June 8, 2007
(Your) History Can Change
We are back! My wife had a long and serious surgery a week ago, however she is recovering wonderfully. Thanks for all your prayers, calls, notes, and e-mails. We have felt very loved and comforted. So … it’s great to share some news from the mission field.
On May 20 the Leon (Guanajuato) Church held its yearly Women’s Conference, entitled “Reason for Living“. The guest speaker was Blanca Borbonio, women’s ministry leader of the young Zacatecas Church. Over 40 women visitors took the challenge to begin studying the Bible.
Speaking of Zacatecas, the mission in that city saw a young college student, Gustavo, be baptized on May 27. Gustavo had traveled with the rest of the church to a Regional Conference in Aguascalientes. His baptism was a special treat to other brothers and sisters from the churches in Guadalajara, Tepic, Leon, Queretaro and Aguascalientes who had also come to the conference.
Love blooms in the mission field! Fernando Avila and Claudia Herrera had left their homes, careers, friends and relatives to join the mission team to Zacatecas three months ago. To celebrate Fernando’s birthday and their fourth anniversary as boyfriend/girlfriend, Claudia prepared a special surprise dinner. But it was Fernando who brought the surprise gift: an engagement ring and a proposal! God has totally rewarded their sacrifices, and in a few months the young Zacatecas church will be blessed with its first wedding.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 37:4 (NIV
Reyes Ledesma, minister for the Pachuca, Mexico, Church, has this story to encourage us to believe that God is always at work in people’s hearts: Five years ago, a sister in our church was inviting people to the church’s 1st Anniversary Service, when she met this woman, Esther, and her two teenage daughters, Kenya and Sandra. Kenya and Sandra started visiting the church and teen special events, but after some time stopped coming. A few months ago Kenya, now over 18 years old, was met again. She came back to church, studied the Bible, and is now a disciple of Jesus! Her transformation was so evident that it impacted her family powerfully. Her sister Sandra came back to church with her husband Daniel, and they were also baptized. And just a week ago, their mother Esther was also baptized! Stories like this have inspired us so much, that we have decided to entitle our upcoming 6th Anniversary Celebration, “(Your) History Can Change”.
And that sounds like a great message for all of us!
J De Anda
Comments(2)
[...] On Thursday morning the church leader’s meeting continued with two video conferences by Jaime De Anda, who was not able to travel due to Mimi’s recent back surgery. Although not in person it was great to spend time with Jaime who has been a pillar to the churches in Mexico and Central America. In the first video conference we talked about the ever so important and increasingly challenging task of funding the mission. Jaime shared with us what he called the Tabernacle Model of funding. Please pray for MCA. the churches in Central America and missionaries like myself as we look for new and innovative ways to finance the spreading of the gospel throughout the Central American region. The second video conference focused on what was taught at the International Conference of Youth Ministries in Boston, MA. We look forward to the transition from a teen to a family ministry where teen, parents, teen workers and ministry leaders can all work together toward the common goal of salvation for our families. [...]
[...] Jueves por la mañana la reunión para lideres de iglesia continuó con dos videoconferencias del Dr. Jaime De Anda, quien no pudo viajar por una operación reciente de su esposa Mimi. Aunque no en persona, fue increíble pasar tiempo con Jaime quien ha sido un pilar para las iglesias de México y Centramérica. En la primera videoconferencia hablamos de la importante y cada vez más retante tarea de financiar la misión. Jaime nos compartió lo que él llamó el modelo del tabernaculo de financimiento. Por favor ora por MCA, las iglesias de centroamérica y misionaros como yo mientras buscamos maneras nuevas para financiar la predicación del evangelio por toda la región centroamericana. La segunda videoconferencia se enfocó en lo que fue enseñado en la Conferencias Internacional de Ministerios de Jóvenes en Boston, MA. Nos anima comenzar la transición de un ministerio de jóvenes a un ministerio de familias donde jovenes, padres de familia, lideres de jóvenes y lideres de ministerio trabajan en conjunto hacía la meta común de la salvación de nuestras familias. [...]