The Ruiz Family
Serving the Lord in Tixtla de Guerrero, Mexico
March April 2022 Update
Dear Praying Friends,
I’m writing this update in a much different setting than my usual prayer letters. The Lord blessed me with the unique opportunity of flying to California alone to visit my parents and Samuel for a week. It’s been a wonderful time visiting with my parents and getting to see Samuel in his new college environment. I really enjoyed getting to meet his friends and his teachers and was quite surprised to meet up with some of my fellow missionary friends who serve the Lord in Mexico and were at the college for their children’s graduation. The world really is a small place!
Visiting Grandpa and Grandma (my parents) with all the 8 grandkids ends up being a challenge finding a spare moment to actually visit with my parents. This visit has allowed me to talk to each of them, uninterrupted, for as long as we want, something I don’t think has happened since my college days. I’ve also enjoyed eating fresh fish almost every night and watching the sun sink into the Pacific Ocean. I used to see this view every day, but years in Mexico (24 years to be exact!) makes it seem ever so much more beautiful, and so peacefully quiet. I praise the Lord for this wonderful get-a-way time and for the ability to enjoy it! You can pray for my safe travel back to Mexico this Monday evening. My husband and kids are more than ready for me to return.
So, what’s happening in Tixlta? Probably the biggest news of interest for you is the church’s building project. Praise the Lord, we have not had to stop construction. Day by day the Lord has kept providing for another day of work. We are almost to the point of preparing and pouring the cement roof for this step in Stage 1 of our building plan. It’s been a great joy to physically pray and thank the Lord at our building site. I see each brick as an answered prayer. You can pray with us that we would have enough money to get our roof on before raining season hits, which is usually the very end of May.
We are also digging a well near the new church’s site on a piece of property that we own there. We purposefully have chosen to dig at the end of our dry season so that we are sure to find water that will last throughout the dry season. During the rainy season, you can find pockets of surface water anywhere on the church property.
The Lord has added to our church some newly saved, faithful, energetic soul winners which has encouraged our hearts very much. During the Resurrection Sunday weekend, we had all of our soul winners go out together witnessing, instead of dividing us up into our normal assigned areas. We had more than 40 of us together. It was beautiful to see such a large group together evangelizing! God has been so good to let us see growth.
My husband also took 30 of our young people to a Youth Conference in Cuernavaca right around that time. Just seeing the young people’s serving attitudes and good spirits encourages the church’s growth as well. As a mom of 3 of these teens, my heart rejoices to see my kids leading others to the Lord and leading others to serve the Lord with them.
Even today, while I’m gone, my girls are singing at a Ladies’ Luncheon for a sister church in Chilpancingo. It seems odd not to be there.
Samuel finished his first year of college and is on tour for the school until mid-July. Then, Lord willing, he will fly home for a short visit which will include serving in VBS: no vacation for him! (Sorry!)
Thank you for so faithfully supporting us and praying for us. God is so good.
Love in Christ,
Laura and Efra, for the entire crew: Samuel, Hannah, Grace, Lydia, Laura, Mark, Ruth, and Benji
