Kid's Christmas Celebration at our Church

Merry Christmas from Mexico! Below is a video taken two nights ago at our church here in Mexico. Many of the activities you see are traditional Christmas activities. You'll see Madeline in her first play ever, all three will take a swing at the piñata, and all three will sing and dance to traditional Christmas music.

Thank you for our food...

This week Genesis, a street kid, prayed for our lunch as we took a break from the work at the drop in center. I’ll never forget his request to God, “Please be with those who have nothing to eat Lord.” My mouth almost hit the floor as I pondered the fact that most meal times for Genesis involve only thinking about eating. Lord forgive us for ever complaining.

Drop in Center Construction

From October 21-31 we had the opportunity to help host and work alongside 7 very committed men from Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. They were successful in completing phase one of the street kid drop in center which will allow us to disciple new believers, teach trade skills, and of course evangelize. Thanks a million to Wayne, Randy, Stan, Chris, Garrett, Doug, and Ed. Special thanks also to Jose, Robin D., Bebe, Angel, Margaret, Alejandro, and Patty.

Drop in Center Dedication

Last Monday Christian had the opportunity to be part of finishing up phase 1 of the Street Kid Drop in Center. Above are Christian co-laborers (prayer team, Mexican co-leaders, contruction team from the U.S., and of course our cherished street kids). The purpose of the center is discipleship, evangelism, and skill building.

Celebrating Salvation

This is a photo of one of our students, Mari, being baptised. She came to the church for English classes and started attending church....she accepted Jesus as her Savior and was baptised in October. Praise God!

On this same day two other English students were baptised and two street kids accepted Christ!

That which you do unto the least of these....

On Tuesday, October 10th we held our third MOPS meeting. It was a lovely time with a speaker on nutrition and health of children - a topic that was of great interest to the moms. We had several new women present. I am always interested to hear who the new women are and how they found out about MOPS. This week there was a sweet petite mom with her one year old daughter. I inquired from Kay, our MOPS mentor, (who had spent time speaking with the woman) about who she was and how she found out about MOPS. Kay told me that this woman had actually come to the church looking for a pastor and that she had come around the day before as well looking for the pastor. She had recently discovered she was pregnant and her husband kicked her and their one year old baby out of the house. He simply could not afford to care for his children and the thought of another baby was too much. He told the woman that before she could come back home she must give the one year old away to someone and that she must not have anymore children. She and her infant slept in a church the night before and they were desperate for help. She said she wanted to return with her child to where her parents lived but had no resources. Kay gave her the bus fare (about 20 dollars) and she gave her the left over food from our MOPS meeting. The woman was beyond grateful. Can you even imagine being in her shoes? She had not one penny - no diaper bag, no car, no cell phone - just the clothes on her back and her baby girl.
I know that there are a lot of details missing from this story that I do not know - but what I do know is this. MOPS in Mexico is changing lives and offering hope - perhaps not in the same way it does in the United States but each meeting we have had has been used by God to seriously impact women.
In my past I have been used to a MOPS where we swap ideas on romantic dates, brainstorm on Christmas traditions we would like to start in our family, or listen to discussions on different schooling options for our children - all of these things were valuable and useful to me and I anticipated we would do similar things in MOPS here. Yet every MOPS I am struck but the harsh reality of how hard life is here in Mexico City for women and their children. Conversations at the tables have been centered on what to do in abusive home situations and where women will get money for food for their children.
The experiences are so very different - but one thing remains the same. We have a Savior that loves us and cares about our deepest needs. We have hope because we have the promise of eternal life. And we have the Lord's promise that His grace is sufficient to carry us through every hardship and every trial.

ECC Training

Back in August Robin and I had the opportunity to do some teamwork and personality assessment training for our ECC Teams. (What is ECC?) Last week we learned that one of the teams have been used to bring dozens of new believers to Christ and that a half a dozen churches are being planted. I'm amazed at what Jesus can do when we truly become empty vessels.

Here are some pictures of the ECC Training that Robin and I facilitated.

18 Accept Christ at English Dinner

Last night the English Ministry hosted a dinner to celebrate the Summer Semester. Jonathan Morton gave his testimony and as a result of the Spirit's leading 18 students and guests accepted Christ!