The Vision Marches On!

Well, we have decided to give the world of blogging a shot. We hope that in this new way we can get more continuous stories about the work here out to everyone. Please let us know what you think. We are excited about the many amazing things God is doing in Mexico City and in our lives, and we look forward to sharing these things with you. We consider ourselves extremely blessed by the work here and by our family around the world!

Fulfilling Dreams

For some time now our dream has been that the Lord make this city a Christian City. We hope to work for this by planting congregations throughout the city. We dream of congregations in all of the sixteen delegations of Mexico City and in the satellite cities around Mexico City. The amazing thing about God is that we put plans before Him, and He turns them all around to do His will, and in that way we know the plans are His.

We currently are the only full time missionaries in the Benito Juárez congregation, and as a congregation we have discussed how and where the next congregation could be planted. God has made it obvious that He is in control. We have been watching the way our group has been growing in Ecatepec, Estado de Mexico. It is a satellite city in the state of Mexico that is home to 6 million. It is the largest of the satellite cities and two hours from where we meet in Benito Juárez. The growth that this group has been experiencing is so encouraging, and we are excited to say that we are in a process of planting the next congregation there. We are especially proud of the congregation plant for many reasons, but two in particular. It is the first multiplication of a new congregation from Benito Juárez (3rd generation). And it is coming from a group of members of the congregation where no full time missionaries are actively involved! We (the entire Benito Juárez congregation) are going to be very involved in the process, but we are so proud of our Ecatepec members for their faith and desire to plant this new congregation. Please pray for these members and this project.

We are doing our first event for the new church plant on the 27 and 28th of this month. We are planning an evangelistic event on Saturday and a combined celebration on Sunday in Ecatepec. We pray that all goes well and God is glorified. We are confident that this next step places us in a new phase of the congregation and work that has made us so proud and excited. We look forward to sharing with you what happens next.

Mes de la Patria

As many of you know, September is the patriotic month in Mexico. It is highlighted by a celebration of the Independence Day on the 15th and 16th. We have made it a tradition here in Benito Juárez to throw a big party on the 15th in celebration of this holiday. We all prepare our favorite Mexican antojito, and this year we spent some time singing all of our favorite Mariachi songs. We feasted on pozole, flautas, pambazos, tostadas, mole, elotes and esquites. For those of you who have been here and sampled some of these foods, you know that we enjoyed quite a treat! It is such a wonderful thing when those around you are excellent cooks! It makes life so enjoyable. We also have some great singers in our congregation, and there is nothing like a Mariachi sing-along to give you a real taste of Mexican parties! You can just imagine how much Adah enjoyed this part of the party as she also entertained us with spirited dancing! Needless to say, we had a great time together. Our congregation really shares the gift of hospitality.

Leadership Growth

Since the departure of all of the full time missionaries in this area our leadership has grown in leaps and bounds. We are all taking on our own roles and trying our best to glorify God using our gifts. We are so proud of the church and how we have all stepped up to the calling God has made for us. We are taking the vision and making it our own. It is an awesome and powerful experience for our family and the church. Please keep us in your prayers.

Family News

We are growing accustomed to life as the caretakers of the Pink House. We actually enjoy the constant presence of people in our home. Adah's Spanish is really flourishing now. Noah is 3 1/2 months old now, and he is growing tons. He officially has his dual citizenship. Let me tell you, you haven't experienced gathering paperwork until you have had a child in a foreign country and have to spend days getting all the requirements figured out: making copies, taking pictures, standing in lines, filling out applications, filling out physical presence tests, waiting in lines, making more copies, requesting documents, waiting, making payments, standing in line, taking more pictures, making yet more copies, etc, etc, etc. If you are ever feeling down about getting these things done, just call Jacob... he is an expert!

We hope to visit the US around Thanksgiving and look forward to introducing Noah to many of you. We plan on staying through the Christmas holidays, so hopefully we can see you.