VBS!

We spent a week doing Kids Club (VBS) in the afternoons. During this time the kids would hear a Bible story, memorize Scripture that went with the story, do a craft, play a games, etc. The first day, it poured down rain, so we had to take shelter in a stairwell. Mayra took this opportunity to share the gospel with the kids and 4 of them accepted Christ as their Savior. Here are some pictures from the week:


Reciting a Bible verse...


Praying after hearing the Gospel...


Waiting on the rain to stop...


Listening to a Bible story...


Playing Freeze Tag...



Watching a puppet show...


Group picture at the Kids' Club...


Elizabeth and Yolanda - who are now a part of a Bible Study in the neighborhood because of the Kids Club that we had in January.



Crafts...


Duck, Duck, Goose!





More crafts...

There will be another Kids Club in July led by some Mexican Youth. Please be praying for the kids that will be able to come to this club and learn about Christ.

A Day In Mexico City

We spent the day in Mexico City--seeing some of the culture and religion in downtown. There were some pretty amazing things that the group got to see including: the Latin American Building (great views of downtown...especially when the smog doesn't get in the way), the National Cathedral, the basillica, and other things around downtown.

We got there partly by bus...partly by subway.



The National Cathedral



Seeing the sights...


An example of past culture you will still see around the city...



A View of Mexico City from the Latin American Building...45 stories tall!


The whole group on top of the Latin American Building.



US!



Lindsey and Rikki Pearson. Rikki is on leadership this summer--helping lead and guide the girl interns who are serving with CAM this summer. Rikki has been a joy to get to know and has been doing a great job encouraging all the interns. She will be staying in Mexico, at least until December (but we hope she'll be staying longer!)



This is a picture of the outside of the Basillica of the Virgin of Guadalupe--a site that really helps one understand the Roman Catholic religion in Mexico City.

English English English

Our group has been working really hard on teaching English the past few weeks. They have been teaching for 2 hours at a time, in two different neighborhoods. It was neat to see the classes grow each day, as more people heard about the classes. It has been a neat ministry to do--in order to have more contacts with the church that Rod, David, and Martin are leading. It has been a challenge to learn the best ways to teach and present the lessons, and our group has come together as a team to work together.

Liz's Birthday

Liz Turbon is our Mexican Mom for the 2.5 weeks we were in Ixtapaluca. She was such a joy to be around and truly made us feel like we were at home. On her birthday, the boys of the group went and seranaded her at like 11:00pm at night. After practicing the songs and learning the words, we headed over to the back of the house. Here's some fun shots:

1st Day of English Classes

As I walked up to the Tortilla stand my plans were simply to give the people around it flyers about our English classes. I ended up speaking with the owner for an hour where I had the opportunity to share the gospel with Him. He asked me what I believe and I explained to him that we are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), that Christ died for each one of us (Romans 5:8), and finally that he could also trust in Christ as his savior as well (Romans 10:9). INCREDIBLE!

About 10 minutes later I was handing another flyer and a little tract about the World Cup to a man driving a van (public transportation) when it happened again. This man asked me why we were teaching English and again I walked him through the Gospel. UNBELIEVABLE!

Each of these men yesterday heard the Gospel clearly and were given opportunities to respond to the Gospel. Please pray for them! To each of you that have supported us, know that God is using us to bring the Gospel to those who aren't Christians and also teaching us much about how to minister to the needs of people.

- Brad

Taco Discipleship

Below is a picture of the group we are with here in Cuernavaca for CAM's Summer Internship. We are amazed at how God has been at work in the lives of the people in our group and are excited about how we as a group will serve the people of Mexico this summer (click on the picture below for this image in high resolution).

Relationships and Teaching

Sitting here staring at white puffy clouds just above a deep ravine in Cuernavaca, Mexico, I can't help but to wander what it would be like to develop relationships with people here and serve them. These are people who value relationships more than most people do. They are more than happy to show up late at events or be inconvenienced in order to spend more time with you. Is this the way I act when talking to someone in Dallas or in North Carolina? That's convicting! Cuernavaca is a place where the beauty of nature is found to be just as beautiful as the people I've encountered. There are missionaries here but not enough! What is God trying to teach us as we meet people like this and see places with such a huge need for the Gospel? It seems He's trying to teach us more than we are even willing to stop and realize. Thanks God.

During the past view days, we've been spending some time watching some DVDs made by Rob Bell. Throughout the summer, we will be going through the book, Velvet Elvis, which talks about repainting the Christian faith. The DVDs go along with the chapters in the books, but they are presented in such a captivating way. There are a few topics that have really hit me and made me think.

FOLLOW ME

Are we really seeking to follow Christ with all our hearts. Are we willing to be the type of disciples that want to do everything the way Christ does? Do we want to be exactly like Christ and be His mirror image? Disciples of rabbi's back in the day had this type of mentality; they wanted to have every part of their life to mimic that of their rabbi they were learning under. This really challenged me to think about my heart and my motivation in life. Sure I say I want to be like Christ...but am I really truely following Him with every part of my soul?

GET OUT OF THE BOAT

Thinking about the time when Jesus walked on water... Peter stepped out of the boat and started to walk towards His Lord. Of course we can't forget about the part that he looses faith and sinks back into the water...but Peter did get out of the boat! Do we have the confidence and the courage to step out of the boat and do things for Christ? Do we believe in the fact that Christ chose us to be His disciples and live a life that is glorifying to Him? How many times do I doubt myself and my capabilities? So many times I feel like Moses and say Lord what if I don't have the words? Lord, I'm not skilled or able enough. Lord, find someone else to go in my place. But God singles each of us out to serve according to His purposes. We are placed directly in the center of His will and He knows what He is doing with us--even when things don't seem clear and we don't understand. I want to be the disciple who is confident in God's love, confident that God has given me gifts to fulfill His purpose for my life, confident in my Lord, my Savior, and His plan.

HE WILL NOT LOVE YOU LESS

God's love is so abundant that each time we confess to Him, He responds to us saying "there is nothing you could do that could make me love you any less." God consistently shows us grace that we do not deserve. He reaches out His hand to us, despite all our sins and disobedience. Yet this does not mean that we should go on sinning, in order that God will continue to shower us with grace. This does give us the freedom to come humbly before God and tell Him about our sins and our problems. We should confess with an open heart, knowing that God will continue to love us...and there is nothing that we can do that will make Him take His grace from us...


We are excited about the way the Lord is working here in Mexico right now with us and with all the other interns. Please pray that we will be sensitive to the different things the Lord is teaching us through all these different experiences.

Estamos en Mexico

Greetings from Mexico. We arrived yesterday afternoon and have been spending time with the missionaries and interns, since we got here. We are currently spending time in Cuernavaca--doing some orientation time (getting acquainted with Mexican culture, language, etc.). The Casteels are hosting us in their lovely home. They have a beautiful view from their living/dining room and TONS of beautiful plants and flowers. We've already taken lots of pictures, but here's a couple to give you an idea.







We also had a chance to go to the language school here. Many of the CAM missionaries go to this school before going onto the field. Lots of college kids also do study abroad programs here to learn the language. The school campus is beautiful as well with lots of fountains and plants. Below is one of the classroom buildings.


We will spend the rest of today talking about Mexican culture and religion and just orienting the interns to what life in Mexico is like! Stay tuned for more pictures and updates on what's going on in Mexico!