Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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MORGANS' MISSION TO MEXICO
In
Dorothy, Dennis and Beverly arrived in Guadalajara, Mexico, January 1? by plane and Bill and David the follovdng day by car. The trip took only 3 hours from San Antonio by
air, but,24 hours driving
. ee-vices in
February,
Mariano,
Clinton and
Bill
went v/ith our new brother from' San Andres to visit his relatives back in the mountains a-
Vfe found the Looneys already hard at work, not only with language study, but conducting
:bhe city and in two
. v-e'Il. Vi)e were amazed at the contacts they lv-c\ jrade within such a short time. (The Loonave been in Guadalajara since Septem-
bout 1^0 miles from Guadalajara. Our journey took us along the San Luis Potosi highway to Tepatitlan, across the Rio Verde River to the picturesque town of Yahualica, thence about forty miles on a gravel road, and finally about five miles f^n something which could hardly be called a road at all. Our destin ation ^vas a small ranee and a village called Guejotitlan, which seemed to us to be very
isolated from the rest of the world. Imagine
V)er 1961.
Biblico, Eagle
"it- 'las been a great help to have Brother Fari?--. to preach, do personal work, and inter pret for us. We immediately plunged into bot .i language study and evangelism. Although . tb'o progress has been slow, the Lord has
our surprise, then, when a nBn came up to us carrying a transistor radio and telling us that John Glenn had just completed his suc cessful orbits around the earth,, ^at irony! Here in a most remote spot were people who knew the latest world news before we did, but
who did not know the V/ord of God! fe were
some yis-
made to realize the tremendous power of radio and the possibilities of evangelizing a caun--
try by this means. We hope that we can one day broadcast the Gospel to all of Mexico.
welcomed us and in a
at least
of Christ.
about
residential section. The building is locat ed on the corner of Escorza and Mexicaltzingo
a mile
the
at 10:00 AM
and 5:00 each Lord^s Day, Attendance has' run up into the twenties, including our own families. From these efforts we have baptiz
ed three thus fartwo men and one woman. An
home, v/here the people were in bed, for it was then past mid-night. However, they rose up.TJid vient out to, bring in their neighbors, and we stayed teaching them until 2:00 a.m.
Such ^ experience we have never had before! Here were men and women who were truly hungry
for the Bread of Life. We left them a Bible
but as yet has not been baptized. However, because the owner of the building has refused to \make. some very necessary electrical re
pairs and has otherwise shown us that he can
and a number of tracts, and hope to return to spend several days and teach them His Vfay more perfectly.
MAILING LIST -
not be trusted to keep his word, we are press.7tly looking for another place to meet. We
Our mailing-list is constantly being ex panded,and we will gladly add the name of any interested person. Request, our Newsletter from First Christian, P. 0. Box 331^ Booker,
Texas.
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THIS
IS
MEXICO
LA1\IGUAGE
STUDY
are living in the lovely city of Guadalajara, capital of the state of Jalis
We are finding it to be a long hard roaa to becoming fluent in a foreign tongue. Cl '
inton and Bill have enrolled in the Mexican
life in Mexico such am interesting adven ture. There are modern office and apart
ment buildings, wide
with a population of 750,000. Here we find all of the striking contrasts that inake
parks plus
the ancient
cathedrals, dusty
Hov/ever, progress
are much
"roadsj and adobe dwellings. Buses and taxis rush through the city in all direct
in need of your
ions . but the horses and buggies move along the same as they did a hundred years
ago. Ladies wearing the latest Paris fash
ions and immaculately dressed business men
have
wool
heads and
. cohering their
faces
as
if
in a bitter
We v/ere introduced to an elderly couple who live in the nearby village of Tonala,
and they invited us to come to their home
listens to transistor
a client.
once
tical
a week to teach
them the
Scriptures.
the
radio. A well dressed salesman gets on his .'j?.ny languages are heard in Guadalajara . ""'rench, German, Hebrew, in addition to
01 the vendors, plus the usual sights and bounds found in any large city in ttie U.S. Life fran our apartment window is a passing parade. In one day's time one
might see going by
truth of this information. One afternoon, Clinton and Mariano were visiting in this,
home vhen a group of women gathered outside and began to cause a disturbance. Mariano
. tried to reason with them from the Scrir>. . tures, but one woman replied that she didn"'u
dozens of vendors on
baskets on their heads, a herd of goats or cattle, horses, cars, buses, trucks, vragons, buggies, etc.
ground all day long.
believe the Bible because she didn't knovv-, anything about it^ she believes only in "t-h*;., Holy Virgin and in what the priest said " Some of the women picked up rocks and threj-
the.disv ....
our
brethren escaped
%y.
unharmed,
Southern Mexico bring many tourists here every year. However, there is a great need
neighbors!
for more Christians to come to implant the Gospel of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of the iiiexican people. Our prayers are to
this end.
their association with us. This is an exam ple of "religious tolc-ance" in a Catholic
We pray that somehow the hearts of
truth of
w Giii^ AMjRES
, -
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..IN
MEMORIAK
HffiNE CAMPBKLL
dear friend
and sister
issue
cently. A son of this same man has made the good confession and is to be baptized soon.
We are now also" conducting services in this
home. In all we are meeting at San Andres twice on the Lord's Day; at 12:00 noon and
7:30 p.m.,
and
on Tuesday and
Thursday
evenings. This has phase of our work, strong congregation ed among the people
been a most encouraging and ' we believe thct a can evsntually be form of this village.
Evangelistic Committee, who prints our miss ionary paper. Irene died froia a heart attack in her sleep the night of Jan. 20. We extend our deepest sy.npathy to Brother Campbell and to their daughter Alice, a student at South ern Christian College in San Antonio, Texas.
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ADDRESSES
the Morgans at Apt. 2, 810 CircunvalacionProvidencia; Sector Hidalgo, Colonia Italia; CTiis.dalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, All funds and
_o+her correspondence should be sent to the
' We have an adequate supply of cards with a picture, of the'Horgan f^.'ijnily and space to" keep a record of contributions. Churches or individuals desiring these may obtain them
::olrwarding agent, Mrs. F. A, Kerns, P. 0. "Box 422, Booker, Texas. Please do not send
packages to Mexico, as the import duties prr^iiibit us from receiving them. Pers'onal i&xl for the Looneys may also be sent to the C-ua-dalajara address. Send it air mail.
\ FmNClAL
SU]#IARY
1,^3^9
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-Expenditures s
1961).
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kOO.OO^' 52.50:
: \^alary (January) ^
0*. .1* I ; .' y '
'mm-u V
1,305.5^
5.00
.1110544
232. \7o5
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JUL 16 1962
SOUTHERN MEXICO CHRISTIAN MISSION
Consisting Of
BILL MORGAN MISSION TO MEXICO S. CLINTON LOONEY MISSION TO MEXICO
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Forwarding Agent:
Mrs. F, A, Kerns P. 0, Box 422
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Forwarding Agent:
Mrs. Stanford Cook P. 0. Box 278
Booker, Texas
Vansant, Virginia
and Bill Morgan decided to band together to open a new work in Mexico.
The Looneys were the first to arrive on the field, settling in Guadalajara,
there are now attending other services the missionaries are conducting.
made, and this has proved to be the most successful and encouraging phase
of the work so far.
^h3 group met with so much opposition from the Roman Catholic neighbors
that the man who had extended the invitation for the meetings withdrew
his invitation.
-2-
The other three who made confessions have put off their baptisms because
first night.
They were hungry for the gospel and their eagerness showed
in their faces and in the way they sang the quickly-learned Bible choruses.
However, the next week, when the missionaries went for a second scheduled
It may readily be seen that the work for Christ in Mexico is both
**Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we
faint not." Gal. 6:9,
SPECIFIC NEEDS:
lajara itself.
-3-
FOR
THE
CHILDREN:
Of course, they
speak Spanish,
already become a Christian along with his other sister, his brothers,
and their father. Marza will soon be a Christian, too.
li m
If - li If f
September 16, 196Z
Tlrraepenaence issue'
"Y CONOCERES LA VERDAD, Y LA VERDAD OS HARA LIB RES" --Juan 8:322 "AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE"
--John 8:32
by Clinton Looney
jj^
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IPy
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elected to the Legislature of the State of Oaxaca. He became governor of his state, chief of the Supreme Court of Mexico and then President of the country. His years
were filled with poverty, hunger, imprisonments, exile and sufferings. He was one
of the men most hated in Mexico by the Catholic Church for his dream was to give
religious freedom to all Mexicans.Due largely to his labor, Mexico today has Cons titutional government with an article granting religious freedom to all. Sad to say, millions of Mexicans today bow to the authority of the Pope of Rome and the priests and trample this article and their own constitution beneath their feet. But all are not blind and memory is not dead. The main street of Guadalajara and of most large
Mexican Cities is Avenida (Avenue) Juarez. We pay tribute then to a great man, a
true patriot, a giant among men.I would urge the boys and girls of the U.S. to study the life of this man. To those of you who would like to have a genuine understanding of Mexico, read the two volume history by Elalph Roeder of Viking Press, New York
--"Juarez and His Mexico". Juarez once said; "I should like Protestantism to Mex-
icanize itself and win the Indians; they need a religion that obliges them to read and that does not force them to spend their savings in tapers (candles) for the saints". We too are trying to teach Mexicans to read--to read the precious word of God that they might be set free from sin. This is our hope for Mexico.
by Bill Morgan about 30 miles south of Guadalajara the picturesque fishing village of Chapala, basking in the sun along the shores of the largest
the artists and writers for inspiration. Your missionaries recentlyvistied Chapala forquite a dif~
ferent reason. We had an invitation to a man's
IgigjjjfeaEiaS^^fc^^HI^SBBBtafe^
Arriving at a stucco dwelling, we were made very welcome byour host, an elderly
man who rents horses to the tourists.He showed us around his patio and introduced us to the other members of his family.When we sat down to discuss theBible and to show some Biblical filmstrips, he sent for the neighboring families to join us. We we re thrilled as we looked around and counted about 80 face s, all smiling and waiting for the message we were about to bring. If you have seen the face of a hungry child, you have seen the expression we beheld that evening--the eager gaze of one hungry
for the Bread of Life--on each brown countenance.
Before the evening was over, we taught the group several Bible choruses, which
they sang with great zest and feeling. As we made preparations to leave they began
to urge us to come again. This we gladly promised to do, and with their cheerful "Hasta la vista" ringing in our ears, we drove away, thankful and optimistic about the beginning of the Lord's work in Chapala. But alas, our great hopes were doomed to disappointment. For on the appointed
date we returned to the stucco house to find not one of the group who had so hungrily
devoured our message the week before.In answer to our knock wewere told that the man of the house had gone to a fiesta, and when we asked when we should return,
the reply was "not at all". Brokenhearted we returned to the car wondering what could have changed the at titude of so many so quickly.Ayoung lad came toward us and asked if we would like to know why the people had not come. When told that we would, he said the local priest had told the people that we were Communists, and that if they dared to come to such a service again he was going to have their names published in the paper as
Communists, too.
And so goes the papal line in Mexico - - all who oppose Catholicism are Communists: there is no other ground. And for the fear of one man. 80 souls dare not return to hear that which they long to hear so very much. Freedom of religion is granted by the Mexican constitution, but for the vast ma jority of the Mexican people, there is no such freedom. For they are bound by ignor ance. superstition, and fear--a bondage that is hard to break indeed. Nonetheless, we are confident that the Gospel is still "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." Pray with us for these millions that they might know the Truth, and
"the Truth shall make them free".
MORGAN FAMILY REPORT
After a brief whirlwind speaking tour among some of our supporting churches in the eastern U.S., we are back in Guadalajara and plunged into the work of establish ing churches here in Mexico. In our recent travels we visited 19 congregations in 5 different states. We regret thatwe were not able to visit every church that expressed a willingness to have us, but we felt itunadvisable to be awayfrom the field too long at this time. We do appreciate so very much the Christian hospitality that was ex tended us everywhere we went, the offerings presented to us, and the interest and concern shown in Latin American evangelism. Our fellowship with the brethren on the Stateside of the borderwas truly refresh ing. Nevertheless, we are happy to be back in the work of evangelism here south of
HE LIVES
here, but 1 still like to go over to the Temple (Cath olic Cathedral) to worship where the saints are (the statues in the building). She was answered by Sister Margarita Casteneda, our oldest member who is now past 82. "You are free to go over there but remember that there is a big difference. Those gods in the temple have ears but they can't hearyour prayers. They have eyes but they can't see your needs. They have lips but they can't speak. Jesus Christ has ear s and he hear s; he has amouth and can speak; he has eyes and can see everything. Those gods of the temple are dead but Christ is alive and he alone can save your soul. Ac cept Him, Obey Him, Live for Him that you might be saved for eternity. "
Herein lies the difference between Christ and the
BAPTIZED
Since our return from the States, two have obeyed Christ in Christian
baptism. The mother and son shown here had faithfully attended the ser-
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About two weeks ago, we wrote our good friend and fellow minister, Larry Wigal of Jeffer'Bon Church of Christ, Rural Hall, N.C. asking him to be on the lookout for
a good used mimeograph machine.
Already we have received a reply.A good Gestener has been located, purchased, and will be paid for by the congregation. All of us here send thanks to these good folk, not only for the machine but also for the spirit of fellowship that goes with it. Jefferson Church faithfully supports both the Morgan and Looney families. With the development of their missionary program, they have grown spiritually and nu merically, and will soon enter into an extensive building program. We salute Larry,
his dedicated wife, Phyllis, and all of the wonderful friends of Christ back in the
Tarheel State.
the Rio Grande. Our return was made even more joyous by the fact that we had two
baptisms on the very first Lord's Day.
The children are settled again in school, and Dorothy, along with Melba Looney,
is back in her Spanish class. Clinton and Bill will return to language school Sept. 17.
After the heat of the summer in the States, the mild climate of Guadalajara is
very refreshing and provides us with new vigor for the work that lies ahead. We ask
for your continued prayers as we move forward in Mexico for Christ.
The Looney family has just completed the first year of missionary work in Mexico and Mary has completed the first year as our forwarding agent.
We are quick to say that she has done a better
job than we have. Many of you have come to know her through her acknowledgement of your offerings.
Stanford serves as a faithful elder of the con
together at Vansant, to have labored with them in the new congregation there, and now to continue
with them in fellowship through Mexican evan gelism.
Cook Family
Apartado Postal
Mexico"
1183
-
Guadalajara, Jalisco
SEND ALL OFFERINGS TO:
Mrs. W.S.Cook Box 278
Vansant, Virginia
i.
Clinton Looney
Mission to Mexico
Box 278
K
s.
Vansant, Virginia
Mail to: