o

RODNEY AND

I^Thrtkiwpsm

MAYSEL NORTHRUP

FAMILY AND MISSIONS INSTITUTE

APARTADO

POSTAL 306

SALTILLO, COAHUILA, MEXICO

NORTHRUP

May

NEV/SLETTER

1981

Praise the Lord for His blessings, patience

and for not giving up on us, ours and you,
Bro.
Paul v/rote, "For we are His v/orkmanship, created
in Christ Jesus for good works, which
God afore

prepared that we should walk in them.(Eph. 2:10)

By human nature, v;hich is not a godly trait^
I*m an impatient person
ready
to tell the Lord
how His work can and should be done much quicker
and more effectively...especially i f we just had
more money, equipment and. v/orkers. Fortunately He -

keeps right on working with each of us, remaking

us into His likeness that someday He will be able
to say, "This is
my workmanship...the finished
product...useful
for my work and for
eternal
fellowship." As the years go by we are amazed at
what He has been able to accomplish through such
Rodney G. Northrup

earthy ineffective instruments^

All through the years of our

marriage
and
the 32 years we have been in missionary work there was a prayer burden on
our hearts for certain members of our two families.

Brothers and sisters

who were
good moral,
"religious" people
but with whom we could never
really share the Lord's work, His V/ord and the joys of the Christian life
because they were our natural family but v/e didn't feel they were of
the
"Family of God."
V/hat a glorious wonderful change we found last fall v^hen we
visited
a short time with our families. The barriers were all gone, no longer did
we have to search for topics of conversation but we
marveled at how
the
Holy Spirit had swept through our families to make them His family too. Of

nephews and nieces working in prisions, in Africa,America, and the Isles of

.the_Sea.
Of_.brothers ._^d. sisters_.hqlding__xottage prayer meetings,
Bible studies, special spiritual encounter meetings with Christ...truly our cup
overfloweth.
Great
Grandma

Grandma

Maysel
Northrup

Kirch .

Labor!

On April 22, 1981 Maysel's mother,

Mrs. Alice
S. Kirch 86; Maysel's sisters: Mildred McKittrick,
Margaret Murphy and husband Gerald K, Murphy flew
from Billings, Montana to Monterrey International
airport to spend 2 weeks getting acquainted with
our area of Mexico.

there

has been a

I t v;as

lot of

their f i r s t

visit so

"shov/ and tell."

Their

visit has been a real blessing as four generations

are

involved.

Its also been a blessing to have them share our

after

breakfast devotional

time, and

throughout

the day,
what the Lord has done
among Maysel's
family and friends.
They were a great help to us
as we got ready tor The National Mexican Mens Meet

ing here on the ranch April 30 through May 2, 1981,

About 130 men

attended from some 11

Mexican states

and from Texas,- USA.

We had a chance to show them around
Saltillo and Monterrey some and
to go out to the mountain village of San Juan...then on Sunday our Volks

wagen Combi threw a rod.

(The Lord and I have been having some very heavy

discussions again about that one).

blessings...keep on reminding me.

But,
Lord,

even so,

I guess that has

itfe

to thank you for the Combi break

ing down for the third time this year...(Romans 8:28; Ephesians 5:20)...
because

the other missionaries here on

the

ranch

were able

to

take

them

stround so they can share in their bubbling experiences with Christ.

Please keep on praying and sharing with us and
looking up for Christ is coming soon.
We are pray
ing for you.
CTpiJi
Rodney held the Easter
meeting in San Juan and
one

man was

to C h r i s t .

immersed

in

A MINUTE WITH MAYSEL. . . .home from the YUCATAN'.

Let's go back and join me in the kitchen of

our Mayan hosts. The clean bucket of water pull
ed from the well i s to v/ash our hands.
His wife
wants us to be seated at the table. We will have

prayer in Spanish.
Isn't this kitchen
unique with its walls
made of
sticks
lashed together?
The space be
tween the sticks
permits
the air to
circulate

continually and the high palm thatched roof pro

vides insulation against the heat. The open cook
ing hearth is to one side.
I'm blessed to be
visiting people who have houses like their MAYAN
ancestors a
thousand years ago.
The
thatched
roofs are among the endangered species.
People
Mav sa1 wo r t hrup
are not allowed, now to cut palms like they used
to do so more modern roofing will gradually
do away with this old custom of building...
AREN'T those corn tortillas good?
I

wish

could

talk with

them

in

their

version of the MAYAN language. Because they

live in Mexico they speak Spanish but there
are

known

to be over

two

dozen

distinct

dialects among the Mayans.

In the class I taught for the women this
afternoon I
noticed
that when the
prayer
is in Mayan they used the Spanish word
for

-ssionary God, that is "Dios" , The Mayans had lots of

:ids had their own gods but in this house they are Christians,

stable.

That's progress.

I'm so impressed with their regional dress, the "huipil".

the girls

in the services

say it takes them betv/een

finish the embroidery work on a dress.

Some of

15 to 21 days to

If you wear a modern type dress

yorr are a "katrina" instead of a "mestiza".

I'm also impressed with so

much gold dental work.

We so enjoyed the fellowship o-f SAMIK^L and BETTY GONZALES" who left
their parents, brothers and sisters in northern and central
Mexico tp
move to Merida, Yucatan v/here they began the work 7 years
ago,
Samuel
is a graduate of Colegio Biblico.
They have 3 children and now lots of
brothers and sisters in Christ among the Mayan.
The work is being done
in such a way that the people are learning responsibility and Christian
leadership as a must because v;orkers are so few and there are supposedly
over
two million tovms and villages where Mayans live within the three
countries on the peninsula.

To live for a little bit in the past the Yucatan i;s the place,..

Thanks for sharing this minute v;ith me.

fbiMiSMo CuotroMesesl

Un 75% Aumentaron los Articulos

Mimenticios de Primera Necesidod
Several nave written to ask, "Is INFLATION bad in Mexico?" I think the

above headline, from our local paper "Extral" of

April 24, 1981,

pretty

well answers the question.

It says, "In just four months there has been
a 75% increase in the cost of essential foods."
Then their study went on

to list the cost of beans, sugar, milk, flour etc. comparing the Dec. 1980
prices v/ith April 1981. Many things are higher than in the States.

JEngli

HELP and THINGS

NEEDED:
Someone to take dictation from cassettes in
English.
Rodney
has several
studies he v/ould like to put into English
but doesn't
c
have time to do the typing.

Rodney also v/ants copies of your Faith Promise Programs. He is pre

paring a study in Spanish for missions and wants to include all of your
good ideas.

r-IAGDALENA NORTHRUP has a serious eye condition and needs her glasses
replaced.

They will cost nearly $200 dollars.

The Yucatan was a totally nev/ experience for the two Northrup families.
Most of the Yucatan Peninsula is make up of limestone rocks which are bare

ly 50 feet above
sea level...Saltillo is over a mile high.
There are no
surface rivers but underground streams with "Cenotes," great limestone
caverns, where you can go swimming and not get a sunburn.

We were really surprised to find that most of the people speak Maya,the
2,000 year old language of their ancestors, and their second tongue is
Spanish.

Many times the elders reinterpreted our messages into Maya.

We were very impressed v/ith the work of Samuel and Betty Gonzalez,

who

began working in the Merida, Yucatan area 7 years ago.

During the 3 weeKs
we were in the area v;e worked with 5 congregations.
We shov/ed films, con
ducted leadership training classes and Maysel and
Magdalena worked with
the women.

Samuel's brother Hector and vjife Maria from Guadalajara shared

in the preaching and music.

During the meeting there were 4 confessions of

This Mayan elder and
his wife are v/earing the

typical dress of

the
the J^atan.
Yucatan.

faith and 15 were baptized by Samuel in a Cenote,

After our

bus

broke

down

Samuel

and his

family drove

family north so Mark

could get partsMark
from and
thehis
States
and preach in the
Bi-lingual Convention in Eagle Pass, Texas,
Samuel's W bus also broke down so they didn't

get back to Merida until Easter week. Apparently

our training had helped and the Mayan leaders were
stronger than Samuel thought for he found each

congregation holding a

revival meeting and

they

had already baptized 4 people.

The people had thought the Gonzalez family was

not coming back.

Spiritually the Vera Cruz and Yucatan meetings

were great successes but financially they were
a
disaster.
Thirty miles
out of Merida the crank

shaft on

borrow

$1,500

Mark's diesel pickup broke.

dollars to repair it.

We

Then our Combi, W bus, also

had to

broke

down and we had to borrow another

$500 dollars for its repair,
Mark re
built two motors while in Merida. We apparently must use cars in mission

ary work in Mexico but they surely are a big cost item to keep running.

MARK and MAGDALENA NORTHRUP

Apartado Postal 306
Saltillo, Coah.
MEXICO

eve\y joy of the Ck^istrncis season toe youKs

and may tke Jlew ^ea\ typing you happiness.

MARK L. NORTHRUP NEWSLETTER

Dear

NOVEMBER, 1981

friends:

Just a few words to let you know what we have been doing and what vie
would like

to

do

in

the

future.

To some this comes as a

like we

We are writing 1
surprise, since we don't get around to write

should.

We attended'.

Mark and Magdalena, attended the

"Marriage Encounter"
seminar the
weekend of Sept. 25-27 in San Antonio, Texas,
They feel so "good", that
they want all who can, to attend.
Thanks for the idea Uncle Chuck and

Aun t Margare t I
We are wanting'.
Since attending the Marriage Encounter, we are wanting to help others
as we too were helped;
Plans are to have Marriage Encounters on Mountain
View Ranch in

the near future'.

We wen t'.

This past summer Mark and Magdalena, and their 2 daughters, Berenice

and Ana Silvia, attended 3 different Mexican Christian Camps,

They gave
classes, showed films and sponsored different teams'.
The girls swam a
lot and got really brown.
She baked for 14 hours I

Magdalena Northrup, was asked to make the birthday cake for the Chamacuero^Ch^istian Camp, which celebrated it^s 25th birthday.
It took her
14 hours to bake and decorate the
cake which finally served over 300
visitors ^ d campers.
She was tired but glad'.
Over 30 died'.

Over 30 young people and adults died to sin this summer...they were
buried with Christ in baptism'.
We

showedI

A city wide evangelistic meeting was held in Salinas, Zacatecas.

Arturo Cordoba and some students from Colegio Biblico were the organ
izers and evangelists.
We showed the films on the Life of Christ and we
were pleased to see more than 15 people give their lives to Christ'.
A cousin i s lost I

Mark and Magdalena lost a cousin in the city of Nuevo Laredo I

Magda
lena's cousin, 48 year old Moises Laborico, died of a fatal heart attack'.

He was the elder of the congregation where, Jesus Menchaca, another cousin
of Magdalena ministers.
Bought new glasses'.
A special thanks to Mrs. Ed Hoist, Arthur and Thelma Burghart and Ted
and Fern Dormaier who paid for Magdalena's new glasses.
Magdalena's
problem now is..." She see s too much'." ... (sez Msu^k).

We are growing'.

Berenice, (4), is enrolled and attending kindergarten.

It happens to

be the same one her father Mark and Aunt Anita attended 28 years ago.

Amazing'.

leasing'.

Thanks to the large amounts of clay located on Mountain View Ranch

we are able to lease, on a percentage, clay for the making of bricks.
Two kinds of bricks are made and then exported to the U. S, for sale.

Our i>ortion of construction brick we keep, the floor tile is sold.

We will build'.

In the near future we hope to build, with the bricks mentioned above,

several cottage type rooms to be used for various activities held here on
Mountain View Ranch,..specifically for the seminars of "Spanish Marriage
Encounter."

I'lAnK L. NORTHRUP NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER, 1981
We

have

borrowed!

During the month of Oct. Mark and Magdalena borrowed $2,000 dollars,
to purchase an automatic washing machine, a refrigerator and some kero-sene heaters.
They are glad the bsink was willing to lend them the money
and they hope they will be as glad when they start to pay the loan back!
We are thanking God!

We are thanking God first of all, for the blessings He tjas shared with
us, because you have been v;illing to share.
We want to thank each and
everyone of you, who have prayed, shared, and maybe even shed a tear once
in a while on our behalf.
We will never be able to repay what you have
done, but we will continue to appreciate and thank the Lord for all of
your help.
Yours in Christ because He first loved us.

Mark and Magdalena Northrup

THE NORTHRUPS PRAY

^obtteg anb Jilagael Kortl]rup

GODS BLESSINGS UPON YOU AND YOURS

THROUGHOUT

THE

HOLIDAY

INTO

Samlly and

Un^Htuts

APARTAOO POSTAL 306

SEASON AND

SALTILLO. COAHUILA. 25000

1982

Mexico now also has zirH

codes ... Saltillo is 2500oJ

-cwenittv Cktiit 'm "W:

MEW

HEART'.

In Joplin, Mo. while awaiting the arrival of Ruby Linda,

x/i ft ' R hahv
RoH

I /

I'

Sylvia's baby, Rodney went to see the doctor about a head-

' ' ache.

The doctor discovered he had a fast irregular heart
beat and wanted to put him in the hospital immediately... something we could
not

afford.

Returning to Saltillo we wrote many of you asking for special prayer and
Rodney was under the care of 2 heart specialists.
Thanks to your prayers
and medicine his heart beat is back to normal with slight heart damage.
^
The Doctors said he must slow down and not worry.
Slowing down is the

^^,r?^ardest for Rodney and if ycm i^lks continue to uphold us in prayer and
financially there will be no need to worry.

/i

We met Sylvia and Ruby Linda late Monday evening Nov.

/7 2nd. at the Monterrey, Mexico airport. They had come to

// visit for a couple of weeks. Daddy, Mark Lichte, is

(j studying at Central Missouri State College and couldn't

pr Ruby Linda, born June 16, 19R1 , has already charmed

^^'ner 2 Mexican cousins, Berenice and Ana Silva, of course

. her grandparents were already taken in this summer.
11
Ruby Linda's home address is care of Mark and Sylvia
// Lichte, P. 0. Box //373 , Higginsville, Mo. 64037.

BACK TO VERA CRUZ AND THE YUCATAN

"^^^B

--

We are now nreoaring for our next meetings in the states of

ii^ueJtflw

Vera Cruz and the Yucatan in Jan.

and Feb. of 1982

Our diesel rig is getting a complete overhaul v;ith new air

shock absorbers.. .S113 dollars,

the camper is being

remodeled

and fixed up.

Our biggest need for heln is for 5 new tires which will cost
$80 dollars each.
MEETING

IN JARDIN ESPANOL

Maysel and Rodney had a very interesting Christian Family Conference with

the Jardin EspaPol congregation in Monterrey, N*uevo Lec^n where Bernardo and
Rita Castillo minister.
them to solve

several

A number of persons said the conferences helped

of their family problems.
TRAILER

PARKING

Several have said they would like to spend some time in

Mexico if they could find a safe place. On Mountain View Ranch W||^ :,V
v/e now have six hookups available. It's a rather rustic parklrg^^B^^T.-'v
nlace v/ith reliable electricity, water and

sewerage connections.

Saltillo is five miles away with its modern stores, language scnools arc!
hospitals.
The weather is always cool and enjoyable and there is a lot of
good mountain scenery.
There is little noise, except for an occasional
coyote singing at night.
If interested in stopping in for a few days, or
six months, please write the Northrups for instructions on how to reach
Mountain View Ranch A l t a m i r a in Spanish and on the road sign.
RODNEY AND MAYSEL WANT

TO

MEET WITI! YOU'.

April 16-18, 1982' Rodney and Maysel are to share in a Faith Promise
Meeting with the Myrtle Point, Oregon congregation.
They want to meet
as many friends and supporting congregations, in Oregon and Wash., as
possible the following two weeks through May 9th. Those interested
should write the Northrups as soon as possible so a full itinerary can
be

planned,

We have continued to

LOST MAIL

lose

mail.

If your letter has not been answered,

or if you have not received a receipt for money sent, nor your cancelled

check please consider your letter lost and write us again. JJ