Brethren and Friends,
Greetings in Jesus Name! Here’s an update on our stay and work here in Mexico. First a short note on our family. We are all doing well and for the most part have been in good health. We’ve had a little sickness but nothing compared to what we’ve experienced in the past. So we’re thankful for the good health the Lord has kept us in. The kids stay busy with home school and have started taking swimming lessons at the local indoor pool. It’s been good for them to have some activities to do here because there really aren’t that many things for kids to do in Rosarito. The nice thing is we’re close enough to California so we can sometimes cross the border and find other activities for them to do. That’s been a real blessing for us because it can be difficult for children in a place where they don’t know many kids and there’s not much for them to do.
MINISTRY
Since our last update we’ve had the opportunity to preach in many places. We preached at the border for a while but then noticed that there were actually several different ministries down there to preach and feed the people. We felt it was best to labor in other places where there weren‘t as many ministries “competing.” For a while, Braden and I were able to preach in a Drug Rehabilitation Center in which I preached the last time I was here. We had an open door and were able to share the gospel there for about two months. Braden was able to teach several times himself and also translate for me when I preached. We were definitely able to see the Lord use our time there to give men a concern for the state of their soul. One man named Adan has been a professing believer for many years (I remembered him from the last time we were here). He reads the scriptures regularly and knows much about the word of God. Most of the time you see him, he seems happy and joyful. Yet after hearing us preach for a while, he confessed to Braden that he was not sure that he was saved. He doesn’t remember a conversion or a changed life that followed. He just remembers being baptized and showed us his baptismal certificate. But after talking with him, he realized that he couldn’t put his hope in his baptism and needed assurance from God for his salvation. I was just glad he was willing to be honest about his condition and willing to question his salvation in light of scripture.
The reality is that so many people have the same testimony as Adan. They’ve been awakened to the truth about Jesus; they read the scriptures and may even have a decent knowledge of biblical things; they know the right words to say when they are around believers and can even be joyful; but they can never point to a time in their life when they “first” believed on the Lord and were made a “new creation”. They can’t recall a time when Christ was their “first love”, when they knew their sins were forgiven and they were cleansed before God. People often say that you can’t base faith on feelings. To a degree that’s true. Faith is based on an assurance of biblical truth. However, when someone believes unto salvation, feelings most certainly are part of their new birth experience. You cannot meet the Lord, have your sins forgiven, have your conscience cleansed, be made a new creation, and become indwelt by the Spirit of God WITHOUT having some sort of experience (feelings) from the Lord, and not just feelings for the sake of feelings. But when one is converted, there is a testimony of having a “first love”. A real first love for God elicits feelings and actions. In fact, leaving this condition is what the Lord rebuked the church in Ephesus for (Rev 2.4). You certainly can’t leave what has never been a reality in your life!
There are multitudes of professing believers who are in this place today. If people would only follow the exhortation in the scriptures to “test themselves” to see if they are in the faith, and to “make their calling and election sure”, they would find themselves able to move from a false faith into a true saving faith in Christ. Some people though are unwilling to think that they might not be saved. Every professing believer should be open and willing to examine their initial salvation, their subsequent lifestyle, and their current lifestyle in light of scripture. It’s better to see our current state before God than to continue on in a state of religious deception.
JAIL MINISTRY - ROSARITO
As I mentioned in our last update, we’ve been preaching in the local jail here in Rosarito. It has been beyond a blessing to preach to the men we see there, almost on a daily basis. There are some times when you preach that you can just feel the grace and presence of God. I truly feel that way almost every time that we go and preach at this local jail. On the weekends, Braden and I go there to share the gospel. Lately, when Braden comes down, he has been preaching and is getting very comfortable using his Spanish. During the week, I go almost daily to the jail with a new convert here who speaks English. Every day there are new men and women to preach to. Some people are innocent, and the police just put them in there; but there are also many people there who are addicted to alcohol and drugs. Many times we’ve shown up and seen heroin addicts shivering in sickness because of their withdrawals. Having once used a lot of heroin myself (even overdosing from it), I’m able to share with them the freedom there is in Christ and point out their greater need, which is forgiveness of sins.
A few weeks ago, I was preaching and explaining what the cross means to man, what it says about man and what is says about God. I was speaking on the love of God to forgive any man who believes because of what Christ has done, no matter what their sins were. When I finished preaching, one man wanted to talk more. He spoke English, so it was easy to talk. He began confessing his sins to me and wanted to know how God could forgive him. He was a heroin addict, and he confessed to having killed people while in that lifestyle. I wasn’t asking him to tell me these things; he was just openly confessing his sins because he wanted to be forgiven, if God would actually do so. I spent some more time with him helping him to understand what Christ did for us at the cross and letting him know that God could and would forgive his sin (and make him new) if he repented and believed. I prayed with him before we had to leave, and he seemed to have a little hope in his eyes.
There have been several occasions like this though. Sometimes we’ve had people, when were finished preaching, straightly ask us what they must do to be saved. Other times, men will ask questions and want to clear up doubts they have. And of course, there are always those who have no interest in what you are saying or those who are too drunk or high to care. Before we leave though, we also give the guys food, a gospel of John, and a tract and encourage them to spend the rest of their time in jail reading the word. But again and again, the Lord seems to give us such grace when we preach there. I always leave there full of joy and thanking God that we have free reign to go there as much as we like.
GOVERNMENT LETTERS
As I mentioned in our last update, Braden and I have been working on getting papers that would give us a little covering from the authorities for preaching. We haven’t really pursued it much on the national level but had a great door open up to us in Tijuana. Through one of Braden’s contacts at the US courthouse, we were put in contact with a man down here who is heavily involved with Mexican social work. In fact, when we went to visit this man, he was being interview by the BBC while we where there. Needless to say, we got bumped so he could do his interview, so we waited around until it was finished and then were able to meet with this man. It turns out that he is well connected with the TJ (Tijuana) government and was able to direct us to someone who could help us out. We walked across the street to a government building and met a man and explained what we were doing and what type of letter we wanted. He ended up typing us a letter that encouraged us in our work and gave us some level of legitimacy with the local law. So that was a blessing to have, even though at the time we weren’t doing any ministry in TJ.
DIRECTION FROM GOD - TIJUANA JAIL
Every now and then, the Lord will speak to me through a prophetic dream. In fact, it seems like the Lord has been doing this a little more lately. About a week ago, I had a dream from the Lord. In the dream, I was driving to a new jail to preach. It was raining outside, and I was taking this really long road to get there, but I knew there was a shorter way to get to the jail. I was going to the jail expecting to talk to just a few people, but when I got there, there were about 200 people. In the dream, I also wasn’t preaching to men in cells. They had taken some of the men out of cells and put them in a room with chairs, and I was able to preach the gospel to them. I woke up and knew it had meaning, but I didn’t realize it was about to play out right before my eyes. Since this was during the week, Braden was in California, so I was going to preach at a new jail with a local brother here. We had been referred to a jail in Tijuana by a man that I had met. A few days earlier, we had gone to this jail to get permission to preach there, which they granted. So I woke up in the morning and picked up this brother to head to this jail to preach. And just like in my dream, it was raining outside. We arrived at this new jail, and there was only one guy there. So we preached to him and had a great time of ministry. But after we were finished, the judge came out and wanted to talk to us. He told us that he knew another place that we should go to that has a lot more inmates on a regular basis. So he made a phone call and told this other jail that he was sending us over. He gave us directions and we headed to this other jail. It’s a larger facility right in the heart of Tijuana. We went inside and talked to one of the directors, and they said that we needed to come back on a Monday and talk to another man and submit what we’d like to do in writing. As we were leaving, I asked the brother with me to ask them how many guys they usually have there. They said about 200. It was about the same number of men the Lord told me in the dream. So we left and came back the following Monday. We met with the director, I showed him our paperwork from the TJ government, and they gave us the go ahead to preach there every week. Then they took us to a room filled with chairs, and they said that we wouldn’t be going to the cells (like we do in Rosarito) but that they would bring the men into this room and we would be able to preach and teach in there. Again, it was exactly what the Lord had shown me in the dream a few days before.
So this past Wednesday, I was to go and preach to about 40 men and will have the opportunity to preach to new inmates each week. It’s encouraging to know the Lord is directing your steps!
(Here's an outside photo of the jail)
As I mentioned in our last update, Braden and I have been working on getting papers that would give us a little covering from the authorities for preaching. We haven’t really pursued it much on the national level but had a great door open up to us in Tijuana. Through one of Braden’s contacts at the US courthouse, we were put in contact with a man down here who is heavily involved with Mexican social work. In fact, when we went to visit this man, he was being interview by the BBC while we where there. Needless to say, we got bumped so he could do his interview, so we waited around until it was finished and then were able to meet with this man. It turns out that he is well connected with the TJ (Tijuana) government and was able to direct us to someone who could help us out. We walked across the street to a government building and met a man and explained what we were doing and what type of letter we wanted. He ended up typing us a letter that encouraged us in our work and gave us some level of legitimacy with the local law. So that was a blessing to have, even though at the time we weren’t doing any ministry in TJ.
DIRECTION FROM GOD - TIJUANA JAIL
Every now and then, the Lord will speak to me through a prophetic dream. In fact, it seems like the Lord has been doing this a little more lately. About a week ago, I had a dream from the Lord. In the dream, I was driving to a new jail to preach. It was raining outside, and I was taking this really long road to get there, but I knew there was a shorter way to get to the jail. I was going to the jail expecting to talk to just a few people, but when I got there, there were about 200 people. In the dream, I also wasn’t preaching to men in cells. They had taken some of the men out of cells and put them in a room with chairs, and I was able to preach the gospel to them. I woke up and knew it had meaning, but I didn’t realize it was about to play out right before my eyes. Since this was during the week, Braden was in California, so I was going to preach at a new jail with a local brother here. We had been referred to a jail in Tijuana by a man that I had met. A few days earlier, we had gone to this jail to get permission to preach there, which they granted. So I woke up in the morning and picked up this brother to head to this jail to preach. And just like in my dream, it was raining outside. We arrived at this new jail, and there was only one guy there. So we preached to him and had a great time of ministry. But after we were finished, the judge came out and wanted to talk to us. He told us that he knew another place that we should go to that has a lot more inmates on a regular basis. So he made a phone call and told this other jail that he was sending us over. He gave us directions and we headed to this other jail. It’s a larger facility right in the heart of Tijuana. We went inside and talked to one of the directors, and they said that we needed to come back on a Monday and talk to another man and submit what we’d like to do in writing. As we were leaving, I asked the brother with me to ask them how many guys they usually have there. They said about 200. It was about the same number of men the Lord told me in the dream. So we left and came back the following Monday. We met with the director, I showed him our paperwork from the TJ government, and they gave us the go ahead to preach there every week. Then they took us to a room filled with chairs, and they said that we wouldn’t be going to the cells (like we do in Rosarito) but that they would bring the men into this room and we would be able to preach and teach in there. Again, it was exactly what the Lord had shown me in the dream a few days before.
So this past Wednesday, I was to go and preach to about 40 men and will have the opportunity to preach to new inmates each week. It’s encouraging to know the Lord is directing your steps!
(Here's an outside photo of the jail)
NEW CONVERT
Aside from preaching at the local jail, we’ve been spending time discipling and ministering to a new convert named Fernando. He was deported from the US and used to work in LA in the entertainment industry doing audio and video work. He’s been in Mexico a little under a year. I was put in contact with him through our landlord here. We’ve been able to spend a lot time together, and it’s been refreshing to be around a new believer who has sincere questions about the word of God. He goes to a local church here but spends a lot of time with our family, and he helps translate when I go to the jail during the week. It’s been neat to see him count the cost in following Jesus with decisions he’s having to make in his new life. I’m glad for the time that the Lord has put us together. He made a comment the other day that I want to share that I thought was very telling. Fernando comes from the entertainment industry. He’s been around a lot of money and a lot of different celebrities in Hollywood. He asked me one day if I was going to build God a temple (he meant a church building). I got to explain to him how a church building is not a temple but that believers in Christ are the temple of the Lord. I explained to him how the body is to interact with each other and how God is focused on the people. I also told him that the building isn’t per-se the problem, but what matters is what happens when the believers get together. Then he said “Sean, I’ve worked the production and entertainment industry, and the Sunday services look a lot like a production”. The truth is, in many cases, he’s exactly right. Many services have little in common with the scriptures and much in common with movie or entertainment production. I just found it interesting that a new believer with his background was able to see what so many cannot see.
BROTHER ISMAIL
Just wanted to post a recent photo of Brother Ismail. This is a new convert that they recently baptized who is a part of their home fellowship.
Just wanted to post a recent photo of Brother Ismail. This is a new convert that they recently baptized who is a part of their home fellowship.
TRIP TO NEW MEXICO
In April, we plan to take a trip and visit the land in New Mexico. It will be a nice break and we’re looking forward to fellowshipping with some friends who will be coming to visit us. There’s a possibility we may take another week and visit some brethren in a couple other states as well before we would head back to Mexico.
Thank you to all of you who keep us in prayer. If you will please continue to keep our ministry in Mexico and our upcoming trip in prayer. May the Lord bless you….
IN Christ,
Sean & Lisa Scott
RSS Feed