Who, me?

I wanted to take a minute and tell you about a ministry opportunity that God presented this morning.

It's not an opportunity for us.

It's not even here in Orizaba.

This could be an opportunity for you.

"Who, me?"

Maybe. Why don't you take a minute, stop reading and pray that if God wants to use you in this situation He will burden your heart and make His will clear. Go ahead, the rest of this blog will wait for you to finish........

This morning Sheri and I took Tyler to the school that he will attend this fall. We met with his teacher and the principal. While we were in the principal's office, she began asking us about our home in the US. It was obvious that she was inquiring for a specific reason.

Eventually she revealed that she has been looking for a family in the US that would be willing to let one of her sons come and stay with them for a little while. She wants him to see the States, learn English and experience the culture there. She went on to explain that she'd even like to find a family with a boy around her sons age that would send their son to Mexico to live with them for a while to learn all about Mexico.

Basically, she asked us if there would be anyone that we know that would be interested in hosting her son and/or sending their son to live with her family.

Immediately I thought this was a great idea! What a way to establish a relationship with this family and ultimately expose Jesus Christ to all of them. Think about it: she could send her son to the States to live with a family without Christian values but wouldn't it be great if someone saw this as a "Kingdom Opportunity" and allowed God to use their family to expose this young man to the gospel of Christ?

What an opportunity it would be for us to be able to share the gospel with this woman and the rest of her family if we were able to locate a home for her son to be in while in the US.

Perhaps you're reading this and God is tugging at your heart.

"Who, me? God I can't do this....it's.....unreasonable."

When she shared her burden with me I had this overwhelming feeling that God had already prepared someone in my "circle" for this specific job.

I don't know who God will use.

I don't know if it will be you.

All we ask is: will you pray with us about this family and this opportunity? Pray that God would burden someone to host this young man. Pray that this situation would allow us to share the gospel and love of Jesus Christ with this family. Pray: "God, is it me that you want to use?"

"Here am I Lord...." (Isaiah 6:8)

A Call For Help

We have a ministry opportunity here in Orizaba but we need some help.

The men here are very interested in playing softball and we have an opportunity to start a league. While it would be a lot of fun, even more importantly, it would be a great opportunity for us to meet more men, establish relationships with them and expose them to the Gospel.

Here's where you come in:

Softball is not, nor has it ever been, a popular sport in this area so it is almost impossible to find equipment. In fact, none of the men we've talked to own a glove and we've been unable to find them in stores. So, we need help obtaining equipment in order to be able to organize softball games.

Currently, I have 1 set of bases, 1 bat, 2 softballs and 3 gloves. We are looking for anyone who might be able to donate some equipment.

We need gloves: new or used, but preferably of larger size so that they can be used by men.

We need bats: new or used....preferably aluminum softball bats, but honestly we can use anything.

We need softballs: the two we have surely won't last long.

We could use more bases: the more sets we have, the more games we can run at the same time.

We need your help!

We are returning to the States at the beginning of March and would love to be able to bring some equipment back with us. If you would like to help and have some equipment to donate, here's what you can do:

Within the next couple of weeks (to ensure items arrive in time), mail any items to our sending church:

Ashland Ave. Baptist Church

c/0 Brad Jones

4255 Ashland Ave.

Norwood, OH 45212

All items received before the first of March will be brought to us while we are in the States. If you are unable to send equipment but would still like to get involved financially, you can send checks to:

BBFI Missions

c/o Brad Jones

PO Box 191

Springfield, MO 65801

and in the note write "Softball Equipment"

In advance, we would like to thank you for your interest in our ministry and for your willingness to get involved!

For the Sake of THE Call,

Brad Jones

Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico