Just before (podcast)
Just dropping by to touch base one more time before we leave, and to talk about – the rain!
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Prayer and Praise
New Mexico Missionaries!
We would like to give a special welcome to new missionary appointees with CAM International of Canada – Julian and Malu Grymaloski! They were officially recognized this week by the CAM board.
We’re hoping to have Julian and Malu here in Ixtapaluca for a one or two year term – they’re mid-term missionaries at this point, although that could certainly change in the future. Julian is Canadian, and Malu Mexican, so they’ll fit into our multicultural team very well!
We’re looking forward to getting together with the Grymaloskis when we’re in Calgary this fall. And assuming they can get ready to go – we’ll be seeing them here shortly thereafter!
¡Bienvenidos a nuestros nuevos misioneros!
Baptisms 2011 – Video
Here are a few video clips from the baptisms this past Sunday, just to give you an idea what it was like. There were 19 people baptized, ten from the Jesús María church and nine from Santa Barbara.
As you may know, the baptisms were at a public water park just outside of Mexico City, so there were other people around and other things going on (and you’ll hear lots of music in the background that wasn’t ours).
Not everyone who was planning to be baptized actually was – a few people didn’t come. It’s not an easy step to take… please continue to pray for both those who were baptized and those who were not.
You’ll see clips of most of the baptisms and a few clips of the testimonies (everyone gave their testimony, but I didn’t include clips of them all). Praise the Lord with us, and enjoy the video!
Check out the Ixtapaluca baptisms from 2010, and 2009. In 2009, the second church didn’t even exist yet, and the first elder and deacon had just been recognized in the first. Wow.
Tomorrow – Baptisms!
Tomorrow morning we’re supposed to meet at David’s house at 7am, and then drive to the water park where the baptisms will take place.
There’s quite a crowd expected – I hope we have room for everyone! I also hope everyone wakes up in time! 🙂
Seriously, though – please pray for those who are planning to be baptized tomorrow, that they would have the courage to follow through. And praise the Lord for each heart that He’s changing.
I was listening to testimonies last Sunday after our morning service, as those who are being baptized prepared for what they were going to say.
After hearing one testimony, I wanted to make sure that people weren’t claiming that you could become a Christian and all your life’s problems would melt away. So I said,"So, after you put your faith in Christ, life is easy – right?"
Yes. (several voices said)
No! (several voices said, as they realized what I was saying)
Well, actually….
Then something amazing happened.
People began to share around the circle.
"Actually, now that I know Christ I can sleep at night. I’m not living in guilt."
"Actually, now that I know the Lord I wake up without fear of what’s going to happen that day."
"Now I have somewhere to go when I’m in trouble."
As the apostle Paul said, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). But on the other hand, look at the Friend we have with us. His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).
Looking forward to tomorrow.
Video: Vision Weekend Day 3
Here’s the last video, from this past Sunday. It’s a little shorter than the others, probably because the morning service was a big part of the day, and I didn’t video any of it. In our church, one of the interns (Robert) preached.
So here’s a little taste from the last day of the weekend. A major theme was, apparently, FOOD. 😉 But if you want more details about this day, read Vision Weekend Day 3.
When it rains…
If you’ve been following my Twitter feed or Facebook, you might know I was hoping to get to the doctor today. I hardly slept last night due to sinus issues – apparently I have some kind of an infection, and it was actually quite painful.
But I called the doctor throughout the morning and couldn’t catch anyone in to make an appointment. I tried again after our sessions were done for the day – but nobody was there.
So I decided to go to the store to see what I could find that would tide me over until Monday (I got something – we’ll see how it works…). I also picked up some things for our Sunday meal at the church tomorrow.
I was getting gas and just about home. On the highway to my right, a vehicle rammed into a motorcycle with two passengers. The two went flying, and I thought that was the end of that. The vehicle that hit them didn’t stop for a moment, but flew on down the highway (yes, someone got the license plate number).
Thankfully, they weren’t killed (in spite of the fact that, as is usual, they were wearing no helmets). I didn’t run over immediately, because there were quite a few people around. I watched to see how they were (they were hurting, but more on that in a moment). It didn’t seem like anyone was checking them out too carefully. The police truck came, stopped momentarily for information, and then sped off to catch the vehicle (I have a feeling they were too late, but who knows…).
My gas tank was filled by this time, and the situation changed slightly – it was raining a bit. One man was lying in the middle of the highway, and the other sitting by his side. I grabbed the emergency pack from our van (thanks, Petro Points), and pulled out a blanket.
We covered the one man, and I checked them out a bit and asked how they were doing. The one man claimed to be fine (other than some scrapes), although I hope they check him out more later because I’m not so sure. The other man seemed fine, except for a very sore leg (most likely broken). But they were stable.
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So, I helped direct traffic for a bit, since we were still in the middle of the highway (it’s been a while since I’ve done that – I have renewed respect for police who do it well!). Then the rain really started to come down, so I pulled out a – what do you call it? One of those hypothermia blankets. And we held that over the guys to keep them dry.
Finally the ambulance showed up, and got a splint onto the man’s leg (poor guy – it was pretty painful), and put him on the stretcher. We did our best to keep the rain off of them.
Someone got the motorcycle off the road and I think they were working on the two men in the ambulance for a while, because they hadn’t gone anywhere when I last saw them.
Here motorcycles weave in and out – usually fairly carefully – but usually without helmets – and sometimes recklessly. Almost hitting one is, I’m afraid, a very common occurrence for all of us. Thank God He has kept us safe, and thank God that this accident wasn’t worse than it was.
I got home, and dried off. Praying for those involved. Reminded again that life is fragile.