It’s hard to believe that we are nearly halfway through our planned furlough time. It has gone by fast. We are now at the end of our stint out West. We headed out West in April, and we will now be going to the Midwest for a few weeks before finally heading back East for the remainder of the year. We are so grateful for each church that has allowed us to present our ministry thus far. It has been a busy 4½ months.
We started out in Colorado and then went to Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. We even made it as far south as Tijuana, Mexico. The Lord has protected us along the way, and we have made many new friends as well. God allowed us to visit 36 different churches while out West. Several have already voted to take us on for monthly support, and others are considering doing so. Please pray that God would give us grace in their eyes and, if He should see fit, that they would choose to partner with us as well.
While all of the churches have been more than kind to us, we would personally like to thank Victory Baptist Church in Atwater, California. It was during a particularly slow time when we didn’t have many midweek meetings, and therefore money was a little bit tight, that we visited their church. They didn’t know that at the time, but they very generously allowed us to stay with them for nearly four weeks while traveling back and forth to other churches in their area. Their generosity meant more to our family than they may ever know.
One of my favorite parts of this furlough has been all the people we have met. It’s true when they say that missions is more than just raising money; it is about gathering prayer partners as well. We have been really blessed in that all the churches that we have visited have been so very kind to us. We have left many of the churches humbled and reminded of God’s goodness towards us. We have been treated far better than we deserve.
We often pray as a family that God would use us to be a blessing to those we meet along the way. In California, we would often come across a homeless person. While attempting to be kind and give them water or whatever snack we had on hand, we would also use the opportunity to witness to them. Often, we would find immigrants selling fruit or tamales in the store parking lot, and while buying something, it would give us a chance to witness. This has opened many opportunities, not only to be a blessing but also to see folks trust Christ as their Saviour. On one such occasion, I stopped to buy some fruit from a roadside stand and met an 82-year-old Mexican man named Adrian. We began talking, and he told me how he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. I began witnessing to him and his son, Adrian Jr., who was there. While they did not get saved at that moment, I left them with a tract, along with my contact information, and I am praying that they will choose to trust Christ before it is too late. In addition, while preaching this past Sunday, one person raised their hand to trust Christ as their Saviour.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. Lord willing, we will be returning to Mexico soon. We have been encouraged with how the Lord has been blessing us and allowing us to raise the needed support relatively quickly. Recently, we submitted the paperwork for my wife’s U.S. residency. We are praying that everything will go smoothly so that we can return to Mexico in March 2025 as planned.
Adam, Karen, & Olivia DePaolis
Missionaries to Mexico
Philippians 1:6