dungan norman mary 1975 mexico
TRANSCRIPT
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8/16/2019 Dungan Norman Mary 1975 Mexico
1/8
tUG aJORM DUfiC
APDO. POStAL 7 4
QUEeGtASO QRO.
MGXICO
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY
AUGUST 1
Meet the Men
W e ' d
l i k e f o r
y o u t o
k n o w t h e m e n w h o a r e
c a r r y i n g t h e
m a j o r l e a d
e v a n g e l i s m
a n d t e a c h i n g i n
t h e
B a j i o . I n t h i s i s s u e , J u a n A v i f i a , e v a n g e
ist
in
Celaya, Guanajuato, gives his testimony.
G o y e i n t o a l l t h e w o r l d a n d p r e a c h t h e g o s p e l u n t o e v e r y
c r e a t e
T h i s c o m m a n d
o f
t h e L o r d w a s a
c h a l l e n g e
f o r m e
f r o m t h e
d a y
o f
m y
c o
v e r s i o n
when I was
only 15.
But
it was not until 1967 that
I
made a d
c i s i o n t o l e a r n m o r e a b o u t t h e W o r d , s o
t h a t
I m i g h t m o r e
e f f e c t i v e l y
f u
fill
this Great
how was I to learn
Bible?
The answer
it
i n t e n s i v e l y . B u t
have
time
to
teach
of
a
Bible
college
to enroll
there,
desire
was
strong,
dition was weak.
I
had
just barely
in auto
mechanics.
I
urned to God,
v i d e d
t h e m o n e y
for official pa-
enrollment
fee in
in Eagle Pass,Tex-
gan
a
new
life.
^ ommission. B
S
m o r e a b o u t t
was easy—
tu
where? Who wou
me? I had hea
so I determin
But
although
my financial co
had no job, for
completed
a
cou
In my frustrati
and
He
soon
pr
for bus passag
pers
and for
Colegio Bibli
as. There
I
I d u g i n t o t h e
Word
o f
G o d
a n d , t h a n ks
t o
m y exc e l l e
teachers,was soon able
to
teach and preach
for
c o n g r e g a t i o n s near
the bo
d e r .
f
t h e
m a n y
b l e s s i n g s i n v o l v e d i n t h e w o r k a m o n g t h o s e c h u r c h e s , o n e
^e r e a t e s t w a s
m e e t i n g M a r i a M a g d a l e n a G a r c i a . S o o n
a f t e r
o u r
f i r s t m e e
ing,
n e a r
the e n d
of i r ^ f i r s t s c h o o l y e a r ,
I
e n c o u r a g e d h e r to c o m e to t
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2/8
c o l l e g e to s t u d y . W e bo t h a t t e n d e d t h f e n e x t y e a r; a n d on A u g u s t 23, 1 9 6 9 ,
we were
married.
In due time our first child--Ruth—was born.
I
a d
s t u d i e d
t w o y e a r s;
n o w
I
h a d to f u l f i l l o b l i g a t i o n s
to a f a m i l y
S o w e l e f t
C o l e g i o B i b l i c o
w i t h o u t
g r a d u a t i n g . ( I
w i s h
n o w
t h a t I
h a d s t a y
e d
o n ,
n o t because
I
feel incapable op doing
the
work
of G o d , but
because
I w o u l d l i k e
t o
be a b l e to
say
tliat
I
a c o l l e g e g r a d u a t e . N o n e t h e l e s s ,
I b e l i e v e that
I
l e a r n e d e n o u g h in t h o s e two g o o d y e a r s at
E a g l e Pass
to
e n a b l e
m e
t o
f u l f i l l t h e
G r e a t
C o m m i s i j l o n .
1
k n o w
t h e T r u t h ,
a n d
I
a i a
n o t
a s h a m e d o f
the
G o s p e l . I praise
God
p o r what He has done,
for
I have had
t h e j o y o f bapt izi n g
m a n y
s o u l s i n t o C n rist . ) H a v i n g l e f t t h e c o l l e g e , h o w
e v e r ,
I r e t u r n e d
t o
m y h o m e
i n
G u a d a l a j a r a , a n d t o o k
a
s e c u l a r j o b . It
a s
t h e r e
t h a t
a s e c o n d d a u g h t e r ,
C r i s t i n a l w a s b o m t o u s .
O ne
d a y ,
h o w e v er, another t \ i m in g p o i n t
c a m e
i n t o m y
l ife .
Returning
h o m e f r o m
w o r k ,
I
f o u n d
a
l e t t e r waitmg
for
m e .
It
w a s a n i n v i t a t i o n t o
m o v e
t o
a n a r e a
o f M e x i c o
w h e r e t h e r e | w a s a s p i r i t u a l
h a r v e s t
w a i t i n g f o r
r e a p e r s . I a s i n t e r e s t e d ,
but
I
a l s o
k n e w
of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y
to m y f a m
i l y . I prayed
t h a t
G o d wo u l d l e a d .
In
a matter
o f
d a y s , the s ame brother
who
h a d w r i t t e n t h e l e t t e r
c a m e
to
G u i i d a l a j a r a
i n
p e r s o n
to
p l e a d w i t h
m e
a g a i n .
A l t h o u g h h e
d i d
n o t f i n d u s j u t h o m e ,
w h e n
I l e a r n e d
o f h i s v i s i t
a n d h i s c o n c e r n ,
I
e t e r m i n e d t o accejpt
t h e
c a l l . I
q u i t i r y j o b ,
a n d w e
m o v e d t o
t h e c i t y o f
S a n M i g u e l d e
A l i ( i n d e , w h e r e
a f e l l o w C h r i s t i a n , T o m a s
d e
l a C r u z, w a s w a i t i n g
for
u s . I n
t h e
t w o
m o n t h s t h a t f o l l o w e d ,
h e i n tro
d u c e d u s t o
t h e
w o r k ,
a f t e r w h i c h
w e m o v e d t o t h e
c i t y
o f C e l a y a . F o r t h r e e
y e a r s w e h a v e b e e n s o w i n g t h e
G o s p e l
^ i e d h e r e a n d i n s u r r o u n d i n g a r e a s ;
it has
b e e n
a
g r e a t
p l e a s u r e
to
s e e t t u s f r u i t of t h e
G o s p e l , i n t h e f o r m
of
baptisms
and strong,
growing
c o n g r e g a i i i o n s . It w a s here th at ou r thi rd
c hil d , Jo h n Mark,
w a s
born (a
s o n w h o m
: c pray
w i l l
be a.faithful
s ervan t
o f
the Lord.)
It is
my prayer that God will c o n t i n u e to be sble to use m e . There is
m u c h
y e t t o b e
d o n e . T h e h a r v e s t
i s| t i l l
p l e n t e o u s a n d
t h e l a b o r e r s
a r e
still few. But
I have
faith in my ( p o d
to
fill us all with the
wisdom to
teach others
t o
preach
t h e Word
a n d
t h u s h e l p
t o
increase t h e number o f
l a b o r e r s in the field.
I m co n t e n t . G o d
h a s
g i v e n m e a
failJiful,
ob e d i e nt wife a n d a beautiful
family.
Although
our trials hav e been
l i i a n y ,
both
in
our personal lives
a nd
i n our Christian
life,our
faith i n G o d h a s
carried
u s through ev ery crisis
a n d d i f f i c u l t y . L a b o r ,
f a t i g u e ,
s i c k i p o s s , d i s c o u r a g e m e n t , e c o n o m i c
n e e d - -
all
these have
been
overcome thanks
to
the
faith that Christ has
put
withi
u s . C 3 o d has
p r o v i d e d m a t e r i a l l y
a n d blcissed s p i r i t u a l l y W e p r a i s e
H i s
n a m e
FINANCIALISTATEMENT
Balance 3/31/75
Income
4/1/75 - /30/75
$ 721.64
3972.40
Expenses
4/175 -
6/30/75
Balance
6/30/75
3697.
996.
(Note: Expenses for firs1: 15 days of July = $807.80)
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Embers
from t h e
Campfire
T h e 1 9 7 5 c a m p ,
h e l d
o n t h e
n e w c a m p g r o u n d s
j u s t o u t s i d e
Q u e r e t a r o d u r
i n g
t h e
w e e k o f J u l y 14- 1 9 , w a s
s u r e l y
o n e o f t h e b e s t h e l d i n t h e
l a s t 6 y e a r s . F i g u r e s c a n n o t r e f l e c t
t h e
s p i r i t u a l b l e s s i n g a n d u p l i f
t h a t t h e w e e k
p r o v i d e d ; n e i t h e r , c o m p l e t e l y ,
c a n
t h e
f e w
p i c t u r e s
w e
h a d
t i m e t o t a k e . O n l y
t i m e a n d p e r h a p s o n l y
e t e r n i t y w i l l
t e l l t h e w h o l
s t o r y . S u f f i c e i t t o s a y
t h a t
t h e n e w c a m p b u i l d i n g w a s w e l l u s e d d u r i n g
t h e 6 d a y s . O v e r 1 4 0 p e o p l e f i l l e d t h e
t w o
d o r m r o o m s , a n d
t h e
c o o k s p u t
i n
18-hour
d a y s
preparing
a n d
serving t h e f o o d .
T h e h e a v y r a i n s o f M o n d a y , T u e s d a y a n d W e d n e s d a y t a x e d t h e f a c i l i t i e
for a l l e v e n i n g
a c t i v i t i e s
a n d
s o m e
of t h e m o r n i n g
c l a s s e s
h a d to be h e l
i n s i d e t h e b u i l d i n g . T h e b o y s '
d o r m r o o m w a s
l a r g e e n o u g h
to
h o l d
e v e r y
o n e ,
e v e n
w i t h t h e b e d d i n g a n d
c l o t h i n g
w h i c h
h a d
t o b e s t a c k e d a l o n g
t
w a l l s ;
t h e
p r o b l e m
w a s t h e
t r a c k e d - i n
m u d .
I t c a m e
i n
f a s t e r
t h a n
c o u l d
s w e e p
i t
o u t .
F o r t u n a t e l y ,
t h e
L o r d h a d p r o v i d e d
u s
w i t h c o n c r e
b l o c k s
a n d p l a n k s , s o w e d i d n o t
h a v e t o
s i t o n t h e
f l o o r .
B u t i n
s p i
of t h e r a i n a n d the
mud,
t h e r e
was
a
g o o d
a t m o s p h e r e f o r l e a r n i n g , t
p r e a c h i n g
w a s
e x c e l l e n t , a n d a
g r o u p
s p i r i t s o o n d e v e l o p e d .
O n
T h u r s d a
F r i d a y a n d
S a t u r d a y , h o w e v e r ,
t h e
s k i e s w e r e c l e a r , a n d t h e e n j o y m e n t i n
c r e a s e d . E v e n i n g s e r v i c e s w e r e s t i l l
h e l d
i n s i d e ,
but
o t h e r a c t i v i t i
m o v e d o u t d o o r s . S p o r t s c h a m p i o n s h i p s w e r e h o t l y c p n t e s t e d ; t h e T h u r s d
n i g h t b o n f i r e w a r m e d t h e b o d y , w h i l e t h e p r a y e r a n d
s i n g i n g w a r m e d
t
h e a r t ; t h e B i b l e d r a m a s w e r e c a r r i e d o f f w i t h
s t r o n g
s p i r i t u a l i m p a c t ; a
f a c u l t y n i g h t , w h i c h f e a t u r e d a f l o u r - f l i n g i n g
M e x i c a n
v e r s i o n
o f
T
K e y s t o n e
C o p s , b r o u g h t
\ a n i f y i n g
l a u g h t e r
t o
a l l . O n F r i d a y a f t e r n o o n , t h r
y o u n g p e o p l e
c o m p l e t e d
t h e i r i n i t i a l
o b e d i e n c e
t o t h e c o m m a n d s o f
C h r i
a n d w e r e b a p t i z e d
in
the pool.
Some
of
the most e n c o u r a g i n g sings that we m i s s i o n a r i e s saw w ere: ^
a l m o s t t o t a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a s s u m e d b y
t h e
M e x i c ^ e v a n g e l i s t s , t h e d e s i
t o e x p a n d
n e x t
y e a r ' s c a m p i n g p r o g r a m ,
t h e
w i l l i n g n e s s a n d a b i l i t y
o f t
c a m p e r s a n d
c o n g r e g a t i o n s t o u n d e r w r i t e
a n
e v e r - g r e a t e r p o r t i o n o f t
costs, and an e a g e r n e s s to k n o w the
d a t e s
of
next y e a r ' s camps.
A l t h o u g h
w e w e r e
t h r i l l e d w i t h t h e b u i l d i n g t h e L o r d p r o v i d e d
f o r
u s ,
believe
t h a t i t
will be
necessary t o add a second structure by
next
y e ar
a
c o v e r e d , p a t i o - l i k e
a r e a , f o r
d i n i n g a n d
f o r
s e r v i c e s a n d p r o g r a m s .
a r e a t w o r k
o n
a
p r o p o s e d p l a n f o r t h e
s t r u c t u r e ,
o n e w h i c h
w o u l d p r o b a b
cost a r o u n d $2500
t o
build; but the final w o r d is
in
the
Lord's
hand
for we
h a v e
no
f u n d s
w i t h w h i c h to
b u i l d .
We
will
p r a y a n d wait,
for
k n o w s b e s t .
A n d a s
w e p r a y , w e ' l l n o t f o r g e t
t o
t h a n k
H i m f o r w h a t
H e
h
already done.
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ALUDOS
MOM
tUC
^ORM
DUACAH5
APOO.
POStAL
7 4 1
Q U t R C t A R O . QRO.
M€XlCO
PUBLISHED
QUARTERLY
NOVEMBER 1975
MEET
THE
In
the August issue
of
Saludos
we presented the first in a series
of
articles
about the
Mexican
men
who
are carrying the major load of
evangelism and teaching in
the
Ba-
jio.
The article was a
translation,
a
act which
we
forgot to
mention.
Now
we
present the
second sketch
—
again a transla
tion—this
time
of
Hermilo
Gasca,
evangelist
living
in the city of San
Juan del Rio,
state of Queretaro.
I am a native
of
the
Baj o
of
Mexico. I was
born
in
the village
of
Seui Pedro
de
los
Naranjos ( t.
Peter of the
Orange
Trees), in
the state of Guanajuato. p e u : -
ents
still
live
and
serve the Lord
there. My education as a child was
minimal— did not finish junior
high
school in San Pedro. My par-
MEN--I.I
ents have always been poor,
so
I
had
to help with the work.
From the time I was
a
child, how
ever,
my desire was
to preach the
Gospel. One day
I
left my h c a n e
thinking I
would
find a good
job
and
thus be better
able to help
family
economic
ally.
But
God
led
me to a student
of
Colegio Biblico
in
Eagle
Pass, Texas.
That student spoke
to me about what
I
might do to pre
pare myself
to
better serve the
Lord; he even
offered to help wb
arrange my pass
port
so
that I
could
attend Bible
College n^self.
With
the encourage
ment of that student and the help
of
the Lord,
I
went to college,
d i e r e I
first finished my high
school
work
and
then went on to
receive y f
coll
ege degree (in
1974).
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6/8
"Meet the Men," continued
W h i l e in
school,
i wanted
to
preach;
so
I
went out
to
many cit
ies a n d
congregations
a n d shared the
Gospel.
I
thank God
that
the bro
t h e r s
g a v e
m e m u c h
e n c o u r a g e m e n t ,
a n d
t h e m o re
t h e y
e n c o u r a g e d me, h e
more I gave
myself
over to the Lord.
W h e n I graduated, I
got
married;
and I thank God
for the wonderful
wife
He has given me. Marta did not
study in a Bible College, but she
was
a
Bible School teacher in her
home congregation.
Since our
marr
iage she
has continued
to teach.
We will soon be celebrating our
first anniversary as man and wife.
(Continues on next column)
So
ny life has
returned
to
it
e a r l y - p l a n n e d goal. For a time
w a s i n t e r e s t e d
in
e a r n i n g m u c h m o n e
but now
I know
that
it
is much mor
profitable to win
souls for Christ
Since early in this
year of 1975
have been laboring
for
Him in an
around
the
city
of San
Juan
del
Rio
A n d
the Lord
has
blessed
the
work
a
number
of people, e s p e c i a l l y teen
agers,
have
accepted the Lord.
would
ask
you
to pray for them, fo
it is very difficult to
continue i
the
Lord faithfully
in this city
The
Lord has also opened
a
n u m b e r
o
new
doors through the
Bible corres
pondence courses.
With the
Lord'
help,the
church in San
Juan
matures
THE CAMP R WS
On
October
13, work was begun on
the
s e c o n d
building of
the
Campa-
mento
del Bajio, just
outside
Quere-
taro, on the
grounds
of the Christ
ian orphanage.
Designed
to
accomodate
150
people
the building will
serve
as
both
din
ing
hall a n d
chapel.
Dimensions a re
8 by
15
meters (about 25 by 48
feet).
Basic design will be identical to
t h e
o r i g i n a l , d o r m i t o r y building—
c o n c r e t e
floor,
cement-block walls,
and wooden
trusses
supporting a dou
ble-slope roof.
The major differ
ence will be, Lord providing, the
asbestos-sheet roofing, in
contrast
to
the
tarpaper
roof
of
the
dorm. A
raised stage will be
incorporated
into the building; a n d
portable
c h a i r s a n d
t a b l e s will
s e r v e
to
k e e p
the
building
extremely versatile.
Total cost will
probably
be
about
3000.00 fully done.
But we
e:^ect
to wait at least a y e a r to
lay
th
floor
and
put
up
all 4
walls—we'l
be using
concrete
pillars
to
suppor
the roof anyway, so the blocks
wil
just be to
keep out the
elements.
Bro.
Steve
Shold,
missionary
i
the
state of Hidalgo, has bee
d i r e c t i n g w o r k o n t h e bu i l d i n g , w i t
Norm
serving
as incompetent assist
ant. In addition to the work don
so far
on the
new
building, finish
ing
touches
have
been added
to th
kitchen
in the
first building: tw
doors have been
bought
and
installe
two windows made
and
fitted; and
ceiling laid in. These improvement
should
make the
work of the
cooks,i
no easier, at least more pleasant.
Additional
minor projects for
th
y e a r include
laying a
sidewalk alon
the front of the dorm, puttin
l i g h t s
i n t h e
o u t h o u s e s ,
i m p r o v i n
the drainage system, a n d upgradin
the
sports facilities.
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7/8
We
want
to use
this column
to
give you a
word*s-eye
view
of
the
congregations
that form the most
important part
of
the
work in
the
Bajio.
This time
let's look
at
one
of
the four
churches
in the state of
Queretaro.
San Juan del Rio is
the
ci ^ out
of which
Hermilo Gasca (see Meet
the Men
article) works.
The work
here began in 1971, through
contact
with two students of the Bible cor
respondence course. Since then,
there has been steady growth, in
spite
of
many
obstacles.
For
two years, services were
held
in
the tiny
hcanes of
the
Christians, and jeering, cursing
e u i d stone-throwing neighbors
pro
vided the
accompaniment
for
the
studies.
In 1974, however,
a down
town
building was rented,
and
the
congregation
has been meeting
there
ever
since. An outbreak
of
perse
cution last
year
caused real prob
lems;
but
the Lord answered pray
ers and the
Christians endured and
grew.
With the
coming
of Brother
Hermilo
this year, there has been
growing
excitement.
Attendance
runs
between
25
and 40, with services
being held
on
Sundays
and
Wednes
days. The youth
meet
each Satur
day; they
are the strongest
part
of
the
congregation. At least seven
families
are
actively involved
in
the work, although there is not one
complete family (father, mother and
children). Hermilo's
e i r 5 h a s i s on
stewardship has as
an
immediate
goal
the
congregation's
assuming
the responsibility
of
rent
pay
ments ($28
monthly).
VISITING
THE
CHURCHES
Within the last
month,
a secon
work has
been
b e g i i n
in
the
city, i
one of the
edge-of-city colonies
About 10 people have been
involve
in
the studies which are held
i
the home of one of the Christia
ladies.
sum'
facts 'n f i g u r e s
Number
of
radio broadcasts, August
through October:
566
Ntanber
of stations
carrying the
pro
gram: 15
Number
of
new
requests for Bible
correspondence course, August -
October: 39
Number
of requests
from
July,
1974
to July, 1975: 622
Active
students as
of
Oct. 1
(stu
dents who have completed
at
least
one course
in
the last 3
month^lBO
Percent
of
total requests that con
tinue,to study: 18%
Average
number of
new
requests per
day,October,'74
-
October,'75: 2.2
Just
a
little reminder.
It
will
help
us immensely
if
you will send
your financial gifts directly to
our Forwarding
Agent: Mrs.
Barbara
Green, P.O. BOX 628, YUMA,
ARIZONA
85364. But any letters you write
should
come
to us
here.
We
do enjoy
hearing
from you.
-
8/16/2019 Dungan Norman Mary 1975 Mexico
8/8
Familq
I
don't
know
what the
Chinese
call it,
but
this has
been
thei
Year
of
the Grasshopper
in
our
area. They are thick as carpet
in
our
back
yard, and
they
have eatenj
every
tender,
green thing around.
We're beginning
to
wonder
when Pass~
over will come.
We
did
manage
to
salvage squash
from
our
garden,
though, and have
been enjoying squash
pie,
which
hasi
proved to be a very good substitute
for pumpkin. So
I
guess I
can mark
p x i m p k i n o f f m y d i m i n i s h i n g
U .
S |
grocery list.
I've been
spending
a
lot
of
n^ <
t i m e l a t e l y s e w i n g
f o r
H e a t h e r
thought
that surely Iwouldn't
have
to do much this year. But whenI
tried
last
year s clothes
on her,
i
Affairs
to see that most
three inches too
was
astonished
were at least
short.——
It's
hard to
believe
that the
seven-month-old
baby
we brought to
Mexico is now a young lady of s e v e r j
years.
She wanted
to
do
something
more grown-up this year
for her
birthday, so I took her and six
little
friends roller skating.
(Yes,
Queretaro
does
have a new
skating
rink).
It was
quite
an ex
perience for all
of
us.
It's a good
thing
I
had planned
plenty
of food,
because by the time we
got
home
they
were
famished
frcxa
all
the
effort they had expended trying
to
stay
off
the floor
Norm has been
kept hopping
late
ly
trying to
work
with
both
the
Mexican
church
here
in
Queretaro
and the
ever-growing
American con
gregation.
It's quite
a
week-end
meeting schedule
now
(to say noth
ing of
the
other work
that
must be
done), but
we
praise the Lord for
letting
us
in on
all
the excite
ment. We hope you
will
keep both
of these
congregations
in your
prayers.
We are praying especially
that the
Lord will lift up a
Mexi
can
man
who can serve as leademship
material for the Mexican church.
Revised Balance 6/30/75
Income 7/1/75 - /30/75
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
751.26
Expenses 7/1/75
- /30/75
4043.69
4000.71 Balance
9/30/75
708.28
^
Bajio
Christian
Mission
c/o
First
Christian Church
221 East 26th Place
Yuma, Arizona 85364
U. S. POSTAjCS
P ID
Yuina,AZ
85364
Permit
No.
86
NON-PFT. ORG.
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED