BORDER BASES!             DO 178            9/72

         1. If I have ever heard missionaries in some areas THANK GOD FOR ANYTHING, IT HAS BEEN FOR THE LITTLE BORDER STATIONS which help them en route to & from the field with temporary HOUSING and HOSPITALITY, TRANSPORTATION and INFORMATION regarding FARES, RESERVATIONS, ROUTES, BAGGAGE, TRANS-SHIPMENT, IMMIGRATION, VISAS, CUSTOMS etc.--all the myriad of important SERVICES which are so essential & vital to outgoing missionaries & those already in the field.
         2. Because of the uncertainty of the security of mail & packages posted into those Latin countries, most of the missionaries I knew even RECEIVED THEIR MAIL AT ONE OF THESE BORDER MISSION STATIONS just within the U.S. border, such as El Paso & Brownsville, in order to be sure that they GOT it & because the rifling of mail, opening of letters & removal of money within the Latin countries was so common. Therefore, THEY ESTABLISHED A REGULAR COURIER SYSTEM SERVICING THE STATIONS within Mexico by means of outgoing & incoming missionaries, who, on their frequent trips to renew visas etc., could pick up their mail at the border once or twice a month & deliver it in person directly into the hands of the missionaries on the field when they returned.
         3. The same was true of packages & other even larger items such as equipment, refrigerators, furniture, clothing etc., items hard to get in Mexico & yet unsafe to trans-ship into the country. These items therefore, were requested to be shipped or transported by their friends to the border mission stations within the U.S. or even procured or purchased by them for the missionary & COLLECTED & STORED AT THE BORDER MISSION STATIONS until the missionary was able to come up with his truck or vehicle & pick them up personally. This was by far the safest & surest way of getting them.
         4. So these border stations act as agencies for the missionaries within the country & are a tremendous asset & essential aid to their continuing activities. IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, TO CARRY ON THE WORK OF THESE RESPECTIVE FIELDS WITHOUT THESE BORDER BASES OF OPERATIONS until such time, if ever, we become strong enough in these foreign fields to do without them.
         5. So please, folks, you at these border stations, please don't give up the ship yet! We still need you until such time as we are all safely ashore or on higher ground! Please KEEP THESE TUNNELS OPEN! We need them! They are our ESCAPE ROUTES & we need you to man them & to help your fellow workers get through them.
         6. This is the way our work first started personally in Miami, training & helping missionaries to go abroad through our little station there. We acted as their AGENT, INFORMATION & PROCURING centre, TRANSPORTATION & COMMUNICATIONS centre, temporary HOUSING, RECEIVING, PROCESSING & DISTRIBUTION centre. These can also act as an INDOCTRINATION centre, giving outgoing missionaries helpful hints & advice about their deportment under the customs of a strange culture & a new country. I believe I already recommended all of this in the Letter, "Operation P.A.C.C."
         7. So I cannot tell you how important THESE BORDER STATIONS CAN BE. But maybe this will help give you some idea. If you do not already appreciate their necessity, you soon will, & so will the missionaries & mission stations in the interior that you service. So PLEASE DO NOT ABANDON THESE VITAL BASES, SO ESSENTIAL FOR SERVICING & SUPPLYING OUR BELOVED FELLOW SOLDIERS IN THE FIELD!
         8. So God bless all of you border stations! Keep them rolling! We need you! Please don't close the doors! Please don't lock the exits! Please don't abandon the tunnels! We need every one of you BORDER SHEPHERDS TO HELP GET OUR SHEEP THROUGH TO HIGHER GROUND & to act as liaison between them & home base.
         9. We can't do without you! God bless & keep you & continue to make you a blessing!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family