Rod Fry

11 January 2024

43 Days – A Quick Look Back

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It’s been almost 43 days since we got home, and I haven’t been reporting much! So let me give you a bit of a summary of what’s been going on…

We’ve been settling back in, and cleaning up the volcanic ash inside and out that has accumulated (in spite of the fact that friends did some cleaning while we were gone – it builds up fast!). But also the van had to be verified (the day we returned), and we needed to make sure we had all the basics – gas for the house, water, food – it all took some time!

We’ve enjoyed some time with our church family. I had the privilege to preach on Christmas Eve. I finally got to join some others for a time of evangelism at a local hospital. We’ve also had some extra time to chat with everyone. Shari has been connecting with a couple of the women about Sunday School and women’s ministries. There’s a lot to catch up on! Lord willing I’ll be with some of the leaders on Saturday to talk about the upcoming months!

A lady we knew who is the mother/grandmother of some of the people in our church passed away in December. Along with other church leaders, I had the opportunity to share the gospel at the funeral. Please pray for those who still don’t know the Lord.

Over the holidays we were able to spend quite a bit of time with one another and with family from various parts of the world! And some board games very likely were a part of the rest time. 🙂 We also enjoyed time with the Lord, reflecting on the miracle of His coming.

Speaking of games, we were able to get together with our Avant mission team as well. It was a good time to get updated on how to pray for one another. And we introduced the team to Flick ’em Up…

Our coworkers Rod and Mayra are back for three weeks – you can get an update from Rod here.

At the first Sunday morning service of the year, our friend Oscar took a picture of us all (well, his camera took it – he’s in the photo!) – just click on it for a larger version:

Well, there are just a few of the things that have been happening over the last 43 days! Thanks for your prayers!

17 May 2023

Leadership Recognition Service

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We were so thankful for the leadership recognition service on the 30th of April – so why didn’t we post anything about it? Well, for those who know us well, we could just say “it’s May” (hence crazy busy) and that might be enough. But we were also trying to get the news out to our Support Team first, so hopefully many of you have already heard the news! If not, there is probably a letter on its way to you. 🙂

Ezequiel and Esther, Viri and Oscar — (left to right) Ezequiel, Esther, Viri, Oscar

Anyway, yes! On the 30th of April we had a special service to recognize the first national leaders of the Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas (Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Las Palmas)! Ezequiel and Oscar have already been doing the work of elders, but this service was a time to specifically honour them and their wives, to talk about leadership in the church, and to lay hands on them and pray for them.

I (Jim) had the privilege of leading the music, with Nathanael as one of my fellow musicians, and all the songs were chosen by Oscar and Ezequiel. It was neat because the songs all emphasized their desire to look to the Lord and put Him first. In fact, every song except one was directly a prayer – and the one that wasn’t was instead a testimony. (I don’t know which songs have English versions, but you might recognize songs such as “Psalm 5 (Give Ear to My Words)” and “Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me”.)

Oscar shared a little bit about our friend Edgar, who passed away this past November. It was important to us that he be remembered in this service, because he had had a leadership role as well. We miss Edgar, but look forward to seeing him again soon.

Rod preached about the role of pastors in the church from 1 Peter 5, and other texts. Martín, pastor of the church in the community of Santa Barbara, gave the charge to the congregation.

Next the two couples were presented with various symbols representing different aspects of the ministry…

Shepherd’s staff, representing pastoral leadership (1 Peter 5:1-4).
Basin and towel, representing humble service (John 13:3-5).
“My house is your house” decorative plates, representing hospitality (Titus 1:7-8).
Framed verses – 2 Timothy 3:16-17, representing the Bible as our authority.

Shari and I presented the last one.

Then we laid on hands and prayed, along with other elders and pastors and their wives from the area.

Laying on hands and praying. — *Time of Prayer (photo courtesy Nathanael)*

Of course, no special service would be complete without some food and a time of celebration! And some cakes! Maybe even some impromptu games!

No one really wanted to leave, so I think it was evening by the time everything wrapped up. 🙂

Thanks so much to everyone who was praying – and who is praying! We’re so thankful for these men and their families, and for many other men and women who are already helping with the ministry of this congregation. But the work of this young local church is only beginning – may God grant that it would be a light here in Ixtapaluca and around the world! Please continue to pray for this church, and especially these leaders, who are finding their way into the service of this growing congregation.

Food time after the service! — *Food time!*

Our coworker Rod had a post about the service up ages ago – with lots of pictures – you can check it out here: An Important Step in the Life of a Local Church

13 December 2022

Baptisms December 2022 (video)

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A drive of an hour and a half can mean a significant change of altitude around here, and so a significant change of climate. It seems funny to see everyone bundled up, ready to leave Ixtapaluca (I could see my breath), only to end up swimming at a waterpark…

Ready to leave Ixtapaluca — *(click image for larger version)*

So we drove to the state of Morelos, and gradually started to thaw out. We met together in an amphitheatre in the forest and sang some Christmas carols…

Singing Christmas carols in the forest...

David led the service, and Rod shared some biblical truths about baptism…

And then the three baptismal candidates gave their testimonies.

What an encouragement to hear how God has been working in their lives!

Finally, we went down to the river. Here’s a video of the baptisms – for reasons which will be clear, it’s hard to hear what’s being said. But you’ll get the idea!

After that, we enjoyed some delicious food and some wonderful fellowship and some walking and swimming (and sleeping!) as people desired, before heading back as night began to fall.

Thanks to everyone who was praying! Your prayers are not taken for granted. There were some challenging issues in the congregations – such as a fall, sickness, an accident – which could have caused problems. But God was good. Please continue to pray for those three teens who were baptized, and their families.

For more detailed information, with more videos and photos, check out Rod’s blog Mexico Matters!

22 October 2022

Full Days

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I’m sorry I haven’t been writing here more, but we’ve been trying to catch up on a number of things, as I mentioned earlier.

Chicken at church — *A chicken at church. That’s all.*

But that’s not to say that nothing has been happening!

For example, one Sunday this chicken ended up on the church property. (No, this has nothing to do with Church’s Texas Chicken.) It did get out alive, you’ll be glad to hear (although there was some talk about wanting to illustrate the burnt offerings in Exodus). (Many of us may or may not have been inspired to have some yummy chicken dinners, though…)

For example, the last class of the Church History course was completed, with certificates being handed out. These are currently being given under our “civil association”. That’s how our community centre is recognized by the government.

This last class marked the end of three years of classes, with four churches involved, covering five college-level courses. We will likely be continuing with something in the new year, but we’re not sure yet what that will look like. We would like to do some more pastorally-focused courses (such as a preaching class), but I’m sure there are others who would like to continue their education as well, so we’ll see.

Shari and Nathanael enjoyed some time with other missionaries to Mexico at the annual InterMission Conference. What happened to Jim? Well, he was a little sick and so decided to sit this one out. Thankfully, it was a quick recovery.

Last Sunday I spent some time with some of the leaders of the churches in the Mexico City area. We’re hoping to restart having some meetings and activities on a regular basis, starting in the New Year. It was great to see some familiar faces and share and pray together.

Services and studies continue, of course. I won’t speak for everyone, but I’ve really enjoyed our study of Exodus! Lord willing we’ll be finishing our study in November, after more than a year. Right now we’re talking about the priests – their special clothes and their consecration.

Shari was teaching Sunday School last week. Look – rainbows! As you might guess, they were in Genesis 9. A wonderful testimony of the mercy of God in the face of our sin. They’re going through the Generations of Grace curriculum, which takes them right through the Bible.

Esther teaches the Bible verse — *Our friend Esther teaching the memory verse.*

Tonight there’s a men’s Bible study, which Rod is leading (Rod and Mayra are back from some travelling in the US and Mexico over the past 6 weeks). And tomorrow I’ll be leading the music in the service. Nathanael often helps out with the music on the uke.

And meanwhile, we’re trying to get some personal things done – some fixes around the house (our internet is still suffering, but a lot better than it was!) – Nathanael catching up with school – some doctor’s appointments – and working toward Nathanael’s new permanent residence visa. (Yes, he already has a “permanent” visa, but because he got it before he was an adult he needs to renew it once to get his adult version.)

There’s lots of planning going on as well. We’re already looking toward next year and what will be happening in the church. But more immediate is our church’s 6th anniversary – on the 6th of November! Lord willing I’ll be able to show you some pictures – maybe even some video, if I’m on the ball.

Thanks for your prayers!

12 November 2021

5th Anniversary Service!

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Last Sunday we celebrated the 5th anniversary of the Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas (Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Las Palmas)!

Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Las Palmas 2021

Don’t look too carefully, because 2 or 3 people were missing from the photo… but over 50 of us went out to “Emerald Forest” (about a 45-minute drive away, toward the volcanoes) for a special service. Most were regular attendees, although we had some visitors, which was fun. It was really a great time. Here’s the banner which we had for the day. Since we’re going through Exodus in our sermons now, we used Exodus 6:7a as a theme: “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God” (see also 2 Corinthians 6:16):

5th Anniversary Banner 2021 — *(Click image for a larger photo)*

We heard three testimonies from people in the church during the service, which was very encouraging. And we took a break for (a gorgeous) cake (which a friend made)…

Ezequiel led the service. We had a worship time when people chose their favourite songs (all good, except that no one wanted to stop singing! Wait – I guess that’s not a bad thing…). And Rod preached a challenging message on Psalm 90. (Yes, it was Rod and Mayra’s first Sunday back! Welcome back!)

Rod preaching at the anniversary service

After the service we had a BBQ – grilling of all kinds of meats, green onions, cactus… and someone was walking around selling grasshoppers in a chilli sauce, so I had some of those too. We had lots of time to talk, play soccer/fútbol, ride a horse, or generally enjoy the outdoors. Here’s a shot of some of the youth playing bottle bash:

It was a wonderful Sunday, glorifying our Lord Jesus Christ and celebrating His faithfulness! Please continue to pray for this young church, that we would all grow in our love for the Lord in the year ahead. Who knows what He has in store? All I know is, He will still be faithful!

See more pictures at Rod’s blog here.

27 October 2021

Upcoming

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I haven’t stopped by for a while, and the common excuse is that things have been very busy. And it’s true!

Part of the reason is that we’re preparing for some big events. One of them is the 5th Anniversary of the Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas! Pretty exciting!

Biblical Doctrine class promo poster — *Biblical Doctrine Class Promo*

Lord willing we’ll be celebrating on the 7th of November. We’re going to get out of Ixtapaluca and go to a park/ranch/forest out near our two famous volcanoes. We’ll have our Sunday service out there, some yummy food, some games, and who knows what. Which is why we still have work to do – to make sure we can get everyone there, make sure everyone is fed, make sure there are people to lead activities, and so on.

But most of all, we’ll be celebrating God’s faithfulness over the past 5 years!

Also very exciting is the fact that, Lord willing, Rod and Mayra Fry will be there! Our coworkers have been in the USA for over a year, so we’re looking forward to seeing them. And Rod will be speaking for our anniversary celebration.

I probably haven’t specifically mentioned that Nathanael had two of his wisdom teeth out. 🙂 Well, he did! He’s mostly recovered now, but we still have one dentist appointment yet to check things out.

Now he has a lot of catching up to do with school, so you could pray for him if you think of it.

Also coming up the day before the anniversary service is the last Bible Doctrine class of the semester. We’re ending on a light, non-controversial note, talking about the end-times. I’m sure that we’ll all agree that Jesus is coming back soon, and then they’ll hand out our diplomas, and we’ll be done.

I’m also getting ready for the next Biblical Anthropology study, which will be the week after the anniversary service. It will be especially relevant to current news, focusing on the environment. It’s the last topic (lesson #10), and then in December we’ll be pulling everything together in our last study.

As my friend Ezequiel mentioned once, it’s often been a surprise what we end up talking about, even when we know the topic beforehand. It’s a surprise to the teacher as well (well, I mean, as I prepare)! And it looks like this one is going to be no exception. I think we have a common bland evangelical response to environmentalism sometimes, and I’ve been learning a lot about what the Bible actually says. It’s all the more interesting because this follows 9 other studies, and a lot of other topics and issues seem to converge around this one. No doubt partly just because we’re covering it last.

But anyway, let’s just say I have special reason to keep my eyes on COP26. 🙂

And on the homefront, we’ve been gutting pumpkins to make purée. Buying canned pumpkin is a rarity here, so we buy pumpkins and freeze the purée to use all year long. But especially in December for pumpkin pies. Just sayin’. Anyway, Shari’s been doing most of the work on that, but Nathanael and I helped a bit and I roasted up some seeds on Monday. It is a lot of work, but it pays off all year in pies, cheesecake, muffins………

Anyway, there’s a little news for you.

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