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!
This week I am at AIM's main office in Gainesville, Georgia for the STM (Short Term Missions) Staff Conference. Being new to the short term side of AIM, the time I have spent here has been a huge blessing. It has given me the opportunity to catch the vision for what AIM is doing in short term missions, while also seeing how my small part fits into the whole. We truly are the body of Christ, each with a specific role in the ministry He sets before us. As I fulfill my role in building relationships with Mexican pastors and churches, others are connecting with and preparing the visiting churches from the States. Besides all this, others are planning out all the logistical details for the week-long projects. None of us could do the work by ourselves, but as a body we are able to fulfill the work the Lord has given us! Thank you for all your prayers! God bless!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends! This year I spend my third Thanksgiving in Mexico. Each year it looks a little different, but it is always a blessing. Wednesday the Gateway staff had a Thanksgiving dinner together, and then I spent yesterday with the family of Flor and Jacque Goy, the directors of AIM's Mission Training Institute. Even though I could not be with my real family, God has giving me so much spiritual family here at the Gateway. I am surrounded by brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers! I pray that during this holiday season God reveals His love to you by those He places in your path. God bless!
Lately, I have been staying busy here at the Gateway: visiting pastors, reconciling receipts, teaching English, and everything else that comes up from day to day. It is easy for me to get caught up in everything that I need to accomplish in any given day, but in the midst of work and busyness, the Lord has been reminding me that my first priority should be to seek Him. Out of seeking His presence comes the strength to face whatever comes my way.
This past week has been a struggle for me, but I have come to appreciate the hard times because it is in those times that I am drawn to seek the Lord more. I have been struggling to see the Lord's answer to some of my prayers, but recently I was encouraged by a sermon on faith out of Hebrews 11. I am sure you are all familiar with the first verse of that chapter, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." This verse encouraged me to keep trusting, because God is faithful, even when we cannot see what we think ought to be in plain sight. So for now, though not seeing, I wait with faith in the Lord's answer.
Thank you for faithfully praying for this ministry I am a part of! 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 
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!
