This past Sunday it was our privilege and pleasure to join the celebration – the 15 year anniversary of the Path of Life Bible Church of Jesús María!
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 15 years since we first met in that tiny room, already packed out, in a house on the corner in the community of Jesús María.
The service was a great blessing! There were several special “participations”, including a skit from the youth, a women’s chorus, a song from the children, a mother-son musical number, worship music together, a song from the youth, and possibly other things that I’m forgetting . . .
There were a couple of testimonies as well that were a huge blessing, especially from the person that we personally knew the best. Such an encouragement to hear how God has been working in people’s hearts!
There was a special speaker as well, who gave a clear presentation of the gospel, which was also a great encouragement.
(click image above for a larger view)
Oh, there was food, of course. A caterer with a wide variety of tacos, and a cake!
Praise God for 15 years of God’s Word being shared in Jesús María and beyond!
…and a piñata!
For much better pictures and more info, be sure to visit Mexico Matters!
As usual, there has been a lot going on over the last little while! One thing that’s been fun – well, more than one thing – have been related to music.
The piano/keyboard class has (finally) started up again, with at least six students. Most of them are already involved in the worship music ministry at the church.
I’ve had to refresh my own memory as I go – it’s been a while since I’ve taught the course! But the students have survived two classes so far, with seven to go. We’re having a class every couple of weeks or so, so it will take a while to finish. But I’ve got them memorizing their seven notes now. 🙂
I’ve also been enjoying leading the worship music Bible study again. Actually, it’s one of two that I’ve done before – the more general one. (The other one was specifically for keyboardists.) There’s always something new to learn as we go deeper into the Word of God to see how we can better lead people to worship through music.
And then, of course, are the regular music practices that we have, which are also fun. It’s been a bit of a challenge having less time to practice before the service, because we only rent the hall for a certain amount of time. But we usually practise during the week as well.
It’s amazing to see how this group has grown over the past few years, and it’s been great to spend a little more time with them over the past little while!
This month the Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas made another move, to a place with a little more space.
The new place is a party hall called “Centennial Hall”, not far from where we were meeting before. Some of you may remember that we’ve met in party halls and gardens before, and the decorations that happen to be up always make things interesting!
Things are going pretty well there, although we’re still working out some kinks. The sound was a lot better this past Sunday, as we made a few adjustments. We do have to get used to having more limited time again, as we’re only renting the building for certain hours.
We’ve been enjoying some interesting times of teaching already. Oscar and I have been doing a series on false Christian sects. One of our goals is to be able to better share the gospel with the people we meet, in this part of the world with so much confusion regarding religion.
Ezequiel has been doing some teaching on how to live as a Christian in our modern world. And we’re also continuing in 1 Corinthians, which has been a major challenge because it’s most definitely touching many of us exactly where we are, talking about things that people are actively dealing with. Specifically, we’re about to dive deep into questions of marriage and singleness.
We’re thankful that we have the Word of God to guide us!
We appreciate your continued prayers as we look for a permanent place to meet! Also, please pray as we do deal with many issues individually and as a church. We’re thankful that these things drive us to depend on the Lord.
We’ve been learning a lot, as a church, about what a church actually is. And it’s a big topic! But one thing we know is – it’s important to meet together.
All bundled up to lead the music!
After our service yesterday, Ezequiel and Oscar and I went to check out a nearby hall that we might be able to use, temporarily, to meet. After some cold Sundays, meeting inside is attractive! Of course, cold season will be over soon, but then comes rainy season with its own problems.
This place has its pros and cons. One issue is that there are no doors on the bathrooms – hopefully something than can be fixed!
There is a good amount of space for the main service. There is a small little room that might work for the children’s Sunday school – certainly not ideal, it’s like meeting in a storage closet (and no door there either!).
But – hopefully it will be temporary!
For the last two Sundays we’ve been giving people opportunities to be more involved. Partly in the Sunday service and all that entails. But a big job will be raising funds for a permanent place for the church to meet. We’ve met in three main places so far, and we’d like to be a little less nomadic!
So the congregation is coming up with ideas to raise funds. The church has already saved up quite a bit. And you can be involved too – just go here, click on the country you would donate through, and scroll down to the bottom of the page to read about the Path of Life Project.
We also talked about prayer on Sunday – another important responsibility that we have as believers!
Here’s one part of the study – what we learned about our strategic position in personal prayer. Pray with us for this special need of a place to meet!
We pray…
with confidence, because Christ has saved us. (Heb 4:14-16)
with humility, because we are in need. (Psa 10:17; Jam 4:6)
with repentance, because God is merciful to forgive. (Psa 32:5; 1Jo 1:9)
with joy, because God is a good and loving Father. (Mat 7:7-11; Joh 16:24-27)
with hope, because the Spirit helps us in our weakness. (Rom 8:25-27)
without ceasing, because God is always with us. (Mat 28:18-20; 1Th 5:16-18; Heb 13:5-6)
in secret, because we look for God’s approval, not people’s approval. (Mat 6:5-6)
with expectation, because we pray according to His will. (Joh 14:13-14; Rom 8:25-27; 1Jo 5:14-15)
with patience, because we are God’s chosen people, and God will fulfill His purpose. (Luk 18:1-8)
with thanksgiving, because God has always been faithful. (Psa 100:4-5; Phil 4:6-7)
Moving is always an adventure, and this move has been no exception! As is often the case, there has been so much going on, and I have so much to talk about, that I have no time to do it!
Moving in Mexico has some added challenges that you may or may not experience in the country where you live. When you move into a house, it may be pretty stripped down (the owners of the previous house were very thankful that we had left a few lightbulbs!), and not always exactly ready to live in.
I’ve explained to some people that the previous house would have cost us a lot more in the long run, but this one is costing more in the short term. So we’ve been working on things like:
Installing one of the main downstairs windows
Repairing/replacing locks
Purchasing and putting in bathroom mirrors (still working on that one!)
Electrical/gas lines for the washer/dryer
Repair/replacement of the kitchen tap/drain
Installing lights where needed
Needed changes in paperwork
… and that’s just a start. But we’re making progress! And the house itself is in much better condition than the one we left.
Thank you so much to those who helped with the cost of some of these things through your special gifts for our move.
We were so thankful to have the generous help from friends in our church with cleaning and moving. We got the majority of the furniture and appliances moved in one day at the end of November, and then spent a good part of December moving the rest and cleaning the old house.
But on top of all the moving challenges, we had other adventures. For example,
A punctured tire while we were moving things from one house to the other
A car battery reached the end of its life as we were handing the keys of the old house to the owners
The same day, our internet stopped working
Power outages
Water pressure problems
But amid all these things, we have been able to reflect on God’s provision, the kindness of friends, and, in this season, the joy of the coming of the Messiah!
Outside of our dining room window is a tree that hummingbirds and sparrows just love. They are a constant reminder to us of Jesus’ words:
Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Luke 12:6-7
There’s still a lot to do as we unpack and continue to install what needs to be installed or repaired. But we’re so thankful for how God has provided over the past few weeks!
Check it out! On Sunday we celebrated the 8th anniversary of the Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas. And – two people were baptized! So, as is the tradition around here, I’m sharing a video of the baptisms…
