Morse-Barton-Kathy-1983-USA.pdf

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    MEXICO A NATION AND A PEOPLE UNDER STRESSAs I began to get information together for the recent speakingtour, I t ook time to reflect on the economy of the El Paso-Juarezarea when we arrived here nearly seven years ago. The peso-to-doilarratio was then 12.5 to 1. In January of this year, the ratio was 26 to1, and today the peso israngingfrom 122 to 1 upwards. (The officialrate is 70 to 1, bu t the border merchants a re abl e to s et t he ir ownrate. ) The current rate of inflation in Mexico is in excess of 100%. InJanuary the average wage earner was making }250 pesos per week or$50.00. Through strikes and other pressure the weekly wage is nowabout 2500 pesos. (Based on the 70 to 1 exchange tha t is $35.75 orat 125 to 1,it isthe equivalent of $20.00 per week.) Unemploymentis two to three times our U.S. figures. Prices on the basic food itemsgo up daily. When the new president was sworn into office December1st, one of the first things that he did was to double the prices of allfuel and basic utilities, with a promise of more raises in theimmedia te future.To say that th e people are not happy and that there is social unrestis to p ut the situation in v ery mi ld t erms. It is at times like these thatthe Gospel of our Lord finds very fertile ground in which to grow.People do not have themselves to count on the values of tangiblethings are slipping away. It is at times like these that men and womenbegin to reach ou t to those things that have real value, those things

    t h a t ar e eternal.Now is the t ime to evangehze Mexico. Training and developing a

    new generation of missionaries and evangelists may see the harvesttime pass unharvested. We must go hard w it h those that arealready in place. They need all the back-up that we can develop.Prayer support, financial support, Bibles, tracts, and other printedmaterials are also greatly needed. Any support that you are currentlygiving to those evangelizing Mexico needs to be increased, if at allpossible. Tlie time is now!!FLASHYesterday, Dec. 13 the peso traded at 15 0 to 1Leftist street demonstrations in Juarez, MexicoMORSE MISSION MOMENTSNews of Bar ton and Kathy MorseMissionaries with Spanish American Evangelism3135 Forney LaneEl Paso, Texas 79935

    Howard Ray, S d i t o rHOaiZOMSBo; : 2 4 3 7K n o x v i l l e , TM 37901

    Nnn-Piolit Oil!.U S POSTAGEPAIDEl Pas o, T ex as

    P t ; i m i l No, 2 2 9 5

    M o r s eM i s s i o n

    5 1News o fBarton and Kathy MorseServing th e Lord on the Mexican Bord

    throughSpanish American EvangelismM o m e n t s M 3

    m

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    morning, so they had two looks at th e wor k ofS.A.E. on Sunday morning.On Sunday evening we moved ou r display toth e Moore Chr is ti an Church, Moore , Oklahoma.This is th e church t ha t o ur children attend, andDavid Wilson, th e minister, arranged fo r us togive the S.A.E. presentation there. We have

    a t t ended services there a numbe r o f t imes whilevisiting th e fami ly, and on this occasion we werevery well received.On Tuesday evening, November 16, we had theopportunity to share th e work of S.A.E. with th eHarmony Chr is tia n Chu rch, a new churchmeeting in the home of Mr. and Mrs. WillisBuster, Route 2, Galva , Kansas. Christ ians aregathering in t hi s f arm ome from Galva, Canton,McPherson, South Hutchinson, and Bur ton. The

    preaching is being done by Alan Bescow ofCanton and Charles Fitzgerald of South Hutchinson. Th e Buster family has given some land tobuild a building, and several had driven a numberof mUes on Monday night for a meeting aboutth e build ing . Most of these same folks were backagain Tuesday. There were nearly 30 present, andthe atmosphere was charged with that specialexcitement that is spec ial when a new congregation is winning souls and growing and expandingits hor izons. (Galva is my Dad 's home town, andCanton is my Mom's, so a number of peoplepresent were fr om my family a great tr ea t forme!) It was a really great way for Kathy and meto end the speaking segment of our trip.

    Nov. 1982 Bias,Catharina, Kevin &Chris

    a v , v . . u mis in exces s of $800.00, the amount no t coveredby insurance. Praise the Lord that over half ofthe needed amount has come! Please mark yourchecks MORSE MISSION or MORSE MEDICAL.

    PRINTING REPORTWith my being out of the office over twoweeks in November, Brother Bill spent most ofthat time keeping the printing press rolling. Hestill had some printing left, thougli, when I gotback. In the last few days of November and firstfew days of December, I printed 50,000 of "ElRegalo de Dios" (The Gift of God) in red andgreen ink and 50,000 of "Saludos de UnaCongreacion de la Iglesia de Cristo (Greetingsfrom a Congregation of the Church of Christ) in

    re d and black ink.In the remaining days of 1982, there are sti llnewslet ters for the staff and Spanish AmericanEvangelism. Should any time remain, there is atleast one t ract y et t o be done. Brother Bill Bakerwill be taking a group to Veracruz the first twoweeks of January, and they will also need somespecial printed material.As I look back on what has been printed thispast year, there ar e few words to describe what a^eat year it has been. As I look to the future, itis evident that wehavenot yet arrived, and thereis still so very much that needs to be done in the

    print shop.NEWS FROM OUR OKLAHOMA KIDS

    On Novembe r 22 Bias left fo r a short tour ofduty in Saudi Arabia. He is due to be back nea rChristmas. Catharina and th e ki ds dro ve toPampa to mee t Lynn and Shannon on the 23rd,and together they went to Hill C ity , Kansas, tobe with the family there for Thanksgiving.When were wi th them the week before, Chriswas suffering with an ear infection and a cold,and Kevin had infant igo on his face. Kathy andClatharina took the kids to the d oc to r o n th e15th, and the medication was helping them a lot ,but most of the time were were there , the kids

    were sick.Bias went deer hunting in Missouri. He wasgone when we arrived on Saturday, bu t returnedSunday evening. He did not get his deer, butenjoyed th e t r ip anyway.

    and me a very special opportunity to see ouparents and ou r children. The travel schedule wtoo t ight , however, to be able to see everyone.am sure that you know the feehng of being sshort of time that you have to "pass by" some othose that you really should see and you alsknow how you feel when you learn that somyou would like to have seen were in your areand did not stop. A real guilt trip but we dithe best we could and will try to do better next ime.During the trip we were able to spend a dawith Mom Worcester, a day with my Mom anDad, Saturday evening through Tuesday noowith Catharina, Bias, and the children, anTliursday evening through Saturday morninwith Lynn and Shannon. (Also, during the la

    day (on Friday) we were able to see a number ofriends in Canadianand Pampa not everyonbu t several.)

    Oct 12,1982 - Kvin& Spiderman

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    In Ou r Sixth Year at Spanish American Evangelism

    GIFTS FOR JESUSRead Matthew 2; I-12 (Verse II , "On comingto the house, they saw the child with his mother,Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.Then they opened their treasures and presentedhim with gifts of gold and of incense and of

    myrrh." NIV)The wise men came from the east bringing giftsfor Jesus. As I consider them, I wonder who wasth e first to call t hem "wise" men. True wisdom isnoted by the words a nd de eds of men andwomen. If that is the rule, th en they were wiseindeed.

    At Christmas t ime it is very normal, throughou r heritage, to think of this season as a time ofgiving gifts The gifts t ha t t he Magi brought tothat new family were gifts that proved veryuseful in meeting the family's financial needs lo rdays, weeks, and months to come. By ourstandards they seemed to be extravagant, b ut atthe t ime they were extrsmejy practical.

    MORSE MISSION MOMENTS Chris tmas 198

    If you were to consider giving Jesus three giftstoday, what might they be? It would be easy tothink of some fantastic gifts, bu t they would verylikely be impractical. I would like to suggest toyou a gif t list that would please Jesus and be verypractical from your standpoint.The f irst g if t that I suggest you give is an uglygift, one you have plenty of it is SIN. "I f we

    claim to be without sin, we deceive ourse lves andth e truth is not in us . I f we confess ou r sins, he isfaithful and just and will forgive us ou r sins andpurify us from all unr ighteousness." I John 1:8-9NIV By giving your sins to J esus you know thatit is something that He will reccive. Ho came intothe world for j us t t ha t purpose. You are helpingHim to accomplish what He came to do. You alsoget a tremendous personal benefit forgiveness and freedom from guilt that comes fromdoing things that our Heavenly Father hasins t ructed us n ot to do.The second gift that I suggest yo u give is a sadgift, the gift of SUFFERING. It is easy to look at

    s om eo ne in a whe el c ha ir or c on fi ne d t o a bedand feel sorry fo r h im . Many of th e physicalinvalids that I have me t were spiritual giants. Th ereal suf fe ri ng comes when a person is suffering

    spiritually when a person is a spiritual invaliThe following words of Jesus were said in a timof great spiritual and emotional distress, both foJesus and also fo r His followers. "Do no t le t youhear ts be t roubled . Trus t in God; trust a lso in mIn my Father's house are many rooms; i f i t weno t so, I would have told you . I am going theto prepare a p lace for you ." John 14:1, 2 NIVWhen I think of home, I think of childhood dayon the farm and a place of s trength and safet(My experience may no t have been youexperience, and you may lack being able to sesuch a place in your mind's eye.) Jesus assuryou that there is a place to live that He hpersonally prepared for you. It is a place wheall pain a nd suffering can no t come, and t hewill be total f reedom from doubt, worry, and thproblems of this life. You c an b eg in y ou r owpreparation to receive this home by giving youproblems, worries , and sufferings to Him todaHe d o es m a ke a difference.The third gift that would please Jesus , an

    probably the most expensive gift of all, is the giof SHLF. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers (ansisters), in view of God's mercy, to offe r youbodies as l iv ing sacri fices, holy and pleasingGod - - which is your spiritual worshipRomans 12:1 NIV. This is t he most expensivgift because of th e value that God has placeupon you. He sent His Son to exchange His lifor yours even up no difference. Thimportant thing to know, however, is that thgift if yours to keep or to give away. No one catwist your arm b ec au se God is not in tharm-twisting business.You mig ht think of some other gifts that yo

    could give Jesus as this Christmas season. As yoconsider what to bu y for tho se close to yoconsider wha t y ou have to give to th e One thatcloser than a bro the r Jesus. Join th e "wismen" from th e eas t. Bring gif ts that are pract icagifts t iiat are benef icial, g if ts for Jesus. BM

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    In Our Sixth Year at Spanish American Evangelism MORSE MISSION MOMENTS Christmas 198

    I can't my liscense for 2 more years!!OPPORTUNIT IES TO SPEAK FOR S.A.E.

    On No vembe r 14 we were at t he N or th SideQiristian Church in Oklahoma City fo r t he irmorning worship service. During the early part ofthe service, Brother Bill Park, the minister, calledKathy and me to t he f ro nt and conducted abouta five minute interview, letting th e congregationknow who we were and what we do . I preachedthe morning message. They were beginning theirweek o f Fai th Promise with a Missions Fair se tup in the activity room of the church. Each oftheir missionaries and/or missions' works wasrepresented by a display prepared by members ofthe church. S ince S .A .E . has been a part of theirprogram for a number of years, there was adisplay table there all week . We also set up the

    REFELECTIONS ON THENORTHWEST SCHOOL OF MISSIONSWhen I was contacted by Hiiroid Brown,minister of the church at Stockton. Kansas,about being a part of the School of Missions, Iwas excited . As the time to go came. 1 continuedto be excited and the event itself was as great asthe anticipation.Kathy and 1 left El Paso Friday afternoon,November 5, and spent the night at Santa Rosa.New Mexico. It had b(?en a very long and busy

    week, and we were exhausted. We slept in andate a leisurely breakfast before heading to ScottCity, Kansas. We arrived at the home of ou rhosts, Kerry and Karen Hookstra. at 7 p.m. Itwas great to visit these new friends , friends madeduring the visit in August when we were themissionaries for the ir Vacat ion Bible School .Also spending the night with Kerry and Karenwas Deborali Ham, representing Korean ChristianMission. She was the only one of the otherspeakers in thi s week of missions that we had achance to meet. It was good to learn of her work.After bringing the morning message on Sundayat the Community Christian Church, we were onour way t o Cheyenne Wells, Colorado. Thusbegan a very excit ing week in which we were ableto renew many acquaintances from the past andmake a large number of new friends bothpersonal and for Spanish American Evangelism.S.A.E.'s share of the offerings for the week wasmore than enough to cover our travel expenses,so the trip paid for itselfin every way. We praisethe Lord for the blessings showered on us byHispeople during the trip and since.INCOME REPORTAs reported in our September newsletter, ourin come for the first eight months of 1982 had

    averaged $127.50. The October income was$190.00, as prev iously repor ted. In Novemberthis figure rose to $465.00. Part of this increase,however, is directly attributable to the speakingtrip and offerings given in some of the churches.In October MORSE MEDICAL received$75.00 toward our medical bills incurred in my

    August operation. In November there was a totalof $335.00 received, and^ so far in December we

    Nov. 1982- Lynn &ShannonNEWS FROM OUR TEXAS KIDS

    We had a really nice visit with Lynn anShannon. He is working four ten-hour days at hjob in Canadian. Because of oil prices, his worthere is not all that much. He is working withfriend doing house remodeling on Fridays anSaturdays in Pampa. Shannon is now workinfull time at the church and liking the work vermuch .Their trip to Hill City was no t uneventfuAbout 70 miles south of Hill City, they lost thengine on the car. Tliat took up quite a bit otheir visit time in HillCity towing the car inarranging for repairs, and searching that wholend of the state for parts. He had fortunatelypurchased an extended warranty when he bouglithe car, so the repairs were mostly a

    invonvenience. He and Shannon also missedday of work on Monday because the car was noready until 5 P.M., and they did not get homuntil 11:30. Life ha s it s Uttle trials.Speaking of t rials, I guess that it is our turnThis will be the first Christmas in twenty- threyears that we will not have any kids at home, andit will be just Kathy and me. In fac t, our kids wilnot be home any time during the hol idays. Wwill miss them, but that is a part of Hfe.

    A CHANCE TO VIS IT THE FAMILY

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    In Our Eighth Year at S.A.E.A TRIBUTE

    On March 6, 1983, Evelyn Newton of Canadian,Texas , passed from this life to the next. In anycongregation there are several quiet, unobtrusive,almost unnoticed, widow ladies. Evelyn was kind oflike that We got to know her during our ministrythere, and when we came to Spanish AmericanEvangelism, she began to support us. At first it wasnow and then, but fo r th e past several years, it hasbeen every sfngle month . The amount of her gift wasnot large, as some count largeness, but it representeda great amount to us because it was a part of Evelyn.We know that it was wrapped in prayer. We missEvelyn, we miss he r faithfulness in support boththrough prayers and offerings. Praise God for her life and tha t she has been released from the cares ofthis life!

    MISSIONS PRESENTATION FOR S.A .E .

    On the week-end of January 8th and 9th, Kathyand I went to Big Spring, Texas, where we had theprivilege of sharing the work of Spanish AmericanEvangelism with th e Christian Church. KeithGibbons, the minister, and the church board had beengiven some information about our work by two oftheir members, Mark Winters and Steve Smith, formermembers of the Mountain View congregation in LasCruces. The church in Big Spring is not large, butthey have a zeal for missions. They are currentlygiving 15% of their budget to missions, and we arehappy to report that S.A.E. is now receiving one-fifthof that amount .As a sideline of the trip, I was able to renewacquaintance with Jerry Kelly, chaplain of the federalminimum security facility located at BigSpring. I hadfirst become accjuainted with Chaplain Kelly when heserved as chaplain at the prison facil ity located at

    Anthony, Texas-New Mexico. As a result of th ecurrent visit, we were able to send a quantity ofSpanish language materials for him for use at theprison in Big Spring, as well as for one of the Spanishchurches the re .It was a great week-end of making new friends forS.A.E. and visiting with Mark and Lavern Winters and

    staying with Steve and Carla Smith (whose wedding Iperformed three years ago in Las Cruces.)

    Kevinand

    ChristopherOur Grandsons

    Page 3home town, and he is working in new church wothere .On Monday morning at 11 a.m., a chartered bupicked the group up in the parking lot of a shoppin

    center and took us to Oaxtepec, Morelos, about ahour and a half south of the city.One of the real joys for me was to have Broth

    Woodrow Phillips as th e speaker. I took a numberclasses from him while we were at Ozark BibCollege.The missionary reunion closed on Friday morninand we went back to Mexico City with Rodney anLinda Peterson. Westayed with them for three nightThe rest of the group went home on Friday nighexcept for Marilyn Wood and Roberta Burr. Marily

    and Roberta stayed with Bob and Gretchen WinterOn Monday evening we headed home; Rober ta camby plane, and Marilyn, Kathy, and I by train. Warrived back in El Paso Wednesday morning abo6:30. It was a really great trip, and I was so thankfthat Kathy could accompany me this time.

    ANNIVERSARY PLANSThis is a special year for Kathy and me. On Jun20th we will mark the 25th year of our marriage. W

    are making plans for the celebration of tha t event oMemorial Day week-end, after consultation with ouchildren. As of now, the celebration will probably bheld in our home. Rejoice with us.

    FROM THEPRINTSHOP

    When you begin to look at the facts and figurethere a re some th ings that jump out at th e observeS.A.E. is distributing materials faster than we arprint ing them! Our supply c lose t is becoming likMothe r Hubbard 's cupboard BARE. The totnumber of items printed since the first of Januarnumber in excess of 290,000 (but that Includenvelopes, newsletters, banquet tickets, etc.). In thgroup are 39,000 tracts (three titles) and 33,60

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    AUG 2 2 1983

    Dea r Fe l l ow M i s s io n a r i e s :Please accept th is as a very personaT^I^ter . ^ ~Hew can I make up fo r l o s t time? I have jus t l o s t two months; surgery and thelong vzeeks o f recovery are behind me new.Eleven year s ago a f t e r a ma jo r h ea ri : a t t a ck , th e doc to r s a id , "Two months to ayear." In the next eight years, we were allowed to help put Winston-SalemBible College on a new mil l ion dol la r campus, upgrade the curr iculum, increaseth e s tu de nt body, and ca l l a capable new president . I b elie ve th e Lord sparedroe fo r t h a t purpose.Three years ago, we were chal lenged to come to El Paso, v^ere we understood wewere going to be engaged in cors s -cul tura l evangelism. I t i s n ' t much more thana f ive minute drive across the In terna t ional Bridge in to Mexico and a foreignmi s s i o n field.Frankly , we found a schoo l on th e verge o f bankruptcy . There hadn ' t been a c lassin missions for two and a ha l f years . The school had been quartered on rentedproper ty fo r e igh t years . With much prayer and the help o f th e Lord, t ha t hasbeen changed . Outside o f owing a great ly reduced amount o f back sa lary , ourb i l l s a re cur ren t . Vfe a re new paid down to near ly $300,000.00 on a proper tyappraised a t $700,000.00.The name o f th e school has been l ega l ly changed to El P aso S ch oo l o f Miss ions .Half of the classroom work has to dq_with Bible_and related s ub je ct s; th e res to f th e c l a s s rocm work h^ t o do wi t h mi s s i on s t u d i e s . S t uden t s c r o s s ove r i n t oMexico weekly in order to be involved in foreign missions and to rece iveguidance a t th e hands o f ve te ran miss ionar i es . Las t y ea r, c la ss es were he lda t th e schoo l , i n th ree churches on th e American s id e , and in s eve r a l churcheson the Mex i c a n side.

    Twenty-three l o c a l people took one o r more c lasses . Five f u l l - t i n e s tudentscame to us frcm f ive s t a t e s . (This , o f course , was ou r f i r s t year with our newprogram.) At t h i s wr i t i ng , it i s too ea r ly to give f igu res , bu t the re has alreactybeen a good increase in reg is t ra t ion .You know, o f course , it has been my r e spons ib i l i t y to r a is e th e $30,000.00 p roper ty payment every s ix months. Since I have gone to s leep and dr iven o f f the roadtwice now, I have had to give up v i s i t i ng nsv churches to r a i s e s up p or t, e xc ep twhen I can occ a si on a ll y t ak e a dr iver along. Bro th er Lo ft i s now on th e f i e ld .

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    and he v/ill spend considerable time visi t ing churches as soon as he i s sett ledin . Meanvdiile, I must depend on YCXJ viho have fa i th fu l ly supported us year a f t e ryear to help us get together another $30,000.00 for our Septenber 25th payment.Suddenly in May, I found n^se l f in the hospital! I have no r eco ll ec ti ons a s tohow I got there. They shDt dye into my veins ($1026.00 vorthi) . They said i fI had a by-pass operat ion, I could l ive another ten to twenty years. I asked,"How long without?" and they replied, "Twd to three months." I said, "Le t's g etgoing1"The Lord mus t have spared me the second time, because he has sonething more forir e to do! Frcm here , it looks l ike it has to do with keeping the El Paso Schoolof Missions f inancial ly solvent and teaching a few church his tory classes .Now, I tBve to make up for l os t timef a i t h fu l f i n anc i a l par tner s can helpo f perhaps $1,000.00 o r $500.00 frcsnOne hundred and f i f ty $200.00 gi f t s ,over th e top . On th e o th er hand, wef r iends v^o can help us w ith $50.00,

    and only you dear people who have be en ourme. We voald hope fo r scsne l a rger gi f t smissionary-minded churches and individuals,o r three hundred $100 g i f t s , vrould put usare equally grateful for our supporting$25 .00 , o r $10 .00!

    Someone suggested that you were going to get t ired of helping pay for a building.I don ' t believe a word of i t ! You have expressed your confidence in us in manyways, and some of you for many years. I have every conf idence that you wil lcon t i nue to b e o ur " fe ll o w mi s s i o n a r i e s . "At seventy years of age, I don ' t expect to ever have a lo t of energy again, soI guess I can ' t make up for l o s t t ime by working twice as hard a t money-raising.I wil l ju s t have to count on you!God loves you and so do I ; so do a l l th e good people who work t oge the r here a tE l P as o S ch oo l o f Mi s s i o n s .Yours in His Glad Service ,

    Lelafii TyrrellDirec tor of Developnvent,and Gra t e fu l l y , Your Fr iend .P.S. Any suggestions you may have tha t wi l l help me do my job a l i t t l e bet terwi l l be very much appreciated.

    FLASH FLASH FLASHBrother Leland Tyrrell was admitted to the hospitala t 3:45 a .m. , August 10th. As the time of t h i smailing (August 11th) , he remains in intensive care.He i s undergoing t e s t s to determine the ser iousnessof his problem. Please keep Leland and Vi in yourprayers.

    AUG 2

    Ba r t o n E . Mo r s eT r e a s u r e r , Execu t i v e Commit teeE l Paso Schoo l o f Miss ions

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