Aldo and Sandy

Since yesterday was Sandy's birthday, I thought I would pick them as the next people to tell you about. Aldo and his wife, Sandy, have been around since pretty close to the very beginning of our work here in Morelia. They are both from Mexico City and moved to Morelia about four years ago. They have been Christians for about ten years or so. They even were involved in ministry at their church in Mexico City, but through a series of events that would take too much time to explain here, they got burned and came to Morelia looking for new opportunities, both spiritually and financially.
Steven Wells was the first one to come in contact with Aldo. At the time, he was working at his brother's hardware shop. Steven invited him to the cell group that was meeting at Steve and Corina Filler's house close by. Aldo blew him off a few times, but then finally decided to check it out. They've been with us ever since! Sandy is a massage therapist (and an excellent on at that!), which is a necessary addition to any missionary work. : )
Aldo and Sandy both bring so much to this church. Aldo has an amazing heart for worship and praise and has helped in that on many occasions. Probably about 25-30% of the songs that we sing are songs he has taught us. He and Sandy are also leading a cell group on Thursday nights. Sandy is one of the most spiritually in tune people I've ever met. She is a prayer warrior in the truest sense of the word and so often understands a situation before anyone says a word. The Lord speaks through her.
Like everyone, they have their struggles. Right now, their biggest struggle is financial. Aldo is working as a security guard, which means lots of hours and not very much money. Sandy had to close her shop because they didn't have enough money to pay the rent. They are both looking for work. PLEASE pray that the Lord brings them work here in Morelia. They have a job opportunity outside of Mexico City for both of them, but we don't want them to go anywhere! We see so many amazing ways that the Lord can use them here and want to have many years with them in the future.
If I asked them, they would probably also ask for prayers for their cell group. They are currently trying to figure out when and where is the best place to meet so that all the members can come. That cell group has been through many changes over the years and has had high times and low times. Currently, attendance wise, they are passing through a low time. Pray that the Lord brings back those who have been there in the past and also that he brings new people who are thirsty to hear about him.
I have one more prayer request for them. For many years, they have wanted to have children but haven't been able to. As you pray to Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals, pray that he heals whatever it is that is keeping them from conceiving and that he gives them the desire of their hearts.
Thanks so much for your time and your prayers!! Aldo and Sandy are direct answers to prayers that you have prayerd through the years for national leaders. You are shaping this work through the time you spend on your knees.

Church retreat

It is always so amazing to see God work among you. It's something so unexplainable but so real and vibrant! We had one of those times this weekend. There ended up being exactly 50 people by Sunday and we are excited and blessed to tell you that two of them put on Christ in baptism this morning! Marta, a lady who has come for quite some time and actually only showed up Sunday morning because she had to work the rest of the weekend, and Marco, the adolescent son of Ofelia and Angel, a family Sam has been visiting, along with other members of the church, for a couple of months now, both decided to dedicate their lives to Christ and receive the hope of heaven. I know you are all rejoicing with the angels and with us on that one!
We had a great weekend overall. The weather Friday night was a bit damp and cold, but Saturday turned into a beautiful day and Sunday followed suit. The church was greatly uplifted by Walter Leonard's talks on what is means to live in Christian community. He challenged us to really discover what Christ-centered community means and how it looks different from the world’s view of community. We had several people in attendance that have just recently started getting to know us as a church family. Lalo and Esther and two kids first came to the convivio in September and also came to Friend's Day. They are friends of Miguel and Morelia, for those of you who know them. Arturo and Elsa were also there, who are neighbors of Sam and Ann and have been attending cell group for the past few months. Actually, they've been around for a while (they attended our first ever convivio two years ago) but have really been seeking the Lord more in the past few months. Even though Marta couldn't attend the entire retreat, her 26-year-old daughter, Karla, was there, along with her boyfriend, Lázaro. His first exposure to us was also Friend's Day a couple of weeks ago. Ofelia, Marco's mom, arrived on Saturday and stayed through Sunday, as did Guillermo, Adriana, Abdiel, and Adisara (she is the same school as Victoria). We had lots of really great praise times together and also played some fun games on Saturday and enjoyed a campfire Saturday night. The highlight for the kids was a toss up between the pool and the trampoline. I’m going to put some pictures up, just to give you an idea of all that went on while we were there. Enjoy!

L to R: Karla, Lázaro, Blanquita and Blanca eating breakfast

Top: Esther and Lalo; Bottom: Morelia, Miguel, Ann, Walter Leonard, Sam

One of the praise times on Saturday

The kids helping with praise time

Getting ready for games

Wheelbarrow races (L to R: Sam, Leo, Karla, and Lázaro)

Water balloon toss

Adriana & Summer teaching the kids during one of the sessions

Sam baptizing Marta

Marco getting baptized

PRAYER REQUEST

This weekend we are having our second annual church retreat and we would really appreciate and cherish your prayers. It starts around 7 p.m. (Central) on Friday night and ends Sunday around 1 in the afternoon. When we first booked the retreat center,which is about 10 minutes outside of town, we were planning for around 25-35 people. The owners gave us a price based on that number and said we needed at least 25, including kids, or they would have to charge us more. After the first two weeks of sign ups, we only had about 15 people confirmed and we were starting to get a little worried. But we decided to go forward on faith and stick with the plan. Well, Ann counted up all the people that have told us they are planning on coming and if they all come, we'll have around 60 people!! I'm a little overwhelmed by that. : )
We have a special speaker, Walter Leonard, who is flying in from California to talk about Building Christian Community. Thankfully, he speaks spanish so we won't have to be translating for him the entire time. We are also planning on making a special invitation on Sunday for those wishing to be baptized. Please pray specifically for those people who have been on the fence for a while. Pray that the Lord will touch their hearts in a special way and that they will take the opportunity placed before them to dedicate their lives fully and completing to him.
Most of all, pray for the presence of the Lord to move among us all in a mighty way. We want him to mold this group of people into his church, his body and to help us understand more fully what it means to live in community together. Pray that he will guide and direct our praise times, Walter's talks, even our game and recreation time, and that we will all leave having felt his hand upon our hearts and knowing that we are closer to him because we are closer to his people that he loves.
Thanks for the prayers!
In Him,
Sara

Rosa

I promised when I started this blog that I would fill you in a little more on some of the people who attend the Río de Vida church, so I thought I would make good on that promise and start by telling you about Rosa. Doesn't she have one of the greatest smiles you've ever seen?!
We first made contact with Rosa around May or so of last year. For a short time, we were running a 30 second spot on a Christian radio program here in town saying something along the lines of, "If you need someone to talk to about your problems or you want to learn more about what the Bible has to say, call this number." She was going through a really hard time because of the death of her husband and was really struggling with depression, so she called the number and Sam answered. He invited her to cell group and she came that same week, along with one of her sons, Pablo Julio. You could see the pain in her face. They prayed over her that night and you could sense some of the burdens being lifted. She continued to come every week, asking for prayer for her family and soaking in the Word. Shortly after that, Summer and I began studying with her in her home and got to see first hand the changes that the Lord was bringing about in her. She was filled with such joy and a yearning for more and more. She would get so excited whenever she got a question right or captured an idea. It was definitely the highlight of our week. When we got to the end of the study, we talked about baptism. She said she was willing, but had some personal thoughts and ideas to work through first. We decided to let the Lord bring her to that decision, which he did back in March of this year. Larisa, whom I’ve mentioned earlier, was baptized and afterwards we asked if anyone else was ready to make the decision to put on Christ in baptism. She stepped forward and said, “Let’s do it!” There was much rejoicing that day!
She continues to grow in her walk with the Lord. There is now a cell group that meets in her house every Wednesday night, led by Adriana and José Luis. She has so many friends who live close by that she has been waiting anxiously to invite to a cell at her house. And because they have seen the change in her, they come and they come expecting. We are all convinced that the Lord is going to use her reputation and her zeal to bring about amazing things in the neighborhood of Prados Verdes.
If you were to ask Rosa what her prayer requests are, most of them would most likely be for her kids. Three of the five (including Pablo Julio) live in the US and she hasn't gotten to see them in years. She is encouraging them to seek out the Lord where they are, which they assure her they are doing. The other two live in Morelia. Enrique lives next door with his wife, Lupe, and their three kids. Esmerandi lives in Rosa's house, along with her husband, Christian, and four month old baby boy, Steven. Rosa struggles with how to be a good influence, especially for Enrique and Christian, who are probably the furthest from the Lord right now. She would ask you to pray that all of her kids come to know the Savior that has changed her life.
I hope you've enjoyed this look into the life of Rosa. I wish you could all meet her face to face. It is such a blessing to be in her life and to see first hand the way God is changing and molding her. There are so many more stories about her and I'm sure there are many more to come in the future. I would ask that you also pray for her health. She still struggles some with depression and also gets sick fairly regularly and the doctors don't really seem to know why. We want her to be with us for many years to come! And with a smile like that, can you blame us?

Friend's Day

Hey, all! I just wanted to give you a quick update on this past Sunday, our first ever Friend's Day. It was definitely a huge success! We had 49 people, including kids, and at least 14 of those were first time visitors. We had coffee and donuts before hand and then had a good time singing and worshipping together. Sam started a series on life after death, focusing mainly on the fact that this life is not the end, but merely a preparation for what is to come. Many people stayed around afterwards and talked for quite some time. We also had Larisa in attendance for the first time in quite some time. She is doing well, feeling stronger every day. We continue to pray for her complete healing and ask that you join us in that!
Summer and I officially have the kitchen unpacked and the dining room painted. We decided to tackle one room at a time. Next is the entry way and then on to the living room and then we'll see where we go from there. The most exciting thing that happened today was that the cable guy came by and we are up and running again with full internet access. It was a hard four days! I was going through major withdrawal. Thankfully, Summer and I were able to take a break from moving and painting and we went to Mexico City Friday and Saturday. It was a much needed get-away!
I need to head to bed, so I'll let you go. Have a great day!
Sara