The Mission Diaries

The Guatemala City Church of Christ hosted the first retreat for the administrators of the Central American churches this past weekend of March 12-14, 2010. In attendance were (left to right in photo below): J De Anda from Los Angeles (guest speaker), Ericka from San Jose (Costa Rica), Juanita from San Pedro Sula (Honduras), Carlos from Xela (Guatemala), Neftali from San Salvador (El Salvador), David from Panama City, and Betty from Guatemala City. Some of these disciples perform this function on a purely volunteer basis for their respective churches. Thanks to their tireless work, the churches are able to maintain a high level of integrity in their financial operations and legal status.

The retreat began on Friday evening with a meeting with the Guatemala City Church’s Board of Directors. It was a great time of learning about the development of such governance structure, and about the healthy interaction between the Board and the ministry staff.

Saturday morning the group received J De Anda from Los Angeles, who led them in a study about God’s guidance through dark times, based mostly on Job 23. It was a great bonding time as all had a chance to share about their experiences, struggles and victories in recent years. The rest of the day was devoted to discussions about strategic and tactical aspects of administration.

On Sunday morning the group joined one of the Guatemala City Church’s three regional groups for worship. David Pineda, the administrator for the Panama Church, led the church in that day’s Lord’s Supper. J De Anda then preached on the theme, “This Is A Hard Teaching. Who Can Accept It?” from John 6:60. The church was encouraged to hold on to our convictions and never compromise on Jesus’ teachings, even though they are challenging and difficult. The meeting hall was full. The Bible Talk group led by evangelist Alex Paiz had 12 visitors!

The retreat concluded with a lunch and round-table discussion after church, and everyone agreed that we should meet at least once a year, even if by web conference.

J De Anda

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Although MCA Missions is not directly involved in mission work in South America, we have been praying and following the news after the horrible earthquake that struck Chile last weekend. My good friends and brothers Christian Escobar and Hector Munoz have told me that the Christians in the churches in Santiago, Vina del Mar and Concepcion are safe, although some have had losses of property. For a recent update, please go to John and Kay Hoyt’s blog at this link. The Hoyts have been missionaries in Chile for several years.

J De Anda

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A new church has been planted in Mexico. Welcome, Cuautla Church of Christ! In 1999 the Mexico City church planted Cuernavaca, the first church in the state of Morelos. Then in 2003, the Mexico City and Cuernavaca churches jointly planted a church in Acapulco (Guerrero). In December of 2009, a team of missionaries went from Cuernavaca to Cuautla, second largest city in the state of Morelos. At the church’s first service on February 7, about 200 visitors came, with 35 new Bible studies set up! The brothers and sisters in Mexico continue to inspire us with their mission-focused hearts.

J De Anda

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Recently the Turning Point ministry of the Los Angeles Church began a fundraising program called “Mustaches for El Salvador”. Brothers commited themselves to raising money for the San Salvador Church while growing a mustache, and not shaving it until they had met their fundraising goal.

Please go to this link for the humorous response of the disciples in the San Salvador Church :-)

J De Anda

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We have been following the developments in Haiti after this week’s devastating earthquake. Several members of the church are currently camping at the site where the church building used to be; it was destroyed by the earthquake. Many disciples are still unaccounted for. HOPE worldwide is leading the relief efforts on behalf of many churches in our fellowship. You can check www.icochotnews.com and www.disciplestoday.com for daily updates. Let’s continue praying for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

J De Anda

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