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"Chips Off The Old Block" Spanish American Evangelism
News From Marilyn Wood 3135 Forney Lane
Serving Christ through: El Paso, TX 79935
Volume X Number 1
Spring 1991
Dear Christian Friends,
The Scriptures tell us that children are a heritage from the Lord. Wher.
looked at with the proper attitude, then certainly families are very special.
The older I get the more I realize what a terrific family I have, and I am
so grateful to God for allowing me to be a part of it. All of us enjoy being
together when we get the chance. As you know my immediate family is
scattered, so when we have an opportunity to be together, it's quite special.
I especially enjoyed having my family here for the Christmas holidays.
Phillip and Allison (myoldest nephew and niece) are avid Scrabble players,
as are my mother, sister, and I. But instead of Scrabble, we decided to
play Boggle, another word game. We had a great time together, and I'm
looking fonward to more special times with Phillip, Allie, Sarah, and Paul
as they continue to grow to adulthood. Not having children of my own, it's
fun to watch them grow up and know that I've had a small part In their
development.
The work at Spanish American Evangelism continues to grow. The
"Double Your Dollars" Matching Gift Campaign was carried into 1991 (with
the permission of the person who is matching the funds). We have raised
close to $62,000.00 in this special fundraising effort. We're really grateful
to the Lord and to those who contributed to this campaign for the way our
needs have been supplied. All of our goals have been met except for the
new facilities. We do need larger facilities, but for the present we are doing
the best we can with what we have. We do ask that you would continue
to be in prayer that the Lord would lead in the right direction in our search.
Some of you may remember the picture of the old addressograph equip
ment I included in my newsletter last summer. I pointed out the need for
a computer. Praise the Lord, we finally obtained one the end of January.
We're using it for our mailing lists. I'm also starting to learn how to use
the bookkeeping system we acquired with it. It's going to take a while, but
I'm sure it will be a big help in the long run.
Also, in January we acquired another typesetter, along with some other
materials that are of great use to us in typesetting. Now that we have two
keyboards, it's no longer a problem If two of us want to use the typesetter
at the same time. This is especially helpful when Raul Is here.
Speaking of Raul, he was here again the week beforeEaster. Hefinished
the final corrections on the second edition of "13 Lessons in Christian
Doctrine." So as soon as it is typeset, we'll send it to College Press for
the second printing.
TheSolnapress is now in operation, so with Bob and Bill printing tracts
on it, our production should increase considerably. It couldn't come at a
better time. It seems that the demand for tracts, New Testaments, Bibles,
and other Christian literature just grows and grows. As I've tried to point
out before, there has been very little done in our brotherhood in the way
of literature on a large-scale, and that's why this ministry is so important.
In just the last month we've received two requests concerning where a
person could get Bible-study materials for small groups. In six years we
were able to get seven books produced. Two more are ready to be printed
and the first one, of course, needs to be re-printed. Butour efforts are just
a drop in the bucketto what needs to be done. Wedo ask for yourcontinued
prayers as we do our best, with the Lord's help, to try to meet the need
for literature.
Incidentally, we closed out 1990 with over 1,500,000 pieces of literature
being distributed. That figure includes approximately 39,000 New
Testaments and Bibles. I'm not sure howmany pieces have gone out so
far this year (Mary Marsh handles It now, and she's out of town.), but we
have received 15,000NewTestaments and 200 Bibles. They go out as fast
as we get them. There really is a demand for God's Word.
1mentioned last time that S.A.E. was going to hold its first retreat for
the trustees, staff, and families. We held it at Bonita Park. New Mexico,
a Nazarene campground just outside of Ruidoso. The retreat was a huge
success, and we're planning another one for some time this fall. Bart Morse,
our former printer and now a trustee, made the arrangements, which
included some exhortation from David Rorabaugh, minister at Alamogordo,
New Mexico. We also held our annual Christmas party complete with a
gift exchange of white elephants!
In my last newsletter I mentioned Iwas able to get my car's air conditioner
fixed, thanks to the help of some friends. Unfortunately, a fewweeks later
It was discovered that some gasket seals on the compressor were bad.
In order to fix that, it is advisable to replace the entire compressor, so I'm
back to square one. I just continue to drive my car without an air conditioner.
I also need to have the carburetor worked on in order to improve the gas
mileage. It went down about 25% after I had the timing belt replaced. All
other causes of the decreased mileage have been eliminated. I do plan
to get that fixed before I go to Denver this summer. (More about that later
in this letter.)
Last month (March 18-22) was the annual Mexican Missionary Reunion
outside of Mexico City. I had planned on going until the last minute but
was unable to do so. (Some people from here were able to go, and I could
have gone with them but they were gone for two and a half weeks and
I didn't want to be gone that long.) Anyway, I wasn't too upset because
it gave me a chance to be hostess to a friend from college and his family
Dennis and Barbara Hall and their three children. Heather, Jamie, and
Brittany. Dennis is the campus minister at the University of Iowa in Ames,
and during spring-break he takes his familyon a work mission. They came
to El Paso to work with AMOR ministries in a special project in Juarez.
It was good to visit with Dennis and to get to know Barbara and the children.
On March 18 at Biggs Field(part of Fort Bliss) at least eight planes arrived
carrying soldiers who had been deployed to Saudi Arabia. One of those
planes carried two men from Eastside Christian Church, so Bill Burr, Ruth
Knavel, and Iwent out to greet them. That was quite a thrill. Three planes
arrived before the one carrying Bill Williford and Jimmy Klish did. While
waiting we had the opportunity to talk with the commander of Fort Bliss,
who was mingling with the crowd. It was a neat experience to be a part
of the hubbub and joy.
That same week I decided to go see my doctor about my very swollen
feet. While there he discovered that my heart rate was 124! When I went
to see him three days later, I told him I couldn't hold a pen to writeI was
terribly shaky. By this time my heartbeat was over 130 per minute. So off
to the hospital for some blood tests for thyroid problems. They confirmed
that mine was hyperactive. Hospitalization was discussed, but I was able
to avoid that by having Karen Wilken come over and spend a couple of
nights with me. To make a long story short, I'm now seeing an
endocrinologist {specialist in glandular problems). I've had a thyroidscan
taken which showed that while my thyroid is hyperactive, it's not as bad
as it could be. I'mstill under treatment and have no idea how long I'll be
on special medication. I have to take medicine for the rapid heartbeat
without it the heartbeat goes right back upand I'm on a medication for
the thyroid. Needless to say, I've used up all of my deductible for insurance
and then some, but I'm grateful I have it.
I had planned to go to California the end of April to see my brother and
sister-in-law and that new nephew of mineAlexanderwho turned one
year old on April 11th, but I've had to postpone that trip. If I don't go in
May, I'll just wait until July to see them. We're havinga family reunionthen
in Colorado to help my parents celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary.
The reunion will take place the first weekend of July, and then my folks
and I will stay at my sister's in Denver and attend the North American
Christian Convention. S.A.E. will have a booth there, so please stop by
and see us.
The weekend of April 1920 was the 4th Annual Mimbres Women's
Retreat. (Mimbres Christian Camp is one of the camps In southern New
Mexico.) Since the camp doesn't have complete facilities yet, the area
churches take turns hosting the retreat. This year it was held in Deming,
NewMexico. Kay Watts, from Joplin, Missouri, was our speaker. Her topic
was servanthood, and she did a fabulous job of developing this subject
and made all of us want to be better servants of the Lord and of each other.
Inclosing Iwant to quote the apostle Paul in Philippians: "IthankmyGod
e\/erytime I remember you. In all myprayers for all you, I always pray with
joy because of your partnership In the gospel from the first day until now,
being confident of this, that he who began a good workIn you will carry it
on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.... And this Is myprayer: that
your love may abound more and more In knowledge and depth of Insight,
so that you may be able to discern what Is best and may be pure and
blameless until the day of Christ, fiiled with the fruit of righteousness that
comes through Jesus Christto the giory andpraise ofGod" (Phil. 1:3-6,9-11).
Thank you for generous support and prayers. The work that those of
us here at S.A.E. do would not be possiblewithout yourhelp. Iamgrateful
to the Lord and to all of you who help make my ministry with Spanish
American Evangelism possible. May God bless each of you.
In Christ,
Marilyn Wood^
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"Chips Off The Old Block" Spanish American Evangelism
News From Marilyn Wood 3135 Forney Lane
Serving Christ through: El Paso, TX 79935
Volume X Number 2
Fall 1991
Dear Christian Friends,
"School days, school days,
Dear old golden rule days..
Yes, it's that time of year again. It doesn't seem possible that summer
is almost over, and fall is just around the corner, but that's what the calendar
says. As fast as time flies, it makes us all more aware of the need to
"redeem the time" as Paul admonishes us in one of his letters.
I had a really good summer. Itstartedoff with a week of junior high camp
at Guadalupe Christian Camp. Iwent as the sponsor for the young people
fromEastside ChristianChurch. Whilethere I workedwith a "family group"
and served as a dorm mom, along with the two other women who were
there. We had a great week, with about 60 campers from west Texas,
southeast New Mexico, and also some young people from the Dallas area.
David Morgan, minister in Lewisville, Texas, was the evangelist for the week
and brought several people from his youth group there.
Camp was over on the 21st, and on the 29th I headed to Austin to meet
my brother-in-law and the kids. I picked up Sarah and Paul (the two younger
ones) and headed for Kansas and Colorado. Phillip and Allie stayed in
Houston as they were involved in summer sports activities, as well as a
camp there. Anyway, Sarah and Paul weren't too thrilled at having to make
a long trip in an un-airconditioned car, but they survived. We arrived in
Dodge City on July 2nd, and on the third my folks, the kids, and I headed
for Denver for our family reunion. My brother and his family also flew into
Denver that day, so the reunion began right away. Fourth of July we stayed
in Denver and had a picnic in Washington Park. That evening we went
downtown and watched the fireworks display from the top floor of a multi
story parking garage.
July 5th we loaded up our three cars and headed for Frisco, Colorado,
where Marsha had rented a three-bedroom, three-bath house. It was ideally
suited to our needs. We spent three days and three nights there, enjoying
being together as a family. Of course, we took lots of games along, so there
was always something to play. We returned to Denver on the 8th, and then
it was time to get ready for the North American Christian Convention.
Rick, Cindy, and Alexander left for California the afternoon of the 9th,
and the convention started that evening. Since I had Sarah and Paul with
me, Igot a taste of what it's like to be a parent at a convention. Fortunately,
they're old enough to attend the children's sessions during the daytime,
and they really enjoyed the excursions, except for getting rained out at the
Denver Zoo.
Mysister, Marsha, and I were able to attend the Ozark Christian College
reception the first night. As always, it was good to see some of our "old"
college friends. I felt the convention was good; just wish there was more
time for visiting and sharing with people I hadn't seen in a long time.
July 13th was my father's 71st birthday, so we all stayed in Denver and
helped him celebrate. Sarah and Paul enjoyed being there for that.
The following MondaySarah, Paul and I headed for El Paso. We thought
at first they'd be here till the end of July, but as usually happens they were
here longer. None of us minded that, though. I had the privilege of taking
them shopping for school clothes and doing a lot of other things with them.
Of course, Iwas also working, so things were a little hectic, but since they're
older (Sarah is ten, and Paul is seven.), it's a littleeasier to manage. I also
had the help of some excellent babysitters and friends.
On August 21st the three of us drove to Midland, Texas, and met myfolks,
who had picked up Phillip and Allison. The next day the six of them went
on to Houston, and I returned to El Paso to a much quieter apartment.
Phillip and Allie were able to spend some time during August with friends
in Kansas, and Allie also got to spend some time with my sister, Marsha,
in Denver.
My health has improved, praise the Lord, though 1continue to be on
thyroid medication and probably will be for the rest of my life. The medicine
is not expensive, and since I've used up all my deductible on my insurance,
insurance does pay 80% of the cost. I do see the doctor about once a
month, and we are experimenting to see what dosage works best. I no
longer have to take the medicine for the rapid heartbeat, which is a real
blessing.
I do plan to start up the choirs again at church beginning September
15th. I'm looking forward to that. We've lost some choir members due to
job transfers and other work in the church, but we're gaining some new
ones, so it will be interesting to work with a new group of people.
Here at S.A.E. we recently purchased a skid of paper. In less than two
months Bob and Tito had printed a million tracts. Now they're in the process
of cutting, folding, tying them in bundles of 100, and boxing them upin
short, getting them ready for distribution. Another skid of paper has been
ordered, and as soon as it arrives, they'll be printing several hundred
thousand more.
Todate (end of August) over 1,500,000tracts have been printed this year.
We've distributed over 600,000 pieces of literature (mostly tracts). As soon
as this last group of tracts is ready for distribution, Mary will start filling
more requests for literature. They won't last long.
We also continue to receive New Testaments from Christian Gospel
Distributors. So far this year over 27,000 have been donated, and it's safe
to say we'll receive at least another 10,000 to 15,000, provided they have
the funds to purchase them. Every penny we receive for New Testaments
is fonvarded on to them to help them In their work. Without the work of
C.G.D. we would not be able to distribute the amount of New Testaments
that we do, because for every dollar sent to them we receive between 15
and 20 New Testaments in return. (The actual cost of the New Testaments
is see each.).
As for the complete Bibles, we continue to receive a limited amount of
funds for them. We purchase what we can from the American Bible Society
and make them available for a small price so that we can purchase more.
Raul finished the corrections on "13 Lessons on Christian Doctrine"
when he was here the last time. I've been going through and double
checking all the scripture references and getting it ready for paging. We'll
soon be ready to send it to College Press for its second printing. There
is a demand for it, and as there are none in print right now, this project
has top priority.
Most of you are familiar with the National Missionary Convention. I had
not planned to go this year, as it is in Springfield, Illinois, but while I was
at the N.A.C.C., Walter Birney approached me about doing a workshop,
so I said I'd go. Bill Baker, Bob and Mary Marsh and Ruth Knavel also plan
to go, so some of us will be riding together and sharing expenses. I hope
to see some of you there.
We have a new preacher at Eastside, and his preaching has brought
me some new insights on scripture. One night he used the following
scripture, and I thought how appropriate for all of us here at S.A.E. as we
seek to proclaim God's word through the printed page. "Devote yourselves
to prayer, being Vi/atchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may
open a door for our message, so that we mayproclaim the mysteryof Christ,
for which I am In chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should."
Colossians 4:2-4 (NIV). Certainly, we here at S.A.E. can say along with
Paul that we ask for your prayem that we might proclaim God's message
as clearly as we should.
I thank each one of you for your prayers and financial help. You help
make my ministry here with Spanish American Evangelism possible and
I'm grateful to each one of you. May God bless you all.
in Christ,
Marilyn Wood^
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"Chips Off The Old Block"
News From Marilyn Wood
Serving Christ through:
Volume X
Spanish American Evangelism
3135 Forney Lane
El Paso, TX 79935
Number 3
Christmas 1991
Dear Christian Friends,
"It's that most wonderful time of the year..begins a Christmas song
that's on one of the records I have. Truly it is a wonderful time of the year
especially for those of us who know the true meaning of Christmas.
Perhaps at no time of the year do so many traditions abound. One of
these for me has been getting out a newsletter. I must confess that I
seriously thought about waiting until January to write one, but at the last
minute I just couldn't break with tradition.
Another tradition I have been involved with has been the Christmas
musical put on by the children at church. Last night (December 15th) they
presented the musical "Three Wee Kings." The children had done this
same musical five years before, but since we have such a great turn-over
in membership (due to our transient society) it was newto almost everyone.
We had 24 children, ages ranging fromfour to eleven, take part, and they
did a great job. Catrina Lotspeich, co-director, and I got lots of compliments
on a job well done, and I'm sure the children did too. We enjoy working
with them.
This year the adult choir will be performing a cantata, A Canticle of
Christmas by Tom Fettke. I'm also directing this choir, and we're looking
forward to sharing with the congregation next Sunday.
Still another Christmas tradition for me is to get with my family to
celebrate the holiday, and this year is no exception. This time we're meeting
in Houston. Mysister, Marsha, and I are both flying in on Christmas Day,
and our brother. Rick, and his son, Alexander, will come on the 26th. (Rick's
wife, Cindy, has to stay home and work.) My folks will drive down from
Kansas sometime before Christmas. The kids had told us ever since last
summer that it was our turn to come to their place for the holidays since
we hadn't done that for four years. One of these years we'll all go to
California and celebrate at Rick and Cindy's.
I'll return from Houston on the 31st, and then January 2-4 the staff and
trustees of S.A.E. will be meeting at the BonitaPark Nazarene Campground
north of Ruidoso, New Mexico, for our annual retreat. Combined with this
retreat will be our annual meeting, along with some other meetings. Last
year's retreat was quite beneficial, and we pray that this year's will be also.
Looking back over the events of the past few months, it has been a busy
but productive time. The second week of September Ruth Knavel and I
headed for California. She needed to go there to take care of some
business and asked me to come along since she was going to Orange
Cove, about 50 miles from Fresno where my brother lives. I said sure,
especially if we could go by the Grand Canyon, so this turned out to be
a week of vacation. We took our time getting to the Fresno area and on
the way visited two ghost towns Mogollon, New Mexico, and Jerome,
Arizona. Of course, there was the excursion to the Grand Canyon, which
was fascinating. (I had never been there before.)Andwe also got to King's
Canyon and a small part of the Sequoia National Park. Truly, we have a
beautiful planet on which to live.
I then spent a few days with Rick, Cindy, and Alexander, while Ruth was
in Orange Cove taking care of business. Then we headed back to El Paso.
It took four days to get to Fresno, but we came back in two. It was quite
a trip fun and relaxing.
On this trip we encountered quite a few tourists from overseas. An
interesting incidenttook place at a restaurant inFlagstaff, Arizona. Sitting
at a booth across from us was a couple from England. We started visiting
and, in the course of the conversation, found out the man was quite a
student of The Old West. He was really excited to meet someone from
Dodge City. It helped make his day.
After returning from California, Igot backto work on finishing up Thirteen
Lessons in Christian Doctrine. I finally got it paged and the galleys sent
to College Press for printing. Thiswas the first book College Press printed
In Spanish, and it's been out of print for a while. There is a demand for
it, so they'll be getting it reprinted soon, and it will be used in churches
around the world.
On October 28th Ruth and I headed out for Springfield, Illinois, to attend
the National MissionaryConvention/WorldEvangelism Conference. I almost
didn't go, but because I was committed to speak at a church on Sunday,
November 3rd, and also had a workshop that same day, I went. I can
truthfully say if I hadn't gone, I would have missed out on a tremendous
spiritual blessing. All of the sermons I heard were terrific and challenging
to us to get out and do the job of evangelizing the world. These messages
were aimed at not onlythe missionaries but also to the people "in the pew."
The convention had a different format this year that seemed to work quite
well. The first day was for the missionaries and dealt with specific issues
affecting them. The next day had a series of two hour seminars, and then
the first main session began that night (Nov. 1st). The convention ended
on Sunday evening.
Two of my former roommates from Puerto Rico days now live and work
in Lincoln, Illinois, so the three of us, along with another gal who also
worked with us in PR. and is now married and working in England, got
together for a fewhours and enjoyed a meal together. It was great seeing
Meredy McClenahan, Marianna Taylor, and Lynn Ryals Pannell.
The work at S.A.E. continues to go forward. We have now received 45,000
New Testaments from Christian Gospel Distributors. Over 40,000 of them
have already been distributed. We hope to have around 3,500,000 tracts
printed by the end of the year. Atotal of over 1,100,000 pieces of literature
have been distributed, so as you can see, we have a good supply of tracts,
for which we are very thankful.
I recently started filling requests that had come in from overseas. Sixteen
boxes were prepared for the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and
Argentina. I knew it would be expensive to mall so we would have to rely
on the Lord to supply the funds for the postage. He provided, and so I
took the boxes to the post office. The boxes weighed around 20 pounds
each and contained arojund 3200 tracts each. Not really a whole lot for
those who* would likethe tracts for big evangelistic meetings, but postage
costs, even for parcel post, are high, and for some countries the weight
limit is only 22 pounds. The total bill for these 16 boxes was over $650.00!
We are thankful the Lord supplied the funds to help get these boxes out.
We have over 40 more requests from overseas. (These do not include the
ones that come in from Mexico or the U.S.) We have the tracts to send
but, once again, only limited funds. At the present time we have less than
$250.00 available for postage, but these boxes are costing approximately
$40.00each. If you could help us inthis particular area, we would be deeply
grateful. So would the recipients of the tracts.
As we look ahead to a ne' / year, we are excited about the work before
us and what can be accomplished through a literature ministry. We are
grateful to God for the way He continues to supply all of our needs both
for Spanish American Evangelism and for each of us individually. I am
grateful to all of you for your prayers, financial help, and words of
encouragement. In so doing, you help make the ministry of Spanish
American Evangelism possible. Thank you.
Jude gives this doxology which seems appropriate as we end a year
and begin a new one: To him who Is able to keep you from fallingand fa
present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy
to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through
Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Jude 24, 25 (NIV)
In Christ,
Marilyn Wood^
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