A Place to Store

When we moved to our home several years ago, some friends lent us their tiny empty house in a nearby neighborhood where we could store our extra furniture and books.  We’ll times are rough and they need to sell the place.  So it’s time to dust off the “stuff” and find a new home for them.  Please help us pray for the time and room to do this.

Back to Prayer

The youth spent some time creating prayer cards on Saturday with their names on them as a way to remind us weekly to pray for each other.  While the year has just begun, there are lots of things to ask God for with respect to their lives.  Join us in praying for these precious lives that make up the next generation of believers and leaders.

Coming Back

The women’s study in another neighborhood was struck by an important theme that was both pertinent and heartbreaking.  One of the adolescent daughters ran away from home and was the focus of a national alert assuming she was kidnapped.  You can imagine how the family felt once that she got home.  Thoughts of worthlessness, death and self-esteem drowned the young girl’s life to make her do what she did.  We thank God for giving us this wake up call.

Bringing Men

 Starting the year off anew is always a difficult time for the church as some forget their involvement and others replace it with new priorities.  So we decided to host a hamburger cookout for the men.  Our group grew to 10 and we had some meaningful conversations about what prevents us from drawing closer to God.  Relationship was also mentioned as a way to bring us closer to each other.  Pray for a need to stay in contact with God and with each other.

A New Life

As the mentoring group shared about their accomplishments last year, several used drawings, diagrams and lots of words to share what they experienced.  One of the youth shared how God transformed her life last year and how she’s seen amazing changes in her attitudes and actions.  Pray for Ana and her walk with Jesus.

“Abiding”

Tracey was given time to share on the spiritual disciplines during the retreat and she spoke from John 15.  Her message had me on the edge of my seat as I listened to my wife not only share about the importance of communion with God, but also quote words from deeply spiritual saints who have wrestled with the concept.  It was very encouraging.  

She’ll be giving the same message at the end of the month to our congregation – and this time I’ll record it!

Rhythm of Life

On the weekend, we were invited to a “mentor’s” retreat that Tracey belongs to.  It was a time to reflect and rest, trusting God to show us what our desires are and how they reflect his desire for us.  I was pleased with the exercise as well as with the company.

Tempting Treats

BEEF & VEGETABLES

On a rare outing with the family to a local market area, we visited a “comida corrida,” (several course meal) which was both inexpensive and very tasty.  As we ordered, we were surprised by all the food we were given and how typical these meals are in the culture.  

 LIVER

CHEESE & SPINACH

Speaking about the Spirit

Marco spoke on Sunday about the importance of having a Spirit-filled life.  He challenged the congregation to seek Jesus and to not hold back.  In this month of preaching on the spiritual disciplines, his encouragement to pursue the gifts of the Spirit was appropriate since many probably don’t know what that means.

New Hopes

The New Year brings with it changes and new hopes.  One of the men in our church who repairs computers put out a new sign hoping that God will bring new business to supplement his income.

Our Preachers

I continue to enjoy having a good crew of men willing to share God’s word with the congregation.  This week Gerardo preached and encouraged the people to continue praying.  I spoke the week before on regular Bible reading.

Forced Rest

On the first of the year, Tracey took a tumble down our uneven stair case onto the second floor.  She fractured her toe and was put into a cast for 4 weeks.  While the first week was frustrating, the second helped her to see that a time of “forced” rest is needed and mandated by God.

New Things

The first scavenger hunt for the New Year and the new youth group.  Teams were sent out to find some “new” things as printed on the list.  A new tortilla, or cookies or a new drink, each was part of what they had to find.

Restful Time

The week began with some great hot weather which almost made us forget that we’re in winter.  The days were great for being out of the house.  I spoke to some asking, “What happened to the cold weather like we had last year?  We’ve had nothing like it!”  We enjoyed late afternoon walks.

1 MORE

1 MORE time

We visited a town an hour away to congratulate Pastor Domingo of the Tizayuca church on his birthday.  His wife is still struggling with cancer, but doing better.  We shared words of encouragement, songs and a meal together.  It was inspiring to hear how God is supplying their needs in the midst of opposition.

FOR CHRIST

1 more FOR CHRIST

Since it is easy to forget sometimes who is motivating us to do all that we do, we are emphasizing our efforts for the sake of Jesus.  We don’t want to get caught up in personalities or false allegiances, so on  Sunday, I made it clear that our efforts to do and become better is because of Jesus and not because of our congregation.  I trust, and please pray with me, that this was obvious.

1 MORE

1 MORE prayer

As we announce to the congregation the anticipation of three new “house” church locations, we would appreciate your prayers in forming the teams that will oversee each new work.  God has shaped leaders in this last year and we want them to have the experience of starting a new work, so all of our leaders will be involved in this new project.  Pray for the teams of three (teacher, worship and prayer leaders) that will be resourcing each new family location.

TIME

TIME for us

As a family we left our neighborhood for a couple of days to get to know another town several hours away.  A colonial town near where the Mexican Revolution began was a wonderful setting to get some rest.  Our daughter was back from college for a short Christmas break, so we took some time off to spend with her away from our normally busy ministry schedule.  Thank you for praying for us this last year.  God is at work in Mexico and in the congregation.

1 MORE

1 MORE for Christ
In a culture that barely reads a book a year, to motivate our congregation to seek God regularly through his word, the Bible, is asking too much.  So in a message I gave Sunday, I asked them to do what our church’s name suggests… 1 MORE.  So those who are used to reading a verse a day will try to read two.  And some who read a chapter a day will attempt one more, to make it two.  We are quite aware that we can’t expect to do better in 2016 if we don’t listen to God’s instructions on how we can become better.  Pray with us that the congregation accepts the challenge to pay attention to God’s insights.

Men up front

During the afternoon service on Sunday, the men went forward to help out with a song that we have often sung in our weekly men’s group.  While our group won’t meet for 2 weeks during the holidays, they got together to share a song with the congregation.  They did a great job.

Not to forget our commitment

The year has given us many opportunities to work together, reach out and serve faithfully in the community.  While lots of activity is fun, we don’t want to forget the purpose of all that we do.  On Sunday, one of our new men got baptized and is now serving with the youth to train them to lead and to mature.