Jacob’s Tests (podcast)
This is a sermon from our time in Canada earlier this year. I focused on James 1:17-27, but it’s really an introduction to the whole book.
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Ministry glimpses
Acts, Outreaches, and Other
We’ve been having a good time and a not-so-good-time here. Maybe that’s not so unusual.
We would appreciate your prayers as we join with our friends at Path of Life Bible Church in Santa Barbara to reach out into a new neighbourhood with kids’ clubs and a special study for parents. Last week’s turn-out wasn’t great, but Shari, Julian, Malu and some from the church handed out some more flyers yesterday, so we’re hoping for better things this week. 🙂
I got to make up the questions – from easy, to normal, to hard, to very hard, to “almost impossible”. (And they were.)
One group worked particularly hard to prepare, and it showed. Congratulations to the women! (The men challenged them for a while, but eventually fell behind).
If you know Spanish, you can take a look at the questions here.
The not-so-good has been health. I’ve been sick since Thursday noon, and last night was the worst night yet. Which means I’m getting better now, right? Right?
It looks like Shari has decided to join the ranks of the sick today as well. 🙁
But we’re pushing ahead, trying to get some other outreaches up and running here, getting some Bible studies going, and of course getting Hannah and Nathanael edykated.
Sightseeing and Brainstorming
Did Julian and Malu arrive? They sure did!
As you may remember, some car trouble stranded them in San Juan del Río, north of the promised land Mexico City. Repairs were finally completed this past Monday, and they arrived on Tuesday. Praise the Lord!
So they’ve been trying to settle in and get their house set up. They’ve been dealing with all the typical complications involved in getting things done, but they’ve persevered.
On Thursday and Friday I went with all our mid-term missionaries to spend some time together and do a little sightseeing in other parts of the city. It’s pretty cool to have Jessica, Julian, Malu and Emily all here at the same time!
A restaurant in a cave
There was at least one thing I got to do for the first time – visit La Gruta, a restaurant at Teotihuacán (an archaeological site known for its “pyramids”). Cool atmosphere – and the food was great! I had mixiotes, an Aztec dish.
On Sunday we were able to introduce Julian and Malu to the church in Santa Bárbara, and we talked a little about upcoming ministry in a new neighbourhood here in Ixtapaluca. We’re continuing to brainstorm about what types of ministry we could be doing in this and other neighbourhoods in the weeks ahead.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we’re getting ready for a new year of school. And working on getting three of our visas renewed. And getting ready for a special event on Sunday – maybe I’ll tell you about that later. 🙂
Malu, Julian, Jessica, and Emily – strolling around downtown Mexico City
Getting things started…
We’re still trying to get an actual normal electrical line into the church building. It’s a long story.
So someone in the church has been generously loaning a gas generator to power everything (like, way too many things).
Tonight they were trying to get some power to the building, presumably in time for the music practice. But the generator wouldn’t start.
I was there for prayer meeting, so I was called out to give the generator a “boost” from the van battery. It started – but then wouldn’t start again. So we hooked it up and boosted it again, and let it run awhile.
Then some of the men started to do some wiring and drilling inside, while we shouted prayer requests to one another over the racket. 😉
We were looking forward to having Emily play keyboard in the service tomorrow – but apparently some of the cables have disappeared, including the power cord for the keyboard itself.
So that’s a non-starter as well.
Lately it seems like it’s been hard to get anything at all started. As another example – Julian and Malu’s vehicle. They were supposed to be here on Tuesday, but they had a breakdown en route. The mechanic is still waiting for the right part, which he now hopes to get on Monday… which means they might come on Tuesday… we hope!
Meanwhile there have been other unexpected projects that have drained our time, as we try to squeeze in some moments to get our visa paperwork done (renewals – Lord willing the last ones for 2.5 years!), prepare for the school year, plan upcoming ministry, and – well, you don’t want to hear all the details.
On the upside, we had a wonderful prayer meeting. Great reminders that God can still work in spite of our stumbles, our weakness, our sickness, and our foolishness.
They’re still working on the electricity at the church. I wonder if the generator started again after they turned it off?
So someone in the church has been generously loaning a gas generator to power everything (like, way too many things).
Tonight they were trying to get some power to the building, presumably in time for the music practice. But the generator wouldn’t start.
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Then some of the men started to do some wiring and drilling inside, while we shouted prayer requests to one another over the racket. 😉
We were looking forward to having Emily play keyboard in the service tomorrow – but apparently some of the cables have disappeared, including the power cord for the keyboard itself.
So that’s a non-starter as well.
Lately it seems like it’s been hard to get anything at all started. As another example – Julian and Malu’s vehicle. They were supposed to be here on Tuesday, but they had a breakdown en route. The mechanic is still waiting for the right part, which he now hopes to get on Monday… which means they might come on Tuesday… we hope!
Meanwhile there have been other unexpected projects that have drained our time, as we try to squeeze in some moments to get our visa paperwork done (renewals – Lord willing the last ones for 2.5 years!), prepare for the school year, plan upcoming ministry, and – well, you don’t want to hear all the details.
On the upside, we had a wonderful prayer meeting. Great reminders that God can still work in spite of our stumbles, our weakness, our sickness, and our foolishness.
They’re still working on the electricity at the church. I wonder if the generator started again after they turned it off?
So What’s Happening in Ixtapaluca?
We’ve been home for a week now! We’re getting some questions about our plans for the fall, our schedule, and things like that.
So far we can’t answer those questions very well! Since we got home, we’ve been doing a lot of communicating and praying and organizing. Preparing for the upcoming months, whatever they may hold.
So we would appreciate your prayers as we continue the process!
I can say that there is a lot of coming and going happening over the next week! Emily Tiel will be coming from Canada to serve in Ixtapaluca until the spring. Emily is a student at Millar College of the Bible.
Our friend Tina Barham will be going on Home Assignment in the USA, leaving on Tuesday. Tina is very busy right now – without going into any details, could I ask you to please pray for Tina, especially over the next few days? Please pray that God would give her extra wisdom, endurance, and peace during this time.
A few hours after Tina leaves, we hope to welcome Julian and Malu Grymaloski to Ixtapaluca. The Grymaloskis will be serving with us until Christmas time.
So, naturally we’re working to make sure all this coming and going goes smoothly, and planning trips and classes and orientation and things for the next few weeks.
Things are going well here in general. We praise the Lord for what He has been doing in the lives of so many! At the same time, we’re facing new challenges and trials. May God continue to guide!