Sam and Mario on Mission

Then the Glory filled the Temple!

2010-09-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

First of all I would like to apologise for not having written earlier regarding the things we have seen and handled with our own hands. It took me a few days to adjust to the weather and time change. I want to take this opportunity to thank my congregation I'm a part of in Sheffield, City Life Christian Centre, for their prayers and constant encouragement; and all our spiritual warriors in the UK, Europe, Africa, Canada, the United States and of course Mexico. Moreover I want to give special thanks to Ministerios Unanimes, with whom we closely collaborate (http://www.ministeriosunanimes.com/unanimous-ministries/) in Mexico, for their Kingdom heart and zeal for unity. Thank you to the family and friends of Chris Nicholson for releasing him to join the mission and praying for us throughout. Finally I want to thank our Mexico ministry coordinator Juan Carlos Serrano for his work, integrity, loyalty to me as well as his tremendous anointing to minister the Word. All your prayers have been exceedingly answered!!

This is my seventh gospel-related trip to Mexico and every time I go there I encounter God in a fresh way. Three years ago I saw the awesome, life-changing and glorious, love-filled face of Jesus as I ministered to the sick in Veracruz and Chiapas, both in Mexico. Since then the Lord has been revealing to us different aspects of his character and nature. For us mission in Mexico is a central aspect in our knowing and experiencing God fully.

The Lord has given us a strategy for Chiapas. We're a ministry that works with the local church in winning cities and nations for Christ. For that purpose we have identified three stages: Revive, Equip and the Harvest. This trip was all about reviving the local church. Therefore the anointing that we received was to minister the Holy Spirit. This has surpassed all our previous expectations. In this sense many people were baptised in the Holy Spirit even as they heard the message, others were not even ministered to physically when they spontaneously began speaking in other tongues and prophesying. At times we literally witnessed people delivered from demons and healed from various sickness and disease where they stood. The Holy Spirit especially moved among the youth. On many occasions their expressions and body movements indicated that they felt as though their bodies were burning with a holy fire, although we're convinced their very souls were being purified by God's holy fire. In one of our meetings we literally saw the smoke of God's glory (please see previous blog entry).

This trip has been very special for several reasons:

- Several hundred people came to faith in Christ.
- Although we ministered in individual congregations, we also ministered to church alliances in three cities:
1. In Huixtla we did an evangelism workshop for pastors and leaders of the city.
2. In Tonala the congregations of the city came together to do a revival meeting
which we led.
3. In Tuxtla Gutierrez (capital of the Chiapas state) we ministered to about 40
pastors on how to win the capital of the state for Christ from an evangelistic
perspective.
- The Holy Spirit baptised many to be Christ's witnesses in their localities and to the ends of the earth.
- For quite some time it has been in our hearts to empower and equip young evangelists and church planters for the work of ministry both in Europe and abroad. This one time Chris Nicholson from Beacon Community Church in Norwich has joined us. He has been a blessing to the team and God has used him mightily through his message and with his hands healing the sick. As he laid hands of people many also received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the signs that follow.

Here are a few comments I made after the end of some of our meetings:

27 August 2010

"After a day of rest yesterday recharging from the long flight, today we're off to preach at a fresh church plant in Motosintla, Chiapas. We are expecting many would come Christ and the Holy Spirit gloriously poured out on the brand new congregation. Please pray that's the case in Jesus name!"

28 August 2010

"We had a very moving time ministering this morning to the pastors here in Huixtla on how to reach the city for Christ. Last night also 15 people came to Christ at a new church plant in Motozintla, as well as several people baptised in the Spirit and speaking in tongues for the first time. Tonight we're off to a friend's birthday and tomorrow preaching morning and evening! God's certainly moving!!"

30 August 2010

"Huixtla and Pijijiapan saw the glory of God as many came to Christ. Many many miracles, deaf hearing, blind seeing, & Rosita testified her dad was healed from terminal cancer in one of our meetings 8 months ago! Her dad has put on weight and is now back to work! In Pijijiapan the smoke came out of nowhere, at that point many manifested and were set free and confessed Christ as Lord!"

1 September 2010

"another great day at the first fruits party in Tzanembolom, an indigenous community where, yet again, we witnessed God doing miracles and baptising them in the Holy Spirit! Praise the Lord!!"

2 September 2010

"last night the churches at Tonala, Chiapas came together seeking revival among the Christian community. They had it. A pastor came to me afterwards saying "I was anxious, couldn't see what next, but God set me free tonight. I can now see God's plan for my church" I replied "and what's that?", she said "wining the city for Christ!", I said "Amen!""

3 September 2010

"I've enjoyed hearing our mission team member, Chris Nicholson preaching at the one and only English speaking church in the whole state of Chiapas! Thereafter people were baptised in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues for the first time! Tomorrow a youth conference in the city! Yay! More Lord more!!"

4 September 2010

"I was very pleased seeing over 300 youth with their families on fire for Jesus Christ here in Tuxtla!"

5 September 2010

"Amazing time ministering to pastors in the capital of the state on evangelism in the morning. In the evening we couldn't preach no more cos the Holy Spirit fell on the place healing many sick, saving 15 & baptising many. 3 preachings 2morrow, got heaps of strength, voice almost recovered, praise Jesus!"

6 September 2010

"Great stories @ the 3 places we visited 2day but 1 main character: the Holy Spirit! Similar signs of a move of God that's already a fact here. The outpouring's not been localised. Our question: "did you receive the Holy Spirit when you first believed?". People had prophesied, spoken in other tongues, wept, been healed & burned with God's fire. We now return & are convinced that revival is in us! Glory 2 God!!"

Our next trip to Mexico is to Equip the church to win the city so please join us in our prayers in the following areas:

- Our coordinator in Mexico, Juan Carlos Serrano, his wife Caro and his children Grace and Abraham.
- Financial support for them and for continuing the work in Mexico.
- Strength and wisdom to prepare all the learning materials for the church in Mexico.
- Protection for my wife, our collaborators and their families, and indeed myself.

We are extremely satisfied with the work being done and look forward to our next mission!

God bless you all abundantly!!

And the temple was filled with smoke....

2010-09-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

On Sunday 29th August we ministered at a church in Pijijiapan, roughly a 2 hour drive outside of Huixtla. It is here we powerfully encountered the glory of God.
Having built up faith for miracles and prayed for the Holy Spirit to come in power, what we then witnessed was the first fruits of a true revival manifestation of God's glory.
There were miracles of blind eyes being opened as well as numerous other physical healings. People were being set free from demonic bondage, with many being baptised in the Holy Spirit.
It was then amongst us we noticed a misty, smokey presence, the holy fire of God was visible to the natural eye. It was truly awesome. This brought about further manifestations of deliverance, people were dancing and screaming as they were being set free, with even young children going down under the power of God's glory.
These are truly exciting times here in Mexico. Please continue to pray for us as we follow God's leading in bringing heaven to earth for his glory.

By Chris Nicholson

We finally arrived in Mexico!

2010-08-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord, for His faithfulness endures forever! In the early hours of Thursday we landed in Tapachula in the state of Chiapas (about 30 mins away from Guatemala by car) for 13 days of gospel mission. We spent the night at the Hotel San Francisco in Tapachula where we were able to rest well. Yesterday we met with one of our beloved collaborators in the area, Hector Najera. We spent our first day with both Hector and his wife and recovered from such a long trip in the best of company; the family of Christ.

Today we depart to Motozintla, about an hour away from Huixtla where we'll stay for the next two days. In Motozintla Hector is planting a church - so we hope, in partnership with God, many will come to Christ and the Holy Spirit will establish the new work.

I am travelling with Chris Nicholson from Norwich who is helping me out with some of the preaching in the several places we are going to. Please pray for him so that God uses him mightily. Moreover please pray that God would continue to keep us and guide us in everything we do. We are being really blessed in the home of our sister in Christ, Imita, who lives in Huixtla. Her wonderful family blesses us every time we come to the area.

Some exciting news: On the aeroplane somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean a scotsman called Doug, aged 23, gave his life to Christ. When asked how he felt after receiving Christ, with a big grin he said: "I feel this tingle all over my arms, I can't explain it!", to which we ...replied: It's God, His presence, He now lives in you!!

Isaiah 54:2

2010-05-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hello again friends, blessings in Jesus' name! This is a quick update to let you all know what God is doing in our lives at the moment and where we've been working. Alongside our work in Mexico we've been working once again in the UK and in Spain. Our recent travels took us to a wonderful community church in Hampshire, where we were blessed to be able to share a message of God's heart for the lost as well as pray for the sick and those in need of a touch of God. In response to God's grace and power there were salvations and healings, of the body and the heart also. One man received prayer for a neck condition, he'd not been able to move his neck freely for years. He fell under the power of God and when he awoke he was beaming, full of peace and joy - God had healed him and he could move his neck for the first time in years! He was delighted and went his way rejoicing.

Later that evening we had the privilege to pray with the youth in that church, Mario spoke to them of boldness and confidence in the message of the cross - that we are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith' (Rom. 1:16,17). We were humbled by the quantity of people, young and old, who demonstrated an earnest desire for more of God. This generation of passionate Christians is making waves in their community and are walking in their God-given authority through prayer and action. We are delighted to witness their passion and diligence, and look forward to seeing what God's going to do next!

Secondly, the Lord has opened some exciting new doors in cities in Spain. With a vision for every region, He is making a way for new centres of evangelism city by city, and tremendous favour in the body of Christ in facilitating this work with finance and workers. In July we will be taking a team out to Granada and working on the streets to share God's love and see the power of redemption at work. Please pray for us as we go, and we'll update you again soon! Be blessed, Sam

2 weeks of Mission in Chiapas (Mexico)

2010-05-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

In the first 2 weeks of February we have seen how 200 people encountered the Lord Jesus Christ for the first time. It was wonderful how in Tuxtla, San Cristobal, Betania, Huixtla and Comitan among other places many people gave their lives to the Lord with rejoicing and tears. I would like to especially highlight our time in Comitan, a beautiful city on the border with Guatemala, for the church there has been working really hard in reaching out with the gospel of Christ. In an event that they beautifully organised at the city's theater titled "amor" (love in Spanish) I had the privilege to lead around 50 people to the Lord, many of them also came back for more the following day at the Sunday service. The church's pastor who organised the event is called Ismael, a good friend of mine. He and all his church have been such a blessing to me personally and to the whole ministry. At that event we also witnessed many miracles such as several deaf people who completely recovered their hearing.

Even though my stay in Chiapas was planned to be for 4 weeks, I was forced to come back as an emergency arised back in Europe. All things are now great, by the grace of God.

I would also like to especially mention my time in Tuxtla at the home of my sister in Christ, Chita, a real mother to us, who opened her house to the ministry and has blessed us greatly with her love, encouragement and indeed beautiful cooking!

Personally and as a ministry we're now entering in a new phase that promises more fruit and increase.

Please pray for us and do not hesitate to contact us should you wish to get involved in what we do. Our prayer list for this month is the following:

- We are employing a ministry coordinator in Mexico and we need indeed funds for it.
- The work in Mexico is very large, many doors are opened and we only want to go God's direction. Additionally our desire is to continue multiplying our gifts that the Word may prosper rapidly.
- We are now involved in Social Action work so larger amounts of funds are needed to finance all the different projects. Should you want to know about them, please do not hesitate to contact us.

That's all for now, and from Samantha and I peace and love from Jesus!!

Amen.

Just arrived in Tuxtla, Chiapas!

2010-02-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Isn't God awesome! After a long journey I've just arrived in the capital of Chiapas, Tuxtla, from where I'll be traveling all over the estate of Chiapas preaching the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is going to be a 28 day-mission. There are many exciting things coming ahead, if the Lord's willing. One of them is that I'll be crossing into the nearby state of Tabasco to Villaflores and meet a Pastor from Spain called Jose Mari who has been working with different ethnic groups there for the last 21 years. There I'll be ministering in several churches and places and I'm sure we will be plotting on how to take Spain for Jesus. So a bit of everything really!

Also I forgot to mention another great news is that Manuel and Rosi (Spanish man and Mexican lady) who are married came to Christ on the plane on my way to Mexico city. It was wonderful, we spoke for hours and they have invited us (me and Sam) to spend a few days with them in south of Spain. We must follow this up! Praise God

I'm also doing this mission without my beloved wife Sam. It's very hard because I absolutely love working in the gospel with her and miss being with her in general but sometimes there is a small price to pay for greater fruit. However, we will be speaking over Skype every day we can. In fact we did today and it was great! Praise God for Skype!

With the Lord's help I'll be able to understand the Spirit leading and prompting both in ministry and relationships. My real desire is to be a blessing wherever I go and bear much fruit in the Kingdom of God.

Please would you join me in prayer for the following? Your prayers and encouragement are precious to us:

- That God's Spirit would be pour out in all villages and towns we go.

- That I would adorn the Word with my life and example.

- That God's Word through us would prosper and run faster than ever before.

- That we would be protected both physically and spiritually.

- That I would be able to make new life-lasting friendships and establish old ones for God's glory.

Please send us any word of encouragement or anything at all!

May God richly bless you and prosper you in everything you do for His glory, in Jesus name! Amen.

Belated Update!

2009-12-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. " (Habakkuk 2:14, NIV)

You may have been wondering, what are Mario and Sam up to? why are we not getting weekly mission reports? what's going on? The reason for this absence of reports has been that the majority of the places the Lord's led us to minister His love and knowledge have been out of internet or mobile coverage. For you, our beloved reader this is a summary of what we did in partnership with the Holy Spirit:

- This time we preached the gospel to thousands and about 1,000 people gave their lives to Christ in contained environments. In other words, all of them are being followed up by committed pastors and teachers. We have chosen to work only with congregations and ministries who are serious about discipleship. Jesus told us "go into all the world and make disciples" (Matt 28:19)... "and I will build my church," (Matt 16:18) however, so often these days we find people do quite the opposite, building the church themselves while leaving discipleship to Jesus. He gave us a specific mandate, and only in such cases of obedience to Jesus' command does church growth and maturation occur. We had to make a concerted decision to stop working with any ministries who were not dedicated to making disciples. We love them, but the word God gave us was clear: "I'm interested in fruit that remains," so we must focus on opportunities to create just that. Since making this decision and working with dedicated discipling churches, we're receiving reports that some congregations have doubled or even tripled in size! Praise the Lord!

- We're working with an association of ministries called "Ministerios Unanimes" (http://www.ministeriosunanimes.com/) who work all over the state of Chiapas. They offer spiritual cover to over 150 congregations from this state only. They are delighted that we're already supporting them in equipping the saints for fruitful and powerful evangelism throughout that net of churches.

- The glory of God has been manifested in awesome ways like never before in our three years of ministry. We've seen hundreds of miracles done in the name of Jesus! Here are three of the most remarkable miracles we've seen. They're remarkable for two reasons: firstly they were afflicted from birth; secondly the three of them were over 80 years old.

1. "Rosa, 81 (Comitan, Chiapas), was blind from birth and had a chronic back disease. She testified that when the word of healing went forth she felt heat in her spine and the pain was gone. She could now move normally! In tears she also described how she'd just started to see colours and people for the ...first time." (Facebook 26 of November)

2. "Maria Elena, 87 (Carranza, Chiapas) was completely deaf in both ears from birth but left the evening meeting completely healed. In tears, her daughter described that as her mum stood up to come forward and receive healing, by the time she made it to the front of the room she had already been healed" (Facebook 23 of November).

3. "Blanca, 85 (Union Juarez, Chiapas) was deaf and mute from birth and communicated with smiles, touch and sign language. Despite not hearing the call for prayer she came for healing and was set free in Jesus name! She asked me how I was and I asked her what her name was, she said "Blanca" and blessed me in Jesus name. The pastor run towards me and said she's mute and deaf from birth! What? She's not now, I said! Glory to God! This meeting was shown on National, non-Christian cable TV. I love it! Don't you?

If the Lord is willing we'll return to Mexico at the end of January. They've started organising several conferences and evangelistic campaigns in different parts of the state. Moreover, the Lord has opened a door to us in Mexico City which we're praying at the moment about what to do here. Please join us in prayer and tell us when the Lord shows you something about us.

Last but not least, we've started looking at 2010 as the start to children's work here in Chiapas as a very important part of our ministry. So we'll be organising mission teams and fundraising to finance this foundation of the ministry. In addition to that God has opened channels in the indigenous community for us to distribute medicines and provide health care. We're going to need funds to purchase medicines as well as volunteers to help with the distribution. This project is very exciting and we're already praying for God to release all it's needed. Again, if you feel called to help us here please speak to your pastor and give us a buzz!

We are ministering to both Mexicans and indigenous groups. The fruit has been amazing, the work is massive, the harvest is gigantic, the power of God is abounding but the workers are few. Please get involved, get your church involved, contact us, we want to know about you and share with you the reality of God in the nations.

Finally, redeem your time for you don't know when God will be demanding your life. Be prepared for His coming back (which is very very soon!), purify yourselves. There is not time for strife but to love one another that the love of God will be perfected in you!

May God bless you and prosper you as you choose the way of holiness!

Adios!!

Our Gospel Action Team in Mexico!!

2009-10-16T08:47:00.001-07:00

Two Weeks in Mexico!

2009-10-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

Back in Mexico!

After the Lord placed this land in our heart and expanded our love for the Mexican people, we received His provision and power to carry out a work here. Two weeks have passed since our recent arrival on the 1st of October and we've been visiting homes and ministering in churches. On several occasions we've seen the glory of God healing the sick and breaking chains in the lives of many people. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit has allowed us to reach the heart with the gospel of Jesus Christ and already several people have given their lives to Christ. One of the things that have brought much encouragement and joy has been the fact that many people from the past mission are already part of different congregations through the city according to where they live. These new Christians are meeting regularly and are grateful together with their new pastors (most of whom we had never met before now) are grateful for the work of the gospel in their midst.

The Lord has opened more doors than during our previous mission here. We already have a complete itinerary for the remainder of our visit until we leave on the 1st of December in 6 weeks. This itinerary consists of:

*Preaching and evangelistic campaign in Dependencia; half an hour away from Tuxtla Gutierrez where we are based.

*Various Preaching and evangelistic campaigns with churches including Prince of Peace and Tabernacle of Faith here in Tuxtla.

*Preaching and evangelistic campaign in San Cristobal (45 mins by car)

*Preaching and evangelistic campaign in Huixtla (three hours by car)

In addition to revisiting some of the places we reached out to during our last mission here to Mexico, the Lord has also opened a new door to us in San Cristobal. This place was already in our hearts because there are several traditional Catholic strongholds there and in it's mountainous outskirts that we feel passionate about winning for Christ. In San Cristobal and its surrounds there is still much persecution against evangelical christians. However, we know that the Grace of God is sufficient and that the time has come for the captives to be set free! We bring the gospel that comes in demonstration of the Spirit and of power (1 Corinthians 2:4 NKJV). This has shown to be the only way to win these people for Christ. These people have been led to the greatest darkness by the traditionalism and idolatry of the Catholic doctrine held in these parts.

Together with the ministry of God's word that we carry out in this land, God has spoken to us about demonstrating the word in action with practical love. In this area we have several projects in motion.

*Food and medicines for indigenous people in the mountainous areas near to Tuxtla as well as San Cristobal, where we want to plant christian churches.

*An orphanage for abandoned and orphaned children.

*A place to counsel people with God's spirit and word.

This month we will be joined by several brothers from Denmark and England who're going to help us out in the work that God has entrusted to us. Please pray for them. Please also continue to pray for us and from here we also invite you to give generously so that the work of God continues moving forward at this rapid pace. May God bless you abundantly! Amen.

Mission Mexico 2010! (Exciting News)

2009-07-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

One of the things we clearly heard from the Lord about our brief three month trip to Mexico is that we would be spying out the land, much as Caleb and Joshua and their team did millennia ago (Deuteronomy 1:19-23). Just as for them, we had a choice about how to look at the land. We could 'be real,' focus on the difficulties (too many to list) and become disheartened; or we could look with the eyes of faith and see what God could do with us and through us in that beautiful land hungry for the Kingdom of Heaven. We chose the latter.

During our visit we experienced great favour and learnt how to steward that favour by using it only for what God intended and by working diligently for His purposes in all things. We believe that this mission was imperative for laying the foundation for our second mission, which will differ in several ways. During our second mission we feel the Lord is sending us to "take the land". Sam and I felt the Lord was going to open many doors for us, even doors we hadn't knocked on. The fame of all the miracles and salvations that were being done in Jesus name through us extended over all the city. As an evidence of this, I have been asked to present our 2010 vision for the city, before an association of 100 churches. The meeting will take place at the beginning of January 2010. If they decide to go ahead this will imply the following:

- We will be coordinating one team per church. In other words, there will be up to 100 teams.

- We will be running weekly workshops to equip the teams with the tools and expertise to reach out effectively.

- There will be a great framework and huge net to collaborate for doing monthly campaigns reaching out to thousands in stadiums, auditoriums, parks and squares.

The team that we led on our recent mission, as a model of equipping and evangelism for the future, saw between 50-100 coming to Christ every week. We evangelised every two weeks as we spent the weeks in between evangelism weeks consolidating the faith of the brand new believers saved the week before, pursuing quality alongside quantity - we want to see fruit that remains. With those very "realistic" figures, a team, well trained, per church could easily lead between 1000 and 2000 people to the Lord in 10 months. Now, multiply that by 100. Can we reach out to 100,000 in 10 months in the city of Tuxtla? The answer is: Yes we can!!

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain" Psalm 127:1

Without God's help, nothing will prosper. This is why Sam and I ask you to join us in prayer for the following:

- Wisdom and favour to document and present the vision for 2010 before the association of pastors.

- As we are in the process of setting up a trust fund for Gospel Action, that God will enable whatever is necessary for it take place.

- As the "worker deserves his wages." (1 Timothy 5:18) and knowing that "the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel", that God may release a constant flow of finances to be able to afford flight tickets and wages.

We hope you have enjoyed our adventures in the Gospel and we look forward to seeing you back in the UK or other parts of the world soon so that we can rejoice with you!

All our love and blessings!

Mario and Sam

Fruit that remains (Raised to life and a new hope!)

2009-07-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

Guess what everyone?! God is faithful...AND His mercies endure forever!

Across the homes we've visited here in Tuxtla, we've seen over one hundred miracles done in Jesus' name. Perhaps the most striking example is Carmen's (read our 22 June 2009 entry). When we first saw her, she was more dead than alive. I have seen people die in front of me several times. I know by now when a person is almost ready for the last breath and Carmen was in that category. Today 5 weeks have passed since Carmen got prayed for at her house in Tuxtla. Her recovery is now almost complete - indeed, at the last report we heard she'd taken two of her daughters on holiday! As a consequence of God's healing power, 15 people from Carmen's home came to Christ. For the last few weeks a team has been going to that home to help consolidate their faith. The doors in that house are always open and gradually the people in it are being added to the church.

Like in Carmen's case, we have seen that the gospel of Christ, accompanied by signs and wonders through God's hand, have enabled us to get to people's hearts wining their lives for Jesus!

After two months of mission starting at the end of May and concluding around the 15th of July, we've seen 200 lives coming to Christ through house visits evangelism. Most of them are being followed up weekly. Some of them have already incorporated to church life, coming on Sundays and meeting in the week. We clearly heard from the Lord (for this season) that He was interested in us taking care of a few and consolidating their faith than going for the big numbers. Ideally, and I believe that's where we are heading, we will one day go for both quality and quantity. In this two months of mission we faced simple difficulties such the heat, mosquitos, parasites, salmonella, flu and even typhoid. However, nothing could offset the reality of seeing a real God manifesting without allegory but tangibly in our midst.

As well as supporting the local church in Mexico in the area of evangelism (in my case) and worship (in Sam's case), we also ran several workshops those two months. As we understand, an evangelist is no evangelist unless she prepares "God's people for works of service" (Ephesians 4:12). Our style of evangelism is very simple and can be summed up as: Compassion-Testimony-Gospel-Power. This is not so much a method as an initial approach. Both during and after ministry, the Holy Spirit is our helper. We preach the good news, pray for the sick, and hey! He does the rest!

Sustainable evangelism teams are now set up in Tuxtla and Huixtla, equipped to lead people to the Lord in the street and their own homes, as well as to revisit and affirm the faith of the new believers. Teams of worshippers have been raised up in three churches to move and dance before the Lord during worship services and with one another. We've fostered unity between these teams and even led a team on mission to Huixtla (a four hour drive south) where we also ministered together in dance.

A new life and a new vision!

2009-06-22T23:42:00.001-07:00

We want to tell you briefly about what God's been up to in one of the houses this week. On Saturday we revisited an elderly lady we visited the week before. The first time we saw Carmen, she was drifting in and out of consciousness at the point of death. Her family by her bedside, awaiting her final breath at any moment. She had been confused and incoherent in recent days and suffering from intense pain. Her intestines were riddled with cancer, she hadn't lived a normal life for some time and was unable to perform normal physical functions like feeding herself or using the bathroom. Mario prayed for her in the name of Jesus, she opened her eyes and smiled. The pain began to leave and she and eight of family members put their faith in Jesus Christ. This week, Carmen was a new woman. Frail but improving, she's smiling, walking and talking. We shared stories of the goodness of God, and Carmen told us all about how wonderful Jesus was to her. Two more family members were present, and accepted Jesus into their hearts that day, we went on our way rejoicing! We're delighted to see such a transformation in an entire family and pleased to report that a dear friend will be visiting weekly to encourage them in their faith and see them grow in the Lord.

In addition to all this, our dreams are becoming reality. So far we've been seeing between 50 and 100 people come to Christ each week. With a vision to see the local church grow in attendance by a factor of ten, a local pastor who leads an association of 100 churches in the city has contacted us to arrange for outreach teams to be set up in each of the churches, so that this vision has just grown 100-fold overnight. Who says we can't take Tuxtla for Jesus in just one year?! Isn't God good!? Isaiah 40 tells us that “those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Freedom to Dance!

2009-06-22T23:39:00.001-07:00

This week I'm going to take a bit of time to update you on what I've been up to in the dance ministry so far.

For many years I've had a burden to dance and move before God in prayer, intercession, prophesy, praise and worship. Thanks to God I was living in Brighton during many of these years, where an international ministry known as 'Movement in Worship' is based. Movement in Worship consists of a team of worshippers who move and dance before God in anointing, freedom, maturity and power. This team travels internationally to events to aid in worshipping God, prayer, prophesy, and equipping others to do the same. Dance and movement before God often has a powerful effect in setting people free and receiving from God in ways they hadn't been able to do before. Being a part of this team over the past few years has afforded me the glorious opportunity to practice and grow in a gift that has brought tremendous blessing and freedom to my life and the lives of many of those I've had the pleasure of sharing it with. Dance and movement brings me into new realms of expression and communication with my Daddy God that I'd not experienced before, and just being able to be with God in this way is often overwhelming to me.

During our time in Mexico I've been running movement in worship classes for children and adults across three different areas of the city in four weekly workshops. I was initially helped by Mario, who's also skilled in movement in the presence of God, so I'd have help with demonstrations and translation. Fortunately my Spanish is now good enough for me to run classes alone and my descriptions and demos sufficient for everyone to get the gist of what I'm trying to explain! It's necessary for me to teach without Mario as he's preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ in as many houses as possible each day.

In our classes we've covered various areas including 'worship and why,' 'how God made us to move individually,' 'moving as a group,' 'prayer and intercession,' 'prophesy,' 'self-image,' 'the biblical significance of movement and colours,' 'moving with props, e.g. banners and staffs,' and 'moving to scripture.' There are still a number of areas to cover in the remaining weeks.

Many people wanted to 'copy' a style or 'learn steps.' However, I desired to bring a freshness and spontaneity to dance and movement that involved a focus on being sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that new interpretative and worshipful dance would be embraced. For this reason I've had to avoid lengthy demonstrations and continually reiterate that God has made each of us to move in beautiful and unique ways, and we need to each find the style that God has individually planned for us.

During our sessions, particularly the session on prayer and intercession, we saw a lot of liberation and old paradigms broken. There are various things that I mean by this. For example, many people received answers to prayers that they had been praying for a long time. Others were set free from addictions, shame, fear of man, fear of intimacy, religiosity, and other problems. Others were healed of emotional pain and broken dreams. All received a deeper level of intimacy with one another and the Lord Jesus Christ. Each were also therefore equipped to continue to reach this level in future both alone or with others.

I've also had the privilege of dancing in various worship services across the city during my time here, and have witnessed a greater freedom in worship as a result. I've heard a number of prophesies that the Lord has given to people during a dance, and people have also been set free and healed of various things, including marital problems while watching this movement in worship. I'm pleased to say Mario continues to dance with me on Sundays, along with dear friends from the workshops who are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and move with a heart of worship. Together with the team we've already ministered some specific dances in our congregation, and this weekend we'll be ministering at a three day outreach in Wisla, some six hours away. I expect our update next week will be all about the miraculous things God does on this outreach!!

Lady has just received Christ and tells of her experience!

2009-06-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday 17 June we saw how in a house visit 5 people came to Christ on Wednesday 17 June and also the Holy Spirit came upon the place. You can watch the person describing what's happened. The language she speaks is Spanish, but she is speaking of the "presence of God" and how her mama is on the floor under the anointing of the Holy Spirit! I love it! Thank you Jesus!!

Healings, miracles and salvations accelerate as things hot up in the Spirit!

2009-06-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

There have been many more miracles over the past week and many more people set free from the Kingdom of Darkness and safely hidden in the Kingdom of Light by their heavenly father, God Almighty. We've experienced more of the supernatural and the spiritual realm this week – along with the weather at over 40 degrees centigrade most days, things are really heating up here!

Last week , despite the oppressive heat, an unpleasant gust of freezing cold air woke Mario in the early hours of Tuesday morning. He looked towards the door of our bedroom and saw a tall, dark, cloaked and hooded figure with a sickle, rather like the representation of 'death' we see in our culture. Here in Mexico this figure is part of a powerful and growing cult known as the Santa Muerte, or 'Saint Death,' which many people now worship. Mario knew just what to do. Extending his hand towards the figure he said “In the name of Jesus, I rebuke you, get out of here.” At which the Holy Spirit reassured Mario “now turn over and go back to sleep, I'll deal with this.” Mario resumed his sleep.

Now, guess what happened next? The first appointment to minister to a family in their home the next morning took him to a house where the Santa Muerte was worshipped. Although the home was clean and airy, the atmosphere was oppressive. As Mario entered the house he felt as though invisible hands were pushing him back. As he sat down to speak with the family, it became clear that the family members were utterly defeated, and terror was in their eyes. As Mario sat and listened, the mother unfolded an horrendous tale of devastation.

Some months earlier, their son had a run of bad luck; a series of car accidents and similar problems. He decided to visit a witch to see if anything could be done to change his fortunes. She gave him a statue of the Santa Muerte and told him this would bring him better luck. So he paid her his money and eagerly accepted the statue into his home. His luck did change and things started to go well for him. One night about two months later, the Santa Muerte visited him in the night. “Has your luck improved?” it asked? “Yes,” the son replied. “I've come for payment” said the Santa Muerte. “What do you want?” the son was uncertain he had anything the Santa Muerte might want. “In two months, I'm going to take a member of your family” came the ominous response. Now, here in Mexico the family unit is the central focus of society, and families remain close and very attached for their whole lives. I cannot stress strongly enough how stressful this statement would have been for this young man, who then replied as any good son would have done in his position: “No! Take me. Please don't take anyone in my family. Take me.” “Good,” came the reply. “In two months I'll come for you.”

The young man was distraught. He didn't know what to do. He told his mother what had happened, and she didn't know what to do either. They lived in fear. Two months later, for no medical reason, this healthy young man died in his sleep. The family were devastated and frightened for their lives. They were at their wits end. The Santa Muerte continued to invade their lives and its statue held a prominent position upstairs in the home. They lived in fear of offending this spirit and were willing to continue serving it in the hope of preserving their lives.

This was the state of the family in need of deliverance that day. As Mario shared his testimony, and about the power of the Lord Jesus who has broken the power of sin and death, slowly hope began to return. As they bowed their heads and confessed Christ, the hold of the Santa Muerte was broken. As they renounced idolatry and witchcraft the oppression lifted. As we smashed and burned the statue the era of evil was ended for that household and authority of Christ was reinstated over His beloved family. They prayed for the guilt and grief to be healed and left the home rejoicing that the enemy's camp has once again been plundered and the captives set free. Hallelujah!

I felt it appropriate to write all these details in full, and for that reason there is not sufficient room this week to tell of all the remaining miracles and salvations in detail, so a summary will suffice. We've seen 30 further salvations spread across 6 homes (a total of 99 people in under 4 weeks). We've seen 3 demons cast out and people restored to Jesus; 2 reconciliations of family members, 5 healings, and many more wonderful testimonies, all last week. On Thursday our friend Martha Cepeda invited us to meet some of her girlfriends at her home. Many were involved in Reiki, metaphysical witchcraft, and others were “Catholic till I die.” We shared a testimony of grace, of God's goodness, and the salvation message. All received Christ, but there were still some misconceptions in place, largely as a result of seeing a powerless church and a powerless God represented by His people. We began to pray for people. One of the more sceptical ladies said she'd suffered from internal varicose veins for many years, which in the last two months had become so inflamed and troublesome she had been in pain 24 hours a day. We prayed for healing in Jesus' name. She said to her great surprise she began to feel better. Suddenly they were all clamouring for prayer for longstanding physical and emotional conditions, in themselves and on behalf of family members. 20 minutes later the lady with the varicose veins declares “the pain has completely gone, it's a miracle!” We were there until 1.30am praying for people. It was a wonderful evening and typical of our meetings in people's homes.

Samantha Otero

The Gospel is touching the city!

2009-06-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

Our time last week was spread between house visits, ministry in the church and unexpected doors being opened by the Lord. On Tuesday we saw 9 people (friends and family) at the same house come to Christ. We also laid hands on them as there were several sicknesses, diseases and emotional conditions. We are re-visiting these new believers this week. I love when God moves and we can witness the power of His Gospel and His Spirit. After the meeting they wanted us to go and visit their own extended families. We will do so this week, if the Lord is willing (I think He is!).

Last Wednesday I taught the first evangelism workshop to the church. 25 people have committed to take part in the 9 week program. Sam and I are very excited about this since in our heart is also the equipping of the church with the grace God has given us in the area of soul-winning. The course also includes on-the-job action as we all as cell group creation and discipleship. Please see details at: http://www.gospelaction.org/ourmethod.html.

On Saturday 10 people came to Christ in an outreach with the youth I led. We had young men and women from two churches. The following day Sam and I ministered to a group of 50 youth at a nearby church on "purpose and mission". We received "words of knowledge" (1 Corinthians 12:8) for two younger men. As a result of this, we laid hands on a young woman and a young man and they were healed of post operation pain, and deafness in one ear, respectively. Later both of them and many more got filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues (Acts 2:4).

A wonderful door has opened to do a two day outreach in the main square of Tuxtla (city of half a million people)! This amazing and unprecedented favour. The will consist of worship (music and dance), testimonies of lives changed by the grace of God and a short Gospel message (which I'll be most privileged to deliver). They expect thousands of people to attend the meetings. So we expect many miracles and salvations in Jesus name!

We now ask you to join us in prayer to see God doing the following:

- Affirming the new believers faith as the local church continues to revisit the new believers.

- That more homes will continue to open the doors to the messengers of peace.

- That God will release finances to support a dedicated team of missionaries supporting the local church in the area of evangelism and church planting.

There are many more wonderful stories, but that will be sufficient for now we think!

God bless you all!!

Mario and Samantha

3 Week of Mission, families reconciled, healings in the park and more salvations!

2009-05-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

In this last week of mission we have seen an excess of 14 people coming to the Lord, mainly at their homes. A woman and her mother gave their lives to Christ at a visit we had at their home. When we entered we were not really welcome but we were determined to show them the love of God. The situation was this: her husband had left her and their five year-old son. As we ministered the gospel to them we felt both women opening up, until finally they were delighted to confess Christ as Lord and Saviour. We then proceeded to pray for their needs and the reconciliation of that broken home. I felt in my Spirit to say this: “God bringing your husband back this week and has humbled his heart.” Two days later at a cell group at an army barracks I was introduced to a man called Jaime. I could barely believe my eyes. There he was… the man who left his home, now explaining with trembling and frankness: “I want my life changed.” So I replied to him: “with God it is possible!” and he was born again that night. On Sunday he came to the celebration, having a new light in him, also bringing his wife and son. The family had been reconciled and we witnessed the beautiful sight of the Jaime and his wife hugging for a long time, weeping and rejoicing before the Lord.

On Saturday morning I took some youth out to evangelise in the park. 5 students came to Christ despite professing to be atheists and humanists. God healed one young lady from a severe kidney pain that was so severe she could barely sit up straight. In Jesus name the pain was gone! The lady who was the most reluctant to receive the Lord initially wept for joy as she gave her life to Christ.

I thank God for His extravagant love that He is pouring out on us. Thank you Jesus, our Soul Winner!

Last week we began revisiting all the homes where people had given their lives to Christ in our first visits. The purpose of this second visit was to affirm their faith and open the way for the pastors and teachers who will help turn believers into disciples of Christ.

Please join us in prayer for the following:

- Favour this week to enter into all the households we visited in the first two weeks.

- More workers to reap and gather the harvest.

- Financial support for us and the new workers.

May God bless you and let you experience also the joy we have as we encounter His glory in the people we minister to. I pray this in Jesus’ name! Amen.

Sam and Mario

Two Weeks of Mission!

2009-05-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

44 people have given their lives to Christ, mostly at their own homes! Thank you Jesus for your mercy and grace enabling us to give glory to Your name. Thank you Jesus for empowering us to do your work effectively, which is our offering to You!

Many homes were visited and not even once we were rejected. All the people we ministered to believed and received Christ as Lord and Saviour. They also truly encouraged us to come back to visit them again. With the help of the local church we have been able to do so. We're now in a good position to open up new home groups out of new believers. We've seen wonderful miracles, families restored and people delivered from numerous addictions.

Our heart is to continue to train up evangelists to reach out at the homes, and pastors and teachers to follow up and consolidate the new believers' faith in Christ.

Without your prayers and support we would not have been able to come so far. We are now in need of more prayer and financial support for the work to continue. Samantha and I ask you to join us financially in this move of God. Please emails us at mario@gospelaction.org if you are considering supporting us and would like more details.

Every blessing,

Mario and Sam

7 people came to the Lord in two different homes!

2009-05-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

Today we went to two different homes. I traveled with my friend Pepe and met with two friends (Amada and her daughter Teresa). We later went to visit a home where the mother in that household had given her life to Christ on Monday. There we ministered to her daughter and she also confessed Jesus Christ as Lord for the first time in her life. We also prayed that God would supply all their needs according to his Riches in Glory in Christ Jesus!! The mother in that household told us that her husband had left her and moved out. We prayed on Monday for their reconciliation. Today she said that yesterday her husband had come to her and told her: "please pray for me, I want to change!" Another instant answer to prayer! We all interpreted that God had started the work in this man's life and that He's going to finish the work with him in Christ!

Next, we visited an internet cafe. We entered and ministered to the whole family living & working there together with a friend behind the counter (please see the picture). They all came to the Lord, 6 in total. We gave them some words of encouragement and direction from the Lord. In the picture there are also three of our co-workers. Can you guess who they are?

2009-05-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

12/5/9 blog

Hola everyone! Since last Tuesday May 5th we’ve seen wonderful things done in the name of Jesus Christ. So far, in three days of reaching out at the homes of people who didn’t know Jesus, 26 have come to the Lord. Of those 26 people, all have wholeheartedly asked those of us who live in the same areas as the new believers to come back. For instance, yesterday, we revisited a house we had last Monday when two people dramatically gave their lives to Christ. At this home (see the picture) six of them (the two on the far left and the one taking the picture are co-workers) gave their lives to Christ. We’ll return next week to minister to the family and, God willing, continue leading family members to a relationship with God! (Matthew 13:33, the Parable of the Leaven).

Also this week Samantha ministered to the women of the church about things that can steal their joy, I heard by various people that it was a very emotional time and four people also came to Christ! She described to people how living in the past or the future (or both!), living only for other people's happiness, being led by circumstances (e.g. Hab 3:17), feeling condemned (Col 2:14; Rom 10:4 & 1 Cor 10:31), doing dead works (e.g. Gal 3:1-5; Rom 14:23) and not spending enough time with God (e.g. Acts 17:25; Rev 3:17-18) can all steal your joy, but joy gives strength (Neh 8:10), enabling you to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim 6:12) and draw from the wells of salvation (Is 12:2-3).

On Saturday I ministered to the youth, it was a very powerful time. There were only expecting up to 20 youth but 55 came. These were made up of people from teens to mid twenties. Also several people from two different congregations visited including the pastor of another church who wants to collaborate in all the Saturday outreaches and youth meetings. We're very excited about this!

On Sunday I preached at Vida Abundante. We had a good turnout, especially considering the governor has advised all public meetings cease until the potential threat of swine flu has been neutralised. I preached from Hebrews 12:1-2. It's part I of a two session teaching entitled "it's urgent!". The preaching will soon be on audio for Spanish people.

Yesterday we ministered in two homes and it was great! 6 people came to Christ and we will return to that house to minister to them next week.

The harvest of souls here in Chiapas is huge. We are not special but have made ourselves available for God to use us. Two things I ask you to pray for.

- Workers

- Resources for everyone to do the work they're doing already

God bless you!

First day of mission! Primer dia de mision!

2009-05-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

After a great week of fellowship with our friends Joshua and Kelly Steeper from Canada, it was time to get down to business! Yesterday we conducted our first day mission in one of the areas where there is already a house group set up. We worked with two friends from Vida Abundante, the church here in Tuxtla. Their names are Javier (worship leader) and Oscar (house group leader). We also went out with a sister who lives in the area called Amada ('Beloved' in English). She was responsible for making appointments so that we could visit people at their homes. Four appointments were made. We could only visit two houses due to a lack of time but the people we couldn't see came to the house group later that night. At the first home we met a lady called Les and another called Rosie. They both gave their lives to Christ. It was a very emotional time. They both wept as we told them of the love of God and prayed for them. Amada knows them so she and another sister will be visiting them this week. They were both encouraged to come to the house group in their area and join us at the Sunday celebration. We later went to another place also in the same area of a young woman called Reina ('Queen' in English). She had admitted to Amada previously that she had seen the "santa muerte" (the key figure in a Mexican cult) so we felt that she would need deliverance in Jesus name. We shared the Gospel with her and she received the Lord with great joy. I then asked her to renounce this cult and get rid of any items connected with it, which she did. I asked her to look at this little golden statue while I asked the statue to say something or move, but nothing happened. Reina understood that our Lord is the real thing: the living God! Both Amada and the other brothers in the area will be visiting the new converts this week so that we do not only have believers of Christ but disciples of Christ!

I had been asked to share a word at the house group and although we were a little bit late, we all arrived at the same time. The hosts were a family who already know the Lord. There were about 16 people including children. I shared on the love of God as the key to family life. I then felt the Holy Spirit wanted us to pray for healing and that He also wanted me to teach people how to do so in faith. It was a very emotional time as people presented their requests before God. A man with a fractured shinbone got healed and started walking. One lady who was blind in one eye and suffered from sharp pain in the affected area recovered her sight. All these things were done in Jesus name. I encouraged everyone to lay hands on each other and taught them about ministering healing and deliverance in Jesus name. We saw God moving and there was great rejoicing! Afterwards we all ate and made fun of my Spanish accent from Spain. I love them though!!

Today I will be interpreting for Samantha, my beloved wife (her Spanish is very good but for now I may need to do so) as she ministers at the center on worship and movement. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we'll be meeting some friends to plan and improve what we are doing, and pray. Thursday, Friday and Saturday we will also be evangelising other areas of the city.

Fellowship

2009-04-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

We've had two very relaxed days catching up with people and recovering from our 38 hour journey. "How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!" Psalm 133. This afternoon I went to see a house being built for a poor family, it's looking good!

Sam went to a session for women at the church "Vida Abundante" in Tuxtla where we are based for this mission.

We're preparing to reach out to some families in a nearby village where we want to plant a church. It's a little bit hot but we're having a great refreshing time with friends.

We will soon update you with some action in the field!

Introduction to what we're up to...

2009-04-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

Both Sam and I are very excited about this new chapter unfolding in our lives. We are very expectant as to what the Lord has in store for us as we help with outreaches, church-planting, dance ministry and begin plans to open an orphanage.

There is still a week to go and well... what can I say? We are leaving behind in England a well paid job, a prosperous, comfortable and growing ministry in pursuit of God's calling. I initially saw "men moving like trees", but I can now see deeper. Sam is working very hard in her last week at work, and as for me there is a lot of painting to do in the houses. We'll fly on the 20th and once there we intend to write as often as we can. Our desire is to update you on the mission progress with pics and videos, so that you can also be encouraged and share in the same joy we do. Bless you!! Mario