I am a sinner who has been redeemed. I struggle and fail. I am a child of God.
All of the work that you hear about is of God. I am simply incapable of serving without His complete guidance and blessing. I will go wherever God calls.
As you know, last semester, I took some time off of the mission field, and attended Mid-America Christian University. There I began working on a youth and family ministry degree. It is now a goal of mine to complete seminary. The original plan was to attend school every fall, and spend the rest of the year working with Mexico Missions. With the way that things are going right now, it seems that I cannot afford to be away from Cancun for four months. Right now, it feels like I should stay here until thanksgiving. I am in the process of looking for an online seminary. This way, I can work through school without leaving the ministry.
Since January, the ministry here has been changing. It is amazing how things have changed. As you read in last months newsletter, I am now a leader in the youth group of Comunidad de Fe. My job is to lead the youth worship band. Last Wednesday was our first meeting. And, man was it hard! I never imagined how difficult it would be to sing in another language. With time, I think that we will get the hang of things. The church has an english side and a spanish side. The english has about 20 members, and the spanish about 800. As well as working with the youth, I have begun playing and singing in big church! Thankfully in the english service, it is much easier this way.
Julio is the youth pastor, and he has an amazing passion for living out the Gospel. One of his plans is to find ministry that the youth can take part in. Two weeks ago about five of us went to the Island to check out a place called “Little Yellow Schoolhouse”. (you can check it out at http://www.littleyellowschoolhouse.org/) It is a school for mentally challenged children. Their primary goal is “to provide challenged children with the skills that will enable them to achieve their greatest potential.” We have been twice now and have helped out by doing basic maintenance on the school. Painting, moving rocks, hanging shelves and mirrors, fixing screen doors, and pulling overgrown grass are the things that we have done. The next time we go, our plan is to build some gardens. Then four students will be assigned to each garden, and be taught to plant and cultivate different types of plants. It is exciting to be a part of this work.
At the same time, as work with the church, I am still involved with Mexico Missions. Several times a week we go out on various ministry outreaches.
This is the fourth time that I have tried to write this letter to you. Every time I begin, for some reason it just doesn’t sound right. So, this past week I have spent time praying and talking with Godly men that I respect. Now I know what needs to be done.
At this point in the letter, I am sure you are wondering what in the world is going on.
So, here it goes.
In order for me to continue on, I am in need of financial support. God has supplied every penny for the past two years. For some reason, my support has dwindled to less than half of what I need. In my mind, this means one of two things. 1. My time here is up, and I need to go back to Oklahoma. 2. I haven’t properly communicated needs to friends and family, I haven’t received anything because I haven’t asked.
So, here is a list of my financial needs for the next six months.
Bills are just under $200 monthly.
Ministry and living expenses are around $350 monthly.
In June my good friend Kevin Warren is getting married. I am supposed to be a groomsman, but cannot afford the plane ticket or the tuxedo. I will need help paying for this as well.
So, there it is. I do not believe that it is time for me to go home. If support does not come in, I will know that it is time to pack up and head back to Oklahoma. From there God will direct me to the next ministry.
I know that this letter may seem strange, but I am confident that now is time to honestly share my status. Please join me in prayer about this situation. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please tell me. You have no idea how much it means for me to receive feedback.
If you are interested in becoming a supporter, one time or long term, here is how you can do it.
Mail a check.
Address the check to Mexico Missions.
Important, put Eric Robinson in the memo.
Mexico Missions, Inc.
P.O. Box 5652
Norman, Ok 73070
Donate online.
Go to http://mexicomissions.org and click on the donate now button.
Here you can donate one time, or even set up recurring donations.
Important, put Eric Robinson in the memo.
Thank you. I am only able to remain here by the grace of God.
God bless,
Eric-Robinson
Howdy!
You guys won’t believe it. I am writing a news letter! To be honest, this is the second newsletter that I have written in the past couple of days. I spend a few hours writing a detailed letter explaining how God has taken care of me over the past few months. When I sat down to finish writing the letter, it wouldn’t open. Something happened, and I couldn’t read the file. I was hesitant to send that letter anyway. In it, I had gone into great detail of how God has provided financially, through you, over the past year. I now feel it’s best that I only tell you that our God is amazing. He has provided, even when it seemed that I would not have the ability to buy food for the next day. The exact moment of need is when He has provided. Our perspective on need is completely different than that of our Heavenly Father. Thank you for answering the call by praying and keeping food in my belly.
Well if you didn’t know, on January 1st, I arrived back in Cancun. I would like to tell you a little of what has happened since.
Naturally when a building is empty for a long period of time there are lots of things that need repair and cleaning. So, after a few days of cleaning, organization, and cold showers, everything was back up and running! (actually it was a solid week of nothing but ice cold showers. I never thought that I would be afraid to let the water touch me.) If you know me well, it is hard for me to be without social interaction for long periods of time. The week spent alone was difficult, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I went out on two ministry outings that week. Both were for Samaritans Purse. We distributed around 300 shoe boxes filled with toys, school supplies, and various other items. There is nothing like giving something to the child that doesn’t have anything. The second ministry night, we went to the Isla de Mujeres (That means Island of Women). There were about ten locals that went with me. I only knew Venancio, Mexico Missions Evangelist. The trip was wonderful, the program went really well. It felt like the entire Island showed up for the program. The gospel was shared, gifts were given, and then the evening ended. (This is where the story gets good) Venancio has family that lives on the Island, so he stayed the night. That left me to get back home on my own. Two boys that I had just met that day hopped on the boat with me. Our boat docked in Cancun, and the boys decided to take me home. They didn’t have much confidence in my navigation skills. We got in a taxi, then they invited me over for dinner, and since food was involved I said “Si!” I have never experienced hospitality like this outside of the hispanic community. They brought me in, sat me down at the head of the table. Fed me before anyone. It was wonderful food. They only had Coke to drink, I told them no thanks, because I only drink water. The dad, without saying anything, got up, went to a store and bought me a bottle of water, just so that I could have something to drink. Keep in mind that I hadn’t ever met these people before. It was amazing. After dinner, we said goodbyes and I was on my way.
A week later, the School of Missions students arrived, James, Anna, and Mary. So far things are off to a great start. With the recent slump in the American economy lots of things are changing. One of the biggest things is, less groups are coming down this year. This means that our focus is changing. We now have spent time discovering our own personal passions and spiritual gifts, and how we can best use them to help the community. Mary has a desire to teach english. In Cancun, the best jobs are found in the tourism industry. If you can speak english, you can get a good job. Incidentally language schools here are very expensive. So, Mary is in the process of starting an english school! She will be teaching english, and sharing the gospel. It is an amazing opportunity. I will keep you updated on the progress of the school.
I have a youth group! If you haven’t guessed, my biggest passion in life (other than food) is youth. There are about 40 kids in the group at Communidad de Fe. Sunday mornings we meet in the lounge area of a bowling alley. The youth pastor is named Julio. He has a hair stylist, and has an amazing passion for impacting the lives of teens. Last thursday, James, Mary, and myself went with Julio to Isla de Mujeres. There we went to a special needs school. We had the opportunity to spend the day picking weeds, cutting holes in tires, putting up shelves, and moving some plants. The next step is to bring the youth group every other week to help out at the school. The church is serious about making an impact on the community. I have been asked to head up leading the youth worship band. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do.
My dear friends and family I don’t think that you will ever know how much you all mean to me. Thank you for keeping an interest in my life, and what God is doing with it. I thank you for your prayers and support. It is only by the amazing grace of our God that I am able to be here.
God bless,
Eric-Robinson
eric@mexicomissions.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericlrobinson/
http://www.ericlrobinson.com
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