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Stagnation: Not An Option

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Construction continues on the church building in the community of Jesús María. Tiling for the floor of the sanctuary, paint for the walls, and continued brainstorming about how to split up and use the space.Tiempo de Vivir poster - January 2018

Along with worship and discipleship, the church is pushing ahead with ways to reach out to the community. And that means more community centre classes starting up this year. Here’s the latest poster – advertising a variety of free courses. Baby ballet (!), ballet, folk dance, visual arts, girl’s volleyball, basketball, and in the future guitar, ESL, baking, and more!

Well, there’s certainly something for everybody in that list! Oh, also you can get help with your studying for COMIPEMS, which are tests that qualify you for placement in higher education.

This is just one project of one church here in Ixtapaluca. But for all three churches, I’m encouraged to say – stagnation is not an option! Please pray for all of the believers here, as we try to help the community at large and reach and disciple people in the Lord’s Name.

“Full health, and undying bodies, will be the reality”

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On Friday night we returned home to the sad news that our friend Todd Miller had passed away suddenly while on a run with his wife. His death was completely unexpected.

Miller Prayer CardTodd and Jenn and their family served the Lord in Central Asia for many years, and had recently moved to New Zealand where Todd enjoyed teaching on biblical topics, including church planting, at Eastwest College of Intercultural Studies.

Jenn and the family have been constantly on our minds and in our prayers. Kierra is just a little younger than Hannah, next comes Brynn, and then Micah, who is a couple years younger than Nathanael.

We’re thankful to hear of the support that the Miller family has had. Todd’s parents and siblings were able to quickly get to New Zealand, and Jenn’s oldest brother and his wife are also coming (actually, may be there now). The funeral will take place in NZ in a few hours.

I’m mainly posting this to ask you to pray. It should go without saying, but as Jenn wrote in a recent email,“The pain is too great for all of us to bear”. May friends and family, and most of all the Lord, share the burden.

I can’t imagine the decisions that will need to be made. The new school year begins for the kids in February. The family is hoping to bring the body to Canada, and have a memorial service there in the coming weeks.

There’s also a practical way you can help. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help raise funds for travel and funeral expenses. You can donate and share the page with others here [campaign completed. Thanks!].

Todd passed away Saturday (NZ time), and he was scheduled to preach on Sunday. Instead, his sermon was read, and has been posted online. The title of this post is taken from his sermon. It seems that God wanted this message to have a much wider audience than it would have had originally.

Why not take the time to listen to Todd’s sermon, as you remember the family and pray for them? Listen here: Todd Miller’s Sermon on “The Poor”

Cathy Heads North

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Today the Fry family headed north to Pennsylvania. Their son Daniel has lived up there for a while now. But today they’re taking their daughter Cathy up to make the move, starting a new semester of classes on Monday at a new school.

David, Cathy, HannahSo, this is obviously a time to put up a classic Cathy photo. Here you can see Cathy with Hannah and her brother David (sporting a very cool Canada cap). This was over 8 years ago, when they were all going to school together (though in different grades). Cathy is dressed up in Mexican garb for a special presentation.

Anyway, keep the Fry family in your prayers as they get Cathy settled and then come home without her. 😢

Hannah and Cathy - Independence Day 2012
Hannah and Cathy – Independence Day 2012
And, of course, pray for Cathy as she settles into a very different life, adjusting while she dives into her schoolwork at the same time!

Cathy Fry

Wheelchair and Earthquake Outreach – Please Pray

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Yesterday Shari and Hannah joined Rod and Mayra and others related to our community centre for a special wheelchair presentation here in the neighbourhood of Santa Barbara. Several people in need of a wheelchair received one through our community centre and the Free Wheelchair Mission. There was a program with family and friends, in which the gospel was clearly presented.Tracts and Gospels

Please pray for everyone who heard God’s Word. Even with a “clear presentation”, there is so much confusion from false teaching here that it takes a miracle for people to understand and accept the gospel. Then again, it is always a miracle, in the truest sense of the word, when someone understands and accepts the gospel!

It’s amazing how many people are involved in a simple event like this. Obviously those who support the missionaries here are involved. But people were also given the earthquake tract provided through Camino Global, and also a Gospel of John. The Gospels were provided to us by the Pocket New Testament League.

Wheelchair outreach - December 2017

Please pray for the earthquake outreach that’s taking place today and tomorrow. We’re not going ourselves, but through our community centre and gifts donated through Camino Global (thank you!), we have a part in what’s happening.

We have a friend who is involved in building houses for earthquake victims. It’s an amazing process – I’ll have to tell you more about it sometime. Actually, for those of you who donated, we will try to send out more information in the new year.

A group from one of our related churches is going again to share the gospel and provide help in a community very much affected by the quakes. We’re able to provide four tents for four families. There are some who not only have no home, they don’t even have access to an outhouse.

The community centre is also very much involved in providing help in the state of Oaxaca, where we have contacts. We’re focusing especially on providing comizcales, which are special ovens that people use to provide food and income for their families. Many of these were destroyed in the quakes. As one woman in the region said,”I would rather have my comizcal than a pantry full of food”.

The words of one of our contacts in Oaxaca could be in the mouths of anyone trying to serve the people of Mexico in this difficult time. “Please beg God to keep in the hearts of the Christian Church their brothers and sisters in this region of the country… because this way, at least someone cares about us and remembers to pray for us.”

So please pray for all those travelling today and tomorrow to share God’s word and help those who are still so much in need after the quakes. And pray for those who are receiving, that they will understand the greatest Gift that God is offering them.

Renewed by God’s Goodness (Sunday and a new week)

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Frankly, we’re glad that last week is over. It’s what I would call in Spanish, una semana tremenda. A tremendous week.

Health issues. Financial issues. It was crazy.

But we started off this week on better footing, with a great service in Las Palmas. Rod started with a great lesson about salvation. It’s not easy to explain things clearly in a short time, but he did a great job and brought up some important culturally relevant points. We even heard from some people in the church about how they came to faith.

Rod and some guest musicians led us in some Christmas carols. And we had a time of sharing. We prayed for some of the incredibly difficult challenges that people are facing right now, and also gave thanks for great things that God has done. We’re thankful for news about the mother of one of our friends, who could very easily have died recently. But God heard our prayers!

I preached, and I’m not sure how well it went for everyone else, but I keep learning new things from Luke 2:1-20.

This part of the message of the angel alone is so rich with meaning, we could do a series of sermons on it…

Unto you is born this day
in the city of David
a Saviour,
who is Christ
the Lord.

Imagine – the great Messiah being born (Isaiah 9:6)! And Luke repeats over and over the connection to David – reminding us that God promised an Eternal Ruler from the house of David (2 Samuel 7:16). A Saviour? It is God who is the Saviour (Isaiah 45:21)!

“Christ” – well, in that word is wrapped up all the promises of the Old Testament. That’s a HUGE word.

But most interesting to me this time was the last part – “The Lord”. Go into Luke and see how he uses this word. The “temple of the Lord” (Luke 1:9). The Lord is the God of Israel (Luke 1:16; Luke 1:68). The Lord God who keeps His promises (Luke 1:32). The glory of the Lord shone around the angels (Luke 2:9). The Lord revealed the Messiah to the shepherds (Luke 2:15).

And who was born? Christ the LORD!

The gospel is truly in this story. As Rod pointed out in his lesson, it is God who takes the initiative – His Word sets all this in motion – and He brings us the long awaiting Messiah – who is the Lord of all. Incredible!
Bicitaxi decorated for Christmas
Now we’re continuing the week with two more mad days of work and school – trying to finish exams and assignments and whatever else. And then – hopefully – at least a partial break over the holidays!

As you can see from this picture that Shari took yesterday, even the bicycle taxis are getting into the spirit, by decorating with garlands, bows, and even little trees. 🙂

Christmas is Coming…

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… and coming fast! And along with it come the special activities of Christmas.

Friends at a Christmas Party
Shari with her poncheThis week Shari went to a special Christmas party at the Path of Life Bible Church in Santa Barbara. The women from the Las Palmas church were invited as well. They enjoyed some special gifts and some ponche to warm them all up! (It’s been cold here, although it’s a little warmer now. Everyone, I mean everyone, is talking about the weather!)

Also, last week while we were in Pachuca, the church in the community of Jesús María had its first service in the still-in-progress sanctuary! Take a look at some photos and video at Rod’s blog – First Service in New Auditorium, JM.

We have been dealing with some health issues in the family. Without going into details, it has made it a tough week. If you’ve been praying – thanks!

Meanwhile, I’m getting ready for the upcoming services. I’m preaching tomorrow, so I’ve been thinking about that. And planning some music for the special Christmas service we’re having Friday night. This is a great time to meditate more on the incarnation of Jesus Christ. There is so much to learn – and so much wonder!

As a family we’ve been enjoying Come, Let Us Adore Him, an advent devotional by Paul Tripp. It might be a little late for this year, but I’d recommend it if you’re looking for something special for next year!

By the way, on Facebook I’ve been reposting some of my old Christmas posts. If you haven’t seen the series, take a look at Promises of a Messiah, a twelve part series about Bible prophecy and the coming of Jesus.

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