As many of you know, we have a team here from Pennsylvania. It’s been a great start to summer activities, with a soccer tournament, tiling at the church property, baking classes, visiting a home for seniors, a wheelchair presentation, English classes – and we’re not done yet!
Eventually I’ll post some pictures in our photo gallery, but here are a few just to show what we’ve been up to in the past few days…
So here we are, at the convergence of the past and the future. This week in particular.
We’re madly trying to finish all the year’s schoolwork, filling in end-of-the-year forms, asking final questions. At the same time, filling out registration forms and planning for next year.
We’re going over medical files from the past in order to plan for doctor’s appointments for the future. Preparing for future Bible studies, talking to a few different people about future long/short term ministry, while preparing for interns and teams coming this month. Planning meetings, taking care of van maintenance, updating paperwork, planning speaking engagements, complaining to customer service because they sent us the wrong item…
Missionaries around the world are frustrated. Not because they have to prepare for a Bible study or visit someone who is sick unexpectedly – those are very “spiritual” activities.
No, they’re frustrated because they have to find a new vehicle, apply for a visa, fix the leak, take someone in their own family to the doctor (again), go to the meeting, and carry the water up the hill.
You see, we just want to do “ministry”. No, not just because it looks good to to the family and friends back home (easy to fall into that trap), but also because it “feels good” to us. It feels like we’re doing something worthwhile.
Delayed paperwork, broken pipes and returning items to the store for the third time – these are more likely to be “attacks of Satan”, and reasons for discouragement.
I don’t think we’re entirely wrong here – Satan, the world, and the flesh certainly don’t want us sharing the Gospel. And these things can end up taking up far too much time if we let them, and sometimes when we’re doing all we can to not let them.
And missionaries are often dealing with an added level of complexity – language barriers, cultural barriers, and the expectations of many different groups of people.
But that being said, maybe sometimes – sometimes – we just shouldn’t get quite so worked up.
Remember those people back in your “passport country”? Guess what? They may be going through just as much – often far more. As believers, they want to serve the Lord too, you know.
And that goes for the people you’re ministering to “on the field” too. They just may have it a lot harder than you. Just like you, they have to balance the “spiritual” things with the mundane, the unexpected with the planned, the things that they are “gifted” in with the things that they “have to do”.
And let’s not forget Genesis 2:15. God made man – and put him to work right away! Doing what? Gardening. Farming.
Those forms and trips and meetings are very often about loving your neighbour, taking care of your family, improving the system. Without minimizing the importance of sharing the Gospel – sharing has to go along with all these other activities in order to be effective. All work – assuming it’s God-honouring – is “spiritual”.
The cross cultural missionary does have unique challenges. But it’s time we remembered that those “extra” things are only making us a little more like the rest of the world.
In fact, it may actually be helpful to remember: our specific tasks may not be the same as the tasks the people around us have. But they have to deal with health problems in the family, make sure their children are prepared for school, make sure they have the money to pay the bills – just like the missionary. Maybe if we can learn that God is in it all, and that we can serve God in it all, and serve the Church in it all … maybe we’ll be able to pass that wisdom on to someone else.
And now? I do actually have a Sunday School class to prepare for. 😉
. . . your faith in God has gone forth everywhere . . . (1Thes 1:8)
Summer may actually start on the 21st of June, but the season of summer activities begins here in only 13 days – the 11th of June. Lord willing, our first intern (Abby!) will be arriving that day, followed on the 12th by a team of 20 from Mt Calvary Church.
It’s always nice to have graphic designers around, and we’re thankful to Samuel again for coming up with a logo for our summer, which should explain itself –
So what are some of our goals for the summer? Well, we want to see cross-cultural relationships built for the glory of God. We want to see some major steps forward taken in the construction of the ministry centre and church meeting place in Jesús MarÃa. We want to serve our community, helping people in practical ways as well as giving spiritual food. We hope to reach out to those with physical and mental disabilities, and to city street kids. We hope to see the work in Las Palmas grow, as relationships are built with believers, unbelievers, and ultimately with their Lord. We want to know our God better, worship Him more completely, and serve Him in love.
We can’t do it on our own – so join us in prayer, that the Spirit will open doors and hearts, give wisdom and strength, and do what we could never do.
At the moment we would especially appreciate your prayers for the intensive time of ministry right at the beginning. Safe travels for those coming on the 11th and 12th, and then for all the activities over the next week – a soccer tournament, baking, English, and craft classes, construction, wheelchair distribution, and time spent just being with people.
May God give us all an infectious faith!
The next 14 days are actually the days leading up to (and including) Resurrection Sunday on the 5th of April. As we remember the life that Jesus brought to us, we’ll be sharing that life with people in our communities!
This week is the last week of classes (for this semester) in the community centres. My last keyboard class is on Tuesday.
In the middle of this we’re waiting to hear about the birth of a baby in Kenya, to Shari’s sister Amy and her husband Nate! Anytime in the next few hours!
Anyway, back to local events . . . next we have closing programs both in Jesús MarÃa and in Las Palmas on Wednesday and Thursday. We’re hoping for a good turnout at both events.
Our community centre motto is “Give more life to your life!” I would appreciate your prayers as I share a little about the life we have through Christ at each of the programs.
On Saturday we head to the airport to pick up a team coming from the USA! They will be serving with us for a week.
Teams like this one give us a special opportunity to connect with more and different people in the community. This time around, we’ll be doing soccer outreach, and once again we’ll be providing wheelchairs to people who are in special need.
And that’s not all – if I have a chance I can tell you more later!
This month I’ve been teaching the Sunday School class for the older youth at the church in Jesús MarÃa. We would appreciate your prayers as we decide what this class will look like in the months ahead.
And yes, Resurrection Sunday is a very special one! We’re still working out the details, but it looks like it will be a outdoor sunrise service with a special focus on worship and thanksgiving!
In short, there are some very important things happening over the next 14 days! May God use us all to share His Word and His Life here in Mexico City!
Yesterday we celebrated our five year anniversary as a church in Jesús MarÃa. Before (and actually during) the service, I gathered photos from the last five years, mostly ones that I took along with photos from Shari, Tina, and Rod. We played the PowerPoint after the service, while we enjoyed chicken and mole. 🙂
And yes, the presentation includes photos all the way from the very first service we had in 2010 to yesterday’s service, all in (more or less!) chronological order.
So if you want to see what the past five years looked like, feel free to watch! It’s probably more for those who actually know a lot of the people – it’s over seventeen minutes, and, if I remember correctly, about three or four hundred photos!
Plus you’ll have to play your own music in the background – there’s no sound.
But for those of us who really have an interest, it is amazing to see what has happened and who has been a part of the history of the church – Iglesia BÃblica Sendero de Vida Jesús MarÃa (Path of Life Bible Church Jesús MarÃa). So go ahead, crank up your music and watch – go full screen for a better view – and praise the Lord with us!
Recently I came across the story of missionary to Mexico John L. Stephens.
In the mid-1800s, at a time when Mexico was being largely ignored as a mission field, John was a boy in a church choir in the USA. Moved during a mid-week church meeting, he gave his life to Christ, saying that it was good to have “something worth living for”.
John and David were still struggling to learn Spanish, but people were already coming to know the Lord through literature that they published with the help of a translator. Worship services began in Guadalajara in 1873.
As the work grew, David and John began to travel to other towns where they were invited. John eventually came to the town of Ahualulco de Mercado, teaching children and then adults.
The remarkable progress did not go unnoticed. It was around 2am on the 2nd of March 1874 when a mob assembled outside John’s house, shouting,”Long live the priest! Death to the Protestants!”
John escaped temporarily, but was quickly captured. David and a Mexican believer, J. Jesús Islas, were also attacked.
Both Jesús and John were killed. The mob mutilated John’s body.
David escaped, reporting later that local officials and religious leaders had aided the mob.
John Stephens believed that Christ was worth living for, and also dying for.
These events took place 142 years ago. Those responsible are long gone, and Mexico is a different place. The churches founded by these early missionaries are still there.
Are there missionaries today who are willing to give their lives for those who haven’t heard in Mexico? The work isn’t done yet.
A plaque in Ahualulco commemorates the two martyrs, quoting from Revelation 2:10, which reads: Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
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