On this day in 1846 the United States, under General Stephen Kearny, took possession of New Mexico. Almost immediately, H.W. Read and Samuel Gorman, Baptist missionaries, arrived in Santa Fe. Read had the joy of leading twenty-one-year old Blas Chavez to Christ, and Brother Gorman baptized him. Chavez quickly grew in Christ, being well-trained in the Word and work of the Lord. When the Civil War broke out, and New Mexico was occupied by the Confederates, the missionaries, one from Ohio and the other from Connecticut returned home, leaving Brother Chavez behind. The young man quickly picked up the work, having a special vision for other Spanish-speaking people, and God richly blessed. He became an inexhaustible ambassador of the cross, eventually being known as the “Grand Old Man” of the New Mexican Baptist ministry. After faithfully serving his Saviour for fifty years he passed away in 1907.
