Yeah, it's definitely about time for another post to let you all know what I've been up to down here! It's actually amazing how time has flown by - I've already been here for over two months and am looking at returning home for a brief time in just over a month. Here's a couple of things that have been keeping me busy:
* Connecting with different churches in the area. There are a number of vibrant, evangelical churches in the area and it has been a privilege to connect with different pastors, taking in different services, and seeing the work that God is already going out here. There is an incredible unity among the evangelical churches here in Guaymas/Empalme. With over 40 churches (none of them very large, mostly in the 50 to 100 range) in the area, there is a strong, healthy evangelical influence in this area. But with over 200,000 people living in this area, there is a great need!
* Hanging out at the orphanage. It's a continuing blessing being involved with the kids at the orphanage. They continue to regularly tire me out as I try to keep up with them in playing soccer. Indeed, these guys who are around 12 years old have more soccer skills then I do (and more energy as well) but I'm holding my own.
* Leading worship and preaching. I'm still regularly leading worship at the English church here in San Carlos, leading every Sunday that I don't preach. I have another opportunity to preach on May 25th. I've really enjoyed these opportunities, though they have taken a lot of time in preparation.
* Helping a church prepare for running Day Camps this summer. This is an exciting opportunity that is quickly drawing near. A church in Empalme is seeking to expand their children's ministry this summer by running day camps out of their facility for a week, during the first week of July. They've never done this before so there's a lot of prep work to do and we're using some resources and contacts through Children's Camps International to get them going in the right direction. There's only two months left to go and a lot of work to do!
* Keeping things going at the house. It seems I've become a part-time gardener not by hobby but by necessity as well! Just before Art and Brenda left, they were able to put into place a vision that Brenda has had for a long time - a prayer garden here at the mission center. Along with that came a whole lot of plants that I would rather still have alive when they return at the end of the summer. Well, it hasn't rained the entire two months that I've been here and it probably won't rain for another two months of more (till the end of July) and so that means a whole lot of watering. There's other things to do as well to keep things in order here.
That gives you some idea of what I'm up to these days. Of course your prayers are always appreciated!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Affirmation From Above
Today has been a day of affirmation. When I came back to Mexico, I struggled a bit at first with being here. I wasn't sure if I was ready to return and leave everything back at home. It took about a week of being here to get readjusted to life out here. Once I was settled in and started to get involved in ministry out here, I really started to feel at peace with being here.
And today, God just reaffirmed my ministry here. I was scheduled to lead worship in the English church this morning. There are some times, when preparing to lead worship, that everything seems to come together very clearly and other times when it seems to take a lot more work to get things together. This week in preparation was one of those where God clearly brought everything together, from songs to scripture. Of course, being a doubting human, I entered the service not show how it would all tie together with everything else but sure enough, God had it all planned out and brought together everything as only He could. Following the service, one lady approached me and shared with me how the Scripture read and the songs were exactly what she needed to hear.
Perhaps it wasn't anything huge, but it was one of those mornings where God seemed to speak very clearly, affirming me in where I am and in what I'm doing right now. It's just been one of those spiritually refreshing days for which I thank God for!
And today, God just reaffirmed my ministry here. I was scheduled to lead worship in the English church this morning. There are some times, when preparing to lead worship, that everything seems to come together very clearly and other times when it seems to take a lot more work to get things together. This week in preparation was one of those where God clearly brought everything together, from songs to scripture. Of course, being a doubting human, I entered the service not show how it would all tie together with everything else but sure enough, God had it all planned out and brought together everything as only He could. Following the service, one lady approached me and shared with me how the Scripture read and the songs were exactly what she needed to hear.
Perhaps it wasn't anything huge, but it was one of those mornings where God seemed to speak very clearly, affirming me in where I am and in what I'm doing right now. It's just been one of those spiritually refreshing days for which I thank God for!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The Calm After the Storm
It's been quite a stretch! I have to apologize for slacking off in the blogging department. It seems that over the past couple of weeks any idle moments (the few of them that there have been) have quickly been occupied by relaxation, friends, and sleep! We've just come off a real busy stretch, having teams coming pretty much non stop from when I first arrived. It's been a good stretch of many different ministry opportunities and many new connections made with a number of different churches in the area. Some highlights have included:
Doing various projects with a college team from Oregon at a school in a small, poor native village called Bago, located about an hour from the center. We spent some time painting, playing with the kids, repairing the schools only water source (as seen in the picture) and ended our of work out their showing a Christian movie called "Facing the Giants" and sharing a testimony.
Distributing clothes and other items in various places. The instance in the photo is with a youth group from Crystal City, MB and was done in conjunction with a church in the area, providing a neat opportunity of outreach in their community. It's always humbling to see people accept with incredible gratitude, the things that we (in our society) have deemed "second hand" and no longer use for ourselves.
Helping to construct a pastor's house. This particular pastor has spent much of his time in constructing the church building his congregation is now meeting in (which is a beautiful building!) In the meantime, however, he and his family has been living in the Sunday School classrooms and the church kitchen (which is badly in need of a new roof itself). The youth group from Crystal City fundraised enough money to put a roof on the pastor's house and also spent a couple of days help him with the construction project.
Putting on a new coat of paint at the local junior highschool here in San Carlos. The culture here in Mexico, though it is very Roman Catholic, believes very much in the spiritual realm. And so this school, according to popular belief out here is considered to be haunted. We've been told stories of people seeing ghosts here and hearing different sounds come from this school. Even as we were working there, one younger woman came by with her friend just to visit the school again and told us about some of the common folklore regarding this building. After we finished painting, we spent some good time in prayer for that building, and for the people in the area, particularly the children who spend so much time in that building, acknowledging that, though Satan is real and that he is at work, God is infinitely bigger and more powerful.
Those are just a couple of highlights but now life is going to take a drastic change as now it's just me and the dog, Pinta. Art and Brenda left this morning to spend the summer and fall (into November) in Montana, back on the farm. Ministry will take place more in the surrounding area, including the local churches and the orphanage. But life here at the center will be a little more quiet. Though it will take time to adjust to a new pace of life, the quiet will be welcome after the fast pace of life we've endured over the past weeks!
Doing various projects with a college team from Oregon at a school in a small, poor native village called Bago, located about an hour from the center. We spent some time painting, playing with the kids, repairing the schools only water source (as seen in the picture) and ended our of work out their showing a Christian movie called "Facing the Giants" and sharing a testimony.
Distributing clothes and other items in various places. The instance in the photo is with a youth group from Crystal City, MB and was done in conjunction with a church in the area, providing a neat opportunity of outreach in their community. It's always humbling to see people accept with incredible gratitude, the things that we (in our society) have deemed "second hand" and no longer use for ourselves.
Helping to construct a pastor's house. This particular pastor has spent much of his time in constructing the church building his congregation is now meeting in (which is a beautiful building!) In the meantime, however, he and his family has been living in the Sunday School classrooms and the church kitchen (which is badly in need of a new roof itself). The youth group from Crystal City fundraised enough money to put a roof on the pastor's house and also spent a couple of days help him with the construction project.
Putting on a new coat of paint at the local junior highschool here in San Carlos. The culture here in Mexico, though it is very Roman Catholic, believes very much in the spiritual realm. And so this school, according to popular belief out here is considered to be haunted. We've been told stories of people seeing ghosts here and hearing different sounds come from this school. Even as we were working there, one younger woman came by with her friend just to visit the school again and told us about some of the common folklore regarding this building. After we finished painting, we spent some good time in prayer for that building, and for the people in the area, particularly the children who spend so much time in that building, acknowledging that, though Satan is real and that he is at work, God is infinitely bigger and more powerful.Those are just a couple of highlights but now life is going to take a drastic change as now it's just me and the dog, Pinta. Art and Brenda left this morning to spend the summer and fall (into November) in Montana, back on the farm. Ministry will take place more in the surrounding area, including the local churches and the orphanage. But life here at the center will be a little more quiet. Though it will take time to adjust to a new pace of life, the quiet will be welcome after the fast pace of life we've endured over the past weeks!
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