Special 2-Day Crusade

Yesterday and today a special crusade sponsored by Templo Cristiano Libertad was held in downtown San Pedro. A minister named Luis Alegria came from Brazil to share his testimony and speak about the dangers of drug and alcohol use. As a young man, Brother Alegria was involved in drug trafficking and other activities but God delivered him and now he travels around Latin America sharing his story and God's redemption. Here are some pictures of the event.

Testimonies

Here is a testimony written by Marcela for this week's blog:

For the last several years, God has been enlarging the ministry here in San Pedro by giving us different ways to reach people for his kingdom. We starting receiving young people who are in need of help in many areas. Most of these young people come from very poor families – some of them don’t even have families – and the worst thing is that they have never heard of the love of God. Most of them are from different states of Mexico.

The material needs of these boys are so great that when they come here, most of them just come with 2 changes of clothes, a pair of sandals and no money at all.

At first this was really a challenge for us because once they come here, we have to provide everything for them – school, clothing, shoes, food etc. God has always being so faithful to us that now we don’t even question when a new child arrives because we know that we will see the glory of God in every need.

When they come here, we start to tell them about the love of God, and we let them know how important they are for God. Some of them do not know that they have a great value just for being a creation of God.

We have seen in a satisfactory way when the time for them to leave comes, they just don’t want to go. But then again we feel so proud to see that even being away they keep serving God and sharing the love of Jesus with their relatives.

Here is a little story of one of them.

CESAR FROM THE STATE OF JALISCO.

Cesar came to live here for one year. When he arrived, the first thing he did was hang the image of the virgin of Guadalupe on the edge of his bed. When we saw that, we just let him be. We were waiting to act in the right moment in God’s timing.

We met together every day to eat, and also we had special meetings for Bible teaching. Little by little, we started to teach them about the truth of the Bible in every aspect. They asked questions and were so surprised when they realized they were not living in the truth of the word of God.

Cesar started reading the Bible, and getting to know more and more, and he would come to ask questions and so on. Soon after he knew more about the Bible and had been attending the church for a while, he decided to give his life to Jesus and to be baptized. Soon after that, he would come almost every day asking us if he could borrow the phone, and he literally spent hours on the phone sharing with his family the good news of the love of Jesus. He now is back in his house and he calls us every week. He found a church to attend and now he is going to this church and he has been counseling his family and now, they are going to church with him. We regularly hold cell groups in our house for the ones living here with us and also for the ones that were living with us but they are online. They know the cell group timing and get online and someone here is narrating every detail that is going on in the cell group and they are able to be with us, even though they are far away. Praise God for the “Online cell groups”.

Well, this is just a little something of the wonderful things that God has being doing here in the San Pedro ministry.

We really appreciate your prayers and financial support so God’s ministry can keep going.

Thank you from our hearts: Stephen and Marcela Tolman.

Testimony

About three months ago a woman came to the church. She had just gone through a traumatic experience. This woman and her husband had had a terrible fight and her husband stabbed her in the throat, cutting her vocal chords and leaving her mute. When she was in the hospital, she says that she saw a man come into her room and tell her, "Something good is about to happen to you." She went through an operation to try and restore her voice but it was unsuccessful. A friend of hers took her to the church and Stephen and Marcela began to talk to her and counsel her. Marcela especially talked to her about forgiveness and gradually the woman accepted Christ was able to forgive her husband for what he had done to her. At this time her husband tried to commit suicide but was unsuccessful. He was admitted to hospital and his wife came and looked after him, despite of what he had done to her and despite the fact that she couldn't speak. After this the woman prayed and asked God to give her back her voice so she could worship him. The next day she woke up and was able to talk; God had given her a brand new voice. Last Sunday she brought her husband to church and he accepted Jesus into his life.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16

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!

Difficulties and the Grace of God

This past Wednesday was our monthly cell group celebration, when we hold a joint service at the church for all our cell groups. The message that was shared with us spoke of how the hardships we experience in life allow God to manifest himself and show his grace. As Christians living under the authority and power of God, sometimes we think we shouldn't have problems, and we wonder why we do. In John 16:33, Jesus says, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world." There are two promises in this verse: one, we will not always have an easy life BUT, two, God has already won the victory over whatever circumstances we find ourselves. When we have problems we often want to blame God and question his will. We need to remember, thought, that blame and doubts and confusion do not come from God, but from the devil. We might start to think that there are no solutions, that the problems we face personally and globally are too big, but these thoughts again are not from God; they are what the world would have us think. The book of Romans assures us that, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose" (8:28). Being a Christian doesn't make you immune to difficulties, but it does guarantee that as we seek the will of God and remain faithful to him, he will provide a solution to even the worst problems and can turn them into blessings. If we did not have problems, we would not see the power and grace of God working in our lives. John 9 tells the story of a man blind from birth. When the disciples saw him, they asked Jesus what sins this man or his parents had committed to cause him to be blind. Jesus replied, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life" (9:3). In John 11 we read the story of the death of Lazarus, one of Jesus' closest friends. Jesus could have healed Lazarus easily, but he stayed away until several days after his death. This was a difficult situation even for Jesus; he wept when he arrived at the tomb. But when his disciples first told him that Lazarus was ill, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it" (11:4). Jesus knew that he and the others who loved Lazarus would have to suffer, that Lazarus himself would suffer death, in order for God to be glorified. When we experience problems we have two choices: one, we can get angry and forget about God, or two, we can give thanks to God for the opportunity to experience his grace. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." If we stop seeking God and focus on our pain, our problems will grow, but if we accept problems as part of life and thank God for giving us life, we allow him to show his grace, power, and love.

I Can't Do It

For the last month, I've been teaching a children's Bible class 4 days a week at the English school. We're going through the Old Testament, touching on major stories and people, and yesterday the lesson was about the anointing of Saul as the first king of Israel. We talked about how Saul didn't understand why he had been chosen by God to be king: "But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?" (1 Sam. 9:21). In other words, "I'm not important, I don't have anything to offer, what does God want with me?" This is the same thing that Gideon and Moses said to God: "Choose someone else - I can't do it." I say the same thing as well, especially when it comes to teaching. For me, teaching is the hardest thing I do here, and this Bible class has especially been a struggle because not only do I have to teach, but I have to teach in Spanish. Every day I want to give up before I start, because I think, "I'm going to make mistakes, this is too hard...I can't do it."

"I can't do it" - this is the whole point!!

In every class I give the students a memory verse to learn for the next day. To go with the lesson yesterday, I chose 2 Corinthians 4:7: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." What is the treasure? The Spirit of God and the knowledge of him. And what are the jars of clay? We are. Moses was. Saul was. I am. If we are weak in a certain area, but ask God to provide what we lack, and then go ahead and act, people will see that God is working through us because of our faults, not in spite of them. Even though I'm not the best teacher in the world, if I do my part - preparing for class and showing up every day - God can use that for his glory. Usually only two or three kids come to class, but yesterday three more girls from the church dropped by the school on an errand and decided to sit in the class. Afterwards, one of the girls told me that this idea, this theme, had been running through her mind for several weeks. She said that, although she is a Christian, she has made some mistakes and she and others have been doubting and wondering how God can use her life. We prayed together, and she said that now she knows that God will restore her and use her for his purposes.

Alone, using my own resources, I can't do it. But if I am willing to be used, there is no limit to what God can do through me.

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Phil. 4:13)

Believe and Do Not Doubt

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
(James 1:5-8)

Last night Stephen shared this passage of Scripture with the young adults group. Many times we ask God for things and then wonder why we don't get them (and I'm speaking from experience!). Sometimes we ask with wrong motives; other times our motives may be fine, but we lack the faith to believe that we will receive what we ask for. One argument that I always have with myself is that, "Well, I try to take a realistic view of the world. I know God can do anything, but how do I know that he will do what I'm asking? Sometimes the answer is 'no'." I asked Stephen about this, and he reminded me that our view of reality is not necessarily God's reality:

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face." (1 Cor. 13:12)

" 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts'."
(Isaiah 55:8-9)

Even if the answer is "no", we won't know this unless we ask in the first place - and we definitely won't receive anything if we don't ask at all!

Many times we don't receive what we ask for because we are indecisive and undetermined - as James says, "a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." Pretend you're on the beach right now, standing on the shore with the waves coming in around your feet. They come in...and then they go back out. In again...and back out...in...out...the only constant thing about them is that they keep going back to the place they started. Even in violent storms like hurricanes, when there is massive flooding and water comes deep inland, what eventually happens? It goes back out - it never stays in its new place. What good is it if we ask God for something, but later take it back or change our minds? Jesus said the same thing over and over again in the Gospels:

"I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
(Matt. 21:21-22)

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)

"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
(John 14:13-14)

"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (John 15:7)

"If you remain in me...". First, we need to seek the will of God and then we will ask for things according to his will, not carelessly or selfishly. This is why James says that we should ask for wisdom - if we seek God and simply ask for the wisdom to know his will, and then obey, all the rest will follow.

To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. (Ecclesiastes 2:26)

Shine a Light

“Ahi viene la güera!” “Here comes the blond girl!” As one of only three white, blond people in San Pedro, I hear this, or some variation of it, every time I set foot off the property. When I walk down the street, cars slow down and people turn around and stare – and not just a quick glance, but until I’m not in sight any more. Often people will be walking in one direction while staring in the other – I fully expect to witness some sort of horrific accident one day because someone’s not watching where he or she is going. Usually this attention doesn’t bother me too much, but some days it irritates me to no end. It’s tempting to do or say something rude in return, to let the world know that yes, I can see you looking at me, and yes, I can understand what you’re saying about me. But I know that if I did do something, people would remember for precisely this reason – I stand out. Stephen likes to comment that in San Pedro there’s no way he could ever sin – too many people know him and would find out about it. One day Stephen and I went downtown to run a 10 minute errand, and it turned into a 30 minute excursion because every 5 steps another person would stop and greet him. In the New Testament, Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). In other words, as a Christian you need to be so radically different that people know who and what you are without you having to say a word. I may not like being noticed, but as I walk around the city I am reminded of Jesus’ words. This in turn helps me accept, and perhaps appreciate, being different – in living here, I’m not representing myself, but my family, my work, my church, and ultimately God.

Templo Libertad update: Tonight is the first night of our new weekly service format. We still have regular Sunday morning and afternoon services, but in response to requests from the congregation, we are consolidating our weeknight meetings instead of holding them on separate days. Every Friday we will meet for a time of corporate worship and then break off into groups for men's, women's, youth, and children's services.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from everyone in San Pedro! We pray that God will continue to bless His work here and also bless all of you who continually support us.

I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
(Matt. 3:11)

This New Year's we had both water baptism and a kind of baptism with fire. On New Year's Day Stephen baptized his sister-in-law, who has been a Christian for some time but had never been baptized. A small group of us gathered at the baptism tank (outside and unheated! Thankfully the day wasn't too cold...) and we had a short service. Before coming here I had never been to a baptism for only one person, but there have been two such baptisms in the last month. Praise God that His people are willing to obey Him - even in the middle of winter! - and take this step of dedication and surrender.

On New Year's Eve we held our regular Sunday afternoon service and then had a special Thanksgiving service at 11 pm. We had a short time of worship and then gathered around a bonfire, where everyone shared one thing they were grateful for in their lives this year. These things ranged from simple things like another year of life and the blessings of family and friends, to life-changing miracles and works of God. After this, on a small piece of paper we each wrote down the things in our lives that we want to change this year - not as resolutions, but as prayers and needs that we presented to God, asking for His help to change us. We then threw the papers in the fire, symbolizing that we have surrendered these things to God. In the Bible fire is used for several purposes. The Israelites offered burnt sacrifices to atone for sins and also to offer thanks to God. God spoke to His people out of the fire, as when He gave the 10 Commandments, and to show His power, as in the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. It is also used to purify and refine. What we did was a small sacrifice on our part; it didn't really cost us much, but as I looked at the things I wrote, I realized how merciful God is and how loving - despite our shortcomings, despite our sins, He is always faithful and willing to accept us as we are. Even though we tend to want to rescue that paper from the fire and take back control of our lives, He still wants nothing more than to purify us, filll us with His Spirit, and draw us closer to Him. The need for burnt offerings is gone because of Jesus' death and resurrection, but we still need to offer ourselves as sacrifices every day, laying our plans and our desires before Him and asking for His will to be done in us. It may hurt; we may smell smoke and see the ashes of things that we valued lying around us, but what is left in the end will be pure and everlasting.

Miracle Baby

Sometimes we might think that God isn't watching over us, but he always is, even down to the smallest baby that is born. Several months ago, one of the women in our church, Guede, gave birth to a baby boy. Almost immediately, the doctors realized that the baby was very sick - he was born with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a disease that affects the intestines and digestive system (visit http://www.eapsa.org/parents/NEC.cfm for more information). Babies with NEC develop serious complications very quickly, and often die as a result. Guede called Stephen and Marcela, who prayed with her, told the church of the crisis, and then rushed the baby to the hospital in Torreón. The baby didn't die that night, but he remained very ill. While they were in the hospital, another baby was born with the same illness, and she died after only 3 days. The church continued to pray for the baby, and after several days Stephen went to the hospital to pray for him there. God answered these prayers and the baby slowly gained strength, to the point where he was strong enough for the doctors to operate on him and remove the dead tissue. The morning of the scheduled operation, the doctors took an X-ray to check and see how far the disease had spread and how much intestine they would have to remove. What they found was - nothing. The baby was perfectly fine, his intestines perfectly healthy and living. We might wonder why God would allow a mother to go through an experience such as this, or why he would allow a baby to suffer. But now, hearing this testimony, who could look at this baby and deny that God exists, is all-powerful, and cares for his children?

I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
Yo amo al Señor porque él escucha mi voz suplicante.
Por cuanto él inclina a mí su oído, lo invocaré toda mi vida.
Psalm 116:1-2

A Personal Testimony

I had the privilege of visiting San Pedro for the first time in June 2006. A missions group, under the leadership of Pastor Walt and his wife, Vicky, were also there with an enthusiastic missions work group from Arkansas and Texas. They worked in the heat, doing a number of projects to upgrade the buildings on the property. As well, they participated in various aspects of the ministry, including the prison service, the drug rehab program, the Wednesday cell group service and the Friday night youth service. There was also time for some recreation, including nighttime soccer games, an afternoon at a local water park, and shopping in the downtown market.

The ministry in San Pedro is multi-faceted with outreach into a variety of areas in the local community. I found the service in the prison courtyard to be very moving, from the enthusiastic worship to the sincere response to the gospel as it was preached openly by one of the visiting pastors from the States. Stephen Tolman has great favour with the prison officials and is called on frequently in a chaplaincy role. We also met other members of the San Pedro ministry team including Jacob, the assistant pastor, Samy, the youth pastor, and many members of the congregation.

This is God’s work, and our efforts are nothing without the power of the Holy Spirit. That power is evident as the foundation and planting efforts that have been going on for a number of years are now bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God.

Ruth

Canada