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We are excited to be able to share the details of our story here. If you visit the "Current News" section you can read current as well as all of our past prayer newsletters. This page contains: Our Testimonies My name is Daniel Lockwood... It was in this atmosphere that I was reared with a strong adherence to the principles of God’s word above the “traditions of man”. My dad used to say often, “If the tradition is right and Biblical, then follow it, but if it is wrong, don’t follow it no matter how many people do”. My parents also taught me that there was no higher profession in this world than serving the Lord in the capacity of pastor, preacher, or missionary. We were always told that it does not matter how much money you make as long as you are walking with the Lord. From a very young age (7-8) I wanted to be a missionary to go and preach the gospel to those who hadn’t heard. As a teenager in 9th grade I had the opportunity to go for the 1st time on a “gospel outreach” trip to Baja California Mexico. Although it was only for a week, I fell in love with the people and was burdened by the need of this area of Mexico. I took another trip there in 10th grade and again in 12th Grade. Jaynee also had a real desire to be a missionary from a young age and we spent many hours talking and fellowshipping about our future dreams never imagining that one day we would live them together. Upon graduation from high school, I entered the “Instituto Biblico Bautista” (Bible Baptist Institute) in Baja California, México which was run by an American Baptist missionary. After almost 2 years there, I returned to Redding, California and entered Shasta Bible College. Two years into Bible College Jaynee and I were married. After taking a year off from College to be with my wife, I returned for another two years to receive my B.A. By graduation I had acquired a lot of debt due to my somewhat greedy lifestyle (living above my means). Therefore I spent the next 2-3 years getting out of debt so as not to spend the Lord’s money on previous indulgences. Getting out of debt was a tremendous blessing, and gave us a lot of freedom. We have now been excitedly working as missionaries here in the “Baja” since 2004, and have personally seen God’s hand of provision and guidance through good and very difficult times. We serve a good and gracious God who is faithful even when we are not. It is a privilege to serve the Lord in this remote desert. My name is Jaynee Lockwood... My mom kept a little journal of our school years. At the end of each year, she would record what we wanted to be when we grew up. From the time I was in Kindergarten until I graduated from High School, I always desired to be 3 things… a mommy, a teacher, and a missionary. As I grew up, I desired more and more to be what the Lord wanted to me to be. I always hoped and prayed he would allow me to be one of those 3 things. Today, I rejoice and praise the Lord, for He has allowed me to be all 3! I met Daniel at church when we were in 4th grade. Of course, at the time I never imagined that one day I would be his wife. We grew up together as we attended the same church, the same Christian school, and as we got older, discovered that we had many of the same desires and interests. Daniel became (and still is) my best friend and on July 22, 1995, we were married at North Valley Baptist Church in Redding, California. I have been so blessed to be Daniel’s wife for over 10 years now. During this time the Lord has blessed us with 9 beautiful children, and nothing gives me greater joy than to care for my husband and our children. I also love home schooling our children and training them in the nurture and admonition of our Lord. Being a wife and mother and all the responsibilities that those roles entail is my ministry and service to the Lord. The Lord led our family to the mission field here in Mexico around March of 2004. Our faith has been tried and strengthened here as never before. I praise the Lord for his faithfulness! I praise the Lord for a husband who loves the Lord, loves his family and has a burden for the many souls here. I praise the Lord for sending His Son to be my Saviour. I am a sinner who is saved by grace!! We love to serve our Lord together as a family. There is no greater joy than serving Jesus! We live in a small city of about 7,000 people called Ciudad Insurgentes (Insurgents City). Our home is located about 800 miles south of the California/México border. We live on what is known as the Baja Peninsula. The peninsula is about 1,000 miles long and flanked by the Pacific Ocean on the West and the Gulf of California (a.k.a. Sea of Cortez) on the East. It is directly below the state of California and only attached to mainland Mexico by a 30 mile stretch of land below southwestern Arizona. It is known for its white sand beaches, excellent sport fishing and flourishing agricultural industry. It is a favorite destination for many “snowbirds” (retired folks coming from the cold Northern states and Canada). The peninsula is mostly desert with a wide variety of cactus and some scattered oasis’. Some areas receive no rain for years at a time. The reason for the agriculture is due to the discovery (during the mid-1900’s) of huge underground aquifers which deliver water to many thousands of acres, and with the year round sunny season, they can harvest crops many times a year. To give you an idea, radishes can be harvested 10-12 times a year! The Peninsula is divided into 2 states, Baja California (or Baja North) and Baja California Sur (or Baja South). We live in the latter… right smack in the middle. Our town is the only sizeable town that is not located on either coast, and therefore has almost no Americans. There is NO tourism in our town and thus one of the reasons we picked this area to live. Baja South is the least populated State of the Mexican Union with about 1 million people. The town of La Paz (the state capitol) boasts about 300,000 of the population and ranks as the largest city in the entire state. The state is full of little farming and fishing villages from the north to south, many of whom have never heard the gospel. The climate is largely predictable…warm, hot, and windy. During the winter the days were a balmy 70-80º and during the summer the mercury will climb to 116º with very little break at night. It seldom rains here. In the year we have been here, it has rained 3 times. Once for about 3 minutes, once for about 5 minutes and once for about 30 minutes. It is very dry. About 8-9 months of the years there is swift wind from about 12:00 to 6:00… everyday. We have planted our first church about 15 miles north of our home in Ciudad Insurgentes (Insurgent’s City) which has a population of about 15,000. The town is surrounded by farms where many of the people work, however the average wage is about $10.00 a day which leaves very little for anything but food and rent. Many Mexicans come to the Baja in search of better work because in the interior many can not make more than $4-5.00 a day. Both the cities where we live and work are very calm and peaceful. The people are very friendly and hospitable. They often will offer of the little that they do have to be accommodating to us. . . . Of The Mexicans There is a tremendous spiritual need in the area where we are working. There are no other churches that are preaching the gospel in the town in which we are working. As I go door to door preaching, most claim to be Catholic but the majority know nothing about their own doctrines or beliefs. They don’t even know what the Catholic Church teaches apart from salvation by works. Drunkenness abounds, and it affects every single person in the town… dad, mom, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa or brother and sister drink, get drunk, and even possibly use drugs. Drugs are now in epidemic proportions in México. Due to lack of discipline and the dwindling size of the families in México (as has happened in the States) children are given what they want they want and have almost no self-discipline. When it comes to the vices of life they take part freely without giving it a second thought. They need, as do we, forgiveness of sins and to know that their sins were nailed to the cross. They need good sound teaching from the Bible on how to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Most will readily listen to the gospel even if they are from a generation of Catholics. . . . Of our Family, as Missionaries We need laborers. . . we are in tremendous need of people that will come to work in the ministry, helping in the daily tasks as well as in special projects. There is so much work that needs to be done and we can not get it all done ourselves. Pray that the Lord will move in the hearts of Christians and that He will lead more missionaries to this part of the world. Prayer Requests (for more specific requests, please visit the "current news" section):
At the present time, we only have a few ministries due to our limitation of being only one family. There are many more opportunities that we someday hope to start as well. The current ministries are:
While our children are young now, they are already a crucial part of our ministry team - and we believe they will be a key factor in our future ministry as they grow older and continue to mature in their walk with the Lord. As we wait and pray for the Lord to send laborers into the field, we are excited that He has entrusted us with raising a number of future laborers for Him that are already "in" the field.
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