Wow-- it's been a while since I've updated...
We had a good December and first half of January. The weather was unusually warm and dry which allowed us to have some very pleasant firework displays for both Christmas eve and new years eve. Usually it has been cold and windy which makes the fireworks a little more dangerous and neighbour disturbing.
A few years ago we had a bit of a wind and it was our first fireworks day. I sent up an explosive kind and the wind took it sideways at about 25 feet above the ground- right over to our neighbours house where it exploded near his roof. They were not impressed... so we adjusted the direction and sent another up- it too only went up 25 feet and then a downdraft took it down the canyon and onto a neighbours porch where it exploded... thankfully no one was hurt and we learned to send them up with a higher trajectory.
This year the only casualty was a tree. I lit an M-80 firecracker and threw it left-handed over our fence into one of our Spanish dagger trees... It exploded and took out the center part-- which means the tree will probably eventually die.
This new years was the first time we all stayed up past midnight. We launched fireworks- watched movies, played games and waited till midnight to wish each other a happy new year. Here in Tijuana the last hour or two till midnight is HUGE firework time. So at midnight it is nuts- and all over the city you can see and hear explosions. Because we are on a hill overlooking the city we get quite a show!
PROJECT JOY
We did project Joy again this year. We received lots of gifts to hand out in the poorer communities of Tijuana. One church I work closely with (5 of my students are from this church) had 500 kids show up. The partner church from California brought about 270 gifts and we had had several other things donated that we brought out. when all was said and done- everyone who attended the event went home with at least a small gift. There were about 50 kids who came up to receive Jesus as their Lord and saviour as well. Please pray for their follow-up that this church may be able to make disciples of these kids...
PASTOR'S TRAINING
We started classes back up after a brief Christmas break. We are studying church history. It has been good for me because I'd forgotten a good chunk of what I learned in Bible College. It has been eye opening for the students to see the churches history and how we got to where we are today. Espescially interesting to me has been to see that many of the church practices that were occurring prior to the reformation- are still alive and well here in Mexico.
The Dominant Mexican church still practices the selling of indulgences for the forgiveness of sins. You can still, today, buy forgiveness from the priest! You can also purchase your loved ones release from purgatory through a series of "Masses" that are said on their behalf. The more money you pay the priest, the more effective the mass- and the shorter time the loved one stays in Purgatory paying for their sins. Also, in order to expedite healing, the people will gold pieces to the church to buy healing from the saints. So, if your child broke a leg, you could break a piece of gold off of a piece of jewelry that looks like a leg- give it to your favourite statue while you ask the saint that it represents to ask God to heal you. The priests take the gold for their own purposes.
This group of 10 students will be graduating this spring (June 5)! It Will have been almost 3 years of intense study 6 hours a week- when many of them have full time jobs on top of ministries and other obligations. I'm looking forward to seeing them complete their studies!
TEAMS
We have a couple teams coming down this winter to assist us in ministry here in Tijuana. One team of 3 families from Saskatchewan and Manitoba are coming for 2 weeks in February to help out at a mission church along the railroad tracks. The first week they will be building a little portable building to be used as a "comedor" to feed kids in the neighbourhood breakfast. Many of the children in that neighbourhood are malnourished, hungry and very needy of physical and spiritual food. Dolores ensures that they get some of both, thanks to the generous donations of some Canadians. She feeds 35 kids 3 times a week. The need is so great that, if finances allowed, she could feed 100 kids a day. Please pray for these needs!
The second week they will be doing a Vacation Bible School in the same place and feeding the children over lunch. Here in Mexico the kids go to school in shifts-- a morning shift and an afternoon shift. So the families are going to be doing a VBS for each shift when they are not in school- and feeding the kids in between the shifts.
Our second team will be a regular group of folks from Langley BC who come down each year to help with ministry in orphanages and the colonias over the March Break. They are a fantastic group- one of the best- and we're looking forward to seeing what God will do in and through them!
BIBLE COLLEGE
The Bible College in Ensenada I've been teaching at has a long break over Christmas. classes don't start again until February 5. I'm teaching 2 classes this semester- Exodus and 1Corinthians. I've been doing some prestudying and am looking forward to teaching these books this Spring!
I'm also helping out once a month with the School of Ministry in the church that we congregate at- Calvary Chapel Rosarito. There are 25+ men who believe God may be calling them into ministry. Our job is to give them some frank ministry training and then evaluate their preaching and teaching progress. This is once a month for a year. We had our first session last week. Pastor Mike Vincent sprang a surprise on them when he gave them 10 minutes to study a passage and give a 10 minute message on it! Then we split into groups of 3+ a teacher and they gave their messages. Talk about deer in the headlights! One of my student's wife told him to come to church that day- he had NO IDEA what he was coming to. He is quite new to following Jesus and was shell shocked- to say the least! poor guy! Another one is also quite new and spoke all of two minutes. That was after I prodded him to give me more because 1 minute wasn't enough!
I'm looking forward to seeing their progress over the next 12 months and then to see what God will do with them afterwards.
Calvary Chapel Rosarito has been a tremendous blessing to us- it is a balanced, Biblical church with a grand worldview. At 6 years old- they have already sent out their first missionaries to Mexico's south. They also have a large leadership team that serves this growing bilingual church of 700+. When we started coming 2 years ago- there were about 200+ people coming. They baptise many people each month and almost every week sees people getting saved. We are very blessed to be a part of this movement of God in Rosarito.
I have started to take training in the sound booth at church and once I am trained I will bring Elijah in with me so we can serve together.
FUTURE MINISTRY
We appreciate your prayers for our ministry here in Mexico! After this spring when my pastor's training class graduates we need to be seeking God for his wisdom as to what to do next!
As of this time, I think I am going to team-teach a class in the colonias with one of my students. He has many contacts with pastors in that area and may be able to get a good group together. I just found out this month that the government of Mexico is contemplating requiring all pastors to have theological training or face being shut down. What we've found is that there are only a few current pastors who see a need to get training- and it is easy to get your pastor's card without having any training or evidence of a call to ministry even- as long as you are strong and charismatic. As a result their are many problems in the evangelical church with false doctrines, false practices and lack of humility in the pastorate. We see this government move as a blessing and hope to be able to continue to provide low-cost training to the many untrained pastors in our area.
I've also been approached to help do some training of potential leaders and pastors down south- in Nayarit, Mexico where one of my students takes evangelistic trips twice yearly to previously unreached areas. Please pray for wisdom, direction and finances, if this is God's direction. I would likely go down with one or 2 of my students for a week or 2 at a time and offer this to them- their is alot of desire for it down there, I am told!
Thank for partnering with us!
God bless,
Mike
