March 2008 Missionary Letter

 Dear fellow laborers in our Lord Jesus Christ,

March was a month with many blessings and good progress in our preparation for the ministry. I have continued visiting some neighborhoods in Victoria. My hard is deeply move by two areas where I want to start as soon as we can.

One area is a neighborhood with the name of Colonia (subdivision) Alvaro Obregon. This is a place that is located in the West of the City. It is right in front of the biggest mountain of the City (Sierra Madre). There is not any Baptist Church in this area. There is one Pentecostal Church in the nearby area. The Lord is opening doors here since a relative of my mother has a small piece of Land that he has graciously offered to me to be used. There is not any construction at all in this lot. There will be no cost for using this land. We just need to build a small house or a place with roofing so that we can hold services. I am in the process of getting an estimated cost for building a very simple room.

The second area is called Colonia (Subdivision) Chapultepec. This is located to the Southeastern part of the city. There is not any organized Church in this subdivision. There is a good number of families living in this area. I have contacted several people in this subdivision asking for a rental house/place. No success so far. I am still waiting an answer on one of the houses we want to rent. Rental cost does not seem very high in this area. Looks like it would be less than $200 US Dollars per month.

Pray for us as we continue working on the above two options in those areas. Ask the Lord to give us guidance in all we do, that we may actually do things according to His will.

Following, I would like to provide an update, and ask for your continual prayers in the needs we have been sharing with you:

Housing

We have moved about 30% of our belongings/furniture to our house in Victoria, and will keep working on it. As previously reported, we are doing this activity simultaneously while getting started with the preaching in Victoria.

Vehicle for the Ministry

We are very thankful with the Lord and Bryan Station Baptist Church for the extra effort done to get a very nice vehicle that has been bought for the ministry. It is a Ford F150 4 doors truck. Please pray with us that this vehicle may give us good service in the years to come. The cost of the vehicle was $30, 825 (US dollars). Two year vehicle insurance was also purchased with a cost of $3, 072 (US dollars). The insurance will be covered in four payments of $768 US dollars due every six months. First payment has been covered. Second payment is due in September. We are currently experiencing “heavy” expenses as we get the main ministry needs covered. If any Church feels led by the Lord to participate in the vehicles or insurance expenses, please contact Bryan Station Baptist Church.

Kids School

We are now back to the border and the kids returned to school. We have decided, for our six grader son (Ivan), to complete the school term (which is only eight weeks away to be finished). The situation is more difficult with our son (Edgar) who is attending the first year of high school. There are two very challenging classes he is taking: Algebra II and Chemistry. I already checked his grades and he will fail Algebra for sure. I had a meeting with his Chemistry teacher. She says it will be really hard for Edgar to pass Chemistry due to the lessons he has missed while being out of school. His Teacher also mentioned that she has noticed a drastic change in Edgar’s attitude. It seems like he is not focusing on having a good performance. His grades have gone lower than usual. I do not believe education means everything in life, but I do believe whatever we do reflects our attitude towards how we see life. I also believe we should strive to do our best in everything we do, such way that our Lord be glorified in what we do. We have talked to our son several times about this. I also understand this is a big change for them. The Lord has blessed us as a family giving us the opportunity to pay for a private school education in the States (Brownsville, TX). Our purpose for them was to have education in a Christian atmosphere, so they have been attending the only Baptist School in Brownsville. They do not know what a public school atmosphere in Mexico is. Home school is not a recognized/approved education method in Mexico. Even with that, we do not plan to send them to a public school while in Victoria. We want to home school them and validate their studies later on with an existing approved adult education method (when they reached the required age). If any one has any home school material that can recommend, we will really appreciate it. I am planning to get back to Victoria in a few days. Please pray for us and our kids. We need wisdom and patience to go through this transition.

May the Lord help us to love and serve Him.

Your servant in Christ,

Enrique Cantu

Missionary to Mexico

Sponsoring Church:

Bryan Station Baptist Church, 3175 Briar Hill Road, Lexington, KY 40516

Pastor Alfred Gormley, phone (859) 299-1430, E-mail algormley@juno.com