Los Elegidos Bible Club
A little story on how we got started and came to be known as Los Elegidos.
It's been a long journey, but every step of the way God was/is with us . . . from meeting in the homes of some of our students, to finally renting out a facility (by faith) for several years, and finally landing where the Lord would have us, an abandoned, abused, two story building buillt just for us - to Him be the glory!
Our Story
February 5, 2015
Our first official "Los Elegidos" Bible Club meeting took place on this date at the "abuela's" house (above photo) on the same street our minsitry center would be located ten months later, just about a block away. That night we set out 12 chairs, and each one was filled with youth who had already been meeting with us since the summer of 2014 "underground". We say underground because we were told at a previous ministry we could not present the gospel or share the Word . . . God had a different plan, and that was to honor Him and be obedient to His calling.
We still see these same youth in the community, some have kids, others have moved (immigrated) to the United States, and others are still here, now raising there kids in the ways of the Lord.
God is always Lord over the harvest - He has sent us to become fishers of men . . .
A Light Bulb Went On . . .
Early 2012
One morning in February my wife and I went for our daily 6am walk on the beach to "watch and pray", as we were between ministries asking the Lord for guidance. Lord, where would y0u have us serve? From the time we left our home till we arrived on the beach about 30 minutes away, here is what the Lord repeated in my head over and over, "Let your light so shine before men . . . let your light so shine before men."
This went on as we arrived on the beach and started waking and I didn't have the nerve to tell Maribel what God was saying until I saw it (photo above), this rusted out old light bulb covered in seaweed, sitting on the rocks, still intact! How was this even possible?
I yelled out loud "Honey look! A light bulb, and I bet you any amount of money it still works!" I explained to my wife what God had been whispering in my ear all the way to the beach, and sure enough when we got back I placed it in it's socket and the light emmited from this 250+ watt light bulb lit up my place, in fact it was too bright and too hot.
This is the same thing God spoke to us when we made our first trip to El Zorrillo in the spring of 2012, "Let your light shine so bright before men . . ."
That's all God has ever asked of us since arriving in this community, we were going to a very "dark" place and it was time to shine God's light for everyone to see - He is the Light that shines thru us . . .
That light bulb continued to shine hot and bright at our ministry center up until 2021 when one of our kids busted it and didn't bother telling us - we quickly replaced it with the same type, and it still shines to this day in our current ministry center to ALWAYS remind us, we are to be His bright and shining representatives for all to see!
To Him be the glory. . .
December 2015
This is the very first photograph we took of our building, just before my wife and I prayed that if it be God's will, He would bless us with this site. The Lord converted a building that had been abandoned for seven years into a bible study center, a recreation center, a community center, a place of discipleship, a place of healing, a place of love, a place of hope, and a place to serve others. God's love never fails. (John15:12,13)
The first day we met with the owners my wife didn't even get out of the car to see what it was like (nasty dirty), she said that the Lord had already given her a peace about this place - we would serve here for the next nine years, until God said it was time to move.
June of 2024
Our previous landlord liked to drink a lot, and sometimes his behavior was not pleasant, and one day in June we had a bit of a disagreement to which I replied to him, "That's it! You have not invested one peso in all these years we have been here to improve your building which is falling apart, and yet you like to raise the rent every year! At the end of July we will be out of here!
In hindsight I thought, uh oh, time to find a new place. God is able, and sometimes he will use someone to get you so riled up you have to move for God!
That's exactly what the Lord did, and at the same time we were parting ways with our old partners Commission to Every Nation who collected funds for us and the ministry, except they didn't drink, they just became very agitated at the fact that we weren't giving 10% of our funds to them - it was evident in their emails.
So not only was God moving us physially, but also asking us to take a large step of faith and start our very own 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Los Elegidos Ministries.
God knows what HE is doing, and our new building and location has been a HUGE blessing for us, located on the street we call "church row", with several christian churches and ministries all located within 4 blocks, near the jr. high and an elementary school, so we are closer to all the kids God would have us reach out to.
Our "new" 501(c)(3) non-profit is doing so much better than what C.T.E.N. could do for us, and we are so grateful to God for helping us (actually guiding us) take that step of faith, and especially grateful to ALL our sponsors who took that step of faith with us - to God be the glory!
