Seventeen-year-old Mateo* hated his parents for the years of physical and verbal abuse he suffered at their hands. His resentment toward his family coupled with the constant peer pressure from his friends weighed heavy on his shoulders, and the burden grew more difficult to carry each day. But on the day that he met a native missionary in his rural community, his life changed in a way he never could have imagined.
The missionary told him about Jesus. About forgiveness and redemption and transformation. Mateo soaked up the truths the missionary taught him, and in return, the missionary listened to Mateo’s own troubling life story. Their conversation came exactly when Mateo needed it the most; and as the Holy Spirit moved, Mateo gave his life to Christ.
After he chose to follow Jesus, Mateo received a Bible that he read all the time, and he visited the missionary each day to discuss the stories he’d learned about in Scripture. He even forgave his parents, and with that forgiveness, the burden he’d struggled with for so long was lifted. Now, his once bleak outlook on life has dramatically shifted: he hopes to become a missionary, preaching among indigenous communities and helping change lives as his own was changed.
Mateo’s story is testament to native missionaries’ impact on the people they befriend, particularly within unreached ethnic groups in hard-to-reach places. These missionaries integrate into the communities in which they evangelize, serving—for example—on school committees or in health care, or providing free services such as helping people prepare legal documents. Their willingness to serve and generosity of spirit opens many doors for them to share the gospel and establish genuine friendships with people like Mateo, who simply needed a listening ear from someone who cared about his life.
“The truth is that there is no other way to stay in the community other than through serving people in rural communities,” one ministry leader said. “Our indigenous brothers continue to work hard in their communities where they work sowing the Word of God.”
Their efforts to build relationships with those they serve have yielded incredible results. In a six-month period, missionaries distributed more than 500 Bibles in different indigenous communities and more than 50 devices with audio Bibles in different languages. “The testimonies are many of how receiving a Bible is changing their lives and more when it is in their own language,” said the ministry leader.
Missionaries have also been trained in community development, with several missionaries now teaching people in their communities how to raise animals and vegetables in addition to teaching them various trades such as making bread and textiles; and plumbing, electricity, carpentry, and blacksmithing.
“We work among the unreached and most vulnerable groups,” the ministry leader said. “We pray that the Lord blesses them and that they may be a great blessing to many more.”
Please consider a donation today to help support the work of native missionaries in Mexico who selflessly serve unreached people groups for the sake of the gospel.