Smiles in Santa Rosa

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Happy New Year’s Eve!  Today our group from True Path Ministry, Iglesia Getsemani, Medina Community Church, and first-time visitors Will and Debbie Loveless made our final trip of the week.  We braved a very rough dirt road for 2.5 hours to arrive at the town of Santa Rosa. 

Santa Rosa has a beautiful church where we sang songs and worshipped.  The children were seated outside of the church where they had their own church service.  Ana, our children’s teacher, led the kids in songs, the story of the birth of Christ, and a craft project.  They all enjoyed the time together!  Afterwards, each school age child received a backpack full of school supplies and a toy.  The younger kids received bags full of toys.

Before departing, Pastor Celestino’s wife, Anastasia, fed us all a wonderful meal of salad, tamales, and fideo.  The salad was extra special due to the fresh pecans on top of it.  Pecans are Santa Rosa’s main crop and are shipped all around the area to generate income. 

Now that the sun has set on our last day, it has been a wonderful trip!  God has blessed us with this time here and we hope that we have helped to shine His light of love on all these villages.  Until next time, Dios te Bendiga…God Bless You, my friends.

Cold Canoas Warms Hearts for Christ

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On December 30th the Christian team from True Path Ministry and Iglesia Getsemani (Galeana, NL) made our way on a very rough road into the mountains to the village of Canoas. We were greeted by the pastor, a group of local kids and adults eager to experience a time of worship and celebration in honor of Christ’s birthday. It was a cold windy day, but inside the small wooden church building our hearts were warmed through prayer, Bible readings, music and a powerful sermon by evangelist Ramiro.

The group of children followed teacher Ana outside for their own special time during the adult preaching time. It was cold but a Texas visitor brought blankets, hats and glove for the kids to use and keep. Also, some long balloons that were received with big smiles. There were songs, a teaching about Christ’s birth and a fun craft. Then there was the gifts, backpacks filled with school supplies, a Christian tract and a soccer ball for the boys and a special fun surprise for the girls.

These kids from this small very remote village were overjoyed to get such a lavish gift. They were blessed, but the visiting Christian team were perhaps blessed more. In Acts 20:35 it says; “You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Christmas Celebration at Marcos 10:14 Kids Club

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Tonight, December 29th, we hosted Kid’s Club at the Iglesia Getsemani church in Galeana, NL.  THe Marcos 10:14 Kid’s Club happens every Thursday, so there is nothing unusual about that…but tonight was Christmas at Kid’s Club! We had right at 100 kids in attendance tonight! 

The kids had a blast playing games, singing, learning scripture, praying and making a craft.  After all the learning and festivities, the ladies served them a dinner of tostadas.  Then we handed out the Christmas backpacks.  They were a huge hit! All the children loved them.  We even had air pumps ready to inflate the soccer balls for the boys. 

All the kids told us thank you for the gifts and they even gave us hugs to show their appreciation.  It was truly a special time to show the children the love of Christ. 

Note: Click on a photo to see it larger.

A Perfect Day  in Purisima

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(Guest written by Jeanette Maxey, niece of Tonyia and Stephen)

Today is Wednesday, December 28th, and it has been a truly blessed day.  The day dawned slightly cold but quickly warmed up to a perfect 70 degrees. This made for a beautiful two hour drive into the mountains to the village of Purisima. 

Our group consisted of representatives from True Path Ministry, Iglesia Getsemani, Medina Community Church, and first time visitors Will and Debbie Loveless.  Once we arrived we were greeted by the new pastor, Rebecca, her family, and a local donkey. After about 30 minutes of set up, families that had all walked to the service began arriving.  

The service began with Pastor Rebecca reading Psalm 111, special music, and Pastor LuLu leading praise songs.  Evangelist Ramiro gave the sermon, while the Children’s Teacher, Ana, led the kids in a lesson on the birth of Christ.  I can always tell that the kids really feel special that they get their own church service!  They also did a craft that was the baby Jesus wrapped in his swaddling along with the Bible verse, Luke 2:7.

After all the church services were done, we handed out the Christmas gifts (backpacks filled with school supplies and a toy) to each girl and boy in attendance.The kids also received a bag of candy.  All of them were beyond excited about their gifts!

We also had a donation of several hand-made quilts that were distributed to each mother who attended the services.  The women really enjoyed these and were overjoyed to receive them.

Tomorrow, several people in our group will take donated chairs to a village outside of Galeana. So until tomorrow, I want to thank all of the churches, friends, families, and bible study groups that helped to make this and all our other trips possible.  Dios te bendiga…God Bless You.

Backpacks in Refugio

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Today, December 27th, True Path Ministry along with a group of Christians from Iglesia Getsemani (Galeana, NL), Medina Community Church, and first time visitors Will and Debbie Loveless, made our way high up into the mountains to visit the tiny settlement of Refugio.  We were greeted by Pastor Seldonia and his wife, Elsa, who served us a wonderful lunch of homemade tamales, rice, soup, and tortillas. 

After lunch, we began our worship services with songs and prayer.  Evangelist Ramiro accompanied us as well and gave a wonderful sermon on Isaiah 40:31. During the adult worship services, the children were treated to their own service with songs, the story of Jesus’s birth, and a craft.  First time visitor Debbie especially enjoyed helping the children glue their craft together and the children appreciated her help!

Next we began handing out backpacks full of school supplies and a toy.  All the packs held paper, pencils, pencil sharpener, colored pencils, crayons, pencil pouch, and a toy.  The boys received a full size soccer ball, and the girls received a craft kit for making their own bracelets and jewelry.  The kids absolutely loved the backpacks and the toys!  

The kids and adults all walk or rode donkeys to the church services in Refugio, so the backpacks were very handy for the trip back home!  One of the mothers even commented that now the family could use the backpack to carry their bibles when they come back to services. 

 Tomorrow we head back into the mountains to the village of Purisima to continue spreading God’s light and love. Until tomorrow, Dios te bendiga (God Bless You).