May Update

Time seems to be passing quickly--can't believe its been almost 2 months since I last wrote!

The last couple of months have been full of ministry and events--much evidence of God's work--but as always, reminders of the Enemy's activity and his schemes to distract, divide, discourage and destroy. We want to mention a few things for your thanksgiving and prayer.

Family News

It is extremely hot and dry here--our rainy season should start sometime in the next few weeks. The girls are doing well--ready for school to be out for the summer! Their classes carry on until the last week of June. Morgan and Natali continue to play on the school volleyball team--they even one a match last week!

Ceci will turn 7 in a few weeks. Yesterday, she was telling me about the birthday party she is having at school. She wanted to know if I would go for the party. When I told her I would think about it, she was thoughful a moment, and then said: "But the kids aren't going to be able to say your name dad--so could you just call yourself 'Pancho'"?

April also marked 2 full years since Ceci's adoption became final. We thank God for Ceci and the gift she is to us and so many others. Since two years have passed, we are now able to make application for her citizenship in the U.S. We've put in all the paperwork and are now waiting to be invited for an interview at the border--are hoping that this interview will coincide with a trip in July to Texas. Please pray with us that all of the legal work will happen easily and quickly!

Youth Weekend with the House Church in La Piedad

A little over a month ago, we participated with the house church in La Piedad in their outreach to youth and children who live around them. With them and members of 2 of the other churches in Guadalajara, we spent Saturday and Sunday in and around their house with nearly 30 kids and youth. These are kids who have a background of broken families, parents with addictions, violence and despair. So many things about this are awesome: the participation with our Mexican brothers and sisters...seeing them minister incarnationally and in ways that so clearly connect to their own woundedness and healing in Christ...seeing Jesus minister to hurting kids through his body...seeing signs of transformation at multiple levels.

We thank God for his work and light in this dark area. We pray for protection against the Enemy's scheming...we pray for countless kids and their families. We pray that God will help more of his people to discover their mission to the people around them.

All Church Retreat Last Weekend - May 9-11

This past weekend, we participated in our annual all-church retreat. About 80 of us gathered at a rustic retreat site outside the city. The group was made up of members from five house churches (Mariano Otero, Jocotan, La Piedad, Jardines del Valle, and Cerro del Cuatro) along with several seeking visitors and a slew of kids.

It was a great time for fellowship, Biblical teaching (Joe Pruett gave several hours of teaching on spiritual formation and our practices), mutual edification and lots of fun. We saw evidence of God's work in so many ways. We are especially encouraged to see clear growth in shared leadership and responsibility among our Mexican brothers and sisters. We praise God for this important growth.

On Sunday, two new sisters were immersed into Christ--they are family members of the Cerro del Cuatro church: Manuela Juarez Cantero and Maria de Rosario Medina Benitez. Their family calls them Manuela and Rosa! We praise God for his salvation in this family--we pray for continued growth and maturity. I'll try to put up some video footage of the baptisms soon!

Leaders' Retreat - May 2-5

Two weekends ago we facilitated a leaders' retreat for several of the house church leaders from Mexico City and Guadalajara. We spent 4 days (including travel) at a mountain retreat site between the two cities. 6 Mexican families and 3 missionary families participated in this time (33 people I think)--what a wonderful experience to see these leaders connect with one another, share stories of struggle and victory, pray and study together, fellowship and build one another up. We were especially impressed with the deep pain and suffering that almost all of these leaders have experienced--how that pain has found healing in Christ--how their faith has grown through this--and how these experiences have contributed to a deep maturity in them.

We thank God for this maturity--We pray that God will continue to shape and mature this group--that their numbers will grow.

Upcoming Activities

We anticipate alot of activity in the next few weeks. Please pray specifically for these things:

• The arrival of a team of missionary apprentices from the Adventures in Missions Program (AIM) this week. We are expecting 6 young people to arrive tomorrow. Our coworkers Cory and Toni Burns will be coordinating their apprenticeship. Pray for God's grace and guidance for all of them. We especially pray that God will use them to connect with unreached people.
• Youth groups from at least 3 churches (about 75 campaigners) will be with us in June and early July. We pray that this will be a good experience for them--that God will also use their time to serve needy people and open doors into new groupings of people.
• Marriage Encounter Seminar. We hope to offer a marriage encounter seminar in one or two colonias in the next few weeks. We are talking with some of the house churches about the possibility of hosting us and inviting friends and neighbors to a seminar designed to promote healthy marriages. We are praying that this will be a help to hurting families--that it will give opportunity to speak of Good News and connect families with God's people in those colonias. Pleas pray for God's grace and guidance in this.

As always, we thank God for you and our partnership!

March Update

We trust that you are well today. The last few weeks have seemed full of important events and ministry. We see much evidence of God’s work—as always, we also see opposition. We want to mention briefly a few things for your thanksgiving and prayers.

Family News

The girls are doing well—ready for the Holy Week break starting next weekend. Here in Mexico, the schools shut down for the entire week before Easter Sunday. This week is called Semana Santa (Holy Week). School is also out for the week after Easter which is known as Semana Pascua (Easter Week). Things really slow down for these two weeks—of course there are many religious celebrations. No school sounds great!

Also, Ceci is scheduled to have her tonsils out next Friday, March 14. It is planned as out-patient procedure—she should be home later that afternoon and will get to take advantage of the 2-week break for recovery. Please pray for her and the doctors who will be treating her—pray for God’s healing for her in the days afterwards.

Partners’ Meeting Last Month

We were blessed with a great weekend this past February 8-11. 26 visitors from 8 partnering congregations in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Washington spent a long weekend here. It was a great time to fellowship with one another, discuss our mission partnership in Central Mexico and spend time with members of the Mexican churches. We though one of the highlights was our time together on Sunday—especially the time after lunch when a dozen or more (Mexicans and visitors from the U.S.) took turns telling stories of God’s transforming work in their lives. We thank God for this blessing and pray for deeper partnerships.

On a sad note—one of the participants in the partners’ meeting, Tim Hartman was killed this past Tuesday in a plane crash in Oklahoma. He was a husband, father, deacon. We pray for his family and loved ones.

A Proyecto de Vida – Ministering to Families with Diabetes

Gerardo and Carola Garcia are Mexican co-workers who live in Guadalajara. You may remember that their 13-year old daughter Melonie was diagnosed with diabetes just over 3 years ago. As they’ve learned to live with this disease, they have become increasingly convinced that God wants them to minister incarnationally to other families with children who have diabetes—that this service is connected to their proclamation of the Good News of Jesus and the formation of new churches. They talk about this as their Proyecto de Vida (Life Project)—a mission assignment from God that is closely connected to their own life and that gives them a clear door into the lives of hurting people. They believe that God wants us all to discover our unique Life Project—they talk about this every time they get a chance. Since the last time we wrote, Gerardo and Carola have put in the paperwork to begin Fundación Esperanza para Niños con Diabetes Mexico (Hope Foundation for Children with Diabetes in Mexico). This is a huge thing for them—an important step in realizing one of their dreams. Gerardo and Carola have been working with another diabetes association for the past couple of years. They are gifted educators and are offering counseling and teaching to other families. Two weeks ago, they began this new association that is unashamedly Christ-centered. We thank God for his grace in their lives—and for God’s grace through them into the lives of others. We pray that the understanding of proyectos de vida would spread like a virus through God’s people—that more of us would discover our unique, God-ordained mission into the lives of others. We pray that God will continue to bless and guide them in their ministry to families with diabetes.

Note: Gerardo and Carola are presently in need of funds for their mission. One of their needs is related to getting this new diabetes association up and running. They are especially in need of a lap-top computer and projector which would be used to educate groups of families with diabetes. If you are interested in partnering with this family with one-time or monthly funds, please contact me.

Upcoming Youth Weekend with House Church in La Piedad, Michoacan

We plan to travel in the morning to spend the weekend with the church in La Piedad. This group is planning their second (1st was back in November) kids/youth weekend—basically it’s a campout with 30+ kids in and around their house! Leaders from two other house churches are going with us to accompany them in this event. Nearly everyone connected with this group has a past (and usually present) in drugs and alcohol. This church sees ministering to the kids and youth around them as their way to be on mission with Jesus and incarnate Jesus in their world. It is their Proyecto de Vida. Please pray that the kids and youth would experience the healing presence of Jesus in their midst. Pray for Martin, Gerardo, Jose Luis, Juliana, Carola, Rosa and my family as we spend the next couple of days playing with kids, telling stories from the Bible and ministering to kids who have often suffered horribly at the hands of those enslaved in addictions.

I guess I’ll stop there. We thank God for your partnership with us in prayer. We pray God’s guidance and blessings for you in these days.

Please continue to pray for the fellowship of house churches—for their continued growth, maturity and mission—for the leadership of these churches. Please pray the Luke 10:2 prayer with us—that the Lord of the Harvest would raise up workers from and for the harvest in Central Mexico and beyond.

Photos of Kid's Weekend with Church in La Piedad