Structural changes

Since we have returned to Mexico Andrew and Christian (our field leader) have been working on a new idea for Proyecto MEFI. It's very exciting.

Here in Mexico there are established churches called UNIFAM. La Loma, our church, is one of those. There is also a church planting organisation known as Every Community for Christ (ECC). ECC exists in all the OMS fields. Various ECC teams here work in different areas evangelising and running house churches. One such team is based in La Loma and some long-term readers may remember Zoel and his work with families living on dis-used railway lines quite near the church. The plan is to run Proyecto MEFI according to the ECC model. So what changes will take place?

Well eventually what will happen is that the Proyecto MEFI team will be based out of La Loma. Our pastor (and the current president of UNIFAM), Miguel Romero, will be the pastoral supervisor of the Proyecto MEFI team (just as he is of Zoel's team). The Proyecto MEFI team will then be like an ECC team with their focus being the new church plant in La Raza. La Raza is the name of the area where the Drop-In Centre is and so it will maintain its function but will also be the church called UNIFAM La Raza. Church services won't necessarily happen on a Sunday. We are excited about this change and Miguel is a great pastor to be supervising the team. His own testimony is an incredible story of how he was rescued from alcoholism and family breakdown and he has a real love for the ministry.

As the building work nears completion the big question is over who to invite. Please pray for wisdom in that regard. Previously we have invited whole groups and have seen some do well and others not so well. A new idea is to invite leaders from the groups. Working on influential members from a number of groups may impact even more kids. A couple of group leaders have already been asking to be discipled. How exciting!

Continue to pray for the Proyecto MEFI team as it works through the changes. Pray for unity and vision and pray that in all of this God would be glorified, His will be done and His kingdom extended.

Disinfecting and de-bugging!

Well if last week was a high then this week in some respects was a little lower. Just after blogging Andrew's stomach didn't feel so good and the next day we were both miserable. We have been taking medicine all week and although we are feeling somewhat better we still have moments when it seems like the medicine hasn't worked 100%. Thankfully both kids have been fine so it may have been something we ate rather than something we 'caught'!

Some friends recommended that we take medicine to get rid of the infection for 3 days and then to take a course of 'de-bugging' medicine. It's not uncommon for Mexicans to take such a course every 6 months or so. Andrew had only done it once and I hadn't ever done it so it was not before time. So anyway, we'll see how it goes this week but hopefully we'll feel normal again soon! Thanks for your prayers.

Drop-In Centre

A huge thank you to this great team from Foundry, Houston (and José in the middle) who worked so hard all week on the Drop-In Centre. They got within about an hour or so of finishing all the electrical work but ran out of materials at the very end! They also did many other bits and pieces including a lot of plastering work. We can't wait for the work to be finished and for the Centre to be fully operational. There have been so many people involved hands on. This truely is a team effort. This week Alex and Paty will take some time off. Fidel will also take a couple of days but he's waiting until after the next team (which arrives next week) before taking more time off. We will take tomorrow (Monday) off and besides a few meetings Andrew will work mostly from home this week.

Holiday Bible Club (VBS)

The VBS started with a bang on Monday with about 110 kids. At it's peak there were over 150 kids in attendance. The leaders were enthusiastic and excited. Andrew was in charge of the songs which meant picking new songs, inventing actions and doing them in get-together times as well as practicing them in workshops during the mornings. When they were all together the kids would chant for more each time a song ended. Here is a video of clips from the singing. See if you can spot Andrew and the smiles on the kids faces...

On Wednesday Andrew felt exercised to make an invitation at the end of the day. About 60-80 kids responded. (At least that's what it looked like to Andrew when he asked kids to raise their hands before praying.) What does that mean? Well some who responded will have done so many times before, some go to the church week by week and are used to responding to invitations. Without wanting to limit what God was doing at the VBS I would say that 60-80 kids were sensitive to the message of the gospel being preached. Follow up is an extremely important task and we would appreciate your prayers for the follow up program - Mex-i-Kids.

On Saturday Mex-i-Kids will be re-started with a big party. We had a planning meeting for it this morning. If we want the momentum of the VBS to carry on then we need the enthusiasm from the leaders to continue. Unfortunately it seems that that is already waning a little. Saturdays are days that children go to visit relatives or have other clubs to go to, some adults normally work on Saturdays or have other commitments. The exciting thing is that at least 2 or 3 new families were at church this morning as a direct result of the VBS. Andrew and I have always been excited about the potential of kids work. Please pray with us that God will burden the hearts of available people to carry on this amazing work. Pray for committed workers for the harvest.

You must be praying...

It is so overwhelming to be able to report specific answers to prayers requested on the blog. We feel sustained and strengthened by your prayers and are continually built up in our faith in our amazing God who loves to give good things to His children and to see His name glorified in the earth. From the little to the large, nothing is too difficult for Him!

Tabitha continues to settle in to life here. She is much more comfortable being surrounded by Spanish. She still resents being the centre of attention everywhere she goes and the constant petting and carrying she gets. Today I had to go down to the nursery in church to make up a bottle for Oscar and Tabitha was happily playing with her little friend Sawli. Days at church are very long for the kids so I only took them to the Bible Club on Wednesday and Saturday. We continue to appreciate your prayers for wisdom to know what God would have us do day by day and how we can best glorify Him. Perhaps I will elaborate that thought more later.

We got our little car back early in the week. It goes but there is a strange rubbing noise when turning corners so we'll have to take it back to the mechanics this week to try and get that sorted. Last week was too busy to be able to leave it back and Andrew has been driving it all over the place.

Praise God especially for the strength He gave Andrew to be able to get through this busy week without headaches as well.

Transition

The team is here and ready to start work tomorrow (Monday). There has been a lot of progress in the Drop-In Centre. Andrew was delighted by what has happened while we have been away. The Proyecto MEFI team have worked very hard.

After the US team leaves the Proyecto MEFI team (the Mexican part!) will take a week off before another team arrives from the UK to hopefully put finishing touches to the Centre.

Praise God the annual meeting of the church leaders, church planting teams and missionaries went really well. Andrew's report seemed to be well received. There was a real sense of unity.

Tabitha had a blast spending lots of time with the MacKinnons as I helped Robin to pack boxes for their house move on Saturday. It was a great chance for us to have some time to begin to catch up and to make what could potentially be a stressful situation a chance to bless, be blessed and have some fun along the way.

The move took place on Saturday. Andrew was with the team, Margaret was looking after 6 kids (all under the age of 7!), Christian was in the old house with the removal guys and Robin and I were unpacking the kitchen. When we were finished we popped out for a message. We took my little car. We were quite tight for time. As we made our way back to the house my right foot seemed to lose the ability to keep the car moving! With said foot to the floor we managed to make it at about 5 mph to a place where we could pull over. Now here is how God intervenes - we were able to pull in to a spot where we were safe (outside a lovely little park!), we were close to home, we had a mobile (cell) phone (with credit and battery charge!) so we could phone Andrew who had arrived home, we had bought food so we had time to eat it, we had each others company, our kids were happy at home with Margaret... So Andrew came and rescued us. We took his car and he nursed my little car to the garage. We took a back route to the MacKinnons new house which neither of us knew which was potentially a bad idea (but good because of the backed up traffic on the main road). We followed our noses (another bad idea if you know either of us!) and praised God when we took a turn up a very steep hill (which the Clio would have struggled with even at full potential) which led us straight to the MacKinnons road. An eventful afternoon!

So tomorrow my little car will be serviced and hopefully the guys will find out what the problem is and hopefully it won't be too drastic. Andrew will have to go to the Holiday Bible Club on his own as he will go straight to the Drop-In Centre afterwards. Please pray for his stamina this week. It is particularly busy for him as he has that same schedule every day. I'm hoping that the little car won't take long to fix so I can take the kids out for at least a couple of mornings.

We had our first Sunday back in La Loma today. We were given a warm welcome. It really was lovely to see people again and to be a part of the service. Tabitha did well. We have noticed that when people are speaking Spanish she goes very quiet, starts rubbing her 'blankie' and sucking her fingers. Last week we had her surrounded by Spanish in short doses a few times so this morning was her first real test as we left her in the nursery with no English. She seemed to have a great time. We appreciate your prayers as she continues to make the transition back into Spanish again.

We're back!

Thank you to so many who were praying as we said our goodbyes and travelled back to Mexico. Once again we felt sustained by your prayers. The goodbyes were difficult of course. I think they get more difficult. It is not just hard to say goodbye but it is ten times harder to take our kids away from their grandparents. They have played such a vital role in their lives over the past few months and we know the love between them is mutual. Blissfully unaware of what was going on Tabitha remained chirpy throughout.

The first flight was tough. I wasn't feeling well so after the first couple of hours Andrew had both kids to look after. Both were quite unsettled but thankfully I was feeling much better about an hour before we landed and was able to help for the rest of the journey. The connection went smoothly and the kids slept for most of the second flight. Both slept quite well the first night as well. Margaret, who has always been so wonderfully helpful and picked us up from the airport, stayed overnight.

We've been settling in, unpacking and some of our friends have come to visit. This week we look forward to catching up with people and finding out what has been going on in our absence. On Wednesday the 3 days of meetings with all the churches and representatives begin. Andrew will attend. Please pray for unity and vision as decisions are made for the future.

A work team from the US arrives on Saturday to help with the construction at the Drop-In Centre. The work has not proceeded as fast as we had hoped for and so the opening will be delayed for a few weeks. The team's visit coincides with the Holiday Bible Club (VBS) at our church in La Loma so we really are diving into the thick of it!

We appreciate your prayers as we settle back into our routine here and make decisions about what we can and cannot take on. Our time at home was indescribably refreshing and wonderful. We're ready to get going and we're excited to see how God will bring glory to His name as you pray with us...

Long Journey

Sorry for the lack of frequency in reports here. Things have been hectic as we get ready for going back to Mexico. We leave tomorrow (Friday) at 8am our time and should hopefully arrive almost 24 hours later. I should imagine a bed to lie out on will be very welcome!

If you remember us at any point throughout the day we would appreciate a little prayer! Pray for the kids in particular that they would be able to sleep, that the layover and connection in Newark would go smoothly and that Tabitha will not be sick!

We appreciate prayer too for our families as we say goodbye. We have been totally spoiled by friends and family. Our time at home has been such a blessing. It will be hard to say goodbye. We will write more very soon about what lies ahead in the next few weeks and what has been happening while we have been away from Mexico.

Final Stage

We are now back in N. Ireland again. Our time in Scotland was a total whirlwind but absolutely fantastic. It was so refreshing to meet up with good friends. The final week was particularly busy. We travelled home on the ferry yesterday and after Tabitha's nap she had a fever and was really clingy. We had visitors who prayed with her and with paracetamol her temperature came down. Thankfully it stayed down and with a good nights sleep she seems to be fine. It was probably just an over-tired little girl. She absolutely loved playing with so many kids. It always amused me to tell her the names of the new people she was going to meet each day to which her response was always, "That be nice!"

Oscar was back at the medical centre for routine injections today. His weight continues to improve and he is now close to the 25th centile. He is incredibly smiley. In particular he will always smile for his big sister who has been taking more notice of him lately. Tabitha is desperate to drag Oscar out of his chair so they can bounce on the bed together. Hopefully it's a sign of the good friends they will become.

We are beginning to pack now and think of what we need to take and what we can leave behind. This is the month of family reunions with siblings coming in from Canada and England. We would appreciate your prayers that we would return to Mexico well rested and excited about the work ahead. Please pray too for Tabitha's transition back to life in Mexico. Her personality seems to have changed since she has been at home. She is much more settled and placid. It is obvious that she was under considerable stress in Mexico. Pray for us as we consider how to help her in and through the cultural adjustment.

Rafael

We were so sad this week to learn that our very good friend Rafael from Spain lost his battle with cancer on Saturday. We met Rafael and Laura through an outreach cafe in our church in Edinburgh. Each August at the height of the tourist season our church opens its doors to the public. The music group play and sing some contemporary and praise and worship music. Free coffee is served and people are on hand to chat and give personal testimonies. Back in 2003 Andrew was singing and I was looking specifically for Spanish speakers. I met Rafa and Laura and instantly we hit it off. Over the years we have visited them several times in Madrid and they returned to Scotland to visit us. The last time we saw Rafa was when he visited us in Ireland a couple of years ago.

This was a friendship which was very strong despite being in different countries. We have so many happy memories of fun times. There was always lots of laughter when we were together. But Rafael was always eager to get into deeper things. Having been hurt and left rather disillusioned by previous experiences be was on a quest to know what the real truth was. It can't have been a co-incidence that one night in 2003 they happened to drop into a church (which they would never have done had they known it was), that we had been learning Spanish and introduced ourselves, that we hit it off and had many opportunities to share our simple faith. And our gracious God allowed us to enjoy a super friendship too.

Let us offer what we have and make the most of every opportunity.

Half Way

We have now spent 2 wonderful weeks in Scotland and are halfway through our trip to the UK. It has been so fabulous to spend time with fantastic friends. We are blessed beyond measure to be able to soak up so much love and support.

The kids are doing really well even with the moving around. It has been amazing to see Tabitha really settle down. She is full of confidence and happy to interact with anyone. She is loving time with other kids and as you may see from her blog she has had various visits with some kids. Consequently she goes over their names all the time. She has started to pray herself in the evenings and it just touches our hearts to hear her give Jesus thanks for individual people that she is meeting. Of course there are still obstacles to overcome and we have our struggles but generally she is responding positively to discipline and just such a joy to parent these days. We haven't had any travel sickness but most journeys are under 30 mins. Thank you for your prayers for her.

Oscar is doing well too. The appointment mentioned in the previous post showed that his weight was leveling out and he was not putting it on nearly as fast as he should have been. Consequently he has been weaned and a diet of soya milk and some basic solids seems to have helped. After 2 weeks his weight was beginning to rise again though he still brings up quite a lot at different times of the day. He continues to delight our hearts with his gorgeous smile which he shares from the moment he opens his eyes.

It has proven difficult to get in touch with folks in Mexico at appropriate times. We did get a brief conversation with our pastor's wife. She told us that the breakfast finished small in number due to holiday days. We pray that leaders will come back refreshed after a short break and that the Holiday Bible Club at the start of August will be a great platform for re-starting again.

Once again thank you for your interest and prayers. We are overwhelmed by the support of so many at home. We just can't get enough of spending time with folks and while we are tired (late nights are not rewarded with late mornings with kids to attend to!) we are refreshed by the love of friends and fellowship together.(an evening of fun and sharing with the youth from our church on Saturday evening. It is incredible to see these kids who are growing up far too fast. We taught some of them when they were little (wasn't that just and month or two ago?) Missionaries in Mexico will recognise the game we are playing here. Thanks Leroy for teaching us this one.)

Weekly report

Tomorrow we hope to take Oscar for his first medical visit since we got back home. He hasn't been weighed in quite a few weeks so we are interested to see how the reflux is affecting him. We would appreciate prayer for his health as we try to consider the best options to bring it under control. He has good days and bad days. We have tried introducing some formula, a specialised feeding bottle, some baby rice, infant Gaviscon... Apart from his reflux he continues to be the perfect baby! We are also hoping to continue his vaccinations at home though he is due to get a rotavirus shot which isn't on the schedule here. We will keep you posted as to how things develop.

The Mex-i-Kids club at La loma was very much on our minds this week as they finished off yesterday. They will be taking a break until the VBS in the summer.

We will be making some phonecalls this week to find out what has going and will let you know next week.

We also finally got a prayer letter together. I can't believe how time has flown and how long it has been since the last one went out. Those who read the blog regularly will understand the challenge of trying to squeeze 3 or 4 months worth of information onto 2 sides of A4! We so appreciate all who support us in various ways. It's such an encouragement as we go around on deputation to meet those of you are are checking in to the blog on a regular basis.

It was such a joy to be able to finally visit the charity shop in Coleraine this week. What an amazing effort from those who donate merchandise to those who man the shop and get it set up. There is no way that we can express our gratitude and the difference it is making and will continue to make in the lives of so many in Mexico City. It's such an encouragement also to know that we are part of a team working together.

Documentation

Thanks to those who were praying for our paperwork. Our renewed visas came through before we left Mexico and we got all of Oscar's paperwork. Andrew went to pick up his British passport and birth certificate and there had been a problem with the form for the latter. He had to go back the Tuesday before we left to get the birth certificate. He was horrified to find that they had printed the wrong name on the form but thankfully he had been registered correctly so the misprint was easily corrected. Thanks again for your prayers.

Deputation Schedule

I thought you might like to see our schedule to date. We might not be in your church but perhaps we are in one close by. So check it out and hopefully we will see you soon.

Where we've already been
OMS prayer groups in Newtownards and Bangor
Coleraine Independent Methodist Church
Ballycraigy Congregational Church

May
Wed 14th Larne Mission Hall
Fri 16th OMS Prayer Group Larne
Sun 18th am Muckamore Presbyterian
Sun 18th pm Hazelbank Presbyterian, Coleraine
Wed 21st West Kirk Presbyterian
Sun 25th am Armagh Baptist
Sun 25th pm Moneymore Congregational Church
Wed 28th Ballymena Independent Methodist Church

June
Sun 1st (all day) Portrush Presbyterian
Fri 13th Carrubbers Christian Centre (Edinburgh)
Wed 18th Gardenstown Church of Scotland
Sun 22nd am Bethesda, Fraserburgh
Sun 22nd pm Macduff Church of Scotland
Sun 29th am Liberton Northfield Church of Scotland

July
Sun 6th (all day) Londonderry Baptist Church
Sun 20th am Dunluce Presbyterian Church
Wed 23rd Donaghy Congregational Church

Back Home!

We finally made it. Lots of saying goodbye, cleaning, tidying, packing etc. but we finally left home at 6am on Thursday morning. We arrived at the airport to find that our seats had been given to someone else. We had to wait for the next flight which meant that our stop over in Newark was a stressful rush. We made it to the gate as the flight was boarding. Frequently throughout the journey we commented that people must be praying for us. Tabitha was amazing. She played happily and kept her good spirits throughout the 24 hour day. We were worried about whether she would sleep through the night flight but she managed a good 4 - 5 hours. She's still recovering and getting used to the time difference but is loving all the attention and getting to boss everyone around. It's lovely to see her so happy.

Having mum travel with us was just inexpressibly wonderful. She was able to keep Oscar content which allowed us to focus on Tabitha. The disposable bibs she brought were a Godsend for our pukey little boy! He too did well though he was tired too and has slept lots since getting here.
It was so strange for us getting home this time. Last time we were away we had 2 visits home for family weddings so this has been the longest time we have been away. the first thing we noticed was the lovely fresh air and then how beautifully green everything is. We are just coming out of the long dry season in Mexico City so the air is polluted and everything is brown.

We love Mexico of course but I think that arriving home and being spoiled by family has made us realise just how stressful life can be for us there. It's just wonderful to be surrounded by everything familiar - food, language, health system etc. and everything in close proximity. As well as reporting back on the work in Mexico we are looking forward to a bit of a rest over the next 3 months and to spending some good quality time together and with friends and family.

We will keep in touch with what's going on in the ministries in Mexico and keep you up to date. Please pray particularly for the breakfast club in La Loma as they reach the climax of their teaching on the gospel with only 2 more weeks left before they break up. We really want to see kids come to know Christ as a result.

We heard that just over 80 kids attended the special event at the breakfast club in Tultitlan and about the same number attended the club in Valle de Chalco. Praise God for new contacts and pray that some of these kids would continue to attend and find Christ along with their families in days to come.

The Ladies

Most Monday nights the missionary ladies get together for fellowship and bible study. It has been wonderful to go through a study together and spend time together. It may be some time before we're together as a group with different people leaving the field. That's one of the hard parts of missionary life - saying goodbye. We're so thankful for our missionary family who are so wonderfully supportive.
And yes, Oscar has been a part of our ladies' group since before he was born!

Acapulco

Thanks for your prayers. The trip to Acapulco went well. Andrew had a day delivering necessary equipment and talking to the pastors. It was a day to learn about the worries and the struggles of the churches which aren't in Mexico City and how to pray more for them. One continues to plant new house churches but it is very poor so resources are minimal, one has ideas and would like reach out more but finds few leaders coming up in the church and the last has no pastor, so one pastor is the principal helper there and others help when they can. How our hearts would love to help but we must do it by prayer. So what do we learn? Well, there are needs everywhere and we must do the best we can where He puts us and trust Him with the rest that we have no control over. Andrew left feeling that he had been an encouragement and with a new Mex-i-Kids in the planning of the Coloso church which is an extremely poor area of the city. Rent there is about £35 per month for a 3 bedroom apartment. Please pray for Pastor Mario of the Coloso church who is seeking God's vision and will for this club and how the church can reach out through it.

Acapulco

Andrew left late afternoon today for Acapulco. It's not a holiday, he comes back tomorrow night (D.V.)! His purpose is to encourage the pastors there and to deliver some necessary materials for their nurseries and children's ministries.

Please pray that he will be able to encourage their hearts and that he will return to the city safely.

A very special occasion

Today was Oscar's dedication. We had been hoping to have it while mum was here and with our Mexican friends who have been so excited with little Oscar's arrival. It really feels like they consider him to be one of their own. We weren't really sure if it would actually happen but we couldn't have been more touched by a service of appreciation for the sacrifice we have made to be here. Really, it was very humbling for us especially when we consider how richly blessed we are to be able to see God at work from such short proximity. It is our privilege to serve Him here and to be in partnership with you for the sake of the gospel.

The dedication itself was a different experience for us. Andrew was asked to pray and then the pastor Miguel prayed over Oscar. It was so informal compared to what we are used to at home but we felt very special and loved.

The children came up to watch the dedication too which was extra special for us.
This was our last Sunday Service in La Loma for 3 months. We were called into a room afterwards where the people who work with us in kids' ministries individually expressed their appreciation and best wishes. It really was such an encouragement as we are tired and ready for a break. Certainly at times it feels like we are 'sowing with tears'. Really we are indebted to these wonderful people for all they have taught us as we see god work in and through them.

Day of the child

The Day of the Child is on the 30th April here in Mexico. All over the place there are special events for children and families. In our church in La Loma we have had a particular involvement in childen's ministries (no surprise if you know us well!). The great majority of what I do is based in the home now for obvious reasons though most tasks need to have a flexible timescale. Some time ago I offered to put together a presentation of the different children's ministries and events in the church. It was finally ready this morning. Please pray that this exciting visual will attract more workers to the various ministries.
To celebrate Day of the Child the church had a special program for the kids. Andrew directed a play about creation. During the course of the drama the actors painted a creation mural on the wall. I think it's the fastest mural done to date! About 70 kids attended including some of the kids from the breakfast club. The dress rehearsal took place yesterday afternoon. The church planting team had arranged a special event in the community for kids. About 80 turned up with about 20 parents. The team hope to visit the families and will see if things open up to start a new house church. Please pray for them and for this exciting possibility.
Yesterday was our last day at the breakfast club before our trip home. Please, please pray for the club over the next 3 weeks. There is a good group of about 30 kids at the moment and they have 3 more chapters of the Lamb series to do. Pray in particular that as the message of the gospel reaches its climax the kids will be challenged, see their need and respond. We have trained the leaders in how to counsel a child for salvation and are really praying that some of them will have the opportunity to put their training into practice.

Second to that is the prayer for the organisation of the club. The only reason that is important is in order that the numbers might be maintained through kids having a great time. Yesterday we were glad we were there as a number of activities had to be arranged spontaneously (even though they had been assigned beforehand). Everything came together and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves but we would appreciate prayer that the people assigned to things would turn up and be well prepared.

Here Andrew steps in to do games...again!
A spontaneous sheep making craft.
The finished product. What's great about this picture is that the two little sisters in the middle (who are working street kids) are flanked by two little friends they invited. They were all back today for the Day of the Child celebrations.
After 3 weeks Mex-i-Kids will have a break until the Holiday Bible Club (VBS) in the summer. We are praying that this will be a refreshing time for our leaders who have been so enthusiastic and will cause them to come back excited and refreshed to a new term after the VBS.

The other 2 Mex-i-Kids groups in the city had special events for the Day of the Child yesterday. In Tultitlan they had inflatables etc., like a special party and in Valle de Chalco where we were last week they had special gifts for the children which Andrew and the pastor were able to pick up at incredibly low prices in a market down town. We're not sure how these special events went yet but we are praying that they will have helped to draw kids and their families in under the sound of the gospel and that through all of the clubs many will come to know Christ.