When oral learners hear Scripture in their heart language, lives change. Joshua Harrison with Audio Scripture Ministries says the Church is thriving as a result.

“We’re hearing consistently that the Mexican Church is growing as people listen to God’s Word in community,” he explains.

“God’s Word doesn’t come back void, and when we are able to hear it in our own language and in community, God starts to do mighty things.”

Many people in Mexico are oral learners. This means they get a better understanding when new information is spoken rather than written down. Read this article to learn more about orality.

When oral learners hear Scripture in their heart language, great things happen.

“God’s Word is living and active,” Harrison explains. “When we connect people to it… they can receive Jesus, and grow in His grace.”

Connecting people with audio Scripture

In 2018, ASM’s team and their church partners distributed 600 audio Bibles in 15 languages to communities throughout the country. They also started 20 listening groups in Oaxaca, a state in southern Mexico.

“They’ve had 6 new church plants arise out of those groups and [we’re] rejoicing that 180 people have come to faith in Jesus.”

Partnership makes ASM’s work in Mexico possible. First, they partner with Bible translation and media ministries like Wycliffe USA and Faith Comes By Hearing to obtain audio Scripture in different languages. Then, they transfer that audio to portable devices like these.

Meet Rosa. About 20 years ago, her husband, Juan, helped translate and record Scriptures in the Chinantec language. Many audio Bibles have been distributed throughout Mexico because of their work.
(Photo, caption courtesy of ASM via Facebook)

Through partnerships with local churches and church leaders, ASM connects individual believers with God’s Word in their heart language. Those believers form “listening groups” that gather on a regular, ongoing basis to hear the Word of God.

“We’re seeing that the Lord is growing His Church as people listen to His Word together in community throughout the year,” Harrison notes.

Now that you know, what will you do?

“Would you help give someone in Mexico their own audio Bible?” suggests Harrison.

“For $35 we can place a Bible in somebody’s hands, and that’s not just a new Bible, a new version, but [it’s a chance] for them to hear God’s Word in their own language for the very first time.”

Click here to help ASM distribute God’s Word in audio. Look to the sidebar above for prayer needs.

Header and story images courtesy Audio Scripture Ministries.

Expelled for Faith

The two missionaries came to the Triqui people group in Oaxaca several years ago. Because of restrictions on sharing religious beliefs, they had to be accepted by the community before sharing the Gospel. Christian Aid’s co-Director for Latin America, Luis Janeiro, explains it takes around seven years to be accepted by tribal villagers, translate scripture, share the Gospel, and finally build up a church.

(Photo courtesy of Christian Aid Mission)

“The way to reach these people is that you need to be first accepted in the community. So, you need to come to the community with an ideal service according to the skills you have… As you’re accepted by the community, you can start sharing your testimony, and Bible stories, and that’s how churches get started there.”

The missionaries set up a bakery to contribute to the community, allowing them to eventually share the Gospel with the villagers. Over the last few years, they’ve built relationships and helped people come to Christ.

However, while they were recently having fellowship with a new believer, local authorities asked them to come to a meeting and escorted them to it while holding weapons. When the women arrived, about 40 men from the community accused them of robbing them of their language since the women were learning it to minister to people.

The women tried to defend themselves, but the villagers wouldn’t listen and forced them to leave.

“Basically, they were given an ultimatum to just leave right there and never come back to the town. So, I think they were just allowed to get their stuff out of there,” Janeiro says.

Background of Tribal Villages

Tribal villages like this often expel people when they bring in external influences such as foreign religions or certain political systems. The villages even have their own electoral systems.

“The Mexican government many years ago recognized that [these villagers’] identity is not really Mexican, but that they have their own culture, their own language, their own national identity. So, the government allows them to have a certain flexibility and to have their own, what they call customs, or their own traditions, and their own, even, sort of laws.”

The people have remained almost entirely the same since before the Spaniards and Europeans came. And they “take pride in the fact that they have remained unconquered.” The people celebrate that they have kept their traditions and beliefs – usually animistic or syncretic views – the same and kept other beliefs and systems out.

Janeiro notes these villages even put signs at the entrance of their villages, declaring religious preaching and political party activity is prohibited, and if someone brings them in, they will face consequences.

This has made sharing the Truth with tribal villagers exceptionally difficult.

However, God did great things through the two missionaries who were expelled.

The Faith of New Believers

Villagers who became Christians wanted to continue hearing the Gospel. They helped set up a home for the missionaries in a nearby community so they could visit and continue hearing the Truth.

Janeiro says it’s great news the villagers are so excited about hearing the Bible. However, he is concerned about them.

“These people that want to continue learning about the Bible and about the Lord from the missionaries, that are going to be visiting missionaries in that other community, they will very likely face opposition from their own community, and in some cases, that opposition has gotten to the extreme of people being expelled from their communities, losing their housing, their land, even their animals,” he says. “They’re going to be considered like they are betraying their traditions and the pride of their community.”

Pray the Lord will use these new believers to minister to the rest of the community.

(Photo courtesy of Christian Aid Mission)

“The purpose is that the whole community could get to know the Lord and understand salvation.”

There are around 30,000 Triqui people, most of whom are unreached by the Gospel. In Mexico, there are about 300 people groups that hold animistic and syncretic views.

“They live in poverty in all senses, not only economic poverty, but family poverty, spiritual poverty, social poverty,” says Janeiro.

Of the 300 people groups, Janeiro estimates about 100,000 people remain unreached in Mexico.

Pray for the missionaries who have been expelled to continue effectively sharing the Gospel wherever they are. Pray God will give them and the new believers wisdom and protection as they learn and teach.

To learn more about unreached people groups in Mexico, visit Christian Aid Mission’s website or contact Janeiro at luis@christianaid.org.

This latest tremor appeared to be an aftershock of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Friday that struck the same region. Friday’s tremor caused significant damage to at least 50 homes in Santiago Jamiltepec, according to the Interior Department. And in the wake of Monday’s aftershock, schools were canceled across Oaxaca state.

Thankfully, no lives were lost in either quakes. But a crashed helicopter that was surveying earthquake damage killed 13 people and injured 15 others.

(Photo courtesy of Audio Scripture Ministries)

Jim Loker with Audio Scripture Ministries says the back-to-back earthquakes from September and the damage they caused still have people reeling in Oaxaca state and the surrounding areas. So when tremors like these hit, they stir up the same trauma and fears.

“Back in September, the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico was hit by two really strong earthquakes and a lot of homes were destroyed. About 20,000 different homes were destroyed, schools, hospitals, businesses. In the town of Juchitan and the surrounding area it sort of looks like a war zone with piles of rubble and empty lots where there used to be houses.

“People’s lives are in shambles and they’re starting to rebuild, but when you look at it, where do you really start?”

ASM is working with a pastor in southern Mexico who noticed a lot of local kids weren’t in school since their school building was destroyed in September. This pastor has done audio Bible distributions with ASM in the past. But when he saw the educational need in his community, he decided to do something about it.

(Photo courtesy of Audio Scripture Ministries)

“He started just bringing [the kids] together and having classes…. They have to meet in the afternoon. This is a coastal area and it’s very hot, very humid so they started to meet under these trees.”

While holding classes outdoors is working for now, it’s not sustainable. Every time it rains or gets too hot, they have to suspend classes.

With the help of a few church teams from the United States, ASM is working to build a small schoolhouse for these kids in southern Mexico to attend classes during the day and be out of the elements.

Loker explains, “It’s going to be an open wall kind of a building with a thatched roof and it’s going to be just a great place for them to get out of the sun, get out of the rain, and they’ll be able to not only do their classes, but they’ll be able to hear the Gospel, they’ll be able to have Bible classes and learn more of what the Gospel is all about.”

(Photo courtesy of Audio Scripture Ministries)

A team from Grace Church in Middleburg Heights, Ohio recently laid the concrete flooring for the schoolhouse. They also distributed audio Bibles and shared the Gospel with listening groups of kids and their parents.

This week, Loker says a team from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is also visiting to work on the schoolhouse and minister to families who were affected by the September earthquakes.

“This is just one of the projects we’ve done over the last few months. We’ve helped with food and with water and with temporary kitchens. We’ve helped with construction materials but now [with] this last one, we’re going to be more involved with two teams working with kids in a particular area and working with their parents to let them see the love of Christ and do it in a practical way.”

Throughout these humanitarian projects, ASM frequently holds audio Bible distributions to provide God’s Word in the heart language of the people they work with.

A few years ago they recorded the New Testament in Sapotek, which is the heart language of the community where they’re helping build a schoolhouse. They also have the New Testament available for people of Chayuco, the people group at the epicenter of Friday’s earthquake.

Loker shares, “Audio Bibles are always a need. The people groups of Oaxaca are not readers, they are not literate people, so the only way they can really receive the Gospel is through the recorded Word. Our studio in Oaxaca here has recorded many, many of the New Testaments of the languages here in southern Mexico and other parts of Mexico, too. Once the Scriptures are recorded, then audio Bibles are the next step to get the Scriptures into the hands of the people so people can hear God’s Word.”

(Photo courtesy of Audio Scripture Ministries)

ASM would not be able to continue this eternally impactful ministry without the donations they’ve received for audio Bibles and earthquake relief. If you’d like to support Latin America ministries with ASM, click here!

And, as always, please be faithful in prayer for ASM and the people of Mexico.

“We always need people to be praying for us and praying especially for the various people groups of Oaxaca and these people groups that have been hit by the earthquake.”

You can learn more about Audio Scripture Ministries at their website.

(Header photo courtesy of iivangm via Flickr under Creative Commons: https://goo.gl/BN4nn4)

The trauma isn’t over

Before the big earthquake, most people didn’t mind small tremors. But Jim Loker, Audio Scripture Ministries’ Latin America Director, says now there’s anxiety with each aftershock.

“When I lived there for all those years in Oaxaca, we had earthquakes all the time. We could see the lamp in our dining area, we could see it move back and forth or you could feel the vibration of the house. But the house never went down. So we didn’t think anything of it. But in this case, people have lost their homes, lost their businesses, and it’s a constant reminder that potentially there’s another strong earthquake coming.”

Loker says one worry is that another major earthquake could strike at night. And if families are sleeping inside before finishing home repairs, they fear being buried alive in their sleep.

“Their homes have been destroyed or they’re partially destroyed where the main walls are tilting. They’re leaning and they could — with another strong earthquake — come down. Because of that fear, people are not wanting to inhabit their homes again. So they’re sleeping in the streets or in lots. They’re sleeping under tarps. They’re sleeping in tents waiting for a time when they can have the money available again to rebuild their homes.”

The feelings of post-traumatic stress are understandable in the wake of Mexico’s September earthquake. Surviving a major disaster like that is a haunting experience. Months later, government assistance is limited and people are still desperate for help.

“The people in the one main town where the earthquake hit in Juchitan down near the coast of the Pacific Ocean have had their homes destroyed. Their businesses were destroyed. When I was there about a week ago, the banks had been all destroyed. All of them were closed down. The hospital had been relocated because that was partially destroyed and potentially collapsing. So they have a mobile hospital on one of the basketball courts on the outskirts of town. Multiple churches have been destroyed. So yes, it’s an ongoing situation.”

Persisting in ministry

One of ASM’s New Testament audio recording projects in Mexico was also affected by the big earthquake. “The actual house that we were recording in collapsed. Thankfully our technician and the readers had already left…. But one of our main readers had lost a couple of his family members who were killed during the earthquake.”

Several of the other readers also had to break from the work while they sought shelter and basic necessities. So naturally, the project was put on hold for a time.

(Photo courtesy of Audio Scripture Ministries)

Now, Loker says, “We’re back recording and hopefully we’ll be able to finish that New Testament in the next month or so. But it was a tough time for our technicians, for the readers, and for the people in the village because of that strong earthquake.”

Despite the loss and mourning with their team, ASM has pressed on in serving the communities that need encouragement…that need Jesus. ASM is currently distributing audio Bibles and critical aid through trusted ministry partners in Mexico.

“We’ve been able to help them with some of the needs that they have with food and water and tarps and building materials. But the sad situation is that the people are in need of homes. Their churches need to be rebuilt. And that’s going to be a long-term process. We see this as being years before people get back to life as normal.”

With the aid, of course, ASM’s ministry partners are also distributing audio Bibles to be a lasting source of comfort. “People who have received the Scriptures are now able to be comforted by God’s Word. Most of the people there are not readers. So in two of the areas where the earthquake hit — Juchitan where they speak Sapotek, and also in San Mateo del Mar where they speak a language called Huave — both of those areas have the Scriptures available.”

Pray. Give. Go.

So how can you be a help and encouragement? Loker says, “As always: praying, giving, and going. We can pray that people would be encouraged. We can pray that those that have lost homes and businesses will somehow find a way to move on, that they’ll find the funding to rebuild their homes and set up a business someplace else. Pray that those that need audio Bibles would have them.

(Photo courtesy of Audio Scripture Ministries)

“Then, with giving, we can give towards the people’s needs. The need for building materials or for food and temporary housing. There are still needs out there. Also, people can give towards the purchase of audio Bibles. There are many, many needs for audio Bibles still in these areas for people who don’t have access to Scripture, although many do have access to Scripture.”

To support ASM’s ministry in Mexico, click here to go to ASM’s donation page and choose one of their Mexico projects in the giving drop-down box.

Finally, Loker shares, “We would love to see a church bring a group down to work with us. They would be distributing audio Bibles and they would also be helping to rebuild a church or maybe build some people’s homes. We have some teams coming down in February and in March. We have other dates open.”

If you’d like to learn more about how your church or Christian group can join ASM on a missions trip, click here for ASM’s contact page.

Header photo courtesy of iivangm via Flickr under Creative Commons: https://goo.gl/BN4nn4

So far, authorities have confirmed more than 200 deaths. The structural damage is severe, and as rescuers dig through the rubble, that number is likely to climb. When disaster strikes to a level that damages infrastructure, it means that damage assessment and relief aid is delayed.

(Photo courtesy of Contando Estrelas via Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/XjWjxD)

Compassion International has worked across Mexico since 1980. They serve 50,474 beneficiaries through their partnerships with 210 local churches. They have reached out to their church partners to see if any Compassion children or their families have been impacted. According to their crisis alert, they’re prepared to offer shelter and whatever relief aid is needed. But this isn’t the first earthquake to impact their ministry this month.

Across the globe, it seems like each natural disaster is quickly followed by another, much like a line of dominoes falling over. International groups like Compassion have been impacted several disasters in a short time.

A historic quake

On September 7, an 8.2 quake hit the lower west side of Mexico. Oaxaca and Chiapas Mexico got hit the hardest, but neighboring Guatemala also sustained damage. It was the largest quake Mexico had seen in 100 years and at least 61 people were killed.

(Photo courtesy of Compassion International)

Several of Compassion’s Child Development Centers were affected in this earlier quake and their teams on the ground are still working hard to assess the extent of the damage in these regions.

Becca Bishop of Compassion International says, “I think we’re seeing a lot more of damage structurally to our church partners. I know that right now, about 18 of our church partners have been affected and they’ve suffered either minor or significant damage. Two of them have been destroyed…

“A little over 700 of our children have been affected. One has been severely injured and at the same time lost a caregiver and a sibling. So prayers for that child are greatly needed.”

In Guatemala, where Compassion is serving 65,710 beneficiaries alongside 219 churches, the damage was less severe. Two church partners were affected.

Sponsored children and their families

The first priority after assessing the immediate needs, Bishop says, is the get the programs back up and running. The children they serve face a number of daily challenges even without disasters.

“When you think about those Child Development Centers being destroyed or damaged, it puts pause in the daily activity of the children we’re trying to serve. Obviously, they can’t go to the child development center where they’re receiving all the benefits of our program. And sometimes it’s going to take a while for them to assess whether the buildings are safe, even if they have had minor damage.”

With the programs back up and running, the children will have at least one place where normalcy has resumed.

In the meantime, teams are working around the clock to make sure all of the Compassion children are accounted for.

“Are they at home? Is their home safe? Have they been temporarily moved to a shelter? They take a tally of each individual child and make sure that that child is safe, make sure that they identify what their needs are, make sure that they know where they are.”

It’s a difficult and slow process because of the loss of fully functioning infrastructure. Communication may be down, or roads destroyed.

Relief and recovery

In the weeks and months ahead, Compassion will also work with caretakers who have lost their livelihoods or homes to make sure the family-wide needs are met.
But this isn’t the effort of one organization. It’s that of the entire global Church.

“Practically, as someone like you and me, we can give our money or our resources to help these children. And the churches, they are going out and being the hands and feet of Jesus. They are delivering meals to children who need it. So they’re going out, buying groceries, delivering meals to them. They are providing shelter for them.”

Some of the churches that were not damaged by the earthquake have opened up as temporary shelters for those who’ve lost their homes. They are providing medical and hygiene resources and have established agreements with local water purification plants to make sure their communities get clean water.

“They’re also, at the same time, providing the emotional and psychological support that these children and families need,” Bishop says.

(Photo courtesy of Compassion International)

Because of the holistic care Compassion provides both in times of disaster and daily life, these children know they are individually loved and cared for. That kind of care has a lifelong, positive impact.

There are a couple of ways to step into this story and help Compassion meet the needs of their sponsored children and Child Development Centers around the globe. First of all, you can give to their disaster relief fund for Mexico. Find more information on that, here.

Secondly, take some time today to pray for those who have been affected by these quakes. Pray for the safety even as aftershocks continue. Ask God to protect relief workers and for the way to be clear for relief aid. Pray for emotional healing, too.

“It can be really devastating emotionally for the children that have felt it and it can be kind of scary. So praying for them, as well.”

Oaxaca technicians
(Photo courtesy ASM)

Mexico (MNN) — It’s pretty obvious when buildings change, but what about individuals?

How do you know if a friend or relative who says they’re a Christian isn’t just faking it?

For Jim Loker with Audio Scripture Ministries, the proof is in the pudding.

“As we see people’s lives change, as we see them coming together into small groups or attending church, we know that God has gotten a hold of their lives. This isn’t just some religion,” says Loker.

He’s referring to the Gospel growth ASM’s ministry is seeing in Oaxaca. The southwestern Mexican state is, in ASM’s words, “a patchwork of indigenous peoples and cultures.”

Reaching Oaxaca for Christ

In Oaxaca, audio New Testaments have been translated into local languages since 2002. The state is home to over 100 languages, and Scripture has been translated into most by Wycliffe Bible Translators.

(Photo courtesy Audio Scripture Ministries)

But, since about one-third of Oaxaca residents are illiterate, it doesn’t make much of a difference whether printed Scripture translations are available or not.

“They really need the Scripture in their heart language if God’s going to speak to them like He wants to,” Loker observes.

Over the years, ASM teams have recorded and distributed audio New Testaments in dozens of Oaxaca languages.

“The vast majority of the people where we work will not read in their mother tongue.”

Right now, ASM is averaging about one recording every several months. A team of 5 or 6 technicians not only record, but promote and distribute the audio files.

Find out how audio Bibles are made.

“For many, many people who receive [these] audio Bibles, they’re hearing God’s Word for the very first time in their own language,” explains Loker.

The seed of God’s Word has been planted, and now it’s starting to grow.

“As people listen, the Word of God really is bringing back some great results.”

Harvest time in Oaxaca

(Photo courtesy Jim and Jamie Loker)

Over the last couple of years, Loker says, more than 1,200 people have received Christ as their Savior. More than 850 have been baptized, and 24 new churches have been planted since Loker’s last visit to Oaxaca.

“God’s Word has taken effect, and as we plant and water, God provides the increase,” he says. “God’s working in their lives, and we’re seeing some great things happen.”

There are a few ways you can help God’s Kingdom grow even more in Oaxaca.

PRAY

“Pray for people that don’t have access to God’s Word,” Loker asks. Pray for new believers as they grow in their faith and are discipled. Pray for ASM’s team as they work tirelessly to make God’s Word in audio available to all.

Follow ASM on Twitter for more prayer needs.

GIVE

Translation isn’t free, but the Word of God needs to be–especially in a place like this. Can you support the work of ASM? Help ASM provide the Way, the Truth, and the Life by donating a solar-powered audio Bible.

GO

(Photo courtesy Jim and Jamie Loker via Facebook)

You can see the contents and events of this story first-hand. Contact ASM here to learn how you can join their next trip to Oaxaca.

“We’ve sponsored mission trips; we have several going to Oaxaca in the coming months,” shares Loker.

(Photo courtesy Audio Scripture Ministries)

Mexico (MNN) — “Oaxaca’s just full of people who love Jesus, and there are still unreached people groups. There are still people who need to hear God’s Word,” says Jim Loker of Audio Scripture Ministries.

Oaxaca, Mexico, is home to 120 languages. Almost all of these languages have been translated or are being translated by Wycliffe Bible Translators. “If Wycliffe goes through all the trouble of translating the Scriptures, then we want to make sure that they’re recorded so they’re made accessible to all people groups,” says Loker.

Oaxaca is one of the poorest states in Mexico, and according to Mexconnect, about 33% of its people are illiterate. With the audio Bibles being distributed, thousands are able to hear the Word of God. “We’re trying to get the Scriptures recorded as quickly as we possibly can,” says Loker.

Right now, they’re averaging about one New Testament recording every several months. But it’s not always that easy.

The entire translation process is fairly long. Loker says translation with some languages can take 20-25 years. Audio recordings take several months to record; then they’re loaded onto players, which are often distributed by short-term mission teams.

It’s difficult, however, to distribute the recordings during the rainy season. “When it does rain, the roads are washed out; we have mudslides. We also have a hurricane season down near the coast.”

But every day, week, year, and mudslide is worth it. “It’s just a great blessing for everyone to see, especially when you see the faces of people who are hearing God speak in their language.”

These audio Bibles are breaking down barriers, bringing Christ to unsaved people and renewing faith in others.

A team of 5-6 technicians record, promote, and distribute the audio files, sometimes traveling up to 1,000 miles just to do a recording. “We need the funds to pay for the technicians, the readers’ expenses and their travel, and everything else–and for the processing of the audio.”

Translation isn’t free, but the Word of God needs to be, especially in a place like this. Can you support the work of ASM? Click here to provide a way of Life and Truth by donating a solar-powered audio Bible.

Little ears hearing God’s Word.

Mexico (MNN) — Everyone knows the wonderful feeling of a weight lifted after a long-term project is accomplished. That feeling allows one to see how God has carried them through a time, whether difficult or extremely blessed–or both. One such project involves audio Scripture in Oaxaca.

For many years, Audio Scripture Ministries has been working on translating the New Testament into various languages in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The recording process for their Choapan translation has taken a particularly long time because their reader was unavailable to help them finish their project for a time. ASM was hoping to be done by the end of December 2013.

Now as their reader is again available, they hope to finish recording the final half of the New Testament this month.

Oaxaca is a site of heavy activity for ASM, and they have many highlights from December. They hosted three mission groups from the USA. Faith Comes by Hearing, one of ASM’s partners, presented ten Proclaimers to pastors. ASM also helped construct two churches in October and distribute audio Scriptures to three other people groups.

Pray that ASM would be able to finish up this recording and get it distributed to the Choapan people soon. Pray, too, that their work would continue to grow to the farthest corners of the world. Pray that God would be preparing hearts to hear the Gospel for the first time.

To support ASM in ministries like this, click here.

Compassion's Kathy Redmond says they have children in the
region. "[We have children] basically between Oaxaca and Mexico City. So,
we are very concerned about the status of our children in those areas."

Compassion's Kathy Redmond says they have children in the region, but it's unclear if any of them are victims. "We're looking at about 4,000 compassion children that could be affected in the area. We're not sure just how far the damage is, how far the shock waves were felt. It hit right in the middle of Mexico; this is a region of Mexico where we are going to have more child development centers."

The major cities aren't the concern: it's the small villages with few building codes. Redmond says if it's like the recent Philippine crisis, it could be days before they know anything about their children.

You can sponsor a child in Mexico, or support Compassion's emergency complementary interventions program at our Web site.

The resulting effect is that an observer from the outside
gets the impression that Mexico is falling apart and that a visit to the country
would result in death, great bodily harm, or something equally disastrous.

Border-state governors from Arizona and Texas insist the cartels
are hitting their states hard, using terminology like "war zone" to describe
the mayhem created by drug bosses.

However, there's another side to the  picture. In stark contrast, Customs and
Border Protection along with Homeland Security say their measures are working
and the border has never been safer. Their claims are backed by a recent study
that violent crime in cities within 50-miles of the border is consistently
lower than state and national averages.

Juan Carlos Millán, Buckner Mexico program director, agrees
with that. "I have never seen
people fighting with guns, and I have been four or five times in Juarez, per
year. And in Oaxaca, I have been many times, and in Guerrero…and we haven't
seen problems like that." 

That's not to say that it doesn't exist, Millán notes. "Nothing is 100% sure on safety. But we
received five groups this year, and all of them are really happy because we had
no contact with this problem (violence)."

Millán says they take the safety of short-term team members seriously. "We know there is a really
bad situation in some places. Some moments are really difficult, and you have to
be careful." When a team visits,
their safety is paramount. However,
this year, the  reputation of the region scared
a lot of people off. "Many people
don't want to come to Mexico. The people who live in Mexico, like me and our
team, know that God is in control. We have to be serious and careful."

The question of violence came up again when looking at the
disruption to other ministries. Millan
explains that the opposition they encounter doesn't come from the place you'd
expect. "In Mexico's Republic,
nobody knows Buckner because Buckner began to work three years ago. Now, they
understand sometimes it's a little difficult, as you may know. The Catholic
people are 99% in Mexico, so sometimes they reject the Christians."

During the last quarter of 2007, more doors for ministry
opportunities opened in the cities of Oaxaca, Mexico City, Arcelia and Juárez.
Buckner officially formed its NGO in April 2008 under the name "Familia y
Ninos Buckner Mexico A.C."

Today, Buckner has foster care programs, feeding ministries,
and humanitarian aid programs. They're
a ministry dedicated to the restoration and healing through the hope of Christ. They
also just started a hydroponics program to address the food shortages. It opens a lot of doors. "When we work with them to get fruit for
the poor people, many people are growing in the knowledge of Jesus
Christ."