Chalo Sandoval

4 November 2022

Turbulent Times

Jim Family, Ministry glimpses, Practical matters, Prayer and Praise, ST Highlight 3

These have been difficult days for our church. Difficult days drive us to God’s throne in prayer.

An elderly lady recently passed away, after some very difficult final weeks. She didn’t attend our church, but has children and grandchildren and a great-grandchild who do, so her passing affected our church quite a bit.

If you get our email update, you may have been praying with us for our friend who suddenly collapsed two weeks ago, and has not regained consciousness. He is not only a good friend, but a man who has been a key servant to the church. We continue to pray earnestly for him and his family. [Edit: As I was posting this, our brother in Christ Edgar passed away.]

Last week his family and some of his wife’s family came to the service. His daughter and son volunteered to join the worship band, and they helped lead us in praise to God. It was a moving service, as we prayed together for this and many other needs in the congregation.

In the midst of all this, we’re preparing for the 6th anniversary of the church – this Sunday. We’ve simplified the celebration somewhat due to the circumstances, but we’re still looking forward to thanking God for His faithfulness over the past few years.

(The photo above is from the music time last week – Rod is leading, and you can see Nathanael on the ukulele to the right. The banner in behind is actually from last year’s anniversary service, with text from Exodus 6:7 – “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God”. We’re just finishing our study of Exodus now, seeing the fulfillment of this promise in the book, and the application for us.)

You may have also been praying for our fellow missionary Chalo, who was in the hospital. He’s doing much better, and we were able to visit him last week. He’s home and already working, although he probably should be resting some more! 🙂

In the mundane of our own lives, this has also been a strange time. Without going into details, we’ve had some doctor’s visits. And as I mentioned in the last podcast, we went on an overnight trip to get Nathanael’s visa, only to find that the person who needed to complete the process wasn’t at the office! So this past week we made the trek again, and this time – success! Thanks for your prayers.

So in the end, the last few weeks have included a lot of unusual travel and appointments. It makes it hard to keep up with regular work (including Nathanael’s school). On the bright side, we’ve enjoyed some good family time together in the midst of it all. The “unusualness” will probably continue for the next couple of weeks, as we have at least one more appointment, the anniversary service, a wedding, rather urgent van maintenance…

So we appreciate your prayers as we navigate these turbulent times; that we would have the strength to deal with the “mundane” and still to be a light and an encouragement to others. I guess that’s a good prayer request for us all, isn’t it?

13 March 2021

March Ministry (and other adventures)

Jim Ministry glimpses, Prayer and Praise, ST Highlight 0

One wonders, does one not, how goods and services are really being affected by lockdowns and shifts in economic power. But maybe some of these things aren’t so unusual, if you look back over the years!

Like mailing some letters, and having them delivered to your house by mistake (I finally brought those back to the post office, by the way. The nice lady just rolled her eyes and took them.). Or ordering something and having the wrong item delivered (do you know how hard it is to actually contact someone about a mistake like that?). Ah, the little things that take up our time!

But there are also a lot of things to enjoy! For example, we enjoyed a visit to the city of Puebla earlier this week, and were able to visit some friends we haven’t seen in a while. These times are not only fun, but a good time to share ministry ideas.

I finally had a chance to look at some new tracts that our friend Chalo created (pictured here). It’s titled “Uncertainty”, and talks about the uncertainty that the COVID-19 situation has created. So we’ll be providing those to our church as another witnessing tool.

The weather changed here, as it usually does (in our perception) – very quickly. In a few days we’ve gone from several layers of clothes and lots of candles and hot drinks to t-shirts and fans. The jacarandas are in full bloom and everyone mentions the heat in casual conversation.

We’re heading into another busy weekend now, as I prepare a Bible study for tonight (on the Second Coming of Christ!) and worship music for tomorrow. Nathanael will be joining us again on the ukulele, so that’s always fun. 🙂

Then on Monday we have a one-day men’s retreat out in the country, which should be fun! Meat will be involved. Please do pray that this will be a good time of sharing together.

On Sundays we continue our study of Romans, so I’ve been spending lots of time in Romans 11, which is a real blessing, though also a real challenge! And then we’ll be taking a break and doing some special themes – Palm Sunday, a special Good Friday service, and then of course Resurrection Sunday. And then we continue our biblical Anthropology series.

So there will be a lot of interesting and worship-causing study over the next few weeks!

12 October 2017

Earthquake Aftermath Update

Jim Mexico, Prayer and Praise 0

This week, for the first time after the recent quakes, many students finally returned to school. It took a long time before many schools were either repaired or declared safe. (Our church was finally able to meet at our normal location on the 8th, after scrambling for two Sundays to find other options.)

As you might guess, the kids are being slammed with make-up homework now, so everyone will be very busy for a while!

Meanwhile, many people are having their homes demolished, because the buildings are structurally unsafe. Aftershocks continue in Oaxaca. And some buildings still haven’t been inspected.

As a part of the ministry of our community centre and church, Rod will be going to Oaxaca today (along with another man from our Camino Global team – Chalo Sandoval). They will be making the 11 hour each-way trip to deliver tarps, hearing aids, tracts, and other items. They will be returning tomorrow, Lord willing. I know they would appreciate your prayers.

I heard that some from the church in JesÃºs MarÃa may also be planning a trip to Oaxaca, but I’m waiting for details.

Another friend is going with a group from his church on the 21st, Lord willing, to Ecatzingo, where I’ve been a couple of times. I would like to get back there maybe later in the month, but we’ll see how things progress.

On Sunday, we challenged our church to continue to reach out using the new tracts that have been printed. Please pray that God would use us as a church to bring hope to people around us in this difficult time.

2 April 2016

Work & Fun in March & April

Jim Family, Ministry glimpses, Prayer and Praise, ST Highlight 1

So what’s been going on over the last two and a half weeks?

We enjoyed having David Radlowsky here. He was around for a couple of weeks, learning about the ministry in the area. We went to Puebla, toured a Christian publishing house, and spent time with fellow missionaries Chalo and Beth (including some time downtown with Chalo’s Model T Ford). We also enjoyed visiting some people around Ixtapaluca, and then in Ixtapalapa as well. (Say that five times fast – Ixtapaluca, Ixtapalapa…)

Chalo and his Model T — Chalo chats with people in downtown Puebla.

We also finished up our community centre classes for the semester, and had our closing program.

There was a soccer tournament in Las Palmas on the 21st, and then we welcomed our friends Shelene and Alyson here for about a week and a half. We showed them around Ixtapaluca and Mexico City, enjoyed Resurrection Sunday here with our church family, and then headed to Taxco for a few days off with them, where we road cable cars and camels and had various other adventures.

Hannah and Nathanael are continuing with school. We’re struggling to keep up this year, with so many other activities going on. But so far so good.

I’ve been working hard to prepare orientation materials for new missionaries coming to the field. We’re creating packets with resources and requirements for missionaries at various stages, particularly at the beginning of their journey to serve here.

We’ve got some big things coming up this month. A retreat for our Camino missionary team in a little over a week. A visit from Shari’s parents. And – why are they coming again? Oh yes, for Hannah’s 15th birthday party! That will be a big deal. And the weekend after that, a big outreach event – actually four outreach events, over the course of four days!

As usual, we have emerged from cold season and have entered directly into hot season. So within the space of a month we’ve exchanged scarves and gloves for fans and sunscreen.

The practical parts of life are complicated as usual. Lately our water pressure has been turned way down during the day (and other random times), which means either you do laundry when people are trying to sleep, or you don’t do it. And showers are touch and go.

Hoy No Circula — Driving Restrictions April – June 2016

But the big topic of conversation is pollution and new vehicle restrictions. Pollution in Mexico City has improved a lot in 25 years, but it took a down-turn recently. So the government has decided to restrict all vehicles during April, May and June. That means that we can’t drive our van one day a week, and an additional one Saturday a month (that’s 16 days over 3 months).

During that time, they’ll be thinking up new restrictions for the future.

So juggling transportation, and trying to be home when there’s water pressure, does make life interesting.

But right now I need to prepare for next week, get some things ready for the kids’ school, and deal with some practical matters. Talk to you later!

17 November 2014

Chalo’s 1922 Model T Ford

Jim Mexico, Missions 0

One of our team members, Chalo, lives in the city of Puebla, the fourth largest city in Mexico. He owns two antique cars, one of which is a 1922 Model T Ford.

Nathanael, Shari, Hannah and Chalo in the Model T

Chalo and his wife Beth are church planters. So Chalo not only has a Model T, he has a tract to go along with it. The tract tells people about the car, about Henry Ford, and invites them to give Chalo a call so that he can give them a free ride. Oh, and he can also tell them how God has made a difference in his life. The tract also includes a simple explanation of the Gospel.

As the car cruises down the street (and it can actually go pretty fast – about 72km or 45mi per hour), peoples’ faces light up. People point, and conversations start.

As we drove behind Chalo the other day, he started talking to someone in the car next to him at a stop light. The person was interested in his car – and so, of course, they got a free pamphlet!

Once a week Chalo goes down to the main square of Puebla, parks his Model T, and hangs out. Conversations start. And in the end – many, many, many people have come to know the Lord.

What do you like to do? What are your interests? God is everywhere – He might even be sitting next to you in an antique car!

At the moment I have a few more pictures of the car right here.