Sister Maria - 25 years

Maria de la Luz Tellez began doing mission work in Burgos with little experience and education, but with a great love for her Lord . She would sell tamales and BBQ plates to raise money to buy gas and food items and then head from her home in McAllen, Texas to Burgos. She had been invited by a young lady in her church to "come and see if you can help the community where my parents live." Twenty-five years later, she's still helping.

Maria is the visionary behind Campamento Cristo es la Roca. It serves as a church, mission and outreach center, and can be used for disaster relief and housing. We met Maria while we were still teachers in Lockhart. Our church began to partner with her in 2001 and in 2002 we made our first mission trip to the region. We didn't know it then, but God would move us in 2005 to begin Burgos Missions and partner with Maria and her work.

This fall we held a special anniversary / birthday party for Maria at the Camp. "70 years old, and 25 years working for the Lord," Maria said to many as she was planning the event and inviting people from both sides of the border. Several hundred people came to honor the Lord's work through his servant.

Affectionately known as "Sister Maria", Maria has been involved in hosting outreaches, building churches and houses, and bringing help in the form of food and clothing to families throughout her ministry. At age 70 she shows no signs of slowing down. Besides her work in Burgos, she has a mission in Veracruz, Mexico and is involved in mission work in Chiahuahua, Mexico.

We are blessed by Maria's input into our lives and ministry, her example, and her faithfulness to our Lord.

Hear the word of God

Miri is a joy to all who know her. Her smile is heartwarming. Since she is unable to hear, she was denied school attendance and has only learned to communicate by reading lips. Now she is getting a chance to hear.

This past summer she met Kelly Miller and her son Collin, while they were visiting Burgos on a mission trip. Collin also has little natural hearing, and the two immediately connected. During her 3 week stay, Kelly became friends with Miri and her family. Her heart ached to help Miri in some way, so on her return she used her family's experience to locate help for Miri. Shortly, Miri's family was off to Monterrey, Mexico for an exam.

In the fall, we visited Kelly's church and talked to her and her husband, Kenneth, about Miri's progress and the hearing specialist's opinion of Miri's condition and plan for help. After church that weekend, Kenneth handed us a check and said, "Tell Miri that God loves her and wants her to hear His word." Today, Miri is learning to hear with her two new hearing aides. She is active in her church, and she is working part time for Burgos Missions. We can't wait to see what God has in store for her in this new chapter of her life.

Miri's family is amazed at God's help to them through the Miller family. At one appointment they were talking to the hearing doctor, telling the story of God's provision, and the doctor could only say, "to me this is a miracle for this young lady."

We're Back...kind of

I am embarrassed. Our website and blog have been extremely neglected. Thankfully, work in Burgos is progressing at a rapid rate and much is being accomplished. On the other hand, some things have taken a back seat for a moment (or a few months) such as our updates, blog, and sleeping.

We hope now to be somewhat caught up and to be able to communicate with you more frequently with updates and our website. Thank you for your patience. We've missed you.

Highlights, which we will deal with in more detail in the near future have been...

Back to School Outreach, Maria's 25th Anniversary, El Lobo's children and youth, Christmas Outreach

These have been detailed somewhat in our monthly newsletters which can be accessed on the news page of the Burgos Missions website.