Sunday School in Ixtapaluca
Will your kids be going to Sunday School this morning? Here’s a little glimpse into one Sunday School class in our church in Ixtapaluca (in Jesús María). This video was taken by videographer Nicole Greiner.
Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Jesús María
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.
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.
Vision Weekend Day 3
Today the group split up, some going to the service in Santa Barbara and some going to the service in Jesús María. Our service was … well, no day is ever the same as another, let me put it that way. For example, part way through the service, as I was playing keyboard, the stand fell off of one of the legs, and so I was playing on a slant the rest of the morning. Well, except that the sound stopped working for the keyboard, until I unplugged it from the system and just tried to play with the keyboard speakers….
But we won’t get into all that.
Robert (one of the interns) preached, and Hannah (our Hannah) and her ballet class performed.
After the service we had a potluck, with yummy food as usual. Then we had our last baptism class (which wasn’t exactly the last – some people weren’t there, and one girl wants to be baptized who wasn’t in the other classes… so more will be happening this week!
But – well, this isn’t really Vision Weekend related, but I had a great time again listening to testimonies and talking about the Gospel.
After a break in the afternoon, we met at Valtierras’ house for … well, you guessed it … more food! No one will be going away hungry, that’s for sure.
Then our work groups met again, and made some specific plans to move forward with the ministry here. Things we can cooperate on, whether in Mexico or not.
Finally, we had a time together praying and singing praises to God.
Oh, of course there were the goodbyes. Lots of hugs!
There’s not really any way we can thank those who gave of their time and money to be here this weekend. God will thank them.
Now we’re home again. Tomorrow I’ll be getting up to take two of our guests to the airport. Then back to normal li… no, sorry, scratch that. Life will be crazy from here on in. In less than three weeks we’ll be on the road, and before then — ! But that’s for another post.
If I can, I’ll get up some more pictures and video of the weekend. Meanwhile, you’ve had a summary!
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!