Dan & Joan Harvey
Warmest regards from the border between Mexico and Arizona. Christmas was quite busy as we had company here (three different families) from early December until the beginning of January. Add to that a couple of trips to San Diego, the Seed Sowers in Phoenix, conference in Puerto Vallarta and the regular schedule of meetings in the new work in San Luis Rio Colorado (SLRC) and you get the picture.
We cannot forget the kindness and goodness of God in 2011. We never would have dreamt that we’d be living here on the northern border of Mexico and have the children in U.S. schools but that is indeed the case. That’s the way it is with God. He fixes our problems before we even know they exist!
The past year has produced many contacts here in Yuma, beside all that has been done in SLRC, Mexico. We have been overwhelmed by the amount of people, neighbours included, that have family, friends and contacts just across the border in Mexico. This area is very fluid, with tremendous amounts of movement back and forth so we look to the Lord to see how He will open the door in even more gospel work over the coming years.
Several of the new believers here are doing excellent and others are not. Jorge, the dear man in whom I have invested much time and much of every resource you can think of, carried on so well for so long and then disappeared the second week of October. His personal battles were painful to watch and, as much as we tried to help and counsel, we realize that decisions are, by nature, very personal. Spiritual principles hold true for believer and unbeliever alike -- we reap what we sow. Jorge’s harvest arrived, having left off his habit of daily reading and communion with God and adopting a more lackadaisical approach to attending the meetings and spending time with other believers. His lack of self- control, and his refusal to say, “No” to the flesh, all contributed to his current state. The little business I helped him start is gone. His wife is gone, his children are gone and Jorge is back into the very sin from which he claimed to have been saved. We don’t give up on him but the lessons he is learning are hard and the way of a transgressor is hard for unbeliever and believer alike. For a believer, the road gets even harder.
I have been able to contact his children and they are out to Sunday School but he is still eluding me and seemingly sinking deeper into sin and old habits. He is living with another woman now so please continue to pray for him -- for restoration if he is truly born again and salvation if he is not. We are not privy to the Book of Life so take them on the ground they profess, together with the fruit they produce. I hope he is truly saved but the second class of soil in Mark 4 does come frequently to mind. May God give us wisdom and discernment. We sometimes think of all that Abraham invested in Lot, without Lot ever really having benefited from it as he could have, and yet God is faithful, such that the real benefit was seen in Abraham who undoubtedly grew from the experience and had such personal dealings with God in the process. We can identify with that greatly.
Amidst reasons for discouragement, there are reasons to rejoice. We bless God for the growth and faithfulness of many others. Agustín is seemingly doing well and we trust that will continue. His brother Oscar, retired, was saved in March after twenty years with the Mormons and four with a charismatic group. He has also grown and acknowledged his desire to be with the saints in the little hall we rent. He has his ups and downs but is more consistent as time goes on. We are very thankful for Jesús and his brother Ángel, together with their two sisters. They get out to almost every meeting and Jesús is showing real interest in reading and studying his bible.
In November we baptized a young teenager (16), named Maria. She was saved in June and since that time her younger sister, Kenia, and brother, Sergio, have professed to be saved (October 10th & 28th). While only thirteen and twelve years of age, they speak with clarity of their faith in Christ and dependence on His substitutionary death on their behalf. I can’t say it was what we expected but it does seem that God has worked among these young people, even while some older ones have slowly drifted away. Fernando and Ana show solid commitment to the work and have indeed become good friends, for which we thank the Lord. Fernando was saved twenty years ago in Oregon, as a seasonal worker, but away from God for the last fifteen or so. We see them often and sometimes get together with them as a couple. They show a genuine interest in the other believers and a keen desire to be of whatever help they can in the work. Fernando has shown much initiative in simple things like cleaning the hall, and has helped to organize the packing of Seedsowers. Lately, I have had him help even publicly and it is proving to be a blessing.
We distributed about two-thousand texts and invitations in a new area of the city, about five weeks ago, and followed it up with meetings. Lord willing, we will continue with that effort and I have planned to rent a few locations over the coming year where we will hold special one-week series of meetings (or possibly longer). The plan is to put up good signage beforehand and see what kind of response we get in each area. New contacts can be brought to the regular hall location or we could decide to continue with gospel outreach in any given area.
We are in constant need of wisdom as the work grows day by day. While some of the believers ask about the formation of a local assembly, we leave that with God and continue to pray for wisdom and guidance. We would like to see consistency in some of them, a sense of unity between them, and an appreciation of the truth of gathering to the Name of the Lord Jesus alone. We do thank our God for the growth that has been evidenced and those that are being saved. We were thrilled with the professed salvation of Bianca (24), a few weeks ago.
Our children are doing well in school and we are all keeping well, for the most part. We have had a few medical issues within the family but leave that all with God and trust Him to sort it all out in time.