Practical Help

We are so indebted to you all for the part you play on our team. We cannot adequately express our gratitude. We often get excited when things seem to go well in the ministry. It would be so easy for the enemy to tempt us to be proud but the thought repulses us. Of course it is God who gets the glory and He is the One who brings true success. Your involvement and that of our Mexican brothers and sisters is also in our thoughts constantly. We are just a small part of a large team and it is our privilege to do what we do.

We were so touched last week when the leader of the Armagh team gave us some money which had been donated to him by someone from home. We asked if it was ok to use some of the money to purchase materials for the churches in Acapulco. Andrew left this morning before 6am to pick up Miguel Romero. Together they will have meetings today and tomorrow with the pastors there and will get back tomorrow night. Acapulco is about 4 hour drive in good traffic.

The visit is in advance of the General Assembly for the church denomination a month from now. During that assembly Andrew will hopefully be voted by the church leaders as the Social Ministry Director for UNIFAM (the denomination). Please pray as we continue to prepare for that event. Andrew will give a presentation on how the churches can get involved with Proyecto MEFI and also how we would like to help them in Social Ministries. There's not much time and a lot to prepare. We have another strategy meeting on Thursday evening with the MacKinnons and once again would appreciate prayer for sensitivity to God's leading and direction.

I love spending money (don't we all!) and I was absolutely delighted to be able to get materials for Andrew to take down to the pastors for their encouragement. We got papers, pens, markers, craft materials etc. etc. Everything will be put to great use in the churches and help with their kids' ministries too. Thank you to the person who made this possible. May you be richly blessed!
We are also grateful to a group of ladies up in Coleraine who meet together every Monday evening for the One Way Craft Club. This group of ladies make all kinds of wonderful things and use the money they raise in sales to support ministries all over the world. I got in touch with Anne Steele, the group co-ordinator, a few weeks ago and asked if they would be able to make some cushions for the kids ministry in La Loma. We will use them in our Sunday School Class but they will be used in other areas of the church too. Anne was more than helpful despite her own busy program. The group made these large cushions, with liners, and sent them out with the Armagh team. We just need to buy polystyrene filler and then we're ready to go! Thank you ladies and may God continue to bless your faithful efforts and extend His kingdom through you.
As we have followed the news of the terrible weather in England we have been praying hard for Terry and Pat Ware from near Aberdeen. They contacted us a long time ago and said that Terry was going to cycle from Land's End (southernmost tip of England) to John O'Groats (nothernmost tip of Scotland). God laid the work of Proyecto MEFI on their hearts and they want to send any money raised to the project. With their consent the money will be used to help kids who are leaving the streets and have various needs that incur costs e.g. rehabilitation, housing, help initially with bills and living costs etc.

Thankfully Terry was able to keep ahead of the rain mostly. I'm sure that the threat of all the rain was a big incentive to keep pushing forward. Thank you so much Terry and Pat! We so appreciate not just the financial donation but also the hard work, preparation and sacrifice on your part in this adventure. Our prayer is that God will clearly direct us as to how to use each penny as we know that mile by mile there was a huge amount of effort involved! If you would like to contribute to the cause just drop us a note and we'll put you in touch with this wonderful couple. Here are some photos from the journey (not including the couple of punctures)...

Lonely roads through the mountains...
...busier roads up in Inverness...
...1038 miles gained on the 'mileometer' and no doubt a few pounds lost on the scales!

Sunday

As Sunday School teachers for the adolescents we find ourselves in charge of them during the Holiday Bible Club. The kids will have various responsibilities like registration, leading kids around the various activities, helping teachers where they can and doing dramas. We have taken a break on Sunday mornings from our usual teaching so that we can rehearse the kids. It's no easy job. Like so many this age most of the kids are self conscious and see it all as a big laugh! We think we've got 2 dramas down quite well but there's just one more rehearsal and 3 more dramas to go! We will probably have to enlist help from others. Here are some of the kids rehearsing their parts. It's fun to work with them if stressful at times!

Most of the kids came in suits on Sunday. They welcomed people at the door...
...gave the welcome and bible readings (and some added their own insights into the passages!)...
...recited the memory verses they have been learning over the last 3 months...
...and collected the offering. How exciting to have kids involved in such a key way. They seemed to have a great time and looked incredibly cute into the bargain! Pray that these kids will continue to grow in their Christian walk and for the teachers who work with them each week. Many of the teachers are young and new to it all.

Mex-i-Kids

Our numbers were quite low again on Saturday. It seems there was confusion last week at the party and people thought that the next event is the Holiday Bible Club. One thing that was interesting is that there were quite a few mums who stayed this week and hung around afterward to chat.

Please continue to pray for our leaders. The excitement seems to be waning a little and those who are continuing to turn up are arriving with or after the kids. We are absolutely convinced that this ministry could be instrumental in impacting the area for Christ. Yesterday Miguel preaching a challenging message. He talked about the crucial stage that the church is in. We have been moving forward and God has been blessing. The numbers are growing and people have been available to serve. But he warned them about the danger of discouragement and the need for commitment. Many people responded. Pray that the message will continue to go with them and that they will come through on the decision they made. Pray that God will show them the potential and the importance of the ministry on Saturday mornings.

Please pray for the final preparations this week for the Holiday Bible Club which starts next Monday. The children will be fed every day and the ladies had decided how many kilos of everything they will need. During the announcements Miguel read out the items on the list one by one..., "We need 20 kilos of tomatoes, who want to help?" The people would raise their hands and offer to bring part or all of what was being requested. 6 litres of oil, 3 kilos of rice, 2 kilos of eggs, 30 kilos of tortillas, 3 kilos of chillies, 10 containers of filtered water, 200 sopes (basically fat tortillas), 2 kilos of margarine, 4 packets of pancake flour etc. etc. etc. It was like an auction during which we just laughed in amazement as the congregation got more and more excited about giving to the cause. Praise God for their willingness to be involved. Next time you have a big event in the church involving food you may like to try the idea out. It's also a great way for loosening up the congregation and learning people's names!

Holiday Bible Clubs (VBS)

By Thursday I was feeling much better and up for going to see the Holiday Bible Club in one of our UNIFAM churches - Tultitlan. Last week the Campanario church had their Bible Club as well. Between the 2 churches there were probably about 300-350 kids in total who attended.


This is one of the groups of kids during their music session. All over the church complex kids were in different classes doing activities to consolidate their teaching on the Armour of God. It's so fascinating to see how much work goes into the program and decoration of the building. So many church members were also involved. We left very excited. Children's ministry holds a special place in our hearts and to get together with the Pastor and his wife who are also excited about it was a great encouragement. Miguel (the Pastor from La Loma) and Guille were also there and we got lots of ideas for the fast approaching HBC in La Loma.

At the closing service on Saturday in Tultitlan Miguel spoke to the parents and about 40-50 responded to the gospel appeal. Pray for the follow-up of these new believers and for the impact of the little church in the community. They are struggling to see numbers rise consistently - they seem to go up and down. Pray that God will work and that people will be touched and grow in their faith and commitment to Christ.

Back to the streets

On Monday Andrew took the team back to the streets. The team was divided in two and one group went with Christian MacKinnon, Alex and Paty to a group near the Drop-In Centre and the other group went with Andrew and Fidel to a group much further south.

I'm sure for the team it was yet again a moving experience as they gave their testimonies and met some of these great kids.


Tuesday was our day off which we spent mostly with friends. On Wednesday morning I was treated to one of the occasional joys of missionary life - a stomach upset! Andrew thankfully was able to work from home and look after Tabitha for the day while I rested whatever it was off.

Another busy day...

Today (Sunday) has been a long day and I didn't get time to update the blog. Sorry to those of you who check in on Monday expecting the usual update. I promise to work on it tomorrow. Please check back for updates later.

Language

Some of you have asked about Tabitha's language acquisition. Here she is enjoying a 'gaw-girt'. Really it amazes us how quickly she is picking things up. We rarely talk to her in Spanish - we leave that to the Mexicans whose accent and grammar is much better than ours! Sometimes though we get a faster response if we do. For example she's much more obedient if we tell her to come in Spanish...though sometimes she just returns the commend to us accompanied by the appropriate Mexican hand signal (beckoning with all four fingers pointed downward). Her Tias Margaret and Robin told us that she was out in their yard calling their cat Bugeera last week. Bugeera wisely ignored both the hand signaling and the, "Ven, Ba-gee-ya!"
Her baby babble seems different at the weekend when she has been surrounded by Spanish. She amuses the folks at church by saying the occasional Spanish word. Last week one of the ladies arrived with bread on Sunday morning for Tabitha who had learnt how to say it in Spanish the day before. Yesterday she amazed me when someone went to take a tambourine off her and she said, "Mio!" or "Mine!" in Spanish. Thankfully she doesn't know that in English yet. "No!" is the same in both languages but whatever way we say it we get a negative reaction!

There is no doubt that Tabitha's understanding of both languages is developing. English seems to have the lead (which is quite fine with us!) at the moment but it seems that she knows words in either one language or the other. I haven't heard her say the same thing in both languages yet.

Besides her growing vocabulary she has quite a few animal noises and actions committed to memory. We're struggling ourselves to come up with new ones to keep her amused. She loves to impress (or to act like she has no idea what we're talking about!).

Praise God with us for her generally happy disposition and pray for wisdom as we seek to honour God in our parenting. Hopefully soon we'll shoot some video so you can see her in action (though it will probably be on her own blog which you can access from the link on the right-hand-side of this page).

Concert

On Saturday evening we went to see Maddie MacKinnon sing in her church. The kids choir made their entrance running in from the back. Tabitha was mesmerised but when she saw her friend Maddie on stage she broke free from her row and made a run for the stage shouting, "Maddie, Maddie, Maddie!" Daddy managed to get her when she was halfway onto the stage (which didn't please her!).

The concert was the opener for the Holiday Bible Club (VBS) in the Campanario church. Campanario is the biggest and oldest of the UNIFAM churches in Mexico.

Fiesta!

We put a lot of work into the organisation of this event...but so did many others - from renting equipment to handing out flyers and organising games it was very much a team effort. There were many reasons why this event was exciting - it was a real boost to the club and raised our profile in the area, the leaders were visibly excited to see how many kids attended and almost seemed to gain a fresh energy, the kids had a great time and many parents joined in too. Let me talk you through the day in pictures...

A gifted lady in the church made these wonderful balloon arches which added to the party feel.
Zoel assumed his regular position of announcing the event at the front gate...but Tabitha wasn't too sure if she appreciated the volume at close range! Ericka and Karen greeted people and gave them a food ticket and a games list.
The trampoline proved to be a hit and probably had far too many kids on at any one time but thankfully no-one got hurt!
There were several games where kids could win tickets which they could interchange for prizes at the prize table. As you can see they were popular. Thanks to the teams who have brought out suitable prizes. We added a few sweets to the selection and thankfully we had enough to see us through the event. There was also a 'guess the number of sweets in the jug' competition. The closest guess to the actual total of 694 was 500!
There was no reprieve for the face painters but the kids smiles made the work rewarding.
We were joined by a Christian clown who entertained us for about 45 minutes. You may just see me holding Tabitha who was a little unsure of this strange character.
The team from NI came and helped out. Here Hannah has a look of disgust and unbelief. Did she really think John was going to eat all those burgers?
Oh no! There were kids and parents alike who wouldn't let him away with that! Thanks again to one of the ladies in the church who made the burgers and to all who worked so hard all morning in the kitchen.
'Ponle la cola al burro' or 'Pin the tail on the donkey' - as popular here as it is at home.
These little footballers proudly arrived with the trophy they won in a football (soccer) tournament last week. We're delighted that they are so excited to come and get involved. We told them that if they won they should bring their prize along. It seems we are developing good relationships there.
Just after 12pm everyone came together. Andrew led them in a few songs which were energetic and great fun. Then I gave a fairly short but very direct gospel message (you might just about see me in the picture below). The kids really entered in and responded. Pray that the seed planted will be like the seed that falls in good ground. It was fairly impossible to count the numbers but we think there were about 150 kids plus parents. Pray that some of these kids would come back and that many will come to the Holiday Bible Club which was advertised as well.

Pray for the team of leaders and that their vision would be maintained. Praise God with us - He is doing amazing things.

Friday

On Friday Andrew took the team from Northern Ireland on a tour of several key sites in Proyecto MEFI. We have put much thought and prayer into the best way to show teams the ministry first hand. In the past we took them to see a couple of groups of kids which was always full of variables. We couldn't guarantee the number of kids who would turn up nor the attitude with which they would meet us.

Our new plan leads teams around several groups with key stories - one group that no longer exists because of suicide, death and hardship, another group that hardly exists because of the tireless and faithful visits and work of the Proyecto MEFI team encouraging the kids to see God's plan for their lives and seeing them leave the streets. They visit a couple of other groups where they hear details of who these kids are, where they come from etc. and what we do with them. The tour finishes off in the Drop-In Centre where they hear about the vision for the ministry.

All-in-all the information coupled with the visual impact of seeing these kids in situation (something we just can't adequately describe) give a much more accurate picture of the ministry and is much more effective in helping people to know how to pray.

Meanwhile I left Tabitha off with her Tias Margaret and Robin (fellow missionaries) who looked after her for the afternoon. I headed out to La Loma to give training in anticipation of the Holiday Bible Club. We had a really good session and the team tolerated my Spanish for 4 hours (though I tried to keep things as interactive as possible!). We looked at the importance of relationships in kids ministry and how to best achieve them. We talked about the value of kids ministry and its potential. We discussed aims for the Holiday Bible Club and how we would achieve those aims. Then we looked briefly at learning styles and took one of the lessons and looked at how it addressed the different learning styles and how we could further develop it for one.

Then we talked about the theme and timetable of the week and distributed responsibilities. Towards the end of the session (by which time everyone was getting very tired!) we reviewed the key points as we talked about how Mex-i-Kids could be improved. Thanks for you prayers. It was an intense experience for me and the first time I have taught such a long session in Spanish. I felt the group were very responsive and it was wonderful to see them put some of what they had learned into practice on Saturday.

Please continue to pray as we prepare for the Holiday Bible Club (VBS). It takes place from the 6th-10th August and we have several responsibilities during the week e.g. translation for the team from N.I who will be helping us, directing the adolescents, helping to co-ordinate the program and leading the music...and no doubt a few other things too! We're hoping for 150-200 kids and that Mex-i-Kids will be a great follow-up program. The teaching is based on the life of David and much work has been going into the whole experience.

Sandra and Beto.

Please don't forget this couple in your prayers. Sandra didn't show up to see Paty and me on Wednesday morning and we were worried that Beto prevented her from coming. He hasn't been attending church and has been saying that the members are hypocrites (a universal accusation!). Sandra has said a few times that she really needs to talk but is always running into the house saying that Beto will think she is telling us stuff.

I chatted for a while with Paty and mentioned to her that we were concerned about how all of this was affecting her and Alex. For them much of what they are seeing is very similar to the past they lived before coming to Christ. Through her tears Paty recounted much of her testimony. Truely God has done amazing things for this wonderful couple. I hope one day you hear more details. We just praise God that they are prepared to share their experience and able to help so many others. Please continue to pray for their strength and stamina - both physically and emotionally as they deal with the various challenges of the ministry.

Alex and Andrew went as usual on Wednesday evening to meet with Beto. He was cold to start off with but warmed up and was more like his normal self by the end.

Please continue to pray that in all of this we are able to clearly see God's plan. It's so easy to get caught up in the present situation. Pray that we would have the wisdom to deal with the heart of the issue rather than getting distracted by peripherals which only patch up wounds for a short time. Pray that God would be honoured through our times with this couple and that we will be able to right divide the Word of Truth and pray for the safety of the little family through this difficult time.

New Look

This is Julia who came from Canada for a few weeks. We asked her to give our Sunday School classroom a new look for the youth and she did an amazing job on a mural of the Creation account.
She returned home last week and left Gary and Hannah to put the final little touches to the project. It was all rather dignified...
...until Hannah stuck her foot in it!
Thanks again Julia. We love it - and the kids do too.

Team From NI

A team from Armagh, N. Ireland arrived safely at 6.30am this morning. We haven't met them yet but we spend some time with them this week. We'll feed them, take them to see the street work and they'll be at the party at La Loma.

Hopefully for next week we'll have more pictures. Thanks if you have patiently read through each blog entry. We appreciate all your comments and emails. It's so encouraging to know that you are holding us up in prayer and joining with us here. It's also great to know that you are with us through the highs and lows. Together we are working to see God glorified and His kingdom extended...and He says He will build His church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!

Mex-i-Kids

Thank you for your prayers for the breakfast club. This week the numbers went up again slightly which is encouraging. We had just over 40 kids. One family arrived 40 minutes before the start. It was really good to be able to chat more with them and to have them help with the set up. Some boys who were there the first week were back. They have been at football (soccer) training every Saturday morning but it wasn't on yesterday as they had a tournament today (Sunday). There were 6 of them and they were about 11 years old. What's really good is that they seemed to have a great time. We took a parachute along and the kids loved it. It's amazing how kids won't enter into games but when the parachute was brought out they all flocked over and had a great time.

This week was the first week that I felt the program was more fluid and the kids had a great time. But we continue to struggle with leader issues. One of the ladies told me that she would bring the materials for the games and then she didn't turn up (she had people visiting). Thankfully I had a back up plan in place but it's hard to know what to do when you're not sure if people will turn up. I usually prepare the props for object lesson and get all the games equipment together just in case...

So we've decided to have a little training session. We want to get the leaders feedback and we want to be sure that when the holiday bible club finishes we at the breakfast club are completely ready to give great follow-up to the kids who are reached. I talked about it with Guille who told me that she wants to give training every Friday until the Holiday Bible Club starts. I suggested that I could go along and do a little part for breakfast club but that would help in all areas of kids work.

Guess what? In the announcements at church this morning I found out that on Friday I am giving a 4 hour training session to the leaders of the Holiday Bible Club from 2-6pm! Life is full of surprises!

Next Saturday is our big party. We made 800 invitations and gave some to the kids to give to their friends. They were handed out at church this morning ad teams will go out to distribute them on Thursday and Friday. So there's a lot of work to do to prepare for that this week. There will be an inflatable, a trampoline, games, the parachute, face painting, prizes, balloons, a clown (a Christian who will help out freely!), food etc. We're so thankful to teams who have left materials to make all this possible and keep the costs down. We'll also hand out invitations on Saturday for the Holiday Bible Club which will start just 2 weeks later.

There is one big prayer point. The Breakfast Club previously took place in a nearby shanty town type area. Though people have gone down to invite kids to come up we're still seeing no fruit. Pray that parents and kids would be prepared to come on Saturday and that God would be glorified in that area. The folk at church know it is a hard area but they desperately want to see the people from there reached.

Day out

Tuesday was spent getting materials together for the activity day with the kids. Gary and Hannah went with Andrew and it seems that what left the biggest impression on them was the visit to the market where they saw all manner of meat cuts...I won't go into details!

We decided that it was in Tabitha's best interests for me to stay at home with her. We've been pushing her quite hard recently and she's been a little unsettled. We've also had her looked after by others more than usual and she was beginning to cry when we left the room for fear that we were leaving her again. So Tabitha and mummy had lots of fun time together (Tabitha had great fun in her first blanket and sofa tent!) in between naps during which time I got lots of administration work done. It seems to have helped her a lot.

The rest of the gang left at 6am! After an eventful journey where Alex got stopped by the police and then ran out of petrol (!), they arrived at a great park with grassy areas, pools, water shoots and diving boards and it seems it was a great day. There was plenty of food - which was enough - but only just! We contributed 'Tinga' - a Mexican dish with chicken, onion, tomato and a special type of chilli called 'chipotle' It was warmly received!
There was also spiritual food as Andrew spoke on the importance of continued growth as Christians. He used Psalm 73 v 13 as a spring board for thinking about the importance of keeping a pure heart. The kids listened really well and Andrew felt that the whole day has really helped to keep the kids motivated in their new lifestyle and their new-found faith. These kids are all ones who have come off the streets in recent months through contact with Alex and Paty and the Drop-In Centre.

Here's the group that went all happy after a fun-packed day and ready for the ride home. The journey home was slower and after leaving everyone off Andrew finally got back at 10pm! Another long but profitable day.

Sadly Sandra and Beto didn't go along. Continue to pray for them as they continue to go through difficult times.

Proyecto MEFI meeting

On Monday I went to the hospital to pick up the MacKinnons with their gorgeous baby girl Amelia. Praise God for a safe delivery and for the health of mum and baby. You can see more photos of Amelia by following the link to their ministry page on the right and then going to 'Robin's blog'.

While I was away an excellent meeting took place in our house. The main item on the agenda was the Drop-In Centre. The team made a list of the things they would ideally like to offer and then narrowed it down to what we can actually offer at the moment and then the tasks were distributed. We have decided to invite kids to come and participate in a 3-4 hour program from the 2nd August. Andrew will be overall director with different team members being responsible for organising and co-ordinating discipleship, sports, cooking, workshops and distribution of clothes, towels, toiletries etc. The team are excited as we have a date to work towards and as we also see how we can work together as a team.

Tomorrow we have another meeting where we will check that we are on track, that people are getting their area organised and where we will further pray and plan together. Please pray for God's guidance and for sustained excitement about the program. We plan to invite about 10 kids at a time and assess their feelings about it regularly. Pray that the team will find the materials that they need and that everything will be ready for the 2nd August.

Day out

This Wednesday we have planned to take the ex-street kids away for the day. I'll be able to go if we can get Tabitha looked after at home but it would be too long a day for her to take her with us. The kids are excited and we would ask you to pray that it is profitable in building and deepening relationships with the kids. Sadly most of them have stopped attending church lately since Alex and Paty started the little service on Friday nights and haven't been visiting them at home so regularly.

The answer to the problem is probably not to have Alex and Paty return to visiting them. It was a grueling program for them. What we would love to see is more church members involved in discipleship. Please pray to that end. It could also be considered that the Friday evening service is church for them but the problem is that they have been falling to temptation in little areas of their lives and we really do need more discipleship to see them live victoriously and free of the past.

Sunday

We don't talk much about our Sunday School Class. Today we had 10 kids which is quite a few more than the usual 3 or 4. We feel it was a really good class. The kids seem to be opening up a lot more.

Today we were talking about idols and the things that come before God in our lives. We were surprised at how honest the kids are. Normally at home we impersonalise things but these kids were prepared to tell us the things they put before God. One kids even told us the things his mum and dad but before God - beware parents- you're being watched! We finished off by asking the kids to write down difficult situations so that as a group we could give advice about how the characters in the situations could put God first. Again we expected anonymity but our kids were quite specific and some of the situations were sad to read. One in particular was a girl who was asking for advice. She wrote that things are difficult between her parents right now and that it is affecting her too much - what should she do. Pray that we will get a chance to sit down properly with this 14 year old and seek with God's help to support her through this difficult situation.

After church we went to the MacKinnons to pick up Madeline and we took her down to the hospital to see her new baby sister who was born yesterday. The MacKinnons work alongside us here and have been a great help so far in getting the Proyecto MEFI strategy down on paper. It was very exciting for us all to meet gorgeous little Amelia. Praise God for her safe arrival and for health of both mumand baby. I look forward to helping out as much as I'm needed for the next wee while.

On the way home the rain started. Imagine the thunder and lightening all around with rain and hailstones. Such a contrast to the beautiful day, yet tomorrow the roads which were like rivers tonight will once again be dry and ready for the next rainstorm. during the week we took Hannah out for tacos. The hailstones started to fall as we were ready to leave. Andrew brought the car as close as possible but the hailstones were so huge that we all got into the car hurting where they had landed on us. We've never experienced anything like it - thankfully it's just like this for a short time each year!

Breakfast Club

Numbers were once again down this week but only marginally. It's easy to be discouraged but I know that God is teaching us through this situation. Firstly it's always good to remember that kids don't come because of an amazing program and I am focusing my prayers on asking that God draw kids to come. We'll be more than happy to give God the glory when more kids come.

I also think that God is giving us and the other teachers the chance to grow and develop our teaching style and ability while the numbers are smaller. There are many little things that need developed. Pray for grace as we speak with teachers and that we will grow as a team.

In about 4 weeks the Holiday Bible Club (VBS) starts. We're excited that we have this period beforehand to understand the teaching program and hopefully the Club will be an excellent follow-up program for that.

The other big praise point is that kids are being reached through the club. Just yesterday one of the leaders told me about an 11 year old girl from her neighbourhood who has been at the club every week so far. She told me that the little girl is left all day to look after her 6 brothers and sisters. Mum and Dad are hardly involved. The leader wanted me to talk with her. I admit I was unsure what I would say. In my experience those kids would probably have heavy social work involvement in their situation and would quite probably be placed in care. With full reliance upon God I sat down to chat with her. I believe God gave me the words to say and that I made a good connection with her. This little girl knows nothing about the bible. She had only been in church 4 times - at the four clubs. I invited her to come to church today and told her that she could be in our Sunday School class. I also told her that we had lots of songs on Sunday as the songs are her favourite part of club. How encouraging it was to see her there today at church. She came with one of her sisters and stayed for the whole service - from 10am until 13.00 and seemed to have a great time.

There were another couple of kids at church today who were at club for the first time yesterday. So God knows what He is doing and we are happily doing our best and trusting Him to continue the good work. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Sandra and Beto

Both Andrew and I met separately with Sandra and Beto this week. I felt I had a good time with Sandra. She hadn't acted on what we had told her she needed to do the last time we met so we've extended the same challenge to her this time. She responded positively. One worrying thing was that she hadn't been at church since our last meeting. She left the meeting very positive and ready to put lots of things straight.

Andrew found Beto to be a little less responsive than usual but wasn't discouraged by the meeting.

Unfortunately we found out on Friday that Beto had physically hurt their little daughter. We must continue to pray for this little family - that God will continue to work in their lives, conforming them more and more into His image. Obviously there are some hard questions being asked at the moment.

Gary and Hannah

Who are they? What are they doing? Gary is here for one year. He has been studying Spanish full time but is taking some time out to be more involved in the ministry and to practice what he has been learning so far. Gary became a Christian just a few short years ago and has so much to offer to the street kids ministry. Just this week we gave him a project which he will concentrate on while he is here. Gary is looking into sports programs and will be developing that area of the ministry. Hopefully it will prove to be a great evangelistic tool. If you have any ideas on the subject please get in touch. Pray that he will know God's direction and that He will use it to bring many more kids to Himself.

Hannah has been here for 1 week and has just over 4 more to go. She was here on a two week team a couple of years ago. She is shadowing us for her time here and has a personal project too. Hannah is designing a display for the Drop-In Centre which will explain to visitors what Proyecto MEFI is and what the main objectives are. She has some fabulous ideas and this will be an incredibly useful tool as we will also be able to carry it to different churches as they get involved too. She has been living with us and has very kindly looked after Tabitha from time to time.

We are blessed to have two amazing people working with us. Praise God!

Prayer meeting report

Thanks for praying. The meeting was fantastic. The group got along really well and it was so encouraging. Tomorrow the meeting will take place in our house.

Prayer Meeting

Tomorrow morning (Monday) the MEFI team will get together for prayer. They will not talk any business - just pray! This is the first time for such a meeting to occur. Praise God! Pray for continued unity in the team and for a sense of God's presence.

Breakfast Club

This week we started with the teaching program downstairs and then had the food afterwards. We had a few less kids again this week - just over 40. Also a few of the leaders didn't turn up which meant that once again we had to cover at the last minute. So that was a little discouraging but there are always encouragements too.

The changes seemed to work really well. We felt the atmosphere and excitement at the club was really good. We were also able to speak with parents which was great. None of the kids came up from the Shanty Town. I spoke with Zoel about that (the guy who goes down to invite them up). It seems the parents are holding their kids back from coming. Zoel is going to go this week and try to talk with some of the parents to see if the suspicion can be cleared. Please pray that his visits will go well and that he will make vital contacts. We are so keen to see these kids and their families come to know Christ.

None of the kids from another area came either. I chatted to the lady who had had the invitation event in that area and she told me that there are events organised for the kids in her area over the summer. Hopefully they will come after the summer.

So we plough on ahead. There is no doubt that we are building friendships. A couple of older guys stayed on after club to help with the church cleaning just for something to do! We have some attendance incentives and we are also organising a big event for the 21st July. That's just 2 weeks before the start of the Holiday Bible Club (VBS). We are planning to rent inflatables, have a bbq, games, clowns, face painting etc. There will also be a teaching slot and some songs. The main purpose is to excite kids about coming to breakfast club and also to invite them to the VBS.

Please pray that God will move in the area. Pray that He will draw the kids in. Pray for consistency in the leaders and that they will develop good relationships with the kids. Pray for growth and that as the kids come they will learn and remember the teaching and respond to it. We so need your prayers for all of these things. Thanks again for standing with us.

God bless you!

Hannah

On Saturday morning Gary and Andrew picked Hannah up at the airport at 6.30am. Hannah is from N. Ireland and was here for 2 weeks with a team 2 years ago. The boys brought her to our house (where she is staying for this week) and we had a cup of coffee before going out to La Loma. After the breakfast club we all had something to eat ourselves. Hannah didn't take long to get involved - here she is surrounded by some of the young people who were eager to know more about her. Thankfully she had 10 hours sleep on the plane so she was able to give Spanish a good go!

Hannah is here for 6 weeks and will be involved in Social Ministries (i.e. with us!). She will have a mini project to complete, will spend time at the Drop-In Centre and on the streets and will also help out at La Loma as well as seeing first hand the other ministries that go on in Mexico. Pray that God will really use her while she is here and that His purposes will be accomplished in and through her during her stay. Pray for her health and safety as she is here. We have no doubt that God has great plans for this wonderful girl.
What started out as a lovely sunny day turned into a most heavy rainstorm accompanied by thunder and lightning. It was incredible to hear the sound of the rain on the roof of the church and to see the water running down the hill like a river. We couldn't get picture that did justice to the violence of the storm! But it quickly passed and was soon lovely and sunny again!

Missionary Meeting

Every Thursday afternoon we have a missionary meeting. There is a four week cycle of themes - prayer, business, social and praise and worship though each meeting contains an element of all 4. Last week's meeting was mainly a social event as we said goodbye to a short-termer from the U.S. (Kristen has been here for 5 weeks filming and teaching English) and to Esther Lawson from N.I. who is returning home after a short holiday.

It's lovely to get together as missionaries once a week. We would rarely see some of these people otherwise as we are all so busy and our paths wouldn't naturally cross. It's also a good chance to keep up to date with different ministries and the amazing things God is doing in Mexico. People are being saved, lives are being transformed, some are being trained and equipped for service at the seminary...it's exciting - Praise God!

Office

We have a little room out the back of our house which has been used for dumping things but this Tuesday Andrew cleared it out and has set up his study. Now he has a place where he can do a lot of the organisation and planning that is so desperately needed. He is planning to spend Thursday mornings out there (Tabitha enjoyed popping in on him from time to time too!).

Not only is it the perfect place to work but it will also be a quiet and peaceful place for him to be able to seek God's face for what He wants as the ministry continues to grow and develop. Pray for sensitivity to His voice and for confidence that every decision is clearly directed by God.

A Day Away

On Wednesday Andrew and Gary left the house at 5.45am to meet Alex and Paty. They came back around 4.30pm having gone off looking for a place to have a camp for the ex-street kids. The purpose is to have some more time with them and to keep them encouraged as they struggle with various temptations and difficulties.

They didn't find anywhere really suitable in terms of cost and convenience. They did find a place that would be too expensive for a camp but we have decided that we will be able to take the kids for a day away (which will be much less expensive). Later we will have the camp which will give us more time to find a place.

Pray as the day approaches that it will be beneficial for the kids and will encourage them.

Statistics

Last week Andrew asked Paty to list the kids who have passed through the Drop-In centre to date and where they are now. The figures were amazing.

With the remodeling incomplete we haven't been openly publicising the Centre. Paty named 29 kids who have passed through. One third are still on the streets, one third are renting rooms and are off the streets and the other third are also off the streets whether in street homes, back with family or in prison (!)

We are encouraged and our prayer is that as the team go out to invite more kids to come into the Drop-In centre that the success rate in terms of seeing kids leave the streets would continue and also that those kids would find Christ as their Saviour.

On Friday night Gary babysat Tabitha and we were both able to go along to the ex-street kids cell group at Alex and Paty's house. The week before they had all agreed that each person would bring something to eat. Only four turned up this week and they think it might be because the kids had no money to buy food or didn't want to cook. It also seems that some of the guys had been drinking and so weren't able to come. Normally there are about 10 kids there. Pray as we continue to use scripture to help them see that they can overcome their temptations and live victoriously in Christ.

For those who were there it was touching to hear each kid pray out loud for individuals still on the streets in the group they came from. May God rescue their friends in the same way he has rescued them.