of God that parents, in the exercise of kindness, shall spare and corrupt their children. Let their conduct towards their children be at once mild and considerate, so as to guide them in the fear of the Lord, and correct them also when they go astray. That age is so apt to become wanton, that it requires frequent admonition and restraint.

      

The Story of My Chili Plant

Your probably wondering why I have a picture of a dead tree. Well it's my chili plant that died. I've had it for about 2 years. I wanted to write about it because I learned a lot during the time I've had it and hope you can learn from this experience also. So when I bought the plant it was beautiful. It cought my eye as soon as I saw it, I bought it from a lady that would sell plants near my house. It was green, shiny, it looked healthy it even had baby chilis on it. I took it home, showed it much care. The chilis started to grow and even made a few batches of salsa with it. So far so good, so it seemed. But then it started giving less chilis. It started to wither, insects would attack it. I bought some spray for plants to keep the insects from getting to it. Josef kept telling me to throw the plant away to not have to hastle with it. I remembered a story brother Artemio told me about his plant. He said he got so mad at it because it would not give good fruits and that one day he cursed it and wished it would just die! He then said he suddenly felt convicted, he remembered times in his walk where he didn't always bear good fruits, though he habitually bore good fruits a few times he didn't. He thought of how the Lord was merciful to him and how the Lord just didn't cut him off and curse him. He then repented of wishing evil on this plant and asked the Lord to help it grow. His plant then started getting greener and healthier and bearing much fruit! Till this day his plant is there bearing much fruit. So with that in mind I decided to bear with my plant a little longer. I would take much care of it and finally one day it just withered and died. I still keep it to remind me of the lessons learned. I learned that at first you can't always know who is a real brother or a false convert, I have to be patient and in time the fruit will show and not to be to quick to judge someone as a false convert. The Lord said this about such cases "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." Matthew 13:30. This was the case with Artemios plant and that is the case with many real brethren, I think many of us in the days of us would of cast off Peter of David when they sinned and had labeled them as false converts. We have to be long suffering to those weaker in the faith. I also learned that there are cases such as my chili plant, where it is very obvious that they are a bad tree and bear bad fruits and many times bear no good fruit at all. Jesus told us about these also. "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Matthew 7:16-20
And then there is the parable of the sower. "A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Luke 8:5-8. "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." Luke 8:11-15. Well that's the story of my chili plant and what I learned! Blessings.

November Update

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Well it's been a long time! Lord willing I will start blogging again. Here is a recent update from the mission field in Guadalajara. Please keep praying for us as we labor in this dark country!

http://www.puregospeltruth.com/3/post/2010/11/november-2010-update-testimonies-evangelism-church-plant.html

In Christ,
Lina Urban
www.puregospeltruth.com

Prayer Request...

Please pray for my neighbors. Sunday morning at about 3:30 am, I heard in my sleep what I thought was people partying in my street. I couldn’t figure out what exactly it was till I was able to really wake up. I heard my next door neighbor and her little girl screaming. I heard the little girl say, “Let her go!!!”, then I heard the woman say some things, and it immediately stopped. I started to burn within me to go talk to them. I decided to pray and wait for another day, I wrote down scriptures for them and went back to bed. So today, I prayed in the morning for them and went about my business. Strangly I decided to go to my front door and open it and look outside, I never do that! And I say my two neighbors walking home. I knew it was the Lord that led me to see them, so I could talk to both of them. I started shaking, of course started thinking of so many excuses why I shouldn’t go now. But praise the Lord for giving me strength! I got my notes with the scriptures and my bible and went. I knocked and they answered, I told them I needed to talk to both of them, they let me in. And I told them, “I am here because you have a problem and that problem is sin”, they were utterly shocked. I started to preach the Gospel to them, the man seemed very receptive and humble confessing his faults. The lady had no expression on her face, I don’t know if she was angry or in shock. I then told them about what I heard that night and how the worst part is not that I heard but that God saw and heard and how he is not pleased with them living a life like that, and read them the specific scriptures that talk about violence and the works of the flesh. I then got to exalt Christ and tell them about the victory that He has purchased. And that if they repent and believe they can have a new life in Christ, walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh, and proceeded to read to them the works of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, temperancance etc. I gave them instructions on how to seek the Lord and find pardon for their sins. Please join me in prayer for their salvation and for their daughters to be saved and grow up in a Godly home. The lady asked for forgiveness at the end, telling me she was so embarrased that I heard what happened that night, and the man ended up confessing his battles to me and how he wants to change. I offered them a home bible study with Josef and I, they said they would let me know. Blessings to you all



In Christ,
Lina Urban
www.missionary2mexico.blogspot.com

2 YEARS IN MEXICO

On October 26, it was two years since we moved to Mexico. How time flies! I still remember the day we crossed the border into Tijuana, Mexico. We had one contact, a pastor of a tiny church that we knew. As we came into Mexico it was getting dark, and we had no idea where to stay or what to do. We stopped at a pay-phone and called this friend of ours, and he answered! Within 10 minutes, he met us at the gas station and escorted us to his house, providing us with a room and hospitality until we could find another place. It was 5 days later, on Oct. 31st, that I preached my first sermon in Mexico in the church that this man was overseeing. And within the next few days, I had preached in a couple of other churches as well, seeing the hand of the Lord at work.

But despite being in my element of preaching, I had suddenly found myself in a whole new world, completely different from anything I had known. All my words had to be translated as Lina faithfully acted as my mouthpiece to the people. I could no longer communicate as freely as I’d like. The food was strange and different from my typical Ohio-style dinners of country-fried steak, corn on the cob and mashed potatoes! And tortillas with every single meal? –How strange, I thought! Corn tortillas, flour tortillas, even red chipotle tortillas and green jalapeno tortillas! And, when we get tired of tortillas, they can even fry it and then call it a “tostada”! I stood out like a sore thumb, and heard my fair share of words like “gringo”. The social customs were different, and everybody had to be shown extra warmness and greeted when I walked into a room (in Mexico, it can be a big offense if you don’t greet everyone in the room personally, even if there’s 10 or 15 people!). The language was so difficult for this high-school dropout that failed Spanish class in high school that I had quickly despaired and stopped trying to learn it, relying on my wife always to translate and focusing my time on other things.

And there was my biggest mistake. Now we had preached all over, yet it was always through the translation process, and largely still is. For over a year, I had not committed to language study, nor tried to absorb what I heard others speak. And so in the language process, I have lost over a year. I didn’t start really studying Spanish until January of this year, 2009. So, as I could be semi-fluent by now if I had studied the entire time, I am still very limited in my communication abilities and have to devote myself for hours every day to study it. Language is such a huge barrier and it’s difficult to break through it. So this is my greatest regret thus far, and I’m laboring to conquer it, growing slowly but surely.

Now you have to consider that I never attended a mission school to learn about how to be a missionary, nor did I ever study missiology or missionary methods for embracing another culture and reaching the people on their level. My whole theology of missions was to GO and PREACH, have Lina translate, and trust the Holy Spirit to back it up with power and give the increase to our labors. And the Lord has certainly used this! But there’s still that barrier until I’m able to speak fluently with the people and I am seriously laboring to break through.

But on a more positive note, as I look back on these last 2 years, it has been an amazing adventure. I have stories to tell that would fill a volume of books. And I could testify all day and all night to the Lord’s faithfulness to us since being in Mexico. We have been able to preach the Gospel to a countless number of people in this country. The Lord has opened doors, closed doors, guided us and even miraculously provided for us. We did not raise a support base before coming to Mexico as almost all missionaries do prior to leaving their home country, we just went and the Lord provided. It’s amazing. We have lacked nothing we need for 2 years and all this apart from popular missionary fundraising methods. Many times we don’t know where support is going to come from, but it comes by the hand of God’s faithful provision every time, and it’s always just enough for what we need to do!

I think of our journey thus far: the bustling city of Tijuana, and ministering in a slum village to poor families and children and drug addicts. I remember preaching in a drug rehabilitation center every week ministering to some of the most burnt-out drug addicts I’ve ever seen in my life (and I say this as one that spend a couple years in Detroit among the homeless ministering to them!). I remember feeding and giving Bible studies to poor children that though they lived with their parents, they were at the same time abandoned by their parents. I remember traveling to Oaxaca, and preaching in the market of a city there, and then traveling to a group of un-reached people that speak their own dialect and being able to share the Gospel with several there who spoke Spanish. I remember the small towns of Guerrero, the cowboys, the guns shots piercing the silent countryside every night interspersed every now and then with the sound of the “hee-haw” of a burro, the goats and chickens and herds of cows marching right down the street in front of our house. I remember preaching in the churches there, and visiting people in their houses to share the Good News with them, dealing with mosquitoes by the thousands and insects that I never knew existed in addition to combating frequent illness. I remember showing the Jesus Film to our village where nearly the whole village showed up to watch it and heard us preach the Gospel afterwards. And now I think of our time in Guadalajara, this huge city, ministering in the city, open air preaching, and ministering to the church, teaching and endeavoring to see the Body of Christ brought to maturity and fullness in Christ. This is God’s work, and it’s a wonderful privilege to be allowed to have a small part of it. I’m not worthy to be an ambassador of Christ, but even so, I thank God for the precious blood!

As I’ve been thinking and seeking the Lord, I believe He has not only been refining and purging me, but also giving me more vision for Mexico. This includes too much to share right now, but one thing we want to do is find a solid Christian orphanage in need that we would be able to help and to generate some support for. There are tons of abandoned children in Mexico and ministry to them is a great need and one that the Lord is behind. I hope to search around in the near future in the attempt to locate and identify such an orphanage somewhere around here. Please pray that the Lord would lead us to the perfect place.

CURRENT WORK

We are still holding our youth/singles meetings every week at the church here. I have started a series of preaching expositionally through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, 7). It has been a great blessing to minister to these young people and to study this discourse of our Lord in depth as I prepare to preach it. After a month of preaching on it, we are still not even half way through the Beatitudes. The Lord’s hand has been in it. We are praying that the Lord will open doors for us to build more relationships with young people in Guadalajara and enable us to preach the Gospel to them. We are also preaching and teaching in the Evangelism class every weekend.

We are also still evangelizing in the city. A man I talked about several months ago that was diverted from suicide through our preaching and is now seeking the Lord instead of killing himself is still coming around. We sit down with him on the side and give him personal Bible studies when he comes. We have had many great conversations with people about the Gospel and have been able to preach to many.

I have been devoting much time lately to studying Spanish. I had hoped to be fully conversational and able to preach by myself by 2010, but it doesn’t look like I will quite meet my goal. While I can conversate with people, it’s still on a basic level, and not where it needs to be to minister effectively, to understand everything and to be understood in everything.

There is so much more I could share but I don’t want to give personal information about people and situations we find ourselves in.

DANGERS OF DENGUE

There is a plague of dengue fever going around right now in Guadalajara. I marvel that the news has not been covering it and warning about it like it did the “swine flu”, but then again I know who the news is run by. We know a number of people in our personal acquaintances who have contracted the virus. For those of you who don’t know what Dengue is, it is a very serious virus that is contracted through mosquito bites. There are currently two different strands: one is the regular one and the other causes hemorrhages. The regular kind puts you into a bed for 8 days of torment with a high fever and has killed young children and the elderly. The other kind is even worse and is very life-threatening, causing not only a fever for so long but it severely reduces your white-cell blood count and causes blood hemorrhages. And it’s only just a single tiny little mosquito that causes such devastation. One little bite could kill within 10 days. But the bad thing is, the more people who get it the more it spreads, because when a mosquito bites someone infected with it, then that mosquito becomes contaminated and spreads it to others. And there is no medicine, antibiotic or remedy for it. There are several in our church alone who have caught the virus lately. Please pray that this thing stops, and that we wouldn’t catch it! We do not fear, knowing that all is in the Lord’s hands, but it is wise to pray.

The Danger of Santa Claus by John MacArthur

What a false, fake substitute the world puts forth at this time [Christmas 1990] for that true message. Do you remember these words?

"You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you why; Santa Claus is coming to town. He's making a list and he's checking it twice; gonna find out whose naughty and nice. Santa Claus is coming to town. He sees you when you're sleeping; he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sakes. You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you why; Santa Claus is coming to town."

Now does that threaten you? That is a very threatening poem. That is intended to scare children. Now listen, if you look at the letters of Santa, you will see that Satan is hidden in Santa. When we teach a child to sing this song, we are teaching him a false theology. We are teaching him a false set of doctrine. Let me see if I can explain it to you.

First, that song teaches that Santa is a transcendent being. He lives on a higher plane. He lives on another level. He transcends time and space. He has powers equal to whom? God! Not only that, he knows everything. He's omniscient. "He knows when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows when you're naughty. He knows when you're nice." He knows everything.

Not only that, he's everywhere. "He sees you when you're sleeping." He's not only omniscient, he's omnipresent. And he is watching to see whether you have been good or bad. And not only that, but he bestows favors. Now on what basis does Santa give his favors? What must I do to receive good things from this transcendent being, called Santa. Well it is very simple, I have to be what? Good. I can "earn" Santa's favor. If I am good, Santa will give me gifts. After all, he's making a list and he is checking it twice to make sure that we've been either naughty of nice. And on the basis on how we've been, he'll deal with us.

And if I'm not nice and good, I won't get any gifts. So I better be good for goodness sake, not to mention for my own sake or anybody else's sake. But do you want to know something about Santa? He may be transcendent, and he may be omniscient, and he may be omnipotent, and he may be omnipresent. He may be dispensing all of the good things, but you know what? You can't trust him. You can't trust him. You say, "What do you mean by that?"

It says, "He's checking to see if you are naughty or nice." And you better be good for goodness sake, because if you aren't good, you won't what? You won't get anything. You want to know something? That's not true. Plenty of times I haven't been good and I get something anyway. Every year I get something. And you want to know the truth of it? There are a lot of naughty people that get a lot and there are a lot of nice people that don't get anything.

Do you know what about Santa Claus? You can't trust him. He doesn't even stay true to his own word. He's blustering around and warning everybody to mind your manners and be good all the time; be nice and not naughty and good and not bad. And then you know what? When Christmas comes he caves in, and even when we have been naughty he gives us all that stuff. And sometimes he overlooks people that are nice. He really can't be trusted. His threats are meaningless and so are his promises. But that's good because it takes the sting out of him. And there is another good thing about Santa; you only have to worry about him once a year. He only shows up once and you know when it is; it's always on Dec 25th, so you can get your act together just a few days before. You say, "Well where is he the rest of the time?" Oh, he's in the North Pole. Could that be heaven in Satan's little scheme? "What's he doing?" Oh, he has all these elfs around him. "What are they doing?" Whatever he tells them.

Mostly, meaningless things like make toys. He is sort of inane isn't he? He threatens but never fulfills his threats. He promises but doesn't always fulfill his promises.

Is it any wonder that if I believe all that as a child, when I come to be an adult, I might have a hard time believing in a Transcendent God who does know everything, who is everywhere, who does have all power, who does keep his promises and his threats, and who does not save me and give me good gifts on the basis of my works but on the basis of His grace. If Santa has been my understanding of God, then I am in trouble. That's why I say, hidden in the letters of Santa is Satan.

I am glad for a God who is absolutely dependable. I can trust His promises. I can trust His threats. He is everywhere at all times and He doesn't just show up once a year. He is here all of the time. And He gives His great gift, not on the basis of our works but on the basis of His grace through faith.

"Humility Indeed" by Jason Bellard

It's been a long time since I posted. I just found this song and it really blessed me. At the same time news hit that Michael Jackson had died. Then I recieved a email from Andrew Strom, called "How Fleeting Life Is", you can do a search online if you want to read it. All this made me think of my past life, and it made me praise God for His saving grace in my life. Below is a letter I wrote to Andrew, and will post so you know what I'm talking about:

Hi Andrew! Thanks again for another great article! Thought provoking, I loved this:

"For what is your life?" asks the apostle James. "It is a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away."

"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher of Ecclesiastes, "All is vanity... All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again."

If it is one thing we can learn from the life and death of every 'icon' on this planet, it is that we all must live with eternity in view, not the fleeting charade of this present world. As Leonard Ravenhill so eloquently asked, "Are the things you're living for worth Christ dying for?"

It just made me think back of my old life in Christ, and how great and merciful the Lord has been upon me. Many people don't know this, but my whole life was built around wanting to be famous. Started young, going to some of the best acting schools and modeling schools. When I became an adult I studied some more and moved to Hollywood to pursue fame. In a short time, I got a lot of work in movies, music videos, and commercials. Right before I got converted I got a nation wide Mc Donald's commercial that got me into SAG. I was getting offers from top notch agents after that, it seemed like I was almost there. When suddenly I got converted!!! The Lord made it very clear to me, I couldn't keep living that life of vanity. Hours of my day being spent on going in for fittings and make up and hair, and then on the shoot, I would sometimes spend 14 hrs a day shooting, for a 2 minute scene! I just wanted to be alone with God and read His word. I remember calling my agent and telling her that I was leaving Hollywood. She was utterly shocked, realizing that I was finally achieving my life dream and just throwing it away. She told me if I ever wanted to come back she would be there. But the Lord clearly forbid me to go back. I thank God for being with me and taking away all those desires of fame and riches and replacing them with a love for him and contentment. Crazy to think I left that life of glam and now living as a poor missionary in Mexico!!! Bless His name!

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Mat 16:24).

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." (1Jo 2:15-17).

In Christ,
Lina Urban
www.puregospeltruth.com

I hope this testimony will drive you to continue to follow Christ, no matter what the cost. He is worthy, worthy above all! We Christians will have many earthly losses, but they don't compare to our heavenly gains!
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mat.8:36

Hola Guadalajara!

Well we are now in the city of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, in Mexico. It’s a huge city! I was not liking the idea of moving to a big city, I got used to living in a small village, and was getting used to the way of life there, and enjoying the people there. But to my amazement I have grown to really like the Big City, though big it doesn’t feel like other big cities in the world, I though it would be much like London or Rome, but it is not. People are not as in a hury and are very friendly, kinda like a small village. We drove about 11 hours to get here. It was a beautiful drive. We stayed in a hotel the first night and the second day we found a place to live. We were originally going to stay in a much nicer apartment for the same price we are paying now, and we would live alone. Unlike here, having to share a big building with over 25 people, sharing bathrooms and kitchen. The apartment seemed perfect for us, but I had no peace about it. As we were walking to get money to pay the owner I decided to ask a stranger walking down the street if he knew of a place to rent. He told us he is the owner of a hostel nearby and had available rooms. It was a divine meeting, God’s sovereignty all over it! We went and I had total peace about it in the spiritual, in the physical it’s not the nicest place around town or in the best area. But had peace about it. Josef and I don’t care about luxuries, we care about being in the perfect will of God. We decided to stay here in the hostel instead. In the physical I will spare you my stories, it is not good! But what a blessing it has been to be here.

Since being here the Lord has opened many doors to preach his Gospel in this place. A plus about living here is that there is a beautiful roof where we can hold meetings every Sunday. We have had a few people show up already. The second day being here this girl and her boyfriend moved in, many of you know the story. Her name is Carolina, and she’s 5 months pregnant. I preached to her right away, but to no avail. Josef and I were starting to think her boyfriend beats her, and I talked to her about it and she told me he does. I was encouraging her to leave him and that we would do what we could to help her. It was hard for her to leave because he was supporting her. She said she really wanted to leave him, but she didn’t. So one night to make the story short, a woke up to her cries, her boyfriend was beating her really bad! He almost killed her, Josef intervened and God spared her. She later told me that he beat her so bad she passed out, and when Josef intervened he was slamming her into the wall as she was passed out. But thanks to the Lord, she was able to get strengthand seperate from him. She is doing well now, she lives next door to me. We spend time together. She desperatly needed shoes, and I took her to buy some, she was really happy. She has a job now, and is able to support herself. She told me last night she’s gonna try to ask for the time off on Sundays so she can come to our studies. She seems to be ok, her face is still a little blue, but she will get better, Lord willing. Prior to this she hadn’t gone to the doctore to get a check up on the baby, she went recently and discovered she is having a healthy little girl. A little too healthy, the baby seems over weight and the doctor put her on a diet. She hasnt’ come to repentance and faith in the Lord, please keep her in your prayers. I will try to attach a picture here for you to see her. She’s wearing her new shoes in it and a new dress, she also didn’t have clothes that fit her.

We had no idea that were we live is the homosexual district. They are all over the place. It has been a blessing to be able to minister to them also. It is tough being a Mexican homosexual, tougher that in the states. They are not shown love by people out of their community. But God has given us a great love for them. We have had some great witnesses with some of them, a lot of them live in our building. One of which is from a Christian home. One day I was in my room and had a burden to pray, I fell in my knees in trevail praying for someone, but I didn’t know who. Later I went to the kitchen and this guy runs in and tells me of this dream he just had. I beleive it was the Lord trying to show him, his life and where it was taking him. I was able to relate the dream to the word of God, and Josef came down and we both started to preach to him. He’s a lost sheep, he knows the true way but has decided to stiffen his neck and follow the pleasures of this world. Right before this day, I had seen him in the kitchen it was the first time I had met him, and he openly told me he just found out he had Herpes. Please pray for his salvation. That day when Josef and I talked to him, he seemed to get really convicted and immediatly ran away from us, literally ran!

Since there are so many people here, Josef and I decided to take advantage of this great opportunity and open air preach at a local town square. We went for it one day. We set up this painting thing on a tripod, wrote a scripture on it, and preached with our mic. It went great! We had a huge crowd, the Lord really anointed the preaching of His word and confirmed it to the hearts of men. We had a crowd for 2 hours! Some people stayed the whole 2 hours, and even stayed another 45 min extra for prayer and council. I met this man there name Jose Antonio, he had so many questions!!! He was seeking truth, he had gone to every religion and cult you could think of here trying to find truth. And he told me that for the first time what we preached seemed to be true. Praise the Lord! Jesus is the Truth! Ends up this guy even went to Catholic Seminary and never has found peace with God. He has come to our house twice already, and he told us last week that something happened to him while we were preaching he believes he got saved, and was born again. He said he’s not the same anymore, and doesn’t take pleasure in the things he once did. Please keep him in your prayers that this seed be firmly planted on good ground!

We tried to go and preach last week, but they immediatly shut us down. Saying we needed a permit. By the grace of God we were able to get a permit to preach in a city square every Friday and Saturday from 5 to 9pm, for a month. Then we can reapply for a permit.

Yesterday, I had a little itch to look around for an apartment to rent, to get an idea what the prices are around here, we are considering moving, not sure yet. I took Josef lunch at school(he’s enrolled in a school to teach him spanish), as I was walking back home I saw a place for rent. I knocked and to my surprise, it was this man, that dresses like a woman and prostitues himself, he’s a homosexual. I had seen him before and didn’t remember that that was his house! I just happened to be wearing a long skirt. He immediatly after opening the door asked me what religion I was from, I told him I am a Christian. He told me to come in, he showed me the room, it was really bad and really expensive, him and I decided it wasn’t the place for my husband and I. He asked me if I could please stay with him a while, he wanted to talk to me. I told him sure, I was exited hoping it would be a great opportunity to preach the Gospel. He sat me in a room and told me he had a lot of questions, and told me he would be right back. So he left and came back with a huge stack of bibles. All kinds of different bibles from different cults and religions. He told me he’s seeking truth and is confused. I was there for almost 2 hours answering his questions. And the end of our conversation he opened up to me and told me he’s a prostitute and has aids and a few other sicknesses. My heard broke for him. I was able to minister to him more and told him I would be back. He told me to come and he would put me first even before his clients. It was a great blessing, please pray for him, he told me his name is Lupe.

Please also pray for one of my neighbors from Canada. She doesn’t like Christians, but has a liking for me and Josef she has even fed us a few times. She had a misconception that most Christians are realy mean and judgemental. But she has seen it is not so with real Christians. We had a huge debate one night, it went really well, we became even better friends after it. She brought out her Chinesse Phylosophy book, and insisted I needed to be open minded and not so close minded and she started to read it to me. The Lord gave me much to share with her about His holy word, and how it contradicted mostly everything she believed. It got her thinking after I would quote scriptures. She is a heavy drinker, and needs to be set free by the power of Christ, and brough into a new life. Her name is Tracy, I love her very much, she is very dear to my heart. We also have a new neighbor who came to our bible study this week, he is Japanese but from America, raised as a buddhist but is very opened to the Gospel. Josef was able to have a really good talk with him at our study. He is really nice and very opened. A friend of ours went to the US this weekend and brought him the book “The Case for Christ”. We gave it to Eric and he is really exited to read it.

There is so much more I want to write about, but I also don’t want to make this too long for you. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

In Christ,
Lina Urban www.puregospeltruth.com

Life in Guerrero, Mexico

Hope all is well with you, been a while since my last blog. Well let me keep you up on what’s been going on down here. Josef and I are living in the state of Guerrero, in Mexico. In a little village called Arroyo Grande. It’s been quite challenging being down here to say the least. Times of sorrows and grief, yet times of joy and peace. But I thank God for the trials for as the word of God says he uses them to refine us, as gold is refined. It’s nothing like it was living in Rosarito. It’s a lot more primitive here. God has been much gracious to me in helping me deal with the change. Josef did a lot better than me dealing with the change. So how do people live here? Well everyone here, for the exception of Josef and I, eat 3 full meals a day, 2 meals a day is more than plenty for us.

People here have a custom of eating out every night for dinner. The big thing for dinner is “enchiladas”, you can get 10 for a dollar. They are tiny though. There are no restaurants in our town like in the US, people just set up some tables and chairs outside in their front yard and cook for you outside, those are the restaurants here, you can eat for about a dollar to 2 dollars per adult at these restaurants. Tortillas are almost a necessity for them here. They hand make their tortillas, or go buy freshly made ones for each meal. They normally cook their tortillas outside on the fire on a homemade skillet thing made out of mud. Some one in the town kills a cow or pig or goat every other day or so, and every one buys it from him. Right now there’s men who go fishing and bring fish to sell here about three times a week, they get here at 7am, kinda early for me but this week I went for it, got a good deal, a dozen fish for $4US dollars. With chickens it’s a daily thing, there is a chicken lady that comes to your house and brings you freshly killed chicken for a whopping $7US dollars a chicken. Expensive. Josef and I don’t go the fresh route it’s too expensive, since we go out to the city a few times a week we just buy frozen meat and poultry there, but limit our selves to eating either meat or chicken or fish once a week, to keep our costs down. We have had to get really creative in figuring out ways to eat beans and tortillas and rice. Maybe I can send you all some recipes if you like, to help you save money on food cost. Here you can get freshly made cheese and milk, since people have cows. Josef recently planted beans and tomatoes, they are looking good so far. We are hoping that will help us save some money, we want to plant onions too and chilies, corn would be nice too. We have some room to plant where we are at but we are just borrowing a house that was empty and don’t know how long we can use it for. We are also considering having a little farm in this land we just inherited from my grandpa, but we would need to build a well and that can get costly, maybe even build a little hut out of mud. But it’s in the Lords hands, he will guide us. We don’t know how long we will be here, so before we do anything we need to wait on the leading of the Lord. Most people hand wash their clothes and air dry them since it’s so hot here, it’s a desert. The house we are living in has a washer, when it wants to work it’s great, but when it doesn’t I have to do it the old fashioned way and wash by hand, jeans are tough for me they get really heavy when they are wet, especially Josef’s. We don’t have running water like in the US. We have to pump water from a well. From the well it pumps it to this huge cement tub (that needs to be cleaned and scrubbed at least twice a week or else it gets these twirling worms, I think they turn into Mosquito’s), from the cement tub we use another pump to pump it up to this big black tank that’s on the top of our house and from there it goes to our sink and toilet. They are electrical pumps not manual, saves us lots of work. It was tough on me at first, seemed like a lot of work for me, but after much praying I have gotten used to it and it is no longer a burden. So don’t take for granted the water that you get, it’s so easy in America, you don’t have to sweat at all to get water like down here, and I am sure it’s so much worse in other parts in the world compared to here. Bucket showers for most people, including us. We don’t have hot water either, it wasn’t bad till recently now it’s on the cold side, but we bear, just got to work out showers when it’s the warmest time in the day and it’s not so bad. Oh yeah, trash, we have to burn our trash in our back yard, no trash man that comes and takes it for you. Another luxury of America. Same with gas, no gas just comes from pipes, we have to buy a tank of gas that plugs into our stove, it lasts about a month.

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!!! That’s one of our problems especially now there’s lots of these bugs that suck your blood and make you itch they leave me welts, kind of like Mosquito’s but not. They like to get me really bad, they don’t bite Josef much and if they do he doesn’t get welts, which is good. Some of these bugs carry Dengue, it’s a really bad sickness. Josef’s problem was with wasps, they were constantly in the house swarming around him and building nests in our house. It’s better now though. We had a tarantula creep into our house, Josef ended up killing it, it was big and creepy looking, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it, you can see a picture of Josef and the tarantula on the right slide show. John (a friend that came and stayed with us for a while) killed a few Alacranes. They’re like scorpions they are deadly if not taken care of immediately. Bats like to hang outside our front door, there’s two of them that sleep there. Twice already they have came in our house and one just about came in a short while ago. There’s also snakes, in our property, since being here our neighbor that lives in the same land we do has killed now about 5 snakes outside our house. There’s still a few we haven’t been able to catch.

Now the good things. It is really nice down here, hills, trees, horses, cows, donkeys, goats, rivers, country type. You can also see pics of our surroundings on the right on the slide show. Food is not bad, weather is nice right now it does get really hot though here. But the best of all is being able to live in the midst of a people who don’t know Christ, and being able to preach the blessed gospel to them. We had a great opportunity to have a booth at yearly fiesta for the town we live in. It has been the first time anyone has ever done this here before. It brought fear to some people in the town, they were saying things like it is for sure the last days and that Jesus is coming back, because never has anyone done this before. We gave out free gospel literature and bibles for those who came up, we had some great witnesses it was very fruitful. The people here have been really nice to us, we have this really nice lady that invites us a lot to her house to cook for us, she feeds us well. She said something just birthed in her heart to want to care for us since meeting us. She reminds me of the woman who took care of Elijah the prophet, though she had almost nothing to eat herself she gave her all to cook for this man of God, you can read the story in 1Kings. And this lady has been like this to us, lately she has been struggling hard with finances but still is having us over. She is still unconverted, not wanting to forsake all to follow Christ, I just trust in the Lord that as the seed of the Gospel has been planted and we keep watering it that he would give the increase. She has a daughter too that has been a great blessing to us, and we have been preaching the word to her also and have seen the Spirit of the Lord convict her and bring her to tears over her sin. Please keep them in your prayers that God would bring salvation to that home. The lady has a boyfriend whom she’s lived with for many years and they have children that are all grown up now. He not so long ago left to the US to get into the drug smuggling business. We preached to him a few times before he left and he decided to leave anyways, it broke our hearts to see him follow the path of destruction. But to our great surprise, he has been really scared to take on that job and has not been able to work doing that, he started washing cars instead. I have talked to him a few times on the phone, since he has been up there. Please pray for him, that the hand of the Lord would continue to be heavy upon him and that he would repent of all his sins, as Jesus commands, and that he would follow Christ having putting all his faith in Him. This is a couple who came to see the Jesus Film when we showed it here in our town, so it’s a blessing to see how the Lord used that movie so that we could meet these people.

We have had some opposition here from some people, in the beginning some of the townspeople were making up lies about us, so that people would not go to see the movie we were showing. Gone through some heartbreaking experiences with false brethren. We had this relationship with a local pastor he seemed so humble and seemed to love the Lord, but ended up being a wolf in sheep’s clothing a habitual liar and hypocrite. It is so sad that this man is what has been representing Christianity for many years to these people. We tried talking to him about his life of sin to no avail. Since parting ways with him he has gotten deeper into his life of lies and is now slandering us and lying about us. Please pray that God would have mercy on this man and that he would repent and truly serve Christ.

Since being here we have showed the Jesus Film to this town and other surrounding towns. We also showed a movie called “Luz Del Mundo” here in this town. It has been a great blessing to see the fruit of this, many times as laborers of the Lord we don’t see fruits when we pour out our hearts to people and our time, but God has allowed us to see some fruit from this. We show the movie and preach the Gospel. We recently visited an old man that can barely see and hear, but he went to see the Jesus Film in our town and memorized some of it and holds on to that since he can’t read the bible. It has had that effect on a few of the older people and on the children.

People in this town are lawless. Kind of like wild cowboys. Its do as you will here, there’s hardly any consequences. They just found a dead man down the road we live on less than 10 minutes away. Don’t know the details yet, somepeople say he was hanged, others say he was shot in the forehead, now they are saying they just found another body too. People here don’t think twice about taking someones life, it’s really sad, the men here carry guns when they go out. I don’t think there has been a day that I don’t hear gunshots, even machine guns! They just like to shoot in the air for fun at home or at parties. A lot of the men here are drug traffickers. We have had some good witnesses with some of them, just a few days ago I was able to preach a little to about 6 of the main mobsters from this town. It was my first time meeting them. I look forward to talking to them further, the mens wives have agreed to have us over once a week for bible studies at one of their houses. These women are broken, they get treated badly by these men, please pray for their protection and salvation. They have a lot of inner wounds, but God can heal them and save their souls. They are starting to see their depravity and need for a Savior, please keep them in prayer that they would repent and believe the Gospel.

For years since being converted I have had a great desire to preach the gospel in Prisons. After much prayer, the Lord has answered that desire of mine in such a special way. I thank God for giving me a husband that has the same burdens and desires as I do and encourages me to preach where God leads. For about 2 months we have been preaching there, Josef preaches I interpret. We go about 2 times a week sometimes 3. On Sundays is our time where we preach in this room for 2 hours. And Wed. and Sat. are visiting hours, that’s where we go to spend one on one time with the men that are being ministered to, and build relationships with them, exhort them deeper with the Word of God, pray for them, cast demons out, etc. It’s a lot like what we were doing in the Rehab center in Tijuana. Here it’s not like the US prisons, here the inmates are all loose on the yard, and you can go up to any of them and talk to them, you have free range to go anywhere, the basketball courts, their work area, their rooms where they sleep, they all sleep in one big room with these cheap hand made bunk beds, some sleep on the floor till they build a bed which it takes weeks for them to be able to get beds. Please pray for the men that God would set them free in the inner man, though the outer man is in bonds. Some of the men we are spending one on one time with are murderers, kidnappers of adults, thief’s, drug traffickers and the list goes on. Some are in there for car accidents, here in Mexico if you get into a car accident and don’t have money to pay the injured you go to jail, that’s really sad, especially if it’s not your fault. We were able to meet a lady who’s son is in there and she heard us talking to someone about the Lord and she invited us to her home to come and give her a bible study. She has been wanting to live for God and needed guidance. We went last week, it was really far where she lives in the middle of no where, about an hour from our house. Josef taught her about the message of Reconciliation through what Jesus did on the Cross.

Many of you know the Lord has done something different here in Mexico that we didn’t do in the US as far as ministry, and that is reaching the little ones. Again we see the hand of the Lord in this here. For over a month now we have had weekly bible studies for the kids. We bring some speakers, play music, teach the kids songs, and sing. It’s different than the way we did it in Tijuana. Here kids just want to learn the bible they don’t care if they get clothes or treats, we don’t even do that, in fact I only gave them cookies once as a surprise. The kids here seem to be much more hungry for the Word than the adults. They are learning and putting into practice what they learn. I do a lesson from the Word of God, then they color biblical pictures, then I spend one on one time with them, that’s when they seem to get the more convicted over their sins, when I personally address their sins and how they need to repent and put their faith in Christ. I believe some of the older kids are at an age where they do understand and can be born again. As a result of these childrens meetings, now our house is filled with kids, they don’t bother me, I quite like it. They come up with all kinds of questions about religious things as they are here, like “who made God?” “What do you mean He always existed?” “How is that possible?” “Is it wrong to do this or that?” They like to come over and help me clean the yard, it’s so helpful we have a huge yard, and they help me burn the leaves, one of the little girls is like an Indian she has a special talent on starting fires to burn trash. One little girl comes over almost everyday and spends time here, she’s really sad her brother died not to long ago and you can see the sadness in her eyes. She’s been a lot more cheerful though, I can’t even see that sad look in her eyes that often anymore. Because of our childrens study it seems like the Catholic Church wasn’t so happy that their kids were coming to our study, so they decided to do a kid study of their own, but wanting to bait the kids in with candy. Really sad, because they are not doing it out of love. I know this because I heard the teacher herself express how she really doesn’t want to teach them. It seems like it’s this religious burden, something they have to do and not love. I really love these kids and they need someone to teach them the truth in the love of Christ. Please keep all these things in prayer. We need your prayers. This was a long blog, I will try to blog more often so it doesn’t get this long next time. Pray that God would strengthen us, that we would not grow weary, that we would be faithful to the Lord in all we do, and that Him who died would be glorified!
For new pictures you can also view them here: http://s403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/Missions2Mexico/

Blessings to all,

Lina Urban
www.puregospeltruth.com

We Are Back From Our Journey!

We have recently returned from our 3-week journey to southern Mexico and had a successful mission to the glory of God. We met with both hardships, with persecution, and with blessings and movings of the Spirit. Here is an outline of our trip:

We flew out from the Tijuana airport to Acapulco and abode overnight at a relative’s house. From there, we took a 7-hour bus ride and arrived in a small city called Altamirano and from there, stayed in a small town about 30 minutes away (driving time), where Lina has a lot of family. This small town is in the middle of a desert and is largely unreached with the Gospel, and the main city is surrounded by many other such towns in all directions.

The area where this town is located doesn’t see hardly any American visitors (I would actually get many hard stares for being a gringo). There is almost NO gospel witness. It’s sad though as there are Catholics everywhere. And there are a couple of big, brand new Jehovah Witness churches in that area. The mormons are there too. Yet, the true Church of Jesus Christ has not penetrated the enemy’s ranks in that place! It’s full of dead religion but totally void of a true witness of the power of God! Of all the people we talked to, none of them owned a real Bible. The ones that owned a Bible only had a copy of the Jehovah Witnesses Bible since they have been all through there preaching their doctrines of demons. It is a dark area, full of drug smugglers and high-ranking mafia. The town is a drug town; most of the houses are extremely poor and dilapidated yet out front, you will see a brand new $50,000 car (which a regular working Mexican could never afford). It hasn’t been sufficiently evangelized and despite what your missions prayer maps might say, it’s largely unreached. When asked what religion we were, we always say, “Christians”, that is, followers of Christ. People would say, “Christians? There’s none of those in this area.” It is a great desire of mine to go back and to labor and pray that the Lord would be pleased to establish a strong Gospel witness in this region. We will see if the Lord permits. Here are some pictures:

It was amazing because usually, family is the last people to want to hear you preach to them. Yet, the first night we were there, when we were about to go for a walk through the town and prospectively find someone to share the Gospel with, some of Lina’s family members that were with us said, “Why don’t you preach to us?” So we said, “Sure!” and proceeded to preach the whole Gospel to them. We actually have a large pictorial flip chart that goes through vivid biblical illustrations, starting with Adam and Eve and ending at the Great White Throne Judgment and the Lake of Fire, so we started at the beginning and preached through all of the pictures to them. It went really well.

We were also able to preach to some others in this village and had a couple of truly divine appointments. The scripture never ceases to amaze me: “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Pro 16:9). One day after prayer, as we went door to door to preach, we were walking through the village and the first house we went up to invited us in and allowed us to sit down and preach the whole Gospel to them for a couple hours. They were a very poor husband and wife couple and have a couple children. He used to smuggle drugs to the US but has now left that. As we began to talk with them, I started by asking him about what he thinks is going to happen to him when he dies (I usually never ask this at the first). And he was immediately shocked at the question, because he related to us that many times he wakes up in the middle of the night, worried about what’s going to happen when he dies. He gets so scared sometimes, that, being unable to see to read for himself, he will have his wife read the Bible to him at these times. Yet, he understood nothing of it. So we proceeded to preach through the Scriptures on the nature of sin, it’s penalty, the justice of God and the wrath of God, and then upon the mercy and love of God and the grace of Jesus Christ. The man and his wife appeared to be very much convicted. They used to be Catholics, then switched to Jehovah Witness, then switched again to hyper-charismatic Pentecostals (who in this village sound more like a cult than anything), and now had given up and settled for nothing. All they had was a JW’s Bible (which is changed), so we were able to give them a real New Testament. We were able to preach to them clearly on the way of salvation and how to be saved, and we were able to pray with them too. Please continue to keep them in prayer.

The Lord also opened the doors for us to preach to another family in this village. The man in this family is an educated, respectable, “moral” man and a hard working mechanic who thought that all religion is good since it leads to better morals, and that he himself would enter Heaven based upon the supposition that he is a good person who deserves it. In talking with him, I opened up the Law of God and he was immediately convinced as a liar. I opened the Bible to Revelation 21:8 (all liars have their part in the lake of fire) and had him read it, and when he did, his countenance suddenly sunk and it hit him like a ton of bricks. Then I turned it to John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him”. When he read that, knowing that he doesn’t believe in Jesus as we already discussed what that means, his eyes began to water as the Holy Ghost convinced him of his sinful state before God. I immediately started expounding on the Cross, and before I could scarcely begin, he interrupted desperately, “What do I have to do to be saved?!!” So we told him how to be saved. He turned to his wife and anxiously said, “Let’s go for it honey!” Then his mind started to race forward as he began to count the cost. He started asking questions like, “Does this mean I won’t be able to own a nice car?”, “does this mean I won’t be able to save a lot of money up?”, “Does this mean that I have to be a preacher like you?”, etc. He began to say, “This means I am going to be mocked and laughed at by the town”, “This means that when that happens, I won’t be able to defend myself”, etc. etc. It was amazing to see how the Spirit of God was revealing to him exactly what it means to follow Christ and exactly what he would have to endure for the Cross’ sake. We were able to plead with him and exhort them much and to give them a nice hardcover full Bible. Hopefully they have laid down their rebellion against God and repented. Please keep them in prayer –the man’s name is Sergio.

We also desired to preach in the open market in the main city in this place, but for some reason, it wasn’t as populated when we went as people were telling us it was, and there wasn’t enough people to preach to without having some kind of amplification to make our voices heard, so we didn’t preach. Here’s a picture of the market:

From there, we were off to Oaxaca to meet up with David Sitton (www.toeverytribe.com) and his team. We had to take a 5-hour bus ride to Mexico City, and from there, transfer to another bus which then took us on another 6-7 hour trip to another city, and from there, take a shuttle for another couple of hours which then caused us to arrive in our city of destination in Oaxaca. As we stayed there, David and his team ended up breaking down on the ride down and had a lot of problems making it. So we ended up waiting for 4 days for them to arrive. But it was all good and in the divine providence of God!

During our wait in this little city, we decided to do some preaching. The first night we were there, as we were in the city square, I noticed a large Catholic Church down the street. I said, “let’s walk over there and check it out”. As we walked up, some men came out and lit off a bunch of fireworks. Then they were followed by a procession of a large group of people marching out. As they marched, they were chanting “Hail Mary’s” and carrying idols and relics.

My heart was grieved and I prayed for them. We proceeded to walk back to our hotel which is many blocks away across the city. As we walked down our street, we stopped, and before long and to our complete surprise, the people began to march right down our street. I told Lina, “You should stand up and read some scripture to them”, so as they went by, she read the 2nd Commandment from Exodus 20 that reads: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God…” She expounded slightly upon it. Then they kept walking.

The next night, an older man came up to us and asked, “Are you the ones who read the Bible to us last night?” We affirmed. Then he turned beat red, furious, and full of hatred, and began to curse and threaten us. He told Lina that he would take her Bible and destroy it while poking her with his finger and pushing her. He said things such as “Who do you think you are to quote the Bible and try to change the traditions that our ancestors have held for hundreds of years!” There was a murderous Catholic demon which had a strong influence in that place. A day or two later, as we were walking down the street, we ran into that man with a group of his friends standing along the road. He pointed to us, “That’s the gringo and the girl!” A woman yelled, “We should stone them!!!” And the crowd cheered her on. Praise God! Hallelujah!!! I’ve never actually been threatened to be stoned for Jesus’ sake, but it was a tremendous blessing and caused me to rejoice in heart! We have been praying for that man ever since, that God would forgive him for he knows not what he is doing, and even that God would convert him and make him the Saul of Tarsus turned Paul of the town.

During our layover in this city, by the sovereignty of God we were able to meet a husband and wife couple who runs a little restaurant. This is a nice, sit-down restaurant and all the food is a whopping $3 a plate (!). After seeing the Bible in my hand and finding out we were Christians, the man sat down with us at our table and began to talk with us and listen to us present the Gospel and expound on what it means to be born again. He never heard about being born again and didn’t know what it meant. He also thought one could only pray in a church, so he was blown away to discover that one can pray anywhere, especially the words of Jesus where He talks about entering your room and praying in secret. We talked with him about true repentance, about confessing his sins and putting his faith and trust in Jesus alone to save him. Later, when we came back, we found him preaching to a couple men in his restaurant, and telling them they need to be born again, and to go get alone with God and confess their sins! –It is always a great sign to see somebody evangelizing. We were encouraged to find out that after talking with us, he himself went into his room and shut the door, knelt down before God, and confessed his sins asking Jesus to save him. He has been waking up at 4 o’clock every morning and reading his Bible too. And this couple has opened their house to us, offering us a place to stay whenever we visit this city. We were also able to pray for his kidneys, as he has had tumors or growths on them that are potentially cancerous, so we laid hands on him and cursed those tumors in the name of Jesus. We pray he was healed but were not able to visit him again since then to verify anything.

By the mercy of God, we were also able to preach in the big open square in the dead center of the city where a lot of people gather. We were able to preach a great open air message to a crowd of about 30+ people. Seeing they are all Catholic, I decided to preach from the Lord’s Prayer, since all Catholics knew it, and to expound on it verse by verse, using it as a springboard to preach against idolatry as is in Catholicism, to preach the hallowedness and holiness of God, the Kingdom of God and what it means to enter that Kingdom and abide therein, against hypocrisy, the will of God for sinners to repent and for people to live in obedience to His commands, the provision and love of God in caring for men, the basis of the forgiveness of sin in the Cross and Gospel of Christ, and the glory of God. The people were very attentive and after much exhortation, we were able to pass out a couple Gospels of John to them.

Eventually, brother David and the team ended up showing up before we were martyred for the testimony of Jesus. We then headed out from this city to the town of unreached Indians that we were going to preach to. We had to drive along some extremely thin and dangerous mountain roads to reach this remote village and after about 4 hours of driving through these mountains, we arrived. Here’s some pictures of the village:

David and the team set up a medical and dental clinic in this village as the way to get in (you can’t just go in saying you’re a Christian missionary who desires to convert people or you will get kicked out and possibly be in serious physical danger). So the clinics were the inroads he used. This was a village of Mixtec Indians who just a hundred years ago were still performing human sacrifices to their pagan gods. Their main religion is Animism (the belief that spirits control everything, possess inanimate objects, and must be constantly appeased) mixed with Catholicism, therefore they live in perpetual fear. Some of them seem to be more modernized now though too.

Many were very fearful of us as well. They are not an open, friendly people like many Mexicans are. And to top it all off, the vast majority of them don’t speak any Spanish. They still speak their native Mixteco language (which sounds very Asian). During our stay, we camped out in tents and they ran the dental and medical clinics to provide services for all the people who came up. It was hard to communicate as most of the time we didn’t have a translator.

However, there were maybe about ten people that came up who did speak Spanish. So it was our goal to preach as much as we could to those who could understand us. We were also able to pray for some of the sick and ask God to heal them. One man who spoke Spanish came up and we were able to sit down with him and talk. We explained to him the fact of sin and how God views it, and its penalty, and then I asked him, “Do you know what Jesus did for you on the Cross?” He looked puzzled, and said, “no”. Then I said, “Do you even know who Jesus Christ is?” and to that he replied, “I think I’ve heard of Him before”. –What! My heart was overwhelmed within me as the reality hit me that these people have never heard who Jesus is. We proceeded to share the Gospel with him as simply and clearly as we could. We told him about how Jesus would heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out demons, and he was amazed. Right away, he pointed to the Bible in Lina’s hands, and said, “Do you have another one of those books?” (he didn’t know to call it a Bible), so we gave him one. We told him what to do to be saved. We were able to pray with him and commend him to the grace of God, and have been praying for him since. May God give the increase!

There was also another man from this village who spoke Spanish who we were able to preach to and have a tremendous time with. He had no idea what “sin” was, or what “judgment day” was. We explained it to him, and his jaw literally dropped open, and then he immediately asked if we have another book (Bible)! We told him about the Lord Jesus and how to be saved through faith in His name. He appeared to have a very sincere hunger to know the things of God and to read his new Bible, please pray for Him that God would reach down and convert his soul.

There were others we were able to speak with as well. It was such an unspeakable blessing to be able to share the Gospel and the beauties of the precious Cross to people who have never ever heard, or even had a chance to hear, such things. To tell someone about Jesus who doesn’t even know who Jesus is or what He did. It was such a blessed experience; it was truly amazing; words cannot describe how much it blessed my soul. The village has now requested that we would send in an English teacher to teach the townspeople English, which is a total breakthrough and a mighty opportunity for a Gospel worker to go in, live among them, and be a witness in this village while teaching English using the Bible as the text book. Please pray that God would send worthy laborers into this unreached harvest field. If you are interested in giving your life for the next few years+ to forsake all the comforts of your materialistic culture, moving in to a group of unreached people in a remote region, taking up their culture, learning their language (which is only spoken, there is no written language here), teaching English, praying for a move of God, and ultimately, planting churches in this region, please contact me if you feel God is calling you.

It was also a great blessing to be able to meet David and some of the other brethren who came with him, and I believe it was a very fruitful time to fellowship and admonish and encourage and be admonished and encouraged. David is planning on hosting a missions conference, Lord willing, this October in Brownsville, TX. The name of the conference is, “A Purpose Driven Death” and the subject is how God uses missionary hardship and martyrdom to pioneer the Gospel into hard and unreached regions. If you may want to attend or want information about it, email me.

We are now back in Tijuana and are selling the little amount of possessions we have left in our house. After that, we plan on sojourning in the US for a month or two, and during this time, acquiring some much needed ministry equipment which will enable us to preach to many more people, and also during this time making all the preparations necessary for our next journey deep into southern Mexico (which would be a much longer journey this time, at least a number of months duration) if the Lord permits. Please keep my wife and I in your prayers as the Lord leads. And pray for mercy for the nation of America as I believe great catastrophe is just right around the corner in terms of war and financial hardship.

I want to extend a special word of appreciation to our friends and supporters who have been faithfully praying for us and supporting us financially in order that we can continue to do what we’re doing in like manner, and we pray that God will bless you and increase the fruits of your righteousness in return. We trust our labor in the Lord is not in vain.

May Christ be glorified! May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of His suffering!

To See Pictures of the trip go here:
http://www.slide.com/r/lkaTU9CL7z8QYMjhNVCTrkwBkD2QldiS

In Christ – Josef and Lina Urban
www.puregospeltruth.com