One of the pastors who had a great influence on my life was the late Reverend Terry Simons. He pastored the First Baptist Church of Quemado, TX (where the HKI ministry is headquartered) twenty or so years ago. He was a great friend of mine and a man of faith. During his pastorate in Quemado, he built a facility to accommodate work crews who were doing ministry projects in Mexico during the day and sleeping at the mission complex at night. The arrangement worked for many years until cartel violence and high gasoline prices made the model untenable. However it worked well during the time he pastored here, and for ten or more years thereafter.
I am reminded of him because of his vision for missions which he shared with me many years ago. He noted that the Southern border of Texas is an ideal location from which to do international missionary work. Though it is not obvious to the casual observer, there are people from South and Central America, not to mention Mexico, crowded at the border on the Mexican side hoping to enter the United States. Though I and this ministry believe in legal immigration and oppose illegal immigration (both morally and politically), the reality is that these immigrants are here and are ripe for evangelism. They are hungry for hope and a future as they flee the socialist hell that their countries have become. There are far more of them than we can reach with our present workers and budget, but we are doing our best to minister to them. Another minister whom I admire, Reverend Frank Banda, noted that when he was able to bring an immigrant to Jesus and train him in the Gospel, more times than not, the new disciple sought to return home to share the Gospel with his family instead of continuing into the US. It is more difficult for us to see this, since we are not as close to the immigrants as are the pastors who house them, but the pattern is the same. They are compelled by love to return home because they have found the treasure that they were looking for. Though everyone needs some money, they needed Jesus far more! Evangelism is a good investment in eternity, but it is also a good investment for those whose prime concern is to stop the flow of immigrants. The Blessing of the Lord is what makes rich, not money.
We see souls who have an eternal destiny, so we reach out to them. Accordingly, we are grateful to our precious partners who make it possible for us to reach as far as we have been reaching. We believe God for more resources and strength to meet this great opportunity.