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MexicoWhile sharing about fifteen hundred miles of mainly desert borderland with the United States, Mexico sports a variety of topographical and climatic extremes. The predominant land feature is the temperate-to-arid high central plateau that stretches from the northern border to well south of Mexico City. The Gulf coastal plains receive generous rains, especially in the central and southern regions, and the land is noted for its jungles and swamps. Mountain ranges pepper the country and range in height from several hundred feet to over eighteen thousand feet. Bisected by the Tropic of Cancer, most of Mexico does not experience four seasons – there are generally two seasons: dry and rainy – though temperatures vary widely according to altitude. The majority of Mexico's 106 million citizens are mestizo (Spanish-Indian mix). Over 15 million people live in the capital, making Mexico City the largest city in the world. Though the literacy rate is over ninety percent, poverty is a tragic burden on the society, especially in the larger cities. Mexico's petroleum boom in the late 1970s boosted the economy for a short time, but falling oil prices left the nation with huge international debts. Then in 1994 the Mexican peso "went south," plunging the country into severe financial difficulty. Fifty billion dollars in international loans and strict austerity programs at home have ended their recession. Though Mexico is a federal republic, the Roman Catholic Church, to which about ninety percent of the people belong, exerts a great influence in the government. In spite of the church's political power, regular church attendance is practiced by only a tenth of the people. Historically, government opposition to Protestant missionaries has made church planting efforts in Mexico difficult. There is even open persecution of Christians in some villages. There are still many opportunities for evangelism, church planting, and training of the Mexican Christians through Bible institutes and Christian schools. Though many of the smaller villages and cities are culturally closed to outsiders, the larger cities are ripe for the Gospel message. |
The Ocean at Tulum 
Palanque Ruins 
A Parrot in Rural Mexico |
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Marco & Gwendolyn NuñezMarco emigrated from Mexico to the United States in 1966 at the age of twenty-one, along with his mother and two sisters. While attending college and working in Detroit, Michigan, he heard the Gospel message and accepted the Lord as his Savior in 1969. After a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, Marco began attending Bob Jones University, where he received a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education and then a master's degree in School Administration. He taught in and administered various Christian schools until he felt the Lord's call in 1994 to return to BJU to prepare himself for a preaching ministry. During his next two years at BJU, Marco's heart was turned back to his native land. Marco joined the family of EMU International as a missionary to Mexico in 1995. As a result of several trips to Mexico, Marco felt that the Lord would have him start a church in Cancún. Before 1970 Cancún had been a small fishing hamlet on the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula; but then the Mexican government began to develop this village into an international resort. When Marco first visited the town in 1982, there were a few thousand people working there. Now there are almost one million Mexicans living in Cancún, most of whom work in service jobs for the resort industry. Because it is a fairly new city, the populace is without traditional family roots in the area or in the local Catholic church. The people are much more open to the message of the Gospel than Mexicans in many other regions. After only a year on the field, Marco was blessed of God with a wonderful wife from the United States. Gwendolyn had been a Christian school teacher for several years after graduating from BJU, and she had even taught in two mission schools. During a short visit to Cancún, Gwendolyn met Marco. The two subsequently fell in love via letters and phone calls. They were married in Cancún in 1998. Within a few years of moving to Cancún, Marco established the First Fundamental Baptist Church of Cancún. He also began a Bible school in the church to train other nationals. A few graduates have been commissioned by First Fundamental Baptist of Cancún to begin churches in other parts of Mexico: Chemax (Yucatán province), Santa Martha (Chiapas), Becal (Campeche), and Limbano (Tabasco). For up-to-date news and photographs of the Nuñezes' ministry, visit Marco and Gwendolyn's Weblog. National Pastors in MexicoTo see the pastors trained by Marco who are now serving throughout Mexico, go to the National Pastors and Mexico Map page.
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Gwendolyn & Marco Nuñez 
Marco leading a service in a local home |
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