The Ruiz Family
Serving the Lord in Tixtla de Guerrero, Mexico
January February 2023 Update
Dear Praying Friends,
Let’s see how quick I can be tonight in catching each one of you up to the present with this prayer letter. First of all, at the beginning of January we were able to get our cement roof poured for the first stage of our building project. Praise the Lord! As soon as the wooden frames were taken down, the work continued, plastering all of the inside walls. At this point, all we need is to put in the cement floor in each room. Our plan is to make a temporary auditorium on the second floor of this building which we can use for all of our services with the children’s classrooms and bathrooms downstairs. As the Lord provides, we will continue the main auditorium downstairs as in the original plans and use the temporary auditorium upstairs for classrooms.
Our most urgent building need right now is to continue the new well out at the church’s new property. Last year the rainy season put a halt to continuing the well. During rainy season all of the well and its surrounding trenches filled up with water which was pumped out and used in the construction of the roof. Now that it is dry again, we want to continue and, Lord willing, finish the well before rainy season starts again. Please pray that the Lord will supply this need. We are so thankful for the faithful support that many of you give to us each month, but for those who have been waiting for the opportunity to give toward something smaller and more specific, this is definitely an area in which you could be a huge blessing to us.
The evangelistic work in the mountains continues. The Lord provided my husband with a very unique opportunity in January. A small town, Zelocotitlan, about 2 and a half hours from here, invited my husband to “give some words” at their annual ceremony where they change their town leaders. It was on a Saturday evening, when normally my husband stays home to prepare his messages for Sunday. He decided to go and take a handful of faithful soul winners with him. (I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity, so I came along as well.) When we arrived around 7 PM, there were probably around 300+ people waiting for us. After feeding us, the program began. There were so many kids running around and people coming and going that Efra felt it would be very distracting to the preaching. He asked permission for me to take the kids apart and give them a class. At first, they didn’t seem to understand, but then the town’s leader agreed. So I headed in the dark to a basketball court up the hill from the town reunion. I had no idea how many kids were leading or following me. When I got there, I found myself surrounded by LOTS of kids in the dark, and all I could hear was my husband’s overpowering voice on the town’s loud speaker. Someone finally turned on the lights, and the 4 other ladies with me tried to get the kids to sit down and be quiet. Around 150 kids sat down on the cement floor to listen, while another 50 to 100 teens mingled around to see what was happening. The speakers (down below with my husband) were so loud that I could barely hear myself think, but I managed to give a 45 minute kids’ class including songs, a Bible verse, the plan of salvation, and a Bible story. I have no idea how many kids were saved, but I praise the Lord for the opportunity to share the gospel with over 200 young people. Meanwhile, my Efrain also shared the gospel to the adults, around 300 present with another 200 or so listening in the open areas all around. It was such a beautiful opportunity to share the gospel that evening to over 700 people! Praise the Lord!
We have also had visitors almost every Sunday here in Tixtla, including a family who comes from over an hour away from a town our church has witnessed in various times. It’s exciting to see the church grow.
Thank you for praying for us. God has kept us safe, met all of our needs, and given us innumerable opportunities to share the gospel with others. Thank you for investing in our “corner” of the world.
Love in Christ,
Laura Ruiz (for the entire troop: Efrain, Samuel, Hannah, Grace, Lydia, Laura, Mark, Ruth, and Benji)
