Are the weeks getting shorter?

This has flown by. On Tuesday Andrew and I were both feeling off. I know, never ending story. I think I was served a cup of tea made with tap water (!) and Andrew was suffering for having cleaned the guys toilets at La Raza... Anyway, we're both feeling better again. It only took me a day or so which is good as we had MOPS on Thursday.

As it turns out there were only 3 people besides the leadership team so we decided to postpone my talk until we restart in September. It seems that the school holidays have a profound effect on attendance and so we are responding accordingly. Over the next month we will be working on converting a disused area of the church into a play area for the little kids at church. It will be useful for MOPS principally but also for Mex-i-Kids and Sunday School. Thanks to a generous gift from the UK we should be able to totally transform this space.
The church has agreed to do the building work ie. raise the walls, put down a floor and some sort of roof and we will be able to do the rest. As you can see there are three classrooms that have doors leading to the play area. Our prayer is that it will serve to help the teachers and enhance the kids' experience of church. When the kids are happy their mums will be more eager to attend and I think this will be a big attraction. Diana who directs the work with the kids at MOPS does a great job with limited resources. She is so committed to making sure these kids are hearing the gospel and having a great time. Please pray that there would be more in the church able and willing to help her. Sometimes it's only her and one or two others and up to 30 young kids!

It was an interesting week at La Raza as well. On Tuesday Paty suddenly had a terrible headache as she walked in to do her session with the street kids. She asked if they had been making a pact with Saint Death. One of the boys ran out of the room and was sick, the others were crying as Paty in no uncertain terms told them that God was not to be messed with. We were reminded once again that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood and that we need to be on our knees completely depending on God's power. Please pray for the MEFI team, for their protection, health and stamina in this frontline and difficult ministry.

There were very few out at the service on Thursday evening as well. Sadly the Haitian group didn't show up though they had stopped by the centre earlier in the week.

On Wednesday we will be heading down to Acapulco for the youth camp. We appreciate your prayers as we finish preparing for the workshops we will be giving. Then we would love you to pray for a safe journey and for the kids as they travel and adjust to a different (no) routine and place. We probably won't have access to internet until we get back so there will be no posts next week.

Scaffolding

As many of you will know Mexico has played a hugely significant part in our lives for a long time now. I think it was before we were engaged that we were first asked by our local church, Carrubbers Christian Centre in Edinburgh, to consider leading a team to work alongside Fidel with the street kids for a month back in 2001. It was during that visit that we felt called to return for a season to continue working with the street kid ministry. Three years later we were back in Mexico under the care and supervision of OMS International. For just over a year our main focus was the work God had called us back to - the newly named Proyecto MEFI. It was during that time that Alex and Paty were added to the team.

After a further year in N. Ireland where Tabitha was born, we were back in Mexico City having felt that God had more work for us to do in the ministry.

We have learned the analogy that missionaries should be like scaffolding - they support the national structure until it is ready to support itself. What we really wanted to see was a Mexican team: called, gifted and prepared to lead the ministry forward. Since the beginning of this year Andrew has felt that the 'building' might soon be ready to stand alone.

In Fidel, Juana, Alex and Paty we have some gifted, passionate and faithful workers. Over and over again we have been amazed as we have seen the selfless way they have loved the kids and the ministry and have seen kids come to know Christ and leave the streets as a result. They are based out of a fabulous, remodelled centre which is beginning to serve as a local church and have vision for the future of the ministry.

The ministry is by no means complete. Future plans could include a drug rehab facility, live-in accommodation, micro-enterprise development, more drop-in centres etc. etc. What is important is that though the work is still relatively small it is now ready to be lead by the current team. As the national church becomes more aware of the ministry and gets increasingly behind it financially and with personnel it may be able to grow in some of these areas. Currently the team is supervised by our pastor and national church president, Miguel Romero who visits the team weekly. We are happy that he is a wise and Godly person to have helping and encouraging the team.

So what about us, the scaffolding? Well Mexico is a big country with many needs. Since the start of the year Andrew has been asked to consider different ministry possibilities on the field. With prayerful consideration he hasn't felt that was the way God was leading him. When we went home a few weeks ago it was a good chance for us to have some time apart to pray and consider some more. There is no doubt that God has been closing and opening doors in an obvious way. We clearly feel that the door has been opened on the other side of the Atlantic, back in Scotland. We are excited about the opportunity of full-time ministry in what in many ways is a similar ministry just outside of Edinburgh.

Of course, this was not an easy decision to make. There are times when the ministry is difficult and we would gladly jump on the first airplane home. But when that reality begins to sink in we realise that there are so many things we have grown to love here in Mexico, not least it's people. Over the next few months I imagine that we may process some of those thoughts here on the blog.

So what is the timescale? Well, for the moment Andrew is still a necessary part of the MEFI team, particularly to help with effective communication between the members. He thinks the team will be ready to move forward themselves by autumn time and so we are looking at a return date before the end of the year.

You may have questions and we are more than happy to try and answer those if you write to us. We are so grateful for our experience here in Mexico and for how God has blessed us, led us and taught us so much. We are delighted to be able to continue to serve Him and as always our deepest desire is to see His name alone glorified and His kingdom extended all over the world.

He's free!

Here he is - the guy we've been praying for for months! Yesterday we went to a special thanksgiving/birthday celebration. You may remember that he turned 16 the day after he was imprisoned. It seems that he was beside a fight between two school groups. When the police turned up the guilty kids ran away and the innocent were punished.

Leroy gave a great message of encouragement to the family. Here he is reading a letter from one of our supporting churches who have been praying a lot for the family. It was so encouraging for the family to hear of their prayers. They seem to be good but I imagine events like this are quite overwhelming for them. It seems he won't be behind with school work. He will have some catching up to do but he will be able to do that while continuing on in the next level when school re-starts.

Thank you for your prayers and praise God for this wonderful positive answer.

VBS

What a week! We were hoping and praying for 150 kids and that is how many we had almost every day. We thought you might appreciate this scene that might not be out of place in N. Ireland but that you may not expect in one of the world's largest cities!

At the start and finish all of the kids were together. Apart from that they were separated for various activites. The theme was "Follow me!" and talked about various people who decided to follow Jesus.
This is a missions class where the kids are colouring flags from different countries.
This is the craft class. I was impressed that boys of this age were interested in doing this craft!
Food was a key part of each day. The team of helpers in the kitchen was fantastic. Aside from a lot of cooking there was a mountain of dishes to be washed. Juana was involved in the kitchen all week.
Andrew ran a music workshop where he taught the kids 5 new songs. He picked the music, invented the actions with the help of a couple of the girls from the church and wrote out all the words on huge lengths of material. It was an exhausting job dancing and singing all day but definitely worth it.

Our kids weren't able to go every day so on the days I was there I was able to do some observing when I wasn't getting involved. It was obvious that the kids were loving the songs. They were singing amazing words but the style was appropriate and attractive. I also noticed this year that there were a lot more older kids. We think it is SO important to find music that the older kids will enjoy. If they are excited and involved then the younger kids will join in too. These kids are going away with lines like, 'teach me to love You more and more' and 'Your love is great' and 'God made me the way I am and He loves me that way' among others. Some of these kids may never have known that or experienced much love at home.
Here's a short video of some of the songs. You may spot Tabitha in the first part. She's been singing away at the songs in Spanish and loves doing the actions as well. I was also so impressed to see so many kids in the large group doing the actions.

On Saturday about 50 parents and grandparents came along to see the kids and heard the gospel presented. Please pray for the follow-up of these kids and their families. We're not sure how many kids trusted Christ but lives were definitely touched and some of the kids were out this morning. The church is hoping to organise visitation and Mex-i-Kids will be starting up again when school re-commences.

A few of the kids were asking me about people who had come out on teams. If you helped at a VBS in La Loma then know that these kids are still remembering you and asking for you. Teams have such a valuable role to play here. We LOVE teams!!

Many mums took invitations to MOPS which is this Thursday. We're hoping to have some new mums along as a result. Remember to pray for me as I finish my preparation and speak this week.

We appreciate your prayers also as we prepare for giving 3 workshops at the youth camp in a couple of weeks.

Aside from the VBS

Thursday was a long day for Andrew. He went straight from the VBS to La Raza to get ready for the service in the evening. It was an interesting night with a couple of new people. One of the great things that is happening is that people are talking a lot after the service and about things that really matter.

Andrew was on door duty inviting people on the street to go in. He saw some young people (early 20s) who seemed to have darker skin than most here. When he began to talk with them he realised they weren't from here. They turned out to be Haitian. One is a Christian who is looking for a church and the others aren't Christians yet. It's exciting as Colleen who works with us here on the field has also served in Haiti and the Christian girl had heard of OMS International. We're hoping Colleen will be able to go along on Thursday to meet these folk who really want to meet her. It will be nice for them to have someone they can talk with in their own language as they are still learning Spanish.

Isn't it a small world?!

We're praying that the church in La Raza may become a home for the girl who is a Christian and that it may prove to be the place where the guys find Christ.

Health-wise Oscar and Tabitha seem to be doing better. Tabitha has been enjoying playing with the next-door neighbours just about every day and seems to have much more energy. One day Oscar had 4 nappy/diaper changes before 9am so there is still some improvement needed there but hopefully having more of a routine this week and being around home more we will be able to control his diet better and the report will be better too!

A double appointment

This week we decided to make appointments with the doctor for both kids. Tabitha wasn't eating well and seemed quite lethargic and it also seemed like a good opportunity to have Oscar checked out as he has had diarrhoea for what seems like forever!

The outcome is that both kids were put on anti-parasitic medicine, Tabitha on a multi-vitamin and Oscar on another medicine to restore his intestinal flora. Both seem to be doing much better already. Perhaps it was all associated with that dirty tank we mentioned a few weeks ago.

VBS and MEFI news

Tomorrow (Monday) is the first day of summer holidays for kids across the city. It is also the first day of the Holiday Bible Club (VBS) at La Loma. The team are hoping for 150 kids. As usual there has been an incredible amount of time spent in making decorations for all of the rooms. Usually we have a team from the UK to help but this year there are no teams so it's a church effort. It always makes us laugh when during the announcements a list of ingredients is read out and people are asked to offer to take them in. We were chosen to take in 6 kilos of chicken breasts (thankfully they're a lot cheaper here than at home).

Please pray that many new contacts will be made with people in the community and that the holiday club will make a huge impact. Pray that God will use the people volunteering their time for His glory and that they will have the stamina and health need to see the week through.

Fidel and Juana will be helping at La Loma though Fidel may do some street work as well. Alex and Paty will be helping with the club at their church (Viveros which was in Santa Monica). On Monday though Paty will help at La Loma and Alex will be taking the guys from La Raza to a soccer tournament. The centre won't be open as usual for the week of course but continue to pray for the kids during the week.

One of the guys called Jonny indicated that he was ready to leave the streets on Friday. He went through his interview but there were complications with getting him to the rehab centre. Unfortunately he had to go back to the streets. We are hoping that he will have been able to get there yesterday but we're not sure what happened. This is a problem that we will have to resolve as it may not be the only time it could occur. Pray for Jonny as he begins the difficult process of leaving the streets and that he will first and foremost find true freedom in Christ.

PS We just heard that Jonny made it to rehab and is settling in.

Great News!!!!!

We are beyond delighted to tell you that the boy we mentioned last week from the church is out of prison!! It was around 1am on Friday morning and an hour later our missionary friends you may know from our other blog as Tio Leroy and Tia Kay were able to go a meet them for tacos.

We are so happy that he is home. He is officially on parole so he will have to go to the prison every week to sign. We're not sure what the days ahead will hold for the family. There are people well qualified within the church movement to be able to offer counselling etc. As God places it on your heart I know that this boy and his family will continue to appreciate your prayers as they readjust and process all that has happened. We pray that though it may be difficult to understand, this situation will somehow be used for God's glory.

Thank you again for your prayers.

Pray hard

Back in March we asked for urgent prayer for a young guy from one of the UNIFAM churches who was mistakenly put in prison. This case has gone on and on and unfortunately we aren't yet seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

Just this week he had a hearing where he wasn't released. He will be sentenced but he may be allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence outside. That decision is in the hands of the police who put him in!

Please pray now for this 16-year old boy. He has suffered in prison but he admits that God has taught him and his family a lot and he even said he was glad for that. Put a note in your diary to remind you to pray for a miracle on Wednesday.

This week in view

I was so encouraged this week at MOPS. We had new mums but what was most wonderful was that some had been invited by others who are obviously enjoying the ministry. The schedule is a little crazy at the moment and so we now have 3 weeks before the next meeting. That's the one I am speaking at so I am busily reading and preparing for that when I have time and energy!

We are also involved in the speaking schedule at the youth camp for the national churches at the end of this month. The up side is that it is a little further along the coast from Acapulco. The down side is that we really aren't sure what is expected of us yet. Hopefully we'll get that sorted soon and then we'll be focused on preparation for that as well. We appreciate your prayers for us in that but also for the youth who will go along. Camp is always a time when amazing things can happen and that is exactly what we want to see for God's glory. There are other people speaking as well so it's exciting to be part of a team.

La Raza had more new people to their service on Thursday night. Others came back again too. Pray for us as we visit during the week and give out literature on the street. This week starts the implementation of praying over and selecting a few of the kids who already come to the day program for extra discipleship and trying to involve them more in the life of the church during the week. "Man looks at the outward appearance but the LORD looks at the heart."

Inspiration

Recently I have been encouraged, challenged and inspired and wanted to share some of the resources with you.

I came across the name Travis Cottrell in a Beth Moore study we missionary ladies have been doing together. I looked him up on itunes and ended up buying one of his albums. It was an utterly fabulous investment. The words are mind blowing and so challenging. Here's an example and perhaps, like me, you'll be downloading and enjoying the blessing of this ministry.

I am a stranger in this place
This world is not my home
I want more than it can give
I am a desert needing rain
I'm thirsty for your voice
The very reason that I live

You are the Word, my one desire
An all consuming living fire
The very breath that I am longing for
My heart is desperate for Your ways
Refine me in Your holy blaze
If that is what it takes to know you more
You are the truth that sets me free
Your word is life to me

Then this week I learned through a fantastic blog I check in on from time to time about a lady who gives her testimony in front of a large audience of ladies knowing that she is weeks away from meeting her Lord. It is just full of deeply profound thoughts from an incredible woman who believes the 4 most important things in the world are 1. To know God, 2. To know yourself, 3. To know the gospel and 4. To know your purpose. I highly recommend that you take one little hour out of the 168 hours you have this week to let your heart be stirred and reminded of your priorities in life as you too seek to grow more like Him.