Time continues to fly by and 2023 is almost past. I have lots of reasons/excuses for another late letter, but I do thank you for your continued prayers and notes when I get behind on correspondence. Settle in with a cup of hot chocolate, and I hope you read this on the website where it looks like it should.
Needless to say, a lot has been happening and I continue to learn new skills. After consulting Google, I tried my hand at jungle control (pruning). I did see two juvenile Cape Spiny-tailed Iguanas (I added one behind one of my five pruning piles) and was happy to not encounter snakes. In the bottom pic I’m sweeping mud from the hurricanes and storms off the sidewalk and my back let me know it wasn’t happy! (My brother might notice that I’m still using the coveralls he gave me when we were in high school.) And speaking of hurricanes, we survived here, but please pray for Saúl and Patty and kids. They were very involved in El Faro when they lived here. During the pandemic they moved back to Acapulco and lost pretty much everything in the hurricane that hit there. The Lord had them move the kids into their room minutes before the windows broke lodging shards in the opposite wall and leave broken glass where the kids would have been. Their car was parked on the street alongside four others. While the others were demolished, their car only suffered a scratch. They and we praise the Lord for His protection and for the offering El Faro was able to send them.
Another evidence of the Lord caring for those who serve Him… a friend of Willy and Isela gave them a car! As I write they are driving back to La Paz from Mexicali in their own car. Praise God for this answer to prayer and please pray for their safe arrival on Saturday.
Please pray for the team of greeters at El Faro. They still need to catch the vision of the importance of this role. All the ministries need your prayers.
Willy and I met with a highly recommended lawyer and both felt he would be excellent to guide El Faro through the process of updating the legal status of the church. With his recommendations and auditing, Willy and I invested hours rewriting the by-laws to align them with the Healthy Church strategy and to add legal protections and consistency in terminology. The lawyer prepared the necessary documents for Willy to get the signatures to update the documents and turn them in to the correct government office. That was the first huge step toward resolving the property issue. Yes, you read that right!!! The Lord is answering our prayers and we need to keep praying! With the lawyers help, I prepared a time-line and it would probably be the fall of next year before all the steps will be taken to pave the way to the possible signing over of the title of the property to the El Faro church. Please continue to pray that this would become a reality. If the signing does take place in the fall of 2024, it would be the spring of 2025 before the church would receive the official title to finalize the process. I would love for this to happen before I leave on my retirement home assignment, but the timing and the whole process is all in the Lord’s hands. In my last letter I asked for prayer for delicate situation in the church and said that I look forward to sharing that story with you. That is a different story and also needs on-going prayer for the Lord to resolve it. In the meantime, the Lord is at work in the lives of those involved.
With the approach of Christmas, life has gotten very busy. I offered to help with decorations. A couple of ladies helped with the centerpieces with four people helping to put up the nativity scene. Another evening a couple helped prepare and hang the stars. Last Saturday another couple helped me put up the tree. It was a relief to have it done for Sunday. Willy and Isela were away for a pastors’ conference in Mexicali, but we had a good service. I mentioned that Willy has made some changes. One is that the service starts on time and, for a couple of months now, only a few people arrive late and then they are only a few minutes late – a HUGE improvement.
We have new people coming to El Faro. I’ve enjoyed visiting with them, looking for ways to involve them, visiting the ladies and doing the classes with ladies who want to catch up on what they missed, as well as working with Willy to get the materials ready to start the four levels of the Healthy Church strategy next year. We’re behind time on the last one, so please pray that we are able to get the materials printed in time for the tentative schedule. After attending a Christmas concert with friends to kick off the season, we shared a meal together. The photo is of my Christmassy-looking Tortilla soup and festive Chai tea.
Tuesday the ladies had our Christmas party. I decorated in the afternoon so I could enjoy the evening and take hot food and a cold dessert. We enjoyed a delicious meal before sharing a devotional. I worked some of the memory verses we’ve been working on into the talk and was greatly encouraged when they were able to recite them. We then had a fun time with a gift exchange by the tree and returned to the tables to celebrate birthdays followed by the cake and desserts. What a gorgeous and delicious cake prepared by one of the ladies who, unfortunately, was one of the ladies who couldn’t attend. Click on the cake for a short video by Ericka.
In my last letter I left my health and finances as prayer requests. I made the deadline to turn in my 2024 budget to TEAM and am more aware of the financial need reflected in my support level! I think that both issues will be on-going prayer requests and in both cases I rest in what the Lord supplies. However, looking at the finances filled my heart with praise and gratitude to those of you who faithfully send in support. You are a huge blessing. And those of you who pray are another huge blessing. Together we are a team participating in the Lord’s work in Mexico. Thank you for your part!!!
With all the busy-ness, it was relaxing and enjoyable to take a colleague and his visiting father-in-law out birding. It also provided another first – seeing a Least Grebe chick and it being on the parent’s back – just adorable! What I thought was a Canada Goose turned out to be a Cackling Goose, so I did get to see a new species after all along with a lot of other beautiful birds.
Please pray for me as I have more Christmas responsibilities the next couple of Sundays and for the church’s outreach with the Christmas program this Sunday. And I pray for you that the Lord will meet all your needs according to His riches in glory, that you are able to slow down and enjoy family and friends over the holidays, that you have a wonderful time celebrating the first advent of our Saviour as we anticipate His second advent, and that the New Year is full of pleasant surprises leading to a more intimate walk with our Lord.
Brenda
