Jumping back in

MOPs didn't restart while we were away. We will have a planning meeting this week with a view to starting again the following week. Please pray that mums will come back, that it will continue to be a blessing and that people will be saved for His glory.

Things are almost back to normal in La Raza. Two of the kids in the most recent wave have already returned home and have been warmly received back into their families. Pray that as the days go by they will be able to resolve the problems that led to their leaving home in the first instance. Services have started on a Thursday night. The kids attending the centre have been advertising to many people in the area. When the MEFI team went out to publicise there were many who had already heard. So far it is only street kids and ex-street kids who have been attending. There were 8 there last week. Please continue to pray that these kids will find Christ and that people from the area would begin to attend as well.

We're back

It's hard to believe we've been back for nearly a week. We left on Monday morning. It was a relief to know that it would just be one flight that day. We had a one night lay-over in Newark. Some great friends from our Scotland days now live not far from Newark and we were more than excited to be able to see them again. We only wish we could have hung out for at least another couple of weeks!

There are some friends from whom you can be separated and when you meet up again it's like as if you had never been apart. Getting together with Jodi and Trevor was just like that. The biggest evidence of the time passed since we were last together was the increased number of kids - they have doubled in number!

The kids got on like they had known each other for ever and we had a lovely time catching up and enjoying the love and support of true friends.

The next day it was back to the airport for two flights to Mexico. Andrew had tried to reserve our places online the night before but for some reason it didn't work and we arrived to find that we were on standby for both flights! We got on the first but were separated. For the second we waited patiently to see if anyone would accept the offer of a free hotel and a travel voucher to free up space for us to get the flight. Thankfully someone did and we arrived into Mexico City and to the welcoming faces of Margaret and Robin on Tuesday evening.

The kids were fantastic on the plane. We got several comments from fellow passengers as to how well they had done. It's always a huge relief. Thank you for your prayers. Tabitha still keeps saying, "This is our house!" She seems happy to be back and has been playing with her neighbour friends. She even went into a class at church today. She has a memory verse to learn for next week...in Spanish! Perhaps we'll get a video of that.

They are adjusting well to the time difference though they have been tired. On Friday Oscar impressively reminded us of old times (both kids had horrible reflux) by puking all over me and the floor of Costco! I think the tiredness was just catching up on him but he's in fine form again now.

We are so grateful for the chance we have had to rest and reflect. My health has definitely benefited and I feel much more normal again!

Here are some photos of our journey taken from the plane. The first is Greenland. What an incredible country!
Somewhere between Greenland and New York...
The volcanoes outside Mexico City and the outskirts in the foreground

On our way

A quick note to say we would appreciate your prayers as we start out on the long journey back to Mexico tomorrow (Monday). We leave in the morning and will stay in Newark tomorrow night. We are delighted to be able to meet up with some great friends who we haven't seen since Tabitha was a little baby.

On Tuesday we fly on to Mexico via Houston. We know that in the past we have been carried by prayer. Pray that the kids will be able to sleep when they need it and for health and stamina for mummy and daddy too.

Refresh

We tried to book tickets back to Mexico for last Tuesday. We found out that there were no tickets for the route we normally take until June 1st! The best we could do was book a flight to Newark on the 25th and travel on to Mexico the following day with an extra stop in Houston. It seems crazy but I guess God knows why we need to be here that extra time.

On the positive side I have now enjoyed 3 nausea free days! It has been delightful. We're still not sure what is going on but that's ok.

With our time here being longer than we expected and now that things are returning to normal in Mexico we have agreed to take some holiday time. The people who have been covering the mortgage costs in our little house are moving out and so this week will be spent arranging it for a potential sale in a few months. We are also looking forward to meeting up with a few friends and enjoying the extra help with the kids etc.

These last few weeks have been refreshing and just what we needed at this time. God knew!

We've been keeping in touch with our friends in Mexico. It seems there is still an element of fear around. Church programs are starting up again and we would appreciate your prayers that people would quickly return to those. Pray for the MOPS team at La Loma as they contact the girls who have been attending and restart either this Thursday or next. Pray too for the MEFI team as they invite the kids back to La Raza. Pray that they will quickly get back to the level of trust they had built towards with the kids. There have been a few relational issues that will need to be addressed when we get back and we would apreciate prayers for continued unity on the team.

Update

Thank you once again for your prayers. We are just about caught up on the sleep lost and the time difference here. It is lovely to be home and being an unplanned trip we are able to spend most of our time with family. This week will be business week - looking into finances, health, planning etc.

Of course our thoughts are with our friends in Mexico and we have been calling them. Fidel is desperate to get back into the work. Those with kids say it is incredibly difficult to keep them entertained and closed into their houses. We're so delighted that Alex and Paty are able to use our house. They live in a tiny two roomed house and so they have been able to spread out and have their kids and families with them.

We're not sure when we will be travelling back. We're waiting to see how the news goes this week and we will be in contact with our international headquarters.

Please continue to pray for our dear friends, for their health and financial situations, for rest, for encouragement. Pray for the wisdom for the people making decisions both in the country and in OMS. We appreciate your continued prayers for us for rest and recuperation. We will keep you posted as to how things develop.

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!

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...