Celebrations of Hope

We’ve had some very busy, very “social” days lately. But it’s been good to have some times of prayer and celebrations of hope.

Last Friday we went to a church planting workshop put on by our mission agency. It was a blessing to get together with coworkers from around the country, talking about how to move forward in ministry.

Sunday was certainly a celebration of hope. Having a Sunday almost exactly half-way between Christmas and Easter, we had a Christmas/Easter Service! (In Spanish, we actually use the word Pascua or Passover, for Easter. I do actually believe that, contrary to popular belief, Easter is likely a Christian term. But here in Mexico it’s generally Pascua, and Holy Week (Semana Santa), and Resurrection Sunday.)

This was originally my Dad’s idea. The first half of the service has Scripture readings about the birth of Christ, Christmas carols, and so on. The second half features songs from Good Friday/Resurrection Sunday. The idea is to bring the two together, and show why they are both important.

With so many new people at our church right now, it was also an opportunity – not only to do something fun and different, but also to remind ourselves of the basics of the faith. Who is Jesus? What did He accomplish on the cross? Why is it important that He rose again?

As you can see, Shari even thought of having a poinsettia and lily display. 🙂

But anyway, it really was a celebration of hope. What an encouragement to remember that Jesus has acted in history – and continues to do so – to bring salvation. He is indeed the Sovereign king of all.

Speaking of having lots of new people, we need more chairs! So I went and bought 16 more this week. And we also need to expand our tent – literally – so that we have shelter from the sun. So that is an ongoing challenge.

On Monday, we enjoyed getting together with Chuck and Karla, fellow missionaries in Mexico City. It was good to catch up with them, and pray for one another.

We even had a chance to “get together” as a family, connecting with Hannah in Canada, this week. We chatted and played some board games (online) together.

And Lord willing we’ll be seeing other coworkers next week, Mark and Angélica, who serve in the city of Pachuca.

And I’m hoping to have a prayer time with some of the pastors in our area next week as well, this time via video conference.

Meanwhile I’m preparing to preach tomorrow on “The Purpose of the Plagues“, as we continue through the incredible book of Exodus.

Some of you have received our newsletter – let us know if you don’t get it (it’s the “Different Opinions?” letter). Oddly enough, it was held up at the US/Canada border! Not by police, or truckers, as far as I know, but by some mistake. So I’m not sure what’s up with that. But do make sure that, if you’re on our Support Team, we have your current email address and physical address, in case something goes wrong with one or the other.

Today is Bible study day! Women in the morning, men in the evening. May God continue to teach us through His Word.