Greetings to all in the name of Jesus! What a whirlwind the last few months have been! We have had many teams and individuals come alongside us, and these co-laborers have multiplied what we could do during this time! We have done 8 village trips over the last 7 months and are so grateful for these opportunities to serve and for each church group, physician, nurse, medical, nursing, and nutrition student, medical resident, and helper who has come to be a part of the medical ministry here over these months! We have also hosted an audiometry campaign in which many pairs of hearings aids donated by Cleartone Hearing Aids of Tulsa were individually fitted for each patient. What a tremendous blessing for those patients! Dr. Belen, the ophthalmologist, came in June and July, and we also are now receiving support for our patients from a Christian psychologist who is visiting our clinic twice a month. Praise the Lord for growth!
Drs. Cook, Wright, and families, Dr. Misael, along with our new Clinic physician, Dr. Enver Velasco and his wife Karen, our new administrator.
Drs. Dave and Mary Kay Ness are always such a help in our daily and village medical outreaches!
Ralph Classen ministering health in one of our Mixtec village outreaches,
Dr. Eric Lindsay in Tierra Blanca Loxicha, a Zapotec village, with medical students from his church team.
Another development in the clinic is a big answer to prayer with the help of many of you, Dr. Adriana was able to purchase a new, much needed dental chair recently! Her old chair no longer worked, and with the new chair she will be able to offer more services, including dental x-rays which will be a great help for her patients!
Dental work in the village with a makeshift chair and visiting dentist.
Our new dental chair. Now Dr. Adriana will be able to serve our patients much better, and without hurting her back with our old dental chair which no longer worked well. Thank you, Lord!
The team from New Life church of Houston, TX with the village pastor and his family. What a blessing they were here in the Chatino village of Tepenixtlahuaca and at the missions base!
The team from Elim Gospel Church of Lima, NY, and some Spanish School students and New Life Church (previous photo) did fantastic ministry with children, and served in the medical clinic.
Osteopathic physicians from the In His Image Family Practice Residency of Tulsa, OK working in our Mixteco Ixtayutla church.
In the Bible School, we graduated another class of students (1st, 2nd, and 3rd year Bible School and Music School), and in the Christian Multigrade School and the High School we also celebrated the graduation of several of their students from 6thth grade and from high school. Dave continues teaching classes in first and second year of the Bible School, directing and teaching in the Spanish School, and this year began serving as Superintendent over the Christian K-12 Multigrade bilingual school and the Mexican high school. We also are still holding the Sunday night meetings that we have done over the last years for seekers in the community who are interested but most of them not yet fully committed to following Christ. We believe that the seed of the Word being planted in their hearts will produce fruit and will draw them to Christ. Isaiah 55:11 says that God’s Word will not return void but will accomplish what He has purposed!
Hearing aids for many who came to be assessed and treated.
Melinda and Nohemi, doing extremely well in medical and dental school thanks to support received.
Some of this year’s medical, nursing, and nutrition interns with Laura, learning to do tropical medicine and blessing our area people with their skills.
Dave speaking to graduating students and parents at the Mulitigrade School graduation.
Also this year through the various Clinic outreaches we’ve ministered to approximately 7,000 patients so far, 1,500+ of them praying to receive Christ.
Our full time evangelist, Jesús, along with a Bible School student, ministering to a patient.
Thank you all for your very important part in each one of these activities through your financial support, your prayers, and through coming to be a part of what the Lord is doing here!
We’d like to share one quick story, one of many that we thank God for often here, this one about Rosita, a disciple of Pastor Carmela in Ixtayutla, who just finished Bible School. Carmela, a single woman pastor who is one of our Bible School graduates from about 16 years ago and is working in the very stark and difficult area of Ixtayutla, began training and discipling Rosita a few years ago. Rosita was first just a companion for Carmela, walking or more recently traveling by jeep, to many of the local villages to share the Gospel and hold Bible studies with and pray for the people of those villages. But as Rosita worked alongside Carmela, she learned from her and was discipled by her. David had the pleasure of being her teacher this year, and in July Rosita graduated from Bible School and is now back pastoring one of the churches that Pastor Carmela planted!
We rejoice over the lives God has changed and continues changing, and how these disciples are discipling others! If you feel called to support our ministry, there are many opportunities to help! We need to increase the monthly support for the medical clinic; most months we are only receiving about half of what is really needed for operational expenses for the clinic. Also there are students, both Bible School students and students going into university training, who look to us for help with their support, and we try to find supporters to help them. Those are just a couple of the opportunities among others to get involved through giving.
We thank you so very much for your part in these changed lives. We could not do what we do without your help. Thank you so much! God bless each of you in great and mighty ways!
David and Laura Nelson
Great blog post! Awesome to see the Lord working among His people and blessing the ministry. Praying for y’all
It’s so great to hear of the ministry of Pastor Carmela in Ixtayutla in carrying out the discipling vision of the base. I well remember the night the team that accompanied me to Ixtayutla and us having to spend the night there because the villagers had blocked the road to prevent us from leaving. The light is still and will always overpower the darkness.
I honor both Dave and Laura for their endless hours of ministry to the people of their area. I have spent approximately one year at the base over the last few years and I can attest to their dedication to their ministries. If you look up the word Servant in the dictionary don’t be surprised if it says: Laura & Dave Nelson. God richest blessings to them.
I totally concur with Josefina’s comments!
It was such a pleasure being in your presence for a couple of weeks this summer. You two are doing such good work. May the Lord bless you financially, relationally, in health and however else He sees fit. Thank you for all you do!
Thank you for sharing this beautiful and encouraging update. Thank you for your example of perseverance and commitment to your work of sharing medicine and Christ! Praise God for all He has done! Blessings to you both!
God bless you guys, With all spiritual blessings physical blessings emotional and mental blessings financial blessings blessings of great favor and blessings of transportation communication and lodging. Love and prayers,
FRAN
Laura & David,
what a wonderful awesome ministry!
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring GOOD NEWS!
We were so impressed to see all of the things that are going on at Roca Blanca. You are both continuing to do wonderful things there. We enjoyed visiting with you while you were at home.