Practical matters

15 October 2018

Where to Worship?

Jim Ministry glimpses, Practical matters, Prayer and Praise, ST Highlight 0

Of course, you can worship God anywhere, can’t you?

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father … the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
John 4:21-23

Sunday Service October 2018 It was our first Sunday back in Ixtapaluca after our summer in Canada. The very first person I spoke to was the owner of the party hall where we meet.

“We’re converting the hall into squash courts”, he said. “We’ll be dividing up the room, so you won’t be able to use it anymore. You’ll have it until the end of November.”

He went on by explaining it was nothing against us – in fact, he has quite a high opinion of us. Well, that’s good.

But it does leave us without a place to meet in about 6 weeks.

So, before taking any action whatsoever, our church decided to have a week of prayer. (If you receive our email update, you might have joined us – thanks!)

Then, last Sunday, we started to discuss some of our options, and start investigating the possibilities.

The reason why it is such an urgent matter of prayer is that the options, from a human standpoint, aren’t great. There are a couple of places in the neighbourhood that might fit our group, but they’re either not really suitable/available, or extremely expensive. There are some other possibilities that we’re looking into, but from a human standpoint it will be a real challenge to find something.

So, you’re welcome to join us in prayer as we look for a place to use as we continue to make disciples. At this point, I don’t think we’ll be on the street (although pitching a tent is a current option!), but we want to pray that God would provide a suitable place – we’re thinking bathrooms, a place where the kids can do their Sunday School, chairs, electricity… and even space to grow.

I agree with Ezra – “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him” (Ezra 8:22).

Shari also encouraged us on Sunday, by reminding us that God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). So – let’s ask!

21 April 2018

God likes nomads.

Jim Ministry glimpses, Practical matters, Prayer and Praise, ST Highlight 1

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 Palmas Two 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 Cones Shari 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.

2 April 2018

Water: Too Little? or Too Much?

Jim Mexico, Practical matters, Prayer and Praise 1

There are a lot of people in Mexico who have worse water problems than we do. In Mexico City, an aging system of pipes and water storage is constantly in need of repair. Neighbourhoods often go without water, and people have to line up to get a little for their home.

Usually, though not always, we have a little water on the outside tap. But there’s usually not water for laundry during the day, and often not enough water for a proper shower, and sometimes not enough water to do the dishes. It’s been a pretty steady problem since the earthquakes this past September.

Since the washing machine in the community centre (well, the building we’ve rented to house interns and have Bible studies, etc, in Las Palmas) isn’t being used right now, we decided to borrow it and put it on the lower level, where there is … more often … some water pressure.

Water from the drain The lovely sound of running water filled the house, and the laundry got scrubbed. Then the machine started to empty…

… backing up the drain, and pushing sewage water up onto the floor of our back “servicio” (a little covered semi-outdoor area where our water tank is) and threatening to flood our dining room.

So – next step? Find a plumber, and hope that there’s something that can be done, at least with that drain.

Since many of you ask, there’s a quick water update for you!

16 February 2018

Copying the Cottrills?

Jim Practical matters, Prayer and Praise, ST Highlight 0

So, we love my parents, and we certainly want to emulate them, most of the time.

But, perhaps this is not the way to do it.

As usual, we haven’t reached their high standards, but – well, when my Dad completely lost his voice (while preparing to preach on Sunday), I decided that some voice problems, and a cough, would be the closest I could get. And yes, I’m preaching on Sunday as well. Hopefully!

Aarrrrrggghhhh So I’m sure the Cottrill men would appreciate your prayers! Actually, I think I’m starting to finally get over this sickness I’ve had for almost two weeks. But the bug is attacking my voice as its last stand.

And since my Mom has been struggling greatly with back pain, Shari decided to join the club, and sadly has been suffering a lot. She’s actually planning to go to a conference tonight, I’m not sure how she’s going to do it, but I’m sure that both the Cottrill women would appreciate your prayers as they try to serve in spite of the back pain.

(In case you somehow actually think we decided to copy my parents on purpose, I’m adding this addendum to clarify things for the most literalistic readers. The point is, the health hasn’t been great lately, and we would appreciate your prayers as we try to serve through this weekend!)

13 February 2018

Where did the Bible Come From? (seminar)

Jim Practical matters, ST Highlight 1

When we travel in Canada, we usually offer several seminars to churches, schools, small groups, etc. – you can see the current list here.

The “Where did the Bible Come From?” seminar may be a little harder to picture than most, so I want to share a bit of an outline of some of the things we cover. This was originally put together in Spanish as 8 studies, but last time we were in Canada I translated and “Canadianized” it, and condensed it into “part 1” and “part 2”, which could be a Friday evening/Saturday morning, or a morning/afternoon.

So here is a bit of an overview, with some of the things we do and cover in the seminar. If you’re in Alberta or Saskatchewan, and are interested, we can talk!

Where did the Bible Come From?

Day 1 (or morning)

The Four Witnesses

What is “evidence”? (Laura Secord and the Bible)
The surprising new religion of the first century
The Resurrection
Video: Can you respond to Deepak Chopra?
The claims of the Da Vinci Code
Group Activity: Compare a Gospel with a “Lost Gospel”

The Hebrew Scriptures

Wait – do we have too many books? Or too few? (Canon part 1)
Who wrote the “Books of Moses”?
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the copying of the OT

Day 2 (or afternoon)

Copy, Copy, Copy
Can we possibly know what was originally written?

Group Activity: Examine the ancient texts of Javier the Louse (and experience for yourself the brilliant way that God preserved His Word)
Common copying errors
Which books? (Canon part 2)
Answering the Da Vinci Code

Field Trip: The Bible Translation Museum

Today’s Bibles

Today’s Bible Versions (and where they came from)
The Bible: Key Words to know
Group Activity: Can you respond to these actual comments from Canadians about the Bible?
The Bible Origins Contest
(hand out prizes)

Final Review

So – where did the Bible come from?
9 Key Points to Remember
Key Passages
Final words from Ignatius of Antioch and the Apostle John

This seminar is for teens to seniors, suitable for a minimum of 5 people. Some set up time, tables and chairs, and the ability to show PowerPoint/video are needed.

As you can see, I mean to make this very practical, to help you in your own study of Scripture, and to help you answer what you see in the media, hear from a friend, or learn in high school/university.

Again, if you’re interested, contact us and we’ll see what we can do!

9 January 2018

A Trickle is not Enough

Jim Practical matters 0

‘Twas a night in the winter, and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

When up in the washer there arose such a clatter, Shari sprang from her bed to see what was the matter!

It was the dreaded “unbalanced load”, tossing the washer around the room and waking us up in the middle of the night. Shari fixed it, and she sustained only minor injuries.

But why, may you ask, was the washing machine even going in the middle of the night?

Well, over the past many weeks, our water pressure situation, which is always up and down (see shower flow chart), has gotten worse. Actually, it’s been worse since the earthquakes.

Shari started staying up very late, and getting up very early, trying to get one load done. And we’ve made use of the laundromat.

Clean containers On Sunday, I spent hours and hours washing dishes, with the small trickle of water. (Wow, look at all those containers I washed! And there were more later. I guess that says something about what we did over the holidays! But alas – the cookies are gone. Only a bit of rosca remains on the counter.)

Yesterday there was no water to shower with.

I realize I say all this when almost a third of the world’s population don’t have access to any basic sanitation. And although we have to go to the store to get drinking water, at least we have access to it. So there is reason to be thankful!

But that doesn’t answer the question of what to do. Somehow, we do need sleep, and we need to not spend all our time trying to stay clean. Shari has been communicating with the water company, so we’ll see what happens there. There are possibly things we could do to the house to improve pressure, but it would take quite a bit of money.

So for now we’re trying to find options for washing clothes (wash them somewhere else? Laundromat again?), and trying to make use of the trickle when we have it!

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