Samuel and Eva house

In 1997, six weeks after Sally and Tacho initiated Mazahua Valley Ministries, Samuel and Eva Eugenio showed up at their door and offered their assistance in growing this new outreach ministry.  Since that time, Samuel and Eva have become an integral part of MVM’s mission and growth.  Samuel has overseen administrative and budgetary matters, and Eva has coordinated the kitchen activities and meal preparation for students and groups.  Most importantly, Samuel has served as a “pastor to the pastors” in the Mazahua Valley, offering affirmation and encouragement to them on a regular basis.  Along with their responsibilities at MVM, both Samuel and Eva are pastors of local congregations.  Samuel preaches at Bethel in San Juanico and Eva is the pastor of La Casa de Potter in Las Estanzuelas.

 During their years at MVM, Samuel, Eva and their three children have lived on-site which has been a great support to Sally and Tacho in serving the many needs that arise each day.  But Eva has always had a dream that someday, the family would have their own home in San Cristobol, the village where they grew up.  We, as partners with them in this ministry, would like to make this dream come true. 

 In 2006, a group from Calvary Lutheran Church in Golden Valley helped to build a home for a local pastor.  It became clear to the Calvary group that there were other pastors in the Mazahua Valley in need of homes in the areas where they served.  In the spirit of the Apostle Paul and his missionary vision, Project Pablo was initiated by Tacho and Sally with the hope that additional groups would come to the Mazahua Valley to create homes for area pastors.

We are hopeful that the next home to be built will be for Samuel and Eva Eugenio.  Anyone who has participated in a mission trip to MVM has been the recipient of Samuel and Eva’s gracious hospitality and constant support during their time in Mexico.  They have stood side by side Tacho and Sally in building this ministry and reaching out with the love of Jesus Christ to all.  Samuel and Eva immediately make everyone feel at home.  Now it is our privilege to support them by organizing a group to help with the building of their new home.

A work trip for this project is being organized for the winter of 2010 through Calvary Lutheran Church of Golden Valley.  If you are interested in receiving information, please contact Pastor Lynn Peterson at 763-545-5659 or lpeterson@calvary.org.

If you would prefer to give a financial gift for the project, you may send it to Mazahua Valley Ministries, c/o Ruby Heiden, 5985 Rowland Road, #112, Minnetonka, MN  55343.  Please indicate that your gift is for the future home of Samuel and Eva.  We foresee the cost of this project to be approximately $9,000.00. 

 

Thank you for your ongoing support to MVM and the many ways lives are touched through this ministry!

 

 

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Pictures of Pablo's Home Dedication are at the bottom of this page

 

The movement which took place in the early church where every member acted as a witness is happening today in Mexico. Ordained as well as non-ordained people are taking seriously the Great Commission. The number of lay people participating is great. This is the Good News of the Mazahua region. The people saw the need, received the calling, and now dedicate their lives to the service of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

It is a blessing to see that the local congregations have developed a model of pastoral work and church planting that has proven successful in the villages. This model begins with the families who are the first ones to embrace the Gospel in the villages. Usually, the first person who comes to faith is the one who will take the responsibility of watching over the other families who join the faith. These first Christians, who are hungry for the Word of God, normally begin a very intensive study of the Bible taught by church leaders who visit their community regularly. Since the pastors understand the dynamics of the community, because they are from the community itself, this model of church planting and forming ministers has proven to be a very effective way of working in the villages. The pastors know the customs and traditions, and they know how to approach the members of the community or village. The role of leadership is efficient because of their well-grounded perspective of the situation.

 

During the past 10 years, many of these pastors who started this way have now gone through the Mazahua Valley Bible Institute and many others who are starting a new mission or taking over the leadership of an already established church are also attending the MVBI. However, we face one problem. The most critical problem is economics. All of our pastors are volunteers. They usually receive sporadic offerings which don't even provide for their family's daily needs and thus are forced to find a secular job to fulfill that need which inhibits them from working fulltime in the ministry.

 

About Pastor Pablo

 

Pablo Gonzalez and his wife, Berenice, are pastors of a small congregation called Mount Zion in a community called, La Mesa, far up in the mountains. Upon visiting their community, we noticed that there were no men in their small congregation.  Most had left the village to find work. Therefore Pablo was not only the pastor, but also responsible, along with his wife, for the well-being of the families. Pablo, who would regularly go for two weeks at a time to Mexico City to work, shared that he was amazed at how many problems he would encounter among his members upon his return (illness, financial, and family problems). He felt a great tension between dedicating time to the church and working to support his family. The burden of working in the ministry without an income made Pablo consider the possibility of resigning his position as pastor not too long ago.

 

Pastors Pablo and Berenice Gonzalez and family

 

Pastor Pablo's Testimony

 

My name is Pablo Gonzalez Galindo and I am married to Berenice Marin Galindo. We have two little girls, Sarai and Nahomi. I am pastor of the church Monte de Sion. Some years ago, I became acquainted with MVM and am very grateful to them for their support, especially the scholarship that my wife received to enable her to finish her studies at the Mazahua Valley Bible Institute (MVBI).

 

I became involved in serving the Lord while a teenager, working with the Sunday school at the church where my father was a pastor. Later on, I worked with the youth group locally and then at a regional level. On December 31, 2000 I gave my life to the Lord's service and in 2001 I became a student at the MVBI where Brother Tacho (MVM Director) was one of my teachers. As I was finishing my first year at the Bible Institute I accepted the call to serve as Pastor in my community.

 

My pilgrimage as a young pastor in the ministry has not been easy. As a family, we have encountered many difficult circumstances and sometimes we have become discouraged, but whenever it seemed that there was no way out, God was there to help. It is a blessing and privilege for me to serve in the ministry, because through the ministry I can see the hand of God like the time I was contemplating resigning as pastor because the financial burden was too great. I had made the decision when Tacho and Sally came to visit my family and invite us to a breakfast with Pastor Mary Brown from Calvary Lutheran Church . It was then that God came into my heart reassuring me, 'I am with you always.'

 

Even if I had to relive all of the times I have stumbled and fallen; I would never change my decision to serve the Lord. I only need to remember the feel of God's hand lifting me up time and time again and hearing him say, "Don't worry, when you fall I will pick you up. My grace is sufficient." Amen

 

"So, do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

 

 

About the Project Pablo Program

 

Project Pablo is a new ministry designed to support pastors who are without salaries to start a small business or build a home. The name, Project Pablo, is not just because of Pastor Pablo Gonzalez; but also because of the similarities between the New Testament churches that Apostle Paul started with the ones in the Mazahua area. We base the model of this project on the teachings of the Apostle Paul in relation to his own economic support as he says in II Thessalonians 3:8, "Nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary,  we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you."  It is a model that was emphasized in the beginning by our fathers in the faith in Mexico where the pastors did not want to be a burden on these new impoverished congregations that had not developed the culture of giving based on Biblical teaching.

 

The goal of Project Pablo is to provide evangelism and outreach funds to support the ministry of these pastors and lay leaders starting with Pastor Pablo Gonzalez and his congregation, Mount Zion in La Mesa. Funds will be used to make improvements to their existing church, to begin the building of a home for Pablo and his family (presently this family of four lives with Pablo's parents and many other family members in a small dwelling), and to provide start up funds for a small business which will provide income for Pablo's family. As a result, Pablo will be able to dedicate the majority of his time to pastoral work, providing stability to the church, spiritual growth to its members, and outreach to the community.

 

Our vision for the future is not just to provide for one pastor, but to move on and provide for other pastors in the same circumstances which will in turn lead to more stability in growth and leadership among the churches.

 

Below: Mount Zion Church (Pablo's Congregation) Construction Pictures 

 

Pablo starting the construction of his house along with his father and brother

 

 

Inside Mount Zion Church - "Monte de Zion"

 

Putting the concrete floor into the church of Mount Zion; done while volunteers from Calvary Lutheran Church (Golden Valley, MN) were visiting.

 

Pablo's Home Dedication

 

Mission team members (from Calvary Lutheran Church, Golden Valley, MN) share in the celebration of Pastor Pablo's Home Dedication!