Hidden Dangers

Thank you for your prayer for safety this week. We travelled down to Acapulco in 3 vans with José, Andrew and me driving. The kids did really well once again with the long journey. What was obvious to me on the way back was how crazy the driving became once we got back into Mexico City. Buses and trucks just pull out in front of you without stopping fircing you to slam on the brakes. We were on the home straight when someone slammed on the brakes in front and stopped completely because they saw a place where they could turn in the road. Thankfully we were able to go around them. After leaving Karen back to her home I saw a nasty accident. Had I been 10 or 15 minutes earlier I may have been involved. We were reminded of our need to depend on God for our safety on the roads and we approciate you prayers, particularly for Andrew as he does quite a bit of driving in the city.

Yesterday Andrew popped out with Tabitha to do a message. Unfortunately the road which is normally two lanes was reduced to one lane with the traffic coming the opposite direction taking up the outside lane. There was nothing to warn him that that was the case and as he overtook a car he collided with an oncoming vehicle head on. Thankfully neither he nor Tabitha was hurt. The people in the other car were ok too despite not wearing seatbelts (as is far too common here). I went with a neighbour to pick up Tabitha and Andrew had to go with the police.

Our neighbours were phenomenal. Some went to the police station to be with Andrew and the kids and I stayed with others in their house. It certainly was a frightening learning experience. After the accident happened a bollard was quickly put out to direct the traffic into one lane. It was there by the time the police arrived so the accident looked like it was Andrew's fault. The other driver didn't have insurance either which made it more complicated again. At one point there was the possibility that both drivers would be detained for 48 hours. We praise God for our excellent insurance (and the people who organise that for us) which included the service of a fantastic lawyer. They worked fast and so Andrew was able to get out and was home just before midnight (about 7 hours after he left home). There is a little work to be done on the van and though we are frustrated by the circumstances of what happened we are grateful that everyone is ok. We are also grateful to know that we have 'family' around us in the form of our neighbours. When Andrew got out they all stood around him to support him and they have already been over a couple of times today. We got great news a couple of weeks ago that the owner of our house has decided not to raise our rent this year in order to keep us on here. Isn't God good!

Finishing well

Shovelling the cement in buckets for pouring into columns or onto the ground for the floor

In this heat it'll take no time to dry
This week's work done it's time to pray over the site. The roof still needs to go on but it still needs a bit of work done. It will be corrugated metal which still needs to be welded. In any case the first service would have taken place here on Friday night.
Andrew with some of his new friends.
Besides all the hard work in the dry heat this team did an amazing job at forming relationships. Language doesn't need to be a huge barrier and the tears on both sides when it was time to say goodbye were evidence that there was a lot more than construction going on this week.
Thank you guys for sacrificing so much to come down here and work so hard. Your efforts will be eternally rewarded and we are praying with you that many will come to know Christ on that little patch of cement way up in the mountain ridge.

Acapulco

So what is Acapulco like? Well obviously we are outsiders but let me give you some of our impressions. Acapulco is a large city of about 1 million inhabitants. It is divided by a mountain range. On one side is the famous bay, a popular tourist resort particularly for foreigners in the 50s and 60s. It is still a popular choice for visitor from Mexico City as one of the closest beaches with a good connecting road (about a 5 hour drive).

This is the bay...
Behind the bay it is hot and dusty. The poverty is obvious. Just as in Mexico City many people leave the country and move to the city in the hope that they can find employment. The beaches are full of people selling all sorts of things from jewellery to bags to donuts,ice cream, tacos, sweets, buckets, hats etc. There are people to braid your hair, give you a massage or a tattoo and others out in the bay fishing or hiring out sports equipment. It's a busy place! Many probably return to tiny homes behind the mountain. While we were there a nearby water pipe burst. People in the city were out of water but we as 'tourists' weren't affected. The pastor's son explained to us that at times the people who live in Acapulco can be out of water for 2 or 3 months but the hotels aren't affected.
We stayed on the bay side in a basic but comfortable hotel. I picked out these two houses on the hill in front to show the contrast in close proximity.

There are three established UNIFAM churches in Acapulco. One is on the bay side and two are behind the mountain. As far as we can gather it is a tough place to work. The need is obvious and we are so glad to have been able to help in some small part with the work this week. We have been down a few times and it's amazing now that people recognise us. We had many opportunities this time to talk with people who seemed open and interested (perhaps as foreigners who they could communicate with and who were working rather than on holiday).

We will hopefully be back that way late July to help with the youth camp. The cost for the kids from Acapulco is 800 pesos (£40/$55) but most of them won't be able to afford that. We are hoping that we might be able to sponsor some to go. There is a family up the mountain where the team were working that has 10 children but can't afford to get them through school. We would love to be able to help the teenagers, who are great guys, to get to the camp.

Please pray for Acapulco. Pray for the pastors and for the churches as they work tirelessly in this difficult city. Pray for the Mex-i-Kids club there and for the various evangelistic efforts. We were able to take down several boxes of gospel portions and tracts and pray that they will be used to bring people to him.

Work in progress

It used to be that you took a certain number of 'spools' on holiday with you, sent them off when you got back and waited a month to see which pictures came out and which didn't. How things have changed! Here's a mid-week report for those who are desperate to see what their loved ones deserted them for the week to do! Welcome to those who are logging into the Agnew blog for the first time...

Day 1
What lies ahead?
Well, this project of course is all about people. This is the couple who have opened their home for a church service to take place.
They have outgrown the space but this land beside their house is great for putting down a cement floor, pillars and a roof to shelter fro the beating sun and rain in the storm season. So the work begins...
Day 2
What would you have us do oh mighty leader?
In this photo you can see the home with the construction being done in he foreground. The church service to this point has been conducted in the area where the blue tarpaulin is. Obviously to small for 25 to 30 people and a growing congregation.
The valley below where another house church has been started.
Watching the Mexicans at work...
The team's turn
Spectators!
All hands on deck
It's not quite the beach but we do have sand!
the machines get to work...
And the floor starts to go down.
Those of you who know Andrew well will appreciate this shot.
A pastor wears many hats! Hopefully this one will be preaching on this new floor later in the week!

A video of the activity. Come back at the weekend for more footage...

Teamwork

We're back in Acapulco! This time it's not really a holiday. Andrew has spent a lot of time recently getting ready for the arrival of a team of 12 from Indiana. They are here to build a structure for a house church that has outgrown the size of the house! It is supervised by the pastor of this church which we attended in the city this morning.

Our prayer is that the team will be able to finish the job and that the church will be able to meet there for the first time this Friday night. The church is high in the mountains. Using loud speaker equipment hey projected the sound of their church out over the valley. Some people there heard the music and decided to go and check it out. They liked what they heard but they couldn't walk straight up the mountain to get to the 'church', they had to take a long route around. So a new house church was started for the people in the valley. Isn't that incredible? What about attaching loud speakers to the roofs of all our churches?! In the church at the top of the mountain where the team are working there are about 25-30 people on average and at times up to 50. The team are working alongside Mexicans from the area and have already been developing relationships with the people. Please pray with us that the work will be completed, that the relationships developed will bear eternal fruit and that the building will be finished this week for God's glory.

I have the job of hostess this week - shopping and cooking for the team. We brought one of the young girls from La Loma to help with the kids. We've never had them away from home and out of routine for a whole week before. We'd appreciate prayers that they would stay healthy and get the rest they need (though it may not be at the usual times!). Hopefully for next week we'll have the before and after pictures of the work being done.

MOPS has begun!

On Thursday we had the first meeting of the second MOPS group in Mexico. Thank you once again for you prayers. It was a slow start on the day but that's fairly normal here and by the time we got going we had 18 mums I think, including the leadership team and a couple of visitors from the other MOPS group. Many of the girls are new to the church or do not attend so we've had a great start. The tone was upbeat and Alicia who spoke was great. She talked about the blessing it is to be a mum and also about the blessing MOPS has been to her over the 3 years she has attended her group. We really hope that those who attended will go out and tell their friends to come along with them.
The kids seemed to have a good time too. This is a new experience for the leader and she's already talking about things she needs to be thinking about. We want the kids to have the best time possible and there will be lots to modify and improve as we get to know the kids and what they enjoy doing. As you can see it's a big challenge with a big age range represented. I'm not sure why the older kids weren't at school... It's likely that they go in the afternoon as some of the schools here have a morning shift and an afternoon shift.
Not altogether surprisingly a few of the team had had a tough week this week and a few tears were shed as we met together before the mums arrived. It was good to take some time to pray together and to focus on the reason we were together and to encourage one another. It is a privilege for me to be a part of this team and each of these girls is excited and committed to the role they have on the team. They have gone above and beyond what I expected and I am excited to see how God will bless the effort and prayers they are putting in. Please keep praying with us as we reach out to needy mums.

MOPS

This is the week! On Thursday morning we have our first MOPS meeting. We are praying for lots of interest and mums coming along. We so want to reach this needy group with the gospel and impact the community. Here is the team filling boxes with a few craft items. We hope to have a box for each family and then there will be a prize for the mum and child(ren) who produce the best creation at the second meeting.
Helena from England is visiting us as part of her gap year between school and university and will be helping with the kids' program during MOPS. My kids will be glad about that and I'm sure many others will be too. Here she is with the leaders kids last week.

La Raza

Praise God for the kids who went along to La Raza. Thursday and Friday the MEFI team have different activities including planning for the church that is going to be there. It had been decided that the street kids would only attend Monday to Wednesday but in light of what has been happening and the response of the kids it seems better to have more contact with them. Thursday there will probably be some sort of a church event which the kids will be able to attend and in a few weeks the team feel like they should open the Centre for a bit on Fridays as well.

It is interesting that kids who have had contact with the Centre or with the MEFI team will turn up when they are in trouble or things aren't going too well. This week Gerardo showed up with various family problems. He was couselled and will be attending the Drop-In Centre. Please pray that he will follow the advice given and will really commit to living the life God wants him to live. We are glad that these kids know where to turn when they are in trouble and pray that they will seek after God in the better times also.

Party update

We had a fun time with our neighbours. Three families showed up. There is nothing earth shattering to report but Andrew did a great job of intertwining the gospel with the story of St. Patrick and there was some interested discussion afterwards.

It was another little seed sown and we hope it will encourage many conversations in the future. Thank you for you prayers.

La Raza update

Thank you for your prayers this week. It has been encouraging so far. Six kids turned up the first day. They have turned out to be quite a good group of kids, a little older than usual. On Tuesday two new kids came along. Yesterday 19 kids showed up! 4 left during the day leaving 15 which is the maximum number that can be adequately be taken care of by the team. A few more also turned up after the doors were closed but had to be turned away. With this number we will need to divide the kids into groups to do different activities simultaneously. It's highly possible that not all these kids will keep going along. Our prayer is that the ones who do have the determination to stay and leadership qualities to reach their groups will keep coming along until the less determined do leave.

Here are some of the kids enjoying something to eat.
The program is quite relaxed this week while the team build up trust with the kids. Thanks to a gift from England we were able to buy this very sturdy (kid proof!) table football game. It was an incentive for the kids to return on Tuesday and was a real hit. The little girl is Alex and Paty's granddaughter.

We need a miracle!

This is a very urgent prayer request.

Please pray for the son of two of our church members. The day before his 16th birthday he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was mistakenly arrested and has now been in prison for 2 weeks. His conditions are terrible and today a ruling was made that means he will be kept in prison for at least another 6 weeks. Although there are many inaccuracies in the accusation made against him he is up against corruption.

We know of no higher authority than our God and so we want to make an earnest plea that you would remember this kid and his family. Please pray for his safety and for a quick release contrary to normal procedure. From our experience with street kids in similar situations this could take a very long time. He is a great kid and so we need to pray for a miracle for God's glory. Please stop now to pray and then ask your friends and prayer groups to pray.

All in Green

This Saturday we are inviting our neighbours in with the excuse of it being close to St. Patrick's Day. We have had increasing contact with our neighbours recently and another party is always welcome! Please pray as we hope to take time to have give a little cultural presentation and incorporate the gospel as well. We'd appreciate prayer for openess and good conversation.

MOPS publicity

This week we have our last MOPS planning meeting as it starts the following week (19th March). There is a lot to get ready so we have a longer than usual meeting planned.

I gave an announcement in church this morning and we have had some offers of help which is encouraging. The publicity should go out this week so please be praying that many will respond and that this needy group will be reached with the gospel.

A New Chapter

This is a big week. The invitations have gone out. Some kids came back to the Centre this week to check it out and tomorrow morning (Monday) the doors are wide open once again for the kids. We are not sure who will turn up. Perhaps no one will and then the team will go out and find kids and bring them back. It's not that they won't want to go necessarily but they may be afraid to trust us. In some ways it's a little like the story of the great banquet. The personal invitations went out first and when they were rejected the servant was asked to go into the highways and lanes with an open invitation!

Well, we're hoping that the personal invitations will be accepted and that tomorrow morning will be an exciting day and a new start for many of these amazing kids. Please continue to pray firstly that the kids will turn up and then that they will quickly trust the team and that as relationships develop so will the most important - that with Christ. Perhaps I'll be able to post agai mid-week to let you know how it is going and post photos.

Interviews

Please pray this week for the MEFI team as they continue interviewing kids on the streets. As well as assessing the needs as the kids see them they are hoping to identify key contacts for inviting to the centre in La Raza in the mornings. This work has been in progress and this is possibly the final week of interviews.

Happy Birthday Project Mexico!

It was such a privilege for us to have Gloria Parke here in our home and visiting the work. Gloria has been supporting Fidel and the work of the street kids since long before we ever knew him. In her hometown of Bushmills, N. Ireland she started selling unused items along with a couple of friends and sending the money to support Fidel and his ministry.
Back in 2006 Gloria and a team of people from Coleraine opened a little shop in the town. The response was amazing as people delivered things they were no longer using and they were sold. The profits were sent to support the work of the Drop-In Centre.

Sadly the shop had to be closed as the building was demolished but God is faithful and another team was established a few months later in a new location. We found this photo and it is a year since the new shop was opened to the public. God knows what we need and while this is a faith ministry the profits have increased and are now supporting not only the street kids' ministry but also the training and equipping of national workers.
Happy Birthday Project Mexico! While Gloria was here she was always quick to point out that she was just the face of a faithful and dedicated team of workers. We want to thank each person who sacrifices time and energy working in the shop, those who donate furniture, clothes, ornaments etc. and those who (knowingly or not) have made purchases which have supported the ministry here.

Acapulco

Our time away was a welcome break. Unfortunately Tabitha took sick and eventually we decided it would be wise to call a doctor. She had some sort of a throat infection/tonsillitis which was producing a high fever, a little vomiting and she slept practically all day Wednesday. We got her some medicine and thankfully she was quickly feeling a lot better. Going into the pool is Tabitha's most favourite thing in the world and there was not much chance of stopping her going in when the medicine began to take effect!
There are many reasons we like to go to Acapulco - it's fairly close and not too expensive, we know the road and where to stop for the kids' sake, we know our way around, it's guaranteed good weather... We also love to meet up with people we know in the churches there. This time we had an extra special reason to go - the Mex-i-Kids Club has opened in Colosso, the 2nd largest housing estate in Latin America supposedly.

This is the pastor and his son with Andrew. the sign reads 'Welcome to the Club'

My primary school back in N. Ireland (where our nieces now attend) had collected money together and we felt we should offer it to Colosso to help with set-up costs. Here is what the team were able to buy with the money they received. It was our privilege to be there to deliver the gift in person and to see the joy on the faces of the team. This equipment will be well used. We pray that many kids in the huge and needy area will find in this church a place where they are welcome and where they will meet the One who loves them more than anyone else.Yesterday Andrew took Dad to the Mex-i-Kids Club in La Loma. Kids in the church in Coleraine had written letters to the kids here in Mexico. They were eager to have their short notes translated. The kids in N. Ireland have collected thousands of pounds over the years to help with the weekly running of the breakfast clubs. Their faithful weekly giving which allows the breakfast club to continue may result in a child and/or their family coming to know Christ as Saviour. They may never personally meet the kids here in Mexico but perhaps one day they will meet up in heaven where language won't be a barrier.

Here are the kids with their notes. They were also delighted to receive Dairy Milk bars which we would gladly have kept for ourselves but passed on dutifully as instructed!

A busy time

Apologies for the meager blog offering last week. The busy week didn't finish with the opening of La Raza - the next day we had a birthday party for Tabitha and Oscar, on Sunday we went to church where Dad preached and I translated and then we went to the pyramids and on Monday we headed out of the city for a few days after taking Gloria to the airport.


Though busy the last couple of weeks have been such an incredible blessing. There was some tension at La Raza almost until the moment the service started. The floor stain wasn't dry enough on Thursday to put down the top was layer so it had to be done on Friday, the day of the opening. The amazing team were on the job at 6am and had it ready in time. Andrew was overwhelmed when he went down at the normal time on Friday morning and saw what a beautiful job had been done. Once again a huge thank you to the H2O churches in Ardmore and Aida who have put in so much time and effort and have been such an encouragement to us here in the work. As people came from near and far we were once again reminded of the part we play in a large team. Many people have used their God-given gifts and experience in La Raza and we are so grateful it would be impossible to express it in words.