Engaging Migrants in Mexico and Central America

Juan* fled his homeland because of the violence and dangerous conditions there. Like many others in similar situations, he traveled to Mexico with his family.

Uncertain of whether to return to his country, continue moving, or settle in Mexico, he tries to provide for his family. Juan, like other immigrants, cannot legally work here.

But because of the generosity of givers like you, Juan has found food and hope. Your gifts help local churches set up food kitchens to provide both physical and spiritual nourishment for migrants.

These churches are providing food, drink, and more to “the least of these,” just as Jesus commands (Matthew 25:34-40).

Through your sacrificial gifts, you, too, are providing for the least of these.

Please continue joining us in prayer:

• Pray for Juan and other migrants struggling to find safety yet living with uncertainty and fear. Pray they find the eternal peace Jesus offers.
• Ask the Lord to refresh and encourage local Mexican pastors who are weary from so much constant need around them.
• Pray for local and federal officials to deal with immigrants kindly and fairly.

Thank you for giving and praying for hurting migrants here. Your willingness to respond to these needs encourages your brothers and sisters in Christ to continue serving with joy. You are impacting lostness!

*Name changed

Peterson* was not a believer, but God used him to plant a new church. Though he attended a Bible study for Haitian immigrants once or twice, Peterson never chose to follow Christ before he died. His family struggled with his death and eventually called members of our team to help. Peterson’s sister was a Christian, and she and some of our teammates began meeting regularly for worship with a group of 10 or so other believers. Now, the church has grown to over 80, speaking five languages.

Your generosity helped begin this work and provided seating for this growing church of Haitian migrants. Revelation 7:9 says, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” Because of your giving, our team sees this preview of heaven each Sunday as this congregation lifts Jesus high in French, Creole, Portuguese, Spanish, and English. Thank you for bringing the hope of salvation to this migrant community.

Please join us in prayer:

• Ask God to grow this Haitian church as they faithfully serve the Lord and reach others.
• Recently, our teammates left a significant migrant community. Ask the Lord to send more laborers into the field ripe for harvest (John 4:35).
• Pray that God will help migrants heal from emotional and physical trauma as we use coloring books to assist them in processing their grief and meeting the true Comforter.

Thank you for joining us in addressing the world’s greatest problem: lostness. Your gifts and prayers as co-laborers in the gospel enable us to share the good news with those who need the hope of Jesus Christ. We value your partnership!

*Names changed for security

Thank you so much for your generous support of our team and the beautiful people God calls us to serve. Your gifts provide for these refugees in times of crisis, offering them food, shelter, medical care, safety, hope, and the gospel.

Training for National Pastors and Leaders. In partnership with you, our team trained 35 local pastors and leaders to work with displaced people struggling with trauma. By facilitating healing conversations, these leaders offer hope to those experiencing trauma, and often gospel conversations result. To encourage these interactions, local churches take food to the main road displaced people traverse to get to the northern border with the United States. While eating, the leaders listen to their stories and lead in healing and gospel conversations.

Thank you for your generosity and partnership! Your prayer and gifts are truly making a difference through this project!

Thank you so much for your generosity and intercession on behalf of our team and those God calls us to serve.

Feeding Centers in Tijuana. Because of your generosity, Mexican churches have the resources to serve breakfast in shelters near where migrants live in a warehouse. The churches have organized themselves into teams: some people cook, while others transport food and serve the food. The displaced people keep the warehouse clean and cook small meals for themselves at night. The church volunteers lead a short devotional and prayer before each meal.

Join us in prayer.

• Pray for a hunger to know the Lord and for gospel sharing and Bible studies to occur regularly.
• Pray for the feeding teams. They work hard to buy, cook, and serve meals daily.
• Pray for the children in these shelters. So much of their world has changed, and many are frightened because of things that they have seen along the journey.

The Migrant Ministry in Mexico is adjusting daily to changes in population, scope and government regulations. For many years, migrants from all over the world have been coming through the Mexico-Guatemala border, and the influx grows daily. Unfortunately, the local towns are ill-equipped to deal with such an insurgence of people.

Assisting National Churches
Through your gifts, we have helped the local churches provide one meal a day and housing for the migrants. During the pandemic, churches opened their doors and hung simple bedsheets to divide space into small “rooms” with a mattress on the floor. In each church shelter, your generosity has enabled us to provide cots, cooking utensils, stoves and refrigerators. Each shelter has a bathroom, an area to sit outside and a basic kitchen. We are working to improve the bathroom facilities in some locations.

Sharing the Gospel
We and our local partners present the gospel through every ministry. Language can be a barrier, but we have tracts and Bibles for the Creole and Ukrainian refugees. Many have come to Christ at different stages of their voyage.

Please join us in prayer:

• Pray for changed lives to bear much fruit.
• Please pray that the Christian immigrants will share Christ with those in their own groups.
• Pray for the pastors who have been working tirelessly in this ministry for many years.
• Pray for safety for those involved in this ministry. Organized crime bosses don’t like Christian involvement.
• Praise the Lord that many border churches offer Trauma Healing training. Many migrants have been abused on their journey and suffer from significant trauma.