Off to Peru?

Kiana did an excellent job sharing with the congregation about her upcoming trip to Peru.  She spent most of her time telling about how her first mission trip last year impacted her life.  It was amazing to hear from one so young how God grabbed a hold of her life and opened the door to serving Him.  The pictures she showed of past trips were truly inspiring.

 Tracey also presented about Peru since she’ll be close at hand on Kiana’s trip helping and translating for the leaders.  Please pray for another impacting trip for Kiana and for Tracey.

End of the Month

Every last Sunday of the month we set aside time to recognize those who have been studying the Bible with us in their homes.  We had a good group of those who were handed certificates.  On this occasion we also recognized a group of believers who went to a local workshop to learn about handling people with addictions – especially drug and alcohol abuse.  We are so proud of those who are preparing themselves to handle the hurting in and out of our congregation.  We’re preparing to serve those who need us in the community.

Anniversary #1

Our sister church in Tizayuca celebrated their first year together as an official congregation along with their first pastor.  It was a day filled with surprises and lots of good friends.   Keila joined me in representing our congregation, 1More4Christ.  She especially enjoyed hanging out with the youth whom we had visited in the past with our youth group.  Here are some pics of the event.

 

 

Yep, you read it right!  

They meet in the park 

every Sunday morning

Tagged?

Keila taught the youth a new variation of tag last week.  It’s played with teams and requires some “strategy” to get into it and do it well.  Thankfully the group was game for the change and this week played it again with some visitors from our sister church in La Guadalupana.  Here’s just a tiny glimpse of what it looks like.  Please pray for our sister church as they meet on the patio at the house of some believers.  They are looking for a place to meet permanently.

“I’m not sure I’d let my daughter go…”

Ed spoke to me yesterday and wanted to ask the question on Sunday, “How does it feel to let your little girl go out on her own?”  Well, what came to mind immediately was the reply I’ve often heard from Tracey.  “I’d rather send her to a place where God wants her to be although not very safe, than let her stay in a place that’s more safe but maybe not where God wants her to be.”


We appreciate your prayers.

Me? Introduce who?

I was asked to introduce Keila on Sunday and talk a bit about the mission challenge of going.  I was glad to open our congregation’s eyes to the fact that we all have a duty in the enormous task ahead.  Whether it is Uganda or our upcoming short-term missions trip to Veracruz in Mexico, we all need to be ready.  I challenged the youth to consider their impact in the world through God’s gifts in their lives – we have 14 available for Him.  And I motivated the adults to take on their duty of praying and paying the way.  Some are also willing to go.  Wow, what an endeavor.

Support Needed

One of the men in our congregation was asked to pray for Keila and her work in the clinic in Uganda.  While the country seems to be at peace, there have been some reports of upcoming attacks on Christian churches.  The U.S. government is warning visitors to stay away from churches.  We trust that God will keep Keila safe at the clinic and that he will bring peace to the churches and the country.

Africa or Bust!

Keila shared on Sunday about her upcoming trip to Uganda.  She shared a moving video of the people and the setting in Africa.  She also mentioned about her activities and how we can best pray for her.  She said at the time that there were only about a dozen days left.  She leaves at the end of the month and will be missed by us all.

Preparing for Something Big!

Our youth last week were assigned their duties for the month to come.  Amongst some of those tasks were these: music, Vacation Bible School choreography, social activities, Bible studies and games.  Some were excited about the opportunities while others were a bit frightened by them.  I hope that these experiences will help us grow together in new situations and in working together.  Here are some of those who are participating…

1More4Christ

Just looking back through some great pictures of the youth and saw this one taken recently at their camp in Hueypoxtla last month.  The leaders were finishing up with a time of commitment to Christ and to encourage one another.  I see this as 1 More new relationship 4 Christ for our youth.  Please pray as we grow the group in number and in maturity.

More Missions

We began the month off with a short-term missions report about a church plant in Puebla, about 4 hours away.  This Sunday, we began our study with Acts 1:1-11.  We hope to continue studying Acts over the next few months helping the congregation to see the importance of reaching out and sharing Jesus with someone.

More Presents?

Oops, did I mention that the Saturday before, the youth spent time putting together a simple craft to present to their moms?  We made this one simple and inexpensive, but with lots of love and creativity.  We made some photo frames.  Mind you, the ones in the picture don’t begin to display the creativity of the youth.  They are the extras that were made for moms who don’t have youth.

A Special Touch

Oh, the young people on Mother’s Day eve also handed each mom a red rose and prayed for them.  Afterwards, each young person gave the moms a hug and took some pictures with them.  What a wonderful surprise for all the moms!  We saw not a few tears shed on this occasion.  “This is really exciting.  I’ve got butterflies,” commented one of the boys who’s just coming to terms with his relationship with Jesus.

Serenade

On Friday the eve of Mexican Mother’s Day, celebrated on May 10, the youth got together to resurrect the old tradition of serenading their moms.  We started early, at about 9 p.m. to gather the youth and then transported them from house to house singing to each mom.  The original custom was to begin at about midnight and sing until dawn.

Feeling Special

On Wednesday morning, the ladies Bible study had a breakfast together at our home put together by Tracey to celebrate Mother’s Day early.  Sally Isais Ramirez was the special speaker.  And as a delicious complement, they ate “Chilaquiles” and were given gifts.  What a wonderful way to start off the festivities.

Where the laughs come from

I enjoy smiling and couldn’t help but smile all day long as I watched our youth along with some adults outdo themselves in clown costumes.  They brought smiles to the kids they entertained.  Some who said that they wouldn’t clown did and others who came to just help did so as well.  Willingness is the name of the game.  

Plating?

On one evening during the week, we decided to have the youth over for some table games and to teach them how to make some homemade Dutch crepes.  In teams of two, Kiana took the youth to the kitchen to mix up the batter (from scratch) and then had them cook it all up as their own personal dessert.  It was a hit.  And now they can offer to make something special for their moms on Mother’s Day.  Who taught them about the importance of “plating?”

Who’s going where?

By God’s grace, we began this month with an emphasis on missions.  Two of our volunteers will be going on a short-term mission trip to Puebla to help out some local national missionaries.  While the driving time to get there is about 4 hours and the locals speak Spanish, it will be a unique opportunity to serve away from home.

María who leads our discipleship and evangelism efforts and Jasmin who teaches our keyboard and singing classes are the two who will go and participate.  We were surprised to see how willing folks were to help them raise the funds they need to purchase the supplies needed for the trip.

Fun for all

Last Sunday, we rented a trampoline for the church kids to celebrate Children’s Day.  During our music classes, all the kids opted to jump on it instead of take their music classes.  I wonder why?  After the service, it started to rain, but I had given permission for the youth to jump on the trampoline.  Do you think the rain stopped them?  We finished off the afternoon between showers with a piñata.  “I loved jumping with the youth,” Kiana commented at the end of the day.

Early Church

 

Have you ever wondered what a youth group in the early church might have looked like?  Me too!  It’s become so normal to us that no one ever asks, but “where do the youth meet?”  Since we only rent our hall on Sunday afternoons and all of our other meetings are held in homes that are “near” our rented hall, our youth meet in the park. 

In our area, the government put a “roof” on one of the basketball courts so come rain or shine, people can play on the courts.  Last Saturday we just took one of the cement picnic benches and had our meeting there.  We’ve often had our meetings in the stands surrounding the basketball/soccer court.  God sure is good!

Just one more dip

While I can remember most faces and names, when it comes to baptizing and announcing each person’s full name, I would have been at a loss if it weren’t for Gerardo who whispered to me their full names and for Mari who made up the list.  Fortunately we didn’t have any indigenous names.  For example, how would you pronounce “Xotchitl?” 

Looking Back

I dug up this photo that was taken last week of those who decided to accompany us for our baptisms.  While some in the group are guests, it gives a good idea of how God has blessed in the attendance and the enthusiasm of the group.