The Ruiz Family
Serving the Lord in Tixtla de Guerrero, Mexico
July August 2025 Update
Dear Praying Friends,
Come! Praise the Lord with me as I share all He has done these last two months with our family. In July our sweet Hannah came home, but too quickly sped off to a yearly Youth Conference with her 3 sisters and a handful of other teens from our church where they met together with another 2,500 teens in Mexico City for an exciting week of challenging preaching and unforgettable activities.
They made it safely home just in time to play very important roles in our yearly Vacation Bible School, in which the Lord most graciously sent us a total of 368 kids and/or visiting parents during that week. Many of them made salvation decisions and all heard clear Biblical teaching on repentance through memorizing God’s Word, listening to the visualized stories, and playing review games.
God provided for us to give prizes to the kids who brought the most visitors and to those who memorized the most verses. It’s always fun to hear the unchurched kids try to learn Bible verses for the first time. The boy who came in second place for Scripture memory was from a Catholic home and had never attended our church before. Praise the Lord!
I am so thankful for every person who helped in so many ways to make our VBS a success to God’s glory. We were able to use the same school again (for the 17th time!). God provided for our ladies to prepare delicious meals each day for ALL those kids and our church staff. Our vehicles ran without incidents and God provided for the gas in each one. The rain held off till late afternoon with the exception of one afternoon where the kids in the back of a truck on one route got soaked before getting home. Thankfully, none of those parents seemed too preoccupied. The young people were all over the school like busy ants each fulfilling their jobs, whether big or small. I praise the Lord for their faithfulness and great attitudes working out all of the unplanned difficulties. Praise the Lord for our church!
While we were busily serving at VBS, another group was also busy: the cows! Since we had moved all the benches and tables over to the school, the front entry to our new building was not barricaded well enough, and a group of cows went right into our church and slept in there while we were gone. They left their cow paddies all over the cement floor and knocked over shelves in the kids’ classroom. My husband ran over to the church the evening before the last day of VBS to get some things and found the cows rapidly heading out the front entrance as soon as they saw him. Needless to say, the following service it smelled like we were in a barn. Some brothers made a temporary bamboo gate to use in the meantime while we save money toward the main wood door we are planning on installing.
Just a week after VBS, our family flew out to California. I could write an entire book of answered prayers and special blessings from that 4-week trip. God provided for EVERYTHING we needed: a vehicle for our large family, places to sleep, and money for gas and food. We spent most of the time at Calvary Baptist Church in Marina, California where my son Samuel has been serving this summer. We had a joyous reunion with him—finally the whole family together. My husband and I rejoiced to hear all of our kids singing together again.
(I’ll share a link where they sang at a Spanish speaking church in Santa Clara our last Sunday together before leaving Samuel, Hannah, and Grace in California. https://youtube.com/live/fEi_IyrvzsQ?feature=shared)
(If you continue to watch the livestream after the kids sing, you will be able to watch a short presentation of the ministry here in Tixtla, which includes some footage of our new building.)
Calvary Baptist received us with open arms and got used to seeing us around since we stayed right at the church. My little ones slept out in the RV where their big brother has been living this summer. I was able to spend time with my dear parents and let them get to know their grandchildren a little bit better.
We also got to go to Oregon to visit my sister Kim’s family and their loving church. We were spoiled by not having to make one evening meal for an entire week! Thank you, Mill City Christian Church. And my husband and I got our own room in dear couple’s home right over the river there, while Aunt Kimmy got all the kids in her RV in the backyard!
(With Brother Ron and his wife Dodi)
Many of you have been blessing us for years with your prayers and others with financial support, but it was so good to feel your warm hugs and see your beautiful smiles. Thank you for the gifts and the money. Thank you for blessing our dear Grace at her graduation ceremony. Your generous gifts are definitely helping her this first semester at college.
I know that some of you want to be anonymous, but God has not forgotten your labor of love toward our family. Thank you.
Efrain, Mark, and Brother Ron from Oregon started their trip back to Tixtla on September 2, in a 4-wheel drive truck that Brother Ron donated to the mountain ministry we have. We (Lydia, Laura, Ruth, Benji, and I) flew home the following day. Unfortunately, near El Paso, Texas the truck had some mechanical problems which stalled my husband’s return to Tixtla. But God has His plans, and Efra has been able to preach in 5 different ministries this last week near El Paso. Lord willing, tomorrow he continues his drive home—just 25 hours to go! We are missing him very much, but I’ve stayed busy cleaning and preparing for his arrival. Since church was not in our home while we were gone, we left the house closed up and mildew grew on anything that was leather-like or damp (certain pillows, couches, books, etc.) Thankfully, a week after our arrival, things are looking much better around here! And our addition is finally to a livable state, so we’ve been moving furniture around, switching bedrooms, and getting out our homeschool books. Now you understand why my update is 10 days late! Sorry.
If you’re still reading this, please pray for my husband, Bro. Ron, and Mark as they travel home tomorrow. It’s a long trip, but God is a good God, and I will choose to trust Him. You can also pray for me as I witness to a new little girl’s (Karen Sophia) mother this Friday. The girl came to VBS and joined us for the first time at church this Sunday. We have quite a few new kids in church since VBS. You can also keep Grace in your prayers as she begins her first semester in Bible college. Thankfully she has Hannah just down the hall from her. And you can pray for me as I get used to the new reality, homeschool and normal activities.
We greatly appreciate your prayers and support.
God bless you!
The Ruiz Family
Efrain and Laura, Samuel, Hannah, Grace, Lydia, Laura, Mark, Ruth, and Benji
