“Day of the Child” Celebrated at Kids Club

Mexico recognizes “the Day of the Child” in addition to Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. It is a special time to honor children and it was celebrated with a fiesta at the weekly Marcos 10:14 Kids Club on May 4th. Over 50 kids, 20 adults and many volunteers were on hand at the club meeting area beside the Iglesia Getsemani church for the event. It was a fun time of prayer, songs, games, a Bible lesson, a puzzle to decode, a piñata to break, a small gift, plus a meal with cake and a drink.

True Path Ministry and faithful volunteers from the Iglesia Getsemani church in Galeana, NL, Mexico team up to welcome all children from the area who choose to attend each week. Many of the kids come for every meeting to learn more about following Christ in their daily lives. They recite Bibles verses, sing Christian songs and form strong bonds with each other and the leaders. Teacher Ana uses a lesson plan that includes important stories about the faith and integrates related crafts and activities.

Each of the meetings are designed to give the children a time to unite in their faith in God. “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God, Mark 10:14 (ESV).

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Biblical Lessons for Life

True Path Ministry and faithful volunteers from the Iglesia Getsemani church in Galeana, NL, Mexico, teach Christian life lessons in the Marcos 10:14 Kids Club every Thursday. Over forty kids were part of the activities this past week. Prayer, Christian songs, fun games, a Bible lesson, related craft projects and food are part of the experience. It is the only program of its kind in the area.

Kids who have been coming for a while build their confidence, develop likeminded friendships, have internalized Bible verses, and have learned what it means to follow Jesus. The program equips the children with a stronger faith.

The children who come generally range in age from toddler to preteen. They have formed a community that is sharing life with each other. Every three months, birthdays are celebrated with cake and a special song. For some kids, this is the only birthday celebration they have.

The craft is one part of the club they find joyful. In a resource limited area, making a Bible related craft can be a unique experience for many of these kids. Each part of club is designed to reflect the love of Jesus.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)

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Roof on New Church in Hidiondilla

The roof was just installed in March 2023, marking a major milestone in the construction of the new church building, in the desert village Hidiondilla. The Centro Cristiano Maranatha church, lead by Pastor Carlos and wife Jenny, is a young and growing church. It is in a small desert community near large scale tomato greenhouse farms. When complete the new building will be 1,800+ square foot and will replace a small existing structure made from scrap materials.

Now that the walls are up, the floor is poured and the roof is on, the congregation can begin to use the space for worship and fellowship. The electrical wiring, windows, doors, restroom plumbing, stucco and paint all need to be added, but lack of those details won’t stop Christians in the village from using the facility. They are grateful to have a large shaded place to worship.

TPM and our partner in Mexico ministry, the Iglesia Getsemani Church in Galeana, were humbled and honored to be part of the dedication of the existing structure for worship at the Centro Cristiano Maranatha Church in July 2020 (see A New Church in Hidiondilla, NL, Mexico). Construction on the new building began in January 2021 (see New Church Building Started in Hidiondilla, NL, Mexico). Volunteers installed the block walls and poured the concrete floor over the past few months (see Good Construction Progress in Hindiondilla and Hindiondilla Church Walls Building Up to the Lord). Great works of God often take time and this economically poor village has made steady progress toward completing the new building, as resources have become available.

Thank you TPM supporters for following God’s call to reach out to those hungry for spiritual food through True Path Ministry. It is our great privilege to minister in the often forgotten rural villages of northern Mexico. Beyond the building successes, we have witnessed changed lives through spiritual growth. Many have been drawn toward the truth of God’s word because of your faithful giving.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans10:14-15 ESV)

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(left to right) Texas visitors Will & Debbie Loveless, Donna & Jim Jones, Pastor Carlos & Jenny and missionary Stephen recently visited in Hidiondilla and saw progress on the new building.

Women are beloved by God

God gave the opportunity to have a women’s conference in Galeana, NL, on February 25, 2023. Tonyia, with True Path Ministry, and several women from Iglesia Getsemani worked together to put this conference together. It truly was a blessing from God!

Estela Ramirez, from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico preached a powerful word! Women are beloved by God! Every woman that came was sent by God and the word spoken was just for them. The Medina Community Women’s Bible group, from Medina Tx, put together a special gift for each woman and was given to them as they arrived.

A raffle ticket was also handed out at the door and prizes were given at the end of the service. The Holy Spirit was present and it was a beautiful time of worship and preaching!

Thank you Jesus for working in Mexico! My prayer is that many are called to Jesus and saved for His Glory and His Kingdom to expand! Please continue to pray for TPM as our work in Mexico goes forward in Jesus name.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. AMEN!

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Pastor Ruben’s Strong Faith at 90

True Path Ministry Inc. has had the privilege of working with some incredible Christians. One of the finest is Pastor Ruben, who turned 90 years old today February 18, 2023. Tonyia, Stephen, Pastor Reynaldo and Lourdes drove out to see Pastor Ruben and took him a coconut cake. He lives with his family in a house on the banks of La Laguna lake, a few miles out of Galeana, NL, Mexico.

Several family members had come in from out of town including his daughter from New Mexico. She spoke good English which helped Tonyia and I talk with Ruben about some parts of his life. In the last few years he has traveled with us many times, but we have not had a chance to learn more about his Christian walk until today.

He was born in 1923 in the village of the tiny palm trees, Palmito. One of the adventures he mentioned was picking cotton in Texas under the Guest Worker (Bracero Program) in the early 1960’s. He was always doing whatever he could to support his 11 kids. At the age of 56, he came to realize that God’s love was calling him into a close relationship and he professed his faith as a Christian. He felt the Lord’s calling to share the love he experienced with others.

He became a pastor willing to spend days riding horseback to reach people in the most distant places of the mountains. Villages tucked away such as Palmito, La Joya, Bueno Vista, to mention a few. In January 2020 a team from TPM and the Iglesia Getsemani Church that included Pastor Ruben traveled to the incredibly remote Bueno Vista village (see https://truepathministry.com/smiles-in-the-mountains-at-bueno-vista/). Pastor Ruben met a family that had come to know Jesus when he was a pastor there. It brought him great joy to know that their faith was still strong thirty years later.

There are many more stories about Pastor Ruben, some are captured in the photos below. But what impresses me is how the fruit of this gentle, caring Christian is so evident in the people around him.

You will recognize them by their fruits. Matthew 7:16

 Mateo 7:16 Por sus frutos los conoceréis…

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