Update

Just a few quick notes from this week in San Pedro:

• El Calor played in San Pedro yesterday and unfortunately lost 2-1. Next week the team is traveling to Michoacán.
• After the game our youth group went to a nearby neighbourhood and did street evangelism and dramas, their first outing of the new year with more to come!
• This week we will be getting ready for our annual youth camp (see previous post)
• We're glad to have Stephen back after two weeks spent traveling and ministering in the States.

Please keep the soccer ministry and upcoming camp in your prayers. As well, please keep praying for David and Elizabeth; for those of you who don't know, Elizabeth had a fall last week and broke her leg, and this has added to an already-difficult situation. Also keep Philip and his family in your prayers as they have had the responsibility of caring for David and Elizabeth throughout this time.

Camp 2013

We're getting ready for youth camp 2013, which starts next Monday, March 25th and goes to the 28th. This year's theme is Más Que Vencedores (More Than Conquerers) and we will be busy this week cleaning up the property, preparing obstacle and race courses and awaiting the arrival of 100+ youth from ages 12+. Please be in prayer for this year's camp and stay tuned to the blog and Twitter (@SHMSanPedro) for pictures and updates.

Weekend at TCL

On Saturday El Calor played here in San Pedro against UA Zacatecas and won 2-0. Here's a link to El Calor's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/clubcalordesanpedro where you can find more pictures, information and videos of the team.

El Calor Saturday, March 2, 2013

Pre-game prayer

After our Sunday afternoon service we had a time of fellowship to celebrate Family Day - the pictures are a bit dark, but enjoy!

Please keep Stephen in your prayers as he is traveling in the States this week, as well as Elizabeth, who continues to deal with some health issues.

Baptisms

On Sunday afternoon we had 6 baptisms take place - but I'm having problems getting the pictures off my phone! Hopefully I will be able to upload them in the next couple of days. We thank God that the church continues to grow and that people are making public commitments to serve him.

El Calor traveled to Durango on Saturday where they lost 3-0...hopefully this week's game will go better (Saturday @12pm CST in San Pedro. Follow the team on Twitter @calordesanpedro).

El Calor and Vínculo Perfecto

On Saturday El Calor played their 3rd game of the season and their first of the season in San Pedro. They won 2-1 against Club Oro of Guadalajara. Check the previous post for a link to the El Calor Facebook page and Youtube channel.

Second half fighting for ball possession, Calor winning 2-0.

Goal chance for Club Oro...saved by Calor's defence.

Starting lineup for El Calor.

After the game the youth group held a special event, Vínculo Perfecto (Perfect Link), celebrating the love of God and the friendships formed through the church. We enjoyed music, a special teaching and a dessert buffet!

Dessert!

Special rap performance.

Praise and worship.

Soccer Links

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIBYOSTAHpWZuONEEwNix6A/videos

This is the link to El Calor's Youtube page and also has a link to their Facebook profile. There are  4 videos currently but we will be uploading more as the season progresses.

Update!

Hi, everyone, and Happy New Year from San Pedro. We have been getting back into the swing of things after the holidays. We enjoyed a great missions conference at Destiny Church in January and were blessed by the ministry and by the connections we made and renewed.

Yesterday we began a new semester at the English school and are looking at opening 2 new groups in addition to the 10 we already have. El Calor played their first game of the new season on Saturday in Matamoros, Tamaulipas and won 2-1. They will be traveling to Guadalajara this weekend, so please keep them in prayer. We have welcomed 3 new players to the clubhouse since December and are discipling them.

Our youth group is getting ready for a Valentine's event on Feb. 16 with special music, activities and dessert! We're also getting ready for youth camp, this year from March 26-29.

Thanks for your continuing prayers!

Posada TCL 2012

This past Thursday was our annual Christmas posada at the church. We had worship, dramas, special music and of course, food! The ladies of the church formed teams and made tamales, and the men were in charge of the beverages. The church was full and several people responded to the message of Christmas and accepted Jesus into their hearts. From everyone in San Pedro, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Full house!

View from the front platform.

Responding to the call.

Waiting for Christmas treat bags!

Drama presentation.

Music Ministry Update

A quick news item for your Friday!

Last Sunday our worship team from TCL went to the nearby city of Monclova to minister in a new church that has been planted there. The church planting came about because of a young man, Juangerardo Uribe, who was converted through the English school along with his girlfriend at that time. They decided to follow Jesus despite suffering much persecution from their families. After being part of the congregation of TCL for several years, God called them to Monclova where Juangerardo is now the manager of a textiles factory. God placed in his heart a burden to start a work to minister principally to businesspeople, and this is where our worship team ministered last week. There was a great anointing and sense of the presence of God in the service. Please help us pray for this church, that God will bless it and make it prosper, and that he will send worship leaders to be part of the ministry. The church currently uses karaoke tracks in their praise and worship services. While we wait for God to answer this prayer, we will be looking at ways to send someone from San Pedro to help, since we have been blessed with many music ministers. Thank you for praying for this need and for all areas of ministry here in San Pedro!

Ministries and Christmas Preparations

Tonight we had our second leaders' meeting this month, with the leaders of the different ministries of Templo Cristiano Libertad discussing the progress of their respective areas and plans for the holiday season and the new year. 

One of the biggest areas of growth is that of children's ministries, which has been put in charge of one of the newer sisters in the church. Right now the children are preparing to present dramas at the Christmas posada, which will be December 20.

As a church, we are preparing our annual offering of blankets, which we collect and distribute to the needy both in and outside of the church. We are aiming to help at least 50 families this year; for those of you who don't know San Pedro, yes, it gets really cold! 

A new ministry in TCL is part of compassion ministries, and involves taking food to our local hospitals (there are 4 in San Pedro) to distribute to the people who are there caring for sick relatives and friends. At the same time we minister to these people with the Word of God and prayer.

Another ministry which has been going on for several months now is "Operación Canasta" or "Operation Basket". In the church are two baskets that are filled each week with non-perishable food and grocery items and then distributed to those in need. We are mainly reaching older couples who have been abandoned by their families and are unable to work, and who completely depend on this ministry.

El Calor Dinner

On Friday we held our end-of-season gathering for El Calor: a meal, a short devotional and some songs, and fellowship. Please be in prayer for the new season which gets underway Monday with preseason training, and for the upcoming tryouts on December 15th.

General Update: Discipleship, Outreach and Expansion

We have been discipling a new couple in the church and this past Monday, Luis decided to give his life to Jesus. He was so eager to be baptized that he didn't want to wait for a baptismal service so we filled up the tub we're using and he was baptized.This coming Saturday we are continuing the effort to evangelize couples and are having a special dinner and outreach for new couples, hosted by the youth group. Please be in prayer for this event, and look for more information and pictures from the evening next week.

Also a short soccer update: El Calor was eliminated from the playoffs last Saturday with a 10-1 global score in the first round. Although we're disappointed, we're also proud to have made it to the playoffs in the first season after ascending to 2nd Division, a feat that no other team has ever accomplished. The team had a week off and the preseason starts this Monday. We are waiting and praying for the new players who will arrive and ask that you be in prayer also, that God will send the necessary people and that he will open their hearts to receive his Word and be saved. Thanks to an unexpected offering, we are also in the process of repairing and expanding the clubhouse, and hope to double the number of players who stay here. We are also expanding our asylum facilities and are waiting on the arrival of more children and teens who need to be rescued from violence and drug trafficking.

Thank you to those of you who support these ministries both financially and in prayer; may God bless you many times over and above what you put into the work here.

General Update

Hi everyone!

Here's what's been happening in San Pedro the last little while, some upcoming events and a testimony. We're glad to have Stephen back after his yearly trip to the States; he said his time there was a blessing and is happy to have had the opportunity to minister and be ministered to.

We're keeping working on the church building, trying to finish up final details little by little. This past week some of the men of the church met to install rain gutters (yes, it does rain here!). This summer we have had quite a bit of rain and it tends to leak into the church, but we hope to have solved the problem now.

We are getting ready for a March for Jesus here in San Pedro tomorrow afternoon. Our youth group has been busy making signs and preparing to participate in the march, which starts at a local high school and ends with a service in the evening. Hopefully I will have pictures to post in the next couple of days.

And finally, some good news in the form of a testimony. A little while ago Marcela received a message from an ex-Calor player named David that said, "Sister Marcela, I'm really happy because I have become a Christian. All of the teaching and prayer that you gave us when I was on the team have finally paid off!" When he was on the team, David was a boy who, with almost every sentence that came out of his mouth, cursed or said inappropriate things. It was difficult to deal with him but we never lost hope that the Word of God would bear fruit in his life and with those around him. So it was very encouraging with he told use about his relationship with Jesus and how his life has changed because he's serving God.