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Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico |
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Calvary Commission was only 2 ½ years old. There was a burning in our heart for foreign missions. We thought, "We could raise the money for materials and go to Mexico and build a church. In fact, we could do that each year". In February, 1980, Calvary Commission took an outreach team into Rio Verde, San Luis Potosi, Mexico to construct an Asamblea De Dios church building. During a powerful time of prayer, the team felt God was saying, "It is good to come once a year and build a church, but are you willing to send a permanent team? As we continued to pray and shared our thoughts with the missionaries were working with, they said, "Why don't you go to Leon, Guanajuato? It is a beautiful growing city with very few evangelical churches and we would like to see a downtown evangelistic center."
We obeyed the Lord and in July returned with a team of 26 commissioners to see breakthrough. As we traveled, we came upon the last mountain and below us was the city of Leon. We got out and knelt in the sand and wept over the city. We left a team of 5, Larry and Molly Savala, Lalito Savala, Janie Parra, and Andy Rios. They rented a house and began to pray. One morning our missionary took a walk down the street and the Lord seemed to magnify San Martin, the colonia on the next hill. He sent a team to go house to house. They knocked on the first 12 doors and all 12 people received the Gospel. As the downtown church began, the San Martin converts began to attend. With this first group of converts, Calvary Commission started a church.
We do not believe that God has ever forgotten our tears. Lupe and Alicia Barientos we saved from that first witnessing effort. Today they are the pastors of a church in the colonia of San Martin. They have rented a 3 story building has been rented for the growing congregation. A spirit of revival is on with new believers being added weekly.
Julio and Luz Garcia became the first Mexican pastors of the original church and served in Leon for several years. Luz was one of our first converts. She heard the Gospel the very first time when Joe Fauss, International Director of Calvary Commission, preached at the crusade as the first team arrived in Leon. They have four lovely children. Gente Con Destino, (People With Destiny), the name of the church, really describes the vision. Many lives have been touched through the years and many workers have shared their lives with the people of Leon. One was Milton Fauss, who went to Leon at age 19 and learned Spanish. He was later able to spend 6 years in Reynosa, Mexico and served as the Missionary / Pastor during the development and the building of the church and the Josiah and Bethany Children's Home. Milton served in Sibiu, Romania for 6 1/2 years and is currently operating out of the Lindale Base of Calvary Commission.
