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Ministry glimpses

Calgary. And, meanwhile, in Mexico . . .

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So we finished one of our busiest weekends of our time in Canada. We’re thankful for what the Lord has done, and thankful that my voice held out!

The Where did the Bible Come From? seminar went well (from my perspective) with about 30 people. We had some great conversations about Bible versions, the canon, how God preserved His Word – good times. It would be great to give the seminar again while we’re here – so let us know if you’re interested!

SCCEFC - Jim with translator GraceThen on Sunday we zipped around to three services, and I preached twice and shared thrice. That was at South Calgary Chinese Evangelical Free Church. An encouraging time, although it would have been nice to have more time with people. Maybe we’ll be able to stop by again.

I was very thankful for my brave translators, who did a great job!

But for now we’re heading to Saskatchewan for a while.

Meanwhile, in Mexico – well, first of all, in Russia, Mexico beat Germany in their first game at the World Cup! Yes, the goal did indeed “cause” an earthquake in Mexico. Indirectly.

Anyway, where was I? Ah yes. Meanwhile, in Mexico, the Mount Calvary Team had a great time of ministry, from what I heard! Check out a report at Rod’s blog – Mount Calvary June 2018

Continue to pray for Mexico as the national election draws near – less than two weeks now.

The First Week in Canada

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We were stopping by my nephew Jevon’s school to see a (very cool) project that he had been working on. We were walking through the halls when another student asked Jevon if we were all his family. Hearing an affirmative, she swore in amazement.

Seriously, girl? In Mexico, we bring more family members just to go grocery shopping.

Well, we’re obviously not in Mexico anymore.

So just a week in, we’re still adjusting to life here. The way our schedule here works, the very beginning and very end of the trip are probably the busiest, so we’ve hit the ground running. Or, I should say, sprinting.

We very much enjoyed our time at First Evangelical Free Church, and then at Prairie Tabernacle, meeting a few new friends and reconnecting with old friends. We’ve also had business to take care of, sometimes expected and sometimes unexpected.

We had a tour of Hannah’s new school and dorm this week, which was pretty cool.

We’re gearing up now for the Where did the Bible Come From? seminar on Friday and Saturday. By the way, there is still time to register (until 7pm tonight) if you’re in the area! We really want to fill it up, and there’s still space left. Just click the link above. Invite your friends!

On Sunday we’ll be at the South Calgary Chinese Evangelical Free Church, before ending our first very quick visit to Calgary. We’ll be back later in the summer.

Well, gotta run!

Playing a game with cousins
Hannah and Nathanael try a new game with their cousins.

An Eclectic Friday Night

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Yesterday we enjoyed a brief Bible study (and a little party! – because it’s our last study for a while) with some friends in Las Palmas. We talked about Romans 12:1-2 (cool passage – I know it’s a familiar one, but always worth another look), and some other interesting topics. 🙂

Reflection Selfie at Bible Study
Then we headed up to the church in Jesús María (yes, it’s literally up), where the youth group there and some other friends had a goodbye party for Hannah. Everyone had a chance to ask Hannah some questions, we prayed for her, and then we chatted over hot dogs for a while. 🙂 Always interesting conversations with that group too!

Praying for Hannah
Praying for Hannah

Fun with friends!

Fusión and other Ministry in April/May

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I’ve been slow to report on recent ministry, because it’s just so crazy around here right now! May is traditionally our busiest month, and this year is no exception.

Word of Life in Las Palmas
The Word of Life team with some of the Las Palmas congregation.
Anyway, we did indeed have a great time with Fusión, the group from Word of Life Mexico. They were here for the Children’s Day weekend at the end of April. They put on events at all three churches, presenting the gospel and connecting us with new people in our communities.

The Great Escape
A moment from “The Great Escape” with the Word of Life team
Between the team and those here, we had some great conversations with people and several people made confessions of faith. Please continue to pray for those who heard God’s Word through these events.

The team also participated in our morning service, teaching Sunday school and sharing from God’s Word in the service.

We had more visitors last weekend, from a church in California, who came to see what all the excitement is about here. 🙂

We have a busy weekend coming up, where all four of us will be serving during the morning service – fun fun fun! AND, it’s “birthday month”, so there are some parties coming up.

If you want to hear more about the Word of Life team, check out Rod’s blog – he has a video there if you can view it in your area: Word of Life/Palabra de Vida Mexico for Kids Day 2018 (video)

Coming this weekend . . . ¡Fusión!

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Children's Day 2018Here it is!

In case you can’t read it, it says…

Come and celebrate Children’s Day with us!

When? 4pm, Sunday the 24th of April

Where? Party hall “The Happy Corner”, Palmas 1, beside High School #161.

You’ll have fun. There will be games and much more!

Don’t miss it! It’s completely free!

Does that sound great, or what??

This is just one of the activities will be taking place in three different communities this week, with a team from Word of Life Mexico! I’m not sure I have all the terms right, but I think this is part of their ministry called “Fusion Zone”.

I think they’re doing a presentation called “The Great Escape”, but we’ll learn more in a few days.

The team will also be helping out at our service on Sunday, with the kids. Someone from the team will also be sharing God’s Word with the adults.

The fun starts at the first event – 7pm on Friday – and continues until the above event is over.

God likes nomads.

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Earlier this month we had to give up a house we had rented in the community of Las Palmas. Since 2013, our team has rented this place to house visiting teams and interns, to hold Bible studies and kids’ clubs, and to store church supplies (since we have no building).

But the owner contacted us to tell us that they had to leave their other house, and so they needed this one to live in.

So, we moved out of the house, affectionately known as “Kerpis” (after the street name), and temporarily farmed out the furniture and supplies to various people’s houses. We do hope to rent again, but for now, the ministry has no permanent location.

In some ways, we could see the providence of the move. Although it’s obviously inconvenient, we’ve been enjoying doing our Bible study at alternate locations.

Friday kids' study in Las PalmasTwo of the families in the church have locations that are very conducive to our Friday night study. And the bonus is, we’re connecting (and in some cases reconnecting) with some of the kids in another area of Las Palmas.

Cupcake ConesShari is encouraged to see what the kids are learning at the Friday study. They’re really interested and asking great questions. God does some interesting things when you’re nomadic!

Tomorrow I’ll be going alone to preach at a sister church about an hour north of here, while Shari and Hannah help with the Sunday School in Las Palmas. We certainly would appreciate your prayers as we share the gospel at two locations tomorrow!

By the way, we need Bibles! If you would like to help with one or two, check here for details and contact us ASAP.

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