The basilica in Mexico City is the most visited Roman Catholic shrine in the world. The basilica itself can accommodate up to 50,000 people, but the grounds include many buildings, chapels and shrines. You can read more about it here.
We went to visit with Charlene (CAM Canada’s director) this past week, and I took some video so that you could share the experience.
A couple of brief notes first. One thing that we commonly see (and, in fact, saw that day but didn’t video), is people crawling across the pavement, or through a chapel, or up stairs, on their knees.
One more note – you might want to watch this before your children do, so you can explain to them what they are about to see.
We had a good visit with the director of CAM Canada, Charlene de Haan, who came down for a few days over the weekend. She sure saw a lot for the short time she was here!
I just sent her an email with some of the videos we’ve made over the past year, highlighting the ministry here in Ixtapaluca. There’s been a lot! So I thought I would share these with you.
Obviously, videos tend to focus on the more "videoable" things, such as big events. So this is not to say these give a decent overview of real ministry here, which would include private conversations, Bible studies, prayer – lots more! But it does give you a glimpse into at least some aspects. The videos are more or less in chronological order, with the most recent first…
Today we had our morning worship service in a surprise location – the Valtierra’s house. It was our friend Esli’s 15th birthday, so after the service we had a second service, and then a party, to celebrate!
Here’s a quick look at the service and the party. You can click on the collage to go to a larger, clearer version (click to go to the album, then click the image again to see the full-sized version (4267×5110)).
But when our wickedness had reached its height, and it had been clearly shown that its reward, punishment and death, was impending over us; and when the time had come which God had before appointed for manifesting His own kindness and power, how the one love of God, through exceeding regard for men, did not regard us with hatred, nor thrust us away, nor remember our iniquity against us, but showed great long-suffering, and bore with us, He Himself took on Him the burden of our iniquities, He gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal.
For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness?
By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God?
O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors!
~ Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus (about AD 130, translated from Greek by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Full text here.)
