I Cor 1: 4 – I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus.
We are so grateful for each of you, for the giftings and graces God has placed in each one and for your willingness to be co-laborers with us in our work in southern Mexico! We apologize for not getting reports out as regularly as we should, but please know that we do not take lightly your faithfulness and generosity in supporting us and the work of Roca Blanca. You are each an integral part of what we do!
In 2025, we have hosted 22 teams so far, and have more coming in the fall.
We saw approximately 6,077 patients last year (I say approximately because there are often patients added on that did not get counted).
And 411 of those 6,000 patients prayed to receive Christ! And we know that is what will bring lasting results in their lives! So we are very grateful that we are seeing both physical and spiritual fruit from the medical work.
I could not begin to give a comprehensive report of all of the outreaches, so will give you some highlights of what has happened recently and where we are going.
One big thing that has happened recently is that God is opening doors in the state of Guerrero! Guerrero is the state which borders Oaxaca on the west side. Bro. Duane has had the vision of reaching into the state of Guerrero for many years. One reason that this state is so strongly on his heart is that he was there in a small village in the state of Guerrero seeking the Lord for what He wanted to do here in Mexico, when God spoke to him about starting a long-term work in Mexico. God told Duane that He was going to raise up a work in Mexico, and that He would also raise up a work in Kansas that would supply the needs in Mexico. And that is exactly what happened! From Guerrero, Duane traveled on into the state of Oaxaca, and it was from contacts made in Oaxaca that he was able to continue returning and working with the churches that had been established in Oaxaca and to found the Roca Blanca Missions Base and begin the work that continues on today, about 50 years after Duane’s making those initial contacts.
For many years Bro. Duane has had this burden to take the Gospel into the state of Guerrero, but the timing has never seemed right, and there has been much opposition in the villages there to the Gospel because of their traditions, religion, demonic influences, and fear of anything new coming in. But now it seems the time is right! A church has been established in Ometepec, Guerrero, a larger town there. And recently, in the month of May, we had a medical campaign as part of a larger campaign with food distribution, home visitation, and evening open air evangelistic meetings. There were meetings for youth, marriage teaching for couples, and general evangelistic meetings. There were great results – many people came out and many people responded! There were 147 salvations and some who were reconciled to the Lord during the week of outreaches. So we are beginning to form a beachhead there to be able to reach out to more towns and villages in Guerrero!
Also, in a town in Oaxaca but very near the border of Guerrero, we have been able to plant a church over the last couple of years that can also serve as a sending base to send people further into the state of Guerrero. That is in the town of La Boquilla de Chicometepec. When the Gaines Chapel Methodist Church was at Roca Blanca recently, their team did an outreach to a new town near that church – it was the first time we had visited that town – and offer medical help, outreach to the children, and prayer for the patients and children who came out for that outreach.
So, all that is to say, that God is beginning to open doors to us, in particular, in the area of Guerrero and near Guerrero and these outreaches I shared about are a part of a larger work that God is doing in that area.
The nursing School is still in the planning and construction phase. Getting the permission for the school is going to be a longer process than we had realized, so the target date for starting classes is now September of 2027. Please pray for our process of getting everything ready to submit for the permits. But the good news is that the building is almost finished! Just some finishing details, and then furnishing and equipping it. One of the rooms in the nursing school will be used this year for our Health Workshop that we give for the Bible School students as part of their Trade School training as soon as the room is finished up and furnished!
Many of you have greatly blessed us with support for our university students who have come out of Roca Blanca. This year Belén, whose parents both work for the Missions Base, graduated from Medical School! She is currently doing her internship in another state, but we are very proud of her for her accomplishment!
Both Grace Hernandez, a graduate from our multigrade school, and Irlanda, a graduate from our Mexican High School who also is in the orphanage on the base, have only this year and one more year of medical school, then their internship. All three of these young women have a heart for the Lord, are active in the church, and desire to use their training for God´s glory. So we anticipate God using them greatly in their profession!
We also have three graduates of our schools who finished degrees in education this year! Abdías Rodriguez and Citlali Perez (graduates of our multigrade school), and Laurita Ramirez (graduate of our Mexican high school) all graduated from universities with a degree in education and are serving in our schools on the base now.
Thank you so very much to all of you who have sown into our educational fund to help these students!
The Spanish School is going strong, still offering the language mixed with cultural appreciation and integration to dozens of students this year so far. Recently reviewing some of the fruit of the school we’ve realized that among our graduates we have many full-time missionaries ministering among various ethnic groups in Mexico, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Africa, the middle east, etc. Some are church planting, others medical ministry, two that are in charge of missionary care within their own mission organizations, and more. All this encourages all of us in the Spanish School a great deal!
In the town of Cerro Iglesia, there is a small mission church we were invited to visit, and they told us that in a neighboring town named La Matraca, there were no believers. So some of our team went to visit that town and distribute food bags to their houses, and found some of the people very open to the Gospel. Also a few people from that town came for medicine. The first day, 2 people from that town accepted Christ, and the second day between evangelism with the food bag distribution and the clinic, there were 12 people who had accepted Christ! So there are the beginnings of a new church plant there. So these village outreaches serve many purposes, but our long term goal is to start new works to reach more people.
We want to say thank you again for all you have done for us personally, for the orphanage, for the medical students and other areas of the ministry all to help the Kingdom of God to grow and extend to new areas in Oaxaca and Guerrero, Mexico. You have made a difference and we are very grateful!
Personal News
We want to let you know that Dave is having coronary bypass surgery on Tuesday, August 19th here in Corinth, Mississippi where Laura´s family lives and her brother and nephew are physicians in the hospital that Dave will be in. So, we could not be in a better place to discover this need and get it taken care of. Dave is surrounded by doctors and nurses in the family here (not just Laura – there are others!), so we have no doubt he will be well taken care of! We will have to be here for about 2 months of recovery, which we are not excited about, but we have great people keeping everything running in Oaxaca and are confident both that everything goes well with the surgery, and that everything is being well covered back in Mexico. We appreciate your prayers!
May God´s great and precious promises, His lovingkindness and faithfulness , and His peace be very real to you in these days. He is so good to us!! Much more than we could ever think or imagine!
We love and appreciate each one of you.
In His Love,
Dave and Laura
Needs:
- Continuing student support for the university students (Grace, Haney, Irlanda)
- Continuing support for the medical ministry — finishing details of the nursing school building and furnishings and equipment there (MAC computer and printer).
- Support for the new High School construction
- Prayer for God´s clear direction for the coming year and that He will lead us and open doors for the continued growth of His Kingdom in Oaxaca, Mexico.