Brad and Linda Berg attended Minnesota Bible College.  Brad graduated in 1973 with an Associates of Arts degree. They were married later that year and settled down in southwest Minnesota as farmers.  Throughout the years, Brad has worked as a dairy and grain farmer, a maintenance mechanic and owned his own construction and remodeling business, The Renovator.

They have been active members of the Pleasant Grove Church of Christ in Stewartville, MN; Central Christian Church in Rockford, IL; First Christian Church in Del Rio, TX; and are now members of the Church of Christ in Brackettville, TX.  They have served in various capacities as Sunday School teachers, VBS teachers, Youth Sponsors, Bible Bowl coach, Librarian, members of various committees, and Mission Committee Chairman.  It was through Brad's experience as Mission Chairman and the short-term mission work in Mexico since 1990 that the Berg's became interested in moving to the border and working full time.  They worked with MBC Ministries, Inc., from 1997 to 2001 and began work as Rio Bravo Christian Ministries, Inc. on January 1, 2001.

They have six children:  Kynda, married to Scott Nelson.  They live in Davis Junction, IL and have three sons, Jericho, Canaan and Micah and a daughter, Cambria.    Kelly,   and her husband, Jesse Crawford, make their home in Pulaski, TN.   They have four daughters, LanaeLee, Kaiya, Sadie  and Leah and a son, Isaiah.  Kasey  is married to Isaias Garcia.  They live in Murfreesboro, TN with their sons, Jacob and Jared, and daughters, Adela, Amelia and Alinda.      Kandis,  is married to Kenny Moss.  They live in  Liberty, TN and  have three sons, Bralin and Kenson and Hudso and a daughter, Averly.  .  Kami,  is married to Ryan Beavers, they live in Moberly, MO and have one daughter, Mayleigh.   Kaden,  the only son of Brad and Linda is a student at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, MO. 

Todd and Sandra Tate are not strangers to Mexico.  When Todd was four years old, he moved from Illinois with his parents, Lowell and Brenda Tate, as they began work with a  new mission work in Mexico.  Sandra is a native of Mexico and has a strong family heritage in Christianity.

After completing high school studies, Todd attended Lincoln Christian College.  During that time, he married Sandra and she moved to Illinois to be with him as he attended school.  They later returned to Mexico to work with the Sandia Chico Christian Mission, a mission established by Todd's parents, and assisted by Todd and his brother, Tim.

In recent years, Todd has worked with us on occasion, assisting with Pan de Vida  camp and with the C.I.Y. short-term mission teams.  After some discussion and much prayer, the decision was made to ask Todd and his family to join with us in the work of Rio Bravo Christian Ministries.  Todd and Sandra began their work with Rio Bravo Christian Ministries in July of 2005.

Todd and Sandra have two daughters, Brenda,  who is a Junior at Lincoln Christian College in Lincoln, IL and Sandy, who is a Freshman at St. Louis Christian College.

We have known Todd and Sandra and family for the past nineyears.  We share their love for the Lord.  We have witnessed Todd's gift to tpreach, teach and minister to others.  We see Sandra's firm conviction and sweet, gentle spirit and know they will be an asset to the work being done to introduce and win people to Christ along the Mexican border.

To meet them is to love them!  Candy and Pitacio have been friends for several years.  They have a most interesting story which we will share with you.

Candy grew up in the panhandle of Texas.  When she was a teenager, Pitacio was also living there working.  They were friends, only friends.  One day, he showed up to talk to Candy and asked her to go home to Mexico with him to marry him.  (He had just received word that his mother was sick with terminal cancer and he wanted to return to the family).  Candy was within two weeks of heading off to college with a scholarship, but...she decided, "Yes, I think I will go with him."  He gave her money for a bus ticket to Eagle Pass, TX and leaving a message with her parents that she was attended the local footbal game that Friday night, instead she hopped the bus to Eagle Pass, TX and went to the border.  When there she had to look up a taxi to try to find Pitacio who was now in Guerrero, Coah. MX.  She was taken to his home and not welcomed by his family.  But moved in with them anyway.  In a short while they were married on the U.S./Mexican International Bridge.  They settled down in Guerrero to help care for Pitaco's mother and began to build a home, making the concrete blocks themself and doing all the labor. 

One day Candy saw some American teenagers in Guerrero.  She had not been able to speak English in some time and so went to visit with these American teens.  She found out they were building a church building.  (Which is now the Church of Christ in Guerrero).  When the building was completed and the services started there, she began attending.  She had some church experience in her past but had never taken a relationship with Christ serious.  Simon Guerrero and his wife, Dina, were ministering there.  Simon began bible studies with Candy and Dina became and important part of Candy's life and soon, she gave her life to Christ and was baptized.  But...now she had a problem.

Pitacio had been raised in the Catholic church and was particularly pleased with these new people and developments in their life.  Candy would often come and spend time at our home in those early months of her relationship with Christ, we would talk to all hours of the morning, about God, His Son, His word and her concerns for her husband.  Somewhere in there she decided that Pitacio was probably feeling some competition in her new found faith and new found circle of friends so she determined to make sure that Pitacio understood that he was first in her life.

She began to rise early on Sundays, preparing tortillas and food for him so he would not feel neglected by her presence at Sunday morning services.  She faithfully attended Sunday morning, but at times was not in attendance at other things, if it was Pitacio's preference.  In time, on Sunday's when she return after the service she would share the morning's message from Simon with Pitacio.  One Sunday, she forgot to mention the message and Pitacio asked her, 'You forgot to tell me today's lesson."  Wel, the seeds of God's word were being planted in his heart.  It wasn't long before Pitacio was also involved in bible studies and soon made his commitment to Jesus Christ, repented and was baptized. 

They have been faithful in their attendance at services and other activities at the Guerrero church.  They  have been a major force for Christ in their community and other friends and family have come also to Christ.  They have had a burder for Pitacio's father to come to Christ and he in recent months has begun to involve himself in things of the church.

Candy has been the Pan de Vida teacher for the past five years in Guerrero and Pitacio has always been willing to help Brad whenver and wherevere he needed it.  A decision was made recently to ask them to serve as the Camp Caretaker's at Rancho San Jose.  They willingly agreed and moved to that location on January 1, 2009. 

We are so pleased to have them there.  They have already begun to make themselves known in the community, meeting government officials, people living on the road they live on, inviting church members and others into their home.  They have sweet spirits and are people of service and have already been a blessing to the ministry outreach in Guerrero.

Their responsibilities are caring for the camp grounds, acting as Host/Hostess for the grounds, Candy also is the cook for short-term teams that come to minister from that location.

Please pray for them as they minister in San Carlos from Rancho San Jose.  Please pray for Pitacio Sr. that he might allow the seeds of God's word that have been planted in his heart to grow and mature into a desire to make Jesus Lord of his life and his Savior. 

We welcomed Jochabed and Iris Sanchez in August of 2009 to Guerrero to minister as the evangelist there.  Both Joachabed and Iris are graduates of Colegio Biblico in Piedras Negras, MX.  They have three children, Samuel six years old, Jazmin who is four years old, and Juan Jair who is two. 

Joca and Iris came with an excellent recommendation from a church in Xico, MxX where they ministered upon their graduation from college.  Iris lived all of her life in the border area betwen the U.S. and Mexico growing up in the community outside of Piedras Negras called Rio Escondido.  In fact, it's interesting that the Church of Christ in Rio Escondido, where Iris grew up, was started by Mario Calderon, the long time missionary that Brad and Linda Berg first came to Mexico to work beside.

In the short time that Joca and Iris have been ministering in Guerrero we see they have beautiful sweet, humble spirits with a desire to approach people of the community, live among them and show them God's Word and draw them to Christ and his church. 

Joca and Iris are ministering through the Pan de Vida ministry in Guerrero.  Joca is the "cocinero" and Iris is the "maestra."  They make a good team!.  They have a regularly scheduled day of the weeek that they visit in people's homes.  Iris has been especially successful in befriending the mothers of the Pan de Vida ministry and we have met some of those she has befriended at the various activities of the church.

At a recent special celebration for Dia de Los Niños (Day of the Children ) we had 80 people in attendance for a time of singing, presentation by the Pan de Vida children, a puppet show, games, face painting, freeze treats, supper, cake and of course...the pinata!

We praise God for teh addition of Joca, Iris, Samuel, Jazmin and Juan Jair to the ministry in Mexico.  Please pray for them and their family as they faithfully serve in Guerrero.