Looking Back on 2021 – Mullins Update

We arrived in Loreto, BCS Mexico with Pastor Elmer and his wife Crystal along with the team from Calvary Rosarito on January 8th to help support the 26th church plant out of Calvary Rosarito, Mexico. We felt the Holy Spirit guiding us to an abandoned building in the center of town. The only issue was it was nothing more than a shell of a building that hadn’t been used for many years. There was no electricity of any sort, no wires, no outlets… nothing. But, the Lord had plans and we all went to work preparing for his church.

Over the next few weeks, the Lord worked through us in amazing ways. The Holy Spirit brought us, people, to help open his church in a mighty way. We patched walls, ran electricity, and painted while the entire town was shut down due to Covid. But, through faith, the team worked day and night to prepare for the opening of Calvary Loreto, chapter by chapter verse by verse teaching.

Within a month, Calvary Loreto had their first Sunday service, February 7th, 2021. We had one outlet and used a ladder as a pulpit, but Pastor Elmer taught his first Bilingual service, verse by verse in Ephesians.

In this small rural fishing town of Loreto, the thirst for truth verse by verse bilingual Bible teaching was exactly what was needed for a community seeking hope and love. Many local churches and businesses closed when the Covid numbers surged but Calvary Loreto remained faithfully open. Walls have come down to expand 4 x’s times throughout this year and we’re currently at capacity and praying on the next steps for expansion.

I am currently leading the children’s ministry with some amazing servant-hearted women. The children’s ministry has grown from just a small table to an entire building. We are teaching age-appropriate classes so the children can learn the word of God at their level. Week after week, the Lord has continued to grow HIS ministry and the children of Loreto are experiencing the love of Jesus. We currently have over 35 children attending every Sunday in our children’s ministry.

We have been blessed to have two women’s conferences this year. At these events, we have an opportunity to invite women throughout the town, to hear and feel the love of Jesus from other woman that otherwise might not have stepped into a Christian church. Many of these women have started attending Calvary Loreto and bringing their families. We began a weekly “Women of Faith” bible study lead by Pastor Elmer’s wife, Crystal.

David was ordained as assistant pastor at Calvary Loreto in May. He immediately began teaching chapter by chapter, verse by verse, the full council of God in the book of “Genesis” at our Wednesday night service. We have seen many lives accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior through the Holy Spirit at our midweek service.

Through Calvary Loreto’s faithfulness and obedience to giving the Gospel message of Salvation every week over 70 New Believers have accepted and given their life to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Week after week, the message of Salvation is given and the Lord keeps multiplying his Kingdom. We have also been blessed to have 20 members of Calvary Loreto take the next steps of faith and be Baptized.

In the Fall, we had our first annual Calvary Loreto Family Campout. We camped at CoCo Beach about a 1 1/2 hour drive outside of Loreto. There were over 70 people that were able to attend and stay overnight. We had devotionals, Live Worship, lots of games, and tons of great food and fellowship. The body of Christ in Loreto continues to grow even while camping. A faithful family invited their parents along to be part of this amazing weekend. On Saturday, they woke up and said, “We want what you have.” At that moment we were able to give them the message of Salvation and they accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

We had our first marriage conference Led by Jeff and Bonnie Johnson. This was such a powerful night for everyone, we focused on God’s design for our marriages and how to create intentional moments of appreciation for one another. There were over 20 couples in attendance for this amazing night.

David and I are currently offering marriage counseling at Calvary Loreto and the Holy Spirit is not only restoring marriages, but we had our first marriage ceremony in July at the church. Additionally, we had 2 couples get engaged on Christmas Eve and were planning our next marriage ceremony for February 2022.

The Christmas Season was incredible, Ron and Kristy were able to come down from The Connection House and bring along backpacks full of toys and warm blankets for the children of Calvary Loreto. We were also able to bring a carload of toys from Las Vegas that our daughter Madison coordinated through her work and blessed over 50 children on our first Christmas service sharing the love of Jesus.

On our mid-week Christmas service, David was able to teach on the Birth of Jesus. When the message of Salvation was offered, 8 people (3 of our youth) gave their lives to Christ. Afterward, we had a potluck dinner with over 140 people staying throughout the evening for fellowship and to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As we close out 2021, we were once again reminded why we are here in Loreto, Mexico, and why God called us here. We are so thankful for Pastor Elmer’s obedience to following his calling and allowing David and me to take this journey of faith with him. We are thankful for everything the Lord is doing here in Loreto and grateful we can be part of His mighty plan.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourself.”

James 1:22 (NKJV)

I am thankful at Calvary Loreto we are doers of the word and not just hearers. Thank you Lord Jesus for all that you are doing here in Calvary Loreto and in our lives.

PRAYER REQUEST:

  • Please pray for all our weekly teachings that take place in the church. Pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to speak through Pastor Elmer and David when they’re teaching the word of God.
  • Please pray for all of our ministries within the church. We need English/Spanish translators and servant leaders to assist in children’s ministries, clean the church, and volunteer throughout the week. I ask for endurance to live each day joyfully as I struggle daily with chronic pain.
  • Please keep our marriage along with Pastor Elmer and his wife, Crystal’s, in your prayers. Our prayer is to be “Used by God” sharing the LOVE of Jesus and Glorifying HIM in everything we do,
  • Provisions

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And now abide faith, hope, love these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NKJV)

In Christ,

The Mullins Family