Joy in Hidiondilla

Guest written by Jeanette (niece of Stephen & Tonyia)

Today (December 18th) we travelled 2 hours into the desert outside of Galeana, Nuevo León, to the village of Hidiondilla.  We started at 9am with a van full of church members from Iglesia Getsemani, regular visitors Jim and Donna Jones (from Medina, Texas), and missionaries Steve and Tonyia Williams. 

We arrived at the church building to a group of Christians that were truly grateful to see us.  The church there is a small building made of a type of plywood with a scrap metal roof and a dirt floor, (but it provides a place for them to worship) and today it was overflowing.  A neighboring church in the village of San Joaquin also brought two vans full of children! 

Church began at 11am and the children were led over to another building for their own special service.  Ana and Lluvia (from Iglesia Getsemani) were the teachers for the children’s service.  They started by asking the children “What do you know about God?” One of the small girls quickly raised her hand and answered, “He loves me very much.”  Then they sang 5 different children’s songs and memorized Luke 2:11 after hearing the story of the birth of Christ.  Finally, they completed a craft where they decorated a Christmas ornament complete with the Luke 2:11 scripture.

The adults were treated to several joyful worship songs and then a passionate sermon from Evangelist Ramiro (from Iglesia Getsemani).  He touched on Isaiah 12, where we are instructed to: read the word of God with joy, to “savor” the word, and to let it change your life.  Next, the children treated all of us to a special reenactment of the Christmas story and an animated song.  It was obvious that a lot of practice went into both!  They were fantastic, and complete with costumes (you can see several of the sheep in the photos).

After all the services were complete, the youth from Iglesia Getsemani began handing out the gift boxes to the children.  They absolutely loved the variety of toys, colors, bubbles, and more!  We also were able to bring, and handout donated blankets and hand-made hats of all sizes!  Our entire fellowship experience with the church at Hidiondilla radiated the joy and love of Christ.  I cannot describe what an incredible blessing it is to be part of this ministry, and I want to thank everyone for all their donations.  Tomorrow we will be attending church services in Galeana, and Monday we head out to a different village called La Presita.  So, until next time, Dios te bendiga…God Bless You.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

Note: Click on a photo to see it larger.