I’m a little over 3 months late, but I did want to report on an evangelistic event that we had in Las Palmas, because it was a good time.
So one of our beloved Christmas traditions here in Mexico is ponche, a hot punch filled with fruits. So we set up a stove on the street in front our church meeting place, and served ponche to the passersby.
Some served the hot drinks, some shared the gospel, some walked around the neighbourhood to invite people to come, and some played Christmas carols.
And we also handed out little bags with a candy or two, a verse, and information about the church.
Many people heard the gospel and received information about the church. About 200 of our little information cards were handed out, which means that many households in the community now know that we’re there.
You can see in the image above right that we have a sign at street level for the church, and we hope to put another one up above so people can clearly see where we are.
We appreciate your prayers as we continue to build on this start, or actually restart, since we’ve returned to Las Palmas after meeting elsewhere!
Ten years ago today, our friends Shelene and Alyson were visiting us. Many adventures were involved. But here’s a moment of time, making some Easter baskets at home.
So, what if I started to post again, once in a while?
Yes, it’s been a crazy time – not just today (which was crazy), not just the past few weeks, but the past few months. It would be nice to get back into some kind of equilibrium – but I’m not holding my breath. Instead, I’m just stopping by to post!
I might catch you up on a few things from the past few months, but let’s start with the most recent – the last month.
We’ve enjoyed quite a few visits! We got together with some new friends in Mexico City rather suddenly and spontaneously – in fact, our van was in the shop, and it j was just finished and we just grabbed it and we drove into the city to get together with Jon and Danielle. It was quick, but a good time of fellowship!
Then we got together with Jessica – you remember Jessica, she used to live here in Ixtapaluca, and is still with our mission. She was down for a meeting, and was nice enough to come by so we could catch up a bit. Glad she finally made it back!
Then along came what I called “Nathanael’s Gang” – Nathanael and three of his friends, Thomas, Emilee and Elira. The whole group had a bit of a “missions vision” trip, learning a bit about Mexico and ministry here.
Thrown into the mix was Natalie, former missionary to Guatamala who will be coming to Mexico – the state of Oaxaca – to serve. She came for a day of cultural orientation along with Nathanael’s Gang. As you can see, Mexican orientation has something to do with Coca-Cola and soccer. Go figure!
Elira, Emilee, Thomas, Nathanael, and Natalie.
And of course all of this involved a lot of hanging out with Mexican friends as well – often over tacos…
The Gang was only here for a few days, but Nathanael stayed to have the pleasure of having two of his wisdom teeth removed. Oh joy! But you’ll be glad to hear he healed quickly, and we were able to enjoy some good times together.
Although, admittedly, not as much time as we had hoped for. There have been an unusual amount of challenges and complications in the midst of all of this – you know those times when everything goes wrong at once, or everything breaks down at the same time? Well – stuff like that. So that meant less time to enjoy Nathanael’s visit.
But God has been good, and a lot was accomplished in spite of it all.
Did I miss anybody? Probably. We even got to see our coworker Rod in there somewhere – an event that is rarer than you may imagine!
Nathanael is actually on the plane to Calgary as I write. And I have a music practice to get to! So – hopefully – I’ll talk to you later.
Ten years ago today we were hanging out with our friends the Neufelds, showing off our adopted country along with our roots! Click the image for a larger version. The Neufelds are in Canada now, but we all still love Mexico. 🙂
Ten years ago today (2016), Shari had a baking class! A new semester had begun at the community centre, and Kaycee was hard at work as well (seen in the background here – 5th from the right), teaching English and even an Asian cooking class!
We would appreciate your prayers for the family of our former director, Keith Elliott, who passed away this month.
Elliotts and Cottrills 2016 (click to enlarge)
Keith was our Canadian director back before Camino joined with Avant. He and his wife, Ruth Ann, were a great encouragement to us at the time. In fact, as you may guess from the picture above, they visited us here in Ixtapaluca 10 years ago next month!
Keith’s obituary explains what happened:
On Wednesday, December 17, 2025, Keith was able to fulfill his heart’s desire to be the kidney donor for his beloved wife and life-long ministry partner, Ruth Ann. Keith experienced a complication from the transplant surgery. After many days on life support, surrounded by his family, Keith passed from this world into the loving arms of his Saviour on Saturday, January 3, 2026.
We had actually been hoping to have Keith and Ruth Ann down here again to do some ministry with our pastors, and were very much looking forward to having them. But the Lord had other things in mind. We’ll have to wait a little longer to see him again!
The Elliotts served for many years as missionaries in Mexico, and in Ecuador. Until health issues led them home to Canada, they were serving in Costa Rica, doing pastoral care.
Again, please do pray for Ruth Ann and the rest of the family, for comfort and direction in the days ahead.
