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Cornerstone Communications
Mexico
September 19, 2006

Dear Friends & Family,

Greetings from Mexico City, Mexico! Building, building, building! We are building a new city here in Mexico City…..Haarlem, Holland! This Thursday, September 21, we open "El Refugio Secreto", and we have to build the city, a four story home, and a concentration camp, all on stage!

Production Update

Lights, Cameras, Action! The curtain goes up Thursday on …… no, not another production. Rather, an evangelistic outreach for tens of thousands of Mexicans this weekend and next. The fact is that many people would never come to a church if invited. But, invite them to an evening at the theatre, and they pack the place! We have a two thousand seat auditorium, and we have printed tickets for each night (although the production is free, tickets dictate crowd control) , and we have given out all the tickets for each night!

We have been finishing sets, putting up curtains, focusing lights and doing alterations on all the costumes. However, the main emphasis is spiritual. I want to make sure the actors are spiritually prepared… to minister, to pray, to intercede, to counsel. The message is one of forgiveness, and there will be many people unloading their unforgiveness this weekend, so we want to be prepared to pray. Please join us in prayer that many will be saved, and that many will be released from unforgiveness in their lives.

The sets going up, and we're busy in rehearsals for Thursday night's Opening Night.

Answered Prayers in Moldova!

You'll recall that last week I sent out an Urgent Prayer Plea on behalf of my friend and brother, and spiritual son, Pastor Victor Antoci in Nisporeni, Moldova. Moldova has an atheistic government, and gives churches almost no rights. The church has been predominately underground. However, Victor has struggled, and in his efforts has started an amazing three churches that are all thriving. Because he has been faithful to feed the poor, Convoy of Hope, which trucks in supplies of food and clothes from the U.S. and western Europe, chose Victor to distribute the much needed supplies to the poor. Victor was going to use the opportunity to evangelize as well.

The Orthodox church threatened to stop his efforts (as they themselves are the ones who are threatened by the growth of Victor's churches) , and we prayed that the Lord would intervene on Victor's behalf. Well, the Lord answered our prayers, but not in a way that we would expect! Pastor Victor had his outreach, but the Orthodox church showed up en masse and very effectively prevented Victor from having his outreach, and giving out all the food and clothes designated for the poor. The Orthodox church seemingly had a victory.

Here's the amazing part! So many people were incensed by the bullying of the Orthodox church, that it reached the media, and the media invited Pastor Victor to be interviewed, and thus gained national attention! Suddenly, his church is now very much in the forefront, and many in the country are sympathizing with him and his efforts. He is being invited to host another outreach, spurred by the media, which will actually gain him thousands more than he originally hoped for! Indeed, God gives us "exceedingly, abundantly, more than we could ask or think"! Praise the Lord! Thank you for your prayers for Pastor Victor!

My costumers from the U.S.-Marjorie Bell (left) and Amy Harriss (right) team up to create the World War II costumes for Mexico's production of "El Refugio Secreto"

No Escape

In this month's production of "El Refugio Secreto", there is a hiding place where the Jews can go to escape from the Nazis. In another of my dramas, "The Judgment Seat", which we did last month in Sevastopol, Crimea, one of the characters, 17 year old Dion, committed suicide by parking his running car in the garage and died of affixation. Unfortunately, because the bedrooms of the family were above the garage, the whole family died as well. Of all the scenarios of those who have died, and must now stand before the Lord; this one is the most tragic of all situations.

As I direct the drama around the world, one message keeps re-introducing itself time and time again. There is no escape. We all have times in our lives where we want to run and hide. Events can become so overwhelming, that a sense of desperation envelopes us and leaves us crying inside, although to the rest of the world, everything appears to be "business as usual".

There's a saying, "Persons lead lives of quiet desperation". You wish you could go screaming into the night. The only problem: it's 2:00 in the afternoon, and you're at work! One of the causes of such desperation is that we are unwilling to let go of the situation ourselves. We want to control it. Like a car (situation) that's out of control, we want to clutch the steering wheel of our lives even tighter, hoping that it will somehow help.

A traditional stunt team, Voladores de Papantla, these men climb a 20 meter pole, wrap their ropes around a pole, all dive simultaneously, hanging from their ankles, and will revolve around the pole until they reach the ground. Amazing!

In Dion's case, he had a non-Christian overly aggressive father who pushed him to be perfect. Yet, Dion didn't want to give his life over to the Lord. He tried to control his circumstances, often by escaping to the refuge of his own bedroom. When the circumstances became overwhelming, he chose to commit suicide, the "ultimate escape"… so he thought.

What the "Dions" of this world don't understand is that there is no escape. There is nowhere you can possibly go to run from your problems. Now, Dion must stand before the Lord. He attempts to manipulate God, by blaming everything on his father. True, his father was overbearing, but ultimately, it was Dion's own will who got him to this point. When he hears that his name is not written in the Lamb's Book of Life, he tries to escape that truth, by closing in to himself, sitting on the floor, in a contracted position and trying to close out reality. He has chosen his destiny, and fulfills it by being sent to hell. How tragic.

My friend, I don't know what's prompting me to write this message other than the gracious hand of God, but I want to assure you that there is NO escape. You can't run from your problems. You can't go far enough to ever escape them. There's nothing you can do in the flesh, nor anywhere you can go, to escape the problems of this world.

Visiting a Mayan temple outside of Mexico City.

However, there IS the Ultimate Escape! It's in Jesus Christ! When the cares of this world are overwhelming, and you feel that times just couldn't be worse, run to Jesus! He cares for you. By letting go of the steering wheel, and allowing Him to take over, you'll see that He's much more capable of running your life than you are. You'll never be able to run your own life to the point that there are no problems.

Your escape is to go to Jesus, and take Him your problems. Scriptures tell us that we can "Cast your cares upon Jesus, because He cares for you." No wonder Corrie ten Boom, the heroine in the true story of "El Refugio Secreto", later states, "There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still".

If you're feeling overwhelmed, that is one sure sign that you are trying to control your life. The problem is that there's nothing YOU can do about it. By giving the problem to the Lord, you can rest, and leave it in His capable Hands. You can then start to see resolution to those problems. You might either see the problem erased, or God will give you the grace (and thus the peace) to deal with it. Don't run. You can't escape the problem. Just give it to God, and see what a difference He can make!

Gracias A Dios!

That's Spanish for "Thanks Be To God"! I give God all the praise for a very fruitful, although somewhat stressful week as we prepare for Thursday's outreach. Many will be saved, and I'm always in awe that the Lord would choose someone like me to help Him accomplish His will around the world. Also, thank YOU for your love for me: Your prayers, yours letters, and your love mean so much. May the Lord continue to bless you.

For the Kingdom,
Richard Montez