In spite of the fact that our church is called the Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas (Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Las Palmas), since March of 2020 we actually haven’t been in the community of Las Palmas. But – we’re about to return.
Ezequiel and I went to look at one of the local properties for sale a while ago, and unfortunately it just wasn’t going to work for the church. So we do appreciate your continued prayers about that.
However, David and Ezequiel were able to check out a place to rent. We’ve been renting a party hall each Sunday morning. But for slightly less money overall per month, we now have a place 24/7. That’s a huge blessing, because we’ve been moving a lot of equipment every single Sunday! Plus, we now have a place for other activities if we choose to do something during the week.
Last Saturday a bunch of us from the church got together to clean and fix and paint the place that we’re now renting. There’s always more to be done, but I think it’s just about ready to go.
The next step will be, of course, to see how it all works in real life! This past Sunday we practised setting up the chairs, but this coming Sunday will be the real test when we have an actual service.
As I was looking back over the past (almost) 9 years of the church, I realized that this will actually be the very first time that we’ve rented our very own place. So that is a great blessing! Plus, we have separate rooms which we can use for things like Sunday school.
I’ve been thinking back to all the times we spent praying for that community. God has chosen to spread our reach further and to other places, but maybe He has further plans for Las Palmas itself!
Whatever the case, may God use this new place for His glory!
Wow! It was ten years ago today that we have the privilege of spending some time in the great outdoors of Canada with Shari’s parents and some cousins. That was a great time! And here’s proof. We’ll even include the illustrious dog Sniper in the picture.
This past Sunday we enjoyed a special baptism service, joining our sister church in the community of Jesús María. We praise the Lord for the testimonies of each of these believers!
Yes, there are some exciting things coming up! If you would be willing to join us in prayer, we would appreciate it!
* See below for info
First, coming up on Sunday – a baptismal service! We will be joining the Path of Life Bible Church Jesús María for a worship service – and for the convenience of a place with a baptismal tank. 🙂
Please pray for those who will be following the Lord in baptism, and for their families, some of whom may not yet know the Saviour.
Then on the following Saturday, we will be joining another church – Mount Horeb Bible Church, in the nearby municipality of Iztapalapa. Next week they’re having a VBS, and they will be inviting the family and friends of the kids to a closing program on the last day.
And that’s where we come in! A friend from our church wrote a little play based on the VBS themes, and we’ll be performing that. Another friend will give a evangelistic presentation. We’ll be playing some music. And then we’ll help with the food, and Lord willing have time to talk to people one-on-one. Please pray that we would be clear and wise as we share!
It’s been great to see so many of the people of the church jumping in to get involved in these events! Praise the Lord!
Looking ahead, I’m preparing for some important teaching times in early August. So there’s lots coming up!
Thanks for your prayers!
* Oh, in case you’re wondering – the picture is the title page of our play. It says “Iztapalapa Event” (obviously – you probably figured that out already), “Stage Play”, and then “2nd Proposal”, because she actually had two versions. The play has the main character hearing testimonies from the Bible characters that the kids learned about during the week.
For a while we had the privilege of serving at a local senior’s shelter. Here’s a quick video with some people you may recognize, leading music, ten years ago today…
Thursday evening, I was off to my follow-up doctor’s appointment. It was raining, but who’s afraid of a little rain? And after all, the van is parked right in front of our front door.
Flooding, the day after the worst flooding…
I was, however, pretty soaked by the time I got into the van, and by the time I opened our gate (so I could move the van out onto the street), I had stepped in water deep enough to soak my shoes.
Shari suggested I maybe cancel my appointment. As tends to be the case, she was right. However, at the moment of the suggestion, the van was already out, I was trying to close the gate as quickly as possible, we were both getting soaked, and it was one of those split-second yes/no decisions. So, off I went.
As you can see, I cheated with the picture above – this was flooding on Friday evening, not Thursday evening. Flooding happens quite regularly around here, but nothing like Thursday. I was driving through lakes and rivers the whole time.
After many adventures, I was only 500 metres from the clinic, but then I remembered I was about to drive down a street rather notorious for flooding, and Thursday was no exception. With the rain still coming down in torrents, I came to my senses and began backing up, to see if by any chance I could make it home.
Backing up wasn’t so easy at that level of visibility. But then I realized that they were closing the road behind me – that is, where I needed to go. But the gentleman putting up the rope across the road saw that I was just leaving, and when I explained that I was leaving, he was kind enough to let me go.
The fun wasn’t over yet. And it wasn’t my imagination that this was unusual. Our area was apparently the hardest hit in the flooding. Firefighters were literally rescuing people by boat, where there used to be streets.
So there was no stopping if I wanted to get home (and no time for pictures!) – I drove through rivers and lakes, winding around to try to find the highest ground (or at least the least flooded ground). Every manhole I passed was now a little fountain 1-2 feet high of sewage water pouring into the street. (Genesis 7:11 – “the fountains of the great deep split open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.” At least that water was clean!)
Finally with a busted umbrella and a jacket that could have been wrung out, I arrived home with some flood debris stuck on the bottom of the van. Our street was pretty much as it had been – which I’m thankful for. Our house was fine.
Not to say everything was fine – we did have some loss from the flooding, but I won’t get into that here. The short story – we’re fine, the house is fine, and I was glad to be home.
Many other people had worse problems. With a local sewage ditch overflowing, appliances and electronics were destroyed as water swept through houses.
Here’s an article – I ran it through Google Translate for you, but it gives you an idea and shows a picture taken very close to where we live, where I often do business: Flood in Ixtapaluca
So my appointment was cancelled (they messaged me to ask why I wasn’t there, so I explained – it simply wasn’t possible!). I rescheduled for the next day, attempting to avoid the rain, which tends to come later in the day. There’ are ‘s a tropical storm off the coast which is giving us dismal weather for a few days – “Delila“. But the rain started again before I left. As you can see in the picture above, there was still flooding.
But! Not nearly as bad as Thursday night. So lots of splashing, but no closed roads.
So – I saw my doctor a day late. And – yikes! Delila is getting stronger still, although it’s slowly moving away from us. Not much sun is predicted for the next 4 days. Those clouds are dark up there. Here we go again! Can I stay home tonight?
