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Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Jesús Marí­a

We. have. water.

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We have water!
Yesterday I drove up to the church’s property to see a water company vehicle, a police truck, and a small group of “concerned neighbours”. Yes, it was time, again, to try to get water to the property, after over a year full of attempts.

The water company workers and the police were the constants throughout the day – the neighbours dispersed.

By the evening, this tube was running through our wall, and it had WATER in it!

Yes, we actually have real water. Not really any organized way to deal with it yet, beyond a mess of hoses, and a storage tank. But that’s a whole lot better than no water at all!

Thank you so much, all of you who have prayed for so long. God has answered our prayers.

And now – what? Maybe some electricity? Functioning bathrooms? The sky is the limit! 🙂

T-minus 13

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. . . your faith in God has gone forth everywhere . . . (1Thes 1:8)

Summer may actually start on the 21st of June, but the season of summer activities begins here in only 13 days – the 11th of June. Lord willing, our first intern (Abby!) will be arriving that day, followed on the 12th by a team of 20 from Mt Calvary Church.

It’s always nice to have graphic designers around, and we’re thankful to Samuel again for coming up with a logo for our summer, which should explain itself –

Going Viral 2015So what are some of our goals for the summer? Well, we want to see cross-cultural relationships built for the glory of God. We want to see some major steps forward taken in the construction of the ministry centre and church meeting place in Jesús María. We want to serve our community, helping people in practical ways as well as giving spiritual food. We hope to reach out to those with physical and mental disabilities, and to city street kids. We hope to see the work in Las Palmas grow, as relationships are built with believers, unbelievers, and ultimately with their Lord. We want to know our God better, worship Him more completely, and serve Him in love.

We can’t do it on our own – so join us in prayer, that the Spirit will open doors and hearts, give wisdom and strength, and do what we could never do.

At the moment we would especially appreciate your prayers for the intensive time of ministry right at the beginning. Safe travels for those coming on the 11th and 12th, and then for all the activities over the next week – a soccer tournament, baking, English, and craft classes, construction, wheelchair distribution, and time spent just being with people.

May God give us all an infectious faith!

Water and Electricity (not)

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Some of you may have heard that we had an unexpected candlelight service on Resurrection Sunday. Or maybe I should say, candlelight-cellphone-light service.

It was going to be a sunrise service, except that we were inside the virtually windowless cement box that is our temporary sanctuary, and the night before the power went out and did not come back.

Resurrection Sunday 2015 - music team
Resurrection Sunday 2015 – music team

In the end, it turned into an especially memorable service, because we don’t usually have that much ambiance on a Sunday morning.

Now the electricity that we normally use (except when it doesn’t work) is provided due to the generosity of a neighbour. In actual fact, the property doesn’t yet have power. Before that, we used a generator.

And water? Well, we don’t have that either. We do fill up a tank so that there’s something on the property, and we use an elegant bucket-carry-and-dump method to flush the partially-functioning toilets.

As you might guess, these inconveniences do not mean we can no longer enjoy our time together worshipping God. However, they are time-consuming problems that we hope to solve, one of these days.

You could pray that we could get the water and electricity hooked up soon. It’s a matter of getting them hooked up from the city, which actually shouldn’t be too difficult – we have a lot of paperwork, legal paperwork, and after all we’ve been meeting there for – how long now? Over a year.

I’m not sure how long it takes in the country where you live, but that seems a little extreme to me.

So, we would appreciate your continued prayers that obstacles would be overcome and that we would soon have these little things that make a meeting place functional.

For more on the construction and the Ixtapaluca Project, visit the main page here.

And now, a reflection about the most important Light…

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

from John 1:4-13

The Next 14 Days

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The next 14 days are actually the days leading up to (and including) Resurrection Sunday on the 5th of April. As we remember the life that Jesus brought to us, we’ll be sharing that life with people in our communities!

This week is the last week of classes (for this semester) in the community centres. My last keyboard class is on Tuesday.

In the middle of this we’re waiting to hear about the birth of a baby in Kenya, to Shari’s sister Amy and her husband Nate! Anytime in the next few hours!

Anyway, back to local events . . . next we have closing programs both in Jesús María and in Las Palmas on Wednesday and Thursday. We’re hoping for a good turnout at both events.

Our community centre motto is “Give more life to your life!” I would appreciate your prayers as I share a little about the life we have through Christ at each of the programs.

On Saturday we head to the airport to pick up a team coming from the USA! They will be serving with us for a week.

Teams like this one give us a special opportunity to connect with more and different people in the community. This time around, we’ll be doing soccer outreach, and once again we’ll be providing wheelchairs to people who are in special need.

And that’s not all – if I have a chance I can tell you more later!

This month I’ve been teaching the Sunday School class for the older youth at the church in Jesús María. We would appreciate your prayers as we decide what this class will look like in the months ahead.

And yes, Resurrection Sunday is a very special one! We’re still working out the details, but it looks like it will be a outdoor sunrise service with a special focus on worship and thanksgiving!

In short, there are some very important things happening over the next 14 days! May God use us all to share His Word and His Life here in Mexico City!

A day in Ixtapaluca
Another day in Ixtapaluca!

5 Years of Memories at Sendero de Vida JM (PICTURES!)

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Yesterday we celebrated our five year anniversary as a church in Jesús María. Before (and actually during) the service, I gathered photos from the last five years, mostly ones that I took along with photos from Shari, Tina, and Rod. We played the PowerPoint after the service, while we enjoyed chicken and mole. 🙂

And yes, the presentation includes photos all the way from the very first service we had in 2010 to yesterday’s service, all in (more or less!) chronological order.

So if you want to see what the past five years looked like, feel free to watch! It’s probably more for those who actually know a lot of the people – it’s over seventeen minutes, and, if I remember correctly, about three or four hundred photos!

Plus you’ll have to play your own music in the background – there’s no sound.

But for those of us who really have an interest, it is amazing to see what has happened and who has been a part of the history of the church – Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Jesús María (Path of Life Bible Church Jesús María). So go ahead, crank up your music and watch – go full screen for a better view – and praise the Lord with us!

Adoration Services

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Once a month at the local church in Jesús María, we have a special service that we call an “Adoration Service”. Well, except we say it in Spanish.

Sometimes the sermon is a little shorter – or longer – or there is no sermon. We have a communion service. Maybe some extra songs. Maybe some testimonies. It’s basically an opportunity to do things a little differently. And the entire church is together – all ages.

So this year the adoration services were assigned to me – leading the service, and preaching.

Now although we’re studying the Gospel of John this year in our regular services, the adoration service is not part of the series. Which means I can make the theme whatever I want (within reason… until someone gets mad and tells me to shape up!).

I was thinking this through while I was also thinking about what to do for a Sunday school series I’ll be doing later in the year. So I finally decided to do a series of themes from the Bible that would be especially relevant to the church here. Topical, that is – not focused on a specific passage, which is what we usually do (and which I usually prefer).Adoration Service

So last month we went through what the Bible has to say about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – dividing the service into three parts, of course.

This Sunday our theme will be “What is God like?” – hopefully a very different service from the last one. If I can get it all ready in time. 🙂

I would appreciate your prayers for this service – and for the first service of every month (which is when we have our adoration service). It’s a bit of a challenge to put together something that everyone will enjoy – and that will truly point everyone to the Lord.

I have something really special planned for the first Sunday in April – Resurrection Sunday (which will probably be a sunrise service – will anyone be awake enough to enjoy it? It’s also the Sunday of the time change – will half the church be an hour late?).

Anyway, I’d better run. We have a special outing today with friends – service prep will have to wait until tomorrow! That’s Saturday, right?

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