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Attempt by Smuggling Operation to Extort STM Comes with Death Threats

Incident has put this ministry on high alert

It was a day of celebration at the Spirit and Truth Church. For years the congregation had worked hard to raise money to build a new church. The old building constructed years ago flooded every time it rained; the walls were dilapidated, the ceiling was falling in. They had scraped together some money, but it wasn’t nearly enough to build anything.
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So there Pastor was (name withheld for security reasons,) standing before them to proudly announce that we had received a donation from a church in Louisiana. They would finally get to start building the new church! The crowd was elated; rejoicing was heard all around.

Within days the death threats began.

Extortion is running rampant in Mexico. Many business owners have closed up shop out of fear. Drug cartels are on the prowl; they look for any opportunity to take money and possessions from innocent people. Kidnappings for ransom and carjackings have skyrocketed.

It started with a phone call to Pastor who also serves as the president of our association in Mexico. On the line he heard a man's voice whose demand was clear: “I want that money. If you build the church, I will kill you.”

How he got the information about the donation, no one knows. How he got the pastor’s cell phone number, no one knows. But in this country even small bribes will lure some to do just about anything. Cartel spies are as plentiful as prickly pear cactus.

The pastor was not deterred. He tried reasoning with the guy; he tried talking him out of it. Nothing worked. The threats continued.

Oddly enough, the pastor has a family member who is in high ranking in one of the smuggling rings working in Mexico. His is just one of many working along the northern border. Each group is fighting the Mexican government and each other for control of lucrative drug smuggling routes into the United States.

“I know you’re doing a good work,” said the family member to Pastor. “I know you’re feeding kids and helping the community. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of this guy who’s bothering you.”

And that was the last that was heard from the extortionist. What became of him is anyone’s guess, but for now he has "disappeared."

Meanwhile, we’re keeping a low profile as we have no idea who’s tracking our activities. In fact, as soon as Pastor received the first threatening phone call, he took my name out of his cell phone in case he was ever kidnapped. He knew that if he was ever kidnapped, those holding him would go after the source of his funding (that being us) for the ransom. Since then he has put my number back in his phone, but under an assumed name for the protection of us both.

The threats that were experienced by the pastor are very real. On the day that we delivered the donated van to Mexico, the pastor's wife pulled Donna aside. With tears streaming down her face, she began. "We are very afraid of what these people might do to us. When we go out into villages to do the film ministry, we're putting ourselves in a vulnerable place. We've sat down with our children and explained to them that if anything should ever happen to us, this is how you reach Bro. Randy." She continued, "Please have your churches up north pray for us. I'm trying to be strong for my husband, but it is difficult. Please pray."

For now we cannot be seen together and our working relationship must be kept secret. When we meet with the pastor and his wife, it is in secure locations. This e-newsletter can be accessed from anywhere in the world. That is the reason that you don't see pictures of our work in Mexico in these articles. Names and exact locations have been withheld for our safety and that of our families.

The good news is that more donations have come in for the church. A church in Illinois was very generous to help us in this project. The construction is going great; the church is nearly finished.

More funding will be needed to start construction on the feeding center. Our Feeding Hungry Children program is operating well in the middle of all this construction, serving several hundred meals weekly. But because it is in the same building as the church was, the cooks stand in ankle-deep water to prepare meals anytime it rains. We desperately want to move forward with this second phase, but we'll need more funding to do so. If you would like to help us get these kids and cooks in a nicer facility, we would so appreciate your donation.

We have every bit of confidence that God will supply the need for the new feeding center. But for now we rejoice over the provisions that God has already made.

We ask that you continue to hold us up in prayer. The road we travel is a treacherous one, but with God on our side we stand firm on the Word that says “no weapon formed against us shall prosper.” Thank you for your understanding and support.

If you would like to make a donation to help us build the feeding center click here or on the Donate button at the top of this newsletter. You can contribute by credit card, debit card or checking account. You do not need a PayPal account. Or if you prefer to send your gift by mail, you may mail it to: STM  *  PO Box 2635  *  Mission, TX 78573-0044.

Thank you and may the Lord richly bless you!

Christmas 2010 was a fun-filled time for kids and adults alike at the STM churches and the surrounding communities. Your giving in December was very generous. Many children were blessed with toys chosen especially for them. We also presented the pastors and their wives with beautiful care packages and we gave the cooks that work in our feeding centers nice gifts as well.  We have a great group of leaders that are very dedicated to the work of the Lord. Christmas gives us another opportunity to show them that we love them.

At the Christmas banquet everyone was blessed with a traditional Christmas dinner of tamales. Yum, yum! That was followed by Christmas plays, singing of carols and of course, the giving of toys to the children.

This was a unique Christmas for us because we were not able to be present for the distributions due to the death threats. The pastors and church leaders had to do the distributions in our stead. The pastors told us that it would be best if we were not there and that it would be dangerous for our Suburban to even be seen in the villages. It broke Donna's heart and she cried because this was the first time in 22 years that we have missed a toy giveaway.

But the show went on without us and according to the pictures and reports, it went off without any problems. Thank you for making all of this possible. You’re touching many lives through your giving. We love you.

To send a contribution by mail please print and complete the donation form and send it with your check to:  STM  *  PO Box 2635  *  Mission, TX  78573-0044