February 1 in Ciudad Juarez (across the border from El Paso) 15 teenagers were murdered when a couple pickups full of assassins pulled up on both ends of the street and shot up a party. Around 14 more were wounded. This is an example of the kind of violence that has plagued Mexico since early 2007 when President Felipe Calderón moved to combat drug gangs throughout the country. The LA Times reports that 9,900 people have been killed since then. Many of those are people who are part of the problem, but there are plenty of innocents in that horrific figure.

Puebla, while we were there and up ’til now as far as we can tell, is relatively untouched by the violence (there are a few possible reasons for that). We’ve been thankful for that. But please pray for the situation. One of our colleagues said that “there’s a battle for the soul of Mexico.” And that’s true–on a number of different levels. Mexico’s ultimate hope is not in more and better police, or an end to drug trafficking, but in Jesus.

The Psalms speak much about violent men. They describe evil, wicked men who breathe violence. And those are the sort of men who dominate areas of Mexico today. But read Psalm 73:6 and then read all of Psalm 73 for an idea of their end. And pray for Mexico.