Baptisms 2013 (video)
What a great day yesterday! 26 people were baptized from the two Sendero de Vida churches in Ixtapaluca. Take the time (less than 3 minutes) to watch the video below and praise the Lord with us!
Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Jesús María
Baptisms (and one in particular)
What a day! Wow!
Today the two Sendero de Vida churches in Ixtapaluca got together and – had a baptismal service!
I’ll try to get some video and pictures up later. But let’s just say it was a truly unbelievable day. 26 people were baptized from the two churches! And – the stories behind each one of those lives – it’s SO incredible to see what God is doing here! It takes your breath away! (No, it wasn’t just the cold water in the pool – although that takes your breath away too!)
And guess what? Hannah was baptized! What a JOY to hear Hannah give her testimony and obey the Lord by being baptized! And our friend MartÃn and I had the privilege of baptizing her!
After we got home, a rain and hail storm hit. So we spent some of the afternoon cleaning up a bit of flooding in our kitchen. I think it’s starting to dry out!
In spite of it all, what a great day! Thanks be to God for His goodness and mercy!
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
(Psalm 103:8-13)
Evangelism Study begins…
Tonight we had our first evangelism study (that’s evangelism as opposed to evangelistic – but it will probably end up being both!). I figure there were about 17 people there (which is an excellent turn out), plus maybe two or three that came and went.
My brain and my heart are too full to know exactly what to say – but I’ll just say this. I think the first evening went well. We had some interesting conversations during and after.
In a number of ways, this study isn’t like anything we’ve done before. I’ll let you know how things go as we continue!
Next Week: Evangelism Study Begins
I’m sitting here preparing for an evangelism study, which will begin next week on Tuesday night in Jesús MarÃa.
It’s like this. I was starting to work through an evangelism course on my own – in Spanish. When I saw the material, I decided to show it to our pastor Ismael. And – one thing led to another – ! 🙂
Why an evangelism study? Well, I think every believer can improve in this area. I also think that there are a lot of “myths” here in Mexico when it comes to evangelism, and the Gospel itself. I’m sure there are myths in Canada too – we just have different ones here.
Another thing is, when you’re in a church with so many new believers, learning to share your faith is super-important because it helps you understand the Gospel yourself.
Also, the elders of the church are talking about doing a real focus on evangelism at the end of the year. This study is 8 week – theoretically we could go through it twice before then.
So – I have no idea how this will go or what will happen, but I’m stopping by to ask for your prayers right off the bat!
These studies are not just sit-and-listen, they’re interactive, and they will result in – homework – that is, people will be doing evangelism. We want to equip people in practical ways.
So, yes, prayer is needed.
And hey, if you’d like to help offset the cost of the materials we’ll be using, let me know! If you have 10 cents to spare, that will help us get one tract (by the way, these tracts will be used strategically (for example, as a conversation-starter), not dropped by hundreds from an airplane).
I’ll try to let you know how it’s going once we get started.
Why a Sports Camp?
This week two friends, Teo and Mike, have come from the city of Puebla to run a sports camp in Jesús María. It will run every afternoon from 4-6:30pm in the area in front of the community centre. Soccer and Basketball!
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Running through the middle of the community of Jesús María is a large area with places to play soccer and basketball, a playground, places to walk, and so on. The community centre (Centro Cultural Tiempo de Vivir) is right in front on one side, and so we have excellent access.
But why have a sports camp?
For one thing it’s a service to the community. Mike and Teo aren’t just playing around with the kids – they’re teaching an organized program of drills and games. The kids really are learning, and they have “something to do” for a good part of the afternoon.
They’re getting a healthy snack, exercise, and they’re meeting new friends – in a safe environment.
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This is a great opportunity for people of our church to be involved, as well as the interns we have here from the USA. Serving snacks, helping to teach, hanging out with the kids – there’s lots to do.
Today was the first day. In spite of a little rain, about 50 kids came – great turn out to start!
When snack time came, Mike and Teo shared a story from the Bible. They talked about Nehemiah today.
Mike has been using materials from the international sports ministry Uncharted Waters. You might remember that UW has been here in the past, training people to run sports camps for Christ.
I asked Mike what he wanted to see happen this week. He answered,“Miracles!”
Well, of course! We’re used to watching for miracles here. And we could always expect more.
Mike and Teo want to meet new people, make new friends, have fun, and share the Gospel in the power of God’s Spirit. Yes, you can do all those things at the same time. 🙂
We have the privilege to be a small part of it. I met a nice couple today that I didn’t know before. And those of us here have the privilege of getting to know some people over the longer term.
A sports camp is just one thing that we have going on here. I hope that gives you a bit of an idea what our vision is.
than all that we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, forever and ever.
Amen.
(Ephesians 3:20-21)
Land and Building for the Church Update
I can hardly believe it, but the final payment for the land will be completed this month! Thanks so much to all of you who helped! And thanks to the church here – so many people worked so hard to make this a reality!
So what’s next, you may ask?
First, some paperwork needs to be completed so that we actually have access to the land. That will be worked on over the next few weeks. There are still taxes and things to be paid, but that is now covered. We’re hoping this step will be done mid-July.
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Second – DEMOLITION! Currently the land is filled with cement pigsties. So if you like destroying things, come on down and give us a hand! The rubbish will have to be cleared and the land leveled where necessary.
A team will be coming in August, and we’re hoping that by then we’ll have access to the land and they can help!
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Third – build! Yes, after all that we still have no place to meet. So, some building will have to take place!
Now this step will probably be pretty gradual. Likely we’ll start with a wall surrounding the property, and then some kind of a tent so that we can meet there. Then building will take place little by little as the funds are available. This part could take – months – years – who knows?
If you’d like to come down and help – contact us! If you’d like to donate to this project – click here!
That link also shows a chart with the percent raised and percent needed, so you can see the progress. If you’d like access to updates with more detailed information, check our latest newsletter for the link.
Thanks again to so many who have prayed and given! It’s hard to believe we’ve come this far! Praise the Lord! 🙂