Greetings from Mexico City. Mayra and I want to start off by thanking you for your prayers and support of us during these months. We have sensed God’s special enablement on our ministry team here.
Highlights of these past month or so…
During Easter week we celebrated in several ways as a church. On Thursday evening, Easter day, we celebrated the Lord’s supper together, sharing a full meal and ending the meal with the ceremony. Our goal, however, was not only to eat the Lord’s supper together, but to follow as closely as possible the events of our Lord’s last Thursday before the cross. We began the evening with a washing each other’s feet, then walked through the final hours of Thursday and into the morning hours of Friday, with Bible readings done in dramatic fashion. At about 12:30 a.m. we finished our time with prayer. By this time the kids were asleep. We gathered around a large T.V. and watched “The Passion of the Christ.” It was a moving end to a rather lengthy celebration. We arrived home at around 2:30 a.m.
On April 22-23 we had our church’s first ever couples retreat. Although only 6 couples ended up going, we had a great time of examining our marriages. We looked at 5 different areas: Marriage as a process, Communication, Intimacy, Compatibility and Commitment. It’s amazing what you can learn about your marriage when you don’t have to be chasing after kids! One new couple went, Nelson and Angelica. Pray with us that the fellowship they enjoyed with us would make them desire a walk with God.
On April 30 we modified our normal Sunday service to reach out to the kids in our neighborhood. April 30 is “Children’s Day” in Mexico. This year we rented a canopy/tent structure and set up carnival-like games in it. Kids chose whatever games they wanted to play, and prizes were rewarded. My game, a personal favorite and almost always the kid’s favorite, involves setting up cups with fish in them, and throwing a ping pong ball in the cup to win a fish. Who wouldn’t like a game like that?! Between 50-60 kids attended, most of them visitors.
Although our regular Sunday morning attendance continues to be about the same, the number of people in cell groups and Bible studies continues to grow. We desire to disciple anybody who expresses a willingness to be discipled. Our weekly schedule includes at least one such study every day (except Tuesday and Sunday).
Traveling in May
We will be heading to PA as a family, leaving Mexico City in our van May 6, driving up to Houston, then flying from Houston to Balimore and then to PA through May 18. The reason for this unexpected trip is for Mayra to be fingerprinted by the FBI in York, PA, as part of her naturalization/citizenship process with INS. The whole residency and citizenship process is NOT easy. But we are finally at the end of a process that began way back in 1996. Hopefully by the end of this year Mayra will have her dual nationality and we will no longer have to worry about living in Mexico and trying to maintain her residency in the U.S.
CAM Mexico’s Formal Internship Program
This summer will be a very active time for us. During the months of June and July we will be hosting 20-25 students from the U.S., the majority of them for 6 weeks. They will be involved in a bunch of different activities, including English classes, Children’s 5-day clubs and sports ministry. The coordination for such a time is significant, involving lodging, food, transportation, providing exciting cultural experiences and ministry opportunities. Most of all, we desire that it be a time where we are all able to get to know God more and experience Christian community. Please pray for this time.
