The gospel changed their lives
by Leonard Smith
BBFI missionary to Mexico
BBFI missionary James L. Smith was always burdened for the smaller villages lost in the mountains and deserts of Mexico. He would set up his truck in the town square and present the gospel. Sometimes there were numerous and visible results, and sometimes there were none. Sometimes churches would sprout up as a result. Sometimes they wouldn’t. His ministry was never motivated by numbers or the lack of them. So he would continue.
In the summer of 1968, I accompanied my Dad, “Big Jim,” as he went to the village of Huitcheca in Sonora to evangelize.
A few weeks prior, in a place not far from Huitcheca, Mr. Valenzuela, a Yoreme Mayo Indian, was attacked by two Mexican (non-indigenous) men. Mr. Valenzuela’s 20-year-old son, Hilario, angry and seeking revenge, set off on a plan to find the two men with the intent to kill them.
As he walked through the town square, the man with the truck, my dad, was speaking through a portable PA system talking about Good News. Hilario stopped and listened. The Spirit of God did His work in the young man’s heart. Right there and by himself, he repented of his sin and received the gift of eternal life. He was now a new creation in Christ. The change was drastic. He said later, “As I walked back home, I felt like jumping in the air!” The hatred towards the men who had assaulted his father would soon be gone. He did not tell anyone about his conversion for a whole year. He then started attending the small adobe church in his village. Only several years later did Missionary Smith know anything about the incident and the transformation.
Hilario Valenzuela went on to pastor that church in his village. He then planted and pastored another church in the town of Etchojoa. Hilario evangelized in many other villages and helped translate the Scriptures into the Yoreme Mayo language. Hilario recently went to be with the Lord, after a painful illness.
Javier Jocobi is from the same Yoreme Mayo village of Huitcheca, Sonora. His father came to Christ when Javier was a child. Upon coming to the Lord, Mr. Jocobi gave up his birthright, a position that made him governor over a district of eight Mayo Indian villages. He renounced the position, along with the financial benefits, because of the pagan rituals that accompany the position. The governorship transferred to Javier’s uncle.
When Javier came of age, he too was offered his lucrative birthright. Having been brought up in a Christian home, and having been saved as a young man, he also declined the honor. It was transferred to his cousin.
I met Javier a few years ago when he was part of a musical group led by Pastor Hilario. Javier was first taught by Pastor Hilario, and then by UIM Missionary Eldon Miner, who took him through Theological Education courses. Javier has now lived in the State of Jalisco ten years. He pastors a church in La Huerta and leads the Extension Theological Education in Autlán, Jalisco. I was recently honored to preach and teach at a family conference at his church. We had a great meeting! What a blessing it is to serve the Lord and watch how the gospel changes lives!