The BIG Weekend is Coming! (video)
(Note: I actually recorded this on the 7th of June 2011, but am posting it a day later)
Prayer and Praise
Our Sunday
I just wanted to stop by to thank those of you who prayed for our activities today. Thanks! 🙂
Believe it or not, we all made it to the service today. I led the service and the singing, which was fun for me (perhaps a little painful for everyone else…).
After the service, Shari was able to have her meeting with the Sunday School teachers, and then she went home and crashed.
We loaded up the instruments and sound system and took them back to the house (David’s house, home base…).
Then we had some time to meet with the people who want to be baptized.
I must say, it was the highlight of my day to sit with these people and here what Jesus has done for them. WOW. What else can I say – WOW. Really, you should have been there.
Yes, God is working in Jesús María! Thanks to so many of you who are a part of it!
Now, I’m beyond tired, as is everyone else, so we’re going to try to survive the evening and get the kids to bed.
But I just wanted to stop by and say thank you while I still had the energy to do so! 🙂
Want to Pray for Sunday?
If you would be interested in praying for our activities tomorrow, we would appreciate it!
Here’s the deal. For the last 7 days we’ve gotten sick. Hannah, then Nathanael (a little, not much), then Jim, Hannah still, then Shari… nothing serious or lasting (I hope), and Hannah and Shari were at the doctor today, Nathanael’s fine, and Hannah’s almost better. And I’m … well, Shari and I are pretty sick still. (It’s not just us, by the way. A lot of people here have been struggling lately) But we’ll be better soon.
However, tomorrow is sooner than soon. 😉
Tomorrow I’m leading a special adoration service. We’re going to be doing something quite different – and learning lots of new songs – which means I’ll be talking or singing the majority of the time. It should be fun… but I hope my voice holds out!
After the service I’ll be helping to lead studies for those who are being baptized. These are very important times – please pray that José and I would have the words to say.
Shari (if she’s well enough to go!) will be leading a special time for the teachers and helpers of Sunday School, to help them in their upcoming lessons, and also to discuss some other children’s ministry stuff. This will probably be the last meeting she has with them before we leave for a while.
So – yes! Pray that people’s eyes will be on the Lord, that we will show His Spirit, and that we will survive the day. 🙂
And that we would be feeling better quick because next weekend…. —– well, we’ll talk about that later.
Which Church Are We Going To?!
Rare and beautiful in this part of the world – two local congregations meeting together to worship God!
That’s what we did today, as two churches in Ixtapaluca met together. Why so rare?
You have to think of Mexico City as a small country. There may be quite a few churches in the whole "country", but compared to the population there are hardly any at all. Then you have traffic, which separated people more than space would in a larger country. Then on top of that you have people that can’t afford to drive or take public transportation more than absolutely necessary. Suddenly, the distance from one small church to another small church is insurmountable.
So we have a dream. What if there were a group of churches close enough that they could actually worship together once in a while? What if they could share resources? Help one another?
Days like this are a glimpse of that dream. What an encouragement!
29 May 2011 – Joint Service… click for a bigger version of the photo
These photos (two stuck together), taken near the beginning of the service, show Rod welcoming visitors. There was one after another after another… new people getting connected with believers here in Ixtapaluca.
Of course there wasn’t room for all of us in the room we’re renting, so we set up a tent in front of the community centre. We’re kind of a nomadic church – Nathanael always asks,"Which church are we going to?" … not because we meet with different people every week, but because we meet with the same people in different places! 🙂
All went well, although when I was sitting at the keyboard in the front, all of a sudden my feet got sprayed. I guess someone was watering the grass behind the tent. Do things like that happen at your church?
There are still some local businesses right there, so one man was selling snacks and someone else was filling water jugs during the sermon. That was a little noisy, but I still enjoyed the message on Mark 8 from our friend Samuel.
Afterwards, some great food!
Yes, a rare and beautiful thing. And next time the two churches are together – we’ll be baptizing new believers!
The Last Doctor (for now)
Yesterday I drove into Mexico City to see a specialist again. For those of you who don’t know the history, I was having some health issues back in… oh, February or March, I believe… and so this sparked off a whole bunch of tests and specialists and all sorts of things.
No, I don’t like to give a lot of health specifics online. But the end of the story is this. I have a theory that one (or more) of the medications I was taking for migraine caused my system to go out of whack. I haven’t been taking any preventative medication since before then, and things are more or less back to normal.
Though pretty much every test showed me to be in excellent health (however I may feel!), there is one number that is slightly off. No problem, it just means we’ll watch it over the next few months to make sure it settles down again.
So, in the end…
- I’m thankful to be done all these time-consuming/money consuming tests and appointments (for now)!!
- I’m in good health (at least, as far as the tests are concerned).
- I feel a lot better than I did earlier in the year.
So thanks for your prayers! Obviously, due to migraine I still don’t feel great, but I’m greatly improved in other ways, and the good news is I don’t seem to be in any danger from any other condition.
Between Shari, Nathanael, and I, December/January/February was unbelievable. We’re thankful to have survived all the health issues, and to be past them!
More Countdowns
There’s another countdown going on… the countdown to Hannah and Nathanael’s birthday party tomorrow!
Why a party? Well, you know the obvious reason – it’s for Hannah and Nathanael! Believe it or not, they have to put up with a lot in the life we live. And we’re happy to make the time to thank God for their lives (as we say here in Mexico) and honour them.
But we like it when things are multipurpose. Part of the reason we put on parties (as opposed to just having a little family party, for example), is to bring people together. Believers, non-believers, they can talk and play together. We can get to know people that we don’t usually see outside of a certain context (for example, parents of Hannah’s classmates).
We also like to find ways to stimulate conversation. Maybe giving out a colouring page with a verse on it. Or playing a game based on a Bible story. Who knows? (No, I really don’t know … not quite ready for this party yet!)
So we do pray that each party is an opportunity to give to people and to glorify God. Only a few hours until the party begins!
You’ve probably heard about another countdown – the one from Harold Camping of Family Radio in the USA. Camping is claiming that the world will come to an end – well, specifically, the rapture will occur and earthquakes will begin at 6pm on the 21st of May… tomorrow.
That’s 6pm whatever time zone you’re in, which means the earthquakes are supposed to occur in sequence around the world as it changes to 6pm in each time zone.
No one really knows how many people are taking Camping seriously. He has told his followers that churches are ruled by Satan, so they have left the churches (that’s right, if you belong to a local church, you’re under Satan’s rule and are in big trouble tomorrow, according to Camping). However, he is heard all over the world – a Mexican friend even mentioned him to me the other day.
I’ve seen a few major false date-setting prophecies in my lifetime, but I don’t think anyone has been watched as closely as this one. Videos on YouTube have featured Camping each day for the last two weeks. Major news outlets mock him. And he’s been live on the radio each day, being both mocked and admired.
Some are ready to report on the failure of his prophecy – for example, you can report in your area when it’s 6pm and the rapture has failed to occur. Or, if you believe in the 21st of May date, you can hire an atheist to look after your pet when you go.
When it is beyond any reasonable doubt tomorrow that Camping is a false prophet, what will happen to his followers? Some have left their families, sold everything, or have just enough to make it until tomorrow. Chances are, most won’t find their way to a Bible believing church, but instead will be convinced that all this Bible stuff is nonsense (if they don’t give up on life altogether).
Meanwhile, as usual the world will lump in true believers with people like Camping, who uses very biblical language and mixes in truth with error. "You don’t believe in the end of the world like that NUT, do you?" And how will you answer?
It’s sad to see people pushed away from the kingdom by false prophets, but not unexpected. Remember what Paul said to Timothy (1Tim 4:1-4):
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
So remember to pray for those who are deceived, remember to go back to what the Bible says, and be ready to give an answer – whether it be on the street or at a party.