Alcohólicos Anónimos

Guess what that means?

Alcoholics Anonymous. Social Ministries has been helping to fund a group in the north of the city. Today it was such a blessing to attend a special service in the Coacalco church for the group we have been supporting and the parent group. Members of the church and the pastor regularly visit both groups where they have been invited to to bible studies and devotionals.

Pastor Mario from Acapulco travelled through the night to be the visiting speaker. It was an amazing service but especially at the end when many responded to the gospel invitation. It was quite noisy between the music, the tears, the prayers of the pastor and the church members who prayed over those who had gone forward. Without doubt God was there and the atmosphere was electric.

We were called up and thanked but really we were once again just the faces of a much larger team of people who support Social Ministries and made financial giving possible. Thank you for your giving and praying which is being used to change lives and families here in Mexico.

General Assembly

Three long days of giving reports on the years work in each of the churches and ministries, discussing dates of events for the year and finally voting for new members of the committees led to a very satisfying general assembly. Praise God for a calm and unified time with some excellent teaching on 'Walking together' in the year ahead. Such a desire to be united as the denomination reaches out to Mexico.
Andrew got the chance to give out DVDs made by Carol's Aunt and Uncle, Irene and John Barfoot of Emmanuel Studios who make these resources for children. Each church received copies of the teaching in Spanish to use in their mother churches, daughter churches and house churches. Everyone was excited to learn about how they could use them in their ministries. Pray that these would be used to teach kids in Mexico about the love of our Lord Jesus. Thank-you Irene and John once again for your ministry. How wonderful that we were able to make your hard work available to the UNIFAM churches here.

La Raza update

An up and down week for MEFI work. Some older faces came back from over a year ago who had left the streets but 1 was banned after not respecting the rules. Always sad but necessary when it happens. On a more positive note we have had some very positive responses from those who want to continue on with discipleship next week. Andrew has the lists of kids to go through and get some statistics. Sorry we don't have them for this week.

At the church service we had 21 people including the team itself. What a joy to have 4 parents of kids from the bible club, 5 kids themselves that Paty and Andrew looked after and another new person invited by a regular. The team are very encouraged and are planning for the next 'year'. They are more determined than ever that "The ministry has a church and the church has a ministry". What they mean by that is they can more than ever have a place for street kids to go to that will welcome them and love them and provide the family of God for them that they need. Apart from that they can involve more and more from the church in the ministry as it grows. The team sees the two works going hand in hand. Also it helps the team to use the church services as another point of contact with the kids during the week. There will be two days with the kids this week as the team will have to attend the UNIFAM national assembly on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

General Assembly

This week all the church leaders get together for their annual meetings. Various decisions will be made but probably one of the most important items on the agenda is the re-election of the national board. Even the president will have to be re-elected.

Andrew will be at those meetings along with a few of the other missionaries.

If God burdens your heart then we would appreciate prayer for unity and vision as many decisions and plans are made. Also that God's will would be clearly seen and followed and that as a result our churches would continue to grow in number and depth as people find Christ and grow in Him.

Transition

What a week!! In order to prevent last minute craziness and at our neighbours' request we have been sorting out things that we don't need. The first stage of the process is to figure out what we can take. That is not a pleasant experience. We put what we would love to take home into our bedroom and began to pack cases. It quickly became obvious that sacrifices would have to be made. Our baggage allowance is 7 cases and some friends (you may remember Gary who worked with MEFI) who are visiting confirmed that they could take another bag for us.

It may sound like a lot but it's surprising how little fits in a suitcase, especially when you have a lot of books to transport. In the middle of all the turmoil I was speaking with my parents who were wondering if it would be helpful to have mum meet us at Newark airport. Well now that was attractive. Lifting 7 bags from one belt and placing them onto another and then crossing the airport with 3 pieces of hand luggage, a car seat, a stroller and 2 small kids isn't something we were relishing.

Then on Tuesday our missionary friends Leroy and Kay mentioned that they were planning to travel up to Newark the day before. Well, to end this long story it now happens that Leroy and Kay will be travelling with us and my brother will meet us at Newark airport. We are so overwhelmed at people's generosity and how God has worked it all out so amazingly. Not only do we get some extra luggage allowance as a result but we also have travelling companions which is going to be a lot more fun. God once again has shown us how He loves to bless us and has taught us not to be concerned, He knows what we need.

By the end of the week Oscar was also moved into our bedroom and his bedroom has been converted into a second hand shop. As well as getting rid of stuff to people who will be able to use it, it has been lovely to be able to spend some more time with friends and neighbours. We've had a busy house for a few days!

We probably have one more month here in our house before we move up to the seminary for the last few weeks when we hope to be able to have plenty of time to adequately say goodbye to our friends here. Transition is never easy and I expect we shall get tired of it all pretty soon. We appreciate your prayers particularly for the kids who aren't completely aware of what is going on. The move is still a long way away for them but the changes are already very obvious.

Street Kids ministry update

The team are coming to the end of the first 6 months of ministry since re-opening the doors. They have had many kids through the door, some have stayed and some have just 'checked us out' so to speak. They had some kids outside smoking drugs a couple of weeks ago who were regulars and since Fidel and Andrew stood at the window and watched them, they had to lay down the law and ban them for a week. Some have not come back. Those who came at the beginning are in their last week now. We have been very clear with them that if we don't see them trying their best to listen in the teaching times under Fidel, nor obeying the rules of the program then their time runs out and they have a 6 month break until another wave have passed through.

This week the team would ask you to pray with them as they go to different groups to invite kids in for a new wave. There has been some fruit from the first wave. Andrew will try to get numbers for the blog next week, those who have come, how many off the streets and decisions for salvation. Till then, pray this week for those who are and will be discipled. The team is very aware of your prayers and teamwork in the ministry.

Kids @ La Raza

Thanks for your prayers this week. We really didn't know what to expect on Wednesday. There is probably a great deal of uncertainty if not suspicion in the community about what the building in La Raza is there for. That would make it difficult for parents to leave there kids at a club they know nothing about.

The club started with 9 kids from the community and 3 related to the team members. They had a fantastic time and didn't want to leave. On Thursday there were 14 kids from the community and on Friday there were 19. By the end of the week several mums also stayed around and had a great time chatting. Of course they wanted the team do to more for the kids and were delighted with the program.

So praise God for a new challenge - how to introduce kids' work. What we are thinking is that this week we will try and get decent stairs up to the roof (which is flat), put a fence up for safety and a couple of tarpaulins and the kids can have a meeting up there during the Thursday night service while their parents meet below. Pray with us that this will be well received and will encourage more people to come on Thursday evenings. We praise God too for the obvious increase in trust as the numbers increased each day. This week the team will be visiting the kids and their families to give them another craft that they made. Pray with us that it opens doors.

Below are some photos of the club.




The team still worked with street kids at the beginning of the week and had the regular service on Thursday evening. It was good to have 4 of the Haitian guys come along. They really enjoyed the music especially. We continue to hope to build bridges with that group and to see them come to know Christ. So there were 15, including Fidel, Alex, Juanita and Paty there on Thursday night. Some asking about a Sunday morning service. Please pray that God will give the team a clear vision for how they move forward in that. As a team, we will be working on guidance for what God wants us to do in the next year, starting in September, and setting it down in a plan to give to UNIFAM and OMS.

Unknown territory

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we will be running a Holiday Bible Club (VBS) at La Raza. We really have no idea what will happen but we appreciate your prayers for the team as they finish preparation and do the club. We hope to be joined by others who can help.

Pray that a good number of kids will come along and that this event will open doors into the community. One of the Haitian guys turned up to the service on Thursday night which was an encouragement to the team. There are still plenty of empty seats that could be filled!

You can always fill the time!

Well this week has been quieter in terms of ministry. Andrew has had several responsibilities to fulfill but on the whole he has been around a lot more much to the kids' (and wife's!) enjoyment.

We have enjoyed some family time together but have been cracking on with the sorting of all our stuff and some admin bits and pieces. It's crazy how stuff accumulates especially with little kids around...and how little fits into a suitcase! Don't misunderstand - we still have our heads here, we're just making the most of each opportunity to do a little at a time and avoid as much stress as possible later.

Our leaving date is now confirmed as the 15th of October...which will soon come around. We have started booking our deputation (HMA) services. If you're interested in hearing about the work first hand (and you are in NI or Scotland) please don't hesitate to contact us or Donald Coulter, the NI rep for OMS International.

Joe

Joe is the tall guy in the black t-shirt. He has been staying with us and we took him to camp last weekend. He's here for a year from Australia on a program called 'Extreme Walk'. On that program he lives with a Mexican family while he studies Spanish full-time. At some point he will transition from language studies to ministry.

On Tuesday evening we took him to his host family. This family have been friends of ours for many years now. They have hosted various teams and if you know them it will be no surprise that they had a super welcome planned. Besides the sign and the flag the national anthem was playing in the background and there was a huge meal. This is one of the most hospitable families we know and Joe will be well looked after. Which is nice - he's a great guy!

Pray that he will be able to pick up the language quickly and that he will greatly benefit from his time here.

On an emotional note our trip with Joe was after our weekly missionary meeting. During our prayer time Tabitha piped up after mummy with her first public prayer. After giving thanks for everyone in the group she said, "Amen!" and then proudly announced that she had prayed. Needless to say our prayer time finished at that point. It would have been a hard act to follow!

Pinned

It was quite a surprise to us last week at meeting to have our last five years recounted and to be presented with pins for 5 years of service with OMS International.
Has it really been 5 years? In some ways it feels like we have been here forever and in other ways the time has flown by. We first came pre-kids of course and it's hard to even remember those days! We have been truly blessed to be a part of the OMS family. It's a great organisation and we have been well looked after. We have experienced so many things in those five years. Some incredibly wonderful, others incredibly difficult but all used by God to teach us and continue to develop us. We have met some amazing people and I'm probably talking about you as one of our supporters as well as others who have come on teams. Then there are our fantastic Mexican colleagues and friends who are so dear.

A lot can happen in five years. I wonder what we will be saying 5 years from now if God spares us...

Up the mountain

Camp finished on Sunday after lunch. We were excited about the possibility of staying on a few hours and heading up into the mountain to the little church Andrew and a team from America had helped to construct. The kids seemed great and it is easier to travel at night with them as they sleep in the car anyway.

The team had been able to lay the floor and pour the concrete pillars (a lot of hard labour!) Since we were there the roof and half wall have been added. Behind the wall there are goats, pigs and chickens. There are times I am glad people don't understand English as as Tabitha loudly exclaimed, "It stinks!!" it was one of those occasions! She did love seeing all the animals afterward though.
This is just the adult group. In the background you may make out the kids' group. There were just as many of them meeting in the house.
They had their own special program after the singing.
The people so appreciate all that the team did to help them. The little church has grown since the structure has been built. One new couple dedicated their baby on Sunday. We thought you might appreciate a little video of the singing and a view of the area. No hymnbooks, no projector and the singing went on like this for a while...

Camp

Praise God! We had a fantastic time at camp. The kids travelled really well. It was incredibly hot and humid so they spent quite a bit of time in the room with the air-conditioning. They did well with the lack of routine and had a great time.

Here are the campers in one of their sessions. There were about 150 altogether.
Here are the main leaders of the camp. The guy on the right in the yellow t-shirt is one of the UNIFAM pastors. What a fabulous job they did.
This was our classroom! Actually it looks out over the ocean as well!
This is one of our classes. We taught 3 workshops and if you know us well then it will come as no surprise that we used quite a bit of drama. The camp was all about being a conqueror - first and foremost having our lives conquered by Christ and then conquering failure in different areas and by different means.
There were 4 groups so we weren't the only ones giving workshops. There was also a visiting speaker and there were counsellors assigned to small groups of about 15 kids. When we weren't preparing or giving a class we were free to do as we liked. There was plenty of help and so it was actually refreshing for us to be able to spend some time together. We were often glad not to be running around doing the activities the kids were in the incredible heat. It was also a nice chance to catch up with a couple of the pastors' wives who were around as well.

Here are the groups that responded to the invitation in the final session. The kids on the right indicated that they felt God was calling them to be missionaries at home or abroad. The group on the left indicated that they were asking God to give them direction and a vision for their lives. In the testimony time the evening before some of those who had been invited to the camp by friends who go to church shared that they had trusted Christ for salvation. One guy from La Loma shared that he had decided he was giving up drugs once and for all.
These are exciting stories. Please pray that the impact of this time will stay with the kids as they return to their homes and normal life.