Team Coming, Health Update, and Other News (Podcast)
An update on the team coming from Canada in three weeks, family health update, and some news about other things we’ve been up to. Just a chat on my way home from a meeting.
Iglesia BÃblica Sendero de Vida Santa Barbara
Joint Service in Santa Barbara
It’s always a highlight to get both the new churches in Ixtapaluca together for a service. One church not yet 7 years old, the other not 2.
It’s great to see people growing in the Lord, to see new faces, to reconnect with friends we don’t see as often as we would like.
This time the service was hosted by the first church – Iglesia Bíblica Sendero de Vida Santa Barbara.
I tried for a panoramic shot, but it’s pretty hard in this room. For one thing, there’s a lower level up front and you can’t see the people there. There are also still people off to the right and left. And as you can see if you look carefully, people were still arriving (see the lady coming up the stairs).
So here it is, for our photo of the day, the panoramic of this morning’s joint worship service. Praise the Lord!
(As always, click the image to see larger versions)
Pastor Martin Falls and Survives
Those of you who receive our email updates have already heard the news about Martín, and his fall on Friday. But I wanted to give you a bit more of a picture of what happened and where things are at now, so that you can continue to pray. I pieced together what I wrote below from the news I’ve gotten from friends in Mexico. (Note: If you want to get our updates, sign up here)
For those who don’t know or have forgotten, Martín (say mar-TEEN and you’re close) is the pastor of the first church we served in in Ixtapaluca, and a dear friend.
Friday August 26th
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Martín was working with some men on his house in the early afternoon. Around 2pm, the men were handing him 3 metre sections of angle iron from below. He was standing on a fourth floor ledge (see the photo to the right). While handling the section of angle iron, part of it came into contact with an electrical wire.
The shock apparently entered his right hand, and left through his right foot (he was wearing steel-toed boots).
At this moment Martín lost his balance and fell. Apparently his head hit the metal fence on the second floor (you can see the dent in the picture below), then he hit the roof tile, breaking that (as you can also see in the photo below), and he finally landed on the street.
Many neighbours witnessed the event. Martín’s mother-in-law, Elena, heard the electrical shock and heard Martín’s fall. She rushed out to see him motionless on the ground with a pool of blood forming around his head. This is what Rod Fry had to say about her account:
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She knelt down and cradled his head, and prayed, "Lord, give him life." Martín gasped for breath, then opened his one eye, and tried to get up.
The paramedics came and Martín actually resisted their help, not recognizing their voices, and not understanding what was happening to him. Elena encouraged him to be still. "They are just trying to help you," she said.
Elena’s reflection was simple. "I asked the Lord that Martín could have life and breath. And my prayer was answered."
By this time, not only were neighbours gathered and the ambulance present, but also three police cars and a crew from the local TV station. Rod also came, expecting the worst. But amazingly, although he didn’t remember the accident, Martín was awake and talking.
Martín was taken to the hospital, then transferred to another. Friends and family were quickly there, and he remained conscious, responding to the doctor’s questions. He was in a lot of pain.
From what I can tell from my friends in Mexico, he had gashes and fractures in his head, internal burns on the right side of his body, there was swelling on his brain, he had a blood clot, and his eyes were bruised.
Meanwhile, thanks to modern communication and the many people who love Martín, news travelled across borders and people were praying in Mexico, the USA, Canada, Guatemala, Spain, and probably beyond.
Though Martín was obviously still in danger, already some amazing things had happened.
First, he had survived. The electrocution could easily have killed him. For example, if it had been on his left side, it could have stopped his heart. If the electricity hadn’t exited his body, he would have been killed. The fall easily could have killed him. But God had mercy.
The ambulance also came quickly – something that doesn’t always happen in Mexico. The family still doesn’t know who called for it.
Saturday August 27th
Martín’s wife Laura was with him that night. In the morning, she wrote this on Facebook (my rough translation):
I’m at home taking some time with my children and a little rest. I thank the Lord for the great family that God he has given to us, the Mendez family. I’m so grateful to God because He has freed my hubby from death, and although it was a long night, God gave, gives, and continues to give me strength to go forward. GLORY TO GOD who has freed Martín from death. I LOVE YOU LORD.
Martín was progressing well already. He was able to see out of one eye, and was able to talk. But the tests continued, and we continued in prayer.
That morning, he asked Laura to read him Psalms 18 and 34.
I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
Sunday August 28th
By Sunday evening, Martín had improved a lot. He could see out of both eyes. The swelling on his head had mostly gone down. He was talking and joking with visitors.
Amazingly, as the medical costs rose, people started to give to help with the expenses. A large portion has already been committed to help the family with this.
The latest
 Martín June 2011 |
Doctors continue to watch Martín. They are concerned about his right foot, and are considering whether or not some of his toes will need to be amputated. Please pray about this, and the many other decisions the doctors may need to make as Martín continues to recover.
It has been incredible how people have prayed for, given to, and encouraged the Mendez family, from within Mexico and without. Martín has been a blessing to so many of us. So not only did God have mercy on Martín, He had mercy on us. We’re so thankful to have Martín with his church, family, and friends, for a while longer.
I’ll be on holidays for a bit, so I won’t be able to give you further updates for a couple of weeks. Be sure to check Rod’s blog for more in future days, I have no doubt he’ll post some updates.
Thanks again to those who have supported the family. And please, continue to pray and praise the Lord with us!
House pictures courtesy of Rod Fry
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.
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!
Baptisms – 20 June 2010! (video)
Yesterday was a fantastic day! Two churches got together for a baptismal service, and ten people were baptized! Four of them are a part of our brand new church in Jesús María.
The other church was, of course, Sendero de Vida Santa Barbara.
We enjoyed a great outdoor service, and all ten people gave testimonies. There was Bible reading, music, a devotional on Mat 16:21-26 – but I’ll just let you check out the video.
The service was the same place as last year, a waterpark in Texcoco. And I think the water was colder than last year – but that’s just a guess. 😉
For more, see the pictures over at In the Shadow of Volcanoes.