-
ss
ALUDOS!THE BILL HOFF FAMILYAPARTADO POSTAL NO. 57QUERETARO, QRO.
MEXICO
THE NORM DUNGAN FAMILYAPARTADO POSTAL NO. 7L\lQUERETARO/ QRO.
MEXICO
NEWS OFfhe [NHUEnCE OF CHRIST IN CENTRAL MEXICOPUBLISHED
QUARTERLY VOL. 11, NO. 3 FEBRUARY, 1980
Th iNFtUEuee OF One Ufs
"... worldly standards have ceased tocount in our estimate of
anywere to meet him on the stree^^^rgarito]^would seem no different
from ai5"^^T5EHer--^young man frcm a small village. And so itseemed
to us that first day he knocked atour door.-He had heard the radio
program "Dulces
Homentos" and had sent for the free Biblecorrespondence course
we offer at the endof each program. And now he was at ourdoor to
leam more. But it did not takelong for us to realize that there
wassomething more to this young mem than metthe eye. At 17, he
already had a maturitythat memy fail to reach in a lifetime. Hecame
back many times after that firstvisit, and always with questions.
His onegoal in life was to find God's will forhis life and then to
do it.
We invited him to camp that summer, andthere he gave himself
fully to Cturist inbaptism.. From the beginning, Margaritotook
seriously the commandment to "loveGod and your neighbor." He was
instrumental in widening and putting cobblestoneon the streets of
his village. He saw aneed for employing sane of the men in
thevillage cuid was a leader in beginning acooperative to teach
them carpentry. . Thewood was already available in the mesquite
trees that grew nearby. His compassion forhuman need was great,
and it extended toboth soul and body.
When the cooperative finally had a building for their work, he
invited the churchin Queretaro to meet there with those hehad been
speaking to of Christ. We wentone evening and were surprised at the
number of people fran the village who cameout. Margarito had been a
great influencein each of their lives. His love was beingfelt in a
great way.
Less than a month ago, we had the privilege of hearing
Margarito's first sermon.It was a notable event in that it was
athis own father's funeral. He said that hehad not really prepared
ithe just spoke\irtiat the Spirit led him to saybut it hadthree
definite points: (1) All of us oneday will meet the same fate as my
fatherdeath and judgment by God. (2) If we wantto be in a right
relationship with God, wemust come to know him by the only means
Hehas esteJalishedHis Son, Jesus Christ.(3) If we want to know how
to do this, weneed to study the Bible, God's Word to man.
After this, he offered to give a freeNew Testament to cmy who
wished one.Needless to say, we were all moved totears.
(Continues on page 2)
-
The beautiful part of this story, however, was to cone a short
time later.Margarito baptized his mother euid twoother members of
his family. And therehave followed over thirty laore baptismssince
then.
God has greatly used one young roan whoby the world's standards
is nothingspecial, to show to others that everyoneis special to
God.
"But-some seed fell on good soil andgrew and produced a cropa
hundredtimes what had been sown."
sac DtK
COMMON GOALS
The National Biblefounded in 1974 with the
Institute was fr
-
PERSONAL GLIMPSES FAMILY AFFAIRS
b/e had a btjuu but znjoyabtz 6taytn the States the JtatteA pant
o^'79,CoJL tAjouble deZcufed ouA HjituAn aJUttte, but m voenz happy
to oJuUvehome die second o^ Vecmben..
OuJi lamity waA kept busy p/tepa/t-Xjig ^on. ChAZ&tmai, 1
dUcjovefvid thathav^ a baby to cote ^oA. and d ^veyeoJL old to
teach kept me ^Aoni doXngmany thCng^ that J had planned, Idid
manage to gXi/e 10 boxes oi djook--U/i 06 gl^ and auddnztti about
60ChfU&tma& caAd6 vUth note& Jun them*
ChAAMtmajb um a ^un time ^on. all0^ U6. Even though Rebecca um
on^5 month& old, 6he toKz 6ome o^ thepapzA on hen.
pnje&ent&, MaJik m& anx-loujSi to heZp hefL and made
qwLck m/ck0^ opening hC& own gt^ta. (tie 6penta loveJbf
a^ennoon uUth the Vungan&that day.
Bill and I aAe teaching Mo/tfe kin-defvgajvten Cjou/uei thAough
a cjOKfuei^-pondence school. He am veAjy anxZou&to Jvead, He
attend^k a edenaZ kln-deAgaAten hene a& well, MaAk leoAnedto
Jiide the blcy^e that he got ^oaChAlitma& An a veAy ^hont
time,
Rebecca Zi noio 7 1/2 months oldand AM 'Still chubby, Monk Jijs
veAyspecial to hen.. His entrance Into^e noom pnoduc.es a big ^mile
^mhen. She "makes time" In hen ufalken.She loves to cAumble plastic
andpapen. Also playing with the telephone cond Is a ^avoAite
pastime.She Is a blessing to ouA family.
Hiay God give you the peace andhappiness that only comes
thwaghknowing him, ()}on*t you. Apend alittle time in pnayen towand
thegnowth oi the LondU
I am cutting in my kitchen enjoying the waAmth o the beautiful
sun-Jsnijxe 6tneaming thnough the windowas I Walt ^oA a cake to
iinlsh baking. And I've been thinking that'Some o the most
beautiful expenl-ences oi tiie aAe ^uch simple things.
Foa example, last night vAiiletucking Nathan into beda^teA
theusual htoniy, dnink o^ wateA, hug-eveAybody noutinewe weAe Aeady
^onpnayen u^en Nathan ^aid,"Jesus lovesme." Needles6 to hay, ike
teoAs weneAtAong in my eyes as he .talked tohis "^Uend."
Oa the othen day a^en Heathenand 7 had had a long talk about
apnoblem ^he-was having. Then sheAeached out and hugged me and
6aid,"Mom, yoa'nz 6o nice to talk to."Morn teoAS, How exciting it
is to6ee OUA childnen gnowingmentally,physically, and
6piACtually.
Nonm came caAAying home a ull-length miAAoA the otheA day.I
hadn'tmentijoned wanting one (that 7 cannememben), but he saw it
and thought7 would like itand 1 was Aemindedagain o what a blessing
oun mxA-niage has been to me.
The giggles o^ both Nathan andHeathen as they "snake" down
thestains togethen, Nonm's going out inthe nain (when he has a
cold) tolight the hot waten heaten which hasbJ&wn out, Nathan's
dally monningannouncement"I'm awake',",Heathen'spnide in fixing hen
own haiAtheseand so many othen thoughts comeflooding into my mind
as I sit hene,7 gujess 7 should bake, monz cakes'.
-
p? COt') c
>c Ujah-i l-lo o1
tnI-*
oC> r-3r > w
O
w
CO
> CD *0 O CDo | >o m o o c.73 z t o(/) > 03 rtn r O m
o
m X z Xn o 73O -P- > i-H
> l- (/)70 M VI m -Im 1I
o o >-1 CO X z1t
o K-1 3z 1' iA 1-4
!--i to1I to
m > 1-4jO z Oc z
m o
to n:H cm 73o 0
1
o G 1t) J
(D a ui ra
a 3 0 3(U p- >
Hw
H ft d 1(D
4t:o
U) 3 a0* > m
> on
A
Praijer n Praise"In everything give thanks."
Give thanks with us for;
* an 80-year-old woman who wasbaptized in an Indian village.And
that even in the midst ofpersecution there have beenother
confessions of faith.
* a successful campaign inZapata, a small town nearby,where
several families visitedto see Christiam films and tohear God's
Word proclaimed forthe first time ever in thatvillage.
* students from the InstitutoBiblico Nacional who are
ministering in many small churchesin the area.
"Or what man is there of youwhom if his son ask bread, willgive
him a stone?" Pray withus that:
* the annual Missionary Reunion scheduled for Maurch 18-20 will
bring us into closerfellowship as we serve Him.
* the new well on the orphanage property will be successfully
completed, emd that thenecessary $60,000 become avail-cible.
* the Hoff's will soon be ableto purchase a house.
DUNGTiNS' FINANCIAL SUMMARYOn hand 6/30/79 $1656.49Income 7/1 -
12/31 12,122.45Expenses 7/1 - 12/31 14,091.73Balance 12/31/79
$-312.79
-
3-S"^v5-
ALuaas!JUL 2 1 1980
THE BILL HOFF FAMILYAPARTADO POSTAL NO. S7QUERETARO/ QRO,
MEXICO
NEWS OFThe IHnilEnCE
THE NORM DUNCAN FAMILYAPARTADO POSTAL NO.QUERETARO/ QRO.
MEXICO
OF CHRIST IN CENTRAL MEXICO
PRINTED IN >EXICO VOL. 11, No. 4 SPRING 1980
MEMORABLE MISSIONAnV MOMENTSagitated. The brother told me that
theirfodder had been set afire. I grabbed ashovel to help, but he
told me that Ishould remain inside because the firemight be an
opportunity for an ambush. Sowhile the women brought water for the
baptistry and the men shoveled earth on theblazing stack of fodder,
Uemilo and Xstayed inside and prayed.
Please permit me to relate a true story.You have seen it in the
old westerns. The
sheriff rides into town where he is looking for a criminal. The
town is full ofoutlaws and thugs. As he walks down thedusty street
he feels uneasy. He does notknow if someone will shoot him from
behind.In a good motion picture the author conveys this uneasiness
to the viewer who inturn feels the suspense.
Such was the feeling as Hermilo and Iwalked into a village
called San FelipePueblo Nuevo last February. We were thereto
baptize an 80-year-old woman. The onlysounds we heard as we trudged
up the mountain path were our own breaths. It seemedtoo quiet. I
was all too aware that abouttwo years ago a mob had gathered to
stoneHermilo and scxne of the brethren on thesame path. The people
here use an Indiandialect and often do not speak Spanishwhich makes
one feel even more helpless.The family we were to visit heard
aboutChrist through the radio program and eventually asked for
baptism. But the rest ofthe village remains opposed to the
message.
Arriving at the brethren's house we began to fill the portable
baptistry withwater which they brought from a springabout a mile
away. Then a woman hurriedinto the house. Her voice sounded
very
When there was enough water, we baptisadithe sister. About two
hours later th*brethren managed to put out the fire euidsave a
little of the feed. When they caMin, it was getting dark. They
greeted uaand then smuggled us down another path tothe truck.
I was relieved to see that the truck wasundamaged except for
some bad wordsscratched into the paint and two bent li-icense
plates which someone had tried toremove. As we left we feared an
ambush *ta cut where on a previous trip people hadrolled rocks into
the road. But a tractorwas leaving the town and we had to
followhim. He came upon the rocks and pushedthem aside leaving a
clear path for us.
We believe that the Lord has protectedus md ask that you all
pray ^or our continued protection and for the 20 brethrenin the
village.
-
:f.S!iiiSe6
For many years Bro. Bob Wright, director of the Christian
orphanage, has donated his services as printer to the
correspondence school and for some of ournewsletters. Now a new
laborer has comeinto the field to relieve him of the time-consuming
task. His name is HumbertoRamirez.
Humberto is no stranger to evangelistic work. For several years
he has workedwith Helen Gonzalez in Michoacan. He isfrom Mexico
City, and accepted the Lord asa youth. But he had trouble
following"the vay." At that time Helen, to helphim straighten out
his life, invited himto help in the work in Michoacan. Underher
guidance he developed into a very capable personal worker and
evangelist. Hepossessed a strong desire to serve theLord and felt
impelled to further preparehimself, so he attended Colegio
Biblico.Last year he graduated.
While in school Humberto became impressed with the need for
Christian literaturefor Mexico. So he both studied printingand
worked in the print shop of the college. Bob Wright was (and still
is) veryimpressed by his work and ambition so heinvited him to take
the orphanage printshop and put it on a sound financialbasis.
Humberto, deciding that centralMexico was strategic to the work,
accepted his offer. He wants to print and distribute Christian
literature and Sundayschool materials for use throughoutMexico. At
the present time (to my knowledge) there is no Sunday school
materialproduced by the Christian church in Mexico.
Humberto has changed the shop frombeing subsidized to a paying
operation sothat funds will be available for expansion. But it
would not be correct to saythat he just works at the "inky"
businessof printing. Humberto is very concernedand interested in
the Lord's work and has
ANOTHER "FIELDbegun a work in a nearby tovm. Right nowit is just
a Bible study, but if his previous work is any indication, there
willsoon be cin established church there. Prayfor his ministry and
that his dreams forthe Lord will be realized. BH
Camping UPIn the previous years, our summer camps
have had one major problemthere havebeen more campers than floor
space. Yes,we sleep on the floor! As you can imagine,there are
several disadvantages to this:(1) cement floors are uncomfortable
evenwith petates (straw mats) under you;(2) floor space allows room
for a maximumof 120 people, which is not enough for theSenior Camp?
(3) there is no place to walkexcept on people's bedding; (4) camp
isheld in rainy season and muddy shoes alsomake for dirty
bedding.
But this year the camp committee haschallenged the churches of
central Mexicoto give almost SI,800 dollars for the construction of
10 bunkbeds. If the bunksare built 3 high, it will add 50% or
moreto the capacity of the camp. The bunkswill be constructed of
wood, which isslightly less costly than steel and willtake less
time to build. With the cooperation of several Christians, the
lumberhas been transported directly from a sawmill in Michoacan to
Queretaro. This hasreduced the cost considerably over buyingthe
wood in QuerStaro. Other Christiansnow plan on building the bunks
before campbegins in July. More beds are planned forthe future.
We are thrilled by the cooperation ofthe church in this venture,
and know thattheir participation indicates true spiritual growth.
Most of the construction inthe past has been paid largely by the
missionaries themselves, so we praise theLord for the unity of
Christians throughout Mexico in this latest project. BH
-
HOFFS' PERSONAL QLIMPSES"No, Rebeccal Mommy, she's getting
into
the trash." These words by Mark about hisbaby sister are common
in our house thesedays. The trash and the telephone areRebecca's
favorite "no no's." She can makethe walker go at high speed and her
newtrick is to try to pick up things from thefloor which leaves her
suspended in midair neither able to straighten up nor bendover. She
looks like an airplane wavingher arms.
Mark has become quite a helper for hisDaddy and I. Bill now has
him cookingbreakfasts. It is a Hoff tradition for themen of the
family to cook breakfast soMark is being trained early. His
futurewife will love him'
On March 21st we celebrated our 10thwedding anniversary, I chose
to have something extra special so planned a ceremonyin which we
renewed our wedding vows. Thiswas followed by a buffet supper.
About 40people helped us celebrate. During theceremony someone
whispered to Rebecca whenshe started to cry, "quiet kid, your
Mommyand-Daddy are getting married 1" Mark wasthe ring bearer.
r
May 8th IS our departure date for a 5-6week trip in the States.
Most of the timewill be spent in Cincinnati where Billwill be
taking a 3-week summer advancedGreek course at Cincinnati Bible
Seminary.
Mark is now enrolled in a private schoolfor his first grade. The
tuition will beabout $50 a month along with uniforms andbooks. If
there is a group or a classthat would like to help with this
expense,please let us know. Thank you.
-
OUR FAMILY AFFAIRSWe have come to thz "count-down"
iwmz/L vacation, cind it ii noticzabZe. atickool. SuddznZij the.
pace hcu, qui^ckzned04 the 4>tudznt6 di&covcA how ZcttZz
time,fiejmim and hoio muc/i tke/it iJ> Zz^t to do.But, in tiie
midit o^ the mad fui^h they(^ound time to pKL&ent tlieiA second
annualSpfUng MuiicaZ. T(U4> ytoA they did "TheMuiic tAackine,"
complete Lgoing through gAoaiing pain6. So, i^oA. nextyeoA. ufe
have kOied an additional. teacheA.He Mill be in cha/ige o^ the
eZexnentafujiizction ufkile Becky continues in theiecondafuf
i&ction. The pain, however,corner ^fiom having to ^ind a place
to movethe school into. We have been in the iamebuilding ^on. 3
yeoM, and it ha6 pfwven tobe an iAe^ location; 6o we ftexilly hate
togo etsew/ie^e. But we need moie 6pace. So^OA., the LoAd has not
shown as exactZijwfroi HiJ> solution is; we a/ie suAe Hz
wiZZ,howevzA, just as Hz suppZizd as with theteacheA.
Hzathzfi i& Zooking ^omaAd to su}meA,notonly bzcmiiz o^
vacation, but bzcmsz shzwiZZ bz going to Ja. High camp instead
o{JunioA Camp this yzaA. Hza height has madehzA a Zittle
sel^-conscioas oAound mostt^ie kids hzA age. She is now taZZzA
-thanI amj I keep having to Azmind heA thatihz stiZZ has a ^ew
weeks o^ schooZ Zz^t,though, and thzAz iM an AmAds BaixqueXcoming
up.
NoAm has ^eZt tied up in Azd tapz Zatzty,what with making tax
AztuAns ^OA the non-pAo^iX. oAgantzation undzA wkich the mission
opeAotes in Mzxi.co,pZus doing hiA own|fax AetuAKS, both /^oa the
Mexican govzAn-went and UncZz Sam. And, to makz mattzASevzn moAe
compZicatzd, hz had to make twotAips to Mexcco CiXy to Azneia hi^
MeUcannesidencz papzAS. Hz AzaZZy ^zzZs that hehcu bzen spinning
kis whzzis this month.iuX he's hoping that next yeoA wiZZ be
bzttzA--at least he won't havz to do thmission tax AztuAn, since
hz i^ no longoyits pAe^sident. He seems to keep himseZZoaded down,
howevzA. This szmzstzA hihas added anothzA class to his scheduZe
a.the BibZe Institute and IsliteAacy class to one o^ thein the
chuAch 3 days a week.dzAing how he keeps going.
teachingyoung womejI keep won-
As ^oA Mathan, wzZZ hz continues to feeejOA aZZ going. Hz has
dzcidzd that now tha.hz's a "big boy" (which means he goes t