You may remember (ok, probably not) a post from last Fall that mentioned Matheus and Cheila, and how they are studying at Word of Life Institute Mexico. They are related to a church plant in Portugal, where my uncle and aunt Bob and Jo Fry ministered for many years (15 or so?).
Mayra and I met them last October at a pastors conference sponsored by WOL, and we’ve kept in touch ever since. They, along with six other people from WOL, were here the end of April/early May, and helped us do a number of kids outreaches.
Well, we just confirmed with Héctor Romero that Matheus and Cheila (and possibly one or two more students) will be doing their practical weekend training with us here in Ixtapaluca. We’re excited! And I need to remind my uncle Bob that he did say they would come and visit us if this happened! Maybe Ryan and Leah could visit also, make it a family reunion south of the border. Lance and Michelle?
Matheus and Cheila will be helping the Cottrills and us kick off a new church plant in Palmas 1 by years end. They’ll also be involved in a soccer league coordinated by Jonathan Garcia that UW helped us start this past January (thanks Mark and Mike), start a youth group on Saturday evenings with the two existing churches here, and minister Sunday morning in one of the two existing churches and, eventually, in the new plant. Matheus and Cheila are also both talented musicians, and we’re looking forward to their ministry with us here in Ixtapaluca.
How can you help? Glad you asked! The WOL institute is located a good three hours from Ixtapaluca. Bus and public transportation expense, plus meals while here (I heard they eat alot, LOL) come to about $40 U.S. per person per weekend. For two people, that’s about $320 a month. For three, that’s about $480. Our desire is to invite Matheus, Cheila and a third gal as well. You’ll be hearing from them soon, on this blog. We´re excited about this idea…but it is a little pricey. Pray for us as we move ahead!
Seems like I’ve been running into WOL students a lot lately. I met Neftali and Alyssa Rubio in Guadalajara about a month ago. They led some awesome praise worship for the missions conference there! Neftali and Alyssa are also missionaries with Commission to Every Nation (CTEN), the same mission we serve with. Small world!