God at Work at Diabetes Camp

What a powerful experience! I just spent this last Saturday, Sunday and Monday at a nearby mountain campsite with about 95 members of the Fundacion Esperanza--the only foundation for kids with diabetes in Mexico.

My good friends and co-workers, Gerardo and Carola Garcia began this foundation after their daughter Melonie was diagnosed with diabetes. Now, almost four years later, a team of parents, friends, doctors, pychologists, social workers and nutritionists have come together to provide encouragment, education and support for families like them.

One of the projects of this Foundation is to put on a camp two times a year for recently diagnosed kids and their parents from the Guadalajara area. A little over 30 kids and their parents attended the camp this past weekend.

At the camp, the parents were offered intense education and training on how to cope and how to care for their child with diabetes. They were led to express their pain and begin a road to acceptance and healing.

At the same time, the children were cared for and educated in the basics of this disease. Through classes, activities and conversation they too came to understand diabetes better and to begin to accept their reality and move forward.

It was fun to see God at work here! It was powerful to see how God is using the Garcia family to connect a group of people around a common pain and a common hope. It was powerful to see how God is using them to show Christ's love and healing in such a natural way--in a way that flows so clearly out of their own suffering and out of the consolation that they have found in Christ. It was powerful to see so many who are finding purpose in helping others. It was cool to see how Christ was so obviously seen in word and deed.

I pray for God's continued work here...for the healing seeds that are being planted!

March Update

Wow! I can't believe how fast time has flown lately--and how bad we have been about writing here.

We are well--and want to take a minute to write about some of the things we have been up to in the last few weeks. As always, we are thankful to God for our friends and family who are interested in God's work here in Guadalajara and who join us in prayer for this work.

Nancy and the Kids

Several weekends back, Nancy and the girls had a pijamada (slumber party) with some of the girls that live in La Nueva Santa Maria--one of the colonias where there is a house church. Adrianaita, Fatima, Melani and Nicole joined Ceci, Morgan and Natali for a great time togehter making bracelets, watching a movie, eating popcorn and studying about Jesus around the table. We topped it off with a silly picture.

The youth also spent several weeks in February and March planning and practicing a play to perform at the all-church retreat. They worked up a spanish rendition of the story of Punchinello called Tu Eres Especial (You are Special). They worked each Saturday on the play, songs and the backdrop. The process and the final product were both lots of fun!

All Church Retreat

Three weekends ago, we had our annual all-church retreat at a camp ground outside of the city. Almost 90 of us representing at least six different house churches spent Friday night through Sunday afternoon playing, talking, praying, singing, eating, studying, working and listening to God together. It was a great time to recognize and celebrate God's work among us and to grow closer to one another and to the Lord.

The adults had a special workshop on Spiritual Cleansing called, "Get up and Walk." The children were blessed to be led by a group from the University Group of the Sunset Church of Christ in Lubbock who spent their Spring Break with us.

Several of the youth presented the larger group with their rendition of "You are Special"--based on a children's book by Max Lucado. It was a great success and lots of fun!

New Christians

Two Sundays ago, a young couple, Quique Garcia and his wife Monica were baptized into Christ. It seems that they began being drawn to Jesus several years back and since then have spent time off and on with Christians here. However, in the last couple of years, they have spent more time with Cory and Toni Burns--studying and beginning to live as a community of Jesus followers. What a great joy for them to take this step of faith!

As always, we thank God for your partnership with us in prayer!

January Update

Greetings from the Schroeder family! We hope that you have had a blessed Christmas holiday. We are well—wanted to take a few minutes to update you on recent happenings and some specific requests for prayer. As always, we thank God for your partnership with us!

Family News - Our Christmas Holiday

Even though we decided not to travel to spend Christmas with family this year, we had a great time. It was good to spend a couple of weeks resting, hanging out with friends, spending time with Mexican Christians and enjoying one another. We went on two camping trips! We were reminded of God’s goodness to us.

Turtle Camp. The day after the girls got out of school, we drove with four other families to a Campamento de Tortugas a couple of hours south of Puerto Vallarta. We spent three days and nights camping out on a beach and hanging out with a marine biologist who works to preserve endangered sea turtles. Late in the evenings (about 11:00 pm) we patrolled 12 kilometers of beach on 4-wheelers looking for female turtles which had already laid or were laying their eggs. The eggs are rescued and brought back to the camp where they were put in secure nests so they can incubate for about 50 days. Each female lays about 100 eggs. In the mornings, we would take the baby turtles that had hatched in the night (after having been rescued about 50 days earlier) and release them into the ocean. One day, we also got to go out in boats with a couple of the biologists to catch and study sea turtles swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Of course, we did a lot of playing, cooking, eating, sweeping sand out of our tent and having a general good time! It was a bit of work at times—but a fabulous experience! We came home on December 23 just in time for Christmas.

Santa Maria del Oro. We spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day at another camp site. Again, we traveled with five other families to a volcanic lake (in the crater of an old volcano) about 2 hours south of Guadalajara. This trip was a little more relaxing than the turtle camp—we swam in the lake, hiked, rented kayaks, ate, played cards, talked around the campfire, and enjoyed one another.

We are thankful the experience!

Church News

The churches seem to be doing generally well right now. Of course, the different groups are all at different stages of growth and maturity—dealing with their own unique challenges. We have been with many of the maturing leaders over the past few days—talking about challenges and dreams for this year. Most of the Christians are poor and there is a great deal of talk around Mexico that 2009 (as you would imagine) is going to be very difficult economically. Please pray with us for our Mexican family—that the trials will make us all stronger in our focus on Christ—that we would all see opportunities to bless others with generosity and service. Please continue to pray for our ministry among these churches, and especially among the maturing leadership. Pray for the churches and pre-church groups in La Piedad, Jardines del Valle, Mariano Otero, Jocotan, Nueva Santa Maria, Las Pintas and Ciudad Granja. Pray for leadership; for new opportunities to plant gospel seeds.

Proyectos de Vida

You may remember that one of the ways our Mexican brothers and sisters have begun talking about their mission as individuals, families and churches is with the idea of “proyectos de vida” (life projects).

In November, we wrote especially about the Garcia family and the work they are doing among children with diabetes and their families. We mentioned their need for funds to be able to minister to this group in 2009. In December, the Lord blessed them with the funds they had requested! Praise God!

They have begun working on a weekend camp planned in early April for children and their parents who have recently been diagnosed and are just learning how to live with their disease. They are also beginning a new course that will be offered twice weekly to help poor parents with basic orientation. Also, this coming Saturday, January 24 they are scheduled to do a radio program on a local Guadalajara station. Please pray for the Garcia family and those who are working with them to offer help. Pray that God will use this service to plant seeds of the kingdom and provide open doors into families and groups of people.

Pray for our brothers and sisters around us who are involved in similar “life projects” in their neighborhoods. Pray for them as they look for ways to use their God-given experiences, passions and gifts to join God in his mission. Pray for the countless seeds that are being sown among people that come in contact and begin conversations with God’s people.

Horse Therapy

Several months ago, Nancy and I took a course in Horse Therapy/Therapeutic Riding and began volunteering at a newly formed Horse Therapy center. The center was begun by the local mounted police force. On most Saturday mornings, we spend several hours working with dozens of children who have special needs (autism, cerebral palsy, downs syndrome, ADD, etc.). By combining exercise and traditional physical therapy with horseback riding, we are working with several other volunteers to provide help to low-income families. Nancy and I have begun to see it as one of our “life-projects.” Its a lot of fun. Oftentimes the girls go with us. Please pray for us and these children. Pray that God will use this service to open doors into the lives of new families and groups of people.

A couple of months back, the local news did a video report on the new center. If you watch closely, you will see Nancy, Morgan and I working with children in this clip.

http://www.exonline.com.mx/diario/videos/410732

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