Newsletter: November-December 2007

It is a pleasure to greet you again and give you some high lights on our recent mission in Chile, South America. Our purpose to reach as many pastors and churches as possible in two weeks .

September 17 at 11AM we met our son Stephen, in Mexico City. At 2:30 PM just before boarding, the airline changed the departure gate to the other side of the airporte speed walked and reached the other gate in time for the flight to Miami, Florida. The next flight we repeated the same pattern. At 11:30 PM we started the 8 hour flight to Santiago, Chile. In Santiago, on the other side of the equator, we had to adjust to cold weather.

Four hours after we arrived we went to a District Convention in Papudo about 2 hours away on the Pacific coast where about 600 people were awaiting us. Stephen preached to an enthusiastic audience and the Spirit of the Lord moved greatly in the service. That night we slept in a small bed and breakfast lodging room. The next day there was a cold wind off the ocean but we ministered to the people in the morning service with Stephen bringing the main message.

Saturday at 5:30AM we traveled in the back of a panel van 10 hours south, where we would be ministering for a week. We arrived at a small church in Quintrilpe, an Indian reserve in the country. A large group of women were packed in like sardines waiting for a teaching from my wife. There was an insatiable hunger for the Word of God here and in all the places we taught.

Sunday morning, Stephen and I ministered in 3 different churches, traveling about 160 miles. Elizabeth taught in the afternoon to a crowded Ladies’ Meeting in Temuco.

Monday evening Stephen and I ministered for 2 hours to a group of pastors and leaders. Each morning in Pastor Marquez’s home we taught for several hours and often late at night to ministers who came to the house with many questions about the Bible and present world events.

Tuesday evening Stephen and Elizabeth ministered to another full church of eager listeners.

A pastor in another church in Temuco had suffered for 2 years with a rare type of tumor in his neck. In spite of the danger it was removed surgically but he was weak, in pain and his head had to be supported. We visited him with Pastor Marquez one morning. His wife and family had great faith for his recovery. We all prayed for him. Four days later he was pain free and walking several blocks from his house, up and down the steep hills.

Wednesday night we had an incredible service in a Mapuchi Indian church. This was next to a huge snow covered volcano that had erupted in 1995, killing many people and burying a village under the lava. After church, at 11PM we went to the pastor’s house where about 30 people were waiting with a chicken dinner and many more questions. Pastor Marquez was exhausted so Stephen drove home to Temuco, arriving at 2 AM.

It is impossible to tell of all the ministry done, the places visited, and the wonderful pastors and saints who made us feel so welcomed and loved. The cold nights with 4+ blankets, socks etc. and cold water showers were no trial compared to the warmth and acceptance of the Chilean people. October 28 at noon we returned to Santiago by bus, a 10 hour trip.

The next 3 days we continued to teach in the churches and to individual leaders. October 2, at 8PM exhausted but satisfied in knowing we had encouraged and strengthened the churches we boarded the plane to return home to Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico.

We want to thank you for all of your prayers and offerings that made this trip possible to encourage the churches who had been petitioning us to come for almost 2 years. We love and appreciate each one of you.

November-December 2007 David & Elizabeth Tolman

Newsletter May-June 2007

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:11, 12.

It is so good to greet you again after so long a time. We were sent to several Conventions, visited churches, pastors and individuals who support the work. With a growing ministry, both of our sons were unable to go because of new opportunities and many were being baptized through their ministries.

In our travels each day as we met with Jesus in prayer, we received the direction we needed, even if we had made other plans. We had prepared our trip north for the conventions, people and churches to visit and as a result were able to accomplish all necessary. In Canada we visited several churches and spent days with the families of our son, Mark, and our daughter, Ruth. Ruth’s daughter, Stephanie, is ministering with our son, Stephen, in San Pedro. She also is writing “blogs” for Seedtime & Harvest on the internet.

In Canada the weather was very cold for us with snow, rain and sleet but we accomplished all that was needed. We celebrated out 54th wedding anniversary with family. We also were in service with the church that was started by us in 1974 in Kitchener, Ontario. Ken Miles, the pastor David installed, is still there and they are about to start a new building because they have already outgrown 2 others.

On our return to Mexico our plans were changed in Nashville, TN. We had planned to drive I-30 to the Fort Worth area and visit several churches and friends. The night before leaving Nashville,the Lord spoke to David and said we were to drive south to Mississippi, and Louisiana to San Antonio, TX for our protection. We obeyed. The following day we learned that we had missed tornados and other violent weather. In the Houston area, we encountered the tailwinds of a violent storm.

In Mexico we spent 2 days with Stephen in San Pedro and rejoiced to hear good reports of baptisms, expansion of the various works and great plans to prepare for the future. From there we enjoyed the drive to Tepic. One hour after returning home, Elizabeth was in hospital from poor blood circulation and was unable to walk without help. She is improving each day. Again we rejoiced to hear of the many more baptisms. The following Monday we started our classes in the Bible School and were back into our regular routine.

We traveled 8,000 miles, suffered no vehicle or health problems and were truly covered by the guidance and protection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Again, thank you to all who blessed us with your prayers, offerings and hospitality. How wonderful to be a part of the ever expanding family of God here! Please continue to stand with us and Seedtime & Harvest Ministries by your prayers and offerings while we continue to serve as your representatives here in Old Mexico.

Sincerely in Jesus’ name.

May – June 2007 David & Elizabeth Tolman

To our prayer partners

Dear Prayer Partners;
Praise the Lord!
Since our robbery through the bank last spring that cleared our account out, it
has been an up hill battle going through the legal system of Mexico. Thank you for praying for us in this critical situation and we ask you to continue to pray.
The update at present is this. The bank has deposited the sum of our stolen funds into the office (account) of the justice system. Now in each district where an individual lives who was involved in the theft, the judge of that district has to consider the case and make a judgment and then take his cut from the bank. I have made enquiries to several qualified people and they say, apart from a miracle, it will take another year to get a final decision whether we will get our money back or not. It sounds discouraging but we serve a God of miracles and in Jesus' name there is victory. At present we keep signing papers for each jurisdiction as the process proceeds and the bank continues to bleed as the fees are levied against it by each judge.

RETIRED? OR RE-TIRED – good for another 50,000 miles

The Women’s Retreat – Tepic, Nayarit, November 2006

The day before the retreat began Elizabeth and I went to Guadalajara on the autopista (toll road). At 7AM wispy clouds were still hanging like a curtain over the road and covering the hills.
The trip was 225 kilometers (140 miles) one way not including the city travel.
When we entered the city the blue skies were now a mournful yellow-grey color from the contamination of over one million vehicles racing here and there or stalled in traffic.
At 5 PM we were exhausted from our appointments in the city and enjoyed the rest at the airport while we waited for Cynthia and Silvia, the guest speakers for the conference to arrive from San Antonio, TX. Their plane was a little late but it was for our benefit. At 6 PM we were ready to leave with our guests only now it was rush hour and the express road around the city at times became a massive parking lot.

By 7 PM we had traveled 50 km (30 miles) and were preparing to buy some delightfully cold fruit drinks and leave the smog and confusion behind. As we traveled the air became fresh and breathable especially when the road climbed to 8,000 feet above sea level and then down 5,000 feet into the canyon at Plan de Barrancas leaving all the noise and confusion of the crowded city behind.
The trip to Tepic took 3 hours and then a snack of fresh fruit and yogurt and the end of a long day.

Friday night through Sunday, the Women’s Conference was incredibly edifying for the women who attended from many different towns, villages and cities. They came to have fellowship, to praise and worship Jesus Christ and to learn from the ministry of the Word of God.
Read the report in the blog of Philip Tolman.
Sunday night the Conference was over so we had some time to relax and have personal fellowship with our guests.
At 3:30 AM the next day under the illumination of a full moon, David and Philip returned to the airport in Guadalajara with our guests. The three-hour trip, one-hour time change, and morning rush hour in Guadalajara would consume more than five hours in order to arrive at the airport on time.
After the lineups and inspections at the airport, we said our farewells and headed into the city to tend to some business, returning to Tepic by 3:00 PM.

Coming Soon!

Check back soon for news from David and Elizabeth Tolman.