Fear Not

In the news recently we have been hearing a lot about violence, drugs, terrorism, murder, kidnappings....any number of horrible things taking place here in Mexico and around the world. The US and Canadian governments have issued travel advisories warning citizens to avoid Mexico for the time being due to the unrest, and I have talked to people who have changed travel plans because of the reports they have heard. The fighting is between various drug trafficking groups, but unfortunately their agendas have an effect on normal citizens as well. Many people live in fear, although they have nothing to do with these groups, thinking constantly, "What if...", "What's going to happen if....". However as Christians, we don't have to be afraid of the things that are happening around us in the world. The Bible tells us time and time again not to be afraid - and why? Because God is bigger than everything that is happening here on earth, and he's on our side! He has promised us his protection and all it takes on our part is trust and faith in his promises. Does this mean we can live recklessly? No, not at all - we need to be aware of our world and be cautious, but there is a difference between caution and wisdom, and fear. To remind myself of God's promises, a couple of weeks ago I wrote some Scriptures out and taped them to my door so that I see them whenever I leave the house. Sometimes I worry when I go out alone, but seeing these words reminds me that I am never alone.

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
Ps 34:7

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Ps 4:8

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Ps 32:7

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.
Ps 3:5-6

The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
Ps 27:1

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."
Is 12:1

Need Met!

Our need for a new fridge has been met thanks to a supporter and friend who heard and listened to the voice and prompting of God. I am going out later today to look at prices, and will post a picture of the fridge when it arrives!

Miracle Baby

We have been having a baby boom in Templo Libertad lately, but there are two special stories that I am going to share on the blog. Juan and Imelda have been faithful members of the church for many years, and have a 10 year old son. He was conceived through fertility treatments and it was a difficult process for his parents. They desperately wanted more children, and so several years ago they began treatments again. One treatment....and nothing. Two treatments...still nothing....and so it went for 8 years. Finally, Juan and Imelda decided, "One more treatment, and if this doesn't work, then we give up." The church had been praying for them through the years, but on this occasion several ministers gathered to pray for the couple. And then, a couple of months later, we heard that Imelda was pregnant! 3 months ago a little girl was born, and her parents couldn't be more thrilled. We don't know why God chose to wait so many years before sending this child, but he is faithful and works in his own time to bless us as we wait on him.

Stay tuned for the next Miracle Baby!

Urgent Need: Refrigerator

Some good news and some less-good news: first, our children's breakfast program is expanding, which is great! What's not so good is that we are out of storage space for the food we buy every Friday. Since we prepare everything the night before, it all has to be refrigerated until Saturday morning, and with our numbers pushing 200, our current fridge isn't near big enough: it's math time!

On the left you see our fridge, which is the size of an average lawn chair (at right of fridge), and on the right is a picture of all the supplies we will be taking to the breakfasts tomorrow. The pew which the food is on seats about 8 people, so being good mathematicians we will convert pews to lawn chairs and say that we are trying to fit 8 lawn chairs of food into 1 lawn chair of space.

Result: 8 lawn chairs of food / 1 lawn chair of space = time for a big new fridge!

With about $1000 we could buy a large fridge and possibly a small, separate freezer. This is an urgent and important need because we see an increasing number of children every week. We don't want to run the risk of a child becoming sick from an improperly stored item of food; not only would it physically endanger the people we are trying to help, it would also damage our testimony in the area. Please pray that God will meet this need in the coming week, and please contact me at sanpedroshm@gmail.com if you are interested in donating toward this important ministry.

Evangelism Service

On Friday night we held a special evangelism service at Templo Cristiano Libertad. Having stabilized from our initial growth two years ago through our cell group ministry, we are turning our focus as a church once again to outreach and growth. In the service we had special music and drama presentations, and over 50 first-time visitors came out at the invitation of church members. About 20 people accepted Jesus as their Saviour by the end of the service, and on Sunday we were happy to see many of these people return to services.

With this growth, we are now in need of a new church building, or an expansion of the existing building. The church currently holds about 150; on Friday there were about 250 people in the service, and on Sundays we are close to starting a third service. We have been offered a piece of land on the outskirts of town, but are worried that the distance will deter people from coming. Please pray that God will provide a good location and the resources for a church that will serve the needs of a growing congregation.

Below are some pictures from the service:

Update

Hi everyone, just a quick note about the latest goings-on in San Pedro...

Last week we enjoyed the annual Destiny Church missions conference, "Light Your World". Many of the speakers addressed the ongoing economic crisis facing the world, and we were reminded that God's economy is not dependent on the world's economy, and that he is not limited by banks, currency, employment, etc. In Genesis 26 we read of Isaac, who was facing a severe famine, yet in obedience to God he sowed crops and reaped 100 times what he planted because God blessed him. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul thanks them for sending him aid and reminds them that God will supply all their needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus - not some of your needs, not the needs you think will be most easily met, but every need. In Psalm 23 David says that God prepares a banquet in the presence of his enemies - even in the midst of difficulties and trials, be they personal, relational, economic, God spreads before us all the riches of heaven. At times it is hard to do this; our minds limit us and we think, "But this need is so great, it's impossible", but nothing is impossible for God!

Thanks to everyone at Destiny for another great conference.

El Calor opened the second part of the 2008-09 season with a 9-0 victory on Saturday afternoon. This week they travel to Chihuahua, so please pray for their safety and that God will bless their efforts.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from everyone here in San Pedro to all of you who read this blog and keep us in your thoughts and prayers. It is our prayer that God will bless you in this new year! We are excited to keep sharing with you what he is doing here in Mexico. We are back to our normal routines now, with the start of classes at the English school and Id Pues Missions School today. We are also getting ready for our trip to San Antonio and the annual missions conference at Destiny Church, which is always a blessing to us.

In early December we were happy to receive a visit from another group from Grace Church of Humble. They stayed over the weekend and participated in the Children's Breakfast and held a service at our San Pedro rehab center. Almost 300 people showed up for the breakfast and we ran out of food, even after a quick trip to a nearby Wal-Mart. We have submitted an application to the food bank asking them to allot us more food, so please pray that they will grant the request.

So, It's Been a While...

But there was a good reason:



I got married last Monday and have used this as an excuse to take a blogging break (but no more!). I was fortunate to have most of my mom's side of the family attend and participate in the ceremony - they are scattered all over the world, and so any kind of reunion happens about every 10 years or so...

Congratulations also to Matt and Heather on their marriage last week!

And Happy Thanksgiving. Even though we are going through difficult times, every day we can find something to thank God for. As part of El Calor practices, often the players each have to state something they are thankful for. The most common response is, "I thank God for one more day of life." Sometimes we don't think very much of this gift - we look around and say, "But my job, my mortgage, the economy, my health..." but it is through God's grace that we are here, living today, and each day he gives us is another opportunity to grow closer to him and glorify him through our lives.

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.
H.U. Westermayer

And though I ebb in worth, I'll flow in thanks.
John Taylor

He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me,
and he prepares the way
so that I may show him the salvation of God.
Psalm 50:23

Student Sponsorship 2008-2009

To finish off this series of posts about the 2008-2009 Student Sponsorship Program, here are our university students, along with two special students. Many of our university students have been in the sponsorship program for some time, and it is thanks to your help that they have made it this far. For $30/month you can help one of these 6 students pay for tuition, books, and other costs.

Azucena Muruaga: Azucena is studying Business Adminstration in San Pedro and working part time. She is one of the most faithful young adults in the church, participating in youth outreaches and tambourine ministry.

Timothy Tolman: Timothy is in his first year of Civil Engineering in the city of Torreon, having entered university this year at the young age of 16.

Pedro Mejia: Pedro has made it to university through the help of sponsors. He is in his second year studying architecture and is a worship leader in the church.

Elisa Tolman: Elisa is currently in her second year studying International Business in Torreon. She also keeps a full complement of church activities, including tambourine ministry, small group leader, and teacher.

Juan: Juan is currently working as a farm labourer and wants to be a mechanic, but can't afford the tuition. His family hosts one of our weekly home churches.

Cesar: Like his brother, Juan, Cesar works as a labourer but want to study to be a mechanic. His family is not wealthy, but are some of the most generous people we know in the church.

Special Students

We have a new family in our church who is faithful, hardworking, and extremely poor. The mother and father are working towards their primary school equivalency certificates so that they will be able to find better jobs. For $25/month, you can help provide a brighter future for this family!

Pablo Vazquez Amparan and Maria Rivera Jimenez: Married with 3 young children, this couple have few material possessions but are rich in the kingdom of heaven because of their generosity and willingness to serve. They are eager to earn their primary school equivalency certificates and provide a better life for their daughters.

Student Sponsorship 2008-2009

Continuing with our students for 2008-2009, here are our secondary students and high school students who need your help! There are 5 secondary students (at $25/month) and one high school student (at $30/month) who you can support, with donations going toward inscription and registration fees, clothing, books, and supplies.

Secondary School

Jesus Mejia: Jesus is one of three brothers whose father committed suicide several years ago. His mother is raising all three boys in the church, and Jesus is a testimony to his classmates.


Xochitl: Xochitl (pronounced "Zochil") is a new member of our church but is active in the youth group and is growing in her faith.


Peter Tolman: Peter is in his second year of secondary school and is making a great effort to continue earning top grades.


Karen Lopez: Karen is the oldest of four children in her family, three of which are in the Student Sponsorship Program. She is active in youth activities in the church and serves Jesus joyfully.


Marely Lopez: Marely just entered secondary school and is one of the hardest-working students we know. She is also an excellent soccer player.

High School

Maria Rosario Ramirez Campos: Maria is in her last year of high school and hopes to attend university to study gynecology. She is one of 8 children in a single-parent family.

Student Sponsorship 2008-2009

For several years we have organized a Student Sponsorship Program here in San Pedro to aid children, youth, and young adults achieve their educational goals. There are many families who can't afford some or all of the costs associated with schooling, and we ask that you help these brothers and sisters by giving their children a brighter future. Here are our primary-level students this year:

• Laura Vazquez Rivera: Laura is one of 3 sisters from a very poor family who recently started attending our church. She is very sweet and inquisitive and always ready to help, even at her young age.
• 
• Dulce Vazquez Rivera: Dulce is Laura's sister and she just entered school this fall. She always accompanies her parents when they come to church activities and when they work around the property.
• 
• Poncho: Poncho is a new member of our church and attends faithfully every week along with his older sister. He is a hard worker and does his best in his school.
• 
• Willy Lopez: Willy enjoys attending children's events in the church. He has learning difficulties but will work through them with help from God and the church family.
• 
• Pedro Castellanos: Pedro has been in the church all of his life, as his mother is a church leader and part of the worship team. He just turned 8 and is learning to work hard in his school.
• 
• David Mejia: David lives with his grandmother, after both his parents left several years ago without explanation. He attends church faithfully and is an excellent soccer player.
• 

For $20/month you can help one of these children work through primary school. Your offering will be used to pay enrolment fees, school uniforms, and supplies. Write to sanpedroshm@gmail.com if you would like more information or would like to help. Offerings can be sent as normal giving, but please designate "Student Sponsorship: Name of Child".

Flooding

Here are some pictures taken today from the highway between Torreon and San Pedro.


The land as it usually looks.......
A house unfortunately built in the river's path...



A retaining wall of dirt along the highway...

A factory surrounded by trenches and sandbags. I saw them start this work on Tuesday morning, and it was finished by Tuesday night...


A field of cotton.....

A juvenile detention center.....

Update

Hi all,

Sorry about the lull between blogs...here's what's been happening in San Pedro:

-Stephen is traveling in the States, all the way from Virginia to Texas. He will be traveling until the beginning of November, so please keep him in your prayers.

-El Calor played their first game of the season on Saturday, winning 5-0. This week they will be playing in Torreon on Saturday afternoon.

-We are experiencing flooding here in the middle of the desert...sounds strange, doesn't it? Many years ago a large river flowed through this area (hence, it is known as the Laguna (lagoon)) but the river was dammed and now the only thing we have in abundance is dust...we have experienced substantial amounts of rain this year and the dam filled up past its safety point, so the government decided to allow a controlled release of water to bring levels back under control. Traveling along the highway between San Pedro and Torreon, you see cars pulled over at the side of the road and people just standing and looking at the water - actually, the crowds started when the news just came out about the flood, and for several days you could see people just standing in the riverbed, waiting for the water to arrive. Last week the water level seemed to be going down, but this week it is up again, and yesterday we heard that the water might reach San Pedro. This happened about 15 years ago, and I am told that San Pedro became an island, with the surrounding fields and roads covered in water. This morning as I drove to Torreon I saw backhoes and trucks with sandbags and people out digging trenches and building walls to protect their homes and towns from the water. Returning at night I saw how much the water had advanced - in some places it was nearly at the highway, and several houses were flooded. I arrived at the house and Peter presented me with an escape plan:Please pray for our safety as we travel through the path of the river, and pray that the waters would not bring destruction to the region, but instead bring blessing and abundance.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. (Isaiah 43:2a)