Dia de los Ninos: Children's Day

Children's Day is an actual holiday here in Mexico and is celebrated today (Wednesday 30th).  We celebrated a little earlier on Sunday. 

Our celebration included corn dogs and Otter Pops for everyone and a pinata for the children.  We had a good day and God gave us two new visitors.  Both Catholic ladies who had never been to any other church service.  For their very first time they were presented with the Gospel of Christ.  The text was from Mark 10:13-16 - "The Necessity of Child-like Faith".

Thank you for your continued interest and prayer for the work of the ministry here in Magdalena.

Children's Day Service 2014

  Enjoying our Corn Dogs

 Leslie and the pinata

 Gabriela takes her turn

 Anna, where is the pinata?

 Jesus and Michelle

Missions

It is my conviction that every missionary and every mission work should be fully involved in the work of missions.  That may seem to be a paradoxical statement but observed practice would indicate the need to make just such a statement.  I am appalled at the number of missionaries I know that do not participate in helping other missionaries nor teach their own works to help reach the world for Christ.

 

Here in Magdalena at the Iglesia Bautista de Magdalena we began supporting a national missionary from the very beginning.  Our people have yet to grasp the Biblical importance of the matter but they are learning.  One of the best ways to help them learn is to avail ourselves of the opportunities God gives us to have any willing local church missionary come by an present his burden and calling to the people.  Our latest opportunity was the Manuel Robles family who are Mexicans headed for Panama.  I have know Brother Robles for most of my time here in Mexico and he has served his home church and pastor faithfully as assistant.  They have just begun the deputation road to raise the financial support they are required to have as Mexicans to be allowed entrance into Panama.  We enjoyed the morning service with them and of course a convivio (pot luck) was required!

 

It is my prayer that this work will grow into a church with a true heart for missionary work around the world.

 

After all:  God had but one Son, and He sent Him as a missionary!

The Men's Trio

Missionary Manuel Robles

The Obligatory Convivio

After Evening Service Fellowship

What is that? Who is that?

What is That?  

Most churches have a national flag in one corner and a "christian" flag in the other.  Then they usually have some type of baptismal painting or cross in the middle accompanied by an assortment of flowers around the pulpit and platform area.  Not us, we haven't had any such items.  The front wall in our church building has been quite bare.  A blue wall, a pulpit and two plastic school chairs on each side.  In the summer we add to our decor with about five fans to help circulate some hot air.  So, what is that!

 

Last week we were introduced to our first "adorno" (decoration).  One of our families sells furniture door to door.  Jesus and Fransica were saved about a year ago and God has been at work in their lives.  Jesus is hoping to be able to begin his own line of furniture and so he has been experimenting with how he can go about getting into business.  To that end he created this "Sonora" style lamp and asked if he could give the first-fruits of his business to the Lord!  What a blessing to be able to see God at work in the lives of our people.

 

Who is That?

 

Back in October or November I participated in a conference for couples in the ministry in the city of Hermosillo.  There were three missionary families attending and I invited each to come by and present their burden to our church.  Two were not able to accommodate my invitation and the third family had not actually started their "deputation" but had come to the conference being invited by a pastor friend who rode with them.  They actually returned to the state of Chihuahua but then decided to take me up and come by to be with us as their first church in which to present themselves as missionaries.  I then made a few calls to pastors I know and set them up with several more weeks of meetings.  That was in November.  Since that time (over four months) they have been on the road and are just now coming back through on their way home to Chihuahua.  From there it is their hope to go to the town of Delicias, Chihuahua to start a new work. 

 

What a great blessing it is to be able to have a small part in helping others step out in faith to serve the Lord.

The Grace of God in Life

One of the greatest missionary struggles that Peggy and I have found at our age and time of ministry in our life has been watching our young adult age children grow up and begin to leave the nest.  While that is a normal part of life the abnormal part of it is not being in the same country to help them begin to make their way. 

As you have read in our last post we have just moved Abigail back to Ohio to live with my parents and begin to attend college there in their town.  This past Thursday at around six AM we got that dreaded call.  Abigail had just experienced her first snow accident and had repeatedly rolled her truck on her way to school.  A witness had called 911 and Abigail had immediately called us while still in her truck concerned with possible neck and back injuries.

Well as you can see, the little Ford Ranger that Abigail and I spent so much time on fixing together as a Father and Daughter project had done it's number one job in protecting Abigail but it took the full blow.  Abigail was released from the hospital a short time latter with a clean bill of health.

Thank God for His grace.

Home for the Holidays

We were able to head back to Ohio for the second part of December.  It is not that we wanted to make plans to be back in Ohio for CHRISTmas but that is how it all worked out.  As you can see from the accompanying photos we left here fully loaded.  Our son Simon, and his family had made a move early this year back to Ohio but had left all of their belongings in Bullhead City.  We had taken the opportunity for the first week of December to visit with Mohave Baptist Church for their annual Faith Promise Mission's Conference and picked up Simon's household items at that time.

Simon's things were stored in a friends garage in the Tucson area for a short time and then were reloaded onto the pickup and front part of the trailer for the trip back to Ohio.  On the back part of the trailer we loaded Abigail's little pick-up already loaded with her things to also move to Ohio.  Abigail was moving to Howard, Ohio to live with my folks and attend the local community college.  Anyway it made for a full load.

God gave us a good trip with safety and good progress although we did end up buying three tires.  It seems that heavily loaded trailers and the Arizona sun are not a good combination for tires.  The only bad part was that after the first tire blew and I had used my spare the second tire also went less than ten miles down the road.  Oh well, I was able to "borrow" one off Abigail's little pickup although it was necessary to take the tire off the Ranger rim and mount it on the trailer rim.  It's all good!

So the main reason for the trip back to Ohio was actually our daughter's Sarah's wedding.  Moving Simon as well as moving Abigail was just trying to kill two (three) birds with one stone.  Anyway Sarah was married on December the twenty-first.  It was a lovely wedding and a joy to see Sarah make that sacred and Godly commitment in her life.  Our best wishes and prayers for Sarah and her husband Matt.

Since we were back in Ohio and it was the twenty-first we decided to hang around for a few days and celebrate CHRISTmas with the family.  We were able to go up to my folks and spend a few days with them as well as see my two brothers who were also in.  Then it was back down to southern Ohio to be with Peggy's family as well as with all of our own children!

The last two pictures are taken in my parents basement which is now Abigail's apartment.  I used the OSB (plywood) that I had purchased to make the boxes on the pickups and the trailer to make a room for Abigail.  Nothing fancy, sort of like a rustic cabin, but Abigail is ever so happy with "her place" and it will give her a sense of "home" while in college.

After a whirlwind stay in Ohio I then flew back to Tucson and on back down to Mexico.  As I write this Peggy and Anna as well as Ezra (who volunteered to help Peggy drive home) are on their way back.   Ezra will spend a few days here with us and then return to the frozen north of Fargo.

The work here in Magdalena continues very well.  Our people have a genuine excitement and are growing in the truths of the Lord.  Continue to pray with us that we might see others saved and that in God's timing His man will be sent our way to take up where we are with the work.

On Any Given Sunday

I have taken some pictures and have missed a lot of other photo opportunities but getting them in order has been the delay.  We are either staying really busy or we are moving more slowly than before.  I think it is a little of both.  We have some activities upon us which I will attempt to update in the next few weeks along with some I am currently jumping over but here are a few pictures and captions to help keep you up to date with us.

Last week I attended a Conference for Families in the Ministry held by the Iglesia Bautista de Sahuaro in Hermosillo, Mx.  This is Pastor Perez' and the church's  second conference to help encourage families in the ministry here in Sonora and bordering states.  It was good to see fifteen families and nine separate churches represented. 

This week we conclude our first series of institute classes for our work here in Magdalena.  Our students have done a tremendous job in being faithful and in their studies.  We will take a break for December and plan on beginning again in January.  The purpose was to begin training one man specifically that believes that God has called him into the ministry and my purpose was to prove his sincerity and I must give him an A+!

As the title suggest, these photos are of any given Sunday.  A group photo of our people, a couple of Sunday School shots, and an outside shot.  The other photo is one I took on Saturday visitation of a local house.  It is suppose to be a "nativity" scene but incorporates a lot of witchcraft and idolatry.  The god of this world sure has confused and confounded the minds of most.  Souls need the Truth.

Families in the Ministry Conference

On Any Given Sunday

The Street in front of the Church

Under age eleven Sunday School Class

Sunday Morning

A Little Bit of Every Belief without the Truth

It's a Party - Take Two

Since our last update we were able to participate in a mission's conference with Opelika Missionary Baptist Church and Pastor Richard Fairbanks.  Pastor Fairbanks and I have "traded" places.  When we were starting the work at Mohave Baptist Church he was one of our faithful missionaries serving in Australia.  After many years of faithful service and some heath issues he has now turned out to pastor!  Anyway, Pastor Fairbanks tracked us down and invited us to be part of the churches first ever "Faith Promise Mission Conference".  It was a great joy for us to attend and a needed little break for the family.

Abigail was also able to take a trip to Scotland and England with some missionary friends.  She enjoyed her trip and time and I am sure that what she experienced will be a lasting memory for her life.  It is our (her parents) desire to affect her life to live for God and not self and to be actively involved in missionary outreach to the uttermost part of the earth.  Thank you for taking a part in helping her take that mission's trip.

So "It's A Party - Take Two".  Last Friday we had a fiesta here at the house for our people to celebrate both Peggy and my birthdays.  Our people really enjoyed the night.  We set up outside with some ambiance lighting and God gave us a great climate and a good time.  We had purchased seven kilos of meat to grill and all the fixings and extras for beef tacos.  Everyone left full.  Fiestas are the norm around town on any given Friday or Saturday night but I am sure ours made an impression in the neighborhood for what it lacked - the loud music and the drinking. 

So what's next.  Another fiesta!  Our people have expressed interest in an American Thanksgiving.  Of course with the emphasis on turkey!  Still it has all ready given me opportunity to preach on the believer's responsibility to be thankful. 

Thank you for your interest in the work here and in the lives of our family.  We are rejoicing in the goodness and blessings of God.

The Birthday Couple

"Manning the grill"

 Appetizers

The Main Course

Tacos Carne Asada