Gateway Teams

August 7, 2007

Another great day here in Tlahuac! It was a day of Mexican culture and understanding as well as a day that included another great evening of our ESL classes. We started the day quite early as we boarded a public bus to head to the nearest Metro (subway) station and make our way to El Centro or ‘Zocalo’; the center/downtown of Mexico City. The traffic while we were on the bus was quite heavy and it took almost an hour just to get to ‘Taxqueña, the closest of the Metro stations. Once we were there, it takes only 20 minutes to get all the way to the center of the city. We stopped first at ‘Ciudadela’, a large market where the team could get some authentic souvenirs of their time here. After 2 hours there, we headed on foot to Avenida Juarez which is a main business district of Mexico City. The team observed a number of landmarks including ‘Palacio de Belles Artes’, a large and beautiful art museum. Close to this museum was our stop for lunch at Sanborns where the team enjoyed a great lunch of authentic Mexican food. We then headed further on foot to ‘Zocalo’, the main center of the Capital where we found the National Cathedral and the Presidential Palace. The National Cathedral is an incredible structure, 350 years old, the oldest building in the Americas. And the National Palace has displays of the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera including a 3-wall mural depicting 2000+ years of Mexican history. By the time we got back to the church via Metro and bus again, we had 15 minutes to spare before the ESL classes began. A very full day indeed!

The classes themselves went very well and were much appreciated. The Delongs did a great job with the advanced group and Kathy and Beth also did a great job with the Beginners. Everyone was smiling, laughing and enjoying their time together. These classes continued to build on the foundation of relationship that is so important for us to formulate with these people before we attempt to discuss some of the aspects of ministry leadership in the congregation that we were asked to come here and help with.

Thanks for your prayers! The Lord kept us safe in all our comings and going today; which were many!

August 8, 2007

Today was the first of our 3 children’s ministry days with the focal point being a “Good News Club”. Around 35 children came for this first day of Club Buenas Nuevas and many of their mothers stayed to watch and participate. When club was over, we had the first of 3 luncheons for the children’s workers of the church. All of the children’s ministry in this church, for ages birth through 14 is led by these 4 ladies who came to the luncheon. We discovered what incredible hearts they have for these kids but they have very little resources or funds to work with. They also find it very difficult to work with the 12-14 year old boys in particular, being ladies and all, but they have such a heart for this and sacrifice much to serve. The other difficulty many of them face, which is common here, is lack of support from their husbands for their service in the church. In the best scenarios, their husbands at least attend church on Sunday, but in many cases, husbands are absent from the role of spiritual leadership in their homes, let alone supporting these faithful ladies in their service to the children of the congregation.
This was a good time of sharing, praying and gathering together, letting these ladies know that they are not alone and that we care about them and their needs.

Wednesday night is also a prayer service night in the church and we were privileged to have Kathy share her testimony with the congregation and have Pastor Juan Luna from Texas, one of our translators and a long-time friend of Gateway Teams, bring a bilingual message on what it means to invite the presence of Christ into our homes.

The team also shared during our team meeting time their impressions of yesterday when we were at the National Cathedral and all that we’re experiencing in trying to understand and appreciate the Mexican culture. There is much to understand about the people we’re trying to serve here. Please pray that we would continue to understand our brothers and sisters here and their needs better and better.

Oh, 2 more things! We can’t forget to tell of the major storm that hit right during church tonight! It brought major amounts of rain and hail which covered and flooded the streets, broke through the tarp covering the church meeting area and forced us to scurry for cover! It was hard for everyone to believe how much hail came down! But after we repositioned ourselves and the sound equipment, the service went on! We also had an incredible meal at Claudia’s after church of tacos, quesadillas and tortas; but nothing like you’ve ever seen in the US! Claudia is a lady in the church who owns this walk-up taco stand and in the Mexican tradition, the team was enjoying this meal around 10:30-11:00pm! “What a feast!” and “Pass the ‘Alka-Selzer’!” were the 2 main comments as we headed for bed afterwards!


August 9, 2007

Another day of Good News Club and for many on our team, the focal point of our time here; meetings in the evening with the leadership of the men’s, women’s and youth ministries. In the case of the men’s ministry, there isn’t any in the church, so imagine our surprise and enthusiasm when 15 men showed up because of their interest in beginning such a ministry in this church! Scott, Mark, Mike and Juan Luna led this time of discussion, presentation and prayer as these men gathered and were challenged on what it means to take spiritual leadership in the home and in the church. They were also encouraged that the young men of the church need them as mentors if the church is going to continue to grow. Young men typically lose interest in the church and fall away, but if this group of men are any indication, God is about to do a great work here and it’s with great joy that we are here to encourage them to move forward. Praise God for this time and how he used the men of our group! Keep praying for these men in this congregation as well in these roles of spiritual leadership.

The women’s ministry time was led by Shelly, Sue, Kathy, Beth and Amanda Luna (translating) and the ladies that came were encouraged to try to find time to meet and especially study together and to just have fun together! The team brought along a Spanish version of Beth Moore’s ‘Daniel’ study and the ladies enjoyed watching this video and discussing the topic. They also enjoyed getting their nails done by the ladies of the team as they met and discussed! Great idea!