Thanks again to Nick and the DIF: Family Vlog, here is another vlog entry from last Friday (15 July 2016). Thanks, Nick, for sharing! And when are you going to give me more vlogging tips so I can make videos half this good?
Here are two videos about the first two days of the Valley Bible Church missions trip, courtesy Nick and the DIF: Family Vlog! (I had nothing to do with it) 😉
The group of 36 people from Valley Bible Church (one of Rod & Mayra‘s supporting churches) was only here for 6 days, but they sure packed a lot in!
For one thing, they did 5 concerts in 4 days (which included their guest appearance at the 11th anniversary of the Path of Life Bible Church in Santa Barbara). The first concert was in an area known as Cuatro Vientos. A band from both the churches in Ixtapaluca joined together as the opening act – here they are!
The concerts were not without their glitches. In this concert, the cables ran across a street, with cars driving over them. The sound board was in a field, in the open – and yes, it rained.
The second concert was lots of fun because it was in our own neighbourhood. We had the opportunity to share the Gospel with people in our own community.
One mother brought her son up before the concert even started, and he asked me a question about God. Later, Randy (a man from the team) and I had the opportunity to share and pray with a man who came to the concert. At one point, I handed him my Bible so that he could read a passage – and he said he had never held a Bible in his hands before! Needless to say, he left with one of his own.
On Saturday we were in downtown Ixtapaluca. Some ongoing confusion meant that we moved the concert from outside to inside, and started 105 minutes late. But no worries. We had lots of people to help us move cables…
And to help us assemble wheelchairs for those in need (lots of church people helped with that too!)…
And here’s the concert…
Here’s a close-up from Sunday morning…
The team members had a great time with families they were staying with (and we got to host two people – thanks for visiting, Priscilla and Mia!), a great time giving, a great time sharing the Gospel, and a great time singing. We were able to connect with new people, and even get together with people we already knew, through the service of this team. Yes, a short term team can make a difference. And so can you! Thanks for your prayers!
On Sunday they went downtown Mexico City to sing in a historic Methodist church…
Now, I could write and post more (and I will try to post some hi-res photos in our photo gallery when I have a chance). But I have something better.
See that guy? That’s Nick, and he was videotaping the whole time. He has put together some excellent videos from the perspective of a short term missionary here in Mexico City.
So I’m going to try to post one or two videos a day, each evening, for you to enjoy, since Nick is generously sharing his videos on YouTube.
In fact, why not start today? I’ll post again in a few minutes with the video from last Wednesday. Ok, AND a video from last Thursday. That way we’ll be posting exactly a week after the event.
Thanks, Nick!
Oh, also don’t miss this post from Rod: “Immeasurably More!”
Many of you have been following the construction of the building for the church in Jesús MarÃa (Path of Life Bible Church) since the first brick was laid. Those of you who have donated to the project through Camino Global have also received a report twice a year.
So this is an update for all of you who have given or prayed over the last few years.
For various reasons, included waiting for permits, lacking of funds, and opposition from people who do not want to see Christians in their community, construction has been slow. It was just over two years ago that we moved onto the property for our first Sunday service.
At that point until now we have used a room that is a temporary sanctuary, because the main sanctuary has not yet been built.
Some work that has been done over the past few months:
But let’s face it, we’re all tired of saying “temporary sanctuary”. Quite often it’s been filled over-capacity. And the setup really is far from ideal for services.
Soooo…. you guessed it! It’s time to actually build the sanctuary!
The view below is taken from the second level, outside the Sunday School rooms and above the temporary sanctuary. The area on the left, filled with rubble (much of it from the pigsties that were originally on the property), is where the sanctuary will stand, Lord willing (the greyed-out area is an estimate).
We have most of the funds that we need to complete it. If we can finish off the Ixtapaluca Project, we will have all the funds that we need to complete the sanctuary, complete with stage and baptistery. The project is 97% complete – for more details, feel free to contact us here.
If you would like to be a part of completing the sanctuary, now’s your chance, because it’s about to happen! Find out how you can give here.
Also, pray with us and watch this space for more progress!
We just finished a crazy week with the team from Mt Calvary Church! We were a little disappointed that we couldn’t spend more time with them (one of Hannah’s school projects ended up taking over!), but we enjoyed the time we had.
Last Saturday was the soccer tournament. In spite of some trouble (again) with the permits (which apparently was not our fault), it went ahead. Here’s the winning team – from the church in Jesús MarÃa, no less! Jonathan, second from the left, did a great job sharing his testimony during the day.
On Sunday the team shared in the service, even doing a song in Spanish. In the afternoon, they led an event for the youth of the church.
On Monday we went to a local public Jr. High School, and took part in a rally. There were several hundred students – I’m not sure of the exact count. The team members joined various classes, and Hannah and Nathanael even got to join in. Shari and I helped out at a couple of the stations. The team helped in many ways, including their presentation of a skit.
On Tuesday and Wednesday there were various service project and outreaches – a youth girls and adult women event at the church (but with many people from the community who don’t attend our church), painting at a rehab centre, putting together wheelchairs, clean up and community improvements, and so on.
Thursday was a day of site-seeing and souvenir shopping downtown.
On Friday we had a big wheelchair/hearing aid event in the city of Chalco. Many people in need were given wheelchairs and hearing aids, as well as Bibles. They also heard a clear gospel presentation from Mayra Fry!
Last night there was a goodbye party for the team at the church, and this morning(?) at just before 5am we said goodbye as the team headed to the airport.
We were blessed to have Maddy and Katelyn stay in our home for the week as well!
Yes, a big week! But a good one. Thanks for your prayers!
Isn’t it funny how, when things go the way we like, God is “good”. When things go the way we don’t like, God is “sovereign” (and sometimes “still good”).
So, we packed up and shared the Gospel in another community instead!