News Brief August 2010

June 2010
Dear Friends and Family,
We all have dreams about what we want to accomplish in different ways in life. Many times these are the very things that we think about, talk about, and then live for. Well, in a similar way we have desires of what we want to accomplish as believers and as a church. One of these areas is to evangelize others—simply to be able to share with them the good news about what Jesus Christ has for them.
Bethany—who has been pastoring the young people over the last four years—made an emphasis in this area of evangelism this year, when she took the young people to an event in Zamora “Potencia al Máximo” (Maximum Potential). They do this event with the intent of preparing the young people to evangelize on the street. Of course, part of that vision is to return and get the young people and others involved in street evangelism.
Things were rolling regarding this evangelism in May and June. Bethany asked adults from the congregation to get involved as well. Provision was made to reach the children with a special class at their level. The places that were chosen to evangelize coincided with areas where we had cell groups—to provide follow-up.
Without a doubt this would have an effect on people's lives. They told me that many left their names and addresses to receive a visit at a later date. One cell group that reached out to another area as a result of this evangelism. Our hats off to all who participated in this outreach!
Pray for:
Those who received the Lord as a result of this evangelism.
Those who became open to consider Christianity—faith in the Lord.
For the evangelism to continue.
May God's blessings be on you and multiply what you have given. Thanks for praying for us, and also for being partners together. Dave & Becci

P.S. Want some excitement? Here is a lady in her seventies, who was also “run over” by a car about two years ago and recovered, getting baptized in the ocean!

[Pictures top to bottom]
1. The Drama “The Good Mariachi”
2. A Children's Class During The Same Time
3. The Song Jesus Is My Super Hero
4 & 5. Piedad and her baptism

The Good Mariachi

The Good Mariachi Part One
El Buen Mariachi Parte Uno

Jesus Is My Super Hero!

Here is the song "Jesus Is My Super Hero!" that we mentioned in the news brief.
The Chorus:
Jesus is my super hero,
My friend, He is the best!
El Coro
Cristo es mi super héroe,
Mi amigo, es el mejor.

News March 2010

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.]

News January 2010

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.]

Can you imagine going to the store with 14 women and buying food for a three day event and not even knowing the number of people you will be serving? We had done a lot of planning prior to this conference-the annual conference taking place the end of July, but getting a head count prior to the opening service has always been a challenge. The theme was the anointing and the power of God, which we all desire to see manifest in a greater way in the work of God. Wayne Dent-who pastors Faith Tabernacle in Lockport, New York - spoke of the anointing, that it was the work of the Holy Spirit, and that Jesus was anointed to do the works of His Father. He also anoints us as we follow Christ!
Vincent Bravo, a pastor from Monterrey, Mexico, shared on Tuesday morning on Anointed to Serve. He dealt with some misconceptions about the purpose of having received the anointing, and pointed out that it is to serve others both within and outside the Body of Christ.
Ken Nelson, an elder from Faith Tabernacle shared on divine healing as part of what God wants to do through us. There were several healings as prayer was offered up.
On Tuesday evening there were three students who graduated from the Institute of the Ministry. It was a time of rejoicing for them, after all that work, and for us as well to see them complete this step in their lives. Pray with us, that they would fulfill God's plan for their lives.
On Wednesday evening we dedicated the church building. It is hard to imagine the dramatic change in this piece of property in the past 20 years, and that is to say nothing of the spiritual changes in peoples lives. It has required more than finances to accomplish this transformation in both property and people. Blood, sweat and tears has been the currency for all that have had a hand in this feat. We always built as we had money, for loans for such projects are not feasible, or normally possible in Mexico.
The building had been done throughout the past 20 years making use of each new addition as it progressed. There have been many good changes through the years. We are thankful that it is now fulfilling its God ordained functions in Petatlán.
Pray with us that this church building will serve as a lighthouse to all who are affected by the violence and uncertainty of events that are happening in Mexico.
May God's blessings be on you. Thanks for your interest in this work, prayers, and support.
Dave & Becci

June 2, 2009
Hello to all!
The time of the fair had finally come, which we had been excitedly preparing for—the annual fair of the “Costa Grande” (long coast). Of course, every year is unique. This year stands out due to the rash of violence occurring in the area. It was so bad that many of the shop owners refused to set up their stands!

The clowns getting ready for the program. We started around 7:20 pm and ended around 10:15 pm—which allowed us to do the same complete program twice.

The police and the military maintained an active presence in the area, patrolling while we set up the platform for our presentations. Although this year we did not experience the horror of hand grenades exploding among chattering fair-goers, fear was a palpable, living reality—never far from anyone’s mind. In fact, the simple act of attending the fair seemed itself an act of defiance—a demonstration of bravery in the face of a sense of loss of control to the drug lords who have taken ownership of the region and those who live their lives out within it.

Dave giving a message. Believe it or not people would stay to hear a short message.

God’s activity in birthing new ministries in the church was evident throughout this event. Leaders stepped up to the plate with excellence, giving oversight to the preparation of dramas, puppets and clowns.

The clowns were a big hit with everyone, although the children were especially thrilled. One of their acts was a competition over which clown smelled the best. The first clown used expensive perfumes to increase his beautiful odor while the other, apparently confused, smelled worse as the act wore on. Everyone enjoyed a hearty belly laugh at their antics, helping to dispel the tension in the air, while focusing in on our human tendency to try to present ourselves as better than the next guy, which may end up making us look worse!

Different believers had a chance to share the way in which the power of God had transformed their daily living experience, being a living and breathing demonstration of God’s creative presence. Lives that had dwelt in darkness now bore in their faces the splendor of the light of God. Those who came to the fair wracked in the fear of the times or in the pain of life could witness a God who drew near through the lives of these believers – a God who cares profoundly about each life now hanging in the balance, and who seeks to bring peace in the midst of the storm.

Bet painting Armando, and not yet having finished painting her own face.

Each night entailed preparations which would start about 6:00 pm, followed by the actual program (we had enough time to run it twice) and end around 10:15 pm.
Among the new dramas developed specifically for this event is a drama called “Two Beings in me.” Bet developed this drama to highlight the struggle which we all face between listening to God’s voice and that of the enemy. You may download this powerful video at: http://agua-viva-living-water.org/videos2009.html
Though I don’t have an exact number of the people who received the Lord as their Savior, I witnessed people responding from their hearts every time the gospel was presented. Hearts were sensitive to the working of the Spirit, as those who previously may have tossed the tract two seconds after receiving it, now took it home to read. When before it was all we could do to stop people from leaving after a minute, now their hungry eyes were glued to the stage, their hearts warmed by the Spirit. Although no one could possibly wish for the intense brutality which has left countless bodies, and few families untouched by grief, the guns, knives, and AK47s of the drug lords have broken through calloused hearts driving people to Christ. When in years past you could scarcely catch a person’s name as they fled your presence, now we had people wanting to talk with believers who waited on the sidelines.
Work and fun intermingled, and through the haze of fear and pain, the continuous move of the Spirit in the lives of the townspeople of Petatlan progressed. The kingdom of God rejoiced as we welcomed brothers and sisters into the experience of the presence of our LORD. We wish that you could join us someday, get your face painted, participate in a drama or two, and most of all share the story of God’s incessant, loving and steadily increasing work in your own life – how He has brought you from death to life, from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His marvelous light. We would join together with other trophies of Christ the King, masterpieces created anew in Christ Jesus with the purpose of making His name known.
May God's blessings be on you and yours, and may He cause you to increase in the knowledge of Him, multiplying also everything that you have given. Thank you for joining us on this journey of making His name great among the nations, for you are co-laborers with us for Him.
Dave & Becci