Oh by the way…

Around the end of last year, December 2013, after many months of the van or the car visiting the mechanic’s shop regularly, we sent out a letter asking for your help on getting a more recent and more reliable vehicle.  Anticipating an end of the year, 2014, offering; we had hoped to purchase a vehicle some time in December 2014.  God abundantly supplied through a couple of enormously generous donors and by the beginning of March, we went out to look for a used vehicle.  Well, we picked up our 2010 Honda Accord and have enjoyed smooth, quiet and reliable rides in it.  Thanks Lord for moving hearts.

Keila's checking out the "fit."

Further Training

 

On Monday, some of the members of our congregation attended a one-day training seminar at the mother church, Bet-lehem.  Former missionary, Mike Palumbo, offered his expertise in the area of doctrine and discipleship.  “We learned a lot,” remarked Luis.

Snippets…

Last week we attended our yearly missionary retreat.  This year was different with the UWM staff coming down to join us.  While there were more workshops than normal, we still managed to eat abundantly and laugh up a storm.  Here are some highlights…

Some “Live” Action

It’s not same!  After posting some of the photos of our one-year celebration, I decided to “splice” some scenes together of what we saw that day.  It was fun to hear the congregation, the adults as well as the kids sing out.

A stone’s throw…

 

On Sunday morning, we wanted to visit our sister church in Tizayuca about 45 minutes away.  They meet under an archway in a central park.  It was good to see the chairs filled with youth.  And it was good for our youth to see them again, after our visit two weeks ago.  We want to be an encouragement to this church as they reach out and soon celebrate their first anniversary as a congregation.

A time NOT to eat

Maria was asked to share on Sunday about “fasting.”  Our studies in Mark have taken us through chapter two where we come across the issue of fasting.  Maria did a great job in offering an explanation, but also challenging the congregation to fast on Monday and pray for some pressing needs in the church.  It was wonderful to see so many interested and wanting to participate in prayer and in fasting for the urgent needs of our members in the congregation.

A few new numbers

We added two new students to our worship team for the day.  Fernanda who is learning to play keyboard did well considering the pressure.  Oscar too who also did the introductory instrumental on his guitar managed to play along with the worship team.  We’re glad to see that our investment in teaching folks how to play guitars and keyboards is paying off.

Not a bad bounce back

With last Sunday’s meal in appreciation for the place we’re renting and the people who have come together to worship, we expected a low turnout on Sunday.  Besides, it was also a long weekend, so I figured that many left the area to visit family in Mexico City or maybe head over to a water park.  Well, to my surprise, we had a good number of families and friends show up.  We’re glad to see how holidays aren’t an excuse to forget church.

Just a few mugs…

With Mother’s Day looming on the horizon, we took some pics of the youth to give us options of home-made gifts to offer the moms come that day.  Each said that they would send a photo through Facebook.  I told them, in the meanwhile, I’d have this one on file if they forgot.

Just Going Wild

Our first meeting with the youth whereby the young people did the work and I just made sure things moved along.  The boys were in charge of the games and quickly found out that the more the games suited female participation, the quicker the games were embraced.  So as soccer was suggested, more than half of the girls protested and we scrambled for another game.  It was a day, one of those rare ones where we let things just fall where they may.

And then came the service

 

Distinct from the way most of our sister churches celebrated their anniversaries, we did the food first and then had the service.  Our worship team, our kids “choir,” the adult “choir” and a testimony by one of our faithful members filled the program.  It was wonderful to see some of our very first contacts show up.  Tracey gave a challenging and provocative message on Will Jesus be amazed at our faith or our lack of it?

Lots and lots…

Our first-year-together fiesta filled our hall.  We had lots of guests, but better yet we had many of our regulars come out and attend.  Starting with the food, there was an abundance of meats, tortillas, and beans.  From my reports, no one left the meeting hungry.  However, several did leave with extra plate-fulls of food that was left over after the party.  “I warmed up some of last night’s food for my son’s breakfast,” commented Luis.

A Game: German Pretzel?

Our girls played a game at their camp where you have to keep your balance while shifting your feet around in a circle.  It was quite amazing to see them teach our Mexican youth how to play.  And it was fun to see them enjoy such simple yet challenging games.

Youth Camp for MK’s?

Our girls went with some of their friends to a Christian spiritual emphasis camp for missionary kids and those who attend Christian schools in Mexico.  We managed to catch up with them on their last chapel day.  Talk about the energy and the excitement that the youth brought to this meeting.  We can only imagine how incredible their week was.

The “Let’s Do It Again” crowd, does it again...

On Friday, Maria who is heading up our outreach follow up, took those interested in going door-to-door out again.  They managed to knock on more doors and did some follow up work on what we did on Tuesday.  “It’s exciting to see so many interested in outreach,” Maria shared in a meeting with other pastors in our network of churches.

It’s NOT an Anniversary, but…

It’s been a year since we first rented the place where we are meeting.  We continue with music classes and have added voice classes, but have put English lessons on hold for a few months.  We decided to have a meal together to celebrate God’s grace in our lives.  We also decided to invite those who have been instrumental in lending us their members to make this congregation grow – they are pastors who belong to our network of churches.  Families invited their extended family and friends came to renew their support and their friendships.  God is so good.  Since we are not yet an official “church,” we decided to just have a meal together rather than calling it a church anniversary.  Look and see what we saw…

“Let’s Do It Again… regularly”

 These were the words heard by the group that went out door-to-door to reach out into our community this week.  While my team only made one significant contact amongst many empty homes, the other 3 teams made many more new friends.  We have been praying for this day and God didn’t let us down.  For the many new ones who went out to do this for the first time, God showed them that it’s all worth it.  All returned encouraged and amazed at how God had prepared their encounters.

Them like Us

Our sister church in Tizayuca like us doesn’t have a structure to call its own.  They meet in a small kiosk in the middle of a park.  It is the only thing that shelters them from the elements.  So like us, they cart in all that they need for services – chairs, sound system, and instruments.

 

So when we had our study with the Tizayuca youth, we sat under a small tree and listened to the lesson.  We too find some shade in our area to have our lesson outdoors.  Pray for both of the congregations that they soon have permanent facilities to call their own.

Amidst the sun and the rain

 Our youth group went over to its sister church in Tizayuca about an hour away.  We managed to round up a good group of our youth from Los Heroes to join the other group to encourage them and to make new friends.  We organized some games and the leaders in Tizayuca took care of the study.  It was fun to see the new friendships forged and the excitement of getting to meet those who belong to our network of churches.

Need child care?

After a wonderful turnout and breakfast that the women had, their first meeting with a new book to study was well attended.  In fact there were lots of kids that showed up too.  We hope that the women will benefit from their new study and find it helpful in encouraging them also to memorize scriptures.  We’re excited to see the faithfulness of those involved.

More cookies?

The men’s group continues to meet and offer a time for men to share and comment on our study.  On Sunday evening one of the men told me, “John, you don’t have to take cookies to our study this week.  One of my friends who works at a cookie factory will bring me some of his cookies.”  Glad to see the men begin to participate in “giving” in this way to the group.  I've enjoyed the group's comments as much as they have.