We enjoyed our time with Bill and Ryan this weekend, visiting from South Calgary Chinese Evangelical Free Church. It was a bit of a trilingual weekend, with a bit of Cantonese being thrown around along with the Spanish and English!
Ryan, Bill & Jim out for tacos in Mexico City
In fact, Ryan gave the benediction at the Sunday morning service – in Chinese. Another reminder of how we all can worship God together, no matter what our country or language!
I did some site-seeing with these guys, and showed them a bit of the ministry up-close as well. We talked a lot about strategies for future ministry. Thanks for visiting, guys! Come back soon, and bring your friends! 😀
Saturday night was our last Bible study for a few weeks. The adults finished up the Chronological Bible Study with the last segment – “The Triumph of the Lamb”.
Here are the kids from Shari’s study – keep praying for them – some are probably not believers yet.
Saturday night kids’ study
On Sunday we continued our study of Hebrews, and the Ten Commandments. A friend from Uruguay shared special music. The Mothers also got celebrated with a small gift and a song of blessing (it was Mother’s Day on Friday here). 🙂
Las Palmas Moms
And now we’re diving into the activities of the week! It just might be someone’s birthday this week, so there might just be a party coming soon. 😉
I haven’t written much lately, because Manic May is here (actually, it kind of started early this year)! But I thought I’d better stop by to let you know we’re still alive and kicking.
Some of the youth led worship this past Sunday at Las Palmas
One big activity has been paperwork – remember that? Yes, it never really ends. Two members of the family have had official paperwork to review, and as usual it’s a multi-step complicated process. But we’re getting there, little by little!
Some individuals have birthdays in May, as you may know, so we’re getting ready for that!
You could pray for our first visitors who will arrive on Thursday, from South Calgary Chinese Evangelical Free Church. We’re looking forward to spending some time with them, so we’ve been busy preparing everything for our time together.
For me (Jim), Saturday is the “Grand Finale” of our Chronological Bible Study. The final study is called “The Triumph of the Lamb”. We also continue with our study of Hebrews – lovin’ Hebrews 11 right now – and I’m preparing to continue the 10 Commandments study – we’re onto “Remember the Sabbath day…”.
Well, that’s just a few of the things we’re thinking about right now. Thanks so much for your prayers! We continue to be encouraged by the way God is working in our lives here. But we have a long way to go, by His grace!
For several years I did a “one-a-day” series of posts on my Spanish blog, En la Biblia (In the Bible). Generally speaking, each series covered a year.
Anyway, this year I have a daily post with the various “tracks” you can follow with a post for each day of the year – 5 different topics. “The Believer’s Daily Treasure” (basics of the Christian life), a daily catechism, a daily proverb, a book of the Bible post, and a person/place of the Bible post. Here’s a sample – today’s post.
I got “out of sync” at one point, because I did a book of the Bible each week. So I just finished the latest series (they will finish posting next week, I think) on the people and places of the Bible.
So if I got it right, I should have 366 people and places. Now, I thought this would be an easy thing to do. Well, it was a little more intense than I thought.
That being said, what a blessing! I learned so much about… well, people and places! And also learned how much I don’t know.
Some fascinating examples. Did you know that there’s a Sheerah in the Bible? Apparently, when Jacob’s family moved to Egypt, the family still had solid ties to Canaan, some even travelling back to Canaan doing business (which makes sense, if you think about it!). Sheerah was one of these. She was very productive – credited with building three towns!
Perhaps you remember a title Jesus has in Revelation – the One who “has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens”. Any idea where that comes from? Well, it comes from a man named Eliakim.
Eliakim, an important man in the reign of Hezekiah, was known as a just administrator, and so reminds us of Jesus. As a good leader, God promised him the “key of David” – that he would be a special manager in Jerusalem and Judah.
And I had no idea that people in the past used the word “Ethiopia” in a completely different way than we do today.
And now I’m going back to my own website and using it as a reference – not because I’m so great and intelligent, but because I know that I will find information that I have already researched. 🙂
God seems to be using this site, which is dedicated simply to – well – whatever is “in the Bible”! Thousands of people are visiting each week – mostly from Mexico, Columbia, the USA, Peru, and Spain. Yes, who knows why, but it continues to gain popularity in Columbia – right now, almost 15% of the sites visitors are from there.
So there you go – just a little milestone – 366 people and places. I enjoyed it if no one else did!
This past Sunday was week #2 at the “new place” – the “party garden”. Except that, this time, we were in a different building.
So, just so you understand. This place has two main places for events. There’s the big tent out front – the one we were in last time (see – I Came to the Garden (but not alone)). Then there’s the smaller cement structure further in. Which one we’re in all depends on what other events are happening.
So it was the cement structure, this time. In many ways, better. A little quieter, further back from the main highway and from the fountain. But that’s not to say our service was without distractions.
Of course, last time there were distractions too. The dog who stayed for the service (the owner of the place got it some water so that it would feel at home). People walking through, getting ready for the event in the other building. The cars whizzing by on the highway out front.
Rod teaches. He’s not distracted.
But the theme certainly continued this week. Within the building, there was some work being done in the kitchen in the back – actually, that didn’t bother me much.
I admit that the flashing Christmas lights that decorated the room did put my brain in overdrive, but thankfully they didn’t flash constantly. They were on a cycle – you know how it goes.
“Sunday school tent”
It was a little distracting because of the direction we were facing. We could all see out into the yard in the back. There was a gazebo style tent that we were told we could use for the kids’ Sunday school. So some of us could see the kids while we tried to listen to Rod. But no problem. The kids were behaving.
The kids went into another part of the yard for a special activity, and some men came into the yard (as Rod continued teaching us). What are they doing there? They came up to the kids’ Sunday school tent, where their chairs and table and Bibles were. And they started to take down the tent!
Our view – ladders up, tent going down…
Now the kids were in another part of the yard doing their activity. What is going on? The men talk, hesitate, look around. Someone walks away. They continue. Finally they do indeed take down the tent. Yes, I do remember what Rod was talking about (but it’s a good thing there were notes).
A bird just flew into the room. 🦠Awww, cute.
Where was I? Ok. We had a break time shortly after this. We had actually brought another tent to use for the kids – which we would have used, if we hadn’t been told we could use the one that was already there. So, many hands making light work, we hoisted it up during the coffee break.
So, on goes the service.
Rod leads the music
Now, I’m not sure why we set up the room the way we did – maybe we could make some changes. But on the right of the room was a stage, which we weren’t using. This is important.
I was preaching on Sunday, so the time came and I got started. Now, you’ve seen a picture – this room isn’t that small. So why – WHY was this one fly so obsessed with me? It wasn’t just buzzing around. It was on a kamikaze mission to repeatedly crash into my head. It would not be ignored. So I just had to swat at it a few times. But I’m sure we weren’t distracted. Not much.
Then, everyone’s heads went right (my left). It’s the regular quandary of the speaker – do you break the tension, acknowledge what’s going on – or do you ignore it and keep going, hoping not to break the flow of the message?
I went the ignore route this time. What had happened was a truck had come through the back gate (in the yard where the kids were doing Sunday School), and had pulled up to the front right of our building. They were coming in to remove to stage. Kindly, they waited for us – mostly. Although they did come in to start getting it ready for removal.
So when I asked a question and asked for agreement from the congregation, there was a moment of silence as people clued in that I was still talking to them. Someone finally expressed agreement. I think I could have said, “Elephants are purple with pink polka dots, right?”, and someone eventually would have said “Amen!”
Someone got up to move some cups off the stage for the workers. A family had to leave early.
And then – slowly, methodically – a spider began to lengthen its thread and drop down from the microphone in front of me. And completely out of context for everyone else – I laughed. Yes, out loud.
But we don’t get distracted, really. Animals, workers out back, in the kitchen, in the same room. Flashing lights. No worries. Our powers of concentration are amazing.
And yours are even better than ours, if you’ve actually made it to the end of this post. Nice work!
Below is a video of the baptisms from this past Sunday. A few words of explanation…
We don’t have the video for the first two baptisms, hence the photos. Sorry!
There were 24 people baptized (I think I said 21 on Facebook, but I counted and it seems there was 24!). 19 were from the church in Jesús MarÃa, and 5 from the church in Las Palmas. It’s easy because the Las Palmas people went last, and that’s the only time I was in the tank. 🙂
You’ll hear a part of a song played over and over. And over. It’s become a bit of a traditional baptism song in the church in Jesús MarÃa, so they played a small part between every baptism. What you’re hearing is, “We give glory to You, Jesus!” – and yes, we do!
The other people you’ll see in the tank are Daniel (left), a leader in the church in Jesús MarÃa, and Ismael (right), the pastor.
Ok – here you are! About three and a half minutes of people you can pray for.
We’ve been thinking a lot about water lately. Frankly, it’s hard to avoid.
Black water – but not as bad as it has been sometimes…
As many of you know, we’ve gone from having very little water pressure, and having to resort to buckets to get clean – to now having wildly unpredictable moments in which we have more water pressure than we’ve had in years (no exaggeration), to water that is black, to not even a drop anywhere.
Our water was off all night – but did come on this morning. A little black, but certainly better than no water at all.
But really, that’s not the water that’s most important at the moment. The important water is in a rectangular tank up in the community of Jesús MarÃa. I imagine it’s filled by now, ready for a special service tomorrow, in which many believers will be baptized!
We have enjoyed spending a little time with some of the people who will be baptized, hearing how God has worked and is working in their lives. So we’ve been able to have an extended “time of rejoicing”, which will continue with the celebration tomorrow morning.
Please pray for these people, who may be in front of a bigger crowd than ever in their lives, 🙂 but who will be making a public confession of the inward reality of faith from the Holy Spirit!
I don’t know if the water will be clear or black – but it doesn’t matter much, because it’s only a symbol of the reality. The cleansing that God has done in hearts is perfect – and purifies us completely. And it is done with blood – imagine! But a blood so pure it cleans our souls.
I’ve been studying for an upcoming sermon in Hebrews, and these words seem very appropriate…
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
