Praying for the World

An important element of our Tuesday night prayer meetings is praying for the different countries in the world and their needs.  Can you tell how many countries we’ve prayed for?

Making ends meet

Since not all in the congregation have learned to give financially, we have to be creative. We put up a sign listing all the cleaning supplies that are needed.  And surprisingly, the items are eventually donated.

Eking out a living

Much of Mexico’s income is earned through tiny stands and storefronts.  Our friends do welding projects in the front area of their home to make a living.  Many think that you're fortunate when you can start your own business and have it sustain your family.

Dealing with flooding

 

When neighbors add on to their homes, they’re not as careful to clean up after them.  In one home, the plaster and cement fell into a neighbor’s patio and caused flooding throughout the house when it rained.  Pray with us for conscientious neighbors.

Beaming Mention

At the end of the anniversary service, the pastor called up all those who were celebrating birthdays this last week.  Well, Tracey’s was on the very day of the anniversary, so she was mentioned in the service.  Many came up to congratulate her and to give lots of hugs.  It was amazing!

Bet-lehem Anniversary

25 years of service in the community was celebrated in two meetings in the Bet-lehem Baptist Church.  Filled with wonderful people, great food and an inspiring service; we spent the night in the cold outside under a tarp celebrating together, God’s goodness.

Birthday Celebration

Kiana made one of Tracey’s favorite cakes for her birthday.  So we shared it during our meal time and enjoyed wishing Tracey a very Happy Birthday.  Thanks for so many who sent her best wishes on that day!

Breakfast Special

In anticipation of a busy Sunday, we took Tracey out for a special meal at a local coffee shop that has some delicious breakfasts.  I wanted to post these especially for our daughter who is studying in the States and yearns for these Mexican specialties.

Bending the Fence

 

My family told me that they wanted some traditional “pastes” to eat for lunch, so they took me to a place that some church members had taken them.  Little did I know that meant crossing a field, squeezing in a hole in the fence and walking alongside the freeway.  What an adventure just for a midday meal!

Turning Your World

Our youth conference and concert is only a few weeks away and the youth have formed teams to take care of the different parts of the event.  We have a music team, and equipment team, a drama team, and a food team and etc.  Interested in helping?  We could sure use your prayers.

 

We've invited 4 churches, and it looks like they are all coming. Each group will bring songs for all to sing while performed by their youth group.  We hope that they also bring youth who don’t know about Jesus.  

Today, we got word that one band will bring their sound equipment to share with us.  We don’t have a big enough system to “pump up” the volume.

M&T

Thank you for praying for Teresa, who I mentioned last week.  She’s had her first round of chemo and is doing as well as can be expected.  Monica who has been missing for months due to the side effects of radiation for cancer joined us again.  Her insights into cancer treatment were worth mentioning to Teresa’s husband.  Now the two have a way to communicate and share advice and experiences.  Continue to pray for Teresa.

A Word of Hope

Thank you for praying for relief for Tracey’s headaches.  Preliminary tests have ruled out any tumors, and that has in itself brought peace to her heart.  She goes in this week to discuss what some options are for relief.

Two by Two

This week we had a big youth group, considering that one of the youth and my youth assistant went to take a teacher’s training class with the youth leader of the youth group that visited us last week.  And two of their youth who didn’t want to be in the teacher training class, came to play with us.

Reverse the posts…

A Couple of Options

Tracey & Kiana got back from their trip, and I had a chance to ask Kiana what she thought about the schools.  "Not one stood out," she said.  But after talking to Keila's friends, there might be some new career options available.  The three got together at Keila’s school and got to talk.  Glad they arrived safely.

College Search

Tracey and Kiana headed out to visit some colleges this fall, so that Kiana could get an idea of what lies ahead.  In their travels, they’ll visit Keila’s school too and get together for some great hugs. Enjoy your trip and get some rest, you two!

Two are better than One

We scheduled a meeting in our area with another youth group, and good friends.  The two groups got together to play and study.  Our group grew to 22, including leaders, and theirs did also.  We had a great time and a stretching experience.  I said to Diego, my assistant, “I believe that God doesn’t allow our group to grow any bigger than it is because WE don’t know how to handle so many youth at one time.  We’d better learn quickly!”  He agreed and we are excited at what God is doing.

A Prayer for Tracey

Dealing with tremendous headaches, I took Tracey in to the doctor to have her examined and to see what can be done to find relief.  She’s had tests and awaits the results and diagnosis in a week.  Please pray for her health.

A Prayer for Teresa

 Teresa

Domingo and Teresa pastor a church in Tizayuca about 30 minutes away.  They’ve been there for several years and now face a trying time of searching for healing for Tere who has cancer…
Please pray for this dear sister in Christ.  Thanks so much.

A touching time

The men’s meeting experienced a touching twist this week as we began our meeting praying for Pastor Domingo’s wife, Tere, who was diagnosed recently with cancer.  Since the men knew Domingo from a prayer vigil we had at his house, they’ve been interested in helping his men’s group get started.  So the tone of the meeting lent itself to God’s touch in our lives.

Looking to the future

Jim H. came to preach about Acts 1:8 in order to put the finishing touch on 2 months of mission exposure.  It was a message elaborating the importance of understanding where our Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria could be.  His message was simple, motivational and inspiring.  Thanks, Jim.

We offered the congregation an opportunity to respond by giving them 3 options – to pray, give or go.  Those who came, assembled themselves according to their interest – “Jerusalem, Judea or Samaria.”  It was stirring to see 75% participate.

Evaluating the past…

We were pleasantly surprised by a good turn out by our leaders for an evaluation time of the past 6 months.  It was encouraging to hear about their achievements and moving to hear their prayer requests.  We are privileged and grateful to have a group of men and women overseeing the different areas of service in the congregation.

Despite the rains…

Our prayer house is small, but with the rains and 12 active youth, we converted it into a hockey rink with make-shift hockey sticks and pucks.  I’m sure that the NHL would have disqualified our set up.  But it was fun and tiring.