Learning to Praise and Give

The Christ-centered and Bible-based curriculum we use at the Marcos 10:14 Kid’s Club is linked so that each week builds on the previous lesson. “Jesus is pleased when children freely worship Him” was the theme from April 19th; and “We worship God through our offering” was the theme on April 26th.

The kids learn a Bible verse each week and do an art project, all related to the weekly topic. For the April 19th lesson the children made tambourines out of paper plates and several wrote the week’s Bible verse on them. “When they saw Him they worshiped Him,” Matthew 28:17.

For the lesson on April 26th we gave M&M candies to each child and asked them to freely give whatever portion they wanted back to the Lord. “God loves a cheerful giver,” 2 Corinthians 9:7.

It is rewarding to see the kids grow in their faith and take to heart the lessons. God is moving here!

Teacher Patty often gives prizes to the kids who know their Bible verses.

There is always a time of games and musical chairs is a favorite.

We had special guitar music during the praise lesson.

A coloring page was the art project for the lesson on giving.

Each week the ministry suburban is used to transport many of the kids and adult volinteers.

We are so grateful for the team of adult volunteers who work behind the scenes at kid’s club each week.

 

 

 

More Than a Building

In Galeana, NL, Mexico a new structure is being built for Iglesia Getsemani. At the same time the faith of the fellowship of believers there is being strengthened. The new structure will set on a hill, visible for all in the area to see. When completed the faith community will own a rent-free and debt-free place dedicated to God’s work.

The ladies of the church have been making and selling tamales to help fund the new building (click on a photo to see it larger).

Constructing this new Christian meeting place in this economically limited Mexican town is a daunting task. The local church people are doing all they can to raise funds. They are making and selling tamales and other foods. Plus, Pastor Reynaldo has asked individuals to directly own a piece of the building by buying a specific number of bricks. True Path Ministry is also helping with the church construction as much as it can.

The beauty of this process is, in the end no one person, group or individual will be able to claim they built the new meeting place. The additional depth of faith and the building for the Getsemani Church will be the result of God’s favor, for His glory alone.

This process reminds me that a church is a community of Christian believers whose ultimate leader is Christ Himself. All faith fellowships which have Jesus as its leader are connected in spirit.

We expect the new 30’X90’ cinderblock building to cost around $30,000 USD to complete. We are about one third into having that amount covered. Iglesia Getsemani is moving forward in construction with what it has. This church is being built on faith.

Reynaldo and wife Lulu are both Pastors at Iglesia Getsemani. Their current rented church building has limited space and is often full.

The Getsemani Church is already a shining light to this community and with this new building it will minister to even more people in Jesus’ name. True Path Ministry and the church work together for kid’s club, feeding the elderly and visiting remote villages. It is a Christ-centered fellowship we are proud to be supporting.

If you would like to have a hand in building this church go to our “support” page or write a check and send it to: True Path Ministry, 229 Silver Spur Waxahachie, Texas 75165 (write in the memo it is for the new church building).

Also be sure to include us in your prayers.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesians 2:19-21 (ESV)

The land has been purchased, a road built, the foundation wall and fill dirt are in place (click on a photo to see it larger).

Patricio (in blue shirt) is the contractor for the building. He is a Christian with years of construction experience.

Help comes in all ages such as these two boys.

The ladies of the church help by raising money through food sales.

The building site has come a long ways.

A road to the site was one of the first projects.

Several from the church came together to pray and dedicate the site to the Lord.

Many of the footings for the foundation are in solid rock.

Arlen Williams from Texas helped with digging the footings.

Blocks, metal and cement is stacked at Pastor Reynaldo’s house for safe keeping.

Pastor Rey injured his arm working at the site.

The blocks for the foundation walls were filled with cement.

A lot of fill dirt had to be added.

Rey’s 73 year-old father has been helping too.

When complete the building will be about 2,700 square feet. It will be one of the largest church buildings in Galeana.

 

 

 

 

Divine Appointment

Steve and I were returning Arlen, Steve’s brother, to the border where he had left his pickup with friends of ours.

Patricia and Harry Williamson, who are also missionaries in Galeana, knew we were going to the border and they asked if we could pick up their mail at a special missionary retreat.  We had heard about the place but we never had the chance to check it out – this was our opportunity.

After dropping Arlen off with his truck, we grabbed a Whataburger – yep our favorite then headed to Donna, Texas to retrieve the Williamson’s mail.

Once we arrived we went to the main office and met the founder, Melvin and Anna High, who are both in their 80’s. They started Flame of Truth many years ago and now have the assistance of their daughter and son in law, Richard and Linda Hough.  Their ministry is to promote the gospel of Jesus, assist missionaries on and off the field, and provide opportunities for those desiring short term mission work.

Missionaries can stay in an RV on the property for a small fee. In addition, they have a church building and a food pantry on site. They distribute the food to the poor in their area. The ministry also works directly with several missionaries that serve Mexico.

We visited for a while, retrieved the Williamson’s mail and as we were leaving, they invited us to their once a month missionary fellowship and service that night.

We did return to the fellowship that night and we learned about the many people who have been to Mexico and that many are still going into Mexico. We needed this connection and encouragement – it was a divine appointment!

Glenn Wied played the guitar during the Saturday night service. He rents a house next to our ministry house in Galeana, NL, Mexico.

We had a wonderful time of worship with singing, prayer, testimonies and a word from the Bible. We were surprised and happy to see Glenn Weid leading worship. He rents the house next to our ministry house in Galeana. He had to move back to Texas to take care of his parents, but he visits Mexico occasionally.

After the service, Steve and I had the opportunity to pray for many that were there. It was a great movement of the Holy Spirit!

When everyone was leaving, we talked to Rebecca Pearl, from Michigan. She comes to Mexico often. She has a friend that leads a medical mission in an area close to Zaragoza, a few hours south of Galena. How cool is that!! We look forward to working with these ladies soon!!

Jesus is Moving in Mexico!

1 Thessalonians 2:13 says: For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

Linda, Melvin and Anna’s daughter, and her husband Richard Hough also help manage the ministry.

 

No Coincidence

It is always amazing to see how the Lord provides for His workers. He recently used True Path Ministry in an unexpected encounter with a Christian group from Chiapas, which is a state many hours from Galeana.

Harry and Patricia Williamson are missionaries who manage Camp Peniel in Tuxpan near Galeana, NL, Mexico.

Steve and I met Harry and Patricia Williamson soon after they moved to Tuxpan, a small village about 10 minutes from Galeana, NL. They are missionaries from Texas that had previously lived at Camp Peniel, in the village of Tuxpan. They had family issues and needed to return to Texas for a time, but now are back in Mexico.

I was talking with Patricia, on the phone, and mentioned to her how I had been trying to get the donated clothes better organized.  The clothes are in garbage bags and are piled one on top of another in a room at our ministry house.  We often take them to remote farms and villages in the area.

As we were talking, Patricia mentioned a ministry from Chiapas. She said someone had recently spoke at their church and said the people there are extremely poor. They have to work several weeks just to get enough pesos to buy food or clothes.

She thought the group from Chiapas was still around Galeana.  She asked if I would be willing to donate clothes to the group. Of course, I said “yes, we would be honored to help by donating.” She said she would make some calls and let me know.

The next morning, Patricia called me to let me know the group was still near Galeana but would be leaving that day. She asked if they could come by the ministry house to get some clothes. I said yes and then met Patricia and the group at the ministry house.

The Christian band from the Mexican state of Chiapas shared one of their CD’s with us.

The group took five large black trash bags full of clothes. I wasn’t sure how they would fit the bags plus the five men in the small car but they managed to stuff it all in.

It was so rewarding to see how excited they were to receive the clothes. We exchanged information and I told them to give us a call next time they were in town.

This was no coincidence. God knew they were in town and He knew we had to get rid of an oversupply of clothes. God worked it all out for HIS Glory!!

The group was living out Matthew 6:25-32:

 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Birthday Fiesta at Marcos 10:14 Club

We always have a great time at club, but on April 5 it was extra special. The kids learned about Jesus riding the donkey into Jerusalem and His death burial and resurrection. We also had a birthday Fiesta for several kids.

The craft was a paper donkey. The kids were told in their Bible story time how warriors usually rode in on horses with weapons but Jesus rode in on a young donkey, this symbolized peace.

Patty, the teacher, had the children collect colored objects.  The black object represented sin, the red represented Jesus blood and the white represented our sin being removed by Jesus death. Being an active part in collecting these items really made an impact. They listened intently as Patty told them the story of Jesus death, burial and resurrection.

We had the honor of celebrating the kids who had birthdays in January, February and March. The entire kids at the Marcos 10:14 club were treated with a piñata and cupcakes. This was a great treat because many of these children will never celebrate their birthdays in any other way.

It gives us such joy to see the smiles and hear the laughter of these kids.  Thank you Jesus for these children and allowing us the opportunity to love on them and teach them about you!

The lesson was on Jesus’ death burial and resurrection (click on a photo to see it larger)

The games are always fun.

One game challenged the kids not to smile while the other kids did funny things.

Making a donkey from a paper sack was the art project.

We also honored the kids who had a birthday during January, February or March.

Locally baked cup cakes was a special treat for the kids.