A Day With the Yoders

By: Donna Yoder

Welcome to an abnormal day at our house. Our various family members arise at different times depending on the person and the day of the week. We come together at 8:00 or so for breakfast followed by family devotions. The morning is full of school work (for the children), housework (for me), and visiting (for Loren). The afternoon activities vary depending on the day of the week. Then there is supper and the evening routine.

Oh? You wanted to know what a "normal" day is like? Well, just take an abnormal day and mix in a lot of people. Our barking dogs announce the arrival of our one friend whose greeting is "Tengo sed!" ("I'm thirsty!") Young children's voices let us know that one family is here, to rest, for water, or to use the phone. Occasionally people stop by for a baby bundle, a pair of reading glasses, or the latest "Antorcha" (a Christian magazine). Others stop by selling things; lemons, bread, fish or whatever is in season. At times someone will ask for food, money, or for a ride somewhere. Now add about a dozen children asking for water ( and some to play with the toys), and you will have a normal day. Our desire is to greet each one as Jesus would. At times our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak. Other times our spirit isn't even willing. But as we strive to be more Christ-like, may we be vessels that He can use to touch the many people around us.

One evening in 2003, my world as I knew it changed. That evening Mom and Dad sat down with us children and together we looked at a book about Mexico. Then they told us they were thinking of going to Mexico! Later that night, we were also told that we were going to have a little brother or sister. While in bed that night, I didn't know what to think about first- going to Mexico, or getting a new baby!Since years before, both of my parents were interested in missions, and eventually decided on Mexico, because of the many street children and high percentage of Catholics. When they told the mission board of their desire, they found out about Lenn and Debbie Miller and their similar idea. When Dad got off the phone with Lenn for the first time, Mom came into my bedroom and told me their children's names and ages, as this was important to me. I was excited to hear some of their children were around my age. Then began the long process of selling our house.

Spring of 2003, our house was on the market. Spring of 2004, there was a couple interested in buying our house. The date for the house to sell was set in late spring or early summer. But, because of problems with this couple selling their house, the closing date was pushed off later and later and in August, it fell through. Emotions ran high during those months. Thinking, "Tomorrow it will sell" and then receiving the news " No it won't." Finally, on November 3, 2004, the house sold to the same couple. Dad and Mom decided to wait until after Christmas to head to Mexico. My Mom's parents went with us, and on January 3, 2005, we left my Dad's parents house. Lenn Miller met us just on the other side of the border to help us get to Ahome. Around midnight Saturday night, we arrived at Gustavo and Carolyn's house. Next day was church. In Sunday school that morning, I got my first real dose of Mexico. I was sitting in between two Mexican children and understanding basically nothing of what was being said. The next day, we moved into our house and started making friends with the neighbor children. That year was filled with learning and adjusting. Winter of 2006 found us moving to Choix. We were excited , but left behind some great friends in Ahome. We moved into the house that the Millers had vacated when they moved to the orphanage.

As we prepare to go on furlough winter of 2009 - 2010, five years after we came to Mexico, it is absolutely awesome to see God building His church in this part of the world.

Living in Mexico has not been without its times of sadness, but overall has been a fulfilling, joyful experience as we try to be vessels He can use to proclaim His name in all the earth.

Planting a Church

By: Loren Yoder

Sir, the seed packets are found in the lawn and garden section in Aisle Five. Wouldn't it be great way to plant a church if all we had to do was go to the store, find some church seeds, look for good soil on an empty lot, plant some seeds, water the seeds and wait for harvest time for the seed to produce fruit? Planting can be very satisfying when you see a seed sprout in the garden as the young shoot climbs up from the soil and reaches for the sky. In church planting seeing the heart broken and open to receive the Lord is like the seed sprouting and the shoot reaching for the sky. Then the new believer pro-gresses in his walk as he grows to pro-duce fruit. Soon he begins to reproduce seeds on his own, to plant and to water others with the Good News—which is a highlight of being a church planter. All times are not equal, and there are times that are not pleasant. When one is using a second language, living far from family, and knowing life's wearisome problems but not knowing how to help, the planting task can be overwhelming. It is also difficult to wait for God to cause the growth of the seeds planted. In church planting, we only plant and water, and God causes the growth without us knowing when and how the harvest will come. Praise God there are times when we want to burst with joy! We feel the closeness of God as we walk the streets looking to share with others. We are content as we realize how blessed we are, and we would not want to be any-where else. Why do we put ourselves through the uncertain yield to only plant a church? One word that says it all, is ?eternity. Life is short and ma-terial pleasures are fleeting. We know how easy it is just to exist and to wait for time off to play, but is this really the life we want? Let's not just be known as the quiet in the land but also as the proclaimers in the land. We have the God-given abilities to carry off a major undertaking of planting churches. We have men who can start businesses, who are salesmen, who can be disciplined. All we need is God's Spirit to drive us into the world with a calling and an inward spiritual hunger to see families and individuals snatched from the claws of Satan. Friends, if we would be one of those who do not know God, would we not want to be shown how to escape the horrendous judgment of God and gain the eternal blessing of heaven? Some say that we are not prepared. The majority of adults in church know enough, and all we need to do is to put it into practice. We also have what others in generations past didn't have, rapid communication. Modern technology allows us to contact easily men and women who have much experience and wisdom. Above all, we have a God in heaven, Who wants our friends and ac-quaintances saved more than we do, and Who has unlimited power to help and give direction. If we have a passion from within to help people find peace with God, we can get one or two couples or singles with the same spiritual drive and go wherever God calls us. We can take the knowledge we have gained from church services, Sunday school and prayer meet-ings and go…. We must go--for the fields are white already to harvest, and the Lord's re-turn is closer than it was yesterday.

Weekend in the Life of a Church-Planter

By Tricia Kennell

Saturday morning is Saturday school, a Bible class for the children of Choix. At Loren and Donna Yoder’s house, we are in a rush all morning. We usually sleep in until the last possible minute and then scarf down our breakfast before we dash outside and set up tables and stools for the class. The children waiting out on the front porch put in requests for water. Then they enjoy standing at the window and making comments about what they can see from their location: “Are those cookies over there?” “What is Caleb doing?” “You have a lot of things in your refrigerator!” Regardless of how fast we work, the children usually charge through the front door before we’ve finished our tasks.

When the orphanage crew arrives, Lenn Miller calls, “Everybody find a seat!” to stop the spinning tops and wildly swinging hammock. Donna Yoder leads the class in memory verse recitation and songs. Some children sit in rapt attention and others giggle and talk with their friends. Fortunately, Debbie Miller is walking around with a notebook, her record of good and bad points for the children. They know enough to sit up and behave when she stealthily approaches their table.

Ian Miller reads the Bible story while Lenn makes the application and generally complements the reading with pictures. Immediately following the prayer, a few of the children hop out of their seats with excuses to get water, go to the bathroom, or terrorize the chickens…until Lenn reminds them that they need to stay in their seats until they are dismissed. Someone passes out crayons for the coloring pictures while someone else passes out pencils for the word search. Then come the snacks…Che-chis (a type of cheese puffs) and cookies. The two people that pass out the snacks are usually the heroes of the morning.

Finally the children are allowed to get out of their seats. Games of tag, four-square, and jump-rope commence. Donna helps children recite their verses for a candy reward. The hammock is almost always swinging as children give their friends wild rides. Children dash through groups of other children, chasing dogs and chickens. Laughter and young voices fill the backyard with a sense of innocence. Finally, Lenn stands at the doorway on the back porch and yells, “MOCHIQUI!” The orphanage children and the Mochiqui village children leave their activities and run for the big, maroon van. The other children from town eventually trickle back out onto the street.

As everyone leaves, there is a general sense of relief that no one was seriously hurt in all of the activity. And the workers send up quick requests to God that at least one person learned something.

Sunday morning starts with getting ready for the Choix service. Donna Yoder finishes up lunch preparation while the rest of her family sets up the white, plastic chairs and the wooden benches. As people meander into the house, Donna turns on music to entertain them while they wait. There usually is a crush of people in the last five minutes as the orphanage van arrives and the children come rushing in. Lenn Miller starts the service by singing “Está Aquí” (“He is Here”) and we all join in enthusiastically for the familiar six lines. Ian Miller has the devotional. Afterwards, Rod Schwartz and Lenn play guitar during the singing. Usually people sing even if they don’t know the song, and the sound is almost over-powering if they do. And the pitch has nothing to do with the music; the most off-key singer can bellow out the songs, perfectly unashamed. For a missionary, hearing so many voices raised up to God in worship is exciting. After the songs, Loren Yoder reads a Bible story, mainly for the children’s benefit. Next we review our memory verses and recite the books of the Bible. Loren or Rod preaches the message. We conclude with a boisterous chorus of “¡BENDICIDO! ¡MUY BENDECIDO!” (“Blessed! Very blessed!”).

After the service, we greet each other with “Dios le bendiga”s (“God bless you”s). Some people leave directly; others mingle. The children play out in the backyard with jump rope, tops, and four-square. Babies play on the front porch, under careful eyes of their mothers. Loren eventually yells, “MOCHIQUI!” and Lenn hollers, “MOCHIQUITO!” After the house quiets down, the Yoder tribe gets to work cleaning up the chairs and moving the benches back into place. Donna sets lunch on the table and we eat.

The afternoon is long enough for naps or whatever else strikes our fancy. Then we get ready for the San Pedro service in a village about thirty minutes away. The ride is windy and hot in the back of Loren’s truck. Rod takes his van into two villages to pick up villagers that want to attend the service. Loren takes his truck into one village to pick up a family. The road is under construction; therefore driving on the road includes: smooth sailing, gravel, near drop-offs, piles of dirt, and speed bumps. It’s an bumpy ride for the sojourners.

Both vehicles arrive in the village of San Pedro at roughly the same time. Julian and Francisca’s family and a few others are waiting for us to arrive. The benches are already set up on Julian’s front porch, beckoning us to take a seat. But first we greet everyone with a hearty, “¡Buenas tardes!” (“Good afternoon!”). Brother Julian has the opening devotional. Other than that, the San Pedro service sequence is the same as the Choix except sometimes points are added or subtracted from the sermon. After the service we sit and visit with each other for a long time. As we leave, we drop off attendees in their respective villages and head home, watching the dying sun as we go.

Passing Out Tracts

By: Janessa Yoder

What do Tuesday afternoons, sticks with which to scare away dogs, and a long, hot, windy ride in the back of a pick up truck have in common? Handing out "La Antorcha de la Verdad" (The Sword of Truth) in a pueblo (village). We pass them out a couple of times in Choix before heading to the pueblos. Around four thirty, Rod and some of his children arrive. About that same time Lenn, some of his children, some of the children at the orphanage, and at least one of the vsers arrive. We gather on our front porch for a short prayer before we leave. Then we all pile into my dad's truck, which can get quite full, and off we go. Because they are fixing the road, our trek is sometimes nice, new pavement and othertimes the road is in various stages of repair. Our first stop is Aguajito. My dad divides us into groups and sends us off with Antorchas and instructions to meet at the basketball court. As we meander along, we give Antorchas to people or stick them in people's gates. People normally are very willing to receive them and some people even ask for one. Once all the groups have met at the basketball court, we all load up again and head out to Colexio. Once again we split up and pass our Antorchas, watching for dogs as we do. The groups eventually assemble in the basketball court/park and we head toward Choix as it gets dark. Thankfully, we have had another safe trip and hopefully God will use the Antorchas to touch people's lives.