Missionary Tom Montgomery Update

Covenant Baptist Church
P. O. Box 741
Broken Arrow, OK 74013

Dear Friends, May 11, 2010

We still have a number of folks dealing with trials and illness. We are thankful that Pastor German is recovered from his surgery. Our neighbor Paco, (who has worked diligently with the Spurgeon audio sermon project) will finally have his heart surgery this week. The doctors are now talking about changing up to 3 valves, so this will be a high-risk operation. We were able to raise the initial money for this from our Mexican churches and missions.

We are also grateful for a generous donation from the USA toward this and other medical needs. Most Mexicans have no medical insurance. The government-controlled socialized medicine is only used as a last resort, and is usually considered a desperate measure.
Lucy is a professor at the Polytechnic University and a member of our Leones mission. She has been suffering with a mysterious debilitating illness for the last few months. The doctors suspect MS, but have yet to confirm a diagnosis. We have a midweek Bible study that meets at her husband’s (Dr. Pablo) optical office. This couple was instrumental in helping to begin the mission in Aguascalientes.
In the last few weeks we began two more weeknight Bible studies in different areas of Mexico City. We also continue with a shorter Saturday morning Bible Institute. This is aimed at preparing men to hold evangelistic Bible studies in this metropolis of some 30 million inhabitants. We are presently looking at the opportunity of starting a new mission in Poza Rica, Veracruz (about 4 hrs away). A decision on this will be made in the next month or two.
We had good Institute sessions the last two months in Nicaragua and Guatemala. I am encouraged by the progress we are seeing in Guatemala. Pastor Luis Cruz (First Baptist Church of Guatemala City) is being used by the Lord to spread sound literature and invite more men to the monthly sessions. He has faced much opposition and persevered in this work. Pastor Luis has traveled extensively in Central America. He is presently trying to lay the groundwork for us to consider starting a new Institute in Honduras.
The situation in Nicaragua continues to be somewhat complicated. I preached last month in the new mission in Managua for Pastor Roberto Orozco. He faces the task of establishing a sound work in the midst of great difficulty. The two-day Institute session was on the doctrine of Justification by Faith. Most of the students had never heard of this doctrine. Their homework for the next session is to summarize our translation of John Gill’s treatise on this subject. The subject for the next Institute will be the doctrine of Regeneration.
We began this week the annual process of renewing our Mexican immigration papers. There have been some major changes in this process, so we are uncertain about how long this will take. This annual ‘ritual’ is always an unpredictable affair that we do not look forward to.
We have run up against a major problem in the process to enroll our daughter Carolyn in the UNAM University. We cannot get her high school transcripts from the USA until late June. Carolyn was home-schooled via Christian Liberty Academy in Chicago. The Mexican office that revalidates transcripts for foreigners will be closed the whole month of July. Carolyn already passed the admissions test, but must present her transcripts and other paperwork on July 20th. As a result, she may end up having to stay out of school until the fall of 2011.
We are having good services in the Leones (mini-mansion) mission. The purchase of the mansion is still on ‘hold’ due to the real estate crisis. Since we are not paying rent, the mission has been able to save a good amount toward this project. We are planning a special baptismal service in June. There are 12-15 candidates who hope to follow the Lord in this ordinance.

Missionary Tom Montgomery and Family