“I was high on glue, and I was dying. But then I heard a knock at the door. A woman was at my door, selling bread. She asked me, “Do you want to know Jesus?” —Carlos, former hit man, from an Indigenous tribe in Mexico
Missions in the Sierra Madre Mountains
The Sierra Madre Occidental mountains in Mexico are home to over 120,000 indigenous people. In the 16th century, they fled to the mountains to escape Spanish colonizers and remain there to this day despite the isolation, lack of productive farmland, and danger from drug cartels.
Trapped in the witchcraft of ancient religions, they do not speak Spanish. And they have never heard the Gospel.
Standing in the gap to bring the Gospel to the tribal people is the SOM-Mexico Director and a network of Mexican missionaries who risk their lives every week to travel rugged mountain roads by truck for ten hours—three days by mule—to reach isolated villages. They bring food, medicine, love, and the hope of Jesus.
Mexico Missions Conference
In the fall of 2024, the SOM-Mexico leadership team sponsored the third annual Mexico Conference. Missionaries gathered with over 120 tribal men and women who have received Christ and joined the work to reach their people for Jesus. One such tribal worker, Luisa, spoke encouragement to her fellow missionaries at the conference.
“I have been a missionary in the mountains for fifteen years. The Lord gave us His Spirit to be witnesses. We can think it is impossible, but the most unlikely person is the one God will save.” —Luisa, from an Indigenous tribe in Mexico
Later that weekend, attendees heard the testimony of that most unlikely person.
Carlos’s Story
Carlos is from a village where there are no jobs. Alcoholism, joblessness, and spiritual darkness color the bleak landscape. The narco-culture pushed by the drug cartels lures tribal teens into addiction and crime. Carlos found employment as a hitman for criminal elements in this tangled web.
But money did not lift the spiritual darkness of his life. It was at a low point that he tried to find solace in drugs. He had sniffed glue and could tell it was not going as planned. He felt sick, his heart pounding, when he heard the bread-woman knock on the door.
“She knew I was sick,” he said. “She asked me, ‘Do you want to know Jesus? He can save you.’ And she asked me to pray.”
Shortly after his prayer, Carlos began to feel better. The next day, he was visited by Pastor Mateo, another missionary who taught him more about the love of Christ. Carlos is now an ambassador for Christ, working to reach his people for Jesus.
