Some interesting things happen while I’m preaching. This is partly because we’re more or less outdoors (please pray that we can find a more permanent place!).
This past Sunday was, of course, Resurrection Sunday. And as I was preaching, a microphone stand randomly fell over. Oh well… it wasn’t the one I was using.
But then a parade, with a band, started to go by. Now, the back door was open, and so I could see people in costumes going by the door. And they weren’t all – shall we say – the most spiritual. And this was right at the very personal application part of the sermon, the last few minutes, and the prayer.
I stopped briefly (this is the part you see in the clip), thinking that it was passing by. But they instead camped out at a house nearby, and we were able to enjoy the full effect for maybe 15 minutes or so.
Anyway, you won’t see the parade in the clips below, but you will get an idea of how loud it was. Eventually they began to set off “bombas” (exploding fireworks, which sound a lot like gunshots). Oddly, those didn’t really pick up in the video. They were pretty constant and loud especially during our closing singing!
But here you are – another little glimpse of the unexpected…
It’s been a pretty crazy weak week or so. Not just for me. But I can talk from my perspective because it’s my blog post.
I was sick on Friday – sicker than I’ve been in years. Nothing contagious. I went to a meeting that evening – it’s kind of a blur. Then, I came home and it wasn’t pretty. In fact, I’m still recovering.
Somehow, I got up and preached on Sunday. It really is hard to believe, looking back. For the sermon time I felt pretty much normal, but before and after wasn’t so good. So I’m thankful for that brief moment! Maybe if anyone didn’t like the sermon, they’re not so thankful. But be that as it may.
Our friend Ezequiel was also sick on Sunday – he went to set up, and then realized that going to the service itself wasn’t going to happen!
It’s been busy because we’re getting ready for the leadership recognition service on Sunday. I know that we all would appreciate your prayers, because I know that it hasn’t been only Ezequiel and I that have faced some extra challenges this week. Pray especially for our two leaders and their families (Oscar and Ezequiel), and for us and our fellow missionaries Rod and Mayra Fry.
But yeah – anyway – talk about stream of consciousness – Sunday is a very special Sunday, as we recognize our first Mexican elders. We’re looking forward to a special time, and a whole bunch of special visitors, and a time of food and fellowship after the service. So we would appreciate your prayers.
For those of you on our Support Team, I will try to get a newsletter out to you next month ASAP with some details of the service.
Today I was working with the repairman, who was here yet again working on our hot water tank. As with many things, tanks and parts are getting more expensive and the quality is going down. So he’s been here twice – I think the second time we’ve had more success! However it is becoming kind of a running… er… joke… that we’re finally prioritizing getting certain things taken care of, and it turns out the issue is not really “fixed”.
Tonight is the Chronological Bible Study, so I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully it’s well attended – but, wow, looks like quite the storm is brewing! We’ll see if it actually turns into something.
Anyway, there is a lot happening, a lot coming up. So we appreciate your prayers as always, as discipleship, evangelism and general growth continues here in Ixtapaluca.
We appreciate all you people out there who are praying for the ministry here in Mexico! I probably don’t give updates as much as I should, but here are a few things that are going on.
We had a fun youth event the other day, sacrificing two frisbees and two pizzas to the cause. We had a devotional and talked about the concept of “seeking the Lord” from the story of Asa in 2 Chronicles 14-16 (a fascinating story, by the way).
Bible studies have started up again for the new year, with “Discovering Life 2”, a 15 week study (although we’re not meeting every week). Tomorrow night we continue, studying about how God works in our lives.
Shari is working on a women’s event, which will take place in February. Please pray that this will be a good time of fellowship and encouragement for the women of the church!
The Institute classes continue. We’re doing a survey of the New Testament. Numbers have gone down somewhat, but there are still two churches heavily involved. We should be finishing this course in the spring.
I’ve started doing classes for musicians who want to be involved in worship music, and I’m doing some training for those interested in helping with the sound system. Nathanael has been helping with the sound, and also played his ukulele last Sunday.
There are three men preaching on Sunday mornings right now – well, not at the same time. We’re taking turns, like we learned to do in kindergarten. Anyway, that’s two men plus me. We’re pushing through Romans 9-11, and so we’ve been spending a little extra time discussing the text together, which has been a help to me, anyway!
It looks like we’ll be starting an “anthropology” study as well, one Sunday a month this year. This will be a look at the biblical teaching about men and women, probably covering topics such as artificial intelligence, transhumanism, race, reproductive technology, art, justice, sexuality – you know, some of the topics which occasionally come up these days! I’m working on the first part of the series now, which will start, Lord willing, in February.
A couple other things you could pray about. Please pray for the family of a woman who passed away recently. This woman was highly involved at the church in Jesús María. She was in her 40s. Please pray that the family and her friends would be drawn to the Lord – especially pray for those who are not saved.
Also, a much lesser situation in comparison, but we’re struggling through some small issues with our van insurance. Please pray that these issues would be resolved completely soon. And then we have some maintenance and repairs to take care of. It’s all taking too long (in our impatient opinion)! 🙂
There, now you know some of the things that are happening here! Thanks again to all those who are praying!
Hi everyone! I’m just stopping by to let you know a couple of things that we’ll be doing, Lord willing, in the month of September.
I am planning to preach at First Evangelical Free Church [facebook] in Calgary on the 6th of September. The church is meeting in person, and streaming online as well. You’ll want to contact the church office for details if you would like to attend. Actually, I should contact the church office for details too! 🙂
We should be in the Calgary area for the next week and a half.
And on the 13th of September, I’ll be preaching at Grace Community Church [facebook] in Maidstone, SK. Once again, it would be wise to contact the church if you’re interested in attending. (We can help you with that if you don’t have the information.)
We’ve had a busy week here, even from quarantine. This morning we enjoyed our regular Old Testament Survey class. Only two more classes to go, and we’ll have a bunch of new graduates! 🙂
As I said before, I’ll try to keep you informed as much as I can.
Six weeks – one more week – how about after Christmas? Maybe February. Basically, the owners were waiting for the paperwork to come through so they could start construction.
But, finally, we find ourselves having to move. We’re not moving far away – it’s a “party garden”, in the same community. There are pros and cons to this place, and we haven’t actually met there yet, so we’ll have to see how it goes. It is a little more expensive, but attainable at this point. The good news is that it should give us some room to grow.
I’ll try to give you more details after we’ve actually had a service there.
However, it is definitely another temporary place. I don’t just mean temporary as everything in this world is temporary, I mean that we’re not sure how long it will work for us. And we’re only renting it for a set time Sunday mornings. AND even those mornings won’t always be guaranteed, if other events take precedent.
So we would certainly appreciate your prayers that this place will work for us (this Sunday, the 10th of March, will be our first Sunday there), and that the Lord would provide a more permanent place that we could use to reach out to this community, and provide more services during the week.
I’ll try to take some pictures and/or video on Sunday so you can see what it’s like!
To make things more confusing, we’re there for a week, and then we’ll take a Sunday “off” to meet with the other two churches in Jesús MarÃa (the only building that can hold all of us!), where we will be having a special joint baptism service this St. Patrick’s Day.
No matter where we are – we’re thankful that the Lord is building the Church – the people that are coming to Him!
So, we love my parents, and we certainly want to emulate them, most of the time.
But, perhaps this is not the way to do it.
As usual, we haven’t reached their high standards, but – well, when my Dad completely lost his voice (while preparing to preach on Sunday), I decided that some voice problems, and a cough, would be the closest I could get. And yes, I’m preaching on Sunday as well. Hopefully!
So I’m sure the Cottrill men would appreciate your prayers! Actually, I think I’m starting to finally get over this sickness I’ve had for almost two weeks. But the bug is attacking my voice as its last stand.
And since my Mom has been struggling greatly with back pain, Shari decided to join the club, and sadly has been suffering a lot. She’s actually planning to go to a conference tonight, I’m not sure how she’s going to do it, but I’m sure that both the Cottrill women would appreciate your prayers as they try to serve in spite of the back pain.
(In case you somehow actually think we decided to copy my parents on purpose, I’m adding this addendum to clarify things for the most literalistic readers. The point is, the health hasn’t been great lately, and we would appreciate your prayers as we try to serve through this weekend!)