Looking for more… kids…

Saturday’s celebration was a kick off for weekly children’s activities that we hope to have in order to reach out to local families.  Please pray for good contacts, and the director of our children’s ministry. 

Working with kids

 

Since Saturday April 30 is Children’s Day in Mexico, we decided to celebrate a week early to avoid competing with other government groups.  We had fun, games, food and lots of great help.

Answer to prayer…

Sully who attends the home group where we had our first barbecue went in for surgery this last week.  She is recovering and doing well.  We look forward to seeing her soon, and hearing a positive report from the doctors.

Where we meet…

 

Last week’s barbecue was the actual location where we meet for home groups during the week.  The apartments are small and we manage to have an entire service for those living in the area.  This particular group has been especially enjoyable to work with.

Guests becoming regulars?

We’re pleased to see that some who were guests in the past have come to see our congregation as a place to worship and study God’s word.  They've begun to visit us regularly.

Kids Day on the horizon

We spent some time on Sunday after the service to get the youth to participate in our “Kids Day” celebration.  They put together the choreography to a song and will present it on Saturday.

Home Groups LIVE

Last Monday’s meeting brought up the idea of a barbecue.  And almost immediately Saturday was set for the day.  A menu was put together and people were invited.  It was an enjoyable hot day with lots of good foods and friends.

A Long Road

 I spent the day attending the graduation of a friend who has been teaching some of our music students how to play the drums.  After several years of studying, he received his professional degree.  Unfortunately with so many young people in Mexico finishing up their degrees at the university, there aren’t enough jobs to fill the need.  He’s struggled to find a job in his area.

"Quinceaños" NOT

(Fourth from the left)

Adi, our children’s leader had her birthday this weekend.  She celebrated by inviting several member of the church to her home and had an incredible feast prepared for us all.  What a wonderful time we had with each member of her family.

“Quinceaños"

Our church family joined together to offer one of the young ladies one of the best 15-year-old parties possible this weekend.  It was a team effort by our congregation and family members to show our appreciation for her dedication and commitment to Jesus.  

Pray with us

We’ve been praying for one of our youth as she battles with cancer.  We’re not sure how extensive it is, but we know that it is serious.  Please join us in praying for her health.  She’s #22 in the picture.

Pool?

We went to visit a local sport park to see the new pool that they opened up.  We went exploring for an inexpensive option for a church outing during the month of May.  Looks like this place will be on the top of our list where we can spend time together.

Best “aguas”

In a local indoor market, we found a place that is Kiana’s favorite.  All the drinks are made 100% natural.  So we can be assured of the flavor and the benefits to our health.

Long strolls

 Kiana and I have tried to get more exercise on these hot days in the late afternoon, so we’ve made it our mission to explore the area for some cold “aguas” or natural fruit drinks.  We made it to our local plaza and I pulled out my camera to take this photo of an “airplane” restaurant.

Great Adult Staff

There were represented at our camp 4 churches and their leaders.  Those who spoke during conferences were acknowledged at the end of the camp as were the organizers and the invaluable kitchen staff.  God is so good to bring us together as a team to serve our youth preparing them for future roles in leadership.

Regular prayer

Prayer was a regular part of each small group meeting.  The adults and I were invited to sit in each group to listen to the devotional discussion, but allow the youth leaders to lead them.  We were truly amazed at the maturity and understanding of those serving as facilitators for the groups.

Afternoon prayer

The adults took time after the last conference to draw the youth together to pray for common struggles and needs and to bless their lives as they try to make sense of the weekend and the things that they heard.  It was a moving time of prayer and tears where at least one of the youth accepted Christ as his savior.

First contact

Reminiscing about our youth camp, I dug up some photos to help us remember to pray for the youth that attended the activity.  While a bit awkward at the start, the young people were made to feel comfortable by our host and pastor of the Tizayuca church.

Raising Kids

We spent several days last week offering parents a class on raising kids presented by Chip Ingram.  The instructional videos were well received and lots of good questions and insights were brought up.  We’ve had one of our sister church ask to borrow the videos to share with their congregation.  God is good!

Lots of new friends!

Each youth group was able to round up some of its members to lead worship.  We enthusiastically welcomed different groups to play.  And we especially took the time to make each one feel at home.

Devotionals

The main goal I had for the camp was to enlist the help of the youth to run the program and to train them.  We had 6 youth who led the small group times.  It was a dream come true to see them lead their peers in the different studies of the biblical characters of faith in Hebrews 11.