I know that “Giving Tuesday” has passed, but most of you I imagine aren’t into the hype of giving on a certain day. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, and as Christmas is coming, perhaps our hearts and minds are more oriented towards giving, as certainly we Christians have been given the ultimate gift in the incarnation of the Son of God.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we struggle with generosity sometimes. As John Mark Comer puts it in his book Live No Lies: I want to live deeply grateful and content with what I have, as well as practice radical generosity, but I also want to buy a new jacket I don’t need and upgrade my perfectly good car.
To quote C.S. Lewis, a personal favorite, in Mere Christianity: “…we are tempted to spend more than we ought on the showy forms of generosity (tipping, hospitality) and less than we ought on those who really need our help.
I’m not into guilting anyone…really…but recently, a whole new avenue of possibility has opened, and I can promote the ministries of some dear fellow Mexicans in a way that the funds can be channeled to them in an easy, trustworthy way. That’s because several of our co-workers in Mexico are now associate members with Liebenzell USA, our mission, and they can now receive funds through that avenue. By the way, Liebenzell also has a nifty little fundraiser going on called “Come before Winter,” a $75K matching gift challenge.
You can check out these missionaries and projects for yourselves at by clicking the link. Allow me to highlight some of them for you. Click on the links if you’d like more info.
Fernando and Luz Maria Amezcua
I have been able to work closely with Fernando in many significant endeavors, including a trip to Ecuador together last August/September, a conference in Guatemala in November, and (coming up), representing the mission at Moody Bible Institute in February, 2025. Last March the Amezcuas received a team from Woodside Bible Church, in Troy MI.
I continue to be amazed at the commitment and energy of Fernando and Luz Maria. They not only pastor a dynamic church but are also involved in supporting four other ministries in their home city of Guadalajara. Fernando is also involved in reaching ethnic groups in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Michoacán, Tepic and Chihuahua. A gift to Fernando and Luz María would be a great investment for the kingdom.
Gaspar and Estela live in Oaxaca, and minster tirelessly in 12-14 rural villages and towns in a region known as the Sierra Sur. They are involved in all sorts of creative activities, focused on preaching the gospel, but also attacking the root problems of malnutrition, poverty and marginalization. Among their outreaches to the region include a school for sustainability projects (water-drip irrigation, composting, use of greenhouses, micro-chicken and rabbit industries), and disaster relief. They are involved with medical missions, kid’s clubs and supporting higher education for college students. They receive over 2,000 people a year at their ranch.
Gaspar and Estela truly live by faith and support themselves with the livestock and crops that are harvested on their gentleman’s ranch, probably about 40 acres. I know they would appreciate your support.
David Gómez has worked with us faithfully in Ixtapaluca since 2005, except for an 11-year stretch where were served in Uruguay for 10 years and Andora for 1 year. If you’ve visited us, you’ve probably met David. He lives very spartan…sometimes I wonder how he does it. David currently supports the Palmas church in leading worship and preaching and leads the youth group. He also helps us bigly with interns and short-term teams.
His single status grants him a lot of opportunities for ministry. David would appreciate any gift you might send to him.
Webster’s Dictionary defines “Ingratitude” as: “Forgetfulness of, or poor return for, kindness received.” It can also be defined as not appreciating or valuing what you have or have been given. Mayra and I want to express to all of you a big “thanks so much” and “we thank God for you” for your goodness and generosity to us during this past year.
https://lmusa.org/donate/missionaries/
https://lmusa.org/donate/projects/
