Yes! We have returned safely to Mexico. Thanks so much to those of you who have been praying for us!
Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas – 4th Anniversary Service
Yes! We came home tired, and are still recovering, to be honest. But God has been good as we have worked to get the household running again, and as we try to remember old routines and create new ones.
Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas 4th Anniversary Romans 8:1
And, as you might guess from the photo above, a highlight for us over the past few days was Sunday – the 4th Anniversary celebration at our church!
With the many uncertainties of travel and health, we were making no promises that we would be there, although we had told several people we would try. The result was that some people were surprised to see us, which was fun.
We decided to continue with our series in Romans, and so our theme for the day had to do with our salvation and our relationship with the Spirit. Oscar shared the message on Romans 8:1-11. You can see Romans 8:1 on the cake, and the phrase from Romans 8:6 on the banner below – “to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
God also blessed us with a Scripture reading from Colossians 1:15-20, a wonderful text about the preeminence of Christ and the confidence we can have in Him as the Head of the Church.
It was a tremendous blessing to hear a number of testimonies as well; to hear what God has been doing in the hearts of so many.
4 years! And God continues working on so many hearts through the ministry of this new church. Thank you to all who have prayed for and supported this work in so many ways.
The day had another added bonus – after the service we had a baby shower for Josué – soon to make his appearance, Lord willing! Josué is the little baby of our friends Oscar and Viri.
As is often the case here, the proud parents and their family not only received gifts but gave gifts, hosting the party and giving out some special mementos of the day. We’re so thankful for parents who are preparing to ground their new child in the truth of Christ.
Here are a few more pictures for you from the service. Lord willing I’ll upload some higher resolution pictures into our album eventually.
Various people sharing at our 4th anniversary service.
A lot of the posts that you’ve been checking out have had to do with our time in Canada. So I’ll try not to include all the “schedule” posts that are now out of date (except, of course, for this one, if you would like to come and see us tomorrow!).
So here you go, chronological order, with the most popular post in bold.
I’ve often wondered if the term “Support Team” has confused people, but I’ve stuck to it for what I think are good reasons. Some people think that “support” means “please give us money”. But our Support Team includes everyone who receives our newsletter. Why? Because everyone supports us in different ways.
Is financial support important? Of course. And we have mentioned that we are looking for a little more pledged monthly support, to stabilize our support (we lost some support when Camino joined with Avant, for whatever reason). But many people also have encouraged us, advised us, and prayed for us.
So I stick with the term “Support Team” because everyone can support the ministry in Mexico, and although funding is important, it should never be the main and only focus of “support”. How many missionaries crash and burn, even though they have ample funds, but no one to encourage them or visit them or pray with and for them?
Anyway, there’s information about that here. And if you need to change your contact information, there’s a form for that as well – Change Newsletter / Update Options. If you didn’t receive our newsletter in August (it was the “Where shall I go…?” letter, with info about “opening up” in Mexico, and our visit to Canada), or if you’ve mysteriously stopped getting our (roughly) monthly email update, it might be because we have an old address or email address.
I think those forms are working, but if you don’t hear from us, just drop us a line to make sure we got the message! 🙂
Reformation Day, the 31st of October, is almost upon us again! Some people maybe think that Reformation Day is a poor attempt to replace Halloween, but it actually has a very long history. In fact, it was first celebrated over 450 years ago.
Reformation Day commemorates Martin Luther nailing the Ninety Five Theses on the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg. It’s a somewhat arbitrary date, because there is a lot of debate about the origins of the Reformation, and it’s much more complex than the first nail that Luther pounded onto the door.
Reformation Day really recognizes a widespread revival, and a return to the truths of God’s Word. It was a messy business, with many true believers, many jumping in for political reasons, many controversies. But there is little doubt that God’s Spirit was doing an amazing work as so many returned to the Bible as their sole authority.
Here are a few resources you might be interested in as we think back on this important time in Church history. Reformation and revival are always needed, as we so easily drift from God’s great revelation.
There’s a podcast that we’ve been really enjoying – it will be going for a while, and you only have a little to catch up on (make sure you listen to the old episodes from the start). It’s called Luther: In Real Time. You can subscribe here, and here’s the trailer:
For another interesting note about the complexities of Luther and his times, this short video is worth a watch. Fritz Erbe: The Reformation Figure You’ve Never Heard Of:
Hi everyone! One more update of our schedule, in case you are in the area and can come see us!
25 October 2020 (10:30am): Provost, AB – We will be sharing at New Hope Gospel Church. Please contact the church for more information.
1 November 2020 (10:30am): Cremona, AB –We will be sharing at Cremona Country Fellowship. Note that Sunday School is at 9:30am. Please contact the church for more information.
Thanks again for all your prayers, support and encouragement as we continue with work and ministry here in Canada, and as we prepare to return to Mexico. So many of you have been a tremendous encouragement.
