Just 9 days left in Mexico

To my dear friends and family,
7-22-05

I can hardly believe that I have already spent nearly five weeks in Mexico . . . and in just 10 days (July 31st), I’ll be coming home again!! I have definitely been blessed so far on this trip, and I have learned so much through serving the Lord.

However, God has blessed me with 8 full days left, and I want to make the most of each of them. My last couple weeks are being spent living with a family from the church, and I am so grateful for their hospitality.

There are a few strategic things that I want to accomplish as I am here for the remainder of the time:

1. I want to be a witness to the Christian family that I am staying with. They just left the Catholic church about 2 years ago, and one of their struggles is having a love for the Word of God . . . I would love to be able to encourage them to love the Bible. Last night I was kind of able to do this as I was able to talk about Psalm 119. Since they speak pretty good English, they actually asked me to quote some of it . . . what a blessing it was to share the Word of God.
2. I want to make sure that the three drum students I currently have (Jorge, Julio, and David) would continue to progress so as to be a blessing to the music ministry of Agua Viva.
3. I will be planning a two day retreat for the youth of the church that will happen next week. I really would love for this time to be an experience of revival in their relationship with Christ and each other.
4. I want to keep learning Spanish . . . today I had my second official Spanish lesson, but there is just so much to learn! I will have a total of 3 more lessons next week.
5. Also, Gregorio the missionary here wanted me to create list of things that Agua Viva leaders could do in order to have a more effective ministry here. Therefore, I want to create a thorough list of ways that could help the church and just remind them of some of the core fundamentals of the church. I specifically want to really give some practical ideas that could help the youth be more spurred on to love the Lord . . . discipleship, teaching, service, evangelism, Bible study, and life application.
6. Finally, in all that I do, I want to glorify God with my life and love him with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Thank you all so much for your prayers! I love and miss you all!

For the Glory of His name, Brent

WOW!

Wow! This is a word that just seems to really sum up the last week here in Hermosillo.

One of the prayer requests that I asked you all to pray specifically for was the devotional times that I would be giving to the short term Canadian team that is serving here. I asked specifically that you would pray for the time that I had last night as I specifically met with just the guys on the team. We had an amazing time last night of fellowship, accountability, and etc . . . a time that God really showed up and used to impact many hearts.

Last night I also asked the question to the team of what God has been doing in their lives as they have been serving here in Mexico. My Mexican brother Jorge had a chance to respond. With almost tears in his eyes he thanked God for allowing me to get to know him and teach him not just the drums but to love God more. This was so encouraging to me as sometimes it is very hard to gage impact.

This last week has also been extremely encouraging as we have been having a kids club for the last four days to about 60 Spanish neighborhood kids. Though only God knows hearts, after a few days of consistently sharing the gospel, playing games, memorizing scripture, and etc, 9 kids gave their lives to the Lord. Though I know that time and fruit will be the true judge of genuine conversion, it has been so sweet to see the gospel being faithfully shared . . . and truly it is the gospel that is the power of salvation to all who believe . . . children and adults.

Praise His name for all that He does. Love you all,

Brent

KPH vs. MPH

Well this morning I was running a bit late in getting to the days activities. In an attempt to make up for the lost time, my host mom made me a cup of coffee with milk and Jorge and I just skipped on breakfast.

A little background first: The second day that I was here in Hermosillo, the missionary here (Greg) told me not to really worry about speed and to just focus on not getting hit by other cars as they drive very crazily. I specifically asked if the police gave out many tickets for speeding and he said they do give out some, but if you get them they are only about $20, and that I should just stay with the flow of traffic.

That being said, I’ll regress back to this hurried morning where I had just skipped my breakfast in order to make up some lost time. Another way I decided I would make up for lost time would be to drive a little faster than normal. So, I kind of decided to drive the speed limit . . . only I would drive miles per hour instead of kilometers per hour. For all of you who aren’t very math smart, a Kilometer is almost half the distance of a mile. So, with the pedal to the medal, I suddenly started hearing a noise. Then, I looked behind me and what did I see? Yep, a little police car with his lights a blazing! I thought he might let me off since I am simply a white guy far from home that really doesn’t comprende mucho. NOPE! However, he was a very nice officer, and he just gave me a speeding ticket. Since my car isn’t registered here in Hermosillo, I actually wouldn’t have even needed to pay the $20 ticket, but I thought why not? So, I proudly now have a great story and I have been much more careful.

I thank the Lord that he uses many new ways to keep me humble!

Love in Christ,

Speedy Brencito

Jail again, Devotionals, my Spanish Family, and Prayer!

Well these last few days have been very exciting for me! On Tuesday the mission team that I’m working with here in Hermosillo received a short term team from Canada of about 18 high school students and staff. It has been a pleasure working with them as we serve and fellowship together. However, hanging with these high school students really makes me miss my jr. high guys back at EVBC a ton, and I am reminded why I love working with students so much.

Yesterday the guys from the Canadian team and I were able to go to the juvenile boys jail again and once again I was really encouraged. When I saw Eduardo again, I was so encouraged because he remembered me and gave me a really nice greeting and smile. Jose Manuel and Herraldo were also there and it was good to see them both again. This time at the jail however didn’t seem to go as smoothly as the last time, and it seemed like the kids were not very attentive. Also, those that were giving their testimonies, playing guitar, and sharing didn’t seem to be as prepared. As I sat there listening to the people from the Canadian team sharing I had to remind myself that in our weakness, God is made strong. He uses the timid, the outgoing, and those that are just insecure. Therefore, as I remembered this, I just confessed the sin of trusting to much in our teams ability rather than in God. Though I want to be excellent in all that I endeavor, I never want to allow excellence to supercede my trust in God’s sovereignty to use the weak to accomplish his purpose! I hope that all makes sense.

Another way that I am able to be used as the Canadians are here is I am responsible for 4 of their devotionals while they are here. Yesterday I spoke on Colossians 3:1 and what it means to “seek the things that are above,” and I think it went great! As I was studying earlier yesterday morning in order to give the devotional, Antonio (my unsaved host dad) ended up asking what I was doing. I told him that I was doing a devotional that night for the team from Canada; however, I didn’t know how to explain what it was that I was speaking on in Spanish, so I just read Colossians 3:1-4 to him in my Spanish Bible. God is so good to give little opportunities for his Word to go out . . . proving once again that in my weakness, God is strong.

One other cool thing about my new family is the slow transition I’ve seen in them in openness for the things of the Lord. When I first got there, we never prayed for meals, so I just bowed my own head and prayed before I ate. Now, by the providence of God, we have been praying for the last couple days before our meals. This whole experience is just a great reminder to me of how blessed I really am to have had my dad and other great men setting such a great example of Godly leadership!

In regards to prayer, please pray that I would be able to rightly divide the Word of God as I give the 3 more devotionals to the Canadian team. On Sunday I will be speaking on Col 3:4, next Wednesday we will split the guys up and I’m going to be talking to the guys about some specific guy things while Shelly (the missionary wife here) will be talking to the girls, and then on Thursday I will be doing a wrap up and how the team can really make a difference as they go home to Canada. Please be praying for these times and specifically pray for the time that I will have with just the guys. I really want God to just cause openness with the group that we may really be encouraged to be men of integrity.

God bless you all! Brent

WOW, GOD ANSWERS PRAYER!!!!

Well I really can’t even begin to express the amazing day that I have had so far. As most of you know, one of the main reasons I am here in Hermosillo is because the missionaries here specifically requested to have a Christian drum teacher come and teach a few of their youth enough so they could play in the church service. Well, one of my students down here is Jorge in whose house I am currently living. His father is not a believer and yesterday I specifically asked for prayer that God would allow me to be a witness to Jorge’s dad Antonio . . . . a little more stage setting. . . well every morning before I start the lessons with Jorge, we pray, have a devotional time in Spanish, and then we memorize some scripture. This morning we reviewed I Corinthians 10:31 in Spanish and then went on to John 14:6. Now the stage is set.

I finished with the drum lesson at the church, Jorge and I drove back to his house, and we all had lunch together (here in Mexico, many people take 3 hours for lunch so Antonio is normally home for this time). As we began eating some great Mexican food, Antonio who speaks no English at all, started to ask me some questions about my family and if they were Christians or not. Quickly, God opened up a chance for me to share the gospel. Normally, he might have been very put off by someone sharing with him, but my extremely limited vocabulary seemed to be actually quite humorous to him and he seemed to be very involved in the conversation (at one point, I even used the word fish “pescado” for sin “pecado” to which there was much laughing). I found that he is quite confused as to what religion is right since he was raised Catholic, went to a Jehovah’s Witness church for about five years later in life, and is now just very confused about what church is right since his wife and kids go to the Christian church here. That being said, Jorge and I began to quote in Spanish the verse that we had just learned that morning from John 14:6 where Jesus says that he is the only way to God. I truly believe that God appoints opportunities to share the gospel and looking back at these last couple of days, I am completely amazed at the sovereignty of God.

After sharing the gospel for about 20 minutes in broken yet understandable Spanish, I was so joyful that God granted me this opportunity and I was so thankful that God answers prayer. Keep praying for my new family and specifically that God would open Antonio’s eyes to the gospel. Love in Christ, Brent

Citizenship in Heaven

Philippians 3:20-21
20 But our CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Well today is the first July 4th that I have been away from my own country. Though the Paaschs left me with a few small American flags before they left back to Gilbert (and I already miss them), I was reminded that my citizenship is not in the U.S. with fireworks and hot dogs. My citizenship is in heaven where I will worship my God and King forever and ever.

Though it is a little wierd to be in a different country on a day like July 4th where no one celibrates that day, this day has proved to be such an amazing day of reflection. To be able to ponder the truth that I am a child of the King and I am only on this earth for a very short time is really what I should be thinking about all of the time. The Bible says that my life is only but a vapor. I am simply like the grass of the field that will soon whither and die. What lasts forever is my citizenship that is in heaven. This is a citizenship that can never perish spoil or fade and it is kept in heaven for all believers:

I Peter 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

A fleeting vapor and a piece of grass, but a citizen of heaven, Brent

I Went to Jail!!

No, I wasn’t thrown in jail if that is what you were thinking! I actually had a chance to visit a prison for young boys this last week. I went with the missionary here in Hermosillo (Greg Neufeld), a couple people from the church here, and also a few guys from a short term team that were here from Tucson last week.

As I reflect upon what I studied that morning in the Word, and then what I did that afternoon in the prison, I am extremely encouraged!! I was studying on being imprisoned to sin and to the law as I read in Galatians 3 . . . it was later that day that I had a chance to go to the boys prison (ages 13-16). I went into a cell with Greg Neufeld, David from Agua Viva, a couple of guys from the Tucson short term team, and then the 20 or so boys that were in the cell we went to. In that time I was so encouraged by the way God allowed us to be used. We started by singing some songs on the guitar, and then Greg asked me to share either my testimony, a story, or something else as he translated. So, I decided to share the gospel for about the next 30 minutes. Through Greg as my interpreter, I shared the whole gospel story staring from Creation to Judgment. I left these guys with the thought that there are only two ways to live and I asked them which road they were on. Most of them said, “infierno” (hell), so I made sure that they knew that there was a hope for their lives if they repent of their sin and turn to Christ as their savior and Lord. It was so exciting to be able to see their eyes as I was sharing with them. God miraculously blessed my tongue and it was such a blessing to be poured out as I gave a defense for the hope that I have. After being in the cell for about and hour, we went outside and I started talking with a few of the kids that were allowed to go into the courtyard for a while. Some boys were playing soccer, some basketball, and others were just standing around. I decided to go up to one of the boys that was just hanging by himself, and I found that he was actually deaf. Another boy (Jose Manuel) came up and we started communicating and he was able to have Eduardo read his lips to be able to understand what I was attempting to say. As I began talking with them I really wanted to just show them the love of Christ since I had really already had a long chance to share the gospel earlier.

As I was talking to the boys I wanted to hear more about their own stories. Both Eduardo and Jose Manuel were in jail for stealing. Eduardo was only 16 years old, he had a girl friend named Alicia and two baby boys at home, and he was in jail for stealing a car. WOW, the next time I think I have it pretty hard, I think I will try and remember Eduardo . . . though I didn’t say anything about Christ with Eduardo, as we had to leave after a few hours, he came up to me with a big smile on his face and gave me a hug.

“Dear Lord, thank you so much for allowing me to be your ambassador to that boy’s prison. I beg you to save your chosen in that prison and I intercede on behalf of Eduardo, Jose Manuel, and Heraldo dear Lord . . . save them! Thank you for making these boys in your image and I ask that you would allow them to come to know you and experience a joy and peace that is truly indescribable. You mean the world to me, and I thank you so much for opening my eyes to You. I love you, but help me to love you more! Amen!”


Keep praying for me and if you would like to be on my Mexico email list please let me know!


Brent Klontz
brentklontz@yahoo.com
http://brentklontz.blogspot.com/

Matthew 25:36 “. . . I was in prison, and you came to Me.”