First Christian Church

Permit # 112;

1300 So. Juniper St. Fscondido, Calif. 92025

Postage Paid
Non Profit Org. Escondido, Calif.

FORM 3547 REQUESTED

(nooarow i^niilips

Jopiia i^iissoari

April, 1955. Written in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico,

Newsletter from Uj. Jack & Billie Gilson

CULIACAJ^J CHURCH OF CHRIST, Co-Uorkers, Dionisia Atonda and Jose Rocha,

U.S. ADDRESS mo ALL FUNDS;

CULIACAN ACCOUNT, First Church of Christ,

BDl N, Central, Phoenix, Arizona,
MEXICAN ADDRESS FDR PERSONAL MAIL:

Apdo. Postal 826, Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico,

church df christV
EDUCATIONAL FUNDS HAl/E OPENED UP NELJ HORIZONS FOR CULIACAN CHURCH OF CHRIST:

In the fall of 1963. the SIERRA l/ISTA CHUfJCH.of Arizona undertook uith us a
program of missionary help illustrFiting their vision for Christ.
reneuied until noui uith ^65,00 each months
These funds are used as follouis^

For lack

of a better title ue giv/e it the name "EDUCATIONAL FUND" and this has been

although in the areas where current is available for stronger light we have
color strips.

and the film strips are simple stories in black and'white for the most part,
The people that gather to see these sometimes number into the hundreds so

Tnese items are ^taken for granted in our ujell equipped U.S. churches but the poverty among the Mexicans makes them dear. Ue continue to keep things simple with battery operated projectors and a clean sheet (sometimes not too clean)

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

Blackboards and projectors, schools and filmstrips,

this ONE PROGRAM HAS SERUED US AS THE "CUTTING EDGE" OF OUR El/AfMGELISM PROGRAM, SECONDARY STUDENTS HELP (PUBLIC SCHOOL) Four of our youth are in secondary (beyond sixth grade) partly because of this help. They get either Sa.OO
(S^.OO) in their family to receive the aid.
depending on whether thoy are the first(SB.DO) or second

OUR CHRISTIAN YOUTH need this

encouragement to insure they will continue.

In thousands of Mexican hofnes, the sixth grade is six times better than Mom or Dad ever got and is considered quite advanced. IjJe hope to insure "our" Churches' future through nlacing the youth on a competitive basis uith the
middle class.

f the text books we buy are:

students.)

our own church-sponsored teaching program to provide future ministers.

MINISTERIAL STUDENTS HELP lile have the same financial program for these as: for secondary students plus text books, bis have three Bible Colleges and Bible handbooks, commentaries, .dictionaries
(For the Culiacan Some

and related books that they cannot .buy for themselves..

passed through many difficulties to be Christian, They live right next door to the building in the Ejidal and their sister recently married" preacher Racha^,

THE PEGR^n^l/pi,;^-at present Include Marta and Sara Portillo, both in Junior High" and doing good. work, in classes'and alsO' as teachers in our Ejidal Sunday Schools. These girls are- from a very large family that has

Rosa Linda and Enrique Sikisaka Gomez ars fromr the Aguaruto Church; Enrique
H 14 year ol;-i in the eighth ai: the c: f:v r-ch-.--"!.

Rosa uiill receive her Secretary *-s Diplcfna in 196G and has had training ip - ^
various programs of thn Government and Church.
village barbers.

They are both mainstays of

Mrs,

the youth in this village Church and Ruwa oTten teaches the children,
Gomez has six other little ones at home and her husband is one of the

Ministerial studan:s Manuel Rodriguez and Julio Arguellez continue faith

fully in our night classes in the Church. Soth men work full time and 316

hours a- day to the studies; five days a lueek.

Since they are quite able to

make more money the help is almost necessary to them to maintain their families- Ue feel privileged to have the trust of tuo such sincere men.

Rodrigo Acosta is noLu our only remaining student in Bible College and will come home after this ysar. As luell as his Bible, he has finished a course
as an Auto Technician in the state sponsored training school in Saltillo, lile Luere happy to hear that he had been preaching and giving some classes in the Bible training program also. Ua realize that at 20 years old he isn't ready for the full responsibility of a ministry here, but his youth Ldill serve both him and Christ in these years he is obtaining maturity.
SO YOU HAV/E IT, our Educational Program that has "opened up uhole neu Horizons for us in Culiacan", Ue don't know where this might lead in the future. As you can see, most of this is classified as "help" and could be said to be "terminal help" for students will graduate and the Church here will learn to provide its own teaching materials (as it has with Bible School supplies).
bJE liJAlMT TO ENLARGE Al\!0 EXTEND this help as we will have at least two more students for next year..perhaps you would like to take part in it by mark ing a special offering or just saying to us you would like to enter the program, Ue tell the students it is for one year and begins in September through June. The other projects vary in cost with a projector costing

about S3D.D0
MONTHS!

and filmstrips from 500 to Si.DO each.

SINCE NOTHING VERY EXCITING OR EARTH3HAKING HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST SIX

Maybe you'd just like to know...we'll call this section "SALT AND

PEPPER",..,

Jack and the ministerial students, went to Texas and Bi-Lingual convention

in February, gone for a week and left "one of the men for Bible study in
Saltillo.

Billie spent two weeks in March at Phoenix and Tucson trying to sell (again)
our house we had to foreclose in Tucson^ No luck and i t ' s in the hands of

a dealer.

All we want is out from under a first mortgage,

UJe are selling our 1960 Chev Biscayne for cash and have a beautiful white

1963 Chev Pick-up that drives and rides like a car.

lile paid Si,100,DO for

it as it was a lease car to Pan-American for two years then sold off with only 20,600 miles showing on the speedometer, V/isitors since our last general newsletter have included Bob and Gretchen iilinters from Arizona in November, and then A1 and Sylvia Cade came twice, the second time bringing preacher Murray Pestles from Hillcrest Church, Southern California. Fellow missionary Buck Renz stayed a few days in February too,
Uie've moved into another old house with two patios and filled them with

flowers and vegetables for the spring, (Remember we had an old "Colonial type" in Hermosillo), This one has eight rooms as well as the good old dirt to track into them, and makes us feel rich after five years in an apartment or traveling. - One-Hrrti-iq-ijie -lik-e isthe room f-or-our-animai-s^ two dogs and a thrush in a caye^ In the papaya tree the little red birds

eat breakfast and recently a large flock of small grass-green parrots have
made the guamuchil tree their afternoon resting place. Our neighbors ask
us what we do with all the room so we tell them we have guests. Actually we have one room for a storage and one for an office, one for guests, one for bedroom and private sitting room for Billie's work. Then the kitchen

and dining rooms are just that- there is room for you ofcourse.

Our time goes quickly with Billie having English classes an average of four hours a day (Jack taught them while she went away) and Jack spends time in
the office or visiting preachers and services.

Our present services tako up the whole weekend (we don't attend all of them)
and Uednesday and Tuesday, Classes at the Church run every night but Jack only has thto with the rest by the preachers Atondo and Rocha,
Mrs. Atondo had little girl number six March 1 and the Rochas expect in the middle of the summer. The Uidow Aguilar expects to move.back to Hermosillo " in the summer and the Rochas talk* about moving the same time or late spring.

lile've had a number of requests for material for "MISSION FAIRS" recently and uje uiant to congratulate the Church in Phoenix at 801 l\i. Central;

V/alley in Phoenix; Valley in Tucson and Escondido completed theirs in

March. All report good attendance and interest uith their youth taking
a very active part.

The neuspaper in Spanish published by us and edited by Dionisio Atondo is nouj a project of our Educational fund and is printed up every tuo months# If you ujould like to receiv/e it please send a note to Dionisio at Apdo Postal 863, Culiacan. He is deservedly proud of the paper, nou entering its fifth year- its first being printed uith pictures, and the only one of its scope in Mexico among our Churches. It*s called "LUZ DE LA PALABRA" (Light from the Word) and has useful doctrinal articles, commentaries, and neus. If you can distribute copes to Mexicans in your area, please
ask for them,

Pray or.-us, and for.-HIS-WORK in Mexico

pA'Cr^'i^
The Gilsons

CJ

First Christian Church 1300 S. Juniper St. Escondido, Calif. 92025

, '

Escondido, Calif,

Permit # 112 Postage Paid f^lon Profit Org.

Lord*s reaper

51b in wall

Joplia Mssouri

DGcembcr, 1965, liiritten in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico.

(Mcwslettcr from W. Jack S Billie Gilson, Culiacan Church of Christ ;

U.S. ADDRESS AND ALL FUNDS; MEXICAN ADDRESS FOR
Sinaloa, Mexico.

Culiacan Account, First Church of Christ, 001 N. Central, Phoenix, Arizona.

PtRSOIMAL MAIL; Apdo. Postal 826, Culiacan,

THE yORh C0RRESP0I\!D3 TO THE ELDERSHIP OF THE PHOENIX FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST,

Ilia cannot-a?ceive^ anv p^ek^es in Mexico, except books. Thank you!

ja^ylast spring- April to be exact, and it*s been a

s ' t ^ Y - t ) L i t Jnck ended up uith three weeks in ^-TBxaB-4n August and Billis-iook a shopjt^trip o the-border, XluiL_4iiiikijp

was stolen and returned after ^5 days (reported in "Horizons" in midsummer) and Jack, the Atondos and tuio mnmbers^of the Churches here took an exciting
trip to Chihuahua and the National Convention.

Our last newsletter featured the uiork done through the Educational Fund and

your interGst in this has alloiued us to add a moderate program for adult
education as uiell. Lde hnve right nou seven men attending night school and

five young people in secondary school.

Sines our funds for the Educationaj.

Department have been doing so uell we'll dedicate this paper to the

PERSONAL DEPARTMENT! Ourgeneral funds have taken a nose dive and remain too low for comfort right now. Don't forget us folk "behind the tortilla
curtain".

THE DIONISIO ATONDO FAMILY remains to be the mainstay of the work in

Culiacan,

Dionisio is the principal evangelist and has begun the three

existing Churches in this area. His assets include a large family and very hard working wife, Josefina. They live in a typical low class Mexican

way with typical Mexican difficulty but ho preaches in a typical Christian

way and with good results.

happy in using it for the work. This -year he ran out of money for tires and parts so traded it for a car. The other day we had a good laugh when
he told me his troubles, I told him, "don't cry to me, my handkerchieves
The Atondos' children are in the sixth grade, fourth grade, third grade,
are wet with my own tears".

Last year the Church in Escondida helped him buy an old truck and he was

and irst grade this year.

they make it from week to week on .'ii)27,5n salary- and S7,5Q for his car.

Little "Nichito" starts next year and so on...

Among his accomplishments this Evangelist can boast (but never would) of
and national. Last year he was president of the Mexican National Con vention. This above has all been just since 1958. The work here is
successful.

starting four different churches, building three buildings and four small houses, baptizing at least 100 souls into Christ, holding inumerable meet ings and rallies plus.offices and porti'^ipation in conventions both local

THE liJ. JACH GILSON FAMILY consists'of^ just two persons.

bJe^ve been co-

an planning of this ujork uc'ue been able to provide through your backinp.
It uouldn't havG that "go" spark it noGds.

workers in Mexico since 1958. Without the financial direction and over

Ills don't live as cheaply as the Atondo family because we live in a middle class house.^ Our food is much the same as yours except it is not as fresh
pared in the can. We eat lots of tortillas and beans too and still have a fBLj uell guarded cans of grsen things the folk in Phoenix "shouered" us
uith tujo summers ago,

(unless Billie grous it) and not as gond a quality nor as varied nor pre

ur biggest expenses are rent and the car as far as personal items go and then the uork- for the past seven years these have been practically interchangeable. Our house and table are used as hotel and boarding places for Christians and other visitors. The pick-up is used every single night of the week and during the day for every conceivable work;
an average of one service or study a night; three services or studies on

to the border twice a year; at least one convention in a far place; to

Sunday; downtown and back a least twice a day; visiting a preaching point in the boondocks about twice a week and fishing trips about once every

two months are extra., this monntor consumes great quantities of oil and gas, tires and replacement parts. liJhat a hog- what a necessity!
We're getting (when available) -liiSO.OO a week for salary and :;i)'40.00 a week

for expenses (3UD.OO is for half of our rent) for the whole work. Cry I? Not really, we're not here for the money but for our Lord and He gives us

a great deal. It's just that we really need this money and can't work without it in the system we've set up. tUe thnnk God that not a month has gone by when the money has not come in, though it sometimes has been delayedfc

RUSSELL BRIIMKER is our treasurer and agent in charge of all work in

Phoenix,

Russell just wrote thrjt the funds have shown a drastic drop this
This man has been far better to the
4 ..

past summer in the general fund.

burden on him of having to write us, "l\lo funds available for salary this
week",

Gilsons than we deserve.

I would surely hate to put this additional

IF YOU CAIM INCREASE YOUR GIUING THIS YEAR, PLEASE consider it. If your attention has been diverted elsewhere, we understand that many fields are white unto harvest. bJe can only promise to be faithful in stewardship and faithful to our Lord to the best of our ability. Ue feel we've done
well "with less",

THE PRINCIPAL WORKS THIS YEAR are EV/ANGELISM in three places. We've had eight baptisms. The reason according to our analysis is that we've had
to re-organize the Ejidal church.

falling from 60 to unrier ^0 and prrictically wiping out the Bible school, we persuaded the minieter Jose Rocha to resign, this past year has been
one of the most difficult times in my entire ministry in that Church. We've literally had broken hearts in profusion, both our own and others. During November the Bible School shows signs of coming back to normal under our direction and the Church also has reacted. During a period of two years that Church had prncticolly nc new mrjmbers, new has a life
giving influx of prospects and members,

EJIDAL:

After a long period of difficulties with the average attendance

HIDALGO: Newest work where Atondo lives, started communion service in iRtP Piitmmnr nnri thn1 r Pit-j-frnHnnrn Fn-p nH ooT^wj r-oc^ j r, Fit pm^ent.

AGUARUTO: Continues to be the most active congregation. They had a serious blow this spring when one of the young persons in our program,
Enrique Sikisaka, was killed. At his funeral there was a near riot when

the family refused tci let him be taken to the Roman Catholic Church.

By

remaining true to the Spirit of Christ and refusing to retaliate in the following days of danger and threats, that Church is now at an all time

high of evangelism and wants to build a permanent building, WE HAUEN'T MENTIONED; Rodrigo hatauro Acosta, now back from Bible College

and God has sent him as an angel.

He's been a bulwark against the foe,

He lived with

preaching, teaching and getting top grades in his studios. of your prayers and letters. God bless you each one,

us until recently, now with Atondo. The visit of Jesus and Alfredo Field, a whole week at Aguaruto, a great blessing to those people. The blessing
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Escondido, Calif.

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