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Ministry glimpses

Weekend Report: Children’s Ministry and More

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This weekend we had the privilege of having Shelli (Corina) Neufeld in Ixtapaluca for a few days. Shelli and her family have served for many years as missionaries in Hermosillo, Mexico. But in fact, during our first visit to Mexico, Shelli was with us – a part of our team that served in Mexico City and Apatzingan many years ago.

Children's ministry conference
Practical teaching at the children’s ministry conference
On Saturday the church in Jesús María hosted a children’s ministry seminar, with Shelli as the conference speaker. Four churches were represented. Shari (don’t get mixed up, now – I realize we’ve got a Shari and a Shelli in the same post!) went to a lot of work organizing the conference.

Well, Shelli’s teaching was pure gold – so many tips for teaching children (and, in fact, teens and adults too)! We heard some excellent feedback from those who attended. So after all the hard work, we’re very encouraged that there will be a positive impact on the method of teaching God’s Word in several churches.

On Sunday, at our church in Las Palmas, Shelli worked with several of those who normally teach. They put into practice much of what they learned on Saturday on Sunday.

Speaking of which, here’s Hannah teaching the craft of the day.

Hannah teaching a craftShelli also shared her testimony on Sunday morning.

So, it was a good weekend. We struggled a little because – well, we thought we were getting over whatever bug it was that we had, but apparently we either got a new one or the other one wasn’t quite finished. So Shari and I were working at significantly lower-than-normal energy. But God worked in spite of that all.

So, thanks, Shelli, for joining us! And thanks to everyone who was praying for the weekend. To God be the glory!

Shelli on Sunday

Mid-November Mania

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Laura and ShariLast Tuesday we travelled to the north part of the city to celebrate a 15th birthday party with our friend Laura. Yes, Shari made the cake, and we enjoyed some Chinese food (P.F. Chang’s). Too short a visit, but a good time.

Last week 3 of the 4 interns who come each weekend were here for the whole week, so the Frys kept them pretty busy. They spent a lot of time in public schools here, Junior High Schools, where they shared about values and God with about 2700 students (yes, you read that right!).

On Friday night we had a really good study with a woman we’re just getting to know. We read about how Jesus calmed the storm.

On Saturday there was a youth event, and a few of the youth from the public schools came, and showed interest in spiritual things.

Saturday morning, the weekly kids’ club. I think there were over 20 kids there – it’s been growing every week!

On Sunday we had our second service in Las Palmas. This week, due to a conflicting event at the party hall, we had rented another room in the neighbourhood. But no one was there to let us in! After many phone calls, someone finally came 15 minutes after the service was supposed to start!

Locked out!
Locked out before Sunday service #2

In spite of getting in a little late, we had a good service. I preached about the gospel from Paul’s discussion of Abraham in Romans 4 (thanks to those who prayed!).

Today, the first day after our first 10 years in Mexico, I did homeschool with the kids, and sent many of you our newsletter (let us know if you’d like to get one!).

Aside from these things, there are a lot of background things we’re working on, which are keeping us busy. There are more activities coming up on the weekend — and a wedding, in fact!

Oh, by the way – if you’d like to see a few recent pictures of what’s been going on, I just uploaded a whole bunch to our Recent Shots… album.

The First Service – Praise the Lord!

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Thank you for all your prayers! We’re praising the Lord for the first service that we had in Las Palmas. There were about 30 people there, representing 8 families, not including the interns (I’m afraid I didn’t get any pictures when everyone was there together). We meditated on forgiveness – forgiveness from God, and our forgiveness of others.

As you may know – we were in a party hall. Which means that Woody, Buzz, a zombie, various princesses, Spiderman, and many others also “attended”, as you will see in the pictures!

Las Palmas - 1st Service collage 1
Las Palmas - 1st Service collage 2

Tomorrow – Sunday Service #1

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We’ve hardly had time to think, never mind write … but I thought I’d swing by here quickly to let you know what’s going on tomorrow!

Tomorrow we will be having our first Sunday service of all time in the community of Las Palmas. That means that a bunch of believers from the area will get together, worship God, hear from His Word, pray together, and ask God to prepare us for further service.

I have no idea how it’s all going to go, but we’re just going to try our best to serve and trust the Holy Spirit to do His work!

So in case you want to pray specifically, the service will be at 11am tomorrow. Rod Fry will be preaching, and Shari will be teaching the children’s Sunday School.

How do you prepare for a service? Well, aside from a lot of PRAYER? Well, there are sheets that need to be printed and copied, lessons that need to be prepared, music to be chosen, Bible passages to be studied, people to be invited.

And – remember, this is brand new – no microphones, no pulpit, no coffee maker …. We do have chairs as a part of the rental.

Uncharacteristically, I suggested that the coffee maker be a priority. Uncharacteristic, since I don’t drink coffee. See how understanding I am? (hah!)

Anyway, coffee isn’t really going to animate us spiritually, so do pray! I’ll try to send off a newsletter with a report (for those who are subscribed – if you’re not, you can sign up here).

Services begin in Las Palmas!

This Week: Team Leader Meetings

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This week I (Jim) will be heading to Cholula for a week of meetings with Camino Global team leaders and other mission leadership from around the world. We would all appreciate your prayers as we look to better serve the Lord with Spanish speakers around the world.

This is actually the first time I’ve been to these meetings here in Mexico (you may remember last year in Guatemala, and the year before in Honduras). So it’s pretty exciting to be more of a “host” this time along with the other missionaries here.

Lord willing, four missionaries will join me over the weekend to be involved in ministry in Mexico City. Mexico City alone is more populous than the entire country of Guatemala or Honduras, so it will be a different cultural experience from other years. 🙂

Church Planting: The Next Step

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The Next StepIt’s been over two years since our team officially began ministry in the community of Las Palmas. We’ve had many opportunities to serve people there. And now it’s time for the next step.

So what has happened over two years? There have been a lot of community centre classes, including keyboard, baking, and English classes. And some fun closing programs at the end of the semesters. We’ve also given wheelchairs to those in need, hosted several soccer tournaments and a sports camp, and had Bible studies. We’ve even helped the local Jr. High with their English classes. We’ve had many short-termers who have invested in Las Palmas, helping us with so many activities and just taking the time to talk – and listen – to people.

Through all this time, there have been many opportunities to share the Gospel.

So what’s the next step?

The next step is – an actual Sunday service! And – a whole lot of weekend activities! And – more community centre classes!

Cheila - Children's Day Event 2016
Cheila at a Children’s Day Event
First, let me get to some other related news. Do you remember the Children’s Day activities we had back in the spring? A group came down from Word of Life, a Bible school north of Mexico City.

Well, they did a great job. And now we have the opportunity to work with some of the students from that school every weekend!

Cheila (from Portugal), Matheus (from Portugal) and Rebecca (from Mexico City) have committed to join us each weekend from now through May as an internship with their school. That means that we can help them, and they can help us, as we serve the Lord together.

So what does all this mean for weekly activies? Here are some of the things our (bigger) team will be doing:

  • Sunday Service: Starting (Lord willing) November 6th. We’re renting a party hall for a few hours on Sunday, much like we did in Jesús María.
  • English classes: Homework help in particular. Twice a day students stream down the streets after school (school is in two shifts). The party hall, also rented for this purpose, is in a perfect location on the neighbourhood’s main street.
  • Bible study: for adults/kids, continuing as it has been for a while now on Friday evenings.
  • Kids’ Club: A VBS type activity time on Saturdays
  • Youth: Saturday night
  • Other classes, events, outreaches, community service: continuing.

Some of these things have already started, but the first service is yet to come.

We’ve been spending extra-special time praying for the people of Las Palmas. Will you join us? Only God can bring life to people this community. Please pray with us!

We also have a number of expenses – the rental of a house and the party hall, and the expenses related to the interns. If you would like a breakdown, so that you could make this a family or church project, just contact us. You could help us cover one week, or one intern for one weekend, or less or more.

If you’d like to help right now, you can give to our community centre through Camino Global. The project # is 063576. Just click on “Give to this project”. If you’re in the US, the info is right there. If you’re in Canada, follow the next link and be sure to enter the project #.

Thanks to everyone who has been a part of outreach to this area over the past few months, through your service with us, your gifts, and/or your encouragement! Let’s take the next step and see what the Lord will do!

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