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Wow, what a great day we had today.

Our most recent church plant, the Iglesia Bautista Casa de Dios made the decision to try a new schedule today and hold its worship service at 6 p.m. That left us free in the morning to attend Iglesia Bautista Peniel. It was great to be with our friends at Peniel this morning. We enjoyed the worship and the fellowship. This is a great church with a great pastor who we really love and respect. We look forward to working with them on an upcoming project in the south of Hermosillo.

After a restful afternoon, we headed out for Casa de Dios, arriving early to help set up the equipment. This church meets in a rented facility which has a large, open air patio. The schedule change came as a result of two things: 1) a summer schedule to try and avoid the extreme heat and 2) a response to several families who said they would be more likely to attend in the afternoon.

The service went well and there were a number of new faces. Several of our key members were out of town, and one member was at the hospital emergency room (more on that later). Had all the regulars been there, the attendance would have been very impressive. However, we were pleased anyway.

The pastor felt led to change his sermon at the last minute, due to the large number of visitors. And God showed up….Four people accepted Christ during the service. I was able to counsel with them after the service, give them a Bible, and get their contact information for follow-up. To God be the glory!

The decision has been made to continue with the afternoon schedule for a few more weeks (as a test) and possibly throughout the summer.

Please pray for P….he has been suffering with high blood pressure and possibly has complications with his heart. He suffered a heart attack nearly 2 years ago. Also lift up his family, R and S.

Have a great week and thanks for your prayers for us!

As many of you know, soon after our arrival in Hermosillo in 2004 we became acquainted with the Peniel Baptist Church of Hermosillo and their pastor, G. The church had a vision to plant a church in a very poor section of Hermosillo called Altares. This neighborhood was about five years old and consisted mostly of houses made from tar paper and wooden frames. There was no running water, no electricity, no sewer, and no paved streets. In January of 2005 we “officially” began working with (and training) the mission team from Peniel.

In the spring of 2005, we prayerwalked the area with Scott Teutsch and Ken Goodman of Eastwood Baptist Church, Haughton, Louisiana. Later that spring, First Baptist Church, Doyline, Louisiana sent a volunteer team under the leadership of Tom Carlton. The Doyline team distributed several thousand packets of gospel materials and spread the love of Christ in the neighborhood. We distributed a virtual prayer walk inviting Southern Baptists to pray with us about the work in this community. Among the most faithful prayer warriors for this new work are Will and Caroline Francis of Haughton, Louisiana. Their parents, Don and Jennifer, have led them to pray daily for this work for nearly 2 years. Way to go, Will and Caroline!!

These activities served to launch us on a path toward a new church plant. After several months of home visits and Bible studies, we began to meet together in a vacant lot for Thursday afternoon prayer and worship. Typically, we just set up some chairs in a circle and met in the open. Since it was late afternoon, we often had shade from the mountains to the west of the site. Frequently it was windy, or dusty, or very hot. But faithfully, the Peniel team continued going to Altares. For a while, we went on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with Tuesdays focused on home visits and Thursdays focused on a community-wide prayer meeting.

The effort gained momentum and God blessed, allowing us to see more than 40 people accept Christ as savior. Little by little we made friends with family after family. Eventually, the community came to accept the church, lovingly referring to the members as the brethren (in Spanish, los hermanos). In late 2006, some of the members got their hands on some second-hand (or maybe third-hand) sheets of galvanized roofing, 2×4s, and plywood. On the very spot where our Thursday prayer meetings had been held, they erected a very modest building. During 2007, the new church adopted a name and began to mature.

Fast forward to mid-2007….we left Hermosillo to begin our stateside assignment. At the time of our departure, Peniel church was still supporting the “mission.” There were 15-20 regular attenders.

We are happy to report that the  Iglesia Bautista Hay Esperanza en Cristo (In Christ there is Hope Baptist Church) is alive and well in Hermosillo! We were pleased to be able to visit the Altares neighborhood this week and attend their Wednesday night prayer service. Although the Wednesday attendance was low, they reported that on Sundays there are about 20-25 adults and 15-20 children who are regular attenders. Since we left, they have applied a nice coat of paint to the building and have added a concrete slab over the former dirt floor. We are thrilled to report that virtually everything that this church has done (as far as we know) has been dependent on God and the faithfulness of the people in the community. Even though they are very poor, they are apparently very generous. Yes, the facility is very humble, but it is also very contextual! The church now has an interim pastor, Miguel. There are some faithful teachers and musicians in the congregation. There is a sense of urgency to take the gospel to the community.

All that we can say is “To God be the glory.” We are thankful that our Heavenly Father allowed us to be a part of such a new work. We pray that this new work can be a pattern for other new churches in our city. We know that “success” in God’s economy is equal to faithfulness and obedience. We are so joyful that in this case, God has allowed us to see some fruit!

Would you pray with us about the following items?

Lift up our friend and colleague Y who is experiencing some health problems. It seems that it might be gastritis or some other problem of the gastrointestinal system. Y has severe pains, heartburn, and cramping. Y was unable to work on Friday and is seeing a doctor for the condition.

Please pray for G and family as they pass through some difficult times. Some people have raised accusations against G and are trying to cause problems within the body of the church. Pray that the truth will prevail, that God will be glorified in his church, and that the enemy will not have the victory.

Pray for S. S has exhibited unusual behavior, including dreams, visions, hearing voices, and a general restlessness. It’s clear that evil spiritual forces are rampant in the section of the city where S lives, but God is working there, too. S has been open to the gospel and is reading the Bible. Pray for the salvation of S and relief from these manifestations in his life.

Pray for clarity of vision for the ministry in Hermosillo. As we return for our second term, we are in the process of re-establishing our friendships and working relationships. We have our spriritual eyes and ears wide open, in order to sense the direction that God would have us go as we begin. We’ve already had 2 or 3 very unexpected contacts and we sense that God may be leading us in those directions. Our new urban strategy suggests that we need to be involved in multiple “streams” of church planting activities. Pray that we will have wisdom to appropriate our time accordingly and see multiple new church starts.

Mexico celebrates Mother’s Day on May 10, rather than the second Sunday in May. Since that day fell on Saturday this year, many churches opted to have a special emphasis on Sunday the 11th. We were pleased to attend two such events on Sunday–one in the morning and one in the evening.

Sunday morning, the Casa de Dios church had a special emphasis for mothers during the morning worship service. The kids in the neighborhood were invited to come to the church on Saturday and make a craft to present to their moms at the Sunday service. They learned a song to sing, and a couple of kids were asked to read poems. About 25 people attended the service. The kids sang and read their poems. The pastor invited the moms to the front and he prayed for them. The sermon was from Proverbs 31, not a surprise. After the service, everyone enjoyed cake and agua de sabor. As they say, “A good time was had by all.” More importantly, several of the moms and kids were new to the church. It was a great opportunity to reach out to some new families.

Please pray for the CDD church and for the ability to reach new, lost families for Christ. Some of the church’s first members have left the fellowship for one reason or another, but God is opening doors with new people. Pray for the faithful ones who continue to bear witness to what God has done in their lives.

On Sunday evening, we drove to the southern part of Hermosillo to participate in a special Mother’s Day celebration at Peniel Baptist Church (Iglesia Bautista Peniel). There were about 75 people present, with the men of the church responsible for preparing a carne asada after the service. The service included praise and worship songs, special presentations, a slide show, and a brief message from Proverbs 31. After the service everyone adjourned to the patio where the men prepared the tacos and the youth served the moms. The service began at about 6 p.m. and we departed for home around 9:30. What a great time it was!

Pray for the IBP church and for its vision to reach Hermosillo for Christ. This church has sponsored one new work recently and already has its sights set on two new communities. Pray for Pastor G and for the missions-minded members of the church. Ask God to protect this church from controversy and unite them in the Great Commission.

Glossary

agua de sabor-literally “flavored water”, a beverage typically made by combining water, sugar, and one of several fruit flavors to make a sweet tasty beverage. Usually the fruit flavor comes from fresh ingredients liquified in a blender. Very common and very affordable to make. The most popular flavors are jamaica (hibiscus), tamarindo (tamarind), horchata (rice with cinnamon), melon (canteloupe), naranja (orange), and guayaba (guava).

carne asada- refers to both a food and an event (in English its like eating barbecue at a barbecue). literally means “roasted meat”. Thin sliced flank steak is seasoned with salt and  roasted over a charcoal fire. The meat is chopped by hand into small cubes. It is served as tacos in soft flour tortillas with various sauces and condiments (guacamole, pico de gallo, etc.) and refried beans. This is popular all over Mexico, but is the specialty of the state of Sonora (kind of like Cajun food is to Louisiana.)

Every three years (more or less) each state in Mexico changes the license plates. In the intervening years, the DMV issues a renewal sticker, which is a fairly easy process. If you love the DMV process in your state, you would really love it here in Mexico.
We knew upon our arrival that our license plates had expired and in fact, Tuesday’s newspaper stated that the grace period for all drivers had expired. Local traffic officers are beginning to ticket drivers with the old plates. For some reason, the entire state must change their license plates at the same time, rather than staggering the registrations over the entire year. Now Mexicans are not known for running to the front of the line, so you can only imagine how many procrastinators have been waiting since January to get their plates. A visual survey of the traffic around the city indicated that new plates are being displayed on about 60% of the vehicles.
So off I went to the DMV. I stood in line for about 20 minutes so the lady behind the desk could tell me that I needed a mountain of documentation just to renew my plates. Some of the paperwork I have already, but some of it will have to come from our mission office in Mexico City.
After my two-day round with Montezuma’s revenge, I felt well enough on Thursday to continue the pursuit of the license plates. One of the requirements is a letter from the city government that says you don’t have any outstanding debts. Here in Mexico, traffic citations are connected to the vehicle registration instead of the drivers license in most cases.
After asking directions twice, I finally arrived at an obscure little office on a sidestreet in the central business district of Hermosillo. I stood in line for about 15 minutes and finally made it to the window where I produced my vehicle registration and asked for my official letter of “no debt”. The clerk typed a few things on the computer screen and said, “You have an outstanding parking ticket–from 2005.” She printed out a form and said, “Get in the other line over there and you must pay this balance to receive your letter.”
It seems that on May 27, 2005 I had alledgedly parked illegally in a no parking zone. No details, no ticket, just the information on the printout.
If I did it, I never knew it. Never had any ticket stuck under my windshield wiper. Never saw an officer. Can’t even remember where I might have gone on Friday, May 27, a day which will live in infamy (to quote FDR).
It’s funny. Thursday morning my Bible reading included Romans 13:7, ”Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” I suppose I could have pressed the issue and made the trip to the archive vault and had the actual ticket pulled to verify that it was really me. But I just paid the ticket and went on my way.
Back to the DMV, armed with the documents and with the prized “No debt” letter, I pulled my number for my turn at the cashier window. It was 83, and they were serving number 35. I settled in for yet another long wait, but actually the numbers were going quickly since there were 6 or 7 cashiers working and some folks had given up and left. 36, 37, 38…….45, 46…..51. A lady approached me and said, “What number do you have?” I said 83 and she said, “I need to go and get a different form, would you trade numbers with me?” She was holding 60. We swapped turns about the time they called 58. I was set. Five minutes later I walked out the door, new license plates in hand.
I thought about the morning’s activities all day long and marveled at how Jesus has already paid for my sins. I’ll stand before God one day in judgement, but I’m sure He won’t pull out some traffic ticket that I never was aware of and wave it in my face. What a privilege to be under grace and not under the law!

Have a great day!