I have now spent three years in Matamoros, Mexico with AIM, and each year has looked so different! They have all been good, some have brought more challenges than others, but looking back, those are the years when God has been able to accomplish more. His glory shines brightest when circumstances are the darkest.
About this time last year I went through a dark season spiritually, where the desire to serve the Lord was lacking. I had grown tired of ministry and tired of the spiritual disciplines. In August I blogged about how the Lord began to turn this around while I was in Puerto Rico. I won't go into detail here, but I wanted to mention this to explain where I am now.
One night a couple weeks ago, the Novas team was worshipping the Lord outside, praising Him for the beauty and wonder of His creation, and I was just overwhelmed by His goodness! All I could do was praise Him and cry, but these were tears of great joy, not the tears of sadness that they had been in the last season. During the time that the Novas team was at the Gateway I had been seeking the Lord for some direction in ministry, and a few weeks ago, He began to reveal some answers. In this I have seen a glimpse of His faithfulness and timing. He is continuing to increase my love for Him, and offer new direction and open doors for ministry. We may not always understand His ways, but as Scripture mentions many times, it is all for His glory!
Thank you for playing such an important part in this ministry! God bless!
Wow! This season of ministry has been more exciting than I can even begin to explain! For two months this fall the Gateway housed the training portion of the Novas Project. Thirty college-age participants learned practical ministry tools, while also getting hands-on experience ministering in Matamoros, Mexico and in the farming community where we live. I was blessed to be able to be a part of what God was doing in these participants! They sought Him and followed His leading in ministry with such passion!
Just a week ago, we sent them off to the countries they will be serving in for the next six months. It was sad to see them go, but I know that the Lord has great plans for each team as they serve Him in Swaziland, South Africa, Uganda and Nicaragua. Reading their blogs, I see that He is already beginning to use them for His glory. Please keep them in your prayers as they step out to minister in these countries.
This week I am in Gainesville, Georgia at AIM's main office. I am walking into a season of transition, so I'm taking some time to meet with my leaders here to plan out the next couple months while also reconnecting with some of my coworkers that I only see a couple times a year.
Thanks for your faithful prayers and support! I'll have more updates to come soon!
This summer I went to Puerto Rico to lead a couple small youth trips, but as I lead others, God did more in me that I had expected. I have to preface this by saying that before this trip came along I had been getting burned out with ministry, church, missions, etc. I had been serving with a church here in Matamoros, and all the responsibility had drained me spiritually. So as I went to Puerto Rico I went excited about the opportunity but in need of the Lord's refreshing touch.
The number of days the first group had allotted for ministry was less than normal because at the end of the trip we were all part of the youth conference that our host church, Centro Cristiano de Restauración, was presenting. As we worshiped each day I realized that I had forgotten how beautiful it is be in the Lord's presence, to worship Him with all my heart. It had been a while since I had enjoyed "church" or had much of a desire to be there. The conference offered sessions for leaders apart from the youth, and God used these times to heal some of the calloused areas on my heart.
I have so much more I could say, and I hope to share more in future blogs, but for now I want to sum it all up by saying that Puerto Rico, and this summer as a whole, has been as been a time for me to learn how to fall in love with the Lord all over again. It has been a time of learning to place relationship with Him before ministry, before acts of service, before everything. For now my prayer for myself and for all of you is that we may continue to fall more in love with our Lord and allow love for our neighbor to flow from that. Thank you for all your prayers! God bless!
My month in Puerto Rico has arrived! I landed in Puerto Rico's capital city, San Juan, June 19th, and will not be heading home to Mexico until July 13! I am leading a couple youth group trips to Cabo Rojo and Isabela, two cities on the island of Puerto Rico. Right now I am with a group from Church of the Savior from Kentucky, and we are having an amazing week so far! We have already seen the Lord lead us to the right places at the right times to touch lives of people He is reaching out to. You can follow my time in Puerto Rico on AIM's Puerto Rico blog site. Please keep me and all the particpants in your prayers. Thanks and God bless!
I would like to share with you a story of a Mexican pastor, and of his godly example that we can all learn from.
A few days ago I spoke with a pastor here in Matamoros that AIM has worked with in the past. Some time ago, he had received a donation of land to build a church, and last summer it was finally finished. This pastor has a great passion for the Lord and for the gospel, so the church has been growing quickly. However, a short time ago, the owner of the land came to him asking him to return it. This pastor had a decision to make: fight for the land that he had been working on over a year and risk losing members in the process or accept the wrong done to the church and thereby be an example of love and peace to the church and the community.
This pastor chose to accept the wrong done to him and to the church, and they moved their meetings to a nearby location. This spoke so strongly to me of this pastor's character. It also reminded me of Paul's words to the believers in Corinth in a time when they had been fighting amongst themselves. Paul states in I Corinthians 6:7, "Now therefore it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?" I have been thinking about this verse for a while. It is not easy to accept wrong, to let ourselves be cheated, but is that what the Lord ask of us sometimes when unity is more important than whatever else may be lost?
Why don't we all chew on that question for a while and see what the Lord has to teach us?
Last week a team of almost 60 teenagers from Birmingham, Alabama came to the Gateway for their Spring Break. These young people could have spent this week at home, at the beach, or with family, but they chose to spend it ministering alongside a new church here in Matamoros. This group from Shades Mountain Baptist Church worked with the church Esperanza Viva in the colonia Juarez on the other side of Matamoros, with Pastor Francisco and his wife Maribel. For me, this was a week of training, as I am in the process of learning how to lead projects just like this one in various locations.
Francisco and Maribel have only been pastoring Esperanza Viva for five months. They had been praying for God to send them helpers, and God sent them 60! The team from Shades Mountain gave VBS classes four days last week, and each day the church filled up more and more with neighborhood children and their parents. On the last day the team put on a fiesta for the children, with music, hamburgers, different activities, and candy. The church was packed!
Esperanza Viva has already seen fruit from this week. They have so many new people that they don't even fit in the few benches the church has! Please pray that God would continue to provide workers (and benches) for this new church. Whenever a youth group like this one comes to Matamoros, the church they work with is blessed by having extra laborers, just as we have seen in Esperanza Viva, but the youth are also blessed by having their eyes opened to see God move in mighty ways. On the last night of the trip, we held a debrief session for the team, and they shared things they had learned throughout the week and were going to take home with them. Many left with a greater passion to share Christ at home, a greater desire to seek Him, and a hunger for His voice and leading in their lives.
Friday a group of us from Castillo del Rey in Matamoros again packed into a van and headed to San Fernando. When I say that we packed into the van, it is an understatement; I counted 25 people including kids (I just hope our insurance company doesn't read this blog). Our visit this time was not for a wedding, but rather a dinner for married couples. Those of us who are single went to serve our married brothers and sisters. However, we were all able to listen to the teaching and gain some wisdom from the messagePastor Abel had to share.
I was encouraged by the number of people who wanted to be a part of this event with our mother church in San Fernando. Since returning to Matamoros at the beginning of the year I have seen Castillo del Rey begin to grow. A couple new families have begun to attend. In addition, Manuela and Lorenzo, who have been a faithful part of the church for around five years, are beginning to see their adult children have an interest in the church. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we seek to glorify the Lord and spread His word in Matamoros, Mexico.
I would also like to give you an update on Clara. She is now back home with her husband! Please continue praying for her, that the Lord would encourage her and draw her back to Himself. Thanks & God bless!
Marcial and Leti, who have been working with Castillo del Rey here in Matamoros, were married two days before I went home for Christmas. The evening of the wedding, nine of us from the church piled into a van and headed to San Fernando where the wedding was held. It took us nearly two hours to get there, but it was worth the time spent driving. This couple has been a huge blessing to the church as they help fill the void until we find a full-time pastor, and it was a joy to share in their special day. I thought you might like to see some of the photos. I also posted more in the "My Pictures" section to the left. I hope you enjoy looking at them! God bless!
Thank you for all your prayers for Clara. Please continue to place her and her family before the Lord in prayer. Her husband, Isidro, came to the church last night again asking for prayer for their family. He told us that Clara had left this weekend with their three children. Through all of this, he has begun to seek the Lord again, and now Clara seems to be the one struggling in her faith. It breaks my heart to see all the pain in this family that is so dear to me, and I can only imagine a part of the sadness the Lord must feel looking upon us as we choose to walk apart from His will. I wish I could tell Clara what to do and how to hold her family together. However, my words may encourage her or "turn on lights," but I know that the Lord must work in her heart. Please pray that this struggle would only draw both Clara and Isidro closer to the Lord and that He would restore their marriage and family. Thank you & God bless!
I apologize for the long break since my last blog. Christmas at home was short, but I was able to see so much family in that short time. I am now back at the Gateway in Matamoros, Mexico, ready for another year of serving the Lord (and enjoying the warm weather!).
I would like to ask you all to pray for my friend Clara and her family. She and her husband, Isidro, have been struggling these past couple months, and yesterday when I showed up at her house they were fighting. They are about ready to give up on their marriage. I was able to speak with them for just a few minutes before she had to go to work, but I know that our prayers are even more powerful than any words I have to speak. Please join me in praying that God would heal their marriage and restore peace to their family. Thanks & God bless!
The number of days the first group had allotted for ministry was less than normal because at the end of the trip we were all part of the youth conference that our host church, Centro Cristiano de Restauración, was presenting. As we worshiped each day I realized that I had forgotten how beautiful it is be in the Lord's presence, to worship Him with all my heart. It had been a while since I had enjoyed "church" or had much of a desire to be there. The conference offered sessions for leaders apart from the youth, and God used these times to heal some of the calloused areas on my heart.
My month in Puerto Rico has arrived! I landed in Puerto Rico's capital city, San Juan, June 19th, and will not be heading home to Mexico until July 13! I am leading a couple youth group trips to Cabo Rojo and Isabela, two cities on the island of Puerto Rico. Right now I am with a group from Church of the Savior from Kentucky, and we are having an amazing week so far! We have already seen the Lord lead us to the right places at the right times to touch lives of people He is reaching out to. You can follow my time in Puerto Rico on AIM's 
Last week a team of almost 60 teenagers from Birmingham, Alabama came to the Gateway for their Spring Break. These young people could have spent this week at home, at the beach, or with family, but they chose to spend it ministering alongside a new church here in Matamoros. This group from Shades Mountain Baptist Church worked with the church Esperanza Viva in the colonia Juarez on the other side of Matamoros, with Pastor Francisco and his wife Maribel. For me, this was a week of training, as I am in the process of learning how to lead projects just like this one in various locations. 
his couple has been a huge blessing to the church as they help fill the void until we find a full-time pastor, and it was a joy to share in their special day. I thought you might like to see some of the photos. I also posted more in the "My Pictures" section to the left. I hope you enjoy looking at them! God bless!