Dear Friends and Family, “They were the best of times, they were the worst of times.¨ So, do you want the good news first or the bad news? It is interesting here in Mexico if you pose that question to a Mexican they will almost always pick the bad news first. But I am going to give you a sandwich this month, I will try to surround the bad news with good news, both before and after! We already know Who wins in the end. We have seen a steady rise in attendance the past several months. Sunday services have above 300 for the past two months and our Wednesday night service is always packed out. Praise God we rejoice for the new people that are coming out to the services and beginning their walk with God but we also rejoice for the prodigal sons that are turning back to the Lord. There are several people that are going through a process of restoration. This makes for many counseling sessions, mainly for Dave but Bethany and I are also involved meeting with several individuals. Praise God! Dave is going out to Coacoyul on a weekly basis giving a class from the Ministry Institute to more than 30 people, many of whom are leaders in the Coacoyul church. I finished a class on Personal Evangelism last month and Dave is giving a class on Spiritual Gifts. Dave has also been very busy with repair work on the roof. His main job is supervision to the three men that are doing the work. Not sure how many of you have ever had to repair your church roof for multiple stone holes and bullet holes???? We are often in service when large stones are hurled at the roof...Oh yes, I was on the good news track, sorry about that! The repair work is coming along just beautifully! We had a major scare when a heavy board was dislodged and fell 7 meters zig-zagging off of the scafolding on its way down to hit Jonathan standing at floor level. His nose was broken, he had a major cut on his forehead and suffered with whiplash for several weeks but he is doing great now and has resumed his normal activities. We Praise God for His mercy because the results could have been very different. Thank you as well to those that have been praying for Jonathan, he has mended very quickly. A nearby pastor recently made the comment that if you grabbed a local newspaper and wadded it up and squeezed it, blood would come out. Daily the pages are filled with horrendous murders. Right about when we thought the situation could not get worse, it has. The normal police force in the town was at 80 policemen but has recently dropped to about 10. There have been mass resignations after several policeman have been killed. Two chief of police have been viciously murdered as well as some of their family members. Last week 5 policemen were killed. State police have come in to help the situation but it continues very tense in this city and all along the coast. Pray for us and for all the Christians that our faith would not fail and that we would be witnesses for Christ during this time when fear dominates the hearts of many. In our last newsletter we shared about the young couple that has come to the Lord recently, Esther and Armando. We are really excited about the good news they received about Armando's health on their last visit to their Dr. in Guadalajara. Amid mounting fears that the brain tumor had grown back and expecting another surgery, all tests came back negative. No sign of the tumor! Praise God! They both have decided to become home group leaders so they are now interns and being trained to lead a group. Their thankfulness to God knows no bounds and we rejoice with them.. If you are ready for more good news just take a peek at what God is doing with the youth. Bethany will give you all the news in that department. May God's blessings be on you! Dave & Becci [Pictures; top - Dave teaching the Spiritual Gifts class; bottom - Working on the roof in Agua Viva.]
Happy New Year to all of our friends and family!! During these days of celebrating the birth of Jesus we have been especially busy...I guess that would also be true of everyone that receives this letter. Typically days and evenings are so busy with special meals and get-togethers, wrapping gifts, special Christmas programs and the list goes on. Our activities began early this season. We initiated a new service this year. The 12th of December is one of the most significant celebrations for non-Christians in Mexico. An altar to worship the “Guadalupana” (Mexico's version of the virgin Mary known as Guadalupe) is prepared with several days anticipation with a huge picture of the “virgin”, colored lights and lighted candles. The night(all night long) is spent in celebration. Those that especially do it up big are those women whose birthday coincides with this date and who were most likely named Guadalupe or Lupe in honor of the Virgin. Firecrackers and guns are going off all through the night. Seeing as it was a time of family get togethers and parties we decided to do something on this day to counter-act the trend. This time of year has recently gotten a new name “Guadalupe-Reyes”. It refers to the 11th of December until the 6th of January. We got together to pray for the individuals who begin a drinking binge from the 11th of December and runs straight through the 6th of January. A time of prayer was followed by a movie called “Faith Like Potatoes”and then we had a meal together. The church packed out and we had a wonderful time. Our once-a-year major youth event was held the 19th and 20th of December. God met the kids in a beautiful way. The focus of the messages was about being changed by the heart of God. We all came in contact with the heart of God. Jack Greenwood from Decatur, Illinois, shared powerful words right from the heart of God. Dave Rice from Zamora, Michoacán also challenged us! Wow! were we blessed! God brought us a young Mexican woman who has been working in the Middle East for the past 2 years as a missionary. Our lives have truly been changed as we were challenged by her commitment and sacrifice. We felt His heart beating for the world. The young people along with the rest of us were impacted to see a young Mexican dressed in a burkah with only her eyes peeking out and to learning that she daily wore that burkah in 120 degree weather and risked her life to share Jesus. Often she reached out with friendship for over a year before the first opportunity presented itself to share Jesus. New Year's Day found us on the beach with joy unspeakable! We would like to tell you the story concerning 2 of the 9 people that were baptized. Five months ago a young couple (both lawyers) were at the end of their rope. Armando had just had surgery a few months prior for a brain tumor. Although they had fought valiantly research on the Internet had just dashed their hopes as to the prognosis for Armando. Esther had grown up in the Gospel, a pastor's kid, but since college had slipped away from a relationship with God. “Lets just get in the car and drive,” Ester said, “but where to?” “No idea...just drive”. As Esther drove down the highway she felt an overwhelming desire to turn in to Agua Viva. “Was that all made up... about just getting into the car and driving?” “You were planning to bring me here, weren't you?” murmured Armando “No, really I had no idea,” stated Esther. They stepped into our July Conference and never stopped crying through the whole service. Armando received Jesus into his heart and Esther came back to the Father. What rejoicing they had and we too, as joy instantaneously swept through the crowd of onlookers at the beach on New Year's Day! Dave & Becci [The pictures; top - The lady with the burkah; middle - One of the baptisms on New Year's Day; bottom - Esther praising God after her baptism.]
God but we also rejoice for the prodigal sons that are turning back to the Lord. There are several people that are going through a process of restoration. This makes for many counseling sessions, mainly for Dave but Bethany and I are also involved meeting with several individuals. Praise God!
weeks but he is doing great now and has resumed his normal activities. We Praise God for His mercy because the results could have been very different. Thank you as well to those that have been praying for Jonathan, he has mended very quickly.
