One Twelfth

The king said to Daniel, "Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries...

Daniel 2:47

God is big!  While home in Ohio, the whole family got to be together for my birthday- it was the best gift ever!

Now, back here in Mexico, we ask God to contine to direct our steps. It's always hard to believe one twelfth of the new year has already gone by.

Norma, a friend of ours, connected us with her church as they were wanting to have some training for their children's ministry.  We did a day seminar with them to promote God's vision for children and give them some practical ways to make His message come alive.  

That was a Saturday.  On Sunday, Efrain invited us to the church celebration of his dad's (the pastor) birthday.  It has been a long time since we visited this church - I believe it's in one of the first blogs I uploaded way back in 2012 (ha!). It was an honor for Xau to give the message with these brothers and sisters who received us early on in our ministry. 

Oscar, a contact from an outreach we did last year, had asked us since then to organize a training seminar with teachers from his church and their sister churches.  So we had set the date for January.  It was a great time to encourage them and challenge them to use the creativity God's given us - to reach the young generations!

Here's Oscar.

We traveled up to Leon, Guanajuato (5 hours north) for a week to teach classes at the Rhema Bible Institute campus there.  But before the class week started, we got to do an outreach lesson at this church called The Good News.

Pastor Richard and Pastora Selene have a heart for reaching their community, and while we were there they had invited kids from the area to receive Operation Christmas Child boxes.  Many new families came!  How fun it was to watch them open their gifts!  But before they did, we got to share the message of the greatest gift - Jesus - whose Good News is designed for us to receive and then spread into all the world!

That was a Sunday.  On Monday we started class.  Youth ministry was the class we had the privilege to teach to these diligent Bible school students.  Xaume is finishing the class there this week, so please pray for an awesome close. 

Aside from teaching, we had a crazy idea. Well, Xaume had a crazy idea to help refurbish and reorganize the children's ministry closet.  It was a big project.  But it kept us busy, and we believe it will be a blessing to the church.  We'll be posting a video about it to the youtube channel soon - on tips for organizing storage spaces ("Corazones en Accion Mexico") 

The original- AKA before

Sorting through (trying to keep Liam from taking everything out of the boxes once I had categorized...)

The new space to-be.
Xau was busy painting, planning, buying supplies, moving boxes, etc. 

To make the most of our visit, we held an evening training for children's teachers and those interested in joining the team. Pray for this church, Tree of Life, to be strengthened and blessed as they grow.  Leon is within one of the least evangelized regions of the nation.  The majority claim to be Catholic, but many are bound to religious practices rather than an understanding of the true gospel message.  

The moment of revelation came to one individual when it was his turn to change the Virgin of Guadalupe figure's dress. When he saw that it was nothing more than the head and a hanger, he couldn't believe that they'd been led to pray and bring offerings to an object.  

Does this below look familiar?  Xau was invited this year, by the sister of the quinceñera from last year to share at her big bash.  Of the 100 or so guests, about half do not go to church, so it was a great opportunity to share the message of living life for what matters - God's matters. 

And of course, a Liam update.  He's becoming such a little boy!  So close to walking and now sporting four big teeth. He loves taking everything out of the cupboards and won't tolerate wearing hats. 

THANK YOU for reading.  Thank you for being part of this journey!  Drop us a line and let us know what's happeing on your end. 

One specific prayer request we have is for a new vehicle (as ours is on the cusp of no longer circulating everyday) and for the ability to hire another team member. Thank you!

May the God of gods keep surprising each of you with his greatness!!