Getting started in Matamoros

During the summer of 1993 some of our staff joined me in investigating the new field of Matamoros, Mexico. Such pioneering trips are often opportunities to see miracles.

One of my first stops was a meeting at 5:00 pm in Brownsville with a pastor named Pete Schaelchlin. I had directions on how to get to his church written on a scrap of paper that I lost. I couldn’t believe it. How would I find him now? I prayed and asked the Lord for grace.

All I remembered was that it was the third church on a road somewhere in Brownsville. At 4:55 I pulled into a gas station on the outskirts of town. I asked the gas station attendant a ridiculous question, “Do you know of a road somewhere in Brownsville that has three churches on it?”

He shook his head, no.

But the man waiting in line happened to overhear my question and said, “I know the road you’re looking for – it’s this one right here that you’re on – keep going a little longer and you’ll see the churches.”

At 5:00 sharp, I was pulling into Pastor Pete’s parking lot.

When it was time to go across the border to Matamoros, first we prayed for divine appointments, and then we saw God answer that prayer. Not knowing how to get to a needy colonia (a slum neighborhood) named “Solidaridad,” we stopped in the middle of the city to ask a man for directions. We were somewhat taken aback when the man said, “I live there; I’ll go with you and show you how to get there.”

The man and his family had just moved there several weeks ago – he got in the van and directed us across the city and to Solidaridad.

Upon arrival at our destination, the man invited us in to his home to talk. Though we were in a hurry, we went inside. We found that neither the man nor his family had a relationship with Jesus Christ, but both wanted to know Him personally. We prayed with them to receive the Lord.

I’ve found that when I’m out breaking new territory, God leads me. When I’m at home on my couch, it often feels as though I’m more distant.