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8/11/2019 Baker Bill Rosa 1983 Mexico
1/8
olume No. 2
FRE5n
FROn
THE
PflKER 5
OV N
JUl\i
1
Qiaos
t r
98
The Bill Baker Family
Serving
Christ
through
Spanish
American
Evangelism
3135
Forney
Lane
El Paso TX
79935
June, 1983
umbe r 1
Dear Christian friends
It seems
like
almost yesterday
that
we sat down to write our
last
newsletter.
That
was our
Christmas letter.
There
have
been
several
a ttempts a t getting
it
started
since
the
first
of
March. It seems that the newsletter always takes second priority to more pressing items.
Well it is
now almost June
and time to really get going on something.
1 am
writing
this while
sitting
in
the
Dallas-Fort Worth Regional
Airport , on
May 26,
my
33rd birthday. I am scheduled to meet with Mr.
Jim
Powell, executive
vice-president
of the
International Bible Society
( former ly the
New York Bible Society). Yesterday, I learned of
Mr.
Powell s
visit
to
Dallas
and
as we
have
been in negotiation with
the
IBS concerning the
printing
of
a Spanish
New Testament
in Mexico, it
was
an excellent opportunity
to ta lk face
to face
without
a
barrier of
miles
of
telephone lines between us. I
hope to
give
you
a full
report
at the
close of
this
letter.
Tlie
work at SAE has been growing
and
improving all the time.
Just IV
years
ago,
the
Baker
family moved to El Paso with a dream.
Since
that time
approximately
1
million
tracts
have been
produced and
dis tr ibuted through the efforts
of the
organization. Praise God for
the
manner in
which
He
has
provided.
Yet, with
1 million
down,
the work is
just
beginning. I feel that I could
spend the rest of
my life in leading and
expanding
this ministry and still just scratch the surface. We are
shooting for
2
million tracts
during
1983 alone
8/11/2019 Baker Bill Rosa 1983 Mexico
2/8
So much for business I am sure
that
you would like to hear
about
the family. With the
addition of Caleb it seems we have grown to platoon size and I need training as a sergeant.
The
family has
been
able to be
together
in many different mission activities since the first of
the yea r.
The first major event was the Bi-lingual Convention in Eagle Pass Texas during the first
week
of
March. It was good to renew relationships with family and friends at Colegio
Bihlico and to share the ministry
of
Spanish American Evangelism. Rosa played the
piano
for one session. Billy Barbie and Frances teamed up with a cousin Learsi Martinez for a
special song.
Later in March we headed up a special
tour
to south-central
Mexico for the annual missionary reunion. We had enough people
in the party to charter a railroad
car
to Mexico City and a
motor-coach bus on to Oaxtepec and the reunion.
Our
cost
for
the
familyround trip
transportation,
meals
and
hotelwas less than
S200.00
total for
the
9 days. An excellent
value
when one considers the
fellowship
and work which
was
accomplished.
A high-light of
the
reunion
was Billy's
confession of faith in
Jesus as his Lord and Saviour on Thursday evening. Following that
moment, 1 had
the
honor of
baptizing
him in one of the pools on
tiie grounds at the same hour. Please be in prayer for him as he
continues to grow in
the
Lord.
During April Rosa
Frances
and I represented
the
work of
Spanish American Evangelism among several churches in Florida.
It was a good trip
and
I pray that some long range general fund
support
might
have
been developed.
We
left
Billy
and
Barbie
in
the
care
of
Ed and Donna Weckerly in El Paso. Caleb was under the
careful eyes of Bob and Wanda Church in Schertz, TX.
We feel
that God
has
answered
our prayers concerning
the
sale
of our house h
have
taken it off
the
market.
Some Christian
friends
who
saw how
much
we use the
house
for His service
offered
to re-finance the
3rd
note. We will be paying interest only at 10 for the first 4 years and
then
300.00 monthly
interest and principle payments after that. Our first mortgage will be paid off by the time
our
payment increases.
The to tal
interest
on
this re-financing will be about the
same
as
the
previous note, which
was at I 7 .
Speaking
of
finances
our
personal
support
has
dropped
sharply
since
the
first of
the
year.
For the first 5 months of 1983. we are approximately 3,600.00
short
of what the t rustees
of Spanish American Evangelism have allowed me to raise as salary. Be in prayer concerning
this and if you do not regularly support
our
work a special gift
at
this time would be
greatly appreciated.
Diicidy wisliitiu
that
he
ha d
never jiiiiiped. Billy fol lowed
shortly afte r this pic ture was
taken,
8/11/2019 Baker Bill Rosa 1983 Mexico
3/8
Caleb is growing very fast. He began crawling
while we were in
Florida. H e really
wants to
walk
and
shortly will be. His eighth-month
birthday is May
29th.
He is also a jumping jack'
and likes to try t o jump
up
and down.
Frances really
likes to
be able
to help
Mommy
with Caleb. She
is
r th r affect ionate
and about
two weeks ago, I
offered
to 'warm
her
up'
when
she
was cold. I gave her a
great big
'bear
hug'
and
she loved it.
Almost
daily
now,
she
comes
up to me and says,
Daddy, I 'm
cold. Could you
warm me
up?
Temperature has
nothmg
to
do
wi th it .
Barbie is just finishing 1st grade.
She
enjoys
school and is always
coming
up
with something
new. It is going
to
take a quick mind
to
keep
ahead
o f her.
Billy will be in 6th grade
next
fall. He is still a very sensitive
boy.
He
wants
to play
the
violin in
the
school
orchestra
next fall. I
th ink the en tire house
will
need
special
patience
Rosa has been filling in with many
different
tasks at the office
during
the past several
weeks.
For
her
it is strictly
voluntary, but she does supply
several hundred
dollars worth
of
labor
to the
ministry.
Some friends
of
ours from the Spanish
church
watch Caleb while Rosa helps us out. They
live
just
two houses down from th e office. It is
very
convenient. The husband is a
native of
El Salvador. If El
Salvador
is s ti ll there
and
open during
the summer
of
1984,
he
wants me
to
guide
him through
Mexico,
and together
we will visit
his
family
in
San
Salvador. What
an
opportunity
to
share Christ
in a
troubled land
Well, I
am
now back on
the plane
to El Paso.
Tlie
hour
meeting at
D.F.W. was better
than
I
could
have ever imagined. In
addition
to
the
vice-president
of
the
International
Bible
Society,
I met representatives of the
World
Home Bible League
and
Wycliff Bible
Translators
I was able to open
the
door for permission to print a new Spanish
translation
New
Testament
in Mexico It will be the Spanish
equivalent
of the
New
International Version.
Also,
25,000 test
copies were
ordered
at a
cost of $12,500.00.
A
down payment of
$6,250.00 was made and delivery will be within 8 weeks Lord willing, final corrections will
be
made by January, 1984,
and
we will be
able
to
produce 100,000
copies
at that
time
Printing
in Mexico
should
be cheaper
than
the 50 cent
cost
by the International Bible
Society.
This
t ranslation has every posibil ity
to become the
new
'standard'
text
in the
Spanish
world, even
to
the replacing of the
I960
Reina Valera version.
8/11/2019 Baker Bill Rosa 1983 Mexico
4/8
In addition, the IBS offered a large
quantity
of Spanish scripture
portions
to Spanish
American Evangelism for free distr ibution in the Spanish-speaking world.
PRAISE
THE
LORD
On June 26, 1983, the churches of New Mexico and Texas are going to participate in
New
Testament
Miracle Day . If your congregation is interested in also participating in
this
special day with a special offering,
please
contact me.
God
is
continuing
to bless
our
efforts Our potential impact
upon the
Spanisli
world
is
greater every
day
Well, this fliglit is about over, and I need to finish
the
letter before I de-plane
or
it will
take another 6 months to get it finished and in
the
mail.
May God
continue
to bless
you
as
you
serve Him.
Sincerely in
Christ.
Bill Bake r
Rosa, Billy. Barbie. Frances and Caleb
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8/11/2019 Baker Bill Rosa 1983 Mexico
5/8
o lume N o . 2
M 16 384
The
Bill Baker Family
Serving Christ through
Spanish American Evangelism
3135 Forney Lane
EIPaso TX 79935
D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 3
TKefvup uid a
HeM
Ifean
to atC
oun pUendo
in t nctme
^
MO ^oocC
Greetings dear friends and
may
God s
grace and blessings
reach down
to you at
this time
of
th e
year.
What
a
wonderful
time
of
year
this
is
to me.
I get so excited
thinking o f people to
give to . I also like
to
receive
but
I ge t a
deep
beautiful
feeling
when
I see
someone s
face shine as
they open my
gift
Then
I thinkCan you imagine how
God
feels and felt as He
gave us His Son
Jesus
Christ?
But
oh how
sad He must
feel
when
people
reject
Jesus. That was
and
is Hi s gift to m an kin d which He so
l o v es .
8/11/2019 Baker Bill Rosa 1983 Mexico
6/8
It has been very busy around Spanish American Evangelism. Bill
seems to be always tied to the print shop and has little time to plan,
promote and continue to direct his co-workers. The ministry does
need another full-time printer. This will allow Billmore time to plan
for further growth and advancement. A new office worker will be on
the field in a few
months
and
this
will help lessen
the
load. Please
pray for
ill
that the Lord may continue to lead him in God s way.
Also offer a special prayer for the general fund at Spanish American
Evangelism.
Our goal of 2 million tracts during 1983 was not reached. How
ever, approximately 1 million tracts were distributed in the past 12
months and countless
individuals have
been reached with
the Word
o f
God s
love.
I have had the privilege
of
answering a few letters for SAE in
Spanish when people were asking for spiritual guidance. This for me
has been uplifting. Fray that the Lord will continue to help me as I
answer these questions.
The kids have really grown and were very excited
about
Qiristmas.
Billy and Barbie continue to do good at school. Their teachers seem
to be really pleased with them. At various times through
the
year, we
have asked for permission to take them out of school for travel in
Mexico
Ther^was no prqWem in thisL When one teacher learned
that
i t s
a^hurch-related trip, she said that our children would
probably learn more on that
visit
than if they
were
to stay in school.
It was on
that
trip that Bill was able to baptize Billy into Jesus
Qirist
Frances is a joy to have around. She is now 4 and at a very lovable
age. She loves to sing,making up her songs as she goes. She also loves
to pretend she is playing the songs on the piano as she sings. She is
also a good playmate for Caleb. Caleb is always into something. He is
a cutie, but energetic. He loves to be on the go. A short time ago, he
dragged his diaper bag to me and then had me follow him to the
front
door.
He
sure takes after
his
daddy
We
are really excited about the Spanish Sunday-School Class Bill
has started at our English church. Bill seems to enjoy it and has
started Bible studies on Monday nights at
the
home
of
one
of the
class members. His Spanish is doing real good. Our English church is
in the middle
of
a Spanish neighborhood. Do pray
that
we will be
able to reach
these
people
for
Christ.
Pray that very soon we will be able to take the New Testaments
into Mexico which
are
now sitting
in
our
garage.
The Lord has been so good to us and we want
to thank
all of
you
for your part in evangelizing in the Spanish world. Literature from
Spanish American Evangelism has ended up in several different parts
of
the
world-Mexico,
Cuba, Central
South
America, the Carrib-
8/11/2019 Baker Bill Rosa 1983 Mexico
7/8
bean Egypt and the
United
States. Your gifts
are
doing a world
w ide w o r k .
Do continue to pray for our work and comeseeuswhenyou can.
May
His
joyous love and
peace be with
each
of you at this time
and
may
you
have
a
Happy
New
Year
as
you
continue
to
work
for
th e L o r d .
May the blessings of Chrisfs birth beyours
now
andfor alleternity.
T h e B a k e r s
Rosa, Bill,
BiUy
Barbie, Frances and Caleb
P.S. Well, Rosa has just about said it all,
but
I would like to add a
few
extra
lines. Many times
the
Lord can lead
without
us even
knowing it It is just such a time I would like to relate here. We
recently had a friend call and wonder if we could pick her up at the
airport. She was traveling to visit her mother in Mexico. This friend
was just out of the hospital and her mother had broken her leg and
had been
in tra ction fo r several months. Rosa felt that maybe we
should
take
her to her
home rather than
put her on Mexican public
transportation in
Ju^ez.
So, on a Sunday afternoon, we left El Paso
and
headed south.
We
made
it to
Torreon
at
about 6:00
A.M.
on
Monday.
We
slept for a few hpurs and
^ e n
took this friend to her
family another
1 i/2
hours
away
The entire family
isCatholic yet
were
interested
in
God s word and
we
left
them
several
New
Testa
m n t s
On the way home, I was dead tired when we hit Chihuahua at
approximately 10:00 Monday night. I wanted to get to El Paso
but
when I almost fell asleep at a stop light, I knew
that
I couldn t make
the
final 5 hours. In searching
for
a hotel I found
one on
a side
street simply because I had taken a wrong turn. I decided to stay
even though Rosa didn't think too much
of
th e accomodations. The
next morning we decided to eat breakfast in the dining room. As we
ate, a well dressed woman sat down next to us and ordered her
breakfast. She pulled
out
a New Testament and began reading it. We
struck up a conversation with her. She turned out to be a govern
ment
social
worker. We
offered
a
few New
T e st am e nt s f o r h er use in
visiting the homes of the poor in Mexico. She gladly accepted. We
found
out that she was
the head o f the
district
and only two
steps
down from the president
of the
country When she accepted
her
8/11/2019 Baker Bill Rosa 1983 Mexico
8/8
position she wanted no restrictions from
the
government in
the
sharing of
her
faith as she worked with the poor. Both her supervisor
and President Miguel de la Madrid accepted this arrangement. She is
now working on special papers which would allow us to
take
a
truckload o f New Testaments and other l it erature in Mexico at
one
t ime.
PLEASE BE
IN
PRAYER
FOR
TfflS
WOMAN
AND
HER
EFFORTS IN ALLOWING
US
PERMISSION TO TAKE
THIS
BOLD STEP
In looking
back
at
that
weekend I really was
not enthused
about
the trip at the beginning but God used it for His glory. Bill
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