A Taste of Mexico

There have been many meals that Tracey’s made to help Keila remember the wonderful local dishes that she grew up with.  On Sunday afternoon, after the service, the families brought unique chicken, beef and “pigs feet" dishes to be placed on tostadas.  It was a wonderful time of talking, eating and “taking it slow.” 

Praying for YOU

On Sunday afternoon, the youth came forward in the service to pray for Keila and her trip to the States to study at her university.  There were lots of prayers offered and lots of tears shed.  Hope to see you soon, Keila!

Running with Friends

We had a great youth meeting with lots of youth showing up and playing some old games we used to play.  The added surprise was that one of the men began that day to help me with the youth.  And now there are two of us!  What a great day!

Just for YOU!

Since Keila started her formal education at home, Tracey has been writing about her achievements from very young in a journal.  Tracey handed it over to Keila as a gift, and read some exerpts from it to us.  It was fun remembering “the good old” days.

More Please…

This being Keila’s last week at home in Mexico, Tracey decided to make her favorite foods.  To start the week, she made her Pozole, a party dish, that both girls thoroughly enjoy.  It was so good that I couldn’t help a second helping.

News from Abroad

We were pleased to have a visit from Benjamin Bruneel of the Santa Barbara Community Church in California.  He spoke to us on the importance of God’s Love.  I enjoyed getting a chance to know him and on the following day, translated his Bible study talk to the staff.  May God support his and his church’s efforts in world missions.

Following Up

I had lots of news to share with our group after we evaluated our Vacation Bible School activity and did some reading on leadership. 

1. The mother church will be sending us a potential pastoral candidate for our congregation, to go into training starting in September.  

2. The Baptist Convention has suspended our stipend to pay the rent for our prayer house.  

3. And most importantly, we’re “on track” with visiting the new contacts made during our Vacation Bible School.  

Several have accepted a Bible study in their homes, and now the leaders have consented to visit several families each to speed up the follow-up process.  God is just too good!

Lots of Fun

With the Summer quickly coming to a close, we organized a short outing for the youth to a local activities center.  For $10 US, the youth could ice skate for 2 hours, bowl, do mini golf and get on all the rides that were available.  Oh, and they could also enter into the rock climbing and zip line areas.  When the news got out, we had a good group of young people.  So we divided them up into 2 vehicles and enjoyed the day.  School starts in a week for most.

Something Solid

Our men’s meeting grew to 10 last week.  It was great to see.  I was asked to share, so I prepared a short study on the life of Peter in preparation for the series that we’ll soon teach in the fall.  It was concise, interactive and well received.  We looked at suffering as the first part of the study.  I trust that it will be useful for the men that attended.  

Time for Meat

Keila had brought back from Holland some yummy treats.  One was a bag of peanut sauce for satay.  So we invited over our missionary friends for a meal to eat outdoors.  The food was great and the company was even better.  I was pleased that the coals lasted for all the food we prepared, and no rain!

Crossing the Ocean

Kiana took us from Mexico to Taiwan via her mission challenge on Sunday.  She spoke about her team, the food, the culture and the need to share Jesus. It was a great talk, and she finished off with a song in Chinese.  The congregation’s eyes were glued to the video and photo samples that she shared.

Another kind of “Fiesta”

Invited to a party to celebrate their daughter’s 15^th, we went as a family to accompany them.  Little did I know that we’d meet old acquaintances from Ojo de Agua where we used to live.  From the girls’ ballet teachers to their karate teacher and friends, they spent the entire night catching up. 

Missions Month

We began our effort to bring awareness to the congregation about reaching out to our neighbors and to other states as well countries through a short video on Sunday.  Our guests from South America’s YWAM chapter volunteered to answer questions about their experiences that I recorded on video.  I trust that our youth were listening to the challenges.

Lost and Found

“I thought I’d lost it!” I sent my passport in for renewal and never heard back.  After a couple of months of no news, I called the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and they quickly located it and saved it until I was able to go pick it up.  I guess I can travel once again.

March to the beat…

Friends of the family of members in our congregation had promised about a year ago to donate a spare drum set that they had laying around in their home.  Well, on Saturday they handed us a receipt for one in a department store, and on Sunday we went to see it and pick it up.  The congregation now has a drum kit to work with.  Pray for a drummer to be trained, please.

Lessons learned

Each day had a unique lesson to give the kids and the adults an opportunity to get to know Jesus.  Some required lots of participation by the kids and others were taught by our new group of teachers trying out their “wings” for the first time.  What a great time of working together!  What a tiring time, and to trust in God’s strength!

Games “station”

Going outdoors to play was a highlight as all the groups got a chance to play games.  During these hot days, the games leaders more than once brought out buckets of water to splash around with.

Craft “station”

While each station only allowed for 15 minutes worth of activity, the craft one would have been the most creative with unique projects done by between 10 and 15 kids guided by a teacher and two helpers.

Once you’re on the inside

If you’d stepped into the building when the program was beginning, you would have seen the youth either teaching songs to the group or teaching a choreography or two.  And of course you would have seen lots of loud kids singing and jumping around.

What’s on the outside

If you’d come to see or attend our Vacation Bible School this year, you would have been greeted by our registration staff where we wrote down the information for more than a hundred kids.  Then you would have been led to the games area to play some games before the program began.

Music Men

Percussion Class

At our new site, everyone gets involved in music.  Whether he is teaching it or taking classes, each does his part to lead and to learn something new to benefit the congregation.  Luis heads up a team that sets up and runs the service.  I tag along for transportation purposes.

Two Guitar Classes