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| Ernie, his wife Joy and their daughter Adrienne together in a photo taken by our own Brother Joe... a longtime family friend. |
It was October 1999 and we had just finished a week of ministry with a large group of people in Guadalajara. One of our staff people that week was Ernie Gonzalez, who back in the day, was also an early member of the Board of Directors of Adventures in Life.
Ernie, a Filipino, spoke Spanish and had studied in Oaxaca, so he was perfect for the next leg of our journey. We were heading, for the first time, to that southern state to meet with church leaders about supporting a few of their local ministries.
It wasn’t until we were on the plane that Ernie confessed that he was not as familiar with Oaxaca as I had been led to believe. He was in fact, so unfamiliar that he was not sure he would even be of much help once we landed.
To make a long story short, in a series of meetings, Ernie was a wonderful translator, helping me, and Adventures in Life, take the first steps to establishing a series of long standing relationship there.
While another person might have been able to do what Ernie did in a few short days in Oaxaca in 1999, the fact is, God put him there, at my side and all of our ministry there has grown out of those first very important meetings. If you have served with us in Oaxaca, you did so through the work and ministry of Ernie Gonzalez.
Last week, Ernie’s father died.
I know personally how hard it is to lose a parent close to the holidays. I would like to ask you, as part of the Adventures in Life community to pray this Thanksgiving for Ernie, his wife Joy, & their family in this time of loss.
The Pueblo de Dios, or Family of God, is built on relationships. Our relationship with Ernie runs deep, connected on many different levels and to many people within the Adventures in Life Ministry community.
Ernie, to you and your family go our deepest sympathies and heartfelt best wishes this holiday season.
Dios le bendiga hermano!
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