Hoff William Margy 1973 Mexico

THECHALLENGE

'Pn

Dreatnins CC^nt.)will reduce time that we need to produce ourradio program tapes by one-half and also enable us to offer the radio program to othermissionaries for transmission.

Indeed the Lord is able to do more than weask or think. And we ask your continuedprayers for the radio ministry and the correspondence courses and especially our labor invisitation that it will be fruitful in thework of the Lord.

A1?o Nuevo

A new year has arrived and although I havenever believed in New Year's Resolutions; I dofeel that the new year provides us with a timeto re-evaluate our contribution to the Lord'swork. As Margy and I reflected on the oldyear, we realized how richly we had beenbles5.ei._

We did not stop with reflections but we beganto look for ways that we could use to furtherthe outreach of the Kingdom in our part of Mexico. The results of our thoughts and prayerful considerations on the subject were these:first, we want to double the amount of callingwe are doing because we have been unable tocontact all of the recipients of the correspondence course; second, we hope to upgrade thequality of the radio program; third, we want toestablish a youth-oriented work in Queretarobecause we are reaching very few of the highschool or university students in the area; andforth, we hope to improve our usage of thelanguage as we attend our last three Spanishclasses.

Yes there is much we need, to do in this year.With the Lord's help and your prayer supportthis year can be one that will draw many to theLord.

A Prayer Bequest

Forty miles south of Queretaro is a citycalled San Juan del Rio. There is a churchservice held hefre every Sunday evening. Butafter three years of existence, most of thepeople still don*t seem to realize the love ofGod and His will for their lives. There isconstant friction and as the people hear newdoctrines they accept them without weighingthe doctrines against what the Word of Godsays.

For these reasons, we ask that you wouldpray for this congregation that they mightgrow in Spirit and in truth.

Fiestas

The Spanish word for party is "fiesta." Mexicans celebrate fiestas throughout the year butnone-seems quite as elaborate or as exciting asa Christmas fiesta.

We were priviledged to attend fiestas held intwo churches in the area. The first wasattended by members of three congregations.Bill drove 10 people from the church in Quere-taro to the town about ^ miles away.

There were about 35 in attendance. Followingthe introductions we sang a couple songs, had ashort Bible reading followed by prayer and thenhad our refreshments and played games. We leftrejoicing because of the Christian fellowship.

On Sunday, Decembeir 24th, the church in Que-retaro had two piriatas for the children of theBible school in the morning. All the kids tookturns swinging at them. As they broke, allscrambled for the candy, nuts, and fruit contained within. ^

During the evening service another pinata wasbroken as different young people v/ere present.Following this the entire congregation enjoyedtamales, fruitcake, and atole. Fellowship wasenjoyed by all.

Contributors

M/M Ralph SuiterPalm Springs, Ca.

M/M Chet StilabowerSunland, Ca,

M/M Richard ShineLas Vegas, Nev.

Mrs. E. J. PrenticeSouth Gate, Ca.

W. T. MerrickAvondale, Ariz.

li/K Robert LeggSan Diego, Ca.

M/M Richard BakerLa Crescenta, Ca.

M/M R. W. HoffRome, Ga.

yi/U R. L. HollenbeckLong Beach, Ca.

M/M Dave ConferOrviston, Pa.

M/M J. a. Brodie. Buckeye

Chapel of the StarsLas Vegas, Nev.

The Christian ChurchAtascadero, Ca.

Dominguez First Chr. Ch.Long Beach, Ca.

Lake Mount Ch. of ChristRogers, Ohio

New Hope Christian ChurchColumbus, Ind.

Adult Class, Vegas Valley-Las Vegas, Nev,

First Christian ChurchPhoenix, Ariz.

Vegas Valley Chr. Ch.Las Vegas, Nev.

Church of ChristVanderbilt, Pa.

M/M Ben.Hoff, Sr.Atascadero, Ca.

H/M T. L. BlakeLo s -Angele s, Ca.

FORWARDING AGENTS ADDRESS

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Baker2829 Stevens St.La Crescenta, Ca. 91214

FIELD ADDRESS

Mr. & Mrs. Wm. HoffApdo. Postal 741Queretaro, Qro.Mexico

BILL AND MARGY HOFF

Dominguez First Christian Church21300 Santa Fe AvenueLong Beach, California 90810

Non-profit OrganizationU. S. POSTAGE PAIDPermit Number 65?Long Beach, California

Mission ServicesP. 0. Box 177Kempton, Ind. 46049

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY AUGUST 1973

^onet

"Rain, rain, go away come again some otherday, we want to hold a revival tonight." Thiswas the thoughts, in the afternoon of May 17th,of those people who had worked so hard andprayed so diligently that the meetings for thenext three evenings would be a success.

These meetings were entitled "Qjmaeiit^igionCultural" and were held in Celaya, Guanajuato,'about ^0 miles from Queretaro. It was thefirst time an approach like this had been triedin the area. Would the Lord use these meetingsto bring people to Christ? This was the question in the minds of the workers.

Pour native evangelists and three missionaries had spent much time in preparation andprayer for the revival. Mexicans from variousareas were asked to be on the program. Somecame from as far away as Eagle Pass, Texas.

The planned program was a combination offilms (from Moody Bible Institute), Christianmusical groups and a powerful speaker. Themeans of advertising was by radio, soundtrucks, posters, and hand bills.

To insure at least a small crowd. Bill andNorm loaded their cars with Christians fromvarious congregations in the area. "But Lord,why the rain? It is pouring so hard. Won'tyou stop it or don't you want to?"

The first night brought a small crowd to thelarge rented building. As the evening progressed, it was evident that all still was notadequately prepared. The sound system was notworking properlj and the rock group from Quere-taro had,:i^îP^6me"^^B::^ the invitation wasgivent't^four people responds "Thank you Lordfor thesT^four;:' nviTTÊere be more tomorrownight?"

The four were visited the following day andthe advertising continued in Celaya. The youngpeople had to be reached.

The second evening the crowd was much betteralthough the building still wasn't filled. Theprogram progressed smoothly. When it came timefor the invitation, the people began to re-

^.ôndji .=and they continued and continued untilpeot^leâd come forward to learn more about

SrKrTat. -Wow Lord, you are powerful. Wepraise thy name tonight. How great you are."

There was one night left. Woiild the responsebe as good this last night. Of course, no oneknew. All concerned worked and prayed all day.

It was finally time to begin. A rock groupfrom Mexico City began the program. They hadelectricsO. guitars, amplifiers, and a P.A.system. About 15 to 20 minutes later, all of asudden everything was quiet and dark. Allpower had gone off. The fuse box was checkedbut the blackout was citywide. The peopleslowly became restless and many started walkingout. The program continued with regularguitars then the speaker began. It was hard tohear him in the large building that seated 600.

It was ^5 minutes after the lights went outthat they came back on. The workers began tolook around and discovered that the buildingwas full. The young people had gone out andinvited their friends. The film was now possible anS'*he^.,^y^ctHcal guitars could play onceagain.^"^Welvepe^lJie came forward that night."Thank yW-Iirord-^r-'tne total of i;6 people whocame forward." All these people have beenvisited and many have been baptized. Only the

/Lord knows the total outreach that was made bythese meetings.

Varied ActivitiesOur activities have been many and varied for

the past two months. The first two weeks ofJune were spent in our border trip to theStates and back- We went all the way to Phoenix to get new tires on our truck and to takecare of some necessary business since our forwarding agents had moved there.

Two days after we returned, the Dungans leftfor a 5 1/2 week trip in the States. Wepromptly began to cover some of their work.Margy took care of all the correspondence fromthe radio programs. My schedule was set up tohold meetings or visit people every day of theweek.

For one week all went as planned. Then suddenly it began to rain and it rained and rainedand rained. Queretaro hadn't received thatmuch rain in many years. My visiting was hampered because of this. The paved roads werefull of holes and the dirt roads were just mudand impassable.

The last part of June and July were spent inmaking the" radio tapes and seeing that theywere delivered.

We did a variety of odd .jobs as we tried tohelp the Dungan's maid and see that their housewas taken care of. Because Bob Wright and hisfamily were also in the States# we helped outin various ways at the orphanage.

Some time was spent in fixing up our houseDuring July we did a lot of entertaining. Wewere fortunate in having two families visit usfrom the States. We also had short visits byseveral missionaries and native evangelists.

We would be more than happy to have you payus a visit. Why not plan on spending your nextvacation in Mexico. The airplane, train, orbus are all good transportation to Queretaro orMexico City. We would be most happy to showyou our work and show you some of the sights inour area. Just inform us ahead of time thatyou are coming.

CONTRIBUTORSM/M Richard BakerMrs. G. W. Brandon

M/M Houston FarmerM/M Ben Hoff, Jr.M/M Ben Hoff, Sr.Mr. Carl Hoff

M/M R. W. HoffMrs. Dorothy KnappM/M Robert LeggM/v! W, T. MerrickM/U Henry D. PelhamMrs. E. J. Prentice

M/t/I Richard ShineM/M John StapletonM/M Ghet StilabowerM/M Ralph Suiter

Adult Class, Vegas ValleyLas Vegas, Nev.




First Christian ChurchReno, Nev.

Glendale Christian ChurchGlendale, Ariz.

Lake Mount Ch. of ChristRogers, Ohio




Women's Council-DominguezLong Beach, Ca

FORWARDING AGENTS ADDRESSMr. & Mrs. Richard BakerP. 0. Box 489

^^Goodyear, Ariz. 85338FIELD ADDRESSMr. & Mrs. Wm. HoffApdo. Postal 57Queretaro, Qro. Mex

OUR FORWARDING AGENTS HAVE MOVED.PLEASE NOTE THE NEW ADDRESS IN ARIZONA.

BILL AND MARGY HOFF

Dominguez First Christian Church21300 Santa Fe AvenueLong Beach, California 90810

Mission ServicesLt. Box 177

Kenpton, Ind. 46049

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Non-Profit OrganizationU. S. POSTAGE PAIDPermit Number 65?Long Beach, California

SP 41S23

THECHALLENGE

7

PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY

^ Marfti ^

OCTOBER 1973

ScMuHCft ^CUfMti4.A week before summer camp I took the woman who was to be

the cook and we went shopping. Our list included 120 lbs- ofbeans, 200 lbs. each of potatoes and sugar, 720 eggs and many

i ^ I ? A\hi

COOKS IN GAMP KITCHEN

"small" purchases. I^

progressed, I spent mostof my time moving supplies to the island.

Then came the big day. I went to San Juan del Rio andpicked up 15 people while Norm gathered a carload from Quere-taro, then we left for camp. Everyone was able to cross thecauseway on foot, though Wr-^boated in their things. Wheneveryone had"'--^rrived on the island, we took a count. Therewere 80 camperis and 20 more staff members. After the youngpeople had been fed our first chapel service began. I missedtM^-serviee-'-'due ^c^rust-in-th-e-^^s-tank of the light plant.I was soon calling it a "dark" plant i of in raptt^m^;but I had much less trouble with it ^ BAPTISMS

was entertariTiment by" t^ie youngpeople.CrTom.Gary then led some fabulous singing. Arturo^Samirez gave I . ^the message then the evening closed Hwith a prayer circle. The after-noon sports included basketball,volleyball, socker, and swimming, -JUwhich were enjoyed by all. r /

We had rain every night whichusually began shortly after chapelstarted. Throughout the summer the j -rain had been constantly soakingthe adobe walls of the old hacienda

1 OF 10 BAPTISMS

THE FALLEN ADOBE WALL

enced great growth in theirChristian lives and there were

10 young people baptized into Christ. Young people are thehope for Christ's church here in Mexico.

THE CHARTED BUS THAT TOOK 4-2 PEOPLE TO THE CONVENTION

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Just four days after the camp ended. Norm, Margy, and Ialong with 39 young people left for the 10^^fetefe4reaa7-.^ôut]^C^nven-t-iorr -i^târltiiLO-. The chartered bus t^ybk us the 4o6miês north.

^ The convention was all that had been hoped for in terms of/fellowship, teachings and inspiring music. The 800 youngpeople who attended came with a wonderful spirit of love that

-made the whole convention a great success.Bro/; Dean Gary of San Jose Bible College gave a series of

3 lecttoes on^love, sex, and marriage in relation to today'syoung people. The singing was fabulous and the special singing groups added their personal testimonies in song- Onegroup that came was "Los Latinos," a professional Christianrock group from Los Angeles, Calif. Their programs were abig "Jiît" with the young people and their music even got ourbus drivers to listen to the "message of love."

.Roberto Flores was the evening speaker. His powerful mes-sa'ges- from the Word bro^g];it^seven,-^.young people to Christ.One of these was a teenage girl "~'who attends services in SanJuan del Rio. But besides the conversions, the greatest partof the National Youth Convention was the upbuilding ofChristian young people from all over Mexico. The youth hereneed to know that they are not the only ones trying to followthe Saviour and the convention did this. We thank God forthe wonderful job done by the organizers this year.

CONTRIBUTORSM/M Art Wain

South Gate, Ca.y[/U Steve Thomason

Glendale, Ariz.M/lvi Wesley Tottingham

Atascadero, Ca.Mrs. Gertrude Wiley-

Forest Falls, Ca.M/^ Chet Stilabower

Sunland, Ca.Mrs. G. W. Brandon

Athens, Ga.M/M Richard Shine

Las Vegas, Nev.Mrs. E. J. Prentice

South Gate, Ca.U/yi Ben Hoff, Sr.

Atascadero, Ca.M/^ Robert Legg

Lemon Grove, Ca.M/^ W. T. Merrick

Avondale, Ariz.MA Ben Hoff, Jr.

Atascadero, Ga.fH/yi Ralph Suiter

Huntington Beach, Ca.

Women's Council-DominguezLong Beach, Ca.

The First Church of ChristBarberton, Ohio

Central Christian ChurchReno, Nev.




Glendale Christian ChurchGlendale, Ariz.




Lake Mount Church of ChristRogers, Ohio

Adult Class-Vegas ValleyLas Vegas, Nev.

m/yi Richard BakerGlendale, Ariz.

FORWARDING AGENTS ADDRESS FIELD ADDRESS

Mr. & Mrs. Richard BakerP. 0. Box ^89Goodyear, Ariz. 85338

Mr. & Mrs. William HoffApdo. Postal 57Queretaro, Qro., Mexico

Glendale Christian ChurchP.O. Box 415Glendale, Arizona 85311

MlSSIOir SEKV3CCSS ^ -BOX 177 ... ^ /;--KEMPTON, IHDIAKA 46049

; ;

BULK RATEU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #36

Glendale, Ariz.

PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY

^ MarsiV:l^R 41C74

FIELD ADDRESS

Mr. & Mrs. William HoffApdo- Postal 57Queretaro# Qro. Mexico

FORWARDING AGENTS ADDRESS

Mr. & Mrs. Richard BakerP. 0. Box ^89Goodyear* Ariz. 85338

DECEMBER 1973

BACK TO SCHOOL

It was school days for us the first three weeks of September. We studiedthe third course in our intensive series of Spanish in Mexico City. Billis progressing real well in speaking the language. He is able to use thepresent, past, and future tenses. Our church members say that I am doingbetter. I know that I still need a lot of practice. One of the teenagegirls that attends the church here is coming to our house once a week tohelp me with my Spanish and I am helping her with English.

THE PEOPLE RECEIVED THE WORD

There were three large tract distributions in the past few months. Thefirst took place on Mexico's Independence Day (September 15) in Mexico City.Bill helped hand out 105000 tracts entitled "Viva Mexico" in the Zocalowhere the president of Mexico appears each year and repeats the traditionalcry of liberty.

The second opportunity we had was new and exciting for us as we handedout 3500 tracts right in front of our house and along our street. As welive on the only road that leads to the cemetary, thousands of people walkedby our house on "Day of the Dead" (November 2) to put flowers on the gravesof their relatives.

Four of the young people from the church along with Bill and I handedout the tracts entitled "Tu hermano volverS a vivir." (Your brother willreturn to life.) It was the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. We wouldhave easily been able to pass out 10,000 if we would have known and purchased them earlier.

Were they readily received? One lady asked me for half of what I washolding to hand out. Of course, not all of them were so readily received.Some people tore them into little pieces and threw them on the ground infront of us. We weren't discouraged though as the Scriptures say "My Wordwill not return void."

The third occasion for passing out tracts was during the QueretaroState Fair. This lasted from December 9th through the l6th. The Dungansand we rented a booth using the theme "SmileGod Loves You." The firstday President Luis Echeverria came by the booth and shook hands with oneof the men there and was given a tract which he acknowledged. There werea total of 17000 tracts handed out during the week. Even though we werein the States and unable to attend the fair, we hear that it was successfuland many responses have been received.

PRAISE THE LORD NEWS

The month of October was a very busy, trying, but exciting time forall of us here in Queretaro, Two baptisms took place out at the Wright'sorphanage during this month. On October 25th an American lady, Jean, wasbaptized as a result of reading the book of Acts and discovering she hadn'tobeyed her Lord in this regard. Because of her concern for fellowship withother Christians, a 'share** group has been started on Wednesday mornings.A lady that used to be a neighbor of the Dungans regularly attends thisgroup. Jean has invited some of her friends and slowly the group is growing. The emphasis for this group is prayer. We all write down requests andwhen they have been answered we note the date. It is a very rewarding time.

The second baptism was of a young lady that attends the church in Que-retaro. She was baptized on October 28th when over 55 people went out tothe orphanage for a combination 2nd-anniversary-celebration-for-the-home andworship service. This was a day of fellowship and rejoicing. The Lord hasreally tested the Wrights in the past couple of years and they have provedfaithful. The well was completed and the pump put in the first part ofJune. The well is ^00 feet deep and pumps water at the rate of 20 gallons

-per iTri-nute.A-small garden-is--bei-ng plannedr for this year because the -watejris now available.

CONTRIBUTORS (SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER)Mrs. G. W. Brandon-Athens, Ga. M/M Ralph Suiter Huntington Bch, Ca.U/m Richard BakerGoodyear, Ariz. Mrs. Gertrude WileyForest Falls, Ca.

Ben Hoff, Sr.Atascadero, Ca. Mrs. Golda Wolford Long Beach, Ca.M/M Richard ShineLas Vegas, Nev. Mrs. Lizzie McCreary-Long Beach, Ca.V[/y[ W. T, MerrickAvondale, Ariz. M/W Chet StilabowerSunland, Ca.M/M Leroy Shreve Ljmwood, Ca. Mrs. E. J- PrenticeSouth Gate, Ga.M/lvi Ben Hoff, Jr.Atascadero, Ca. Mrs. Leonard YeagerMill Hall, Pa.M/M Dean Confer Mill Hall, Pa. Mrs. Maud H. ConnerAthens, Ga.M/M Robert Legg Lemon Grove, Ca.

Grindstone Christian Church Grindstone, Pa.Christian Church of Hopwood --Hopwood, Pa.Lake Mount Church of Christ Rogers, OhioThe Christian Church Atascadero, Ca.Church of Christ Vanderbilt, Pa.Vegas Valley Christian Church- Las Vegas, Nev.New Hope Christian Church Columbus, Ind.Glehdale Christian Church- Glendale, Ariz. " "" First Christian Church Phoenix, Ariz.Dominguez First Christian Church Long Beach, Ca.Adult ClassVegas Valley Las Vegas, Nev.Women's CouncilDominguez --Long Beach, Ca.

Glendale Christian ChurchP.O. Box 415Glendale, Arizona 85311

MISSION SSKVICESBOK 177KKMPTOTJ, INDIM5A 46049

BULK RATEU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #36

Glendale, Ariz.

Documents

Hoff William Margy 1973 Mexico