As for the assembly in El Barril, we are encouraged how things are currently going although we long to see more people saved. As mentioned in previous letters there is a good number that currently attends and have knowledge of salvation, but not saved yet. We pray that even as we have a weekly gospel today that there will be souls saved. We would love to have a gospel series and have inquired with other workers about the possibility of helping, but it looks like it is going to be until February if the Lord be not come.
Several believers continue to pass through trials. Esmeralda is pregnant and on bed rest because of the delicate nature of her pregnancy. She and her husband have one other child, and that pregnancy was also difficult. To receive better care, Esmeralda is staying with her parents. Her mother, Luisa, is in the assembly. Her father, Pepe, used to strongly oppose the gospel, once refusing to talk to Esmeralda for three months when she first started to attend, but now is very open and has even attended two meetings and will defend Esmeralda's and Luisa's beliefs to other family members that attack them. While it is a great trial for Esmeralda not to be able to go to the meetings the Lord has given her work to do. She always speaks to her father, grandmother who lives in the same house, her sister who attends with the Apostolic's, and a cousin that just moved back to town. She also has been reading books on prayer by E.M. Bounds and now spends an hour a day praying. We appreciate Esmeralda and pray that her pregnancy goes well and that she will see blessing in her conversations.
A specific prayer request for El Barril is the desire for some that have professed to be baptized. Samuel just professed in June, and his wife professed last fall. They rarely miss a meeting and seem to be doing well, but her family is very Catholic. We pray that they will have the desire to be baptized soon. Brenda, a young mother of two, professed to be saved last fall and when we talk to her seems to be enjoying her salvation. We pray she too will desire to baptized soon. Also, Lucy who professed a couple of years ago, but has always maintained that she doesn't feel worthy of being baptized because of problems with her unsaved husband. We sense that it may be more family pressure from her Catholic mother than problems with her husband, but Lucy rarely misses a meeting and is reading her Bible. We long to see these all go on.
The work in Zacatecas is very difficult, We have distributed thousands of tracts, calendars, seed sowers texts, Via's, etc. and the interest continues to be minimal. Until now there has always been at least one person in attendance.
Autumn 2017 Written by Jason & Shelley Wahls - Mexico jasonwahls@gmail.com