Missionary Tom Montgomery Update

Mexico Missions Covenant Baptist Church P. O. Box 741 Broken Arrow, OK 74013 Dear Friends, March 9, 2010 We presently have a number of folks dealing with trials and illness. Pastor German was recently operated on for kidney stones. Everything went well, but they left a catheter in him for three weeks. Our neighbor Paco, (who has worked diligently with the Spurgeon audio sermon project) is scheduled to have a heart valve changed in a few weeks. This is going to cost about $4,500 dollars at the special unit that does this (Cardiologia) here in Mexico City. Paco does not have any health insurance, so we are calling on our missions and churches here to help with this.

Bro. Allan (our full-time Spurgeon translator) was defrauded by the Social Security here. He was supposed to have a monthly pension of 18,000 pesos, but they are only going to pay him 4,500 pesos at best. This was just a straight up robbery, as they manipulated the figures to lower the pension amount. He was threatened that if he appeals they will lower the figures even more. He will still get medical care for life, but we are going to have to keep helping him some. We have had good Institute sessions the last two months in Nicaragua and Guatemala. Most of the pastors and workers who attend in Nicaragua have been taught a very superficial view of the Gospel. They have received little or no doctrinal teaching, and some are not even sure about the divinity of Christ. We are constantly asked if the Bible really teaches the ‘Preservation of the Saints’. Most of the ‘Baptist’ churches seem to hold to the Arminian view that salvation is always in danger and can be lost at any time. There are ‘women preachers’ everywhere. They try to justify this because of the years of war and the ‘need’ for the ladies to supply the lack of men. One Pastor from Managua (Roberto Orozco) is in the early stages of starting a new work. He was recently kicked out by the Assembly of God denomination for preaching a message on Election and Salvation by Grace. The situation with the Institute in Guatemala is better. We are presently in a series on Biblical Evangelism and the elements of Gospel preaching. Those who attend this Institute are struggling to put their churches in biblical order and some are starting new works. They face great obstacles in putting into practice what they are learning. These men really need your prayers. We have been given a unique opportunity to help in the planting of true Gospel preaching churches in Central America. I have been reading more on the history of Nicaragua. The USA seems to have been involved in a good deal of trouble there over a long period of time. This has created an ‘anti-gringo’ mentality and requires care and wisdom in order to avoid unnecessary offense. Folks in the USA only hear about what went on during the ‘Cold War’, but a lot happened before that. It is a sad story. Now Daniel Ortega and his buddies are on a mission to run every Capitalist out of the country. Gringo missionaries are looked upon with suspicion. The Government, under the guise of Christianity, is propagating “Liberation Theology” and “Social Justice”. Lissa and I traveled to on Feb. 14-15th to La Purisima (Irapuato, three hours north of Mexico City). I spoke three times on the subject of Stewardship. This mission needs to make a decision about purchasing a permanent meeting place. They have a good group of 25 men, but need to spend their resources wisely. They are helping with the newer mission in Aguascalientes and face a considerable weekly expense involved in this outreach. We continue to have good services in the Leones (mini-mansion) mission. I have been preaching a short Sunday series on the subject of 'The Gospel and Peace'. The Lord seems to be dealing with many regarding this issue. We continue to have a good number of new visitors. Most of these folks are hearing the Gospel for the first time. Missionary Tom Montgomery and Family