Youth Hotdog Fellowship

          The start of the school year marks the start of a new season for our youth group.  Our prayer and focus for the group this year is to reach out to the adolescents and youth of our church who do not attend our gatherings- drawing them into the body of Christ and the study of His Word (while discipling the older ones to show love to these distanced youth).

 

          At our kick-off fellowship gathering, we ate hotdogs, cake, and played a Wii sports tournament.  We loved seeing everyone participating- even the new youth!  We are praying that these new youth will be encouraged to join us for our weekly fellowship and studies- as we start to study together the book of Ephesians.

 

 

 

 

First Operation Christmas Child Training of the season

After the local churches have been invited to participate in Operation Christmas Child (OCC), they are gathered for an information and training session of using the shoeboxes and children’s literature to evangelize in their communities. 

 

At our first OCC information/training session in Tlaxcala, pastors and leaders

from 21 churches/home studies/cell groups arrived!  All seemed very excited to hear about the vision and resources offered through this ministry. 

Leaders from one church approached us afterwards to share their plans to reach multiple groups of children in their area- believing that God had sovereignly placed each leader of the church in contact with different

children (either at a school, around a family business, on the outskirts of town, etc.) that could receive a shoebox and hear the Gospel. We love to see the Holy Spirit already directing their evangelism efforts to specific children around them!

 

My favorite part of the session includes training the churches to

share the gospel message with children- in a clear, concise and visual way (understandable even to a young audience).  Such a joy to teach and provide materials for churches to speak of Jesus Christ in a Biblical, understandable way! 

 

We are praying for each for each of these churches that will participate in

OCC this year in our state of Tlaxcala!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Search for Churches Around Tlaxcala

         September marks the start of the 2016-2017 “Operation Christmas Child” season!  The ministry here begins with a search for local churches around our state that will deliver the shoeboxes and Gospel to the children of their communities. 

 

         Finding churches in Tlaxcala is not as easy as opening a telephone

directory: the search involves driving through every city, town, and village and asking the local people for “evangelicals” (or “hallelujahs” as they are often known).  The search is often slow- on dirt roads, dead ends, poorly marked streets, and cattle crossings!

 

        Though it is a tedious process, it

is a great way to know the different people and needs of areas around our state.  On this search, Paco even found a community that speaks another dialect besides Spanish.

 

         One specific community touched his heart on this search: El Pilar is a small, dirt-road town without a church, but with one family of

Christians who attend church in a neighboring city.  The mother received Paco excitedly, asking if he had material for children’s classes, because her daughter leads small vacation Bible school classes for the community children at their home.  Paco was pleased to announce the Operation Christmas Child offered exactly that!- material for them to evangelize and disciple the children of their community! 

 

        This ministry offers the opportunity for believers (even with little education and low income) the materials to extend the Kingdom of God in their church-less communities!

New Believer's Study in Misiones

Paco started a discipleship study for new believers at our church plant in the Misiones community.  Though our small church only includes two local families at this moment, they will be firmly planted in the truth of the Bible!

 

The study includes weekly Bible reading, verse memorization, and questions for each participant to do at

home, as well as group discussion and teaching.

 

Even in the first few classes, we have witnessed the work of the Holy Spirit! 

-The very first study reviewed the basics of the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, and asked the question: When did you receive salvation?  Even the believers who

had supposedly spent years in the faith were confronted by the question and some renewed their commitments to Christ!

-Gerardo, who accepted Christ just this April, has been copying Bible references mentioned in the study in his notebook to remember them.  He also admitted to staying awake to read his Bible a whole night! (he said he was hooked!) 

-Even 14-year old Andrea has participated with enthusiasm with the other adults- answering questions and memorizing Bible verses.

 

As each believer is encouraged during the study to share their faith with others, we are conducting a “Groceries-Evangelism Outreach” – each participant will have a box of

groceries to give to a family they know in need, as an opportunity to practically share the love of Jesus. 

 

May each of us at Horizonte Misiones grow through our study of the Word!

Jemina Mercy is born!!

Jemina Mercy López!!!

Our daughter, Jemina Mercy, was born on Sunday, August 7, 2016!

She was 5lbs 12 oz, 49cm of pure beauty!

An amazingly blessed delivery: after only 6 hours of labor and 7 pushes, our little Jemi slid into our arms!

Our hearts, arms, and nights!, have never been this full!

Words cannot express our joy and thanks to our loving, Creator God for the gift of our

daughter!!  We have waited for her for years

 

Meaning of Jemina Mercy = "New Day" of "Mercy"

It is the name of Job's first daughter (in LBLA translation)

Job 42:14-15 "Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful

as Job’s daughters..."

As Biblical Jemina was Job's special gift and evidence of God's presence and mercy in his bitter trial, so is our daughter Jemina Mercy after our trial of infertility.

We praise God for the "New Day of Mercy" that He has started for us!!

 

Mexico National Conferences: "Operation Christmas Child"

Each summer, coordinators of “Operation Christmas Child” from each of the now 32 Mexican states gather with 2 goals: 1) to celebrate the Lord’s work in children’s evangelism and discipleship the year before, and 2) encourage and direct the new “Operation Christmas Child” season in the coming year (which starts as early as September in each participating state!).

 

This year, the national conferences were held in Puebla.  Therefore, our Tlaxcala and Puebla state teams had the privilege and responsibility of preparing and hosting this major event. 

 

Our teams spent the last six months preparing details of the event: planning decorations and banners for

the hotel, renting the sound equipment and practicing with the music team, coordinating traditional Pueblan snacks and a tour of Puebla for the guests, wrapping hospitality gifts for each state, printing paperwork for the registration table, and much more. 

 

What a blessing to meet and

fellowship with over 150 fellow OCC workers from around the country!  We were encouraged and challenged by testimonies of states who deliver the Gospel of Christ to children in dangerous communities (where kidnappings or gang shootings are commonplace), or to indigenous children in remote villages who have never heard of Jesus.  Also, through the informative conferences, our team has renewed direction for this

upcoming OCC season- to train more churches and teachers in our state for children’s evangelism and discipleship.

 

Our months of work preparing for this event were well worth the effort- Paco and I feel like our family has expanded through meeting fellow brothers in Christ serving in other

states.  Many are praying for us, and all are excited about the upcoming birth of our daughter.  Praise God for the workers He sends to the children of Mexico!