So far, November has been a busy and exciting month. We’ve seen God do some amazing things here in Hermosillo and we are humbled by it.
We are thankful for two U.S. volunteer teams–Scott and Alan from Louisiana and Ed and Matt from Arizona that came this month to help us with some projects. All but Alan had been here before and it was great to see them again. Alan made himself right at home in Hermosillo and we are confident that he’ll find his way back with a group of volunteers in tow.
Our greatest joy has been the development of our team in southern Hermosillo. These folks, many of them new beleivers, are part of the In Christ There is Hope Baptist Church. They have been faithfully praying for a new work in the Rancho Grande area of Hermosillo. In fact, the group rises at 4:30 every morning to pray. Yes, that’s every morning. We met together weekly from late August until the end of October for prayer, training, and encouragement.
During Scott and Alan’s visit to Hermosillo, this team led out in a literature distribution project in Rancho Grande. In about 8 hours of work, the teams knocked on 1,500 doors and talked with as many people as possible. The “hook” was a block party that the group hosted on Wednesday night, November 4. At the block party, we set-up an makeshift photo studio and offered free family portraits to those who came. At the end of the night, we had photographed about 25 families while about 250 people had come to enjoy hot chocolate, popcorn, cookies, and of course, the music. We feel that this event was a great success.
In the days following the block party, we got the photos developed and assembled them in packets for distribution. Ed and Matt arrived just in time to accompany us on the second round of visits in Rancho Grande. Our teams entered the homes, presented the photos, and shared Christ with the families. After all was said and done, about 12 homes were ready to receive Bible studies and about 22 people in all had accepted Christ. Obviously, we are elated with the results. The Rancho Grande team continues to lead out in the Bible studies and we are encouraging and resourcing them.
Other News
Our church, Casa de Dios, has seen some growth recently and we are grateful for that. This group has really come together like a family over the last six months. Just last Sunday a new family of 5 attended for the first time and their feedback seems very positive. We’ve been blessed to also have some Americans participating in our church. There are several families in Hermosillo working for various companies on a temporary basis. Since there is no English-speaking church in the city, they have opted to worship with us. The local folks have welcomed them warmly, and will be sorry to see them go when their time is up.
The church is forming a praise and worship team. Both Donna and I have been participating, trying to learn to play guitar (Donna) and bass (Alan). We’re having fun with it.
Healthwise, we are doing fine. Recent bloodtests looked good and neither of us have any recurring symptoms from our earlier problems. Praise the Lord.
Thanks for reading this, and most of all for your prayers.
