In this issue:

• Loving Our Neighbors
• Prayer/Praise Points
• Treasure Hunt
• Mexico Great Crate
• The Zane Family's Spiritual Tune Up
• Mexico Global Road Trip Update

It’s May already….fishing season; something I used to take time for. You know, there are certain  elements to going fishing that some folks don’t find particularly pleasant; like digging for worms. It can  be hard work and messy, and if you live in town you might wreck your lawn. But getting out on the lake and catching a mess of fish is a great reward.

But then yuck…cleaning a mess of blue gills is really messy and stinky. Sit down to a platter of fresh fried  fillets and potatoes and all the effort is worth it.

You’re not into fishing you say? That’s not what the  Word says. Jesus said “you are fishers of men.”

Right now, we’re collecting Spanish books to go to our neighbors in Mexico and we want you to join us!

Of course, trying to find new or used Spanish Bibles and books can be a daunting task and finding funds  to buy them can seem pretty messy. But to hand a Mexican pastor a study Bible in his own  language and see his expression as he comprehends the reality of it? That makes going fishing seem  pretty boring.

Let’s say you don’t have any Spanish Bibles on your shelf - no problem! Read the “Treasure Hunt” article to get ideas of where you can find Spanish literature and how you can be involved. After you’ve completed your “Treasure Hunt,” why not join the team going into Mexico to hand out Spanish Bibles? You can see the look on people’s faces first hand when you give them a book in their own language. Wouldn’t that be a great payoff for the fishing you’ve done for Spanish literature? Or if you can’t go yourself, maybe you can  help furnish a new Spanish Bible for a pastor. It would be such a blessing for them to receive a Bible.

Think of what it would be like to finally have a Bible in your own language to preach from! You would be  blessing an entire congregation with just one Bible. If you can’t find Spanish resources or cannot afford to participate right now, why don’t you give us a call and find out exactly what the prayer needs are for this great cause?

So let’s go fishing together. Watch the bobber for a bite. If you’re paying attention to God you might even  catch something - or someone! Now how cool would that be?

Finding Spanish materials has always been a challenge, but here are a few places to get you started on  your search for Spanish treasures:

If you use Amazon.com regularly, you can click on the “Wish List” button on the right top corner of the  home page. Once there, enter the n ame “Christian Resources International” and you will be taken to our Spanish Wish List. You can purchase the Spanish books on this page new or used and they  will be shipped to our warehouse.

Many of you might enjoy shopping in thrift stores in your  community. Many times thrift shops will have Christian books in Spanish that you can reclaim and send on their way.

Never assume that those around you do not have resources in another language. Take the time to ask your church librarian and others within your church if they have Spanish resources. Look in the phone  book and identify a Spanish church in your community. Call the pastor and share about CRI’s project. This is an exciting opportunity for you to reach out to the Hispanic community in your area.

Help purchase new Spanish books from our publishing partners for a fraction of the regular wholesale cost by sending money directly to CRI. Just be sure to check the first box on the reply card and circle the amount you’re sending.

If you’ve ever been to Mexico, you’ve probably shared in the experience of not quite knowing how to  communicate with the folks there. Most times, they’ll know some English and you’ll know some Spanish,  but it is usually only enough to cover the basics and even then it can be a source of great  frustration.

Imagine, then, what it might be like trying to learn the most important message of all (the gospel) from a book in a language that you don’t fully understand, if at all. Despite being close neighbors of ours, our  friends in Mexico often times only receive resources in the English language. Fortunately, there are many  missionaries and translators who can help, but there are not enough to be able to help everyone.

Wouldn’t it be great if, with our help, our Mexican brothers and sisters were able to learn about God from  resources in their own language?

That’s where CRI champions like yourself come in. Chances are, you have access to more Spanish  resources than you realize (For ideas, check out the “Treasure Hunt” art icle in this newsletter). In addition to Bibles, which are always needed, we also need children’s books and commentaries written in Spanish.

The resources that you reclaim in  these next couple of weeks will be used to pack up a Great Crate that we are going to send off to Mexico soon.

After it has arrived, the Mexico Global Road Trip team is also going to head to Mexico where they will be  serving the Lord and spreading the Good News of his message. Once the team arrives in Mexico, they  are going to help distribute the resources that you reclaimed along with serving in various other areas.

This is a beautiful picture of all that can be accomplished when champions work together towards a  common goal! And you know what? We are each an essential link in the whole chain.

So what do you say? Are you in?

Let’s do it together and watch God as he blesses our brothers and sisters in Mexico with the resources  they need.

If you get a chance to visit and spend time at CRI Headquarters, one of the many blessings is getting to  see the faces of missionaries while they are selecting resources for their toolboxes!

We shared about  our Resource Center last month in TouchPoint and that very month God brought one such blessing to CRI.

Eric and Linda Zane stopped in to the Missionary Resource Center for a spiritual tune-up. Last   September, the Zane family lost everything in the typhoon that ripped through the Philippines. Among the  many precious items that were lost in the resulting floods was Eric’s Tagalog Bible. Tagalog is one of  the Filipino dialects spoken in the Taytay area where the Zanes are serving as missionaries. So, you can  imagine his excitement when he found a Tagalog Bible on the shelf in the Resource Center!!

Praise God! What a blessing to find just the right Bible that was reclaimed by a Champion!

The Zanes were able to replenish their spiritual toolboxes with close to 160 lbs of books that were sent  back to the Philippines and will be waiting for them when they are finished with their deputation in the  States.

This was an exciting day at CRI!

Friends, by being faithful to what God has called you to do, you have helped replenish the Zane’s empty  toolbox.

For this, we commend you and praise God for the work He is doing through you!

You can keep up with the Zanes and their work in the Philippines by visiting their blog at  zanesfield.blogspot.com

We are gearing up for the second Global Road Trip of 2010 where champions from around the country embark on a journey. This will be a journey to another country where they are used by God to serve  others and dist r ibute reclaimed resources alongside established missionaries in the local area. This team will be headed to Baja, Mexico from July 16-26 where they will assist in distributing reclaimed resources at a  youth camp, blessing pastors with Spanish study materials, equipping Bible College students with training  resources and set up a minilibrary at an orphanage.

To see how you can help reclaim resources in Spanish and be a part of the Global Road Team from home, see “Treasure Hunt: 5 Places to look for Spanish Resources” in this newsletter. We also need champions who are willing to upload the team in prayer.

Would you commit to adding the Mexico Global Road Trip team to your daily prayer list and ask God to change lives through their efforts?