What a difference a day makes

Cousins

Well certainly a few days ago we didn't think we would soon be posting photos like these on the blog. You can tell the kids are happy with the result of their long day in planes and airports. The journey was fine. There were a few long queues to frustrate the kids but they did well. Both were overly friendly to all in the airport and won over many hearts. Tabitha was telling everyone she was going to see her grandparents and cousins. She always comes alive when she has the opportunity to talk and be understood in English. Oscar has started to say a very loud and enthusiastic 'Hiii-eeee' with a big smile to anyone he meets so he melted hearts around him too!

Thanks to so many for communicating your support of our decision. It was not an easy one to make so your notes and calls have meant a lot to us. Alex and Paty will be living in our house while we are away. When we phoned our pastor's wife she told us they were not leaving the house for anything except to buy food. They will be calling around the church members to encourage them. The MEFI team will have at least one week off work and MOPS and breakfast clubs have been cancelled for this week as well. All our neighbours that we are close to on our street have left the City to visit relatives or go to their second homes.

Please continue to pray for our friends we have left in Mexico. Pray particularly for our friends the MacKinnons who are saying final goodbyes to Mexico and friends as they return to the US for good. It is incredibly difficult under the circumstances for them. Pray for rest for our Mexican colleagues and of course for protection for their health. We will be keeping in touch and will continue to update our blog as appropriate.

Unexpected trip

In light of their ongoing research our leadership has decided that the field does not need to be evacuated yet and are allowing each individual family to make their own decision on whether they want to stay or leave.

The Agnew family has decided to book airline tickets to return to N. Ireland. We have made this decision for a number of reasons. This is a stressful position to be in for us (with bags packed and ready for an potential evacuation announcement) and our extended family and we want to respect their desire for us to be with them.

We also feel that it will be beneficial to all of us to have some time to rest in light of the illness we have been experiencing over the past few weeks. I was at the doctor this week and my blood pressure is still low and I am getting over an eye and throat infection. Andrew had more stomach trouble this week as well so hopefully a couple of weeks of rest will do us a lot of good.

There are some practical and financial affairs that we need to sort in N. Ireland and it would be a huge advantage to be able to do those things ourselves.

We are all able to travel home for less than the cost of one ticket when we returned for deputation last year as flight prices have gone down. The flights out of Mexico are booking up fast and so we were glad to get a flight for tomorrow (Tuesday) which is fully refundable. So our options are still open but for the reasons listed above we feel that we have made the right decision to be with our families for a little while.

We appreciate all the emails and support. We feel so blessed to have such a faithful group of supporters and hope that you understand and support the decision we have made.

Swine Flu

So are we affected? Well, the short answer is yes. Not directly but there is a definite air of fear all around us. People are not going out as much and the majority of those who are are wearing face masks to try and protect themselves. It is the dominant conversation topic for sure.

The Mexican President has just made an announcement banning religious meetings for tomorrow and the national committee of our churches is making a joint decision about what to do in the coming days. So we will not be at church tomorrow and potentially ministry outside the home will be very much reduced.

Thankfully we haven't heard of anyone we know personally who has been affected but of course it is important to take precautions. We appreciate your prayers of protection for our health and that of the people we know and love. We will keep you informed of significant events.

Breakthrough

La Raza was just open for 2 days this week - Monday and Friday. On Monday Andrew and Alex counselled one of the girls for salvation. When Andrew asked why she wanted to be saved she simply said. "I need help!" That seems an excellent response. Pray for her in the days ahead that she will grow in her new found faith.

On Friday the team showed the film 'Facing the Giants'. It has been shown here at various groups and there is always an open response. This time was no exception. After the film the speaker at the retreat who went to visit the ministry gave an invitation. Four kids responded. It was incredible. What a week! Praise God! There will be a very different dynamic at the Centre this week. We need to surround these kids with our prayers especially in the early days.

On Friday Andrew had a meeting with the area manager for 14 Starbucks stores. They want to donate any left over food to the ministry from all 14 stores. They also want to run a 2 week campaign collecting whatever the team feel appropriate e.g. blankets, clothes, toys etc. This too is an incredible provision and we are overwhelmed by how God is moving.

This week the team will be going out into the community around La Raza to assess the needs and invite neighbours to a talk about the ministry. This will be like a first service...or second after the drama presentation a couple of weeks ago. Please pray for a good response and for continued good relationships in the community.

So how have we been?

Well, the retreat was just great. Thank you for your prayers for the kids. They did really well. They were tired but they slept when they needed to and the difference between this year and last year was like night and day. As a result we were able to enjoy time playing with them and chatting to others. The main focus of the teaching sessions was evangelism. Our prayer is that the pastors and church workers will return to their work fired up about reaching out to the many people around them with the gospel.

On Friday Oscar's temperature went up. He seems to be through the worst of it now. We're not sure what caused it but the rash has not come back and he is off the medicine for that now. Yesterday and this morning I was out of action feeling tired and weak. Not sure what that was about either, perhaps the blood pressure again. We continue to appreciate your prayers for our health.

Happy Easter!

I always love Easter Sunday in Mexico. The service starts at 7am and all the ladies are encouraged to dress in white. The tone of the service is always very exciting and this year was no exception. We had a joined service with the Santa Monica congregation and a choir made up of members from both churches. The church was buzzing. People were still arriving 2 hours after we started (the service lasted over 3 hours!). There wasn't much room left for more seats. It was amazing. At the end of the service there were 25 baptisms (some were people converted through the house churches). God is working here and moving in families and communities. A grandmother was baptised with 2 of her grandchildren and a husband a wife were baptised. Our prayer is that some MOPS mums will be baptised at the next opportunity!

We forgot to take our camera so this shot taken with Andrew's phone just doesn't do it justice but it gives an idea.
We hope you had a great weekend remembering the sacrifice made on you behalf in order that you could know eternal life. When explaining the wonder of Easter to Tabitha and comparing it with Christmas she said, "I love baby Jesus!" We do too. Do you?

Retreat

From Tuesday to Thursday this week we will be away with the other missionaries, pastors, church planters and their families. It is a great time to be with the team and to build on friendships and learn together in sessions led by an invited speaker from the US.

We would really appreciate your prayers for the kids. Last year they were very unsettled and it was difficult for all of us. Please pray that they will travel well and sleep well when they need to for the few days.

Pray that this will be a good time for building on the unity of all our workers - national and missionary and that God will move. Pray for fresh vision and energy for the year ahead.

Special event

On Wednesday afternoon the Santa Monica youth group were down at La Raza and did an excellent set of mimes. Unfortunately there were no visitors from the neighbourhood but plenty of the street kids attended and seemed to have a great time. It was interesting to see them chatting among themselves in response to what they were seeing in the performance. No doubt there will be follow up in the days ahead. The gospel message was very clear. Please continue to pray for this seed sown, that it would grow and bear fruit. Continue to pray for the contacts with neighbours and for openness
The actors with some of the street kids.

Medical Week

It's been quite the week. We have all been at the doctor! I was first with low blood pressure which hopefully some medicine will sort out. Andrew had another of his horrendous headaches on Monday night. Yesterday he was with the doctor for his follow-up appointment after the car crash and thankfully all is well there.

On Friday Oscar developed a rash and was very grumpy. It looked very like the rash Tabitha got a couple of times when she was little. We took him to the Doctor yesterday and got some anithistamine medicine which seems to be helping a lot. We think it might be due to a flowering bush in our garden which is just finishing. While we were at the clinic Tabitha also got a couple of routine vaccinations.

Here are a couple of pictures of poor Oscar but he really looks much better already.


So now that we've got all that sorted we're ready for action again! Thanks for your continued prayers for us personally as well as for the ministry.

La Raza

There is a core of about 14 kids coming along each morning to La Raza with others coming along at times. We would appreciate your prayers for the team. Everyone is really tired because the mornings, though profitable and enjoyable, are full and exhausting. The daily plan is changing accordingly. There is a lot of pressure to open the centre as a church and soon services will start on a Thursday evening. Instead of going to the streets every afternoon the team have decided to spend the afternoons visiting neighbours in the area and build up contacts. This Wednesday the youth from the Santa Monica church will perform a play and the people in the area are invited. Please pray for that event.

The MEFI team then will probably spend one day visiting the streets. There are people from different churches who have expressed an interest in volunteering. Pray with us that they will keep their word and be able to help the team out to relieve some of the pressure they are under.

We praise God for those kids who are already showing an interest in learning from the Word. Once again we were reminded of the urgency of the task as another well-known guy from Indios Verdes was knocked down by a car and killed this week. These kids live dangerous, lost lives and time is short.

MOPS - week 2

Praise God for another good week at MOPS. Most mums came back from the first time and we had a few new ones join us. The icebreaker was really interesting as some mums said they had enjoyed the first meeting so they came back. One said she wanted her kids to grow up knowing about God, others said they themselves wanted to know about God. There are definitely more unchurched than churched mums coming along.
This week our pastor's wife, Guille, gave her testimony. She has an incredible story of God's saving power from a background of abuse and addiction from her early childhood and into her married life. During our planning meeting the girls were saying that her story is too common here in Mexico. According to them if ladies are not living with abuse then the likelihood is that someone in their family is. There were certainly a lot of tears on Thursday. A couple of older ladies came along as they are living through similar circumstances. One lady whose kids are grown but is looking after a young granddaughter told me that her husband just walked out on her a couple of weeks ago. She says she feels free after years of physical abuse and not being allowed to leave home. It is heartbreaking. After her talk we didn't have enough time for the discussion we had planned so I had a little time to fill. I have no doubt God gave me the words to say as I gave a simple gospel explanation. People here are searching and finding the answers to their questions. Next week we will have 25 baptisms in our church. Please continue to pray for our dear MOPS ladies. Pray that they will quickly build friendships with the other mums in the group, that the Holy Spirit will continue to move and many will come to know Him.
The MOPPETS seemed to have a great time again. We gave out teddies made by home-schoolers in the US. Unfortunately the battery in my camera ran out before I got a clear shot of them but they were very popular!