History of Acatlan, Mexico


Preface

In 2016 Carolina Blas presented this during Mexico Night. It includes her own story.

Introduction

Key verse John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Good evening! My name is S. Carolina Blas and I am from UBF Acatlan in Mexico City. I am the oldest daughter of S. Rodolfo Blas and S. Carolina, and currently I serve God in Acatlan, teaching the students the Gospel.

God proclaims in Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witness unto me both in Jerusalem and all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” This last loving commandment from our Lord Jesus, even today, is being accomplished by the faithful servants of God, since from the uttermost part of the earth, came a young Korean man, who seemed very weak and very skinny. He came to Mexico, to preach the Gospel with great power. This power came from the incomparable power of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus gives to his faithful servants. Amen. He came from the land of the “morning calm”, South Korea, he was M. Abraham Hwang. By God´s grace, he met my father, S. Rodolfo Blas, in the course of selling him Korean furniture. This is how, years later, began Acatlan´s Chapter.

I. MY FATHER RODOLFO

M. Abraham Hwang, sacrificing his time, came every week to have 1 to 1 Bible study with my father. God´s word, started touching his heart, as he began to know the incomparable love of Jesus. S. Rodolfo had suffered all his life, due to the lack of his father´s love. He was abandoned by his father, before he was born. He had to suffer from extreme poverty all his childhood. He used to sell jell-o on the street. Although he was always hungry, he was hungrier of becoming someone in life, and of knowing God. However, God was training him during all this time, through the great effort he had to make to standout in life. Because of the poverty, and lack of medical attention, S. Rodolfo acquired a heart disease. This caused him a very high risk heart surgery, with a three month convalescence, when he was only 16 years old. Nonetheless, he didn´t stop studying, and took all his tests, without failing any of his classes, and finished his major as Public Accountant. When he started working, he was promoted often, until he got his own furniture store. Even though God had blessed him with wealth, and success at work, he had been unhappy, because of the adulterous life he was living. He was always eager to find God, since he had a void in his heart that neither material things, nor his family´s love could fill. Thus, God had mercy on him, and through Bible study, touched his heart, by the word in John 8:11 “Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.” At that moment he cried the tears of repentance and with great joy found Jesus´ true love and forgiveness. He had so much joy that he started sharing God´s word with his family, employees and neighbors, in total 50 people were studying the Bible. He started attending Sunday Worship service, at CU UBF, when the chapter was only beginning. When he invited the 50 people to the service, howerver, they all ran away. Only S. Mary and his children stayed. At that time CU UBF was very small, but the environment was full of faith. There were only about 15 people. By observing the missionaries´ sacrificial life, he also gave his offerings every Sunday, and collaborated with whatever he had.

By God´s grace, he could also experience God´s love in Korea, through his servants S. Mark and Anna Yang. Although they did not know him, they treated him like their own son. This moved him, even to tears, since he experienced in his heart a joy he had never felt, and felt God´s love at the “uttermost part of the earth”. He shared his life testimony in Korea. Later in 1989, he was invited by M. Abraham Hwang to the International Bible Conference at MSU, titled “Have Faith in God”, where God´s word touched his heart once more and grew his faith. That same year, by God´s grace, he was anointed as shepherd, together with his wife, so he started going to the University and invited the students to Bible study.

II. THE BIRTH AND GROWTH OF ACATLAN CHAPTER

In 1994, as my father was studying John 21:15 “Do you love me? Feed my lambs”, he decided to plant a new chapter at the Acatlan University, according to M. Abraham´s guide. Even though he didn´t have enough knowledge on the Bible, nor training, only by faith, he planted this new chapter, the first one led by a Mexican shepherd. M. Abraham started looking for an apartment with my father every week, until they found a small house. So one Sunday, after the Worship Service, we had a beautiful farewell ceremony with all our brothers and sisters of faith. We were S. Rodolfo, S. Carolina, S. Serafin, S. Juanita, and S. Mary, along with their children.

Our chapter´s prayer topic was: “The work of the five loaves of bread and the two fish”, since we had faith that with the little we knew about the Bible, we could serve the students and in Jesus our little faith would be multiplied. S. Caro, S. Mary and S. Juanita, went with great joy to the university inviting the students. My father prepared every Sunday message, studying the books of John and Genesis, written in Spanish by M. Joseph Ahn, and translating and studying the messages from M. Samuel Lee and S. Ron Ward. Planting a new chapter is really wonderful, because you have the faith that you can spread the Gospel, and the faith of serving. At the same time, however, it makes you fearful, since fishing the students is formidable. However, little by little, the students came, (like Ana Claudia, Lucy, Alejandro, Raquel, Mitzi, Marisol, Imelda), some of them stayed and some left, but as time passed, our chapter grew until we had 25 people every Sunday and 15 1 to 1 Bible studies every week. At the Christmas Worship service we had 40 attendants.

In 1999, M. Isaac and Rebecca Park, as well as M. Daniel and Sara Baeck, came to our chapter and participated in our ministry. But, in 2002, M. Isaac Park received direction to plant a new chapter at Iztacala University. Later, in 2004, S. Serafin and Juanita, made the decision to plant a new chapter at the State of Michoacan, in the city of Morelia. When they left, we were less again, but soon we grew once more, having up to 30 people every Sunday worship service.

III. MY STORY

Personally, I am very grateful to God, who called me from a useless and selfish life, to participate in his redemptive history. By God´s grace and my parents´ hard work, I received a very high education, studying at the American School Foundation and later at the Anahauc University Medical School. I was blessed by knowing God since I was a kid. For many years of my life, however, I preferred to enjoy the pleasures of the world, not accepting the mission of feeding Jesus´ sheep. I always made excuses, such as the hard work I had at the Medical School. In fact, I was more interested in spending time with my friends. I never shared God´s word with my friends, and never talked to them about God´s word and love. I had no humbleness in my heart and most of all I didn´t want to serve God´s sheep. But God, in his infinite love, trained me for one year, since I was not accepted to Pediatrics residency. I was shocked by such failure, and I realized that all that time I had only depended on myself and not on God, and hadn´t trust God´s guide in my life. At that time, Matthew 6:33 touched my heart: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” I repented with all my heart, for having wasted many years of my life, and since that day I decided to serve God. I started going to the university, looking for the sheep and I could feed many sheep, I led a Bible study group, for the students, and collaborated more at my chapter´s activities. After this decision, God blessed my life. Later, he helped me to enter my Pediatrics residency and to establish a beautiful family. By God´s grace, last year I could serve at the Easter Conference by delivering the message of Mark 6, “You Give them something to Eat”. Now, every three weeks I deliver the message at the Sunday Worship Service, helping out my father. My life is in good shape now, I feel happy that I serve my Lord and give my time to his sheep, so that they may know his love. I pray that I can stay firm in this road; I may overcome all my weaknesses and obstacles; I may be useful in this history of Salvation from today until the end of my days. Amen.

We still need to grow our faith, and sacrifice more of our time, and bear fruit to the Lord. However, during all this time, we have constantly worked, having our Sunday Worship service, without fail. Even though S. Rodolfo struggles with his heart disease and Diabetes, he never fails preparing deep and powerful messages. Every year we celebrate with great joy our Christmas worship service and we have supported, with our offerings, the missions at El Salvador and Peru. By the constant and sacrificing work of S. Caro, whom even with a great pain caused by her trigeminal neuralgia, never fails in going to the university, as well as S. Mary, who goes even with her knee pain, many sheep have been fed. Today, the second generation is also collaborating, S. Enrique, who is S. Mary´s son, delivers the Sunday message every three weeks, and prepares songs for praise, and plays the drums. Since last year, my sister Marisol and Ivonne, started going to the university to invite the students to the Bible study, and serve them with great joy. Diana, Marisol, Ana Karen and Aaron play the violin and the piano in our little orchestra, since 2005, playing the hymns for our worship service. And every Sunday we have the Sunday School, for our kids, the third generation, where they learn God´s word and praise His name. We pray so that the second generation as well as the third, may continue to grow their faith and in God´s time may become the heirs for Acatlan´s history. Amen.

IV. GRATITUDE AND PRAYER TOPICS

We thank the Lord, for calling us to participate in his World mission History, at the Acatlan Fields. We thank the Lord for M. Abraham and Sarah´s lives, may the Lord bless them and continue growing Mexico´s history through them. We thank the Lord for the World Mission of UBF, for his precious servants and missionaries, in Korea, Chicago and around the world. We admire them for their dedication and sacrificing heart to serve God´s history. We truly consider them “Chosen generation, royal priesthood, and holly nation…” (1Pe2:9)

We thank the Lord for his mercy on S. Rodolfo´s life, since miraculously he has been through three heart surgeries, and now he lives depending on a pacemaker. We pray for his health, so may God give him strength, faith and knowledge to guide us and continue training us and helping us grow as faithful servants of God. Amen. Our faithful sheep that take one to one Bible study and attend the Worship service are 8 (Fabiola, Ivan, Adela, Dora, Adrian, Sonia, Karen, Lizette, and Isaac), every Sunday we have 25 attendants to the Worship service and 12 1 to 1 Bible studies. And God blessed us at our Christmas Worship Service in 2015 with 105 attendants.

Our prayer topics are:

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