Missions trip and concert

Thank you for praying for the 5 guys on the mission trip. They have now left Panama where they participated in street presentations and shared the gospel. They have now arrived in Haiti and will continue to share the gospel alongside playing football. Please keep praying for boldness and strength for each of them.

Elisa and Jacob travelled over night south down to Tepic in Nayarit where they will be playing in a concert this evening, supporting Marcos Witt, the 5-time Latin Grammy award winning Christian singer. They will be singing some songs written by Elisa's cousin. From there Elisa will travel to Guadalajara for her legal ceremony with the church ceremony following in a couple of weeks time. Please pray for her and the family over the coming few weeks as she and Paco finish all the preparations.

Some information and prayer requests

...because that's what the blog is for! I mentioned in a recent post that we've started a rehab/support group for people with addictions and social problems. As an extension of this ministry, which is focused on adults, we are creating a live-in group for children and youth struggling with addictions. We have rented a nearby house and already have 3 members; one is only 16 and has fathered 2 children, in addition to having addiction problems. We ask for your prayers for these young people and for those who will continue to arrive. The person who was in charge of this outreach has had to leave San Pedro unexpectedly, so we are looking for someone to take on this role as leader and counselor. Please be in prayer for this person also; we don't know who it will be yet but we know that God is preparing the right one to minister to these children.

Last weekend municipal elections were held throughout Coahuila. In the run-up to the election, Marcela and Stephen were asked to support a local candidate and participate as PRD members in San Pedro. They were unable to do so but Elisa took the opportunity to become involved, as it has long been a goal to have Christians involved in local government. Her party didn't win the election but she is in place as a party representative and we are hoping that God will use her to help turn the San Pedro government to the Lord.

Soccer playing and mission trip

It's been another busy few days in San Pedro, although a drop in temperature has bought a brief relief from the summer heat of the desert. Yesterday we had our first match on the soccer field on the property. The guys were all given notes of paper as they left with John 3:16 written on them, please pray they would read them and want to learn more.
Today 5 of our guys left on a missions trip. They are heading down to Mexico city on the bus, from where they will fly to Panama and onto Haiti. Their aim is to share the gospel and will also be using soccer to reach out to the people. Please pray again that they would be bold and confident as they seek to spread the good news.

Above: Playing on the soccer field

Below: Praying and sending out the boys on the missions trip

Desert living

It's continuing to be another hot week here in San Pedro, with temperatures often reaching the highs 30's (high 90's fahrenheit). We have had a few thunderstorms in the night but the temperature soars back up again the next day. There is also a continued lack of water supply to the town, coming from England, I never had to worry about that problem before!! Often houses are left without supplies during part of the day, many people are having to go directly to the water plant as insufficient or no water is delivered directly through the main lines and others are getting up in the night as this is the time the water is delivered. All these can be tiring and time consuming, but are a reality of life in a desert. Praise the Lord that we have not yet totally run out of water. Please pray for continued strength for the people during these hot months.

Congratulations!

On Friday we celebrated with Timothy as he completed his university studies and was sworn in as a civil engineer!

Visit to Seniors' Home

Yesterday afternoon a group of our young people visited the seniors' home that is across the street from TCL. We held a short service with worship, dramas and teaching, and afterwards spent some time visiting with the residents. Two of them are coming to church this morning, so please pray that God will touch their lives and the lives of the people living in this place.

Outside the home.

Looking across the street to TCL.

Getting ready for worship.

Worship.

Teaching.

Visiting with the residents.

Newsletter

I have had some comments from people unable to open the link to the newsletter, so I'm posting it here in JPEG format. Let me know if this works!

Funeral

This weekend we said goodbye to one of our congregation, Alondra, who was only 15 years old. She had been fighting cancer for a little over a year and early Saturday morning she went to be with Jesus. On Saturday evening we had a small gathering at the funeral home, and Sunday the funeral was held at TCL. Alondra accepted Jesus at our youth camp 2 years ago and was just starting to get involved in the tambourine ministry when she was diagnosed. Her family went back and forth from San Pedro to Torreon, where she was receiving treatment, for many months. Please pray for her family as they go through this difficult time, and pray that her testimony will touch the lives of everyone who knew her.

Platform view of funeral.

San Pedro newsletter

Good morning, everyone!

I've just sent out our summer newsletter; hopefully the link works for everyone. If not, let me know and I will send it to you individually.

We currently have Kiara Bland from First Apostolic Church, Nashville serving with us here in San Pedro for two months. Kiara is a High School Spanish teacher and has come to serve here as well as to improve her Spanish. She is very open to how God might use her during her time here, already she has blessed us through her vocal abilities during the recent women and youth events. She is also involved helping in the adolescent girls group, bringing her experience from being a youth leader at her home church. I’m sure she would appreciate prayer as she settles into her time here.

Women's Conference, Youth Service, Baptisms....

As I mentioned in the last post, last Friday we held our first ever women's meeting at TCL. The event was attended by about 70 women from TCL, other local churches and guests. We had a time of worship, a special drama and Marcela shared a thought-provoking message about arrows (keeping with the theme of women as God's arrows). We are planning another conference in the next few months and are aiming for it to be an all-day event. Here are a few pictures (sorry about the lighting, or lack thereof, and the angles - there really were more women there than there appear to be!).

Before service.

 

Watching a drama.

Prayer after message.

Last Saturday was the joint youth service, also a first for TCL as host. About 80 young people came to the service. TCL's music group ministered and the message was given by Donald, whom many of you will know.

Donald preaching.

About 80 young people attended.

TCL youth drama team.

Finally, over the weekend we had 3 more baptisms (could it be the heat making everyone want to have a turn in the baptismal tank??) and tonight (Monday) we started a new session of doctrine classes for new believers. As always, thank you for your prayers; we are seeing the results of them every day.

Upcoming in San Pedro

This week we have two events happening in Templo Cristiano Libertad. On Friday evening we are holding our first ever women's conference, which we are hoping will become an annual or biannual event. The theme is (and I cannot, for the life of me, memorize it....) "Mujeres: Saetas en manos de Dios" which, translated, means, "Women: Arrows in the Hand of God".

The second event is on Saturday, and it is a city-wide youth service, which happens every two months or so, and this time it's TCL's turn to host. Please keep these two events in prayer, asking God for good attendance and that many lives will be touched.

Also, in July Marcos Witt will be giving a concert in Tepic, and Elisa will be opening for him (here's a link to the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/454888911270493/); something else to be in prayer for!

Baptisms

We've had several baptisms in the past month or so, and here are some pictures (which I finally figured out how to get off my phone....sigh...). They are all young people who have come to the church in the past year.