Welcome to RLontheRoad !

RL Montgomery began evangelizing as a missionary to Mexico in 1985. Since then he has made many trips in and out of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize bringing the word of God as well as food, clothing and blankets to meet the material needs of the people he was witnessing to.  To read more about RL click here.

Island? What island?

          While returning from one such trip to Guatemala, (which was financed by Ron Morin with Pray America) RL was going through a check point and was asked by a guard to give a ride to a Hispanic couple and their children to a place near the Texas border. Since it was raining and the family had no place locally to stay, RL agreed. It turned out that they were missionaries also and were traveling from town to town evangelizing. In the course of the conversation, they told RL of some islands off the coast of Mexico where the people had never heard the Gospel.

          RL immediately wanted to hear more, but the couple said that it was not possible to give them directions. The islands were just too difficult to find. They did, however, agree to meet RL two weeks later and guide them. This they did and RL has been going to the island ever since.  

What he found was a poor fishing community and hundreds of people hungry to hear the Word. The largest building at the time was only 10 by 15 feet so meetings had to be held outside under trees and canopies. This presented problems because of frequently poor weather conditions such as the heat and rain, as well as mosquitoes and such.  You can click here to see pictures of the island and its people.

           The name of the island has some controversy attached to it. The men of the island claim that the name is Juan A. Ramirez Island, a man’s name. The women, on the other hand, claim that the island’s name is Juana Ramirez Island, a women’s name.  Whichever it is, you click here to see a satellite view of it. The island is located in Laguna de Tamiahua, the third largest coastal lagoon in Mexico according to GulfBase.org, a database of resources about the Gulf of Mexico.

          Through faith, RL has received numerous love offerings that have allowed him to purchase some property and begin the process of building a church building which he has called Casa de Union, which means The Meeting House in Spanish.

Due to some strange laws in Mexico, they can’t call it a church, so it’s a house with a VERY big front room. It is 10 meters by 23½ meters (32.8ft x 77ft) and will hold between 200 and 300 people. They aren’t going to have church services though; they are going to have family reunions every week insteadJ! 

          He still needs your help. He is working now to get the money together for the retainer wall, septic tank, inside electrical and the interior furnishings. Please consider making a donation to help with these.

          Besides being used for a church, the building will also become the island’s meeting house. The men of the island hold meetings and govern the island themselves.  It will also be used as a school. The people are only educated to the 9^th grade so the 10^th through the 12^th grades will be taught there. There are even plans for computers to be brought in so computer classes can be offered.

Thank you for visiting!
RL and Janie Montgomery