The Mission Diaries

Along with many of our readers in the U.S., today we celebrate a very special holiday. Many in our society focus on two things: eating and getting ready for the Christmas shopping season! Obviously that is not the original intent of Thanksgiving Day. So, in the true spirit of the day, let me share with you readers what I’m grateful for, specifically for this year:

1. My wife recovering from major spinal surgery and celebrating together our 30th anniversary!

2. Receiving into our family our first granddaughter!

3. Another son graduating from college (and getting a really good job!)

4. God giving me the health to continue helping our sister churches in Mexico and Central America!

Of course, I am grateful for God’s mercy and blessings, but I try to express my gratitude for those every day, not just once a year.

May this scripture inspire you as it has my family for many years:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalms 118:1)

J De Anda

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As the U.S. recovers from the recent elections and prepares to install a new President, any observer can realize how sensitive we are to the issue of the separation of church and state. A recent article in the Church History section of Christianity Today  entited “The Wall of Separation”, by Daniel Dreisbach, points out some interesting facts about the origins of this controversial subject.

(Read the article)

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In 2007 the citizens of Villahermosa, Mexico, faced tremendous challenges as torrential rains brought severe flooding into the city. Several of our brothers and sisters in the local church were affected by the floods, so several churches in the US responded with donations. As we reported earlier this year, the church was able to meet the needs of several families, continue to meet for worship and even baptized several people. 

Now, with the help of donations, one very special sister in the church saw as her house was rebuilt from the bottom up. Please come in and see the story in pictures…

(Read the article)

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The history of the International Churches of Christ points to a 1979 meeting in the house of Bob and Pat Gempel as the origin of this worldwide movement. Thirty people were at that meeting. Each one was called out by young evangelist Kip McKean to be a totally commited disciple of Jesus every day and in every aspect of their lives. By 1988, the Boston Church of Christ (originally called the Lexington Church of Christ) had grown to a Sunday attendance of 4200 people. The congregation had sent mission teams and planted churches in London and Chicago (1982), New York City (1983), Providence and Toronto (1985), Paris , Johannesburg and Stockholm (1986), and Bombay, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires (1987). The church had also sent teams to rebuild pre-existing congregations in Atlanta, San Francisco and Kingston (Jamaica).

Cover of the 1988 World Missions Seminar booklet

In September of 1988, disciples of Christ from around the world convened in Boston for the World Missions Seminar, entitled God Almighty Reigns. Words cannot fully describe the electricity in the air during that weekend. The Mexico City Church sent its first group of ministry interns. These were three young men and three young women who had been converted during the first year of the mission, and were now being trained to become the future leaders of churches. During that historic weekend, they would grasp for the first time a real vision of what was to become a truly international movement….[to be continued]

 J De Anda 

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Greetings. Alas, this blogger’s technical skills are quite limited, so I had been waiting for this video to get uploaded somewhere, so we could share it with our readers. Now, here it is! Please click on this link or on the picture below to go to ICOC HotNews and view this testimonial from a group of brothers and sisters who traveled recently to Guatemala City, where they spent a week preaching and serving side by side with disciples of Jesus in that city. If you are interested in participating in a “Member Missionary” Trip to Mexico or Central America, please send us a note here or at mcamissions@mcamissions.org.

J De Anda

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