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March 2013
Mexicans fear ‘losing’ country to Zetas drug cartel
Once a safe zone, the city of Monterrey has been compromised by gangs
Much has been made of the risks Mexico’s drug war poses to tourists, but the most immediate threat is to Mexicans themselves, who are increasingly having to share their cities with criminal cartels.
As part of a weeklong series on the effects of the Mexican drug war, CBC News travelled to Monterrey, a city of four million people in the prosperous northeastern state of Nuevo León.
This cosmopolitan area is home to the biggest Mexican companies and hundreds of multinationals, and boasts the highest per-capita income of any city in Mexico.
After the Zetas drug cartel fire-bombed the Casino Royale in Monterrey, killing 52 people, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, pictured, denounced the unrelenting U.S. demand for drugs.(Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images )
In recent years, it has also become a home for the Zetas, the domestic drug cartel notorious for its assassinations
and bombings.
The Economist magazine reported that the rate of drug-related murders in the Nuevo León region had increased by 193 per cent from 2010 to 2011, owing largely to attempts by the Sinaloa drug cartel to oust the Zetas from Monterrey.
Alfredo Corchado, a Mexican-born American journalist who has covered the drug war for nine years, worries that the Zetas’ penetration of Monterrey will have repercussions for the entire nation.
“If we lose Monterrey, basically we lose the country,” Corchado told CBC News.
Escalating Drug Activity
Mexico has been involved in drug production and distribution for decades, but its role as a supplier has grown considerably in the 2000s. It is the main foreign purveyor of marijuana and methamphetamine to the U.S. and the chief transit route for the country’s cocaine and heroin.
Increased drug traffic has led to a proliferation of cartels and vicious turf battles.
Upon taking office in 2006, President Felipe Calderon launched a government offensive to stanch the burgeoning violence. Since then, almost 50,000 people have died – most of them involved in the narcotics trade – and the drug war shows no signs of abating.
Monterrey’s wake-up call was the fire at the Casino Royale in August 2011. The blaze started after members of the Zetas doused the hotel entrance with gasoline and lobbed in a grenade. Their apparent motive: an unpaid extortion fee.
The fire claimed the lives of 52 people, most of them innocent bystanders, and was the bloodiest crime in Monterrey’s history.
In the immediate aftermath, Calderon vented his anger on the U.S. He claimed that a steady supply of American guns and the U.S. appetite for recreational drugs is sustaining the cartels.
“The economic power and firepower of the criminal organizations operating in Mexico and Latin America come from this endless demand for drugs in the United States,” he said.
It is widely held that one of the reasons Calderon’s drug war is not achieving its goals is because Mexican police are being coerced or corrupted by the cartels.
During a riot at Monterrey’s Apodaca Prison in February 2012, members of the Zetas murdered 44 members of the rival Gulf cartel. Thirty Zetas members managed to escape.
Investigators say the riot couldn’t have happened without the complicity of prison guards and administrators.
May/June 2013
Dear Friends in Christ, May/June 2013
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico. Susie and I are doing well and praise the Lord for His protection and blessings on the work here.
The churches are doing well and are seeing souls saved every week. Several of them celebrated Mothers’ Day with several visitors and professions of faith. There were 18 adults and 37 children saved in the churches! PTL! Several of the churches are doing summer evangelistic campaigns as well and seeing more souls saved!
The Bible College staff and students are doing well. This year’s grads are very excited about entering a new level of service for the Lord. We had a wonderful graduation with over 350 present and 8 graduating. There were 5 graduates for BA degrees from the LBU INSTEP program.
We need your help with $1,800 to buy books and syllabi and to service our copier for the new school year approaching. Please consider what you may be able to do to help these young people prepare for ministry. God bless, and thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
March/April 2013
Dear Friends in Christ, March/April 2013
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
Susie and I are doing well and praise the Lord for His protection and blessings on the work here. We finally have had some much needed rain, but it reminded us of the terrible condition of our roof. We had to put buckets everywhere and peal the paint off of the ceilings as it loosened and hanged down in large pieces. The humidity and mold has been a big problem, and we hope to be able to make repairs this summer.
Recently a shootout took place at the police station a block from our main church (Trinity B.C.) killing one officer. One of the mechanics working on our vehicle had his son kidnapped and was forced to pay nearly $30,000 U.S. Thankfully he was returned to his parents. As mentioned in our last letter, daytime travel on major roadways has become less dangerous due to greater military presence.
The churches had several activities and celebrated Día del Niño (Children’s Day) with several visitors and professions of faith. There were 20 adults and 48 children saved in the churches! PTL!
The Bible College staff and students are doing well and looking forward to graduation. God blessed their evangelistic efforts with 45 souls saved! PTL!
Thanks so much for the help we received toward the well and repairs to the school van. May God bless you all. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
January/February 2013
Dear Friends in Christ, January/February 2013
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
Times are still dangerous with killings and kidnappings continuing. Several were killed in a shootout in Cadereyta just 10 miles north of our youth camp and college campus. On a good note, daytime travel on major roadways has become less dangerous due to greater military presence.
The churches had several activities and celebrated Friend Day (Valentine’s Day) with several visitors and professions of faith. There were 45 saved in the churches these two months! PTL!
The Bible College staff and students are doing well and looking forward to Easter break. God blessed their evangelistic efforts with 42 souls saved! PTL!
We also had a school van break down with transmission and radiator trouble stranding us several hours away from Monterrey with the students. Hours later we were back on the road. We need help with $850 to recover the expense.
Please pray for the ministry here that the Lord will keep the doors open to win souls for Christ. May God bless you all.
Can you help us?
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
November/December 2012
Dear Friends in Christ, November/December 2012
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
Times are still dangerous with killings and kidnappings continuing, but the Lord has kept us and our people safe. He continues to save many people in spite of the difficulty that the ministry faces under such conditions.
December 12 was Virgin of Guadalupe Day, a national day to celebrate and pay homage to Mary as a deity that they worship. It is also a time when traditional pagan and religious celebrations take place all over the country.
The churches all had special Christmas and New Year’s celebrations with new visitors and conversions to Christ. The churches saw more than 46 souls saved and several new members added through baptisms.
We had a wonderful time with the Bible College staff and students at their Christmas fiesta. God blessed their evangelistic efforts in November and December with 79 souls saved! We also had a staff change. Bro. Sergio (our academic dean) surrendered as a missionary to start churches in the state of Veracruz. Elias, a 2010 graduate of our seminary, has taken Sergio’s position. Elias has a wife and two small girls. Please pray for the ministry here that the Lord will keep the doors open to win souls for Christ. May God bless you all.
Yours in Christ, Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Rick and Susie
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
Dear Friends in Christ, September/October 2012
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
We are thankful for the faithfulness and dedication of the pastors and Bible College staff that continue with the work in our absence.
Our oldest grandson Joshua (18) recently accepted Christ as his Savior! He called to tell me the good news and to ask me to baptize him. He is flying from Maryland to Texas where we are doing furlough so I can baptize him. Isn’t that great! PTL!
Several churches celebrated Mexico’s Independence Day on September 16th with Noche Mexicana (Mexican Night) special services. They passed out hundreds of invitations and had many visitors. The decorations, activities, and preaching were outstanding. The fellowship and food afterward was great with outside food courts, games and activities. Over 75 souls were saved in special services at the churches and some in neighborhood plazas!
The Ambassador Baptist Bible College is doing well with 20 students this year but down in attendance because of the violence in this rural area and parents’ concerns for their safety after the armed assault that happened in April.
The students are excited about this year and are working hard. Through the evangelistic efforts of the college staff and students, another 72 souls have trusted Christ!
Yours in Christ, Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Rick and Susie
Upcoming Events for 2013
Here are some of the events planned for this year: 
1. January 7 – students return to classes
2. February 14_17 – churches celebrating Friend Day
3. February 25_March 2 – annual Ambassadors’ Mission Trip for college students – CANCELLED because of the violence
4. March 25_31 – Semana Santa (Easter and Spring Break)
5. April 27, 28 – Children’s Day – churches celebrate the kids with special services and celebrations as an outreach ministry to their families
6. May 6_10 – final exams week for college students
7. May 10_12 – Mother’s Day celebrations in the churches
8. May 17 – Graduation Day Morning Session – 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Lunch Evening Session – 6:00 pm Refreshments after meeting
9. June 16 – Father’s Day celebrations in the churches
10. June_August – summer S.E.N.D. Groups – CANCELLED because of the violence
11. July_August – VBSs in the churches
12. July_August – junior and senior youth camps
13. August 16 – married students arrive at campus to enroll children in local public schools
14. September 9 – students arrive at campus, Convocation at 6:00 pm
15. October 14_18 – Modular Classes
16. December 9_13 – Modular classes
17. December 19 – last day of classes before Christmas Break
JULY – AUGUST 2012
Dear Friends in Christ, July/August 2012
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the
Lord for you and 
deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico.
It would be much more difficult without your sacrifice.
Susie and I are doing well in our travels on furlough. We were able to see the birth of our ninth grandchild! Gabriel James Biven was born to our fourth son Justin and his wife Amber (their fourth) on July 17, 2012. He weighed 10 lbs. / 11 ounces and was 22 inches long. He had already out grown his new born diapers! What a wonderful blessing from the Lord.
The churches are doing well in spite of the “summer slump” that several have experienced. In July several of our churches joined together for their first annual Children’s Conference. More than 150 children attended along with dozens of parents. There were 65 children and 12 adults who accepted Christ as Savior!
July and August were camp months. Attendance was down because of the violence, but there were two camps. Several young people were saved, and five surrendered to the Lord.
We also had our convocation to start off a new year at the Ambassador Baptist Bible College. I was able to preach the message and welcome the 150 visitors and ten new students.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
MAY – JUNE 2012
Dear Friends in Christ,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico. It would be much more difficult without your sacrifice.
Susie and I are doing well in our travels on furlough. We did our annual physicals, and all is well. PTL! The dangers continue with more killings and kidnappings every day. Our Bible College was attacked when two armed gunmen shot their way onto the property and tried to kidnap one married student and rob others. They fled when our students armed with 2x4s and machetes approached them. The invaders were captured a couple of days later.
But on a much more positive note, several of the churches celebrated Children’s Day on April 29th. Some had inflatables and piñatas, even getting permission to close the street to have more room for the crowds. Over 400 children and adults were present with 125 children and 18 adults being saved! Also, Mother’s Day was celebrated in the churches on May 10th. Many visitors were 
present and over 15 ladies were saved!
On May 11th we graduated 12 students with over 500 people present at the Ambassador Baptist Bible College! That is a tremendous crowd when you consider the dangers that exist in our area.
PTL, for the dedicated and fearless Christians that refuse to stay home because of the dangers.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie
March – April 2012
Dear Friends in Christ,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you and deeply appreciate your faithful prayers and financial support for the work in Mexico. It would be much more difficult without your sacrifice.
Susie and I are doing well in our travels on furlough. We are thankful for the two souls saved, 4 baptized/joined, and 79 for special prayer in the U.S. churches these two months. We need your help more than ever to help keep things going in troubled Mexico.
The dangers continue with more killings and kidnappings happening every day. We are receiving reports of other missionaries being threatened and in some cases even shot at. Pastors and church congregations are being robbed and threatened with paying “protection money” in order to operate in certain communities.
Along with the many dangers that we face is the uncertainty of the coming presidential elections in Mexico. The two front runners both declare that they will continue the fight against the drug cartels. We hope and pray that they will be used by the Lord to bring an end to the evil that has over taken the country.
We praise God for the people being saved in Mexico. The churches report 80 trusting Christ, and they are scheduling baptisms for the Spring when it warms up. Also, we are thankful for our dedicated students and staff of the Bible College who have won 92 souls to the Lord!
Continue to pray for Estella our Dean of girls. Her recovery from the amputation of the toes of her left foot is going slow. They may need to amputate up to her knee, but they are trying another treatment first.
Please continue to pray for the churches, Bible College and the work in general. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
Yours in Christ,
Rick and Susie