Mexico City Updates

2008-05-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

April 2008
We are happy to introduce to you a new brother and sister in Christ. Omar and Natalia (physical brother and sister) were baptised on April 13th, in a river two hours north of Mexico City. Omar has been a part of the intensive study group in Apaxco. He is an excellent student of God's word, who always comes to the group well prepared and thought out. He is a young man of 19 who desires to become a physician. Natalia (15) has met with the church in recent months, and also decided to give her life to Christ.

These are some of the members of the Apaxco group that accompanied Omar and Natalia at their baptism.

Omar and Natalia with their parents. Please pray for Patti and Sergio, who are open to the gospel, but are also hesitant to leave their Catholic roots. We were happy that both Sergio and Patti were in agreement that their children should make their own decisions about their faith. Omar and Natalia are blessed with supportive parents.

Our Caleb also turned three this month. Here is a picture of his cake at school. Our friends and neighbors were very sweet to him. We were reminded of the blessing of having good friends here, who love us and our children.

Caleb fills us with joy as we listen to him talk in his three year old way, mixing up spanish and English. He decided for a Superman piñata, and lately passes his time "fighting bad guys". He is a rough and tumble little boy, but so sweet, and we thank God for his life.

Today we are leaving for a leaders retreat in the mountains. We are taking one couple from Apaxco (Ruben and Vicki Javier), and one couple from Mexico City (Jorge and Hilda Ortega). The Brednichs, The Schroeders, the Garcias, and several families from Guadalajara will also participate. We are excited to see what comes out of this gathering. We hope that getting national Christians together will bring encouragement, comeraderie, and new ideas for living out our faith in a Mexican context. Please pray that God will be guide our conversations, and will inspire these leaders for their individual roles in ministry to their families and neighbors.

Lastly, we plan to leave for Texas on May 19th. We are currently in the process of packing our things for storage, and tying up loose ends here in Mexico. We will continue to be in contact during our time in Texas. Our love to all of you!

2008-04-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

March 2008

Spring Break

This month has been very different from February. While February was packed with events, March has been more laid back with more time for personal relationships. Schools are out for two weeks for Spring break here, which means that many people leave the city. It is actually one of the best times to be in Mexico City because the traffic is much lighter, and everyone seems to be taking life at a slower pace. The stress and frustration of mega city life just seems to go away. During these two weeks, we were able to spend good time with people that did stay in the city.

Leadership Training Groups

Our two groups that meet in Apaxco and in the Pink House in the city, are still going strong. During March, the groups studied the discipline of simplicity. (They didn't meet during spring break.) We are continually encouraged to see these young Christians developing a very real and practical idea of what it means to be a follower of Christ. It is evident that this particular study is growing in them the values of generosity and good stewardship.

With less scheduled activities, James was able to dedicate more time this month to preparing material for the next course for these groups. This course will be the "metanarrative" of scripture. It will give an overview of scripture, beginning in the old testament and continuing through the ascention of Christ. The goals are to give these young leaders a basic idea of what each book of the Bible contains, and how it can apply to our lives. Also, we want to see how God's story continues into our lives, and that we can each become a very important part of that story.

The Church in Apaxco

We ask for your prayers for this little group. We have at least ten committed adults (not counting missionaries), but only two have decided to put on Christ in baptism. We have been studying baptism with the group, and many seem to understand the scriptures that are being discussed, but are still holding back. We really believe that this is not because of a lack of understanding, or commitment to the Lord. It seems like their cultural ties are keeping them from taking this step. They have questions like, Do I have to throw away my images of saints? and What if we want to have 1st communion with our son?. They are aspects of life that are not only religious, but also cultural. These things are some of what identify them as Mexicans, and it is very hard to imagine anything different. Please pray that cultural issues will not hinder this group from walking through the door with Christ.

Spring program at Redlands School.

Neighborhood occurances. This wall by our house was torn down by the govt, in order to make a through street. The people who live here, though, have protested by putting rubble in the road. The govt has now decided to put back the wall.

Kate lost her first tooth.

2008-03-01T08:38:00.000-08:00

February Update
February is over and we are trying to catch our breath. This month has been a very eventful one. We've enjoyed it, but are glad it's over. Here are a few of this month's events:

Sponsors' Meeting
On the weekend of the 8th, we traveled to Guadalajara to participate in a sponsor's meeting. James prepared a video with interviews from our Mexican Christians for the occasion. We hope to share this video with the rest of you when we visit in person this summer. The weekend was a time for supporters and missionaries to interact, for the missionaries to tell their stories, and for the supporters to comment and ask questions. There were also times arranged for supporters to meet and hear from some of the Mexican Christians in Guadalajara. We felt overwhelmed by being surrounded by such good people, both the fellow missionaries, and our sponsors from the States. It was a good time for reconnection, conversation, reflection, and evaluation. Thank you to all of you that were able to attend, and to the congregations that sent you.

A Trip to the "Provincia"
Mexicans call the places that are dominated by small villiages and rural communities "provincia", or the province. For people who live in Mexico City, la provincia provides them with an escape from city life, traffic, and smog. It is where they can rest and renew. It is often where they have their roots, and their extended family. On the weekend of the 16th, we were honored with an invitation to the provincia in the state of Guerrero. Our neighbor Citlalli, (daughter of Elsi and Adan Santiago), turned 15 years old, and her family gave her an elaborate party (which is a cultural tradition). We made the drive out, and after 30 minutes of dirt roads, we finally arrived. We were honored to meet the parents and siblings of our dear friends, and to celebrate the life of their daughter. Elsi and Adan have not yet given themselves to the Lord, but we believe that they will, one day. Please keep them in your prayers.

Marriage Seminar
On the weekend of the 23rd, we hosted a marriage seminar here in Mexico City. The director of Kate's school was kind enough to allow us to use the school's facilities for day. We had a small turn out, with 15 adults in attendance. However, the response was very good. We had two people request that we do this seminar in the towns that they are from. One of the Mexican Christians told us that people everywhere are hungry for this kind of information that will build strong marriages, and that it is not readily available in Mexico. We look forward to seeing the doors that will open as a result of the seminar, and pray that God will use the small seeds that were planted as a means to healthier marriages. One of our desires is that the Christians here will be a light to their community, and we know that healthy marriages is a very important for that light to really shine.

That brings us to the end of our month, and today we are enjoying a Satuday off. During the weeks, James continues to facilitate discovery groups for leaders in Mexico City and Apaxco. we continue to meet on a weekly basis with individuals for Biblical discovery, and centering ourselves on God.

We have just received news that one of our members in Apaxco, Juanita, has been diagnosed with cervical cancer. We will be with her tomorrow. Please pray for her, and her family, as well as for our wisdom and ability to comfort them all.

Thank you so much for your support, prayers, and love. We thank God for you!

2008-01-02T15:56:00.000-08:00

December News

December always seems to go by quickly, and this month has been no exception. We hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday, and that you have enjoyed the love of family and friends. We certainly want to express our love and appreciation of you all.

This month we had to say goodbye to our AIMers who had spent the last 18 months serving here with us. Josh, Beth, and Michelle had become part of our families, and hold a very special place in our hearts. Holly, who completed a 6 month internship, also left this month. They served well. We definitely want to thank those of you who contributed to their financial support. Both our work, and our families were benefited by their presence. We pray that God goes with them into their next phases of life, and that they will always be blessed by Him.

We have continued with our leadership training groups, both in the city and in Apaxco. Both of these groups are going very well. We see good levels of commitment from the students, and are beginning to hear the students share their dreams with us. These are dreams that they have for serving the Lord, and we are excited to come along side them in their desires.

We stayed here in Mexico for Christmas this year, and with that decision came blessings of getting to spend time with dear friends over the holidays. The Brednich family hosted us for Christmas Eve dinner, along with two other families. We've also been able to get caught up with some Mexican families that we had not seen in a while. We have high hopes for the new year with several of these families. Please pray for Maria Jesus and Mauricio, Adan and Elsi, Pablo and Ine, and Jose Luis and Angelica.

This month we also celebrated nine years of marriage. We are very blessed as a couple to live the life that we do, and we are glad that God has given us the blessing of having each of you in our lives. Thank you so much for all that you do. We wish you all of God's blessings for the New Year.

2007-11-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

November Update

Missionary Retreat

We started off the month well with an all-Mexico missionary's retreat. This was such an encouraging time!! We want to especially thank the Sunset Church of Christ for funding the travel and lodging for our guest speaker/resource persons, Jay and Sherry Jarboe. They guided us through discussions that were very helpful for us all. The topics included suffering (and a correct view of them), transformation, and a correct view of failure and weakness. ( all out of 2 Corinthians). These are things that sometimes weigh heavily on our hearts, and Jay's discussions were a Godsend indeed. Thank you Sunset!!

It was also so good to see our friends and coworkers that are going through much of the same struggles and joys that we are. We really are blessed to be working with such good people, and we were renewed just by being around them.

Leadership Training Groups

The purpose of these groups is to encourage spiritual growth and provide Biblical depth to individuals who desire to share their faith with others.

The leadership group is going strong in Apaxco. One more member has been added to the group. His name is Omar. He is 17 years old and is eating up the studies! The members of the group are showing themselves to be very committed. They are doing their homework and even arranging their work schedules around our meeting times. We have so far studied meditation and prayer. The next two weeks will be fasting and study.

This month we also began a leaders group in Mexico city. This group has seven members. they are Filadelfo, Lupita, Pablo, Carlos, Moises, Jorge, and Hilda. They are beginning the same track of study as the Apaxco group. Please pray for their commitment to the studies, and most importantly, for their spiritual growth.

Bi-monthly Leaders SeminarThis month we hosted the get together for the leaders of churches in the Mexico City area. We had about 15 in attendance. James presented practical ideas for deeper reflection on Biblical texts. The material seemed to be well received, and the mutual support and encouragement was good for all of us. The seminar will be hosted by a church in the Northern part of Mexico City called Ecatepec in January.

New Contacts

Please keep in your prayers Lorena and Sylvia. Sylvia seems near to a commitment to Christ, and Lorena is just starting to search.

Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful holiday. More than 30 people gathered in our apartment to share a Thanksgiving meal. We had our teammates the Brednichs, our Aimers, the Johnsons from Leon, Mexico, the Gonzalez family from Morelia, Mexico; and another guest family from Mexico City. It was a day full of good food, fun, and friendships. Also, Erin's dad Kevin Baker was able to come visit us the day after Thanksgiving. We loved having him here, and are thankful for his visit.

2007-11-03T09:32:00.001-07:00

Another month has flown by. October has definately been a busy one. We have a lot of news to share with you.

Leadership Training Group

This month we officially began our leaders group in Apaxco. This group consists of six members- Ruben, Vicki, Cris, Lupita, Leon, and Mari, who are desiring to deepen their faith and their Bible knowledge in order to share with others. Since we know the importance of a leader's development of a personal relationship with God, we are beginning the training with a course on spiritual disciplines. In this class, we will study the disciplines of prayer, meditation, study, fasting, giving and spiritual guidance, service, simplicity, and celebration. We will dedicate one week to each discipline. The students have daily assignments and the group will discuss each week's work together.

The leadership training group in Mexico City is scheduled to begin in the second week of November.

Marriage Seminar in Leon
We were asked by the missionary team in Leon, a city in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, to teach a marriage seminar. The seminar was held on Oct 19th-21st. This is the first marriage seminar that we have ever taught, so we were fairly nervous, but we feel it turned out well. About 15 Mexicans were in attendance. We hope to teach the same seminar here in Mexico City in the near future.

Web Site
James has had a dream for some time of creating a web site that would reach out to a postmodern generation of spanish speaking people. This website would present the gospel in a way that the younger generation could relate to. The only problem is that he had no knowledge of how to create a web site! God seemed to intervene one day when our fellow missionary,Chris Johnson, began talking to us about how he felt called to make a website, but didn't know what the content should be!!! Of course, we immediately told him about what God had put on James' heart, and planning was begun.

Since that time, we have raised funds for the needed equipment. A big thank you to Craig and Lisa Darter!! Chris began working on the template for the site, and James has been writing content. There has been lots of brainstorming, and some preliminary shooting of videos and still images. There is still a lot of work to go, but our target date for launching the site is January 1, 2008. We hope that through this site, young people who are searching for spiritual fulfillment will be able to connect with those who can help guide them. This could be a tool that is used throughout all of latin america and the states. Please pray for our creativity and insight in knowing how to present the gospel to a new generation.

English Classes
James continues to teach English classes at the corporate level. One of his students, Lorena, has expressed interest in spiritual guidance, and we are connecting her with Amanda Henderson, because of location, for follow up. Please keep her in your prayers.

Personal Contacts
We are constantly in contact with neighbors, parents from the kids' school, and other friends. Please pray with us that we would be wise and insightful in how we share the gospel with them.

Family News
Our family is happy. The kids had parties at school for Halloween and Day of the Dead. We will be going next week to the missionary retreat in Zihuatanejo, where we'll get some much needed rest and renewal.Here are a couple of recent pictures.

Our kids with Andrea and Camila-neighbors

2007-10-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

September 2007

This has been a very eventful month, and we are excited to report on all that has gone on. We are again trying to use the blog format, since it is easier to include pictures this way. Please let us know if there are any problems with the format, or if you have any suggestions.

The Brednichs' new group

During August, Benjy and Carolyn Brednich together with our AIM students, began to pray towards the opening of a new evangelistic group. They set the date for the first meeting to be Sept. 9th. We all prayed together towards this date for nearly a month. Then the day arrived, and we were all a little nervous about what would come of all this preparation. We had prayed that God would bring those who were ready for a relationship with Him, and He did! The Lord brought to us three souls on that first evening. We watched a short video clip about a spiritual topic (our view of God), and then discussed the film. All three men who had come were very open and talkative. The environment was comfortable and welcoming. All of this we see as answers to prayer. In the weeks that have followed, we have continued meeting in the Brednich home on Sunday evenings. Two other visitors have arrived, in addition to the first three. The names of our visitors are: Victor, Javier, Hugo, Maria Jesus, and Angelina. Please pray fervently that the enemy will not dissuade them from seeking 1st the Kingdom of God, and that God will give us wisdom as we try to share truth.

Leadership Training Groups

James has been busy this month preparing material for two leadership training groups that are beginning this week. One group will meet in Apaxco. The other in the Pink House in the center of Mexico City. These two groups are intended to further equip our leaders so that they wil mature in their faith, and will be able to better share their faith with others. Their training will include spiritual disciplines, Old Testament survey, New Testament study, and . Each group will meet once every two weeks. During the week they will have daily reading and homework assignments for each day. When the group comes together to discuss the weeks' work, each member of the group will come prepared to lead the discussion. Only one of them will be called upon to "teach" what they have learned. We have designed the course this way because we believe that the students will learn much more if they have to be prepared each week to teach. We have tried to modify training material for our leaders,who all have professions,and therefore cannot study full time. Please pray for these two leadership groups, and for the comittment of each of the students. The names of the students are: In Apaxco:Ruben and Vicki Javier, Cris Javier, and Lupita ; In Mexcio City: Jorge and Hilda Ortega, Carlos Gonzales, Javier Sosa, Filadelfo Monterrey, Pedro Marin, and Moises.

Teaching English

An opportunity recently presented itself for James to teach English to buisnessmen. He has begun doing this with the main purpose being for him to meet and reach out to people in a different socio-economic group than the one that we usually work with. James is enjoying his work so far, and feels positive about the possibility of some of these classes leading into spiritual discussions and studies.

Aim Students and Interns

The time for our Aim students to be with us is drawing to an end. Beth Cunningham and Michelle Googe will be leaving us in mid-December. Josh Tracy will return to Lubbock in February. All three have done an excellent job,and we are now trying to help them end their time well. They all have people that they have been studying with and are trying to do what is most important with those individuals before they leave. Please pray for them in these last couple of months.

Erin's sister Holly has also been with us as an intern. She has now finished her formal Spanish studies. She now will begin visiting people weekly. The purpose of these visits will be twofold. They will help her to continue practicing her spanish, and she can also be an encouragement to young women who are Christians or searching for God. Holly is also planning to take over some of the studies that Beth and Michelle will leave behind in December. She will begin soon to attend those studies, so that the transition will go smoothly when the AIMers leave.

Upcoming Marriage Seminar

James and I have been asked to teach a marriage seminar for the church in Leon, Mexico on Oct 19-20. We feel very unqualified, but we have good material that we are currently working on translating and organizing. Please pray for our wisdom, and for the success of the seminar. If it goes well, we may repeat the seminar here in Mexico.

On a similar note, we have been doing marriage counseling with a Christian couple that was near divorce. Please pray for the Spirit to guide us and their marriage would be healed.

Family News

We are excited to announce that we have found a new school that our children (and we) absolutely love! Kate no longer cries when she goes to school, but is happy and beginning to love learning. Caleb goes to preschool (in the same facility) two days a week. Although he does cry a little when we leave him, his teachers assure us that he participates happily thoughout the day.

First Day of School

Costumes forIndependence Day
Festivities at School

We have also loved having "Aunt Holly" with us! When you live this far from family, it is a real blessing to have a family member for an extended visit. The kids have gotten to know her, and we've had a chance to get to know one another all over again-this time as adults. Thank you to those of you who have supported her to be here.

2007-05-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

April News

Dear Friends and Family,

The last couple of months have been full of exciting events. We’ll tell you about a few of them here.

We’ve mentioned to you before the Monarch Project that Jorge and Hilda Ortega are heading up. This is the project that came out of Jorge’s desire to give back to the small town where he grew up. He saw how the youth in this town grow up often to become alcoholics because of the strong culture of drinking. He wanted to find a way to encourage them to achieve and experience more in their lives. He came up with a plan to sponsor a soccer team. The youth who are a part of that team have committed to also be a part of a mentoring program. The mentoring program contains 4 components. They are: physical health, social awareness and activity, personal discovery, and spiritual development. Jorge and his coaches will take care of the first three aspects. James has been asked to assist in the area of spiritual development. We’re excited about this project for two reasons. 1. It was dreamed and planned by one of our Mexican leaders -completely without prodding from the missionaries. We see this as a sign of spiritual growth in Jorge and Hilda. 2. We see in this project the possibility for a future church plant in the town of Santo Domingo.

During spring break our family was able to go with the Ortega’s to Santo Domingo. During this visit, James and Jorge met with the participants of the project and were very encouraged by their response to the ideas. Some of the players are young teachers who even expressed interest in sharing what they learn with their students. We also talked with a young man who told us he is interested in studying the Bible. James will accompany Jorge to Oaxaca once a month.

While we were in Oaxaca, we learned that Erin’s grandfather had passed away. So, we set out on a 30 hour trip to Texas. Erin’s cousin Chris Johnson and his family rode with us. Though it was a difficult reason to be going, we were blessed with seeing our family and also be seeing some of you.

After arriving back in Mexico, we have been blessed with open doors and responsiveness. We have mentioned in previous newsletters that we were praying for Elsi’s husband Adan to be open to studying the gospel. We are so excited to say that we have finally begun a weekly study with Adan and Elsi together. Praise God! And please keep him in your prayers. (The picture to the left is of Michelle Googe and Elsi.)

Also, one of our AIMers, Michelle Googe, has begun studying the Bible with Kate’s English teacher, Laura Sauceda. Laura is very open to spiritual discussion and even sees this opportunity as God answering her prayers. Laura has one attended a Sunday meeting. Please pray for her continued growth and our consistency with her.

We are happy to say that the group of believers in Apaxco is going strong. They continue to meet even when missionaries are not present. Please pray for Sylvia, Tonio, Juanita, Lupita, Mary, and Chris. All are part of the group and are close to making commitments to Christ. The pictures to the left are of Ruben and Vicki Javier (above) and Sylvia and Tonio (below).

Our teammates continue to work with another group here in Tlalpan. Their group is doing well. We ask you to pray for Damaris and Alfonso. They are currently studying baptism with the Brednichs and Ortega’s.

Once monthly we bring the leaders of the groups together for learning and mutual encouragement. We have five committed Mexican leaders that form the core of this group.

James also was able to attend the Leadership Summit at Abilene Christian. It was a good time of brainstorming and learning from one another.

Family News: We are currently in the process of searching for a new school for Kate. We ask for God’s guidance as there are many options and we would like to make a good decision for her.

Caleb turned two April 11th. Time really flies, doesn’t it!?

We love you all and pray for God’s blessings in your lives. We are extremely blessed by your generosity and faith.

James, Erin, Kate and Caleb