Hearts in Action Mexico

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good;  His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 106:1 With all that's been going on I totally forgot to post!  Here's a November - December quick read: Highlights:   Day of the Dead outreach Mom and Dad visit Mexico! Xau and Kai ministry trip to Guatemala Christmas dinner party at Crece Other news: Suffered a miscarriage (9 weeks) Ended English teaching  (too much of a time commitment) School switch for kids  (due to distance) Kitchen remodeling  Day of the Dead outreach at Crece! The youth did a great job with the black-light theater (two choreographies and a story). Three groups of trick-or-treating kids and families came through and got to hear the gospel message.  Mom and Dad at Twist Kids' Club! The kids were intrigued by their English. Dad told the Thanksgiving story and they brought a parachute which was a big hit. Sweet time with Grandma and Grandpa Don't worry, Kai did get to spend a few days with Grandma...

  Let us look only to Jesus. He is the one who began our faith, and he makes our faith perfect. -  Hebrews 12:2 (ICB) View en-route to Ixtapan As Crece church and Twist Kids' Club continue, we constantly face waves of discouragement and waves of hope.  People come and go. Leaders grow and then have setbacks.  We see breakthrough. We see backsliding. But we persevere, keeping our eyes on Jesus - the author and perfecter of our faith.   It's quite a mix of folks - teen moms, alcoholics, unemployed and empoverished, past gang members, former church-goers, established professionals, recovering "religious" people and more... but, it's beautiful.  That is the church, right?  Broken ones healing in Him. Home visit to these ladies and new baby :)  Beginnings of worship band/chorus Some work on decor and also new electrical wiring for the "auditorium." Next project is the bathroom! If you'd like to give towards that, it would be a great blessing....

 ...a part fr om Me you can do nothing.  - John 15:5 A sweet outing with Aunt Yaz for her birthday This month I hit a wall - a wall of stress and strife. It’s no coincidence this all came in the same month of celebrating Crece’s (church plant) one year.  All the feelings and questions of - is it worth it? Is the work really being fruitful? Are we doing it right? Along with an over-full schedule running kids to school at 6 am, teaching two days a week, etc. I just came to my wit’s end, a nd then to my knees before the Father. His Word, never-failing reminded me of His one counsel: “Just be with Me.” All the rest comes into perspective. Everything changes when we heed that simple, life-changing invitation to guard our time with Him.  So we've resolved anew to advocate renewal in our home, to be ever-more intentional about unity and quality time with the Father.  Pray along with us that we can live out His heart - taking whatever decisions necessary to be obedient...

He who did not spare his own Son,  but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32 Cutting the cake in celebration of ONE YEAR of Kids' Club Twist, Tulpetlac (Ecatepec) (Four other Twist clubs continue to meet weekly) What a wild couple of months it's been: baptisms, a trip to Ohio, a new school year... I'll try to summarize. In all the ups and downs, we praise God that He is our source, our life, our salvation! July:  In addition to celebrating our one-year anniversary of Kids' Club Twist (Tulpetlac), we were also thrilled to host our second  baptisms at Crece!  Each one has a story. But for space I'll just share this: Ian, the young man in the back, said that since being baptized he feels life has meaning.   The eight "baptizees" took classes about what it means to be baptized. We asked each one a series of questions when in the water - the first being: Why do you want to be baptized? It was so ...

  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  - Ephesians 6:11 Father's Day shot at Crece What can I say about this month? We continue the learning curve of church planting: people come and go, people criticize and gossip, kids fight, parents complain, people face health crises... but in all the ups and downs, we do see people take steps of obedience, and steps to say Yes to Jesus.  Pray that we can stand firm in all things - with the full assurance that it's HIM working through us, not our own efforts.  Some "rough and tumble" kind of kids have been coming to Twist Kids' Club these last couple months. We've been doing our best to include them, but this month, their behavior came to a hilt. So, we're making some adjustments - primarily dividing the space: every other Saturday for 11-14 year-olds and every other for 4-10 year-olds.  They just need so much love, and  a godly father figure.  Suff...