Another kid leaves the streets

This is one of the guys who came along and helped while the American teams were here remodeling the Drop-In centre. We'll call him Hugo though that's not his real name. Hugo really impressed everyone by how hard he worked and how faithfully he went along to help out. A couple of weeks ago he left the streets and is now renting a place near Alex and Paty's house with one of the other guys who left the streets a good while ago.

So he really needs our prayers. He is still working on the streets cleaning windscreens but he has the offer of a fairly decent job and will hopefully start soon. Pray for his transition. Those of you who have followed our blog for a while know something of the struggles that he will face in the days ahead. Pray that he will like the new job and stick with it. Pray for stamina and courage to stay off the streets. Pray mostly for his spiritual birth and growth and for Alex and Paty's influence in his life. Pray that he would attend the Santa Monica church and begin to find some of his needs met through the ministry there.

Praise God for the stories of kids leaving the streets. This is where the hard work really starts!

La Loma

After the non-arrival of our furniture yesterday we headed back to La Loma (30 mins each way) for the music rehearsal. Here we are choosing songs before we start. The request from the pastor was that none of the songs be about us - that they all focus on Christ. The sound system was a disaster and we didn't get through all the songs before we had to leave as we were meeting some people for the evening. We were nervous this morning but the team had sorted everything out and the volume and congregational involvement in the worship this morning was incredible. I think it's one of the best music times we've had so far. It was really exciting.

Here's our Sunday School class today. We've just finished 3 weeks of looking at the life of Gideon and we acted out 2 chapters today. One group per chapter. We have been looking at the ups and downs of the children of Israel as they choose to follow God or turn to foreign idols. It's a great time to do the study. Some of our kids have just moved up from primary to secondary school and all are starting a new year of school. Today each kids wrote out 4 way that they can actively follow God and do what He wants. We will make a list and each kid who wants will sign a form indicating their desire to do certain things (like daily prayer and bible reading) and we will hold each other accountable each week. None of the kids do daily devotionals . One said her mum has a daily devotional. So we are hoping to find a suitable one that we can give them to help them with that. Pray that these kids will grow in their Christian walk.

This is 'Bible Month'. Today the kids took part in the service again. Here some of the kids are saying verses and the older kids recited the books of the bible. 'Biblia' means bible.
These are 2 brothers who were responsible for lifting the offering.

Mex-i-Kids

We arrived at the church on Saturday morning at 9am as usual. No-one had arrived yet but after the prayer meeting the might before a team of people had done most of the set-up for the club which was somewhat of an encouragement. Apart from our faithful little lady in the kitchen no-one else arrive until 9.45am so we were still a little discouraged. BUT...

God is working. Soon a couple of girls will be working in the church and they both have a burden for the club. It has also been suggested that we make a rota for people who can't commit to come every week. Pray that that will help some people to be more involved without feeling the pressure of needing to be there every week. Also there is excitement about going out on Thursdays and Fridays with literature to keep advertising the event.

On Saturday we had about 30-40 kids. Only about 4 are church attenders. The others are new contacts for teh church. The little street kids were back and I was super encouraged to see the little 11 year old boy singing along to the songs while he was eating his breakfast. He can't read so he's picking them up as he goes along. He has absolutely no bible knowledge and yet he was singing, "Dad, God is my Dad" What an encouragement! I also spoke to a mum of 2 (uncontrollable!) little girls who said she had been invited by one of the ladies who cooks in the kitchen. Two boys looked in and stood outside for ages before venturing inside. They played some of the games and then left before the teaching. They were back at the gate this morning and talked with Andrew and then went off to wash cars nearby. Could they be street kids (or a form of) as well?

The area is full of kids like these who need Christ (as do their families). Praise God for these precious contacts and please continue to pray for the backing of more of the church members.

Next week the program will be different with a craft and a different style of teaching slot. It will be evangelistic but also we need to go back to basics. So many of these kids have no knowledge of the bible. They know none of the great characters of the bible. We need to be simple, direct and clear. Pray that the Holy Spirit will move in their hearts.

Here some of the kids enjoy breakfast after the games and teaching. Scrambled egg and sausages and for most a generous helping of chilli sauce!
The music was playing in the background and after most of the kids had left some of the leaders broke into a spontaneous rehearsal (or were they having more fun than the kids?!)

Response

Thanks to those of you who responded to our post last week. It's always so good to know that we are part of a team and not working alone out here. Thank you so much for all your support.

To bring you up to date with the sofa story - we still don't have any! We were told they would arrive on Wednesday, then we were told Friday or Saturday - which of course became Saturday. We came home after the breakfast club and 20 mins after the sofas were due to be delivered we got a call to say they had just received the material that morning and they wouldn't be ready until Tuesday. You can imagine how we felt...but really, it's not that important in the long run. Our main concern is not to get angry and frustrated wit everything and everyone as a result. So hopefully they'll arrive this week. For now Tabitha is finding getting in and out of the furniture very easy indeed (It's her aging mummy and daddy who are having more problems)!
We've also heard that some have been wondering if we have been affected by the hurricane. We have, but not as you might think - we had a couple of days with quite a bit of rain. One day it rained all day - just a little reminder of home for us! We were actually expecting it to be a lot worse. We had been told that Friday and Saturday would be awful but it didn't transpire. So thanks for your prayers and concern again. Here Tabitha seems to be checking the skies to see if there is any more rain on the way before enjoying running up and down through the puddles.

Jonny and Julie

On Sunday night we went up to visit Gary who hadn't been feeling too well. We took along some of the food we had brought back from La Loma (dinner is served every Sunday after service for those who want to stay - it costs about 75p ($1.50) per person!).

Jonny and Julie also came along - it was a proper N. Irish get together (apart from the food!). Jonny and Julie arrived last Wednesday and plan to be here for about a year. Like Gary they will focus on language learning to start with (classes start for them tomorrow). They will them be mainly involved in church planting. It's so wonderful to have them here and it seems like they've been here for ages - probably as we've anticipated their arrival for so long. We're not sure how they managed to find space but they brought us a few little goodies from home too!

Please pray for them as they settle in. They have a great little house and lots of things have been falling into place. Language learning is hard and will have it's frustrations. Please pray for supernatural ability to pick up the vocabulary and the rules of grammar and that they will be able to practice what they learn effectively. Gary had a test recently and got a superb result. Pray that he too will find what he's learning in the classroom coming to mind when he's mixing with Mexicans.

Praise God Gary was finally able to pick up his car this week. We had some problems with the money transfer but it was all worked out in the end. Andrew found the car on the internet (though it was sold through and agency) and was able to help get it for him. Pray for safety on the roads especially as Gary will now drive the long journey to language school with Jonny and Julie every day.

National Assembly

This week is the annual assembly of the UNIFAM churches. It takes place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am-6pm. Pastors from across Mexico City will be there and the 3 pastors from Acapulco will also travel up to attend. Andrew has met most of the pastors now. Last week he had 2 more meetings. Once again he was encouraged. We are convinced that our role here is not to come up with lots of new ideas ourselves and to tell the pastors and the churches what they should do. Our desire is to hear their ideas. They are the people who have the best idea of how the communities around their churches can be reached and helped. They know the needs and the culture and if the pastors are behind the projects they can get the congregation on board. We don't just need projects and money, we need people with vision and a burden for the lost around them who will answer the call to service.

Our plan then for the assembly as far as social ministries is concerned is to offer a list of questions for the pastors to think through so that we can begin to be aware of the needs and so that we will have material to chat through at further meetings. Of course Andrew will be the spokesperson and will give a couple of presentations over the three days - one on social ministries and the other on Proyecto MEFI - explaining the ministry and how churches can potentially begin to think about being involved. We would like the churches to see Proyecto MEFI as a mission project e.g. to see their immediate community as their Jerusalem and Proyecto MEFI as their Judea. In Social Ministries we are all about reaching out to meet the needs of the community, to be Jesus' hands and feet so that people will be attracted to Him and come to know Him personally. What an immense responsibility and privilege.

So please be praying hard this week. Pray for Andrew as he finishes preparing and then gives the presentations. Pray that he will be comfortable with his Spanish, pray that he will be sensitive and receive a good response. Pray that as more churches hear about Proyecto MEFI and think about getting involved that we will be ready to train and equip them and that as a result even more precious street kids will be rescued physically and spiritually.

The missionary team will also be present as much as possible. I aim to be present for 2 days if I can. As a team we are really praying for increased unity between the missionary team and the national church leaders. Andrew and I are excited about the assembly. How exciting to work alongside our Mexican brothers and to seek God's will together for decisions that will take the movement forward in our efforts to see Mexico won for Christ.

We look forward to informing you of the answers to your prayers next week.

Proyecto MEFI meeting

On Monday morning the Proyecto MEFI team had their weekly meeting in the Drop-In centre. Andrew was really excited when he came back. Thank you for your prayers for unity in the team. There seems to be great progress there. The team are keen to work together in the centre and there doesn't appear to be any tension in relationships. It has been agreed that everyone will work together in the centre on Mondays and Wednesdays with meetings for prayer before the doors open. This week Fidel also went down to work on Friday with Alex and Paty.

The organised opening day may have been disappointing but the kids who were contacted that day have kept coming back. They arrive eagerly and leave reluctantly! Most live on the streets close to the centre. One of them was very rude to Andrew at their first meeting but just last week he apologised for his attitude - that is certainly not something we expect to hear from these kids!

So the program is informal but through various activities e.g. work projects, a meal, a bible lesson, showers etc. relationships are being built and we are hopeful that God will continue to work in these kids' lives. Please pray with us for this.

We have put some thought into the prayer meeting for street kids at Santa Monica. Numbers have dropped and so the ideas are to change the time and/or day it is held and also we would like to put someone else in charge of it's organisation to relieve Alex and Paty a little as they have so much on their plate. Pray that a suitable person will become clear and for continued excitement and vision in the church for the ministry.

No photos this week

Sorry we have no photos. This week we were catching up on work that was put aside last week because of the Holiday Bible Club. We were also trying to catch up on some rest. It was nice to get back to a fairly normal routine.

The benefit of weekly updates is that our stories and experiences are told as we go through them and you get a better idea of our feelings at the moment. Often with a prayer letter the stories are told with a good bit of hindsight or when the difficult situation seems clearer and has passed.

This week has been a tougher one emotionally. We've been here six months now and home seems a long way away. Little things that don't work as they would at home add up to make you frustrated. We received a phonecall to say that a suite we had ordered about 5 or 6 weeks ago was ready. It seemed perfect timing as Jonny and Julie Pollock have arrived from N. Ireland (on a one year term) and they were to get the furniture we have been using. We shifted it all up to their house and waited in all day for the delivery...which didn't come! We were told it would arrive at 12pm on Saturday which meant running away quickly after Mex-i-Kids. It didn't arrive until 2pm and when it did it was stained and not what we had asked for. Nothing too serious but frustrating nevertheless. We are told the correct furniture will be delivered on Wednesday this week!

The breakfast club was also discouraging on Saturday. We had 30 kids which was less than we had hoped for. Kids start back to school this week and for most that involves a LOT of work. Books need to be bought, usually from 3 or 4 different shops, uniforms are bought and some parts made etc. etc. Perhaps there were many reasons to keep kids busy - perhaps the end of the holidays families have lots to do, perhaps the routine of school term will see more kids attend. Numbers are never something to be worried about. Kids are still coming to church as a result of the contact with the breakfast club, one of the little street kids was back yesterday and kids are hearing the gospel.

The more discouraging thing was that we had to set up the club ourselves with the help of and elderly lady who works in the kitchen and a guy who lives on the church grounds. No-one else turned up until just before 10am (the starting time!). Eventually 3 came to help with the kids, a couple for the kitchen and someone to register at the door. There were many who weren't there and we're not really sure why. Please please pray with us about this. We need to be wise. We would love people to realise the potential of the ministry and be passionate about reaching the kids of the area. Perhaps we are asking too much from people to commit to something else, perhaps they have other priorities, perhaps last week was just a particularly bad one... Our job as missionaries is not to permanently run the breakfast club. Our role is to help get it started and then train other people to take it over so that we can move on. Please pray that God will make that person or those people clear and pray that this club will continue and be a success for God’s glory.

We still have so much to learn about this culture, about leadership and about our role here. Pray for sensitivity as we learn and work and the same time.

Of course, it’s not all bad. There are little things that make us smile and encourage us. Today one of the teenagers at La Loma told us we sound like snobs. Now that could sound bad but I take it as a back-handed compliment. Our Spanish has been learned in classes and what she was saying is that we sound educated! It’s an encouragement though sometimes we still feel behind in conversation!

A couple of days ago Tabitha took us completely by surprise when she started to clap and sing, “Ama, ama, ama, ama!” (amar means ‘to love’) then she put her hands from sided to side and sang, “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” She was repeating the most common words and doing the actions of one of the songs we taught at the Holiday Bible Club. We can’t believe she picked it up by herself. There are other songs we have been teaching her in English that she still hasn’t got the hang of! She happily sings, “Ama, ama, ama!” with a big smile on her face!

So praise God for little blessings. We are in a battle which sometimes seems tougher than others but our eyes should always be looking up and we appreciate all your support, particularly your prayers. Thanks to those who have sent emails and posted comments on the blog. They are also an encouragement to us

Tomorrow there will be another Proyecto MEFI meeting at the Drop-In Centre. Gary has found a car and Andrew and he will go tomorrow to buy it. We also have 2 missionaries who have a birthday tomorrow so we are getting together for a bar-be-que. Meetings with Beto have stopped for the moment and we will be chatting with Sandra to see if it is wise to continue meeting with her. I really pray that she will open up and be completely honest with us. There is so much work to be done, so much potential and we want to work as hard as we can. Please continue to pray for wisdom.

We have a lot of work to do this week to prepare for a 3 day assembly next week with the national church leaders. During that assembly we will present plans for Social Ministries as well as the ministry of Proyecto MEFI and a plan for how each church can get involved. The leaders will also vote for or against Andrew as their Social Ministries Director.

Who knows what will happen in a week! Keep us up-to-date with your news so we can be praying for you also.

Visit to the streets

This week the team will be going to see and pray for the street ministry on Tuesday. Pray that it will be an eye-opening and impacting time for them. Pray that they will allow God to speak to them through it in whatever way He desires to. Pray that the day will motivate them in their own walk with Him. Pray for their safety and for Andrew and the team as they lead the day.

Sandra update

Obviously this week has been taken up with the Holiday Bible Club at La Loma and we're not too up-to-date with what is happening in the ministry to street kids.

We did hear though that Sandra and the kids are back with Beto again. We don't know anything other than that. It's no surprise but we continue to appreciate your prayers as we maneuver through this fragile and difficult situation. Our God is able!

Hopefully we'll be able to update you a lot more next week. If there is anything urgent we'll post mid-week.

How the week finished off

Thank you again for praying! Really we've had such a great week. It's been hard work, we've been really tired and on Wednesday I came down with a cold. Thankfully now I am feeling much better and even the annoying tickly cough seems to be clearing up. Tomorrow we have a well earned day off!

On Wednesday and Thursday Tabitha came along and on Friday Margaret and Robin so kindly looked after her again. Both of them seem to be called 'Maw-git' to Tabitha though I think I may have heard her say "Bobbin" a couple of times! She seemed to have a great week though I am looking forward to resuming my normal responsibilities and being with her again. Here Tabitha stands outside the mouth of the 'Cave of Adullam' or otherwise the versatile baptistry!

On Saturday we had our finale. About 100 kids and 30 or so parents came along. Andrew and I ran around like headless chickens at the start as we tried to get everything set up but it seemed to come together (at the last minute) and we had a great time. One of the groups of kids here is helping lead the others in a song. There were four groups in total. Even the parents got involved and joined in the fun.
...as did the chicken and the lion, characters that appeared throughout the week. The clown made a guest appearance and is now attending the church. He gave a great a simple lesson on what it is to have a pure heart like David.
There were 3 dramas - 2 repeats from the week and 1 new mime from the Irish team. Here Jim got pulled in at the last moment to help in the drama as the kids who had done it wasn't there. It's been so useful to have Spanish speakers on the team!
And it's all for these precious, needy little souls. Some of the kids were primary aged working street kids who don't go to school, others perhaps had a little more materially but all came with a spiritual need - the need for a pure heart, like that of King David. The gospel has been clearly presented and the invitation has gone out time after time. Please continue to pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to work though the Holiday Bible Club has now finished. Many were back at church today and it seemed to be a huge crowd. We are excited and ask you to pray earnestly with us that the momentum would continue - that God would continue to bless, that the work would not be hindered by the attack of the enemy and that these precious kids would come back to the club on Saturday and not forget.
What fantastic atmosphere afterwards as all the leaders got together for more food and fellowship. That was one of the things that encouraged me most - the joy in people's hearts as they were serving Jesus. "How pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity". We are so blessed just to be a part of a team like this. Certainly the organisation was not without fault, the program was not delivered perfectly and there is a lot to learn for next time (D.V.) but our prayer is that in spite of our failings God, who is perfect and merciful, will have been glorified and will continue to speak clearly.
Today at church the N.I. team sang two songs - one in English, one in Spanish. They have been appreciated so much. It's lovely to see how relationships form despite the language barrier and how a team can benefit from concentrating on a particular task for a few days.

Behind the scenes there were lots of things going on too. There were ladies who worked so hard in the kitchens and lots of conversations that we'll know nothing about 'til eternity. I'm personally thankful for the opportunity to talk to a young lady in a crisis. We were able to talk for over an hour and though I went in with fear and trembling I believe it was a God appointment and He has moved in a significant way in her life. Continue to pray that she will draw near to Him and put Him first in her decisions and her relationships. God knows her name!

One of the girls on the team was able to really encourage a lady who is having a hard time bringing up her granddaughter of 5 years of age. The team member was able to share her testimony of how her own parents passed away and how she was brought up by her grandparents and how she found Christ. The bible says that 'all things work together for good to those who love God'. Both the team member and this dear lady have passed through difficult circumstances but though they come from different parts of the world God was able to connect their hearts today. The lady left encouraged in her labour for her little granddaughter and knowing that God can use her to influence this precious little girls for him. She herself was very antagonistic to the gospel. Her son became a Christian when he went to the US and he would phone his mum 2 or 3 times a week and read the bible to her over the phone. She never wanted to listen but then her son passed into a coma and she went to visit him. He never woke up but through the situation and through the help of Christian people there she gave her life to Christ. On her return to Mexico she looked for a church to take her family to. She has been at La Loma for just over 2 years. Her husband also attends with her and has trusted Christ as well. It is a privilege to know such people.

Holiday Bible Club

Thank you once again for your prayers. On Sunday night we got to bed later than usual and were awoken in the night by the cries of a sick little Tabitha. We think she maybe ate something during the day that upset her stomach. Thankfully it was just one episode and then she slept the rest of the night. It was also a relief that we had arranged for Margaret and Robin to look after her on Monday. She slept a lot during the day and was very quiet (not at all herself!). We are so grateful to Margaret and Robin who were also able to look after her on Tuesday so that she could get a full recovery.

On Monday and Tuesday at the Holiday Bible Club we had well over 100 kids. Praise God! Today there were just under 100 but seemingly this is a big day for enrollment in school for next year. Hopefully we'll see them again tomorrow. The church looks amazing and despite the usual hiccups on the first day the program seems to be running smoothly and the kids are enjoying it.

On arrival the kids are registered and then enjoy about 30mins of games. Then we all go upstairs for the opening part of the day. A large chicken and a lion do a fun drama which has something to do with the day's teaching. We sing together and then the group is divided into 2 for a bible lesson. After the bible lesson and a simple craft the groups are divided into age groups for workshops. So we have 8 groups - one for each year from 4 year olds to 11 year olds. There are about 10 workshops; some practical and some more teaching based but all focused on emphasizing the day's teaching point. After 5 workshops (one of which is lunch) the group join together again for memory verse revision, songs, another drama based on the day's teaching and a revision of the day's teaching. Then it's clean-up for the leaders and then home.

Here are some photos to date. All over the church there are balloons and decorations. It's very welcoming.
Upstairs the main sanctuary is decorated like the inside of the palace with larger than life characters all around. Here Tabitha gets up close to the sheep.
The kids are loving the songs that Andrew has chosen and are having a great time.
Here Jim, the leader of the N. Ireland group, is teaching some of the kids about missions in his workshop.
In another workshop one of the kids is 'painting' with a sweet mixture of eggs and sugar which hardens, can be peeled off the paper and eaten.
Gary demonstrates that he also has artistic ability!
Of course it wouldn't be possible without a huge team of helpers. This is the team of Mexicans who are helping every day and then there are 12 in the team from N. Ireland. At the end of each day there is a period of evaluation. Praise God for everyone who is working so hard.
So a lot to be thankful for and 2 days of the normal program to go. Please continue to pray that kids' lives would be touched and transformed by the teaching they are receiving. Pray for the leaders as tiredness sets in. Pray that they would come each morning with renewed energy and vision for the work. Pray for the teenagers who are helping out too. They've been doing an amazing job and some have surprised us at how competent they are. One of our best helpers is one who is the most difficult to control in our Sunday School Class! Maybe we need to figure out how he keeps order in his group to be able to apply the same discipline to him on Sundays!

On Saturday we have what is called a 'Clasura' or closing program. The parents will be invited and there will be a particular gospel emphasis. The team will be preparing a mime for that. Pray that parents would come and once again that God would really move and that people would be saved. We'll also be giving out invitation flyers for Mex-i-Kids and would appreciate prayer that the momentum so far would not be lost and that kids would be excited to come back on Saturdays.

We'll of course be back on at the weekend to give you the follow-up!

This week's big news!

This announcement is best given by Tabitha who does a great job sporting her new t-shirt (or an old one that I doctored!)!
Yes, it's true - we're expecting another baby! We had a scan this week and going by the measurements it looks like we are about 12½ weeks along. So baby is due at the beginning of February (could be close to Tabitha's 2nd birthday!) We're hoping to have the baby here in Mexico this time and then travel home soon after. We won't have the luxury of being at home on deputation for as long this next time as we had with Tabitha and we really want our families to have as much time as possible with the new baby.

Unfortunately though that makes things more complicated this end. We're so used to the NHS and really not having to think about the whole health process. Here we need to find a doctor that is reasonably priced, that we trust, and that has connections with a reasonably priced and trustworthy hospital. We also want to find a hospital as close to home as we can. We would appreciate your prayers for that. Last time we used a doctor in a local clinic but it seems that to have a baby in a hospital we have to use a doctor who is authorised to deliver in the hospital of choice for the duration of the pregnancy.

Our medical insurance from home doesn't cover routine deliveries so we want to find a good hospital that doesn't costs the earth! It could be difficult but it's in God's hands. For now, we're just searching around and trusting Him so that we can enjoy the fact that He has blessed us with a precious little life.

Please continue to pray for my health and that of the baby. So far I've been ok. From time to time I feel a little nauseous but nothing too debilitating. It's more obvious if I leave too much time between meals or get overly tired. On reading the rest of the blog you'll realise that tiredness is one of the obvious results of all the activity. Please pray that we will be able to rest well when we get the chance and that our time as a couple and a family would be of good quality.

We'll keep you posted on the progress and no doubt in future posts you'll see the little one make itself more and more obvious as the dress sizes increase!

Mex-i-Kids

This was a good week. We started with a few kids but more came until we had over 40 again. This was the last week before the Holiday Bible Club (VBS) which starts tomorrow. So hopefully now we are ready to give great follow-up to that event. Loads of flyers have been handed out, loads of preparation work has been going on and we are ready (and our adolescents that we are directing are as ready as they'll be too we think!). The team from N. Ireland have also arrived safely. Pray for them as they contiue to adjust to altitude and the time difference. Pray that they will be able to communicate God's love despite the language barrier.

Please pray too that kids would come and also for the teachers. Several have had to pull out for one reason or another and so we are depleted in number. That puts extra strain on the rest of us who will have to cover even more posts! Pray that despite the difficulties God will really be with us. We'll try and let you know mid-week how things are going.

Here we are this past Saturday at Mex-i-Kids enjoying one of the songs. The kids really love song time and it is a favourite for many.
Perhaps you can make out Tabitha sitting on Andrew's knee. She's smiling away at some of the boys who lap up the compliment!

Acapulco

Thanks for your prayers for Andrew as he went with Miguel Romero (our pastor and UNIFAM president) to Acapulco. He left before 6am on Monday morning and wasn't back until midnight on Tuesday. Praise God for safe travel and for all that was accomplished on the trip.

It was really a proper introduction for Andrew to the 3 pastors down there. It was a real eye-opener for Andrew to begin to get a handle on the needs down there. These pastors are working in difficult situations with limited resources. Our desire through Social Ministries is to be able to help in any way we can so that the churches can continue to evangelise around them.

The pastors were fairly open and Andrew is encouraged. Pray for our continued relationship with the pastors and the churches there. This is a trip that Andrew will need to make (and perhaps I will go from time to time as well) every few months.

The materials he took down were well received. Thanks once again to the kind donor.

This is the entrance to one of the Acapulco churches.

Drop-In Centre

Tabitha is only to glad to help her daddy write out the rules for the Drop-In Centre!
Thursday turned out to be another difficult day. Several kids were invited for the first day of organised activities in the Drop-In Centre...but they didn't turn up. Eventually the team went out and invited some other kids who gladly came. They spent 90mins in the showers (!) and then went through the rest of the program. There was a little conflict between Mexican team members which was also discouraging. So it was a discouraging morning but there are things to be learned.

Please continue to pray for the unity of the Proyecto MEFI team. Pray for wisdom, especially for Andrew as he confronts and works through this issue with them.

The program will be run again, taking into consideration some of the issues raised at this event. Continue to pray that the Drop-In Centre will be a place where God is glorified and kids' lives are turned around.

Thanks for you prayers

This has been quite a week of highs and lows. But that's why we have this site - so you can live the highs and lows with us and be right with us in the battle. We normally update the site on Sundays but there will be times, like this week, where urgent things come up and we will let you know as soon as we can.

On Wednesday night we went round to Sandra and Beto's house. Sandra was obviously bruised around the eyes but neither of them would admit to what had happened. Eventually they told us that Sandra had gone back to her street group, drugged up and got into a fight. Sandra agreed with the story but when Beto's eyes were off her she let us know it wasn't true. We were really getting nowhere with the chat until the boys took Beto out to talk to him alone. Then Sandra opened a little to Paty and I. She of course had been physically abused. She indicated that she wanted to leave but when we talked specifics she started to back off. We decided to wait until this week and to pray that she would be really ready to leave. Without going into too many details at this stage we feel that Sandra will not grow spiritually or emotionally while she is still with Beto.

On Friday night at the Street Kids service (cell group) we found out that Sandra has run away with the 2 kids. We're not sure where she is though we have ideas.

Please continue to pray that God will speak to her. Pray that she will remember that God loves her and so do we (we assured of that before leaving on Wednesday night). Pray that through this difficult time we will find her, that she will have the strength to be by herself for a while and that we will be able to help her work through the many problems she carries from her past. Pray for her safety and for that of her kids. Pray for Beto too. Of course, we still want to see his life turned around.

A couple of urgent prayer requests

I know I don't normally write mid-week but there are a couple of imminent things for which we would really appreciate your prayers.

I've been speaking with Paty this morning and it seems that the situation with Beto and Sandra is not good. Basically Sandra continues to abuse the kindness of people in the church and we're not sure what she is hiding about what is going on at home. We do know that Beto is taking hard drugs and has left his work again. We are going tonight to visit them both and there will be lots of straight talk. Please pray for wisdom in everything we say and pray that our words will come across in love.

We'd also appreciate prayer for the first planned activities in the Drop-In Centre tomorrow. Several kids have been invited and final preparations are happening today. It's exciting and our prayer is that God moves in the kids' lives and that He is glorified tomorrow.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We know we're in this together.