ss

ALUDOS!THE BILL HOFF FAMILYAPARTADO POSTAL NO. 57QUERETARO, QRO. MEXICO

THE NORM DUNGAN FAMILYAPARTADO POSTAL NO. 7L\lQUERETARO/ QRO. MEXICO

NEWS OFfhe [NHUEnCE OF CHRIST IN CENTRAL MEXICOPUBLISHED QUARTERLY VOL. 11, NO. 3 FEBRUARY, 1980

Th iNFtUEuee OF One Ufs

"... worldly standards have ceased tocount in our estimate of anywere to meet him on the stree^^^rgarito]^would seem no different from ai5"^^T5EHer--^young man frcm a small village. And so itseemed to us that first day he knocked atour door.-He had heard the radio program "Dulces

Homentos" and had sent for the free Biblecorrespondence course we offer at the endof each program. And now he was at ourdoor to leam more. But it did not takelong for us to realize that there wassomething more to this young mem than metthe eye. At 17, he already had a maturitythat memy fail to reach in a lifetime. Hecame back many times after that firstvisit, and always with questions. His onegoal in life was to find God's will forhis life and then to do it.

We invited him to camp that summer, andthere he gave himself fully to Cturist inbaptism.. From the beginning, Margaritotook seriously the commandment to "loveGod and your neighbor." He was instrumental in widening and putting cobblestoneon the streets of his village. He saw aneed for employing sane of the men in thevillage cuid was a leader in beginning acooperative to teach them carpentry. . Thewood was already available in the mesquite

trees that grew nearby. His compassion forhuman need was great, and it extended toboth soul and body.

When the cooperative finally had a building for their work, he invited the churchin Queretaro to meet there with those hehad been speaking to of Christ. We wentone evening and were surprised at the number of people fran the village who cameout. Margarito had been a great influencein each of their lives. His love was beingfelt in a great way.

Less than a month ago, we had the privilege of hearing Margarito's first sermon.It was a notable event in that it was athis own father's funeral. He said that hehad not really prepared ithe just spoke\irtiat the Spirit led him to saybut it hadthree definite points: (1) All of us oneday will meet the same fate as my fatherdeath and judgment by God. (2) If we wantto be in a right relationship with God, wemust come to know him by the only means Hehas esteJalishedHis Son, Jesus Christ.(3) If we want to know how to do this, weneed to study the Bible, God's Word to man.

After this, he offered to give a freeNew Testament to cmy who wished one.Needless to say, we were all moved totears.

(Continues on page 2)

The beautiful part of this story, however, was to cone a short time later.Margarito baptized his mother euid twoother members of his family. And therehave followed over thirty laore baptismssince then.

God has greatly used one young roan whoby the world's standards is nothingspecial, to show to others that everyoneis special to God.

"But-some seed fell on good soil andgrew and produced a cropa hundredtimes what had been sown."

sac DtK

COMMON GOALS

The National Biblefounded in 1974 with the

Institute was fr

PERSONAL GLIMPSES FAMILY AFFAIRS

b/e had a btjuu but znjoyabtz 6taytn the States the JtatteA pant o^'79,CoJL tAjouble deZcufed ouA HjituAn aJUttte, but m voenz happy to oJuUvehome die second o^ Vecmben..

OuJi lamity waA kept busy p/tepa/t-Xjig ^on. ChAZ&tmai, 1 dUcjovefvid thathav^ a baby to cote ^oA. and d ^veyeoJL old to teach kept me ^Aoni doXngmany thCng^ that J had planned, Idid manage to gXi/e 10 boxes oi djook--U/i 06 gl^ and auddnztti about 60ChfU&tma& caAd6 vUth note& Jun them*

ChAAMtmajb um a ^un time ^on. all0^ U6. Even though Rebecca um on^5 month& old, 6he toKz 6ome o^ thepapzA on hen. pnje&ent&, MaJik m& anx-loujSi to heZp hefL and made qwLck m/ck0^ opening hC& own gt^ta. (tie 6penta loveJbf a^ennoon uUth the Vungan&that day.

Bill and I aAe teaching Mo/tfe kin-defvgajvten Cjou/uei thAough a cjOKfuei^-pondence school. He am veAjy anxZou&to Jvead, He attend^k a edenaZ kln-deAgaAten hene a& well, MaAk leoAnedto Jiide the blcy^e that he got ^oaChAlitma& An a veAy ^hont time,

Rebecca Zi noio 7 1/2 months oldand AM 'Still chubby, Monk Jijs veAyspecial to hen.. His entrance Into^e noom pnoduc.es a big ^mile ^mhen. She "makes time" In hen ufalken.She loves to cAumble plastic andpapen. Also playing with the telephone cond Is a ^avoAite pastime.She Is a blessing to ouA family.

Hiay God give you the peace andhappiness that only comes thwaghknowing him, ()}on*t you. Apend alittle time in pnayen towand thegnowth oi the LondU

I am cutting in my kitchen enjoying the waAmth o the beautiful sun-Jsnijxe 6tneaming thnough the windowas I Walt ^oA a cake to iinlsh baking. And I've been thinking that'Some o the most beautiful expenl-ences oi tiie aAe ^uch simple things.

Foa example, last night vAiiletucking Nathan into beda^teA theusual htoniy, dnink o^ wateA, hug-eveAybody noutinewe weAe Aeady ^onpnayen u^en Nathan ^aid,"Jesus lovesme." Needles6 to hay, ike teoAs weneAtAong in my eyes as he .talked tohis "^Uend."

Oa the othen day a^en Heathenand 7 had had a long talk about apnoblem ^he-was having. Then sheAeached out and hugged me and 6aid,"Mom, yoa'nz 6o nice to talk to."Morn teoAS, How exciting it is to6ee OUA childnen gnowingmentally,physically, and 6piACtually.

Nonm came caAAying home a ull-length miAAoA the otheA day.I hadn'tmentijoned wanting one (that 7 cannememben), but he saw it and thought7 would like itand 1 was Aemindedagain o what a blessing oun mxA-niage has been to me.

The giggles o^ both Nathan andHeathen as they "snake" down thestains togethen, Nonm's going out inthe nain (when he has a cold) tolight the hot waten heaten which hasbJ&wn out, Nathan's dally monningannouncement"I'm awake',",Heathen'spnide in fixing hen own haiAtheseand so many othen thoughts comeflooding into my mind as I sit hene,7 gujess 7 should bake, monz cakes'.

p? COt') c

>c Ujah-i l-lo o1

tnI-*

oC> r-3r > w

O

w

CO

> CD *0 O CDo | >o m o o c.73 z t o(/) > 03 rtn r O m o

m X z Xn o 73O -P- > i-H

> l- (/)70 M VI m -Im 1I

o o >-1 CO X z1t

o K-1 3z 1' iA 1-4

!--i to1I to

m > 1-4jO z Oc z

m o

to n:H cm 73o 0

1

o G 1t) J

(D a ui ra

a 3 0 3(U p- >

Hw

H ft d 1(D

4t:o

U) 3 a0* > m

> on

A

Praijer n Praise"In everything give thanks."

Give thanks with us for;

* an 80-year-old woman who wasbaptized in an Indian village.And that even in the midst ofpersecution there have beenother confessions of faith.

* a successful campaign inZapata, a small town nearby,where several families visitedto see Christiam films and tohear God's Word proclaimed forthe first time ever in thatvillage.

* students from the InstitutoBiblico Nacional who are ministering in many small churchesin the area.

"Or what man is there of youwhom if his son ask bread, willgive him a stone?" Pray withus that:

* the annual Missionary Reunion scheduled for Maurch 18-20 will bring us into closerfellowship as we serve Him.

* the new well on the orphanage property will be successfully completed, emd that thenecessary $60,000 become avail-cible.

* the Hoff's will soon be ableto purchase a house.

DUNGTiNS' FINANCIAL SUMMARYOn hand 6/30/79 $1656.49Income 7/1 - 12/31 12,122.45Expenses 7/1 - 12/31 14,091.73Balance 12/31/79 $-312.79

3-S"^v5-

ALuaas!JUL 2 1 1980

THE BILL HOFF FAMILYAPARTADO POSTAL NO. S7QUERETARO/ QRO, MEXICO

NEWS OFThe IHnilEnCE

THE NORM DUNCAN FAMILYAPARTADO POSTAL NO.QUERETARO/ QRO. MEXICO

OF CHRIST IN CENTRAL MEXICO

PRINTED IN >EXICO VOL. 11, No. 4 SPRING 1980

MEMORABLE MISSIONAnV MOMENTSagitated. The brother told me that theirfodder had been set afire. I grabbed ashovel to help, but he told me that Ishould remain inside because the firemight be an opportunity for an ambush. Sowhile the women brought water for the baptistry and the men shoveled earth on theblazing stack of fodder, Uemilo and Xstayed inside and prayed.

Please permit me to relate a true story.You have seen it in the old westerns. The

sheriff rides into town where he is looking for a criminal. The town is full ofoutlaws and thugs. As he walks down thedusty street he feels uneasy. He does notknow if someone will shoot him from behind.In a good motion picture the author conveys this uneasiness to the viewer who inturn feels the suspense.

Such was the feeling as Hermilo and Iwalked into a village called San FelipePueblo Nuevo last February. We were thereto baptize an 80-year-old woman. The onlysounds we heard as we trudged up the mountain path were our own breaths. It seemedtoo quiet. I was all too aware that abouttwo years ago a mob had gathered to stoneHermilo and scxne of the brethren on thesame path. The people here use an Indiandialect and often do not speak Spanishwhich makes one feel even more helpless.The family we were to visit heard aboutChrist through the radio program and eventually asked for baptism. But the rest ofthe village remains opposed to the message.

Arriving at the brethren's house we began to fill the portable baptistry withwater which they brought from a springabout a mile away. Then a woman hurriedinto the house. Her voice sounded very

When there was enough water, we baptisadithe sister. About two hours later th*brethren managed to put out the fire euidsave a little of the feed. When they caMin, it was getting dark. They greeted uaand then smuggled us down another path tothe truck.

I was relieved to see that the truck wasundamaged except for some bad wordsscratched into the paint and two bent li-icense plates which someone had tried toremove. As we left we feared an ambush *ta cut where on a previous trip people hadrolled rocks into the road. But a tractorwas leaving the town and we had to followhim. He came upon the rocks and pushedthem aside leaving a clear path for us.

We believe that the Lord has protectedus md ask that you all pray ^or our continued protection and for the 20 brethrenin the village.

:f.S!iiiSe6

For many years Bro. Bob Wright, director of the Christian orphanage, has donated his services as printer to the correspondence school and for some of ournewsletters. Now a new laborer has comeinto the field to relieve him of the time-consuming task. His name is HumbertoRamirez.

Humberto is no stranger to evangelistic work. For several years he has workedwith Helen Gonzalez in Michoacan. He isfrom Mexico City, and accepted the Lord asa youth. But he had trouble following"the vay." At that time Helen, to helphim straighten out his life, invited himto help in the work in Michoacan. Underher guidance he developed into a very capable personal worker and evangelist. Hepossessed a strong desire to serve theLord and felt impelled to further preparehimself, so he attended Colegio Biblico.Last year he graduated.

While in school Humberto became impressed with the need for Christian literaturefor Mexico. So he both studied printingand worked in the print shop of the college. Bob Wright was (and still is) veryimpressed by his work and ambition so heinvited him to take the orphanage printshop and put it on a sound financialbasis. Humberto, deciding that centralMexico was strategic to the work, accepted his offer. He wants to print and distribute Christian literature and Sundayschool materials for use throughoutMexico. At the present time (to my knowledge) there is no Sunday school materialproduced by the Christian church in Mexico.

Humberto has changed the shop frombeing subsidized to a paying operation sothat funds will be available for expansion. But it would not be correct to saythat he just works at the "inky" businessof printing. Humberto is very concernedand interested in the Lord's work and has

ANOTHER "FIELDbegun a work in a nearby tovm. Right nowit is just a Bible study, but if his previous work is any indication, there willsoon be cin established church there. Prayfor his ministry and that his dreams forthe Lord will be realized. BH

Camping UPIn the previous years, our summer camps

have had one major problemthere havebeen more campers than floor space. Yes,we sleep on the floor! As you can imagine,there are several disadvantages to this:(1) cement floors are uncomfortable evenwith petates (straw mats) under you;(2) floor space allows room for a maximumof 120 people, which is not enough for theSenior Camp? (3) there is no place to walkexcept on people's bedding; (4) camp isheld in rainy season and muddy shoes alsomake for dirty bedding.

But this year the camp committee haschallenged the churches of central Mexicoto give almost SI,800 dollars for the construction of 10 bunkbeds. If the bunksare built 3 high, it will add 50% or moreto the capacity of the camp. The bunkswill be constructed of wood, which isslightly less costly than steel and willtake less time to build. With the cooperation of several Christians, the lumberhas been transported directly from a sawmill in Michoacan to Queretaro. This hasreduced the cost considerably over buyingthe wood in QuerStaro. Other Christiansnow plan on building the bunks before campbegins in July. More beds are planned forthe future.

We are thrilled by the cooperation ofthe church in this venture, and know thattheir participation indicates true spiritual growth. Most of the construction inthe past has been paid largely by the missionaries themselves, so we praise theLord for the unity of Christians throughout Mexico in this latest project. BH

HOFFS' PERSONAL QLIMPSES"No, Rebeccal Mommy, she's getting into

the trash." These words by Mark about hisbaby sister are common in our house thesedays. The trash and the telephone areRebecca's favorite "no no's." She can makethe walker go at high speed and her newtrick is to try to pick up things from thefloor which leaves her suspended in midair neither able to straighten up nor bendover. She looks like an airplane wavingher arms.

Mark has become quite a helper for hisDaddy and I. Bill now has him cookingbreakfasts. It is a Hoff tradition for themen of the family to cook breakfast soMark is being trained early. His futurewife will love him'

On March 21st we celebrated our 10thwedding anniversary, I chose to have something extra special so planned a ceremonyin which we renewed our wedding vows. Thiswas followed by a buffet supper. About 40people helped us celebrate. During theceremony someone whispered to Rebecca whenshe started to cry, "quiet kid, your Mommyand-Daddy are getting married 1" Mark wasthe ring bearer.

r

May 8th IS our departure date for a 5-6week trip in the States. Most of the timewill be spent in Cincinnati where Billwill be taking a 3-week summer advancedGreek course at Cincinnati Bible Seminary.

Mark is now enrolled in a private schoolfor his first grade. The tuition will beabout $50 a month along with uniforms andbooks. If there is a group or a classthat would like to help with this expense,please let us know. Thank you.

OUR FAMILY AFFAIRSWe have come to thz "count-down"

iwmz/L vacation, cind it ii noticzabZe. atickool. SuddznZij the. pace hcu, qui^ckzned04 the 4>tudznt6 di&covcA how ZcttZz time,fiejmim and hoio muc/i tke/it iJ> Zz^t to do.But, in tiie midit o^ the mad fui^h they(^ound time to pKL&ent tlieiA second annualSpfUng MuiicaZ. T(U4> ytoA they did "TheMuiic tAackine," complete Lgoing through gAoaiing pain6. So, i^oA. nextyeoA. ufe have kOied an additional. teacheA.He Mill be in cha/ige o^ the eZexnentafujiizction ufkile Becky continues in theiecondafuf i&ction. The pain, however,corner ^fiom having to ^ind a place to movethe school into. We have been in the iamebuilding ^on. 3 yeoM, and it ha6 pfwven tobe an iAe^ location; 6o we ftexilly hate togo etsew/ie^e. But we need moie 6pace. So^OA., the LoAd has not shown as exactZijwfroi HiJ> solution is; we a/ie suAe Hz wiZZ,howevzA, just as Hz suppZizd as with theteacheA.

Hzathzfi i& Zooking ^omaAd to su}meA,notonly bzcmiiz o^ vacation, but bzcmsz shzwiZZ bz going to Ja. High camp instead o{JunioA Camp this yzaA. Hza height has madehzA a Zittle sel^-conscioas oAound mostt^ie kids hzA age. She is now taZZzA -thanI amj I keep having to Azmind heA thatihz stiZZ has a ^ew weeks o^ schooZ Zz^t,though, and thzAz iM an AmAds BaixqueXcoming up.

NoAm has ^eZt tied up in Azd tapz Zatzty,what with making tax AztuAns ^OA the non-pAo^iX. oAgantzation undzA wkich the mission opeAotes in Mzxi.co,pZus doing hiA own|fax AetuAKS, both /^oa the Mexican govzAn-went and UncZz Sam. And, to makz mattzASevzn moAe compZicatzd, hz had to make twotAips to Mexcco CiXy to Azneia hi^ MeUcannesidencz papzAS. Hz AzaZZy ^zzZs that hehcu bzen spinning kis whzzis this month.iuX he's hoping that next yeoA wiZZ be

bzttzA--at least he won't havz to do thmission tax AztuAn, since hz i^ no longoyits pAe^sident. He seems to keep himseZZoaded down, howevzA. This szmzstzA hihas added anothzA class to his scheduZe a.the BibZe Institute and IsliteAacy class to one o^ thein the chuAch 3 days a week.dzAing how he keeps going.

teachingyoung womejI keep won-

As ^oA Mathan, wzZZ hz continues to feeejOA aZZ going. Hz has dzcidzd that now tha.hz's a "big boy" (which means he goes t