Holy Week - What We're Doing

Ten years into life in Mexico, I have come across yet another new-for-me experience: no church to go to during Holy Week.

Of course, by God's grace, that won't be the case next year, as we expect to have a mission (or two!) going by then in León and will hold services there. But this year, we will continue worshiping in homes as I mentioned before.

That doesn't mean we're at a loss for things to do. Mike is currently setting up his office and finding a place to rent for English classes.



My to-do list includes unpacking boxes and setting up our house (and eventually tackling the laundry). Note my faithful helpers -





Trinity is having extra devotion time these days. Since we don't have a Sunday School, we are using this week to teach her Bible stories of Jesus' passion and resurrection. She's also learning the hymn "I know that my Redeemer Lives." Sleepy Eye, are you singing this on Sunday? If so, Trinity will sing along!



And even though we won't be having a Spanish service in León for Easter, there will be many other Lutheran congregations in Mexico celebrating Jesus' resurrection. Next week I'll post pictures of Easter activities from some of our other congregations here.

First Worship in León

Great news: we are in Leon!

The mission team here in Mexico relocated last week from Torreon, a northern city, to Leon, which is located in the country's central region.

We got into our house yesterday and are really enjoying it so far.

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Here's a quick sidenote to give you insight on my husband: last night he walked a few blocks to find supper, and came back with tacos from a place called Los Cunados. "I had to stop when I saw they served tacos de cabeza," he explained. (Cabeza meaning they were made with bits of meat from the head of a cow? pig? other animal? I couldn't tell, but I diligently tried them. They weren't bad.)

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Anyway, the plan is to get English classes started in a couple of weeks and use them as an evangelism tool. We'll rent a place to hold the classes in, and then start using that location for services in a few months.

Since we are currently in a city without a Lutheran church - the first time for Mike and me in Mexico - we are holding services on Sundays in our homes until we begin worshiping in the rented English class facility. This morning we worshipped with the congregation at St. John's in Sleepy Eye, MN (more info here).


The congregation has live services on the Internet, so we really felt like we were participating. We sang along to the hymns, followed the liturgy, and prayed with the congregation.

Special thanks to Pastor Kevin Draper for the sermon, and to his wife Sallie for some of the tech savvy that makes the live services possible, and to the other members in Sleepy Eye. We'll be seeing more of you during these next few weeks!

A Sunday of Despedidas

Yesterday was our last Sunday in Torreon. We started the day at Jesus Pan de Vida (Jesus Bread of Life) and then went over to El Redentor (Redeemer) to say good-bye to the members there.

In addition to worship, both congregations held despedidas (farewell parties) for the missionaries. At Jesus Pan de Vida, Pastor Juan Jose Olvera was installed during the service. He will take Missionary Ralph Marten's place, who had been serving the congregation before.

Here are some glimpses of the day:

Worship at Jesus Pan de Vida:



Ivonne, a member of the congregation, plays the keyboard:



Gaby plays the flute for a hymn:



Missionary Ralph Martens preaches his farewell sermon:



Installation of Pastor Juan Jose Olvera:





Sunday School - check out the littlest student on the left!*



Then on to El Redentor to say good-bye...





That's all for now...the next update will be from Leon!

*We stayed for a farewell potluck at Jesus Pan de Vida, but I forgot to get pictures of it. I was too busy helping Trinity eat and feeding Noelle, who ate a ton of food that day(!), to pull out the camera or ask someone else to take photos for me.

In Transition

Last week we spent a few days house hunting in Leon. My first impression of the city was positive: it is clean, modern in many ways, and full of Mexican life. We found a lovely house to rent and signed the contract for it last Friday.

This week boxes are piling up in our rooms and clutter is getting tossed out. While some rooms are packed up, others need some more work -

As with any move, and especially one that was unforeseen, I am living a life of mixed emotions right now. I am excited to go to Leon, as I really fell in love with it while we were there. At the same time, we spent six happy years in Torreon and it will be hard to leave friends and coworkers.

Trinity, now three years old, has been handling the transition well. Mike gave her a box that she can fill with all of her 'essentials' - her favorite doll, ballerina, stuffed duck, etc. - to make sure they get to Leon. Noelle has also helped pack (and unpack) boxes in her own toddler way.

The words of a hymn we sang on Sunday keep echoing through my mind this week, words that help me get through the ups and downs of moving:

Me guía El, me guía El,
Con cuánto amor me guía El;
No abrigo dudas ni temor,
Pues me conduce el buen Pastor.

(rough translation: He lovingly guides me, I will not harbor doubts or fears for the Good Shepherd leads me on).

Because next week, this will be home -

We moved to Torreon in 2003. Shortly after the moving truck arrived, we started helping the Mexican Lutheran Church in the area. At the time, just one congregation was here (El Redentor). Pastor Esequiel Sanchez and the members he served were anxious for more.

During the following years, Mike and other missionaries helped start three new congregations in the Torreon area.

Dan Moyle, one of our visitors that came last weekend, got to see where the work in Torreon is at today. The video he made of his experience here is below. I could tell you about so many people in these pictures: Hilda and her six kids that are usually on their own in a paper-walled house while her husband travels, Paloma the bright girl with so much potential and so few resources at home, Pastor Sanchez who puts his all into getting this church to the next level...I could go on.

The work that was done before we came, the work that was done while we were here, and the work that will be carried out after we leave focus on one thing: people. Every single person in Torreon has a soul, and it is either on the path to eternal life or eternal damnation.

With the increasing levels of violence in the city, the work here is more urgent than ever. Please pray that God keep our members in Torreon safe and that he refresh their souls with his comforting Word. Also pray that God grant the Mexican pastors remaining in Torreon strength and encouragement to shepherd his flock and deliver the Word to more.

We thank you in advance for your support of mission work in Mexico. Whether it is through prayers, volunteer work or offerings, know that your concern is truly appreciated and effective. Thousands of souls are at stake here, and hungry for the promise of a better life to come.

WELS Lay Leaders Visit Mexico

This past weekend we had visitors! Four WELS lay leaders came to Torreon. They spent three days meeting with the missionaries and seeing, firsthand, the congregations, missions, and pastors here.

Visiting with these men was really inspiring for me. They are strong Christians looking for ways to support mission work in Mexico. One of the things on their to-do list is to increase volunteer mission opportunities in Mexico. Some of these opportunities will be things people can do from their own home, while others would bring people down to Mexico on short mission trips.

Getting the chance to spend time with the lay leaders warmed our hearts and encouraged us. I know they will be a huge blessing to the Mexico church in the future. Here are a few more pictures** from the weekend:

Meeting the Mexican pastors...



Seeing the missionaries in action...



Participating in Sunday worship...



Viewing a reenactment of Jesus' death and resurrection at the congregation in Zaragoza Sur (in this picture our two WELS Kingdom Worker volunteers are the soldiers)...


Meeting little souls...







Thanks for coming down (and for trying grasshoppers and tongue tacos)! Can't wait to see you all again soon!

*Learn more about WELS at http://www.wels.net/.

**Thanks to Dan for the pictures!

Three Things I'm Thankful for Today

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