Members of our Mexico Gateway Team (Mission Baptist - Hamilton, ON) in action, painting at the Acolman Retreat Center.
August 20, 2007
Well, the full work week begins! There is a lot of painting to be done here at the Acolman Retreat Center here in the northern reaches of Mexico City, so it looks like that will be our main project here this week. Almost all of the painting is over plastered concrete, so it takes quite a bit of paint to cover it well.
Everyone chipped right in and by the end of the day, the Barons and Randy were quite amazed at the progress made by this group of mostly teenagers. There seems to be some good work ethic implanted in these kids! Way to go mum and dad! We’re painting boys’ dorm rooms and bathrooms to begin with; 3 of them in all and also a stairway which requires some scaffolding and ladders.
Our evening team meeting was a great time again of worship and a challenge from Mission Baptist Youth Pastor Mike Powell on Ezra and Nehemiah on confession. We ended the meeting with a meaningful time of confessing sins, struggles, etc. before the group for the purpose of uplifting and encouraging each other in their journeys with Jesus.
Please pray that God would continue to mold each person here to become more Christ-like in all that they are.
We also had to say good-bye today to 2 members of the team, Shelly and Kameron Schmor, who headed home to begin Kameron’s preparations for school this fall. Although both of their flights were delayed, and had to drive 2 hours to Milwaukee from Chicago, they made it home by 2am (Tuesday). Thanks for your prayers for their safe-keeping.
August 21, 2007
Another full day of painting! Sometimes it can be difficult for a Gateway Team that works with their hands like this to see beyond the paint being applied to a wall to the purpose behind that paint; that being the purpose of this Retreat Center (or ‘Acampamento’) as it is called here. This Retreat Center not only provides great facilities for a Gateway Team like this to be accommodated, but also provides a location away from home for campers each summer. Every July, there is an Adolescents Camp (ages 13-17) and a Kids Camp (ages 8-12) here at Acolman where many young lives have discovered their newfound journey with Jesus Christ. Gateway Teams have had a hand in these camps for a number of years as well assisting the staff in a number of ways.
So, the Gateway Team that’s here this week to work on the physical facility of the Retreat Center needs to be reminded that what they are doing here (painting, etc.) has an impact on lives, even though they’re not here to see that impact. Please pray that the team would see this and that the Holy Spirit would encourage and remind them of their overall purpose here.
Even so, the team continues to work hard and make a lot of progress. Everyone is quite tired by the end of day! We also had another great team meeting this evening as we shared in some favorite fun songs but also in some favorite songs of worship. Allison Cannon, one of our female leaders shared a very meaningful challenge and exercise on the misuse of the tongue (James 3). Thank you for your continued prayers Prayer Partners!
August 22, 2007
We shaked up the schedule somewhat today because we planned to head to church (Cristo Vive) in the evening for their weekly prayer meeting. So, we decided to eat on a more ‘Mexican’ eating schedule working straight through until 3 in the afternoon when we would have our big meal of the day (‘Comida’) and then leaving for the prayer service around 5:30pm and returning to the Retreat Center for supper (‘Cena’) around 9:30/10:00pm which was a light snack before bed. It worked out great as the team worked themselves out of all the paint we had! By the end of the day, all of the boy’s dorms had been finished and most of the stairwell as well; and the dining hall/chapel (which includes the painting of a very rough concrete ceiling) had a large portion completed too. Our host missionary, Royce Baron, has been busy with trips to the paint store just to keep us supplied! In between brush strokes, the team members have been able to take turns with Royce to an authentic Mexican market where all manner of interesting sites have been seen!
And, as planned, we headed for the Prayer Service in the evening which was a rich time with the people of Iglesia Cristo Vive (Christ Lives Church). We shared in the prayer time together, heard and prayed for a number of heartfelt requests from those in attendance and also shared some requests for prayer ourselves. Many on the team have mentioned how impressed they are with the openness and willingness of these Mexican believers to share with each other and us!
This is a good example of how a mission team can feel that they are coming to provide something for the these people (in our case, painting here at the Retreat Center), but are surprised to find that they receive from the people at least as much if not more than they are giving. There is so much that we as North Americans can learn from the believers here in Mexico about prayer and many other things. Mexicans are naturally hospitable, but when this is coupled with the love of Christ that is present among brothers and sisters in the Lord, it is an incredible blessing; and our team is definitely been the recipients of that blessing!
Pray that God continues to reveal Himself through the lives of the Mexican believers here who are not going out of their way to show love to our team members, but just do this naturally as a part of who they are. Also, would you please pray for our van driver? He has become a very special person to the team and has also been impacted by the testimony of the other 3 Gateway Teams that have been here at the church and Retreat Center this summer. Please pray that God would continue to work in his live and in the life of his family.
Well, the full work week begins! There is a lot of painting to be done here at the Acolman Retreat Center here in the northern reaches of Mexico City, so it looks like that will be our main project here this week. Almost all of the painting is over plastered concrete, so it takes quite a bit of paint to cover it well.
Everyone chipped right in and by the end of the day, the Barons and Randy were quite amazed at the progress made by this group of mostly teenagers. There seems to be some good work ethic implanted in these kids! Way to go mum and dad! We’re painting boys’ dorm rooms and bathrooms to begin with; 3 of them in all and also a stairway which requires some scaffolding and ladders.
Our evening team meeting was a great time again of worship and a challenge from Mission Baptist Youth Pastor Mike Powell on Ezra and Nehemiah on confession. We ended the meeting with a meaningful time of confessing sins, struggles, etc. before the group for the purpose of uplifting and encouraging each other in their journeys with Jesus.
Please pray that God would continue to mold each person here to become more Christ-like in all that they are.
We also had to say good-bye today to 2 members of the team, Shelly and Kameron Schmor, who headed home to begin Kameron’s preparations for school this fall. Although both of their flights were delayed, and had to drive 2 hours to Milwaukee from Chicago, they made it home by 2am (Tuesday). Thanks for your prayers for their safe-keeping.
August 21, 2007
Another full day of painting! Sometimes it can be difficult for a Gateway Team that works with their hands like this to see beyond the paint being applied to a wall to the purpose behind that paint; that being the purpose of this Retreat Center (or ‘Acampamento’) as it is called here. This Retreat Center not only provides great facilities for a Gateway Team like this to be accommodated, but also provides a location away from home for campers each summer. Every July, there is an Adolescents Camp (ages 13-17) and a Kids Camp (ages 8-12) here at Acolman where many young lives have discovered their newfound journey with Jesus Christ. Gateway Teams have had a hand in these camps for a number of years as well assisting the staff in a number of ways.
So, the Gateway Team that’s here this week to work on the physical facility of the Retreat Center needs to be reminded that what they are doing here (painting, etc.) has an impact on lives, even though they’re not here to see that impact. Please pray that the team would see this and that the Holy Spirit would encourage and remind them of their overall purpose here.
Even so, the team continues to work hard and make a lot of progress. Everyone is quite tired by the end of day! We also had another great team meeting this evening as we shared in some favorite fun songs but also in some favorite songs of worship. Allison Cannon, one of our female leaders shared a very meaningful challenge and exercise on the misuse of the tongue (James 3). Thank you for your continued prayers Prayer Partners!
August 22, 2007
We shaked up the schedule somewhat today because we planned to head to church (Cristo Vive) in the evening for their weekly prayer meeting. So, we decided to eat on a more ‘Mexican’ eating schedule working straight through until 3 in the afternoon when we would have our big meal of the day (‘Comida’) and then leaving for the prayer service around 5:30pm and returning to the Retreat Center for supper (‘Cena’) around 9:30/10:00pm which was a light snack before bed. It worked out great as the team worked themselves out of all the paint we had! By the end of the day, all of the boy’s dorms had been finished and most of the stairwell as well; and the dining hall/chapel (which includes the painting of a very rough concrete ceiling) had a large portion completed too. Our host missionary, Royce Baron, has been busy with trips to the paint store just to keep us supplied! In between brush strokes, the team members have been able to take turns with Royce to an authentic Mexican market where all manner of interesting sites have been seen!
And, as planned, we headed for the Prayer Service in the evening which was a rich time with the people of Iglesia Cristo Vive (Christ Lives Church). We shared in the prayer time together, heard and prayed for a number of heartfelt requests from those in attendance and also shared some requests for prayer ourselves. Many on the team have mentioned how impressed they are with the openness and willingness of these Mexican believers to share with each other and us!
This is a good example of how a mission team can feel that they are coming to provide something for the these people (in our case, painting here at the Retreat Center), but are surprised to find that they receive from the people at least as much if not more than they are giving. There is so much that we as North Americans can learn from the believers here in Mexico about prayer and many other things. Mexicans are naturally hospitable, but when this is coupled with the love of Christ that is present among brothers and sisters in the Lord, it is an incredible blessing; and our team is definitely been the recipients of that blessing!
Pray that God continues to reveal Himself through the lives of the Mexican believers here who are not going out of their way to show love to our team members, but just do this naturally as a part of who they are. Also, would you please pray for our van driver? He has become a very special person to the team and has also been impacted by the testimony of the other 3 Gateway Teams that have been here at the church and Retreat Center this summer. Please pray that God would continue to work in his live and in the life of his family.
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