Bethesda Children’s Homes – Becky Patterson- February 2022
Dr. Mike and Mrs. Becky Patterson – MABMI President Emeritus and International Representative
Bethesda Children’s Homes – Tlapa, Mexico
Dear Precious Friends,
Thank you for your prayers for me since December 10. I have felt the power of your prayers. Perhaps you were as surprised as I was about the home going of my beloved husband. We all thought he was well on the road to recovery. Little did we know he had an appointment in Heaven that could not be postponed. Even with broken heart, I can say without doubt, God makes no mistake.
Questions I have asked God recently are, “What do I do now? How do I proceed from here? Through all my husband’s illness I have felt His guiding hand. I know He will continue to guide me.
When I was thirteen, as my father, Dr. Ralph McCoy, drove through heavy traffic in Mexico City, I saw a young girl lying motionless on a sidewalk with people rushing past her. The next morning my father found me praying and crying. When I told him what I had seen, he hugged me and we agreed to pray and ask God to show us how we could help children like her know the Savior.
Twice after the Bethesda Children’s Home was started in 1969, my father asked me if I remembered our covenant of prayer. I told him I did. After the death of my father, having served in Tlahuapan, Tepoztlan, Cuernavaca, and speaking in Faith Promise Missions Conferences, God allowed my precious Mike and me to have twenty five years ministering in the Bethesda Children’s Homes together. Until the death of my mother, Mike only raised funds for the homes. In 2006, he took full responsibility for running the homes.
My desire now is to spend as much time as possible in Tlapa with the children. I want the joy of leading them to Christ. I want to sit in the courtyard with the girls and tell them how much God loves them, how He has a marvelous plan for their lives. If not for the opportunity of being in the Home, they might have been sold by their families to buy food. Often these girls are considered of no more value than their parents’ cow or pig. I want to share Bible stories of the Great heroes of the faith with the boys. I want to encourage them to make right decisions, decisions that will please God, whether they are popular or not with their peers.
One day as I was walking with Hermana Yolanda Aviles on a street in Tlapa, a lady came running up to me, almost knocking me down. She said “You have to be her daughter! You look just like her! You have to be Hermana Cata’s Daughter!” This lady had been in the children’s home as a child, and she was referring to my mother. My mother had led her to Christ and spent much time discipling her. That is the kind of influence for Christ I want to have in the lives of these children. Please pray with me as I seek this endeavor. I may be alone, but I am truly never alone. God is with me! Hebrews 13:5
Because He first loved me,
Becky Patterson