Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Acting in our blood…


Our Sunday eve service had both the youth/adults and the kids present plays to remember Christmas.  The kids gave us a traditional look and the youth/adults gave us a humorous message to not forget Jesus during Christmas.  LOL (did I really do that?)

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Calling Ba…, California…



One of our youth along with his family headed up to California earlier this month to see his sister and his newborn nephew.  The youth group prepared drawings (no words allowed) to share with David via skype.  It was a time to connect with him while away from Mexico.  It was a fun evening with lots of laughter.  Hope you enjoyed it, David.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Things will be slow


For some, the Christmas holidays don’t end until the Three Kings Day when most kids get their gifts.  So we’re forced to slow down, rest, plan and anticipate where God will take us in the New Year.   
Thanks so much for your faithfulness this year,
praying and giving to the work in Mexico.

Friday, December 26, 2014

Everything’s still quiet


While businesses opened up as usual and we managed to get what we needed from the grocery store, things were slow.  So we had a yummy lunch and settled in for a movie night at home.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Late, but heart-felt Merry Christmas


We had a great Christmas Day with a wonderful breakfast, some presents, but most of all we invited a single-parent father along with his son to a turkey dinner.  And a new believer stopped by to enjoy the trimmings, all the way from Acapulco where she’s been living for the past month after leaving our area.  It was a great way to celebrate.
 
Lots of homemade gifts - like this one to me from Keila

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

At the New Place


Several weeks ago, I took a picture of some of the women gathering in our new place for a Bible study.  They were the first to use the place officially.  This week I took a picture of the kids after their play practice showing off other aspects of the place and the characters that they are.  Hope you enjoy the photo.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Kids practice


With our Christmas church service just days away, the kids are working on a small play of the birth of Jesus for the congregation.  Our “lights” celebration has in the past been a time of singing Christmas songs, presenting Christmas plays and with the lights out – lighting the room with candles.  We hope to have a time of fellowship after the service on Sunday.

Monday, December 22, 2014

On the dotted line


The same afternoon of our baptisms, we invited the newly baptized to join the congregation officially as members.  Another family also went forward to sign our membership book and become new members of the congregation.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Into the Water


Those who could from our congregation hiked up the hill to the founding church where we presented four for baptism.  Mother and son, as well as mother and daughter were baptized that day.  God is so good to allow us the privilege of helping these believers profess their faith on front of a bigger congregation.  Great job, Saira, Deriam, Madai and Daniela.


Thursday, December 18, 2014

Great talk


On Sunday Gerardo gave his message.  It was well thought out and clear just as he had practiced several days before.  My youngest daughter said, “Dad, it was easy to follow, and to write down the main points.  I believe that is what a message is all about.  Now it’s up to us to put it into practice.  Great job, Gerardo!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Practice makes perfect


A week ago, several of the men got together to listen to a sermon that was to be given the following Sunday by Gerardo.  He had spent several weeks preparing it and gave it to a select group to get their feedback.  He did a great job, and was very clear in giving his supporting points to his sermon on the value of suffering.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

What did we do?


Last week, our local staff – Tracey, Maria and I – sat down to fill out an evaluation of how we perceived our progress this year.  I enjoyed hearing about all that we had accomplished together with the congregation, as well as how we can do it all better.  It was inspiring.

I did the same at the founding church the day before, listening to the leaders in a larger church.  One of the questions that struck me, and it must have been God that inspired me to write my answer was this…

In one sentence, define how you felt during this year of service.
My answer was, “I feel motivated by the participation of the congregation to stretch themselves in new areas of their lives.”  God is so amazing!

Monday, December 15, 2014

Praying for Safety


Christmas season isn’t only a time to to give gifts, but to enjoy the birth of Jesus.  The pastor of the founding church encouraged us as staff to pray for the missionaries in the country during this time of the year.  He cited that aside from being a dangerous time of the year with people out of work, and a rise in robberies and personal assaults, kidnappings are also up.  And the kidnappers see foreigners as an easy target.  So we prayed for the safety of the missionaries that we know in the area, that God would keep them from harm.  I needed to hear that!  And I need to continue to pray that for others…

Friday, December 12, 2014

Men don’t Cry!


This was a statement one of our men made during Sunday’s service.  “Men don’t cry… unless their wives leave them, then they can’t stop” was the comment by a single dad.  During our men’s meeting a space opened up for the men to share struggles, and one of the guys realized for the first time the reason why he should be attending the men’s meeting – to share what he can’t share anywhere else.  This was the first time I’d seen a deeper movement of God’s spirit touch their lives.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Rewards are Great!


For all the hard work done by the youth over the past month: they created our very first “Family Festival” for the kids with fair-style games; they took care of the little kids while the parents attended our Parenting Seminar; and they organized and ran our youth conference and music on the last Saturday of the month; we rewarded them.
 
We took them all to the movies on Saturday to watch: “Big Hero 6.”  It was a big laugh, and all of our youth enjoyed the outing.  Those who turned into me their first 6 lessons on 1 John (we’ve been studying 1 John in youth group) got their ticket for free.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

On Revelation…


 Maria was asked several months ago to share about our hope today and tomorrow.  She spoke to the congregation from Revelation where it describes Jesus.  I was glad to hear an exegetical message shared simply and flowing logically.  We’re working with different ones to share God’s word in a way that is understandable to the congregation.  Congrats Maria!  Great job.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Great Meat!


A rare staff outing took us over to a small town east of the city about two hours to enjoy eating “cecina,” marinated meat.  After the meal, we took a long walk through town and into the countryside.  We even managed to stumble into a local “flea” market where not only were crafts sold, but livestock!

Monday, December 8, 2014

Back in the Saddle


This was the first Sunday where I got to preach again.  While our attendance was low due to a long weekend, I enjoyed sharing God’s word with those who attended.

Friday, December 5, 2014

A Great Act to Follow

Each church that was invited to the youth conference was also invited to present some songs for the youth to sing together.  The time of singing came after the conference and brought great excitement and movement to the youth.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Needed Advice


Our youth conference and music had a very special speaker sharing on youth relationships.  Tracey led the youth through some fun exercises and a much-needed talk on dating. 

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

A Time of Thank You’s


Our mission got together in Mexico City to celebrate Thanksgiving a day early with turkey and all the fixings.  It was a warm sunny day to see friends and spend time together.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

First One!



Keila got accepted to her first choice university, Calvin.  We’re all excited about her pursuit of higher education.  Congrats Keila!  They enclosed a portion of her essay in her acceptance letter.

Monday, December 1, 2014

A Tough Act to Follow


One of the ladies who regularly teaches the kids on Sundays taught the congregation last Sunday.  Her first words were, “Close your eyes and when you open them, you are all ten years old.”  She prepared a message much like she prepares her kids Bible study – with lots of enthusiasm and creativity.  Everyone was on the edge of his/her seat wondering what was coming next.  There wasn’t a distracted child or a wandering eye.  Congratulations Adi for your excellent work with kids and now with adults.