Acambay Mexico
Lots of Travel this month!
So great to see new students keen to study! Such a good time visiting and sharing with the churches and students in La Sierra Norte of Puebla, Feb 14-16 and then in Acambay, Feb 21-23!
Feb 14-16 Phil travelled with Dan to La Sierra Norte to connect with a number of different Pastors and groups, and to also visit Pastor Sabastian, the former President of the Missionary Church in Mexico. He has been in hospital from a stroke. He has been taken home to recuperate, but is still experiencing a lot of paralysis, confined to bed and unable to speak. The doctors want to see his platelets increase before taking him to the city of Puebla for further tests and appointments. Please be praying for him and his family during this difficult time.
Last weekend, Feb 20-24 Phil travelled with two leaders from the state of Puebla to Acambay in the state of Mexico, and to San Juan del Río in the state of Querétaro. Along with Bernabé and Moisés, Phil met with two groups to register the students and begin their first lessons together.
This group represents 3 churches (the 3 groups together). They are very keen and hope that others will want to join or start another group before too long!
From Acambay, they travelled to San Juan del Río in the state of Querétaro to visit another group of students wanting to start studying. The church has only been meeting for about a year and they are eager to learn more of God’s Word.
Carolyn has been busy baking goodies for Phil to take and share with the groups and churches he’s been visiting. That’s a lot of baked goods!
Feb 25-26 Phil and Carolyn travelled to Mexico City to finish up our part for our Permanent Residency VISAS. That means we will be permanent residents of Mexico and we won’t have to do any more renewals! Yay! We should have our new cards by early next week!
Speeding Up!?
Wow! 2020 seems to be really speeding up! 
Here is it February already!
January was so busy with ministry travel, dealing with the many details for our Permanent Residency VISAS, and the coming and going of Plumbers to fix the leak in our kitchen ceiling and laundry area! And, it looks like February is only going to get more busy and fly by!
Here are a few pictures from the past couple weeks.
Acambay
Jan 23 – 27 Phil travelled with Pastor Sabastian, Pastor Bernabé, his wife and youngest son to Acambay, in the state of Mexico. It was a long, tiring trip with a lot of visits to churches and groups who are wanting to start studying with SEAN the material we use for the Seminary by Extension program (Semillas) that we offer. What a great trip!
After visiting 4 churches and making connections with 4 additional churches who are interested in studying, we are very excited to report that we may be looking at 3 – 4 new study groups in the Acambay area. We are still gathering contacts and confirming with those who are committing to study, but we are amazed at what God is doing in the hearts and lives of people here in Mexico!
Our kitchen has been busy. Carolyn’s baking skills put to the test while dealing with a leak in the kitchen ceiling for almost 2 weeks while waiting for the owner of the house to have the repair guy come. She’s been making goodies to help raise funds for a family who is really struggling.
Happy New Year!
Just a quick update to say . . .
We are looking forward to a blessed New Year and being part of the new things that God will do. This is our prayer for you . . .
¡Feliz Navidad!
Greetings from Mexico!
Here we are at the beginning of December 2019 and we just want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We hope you all would know the warmth and love of celebrating the birth of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ this season!
Below is a video of one of our favourite Christmas Carols. Enjoy!
November Events!
December is here and we are amazed at how much has transpired in the last month and a half!
We just want to highlight a few things here in this post.
Since our last post about saying goodbye to our dog Bear, we have received so many emails, notes and comments expressing sympathy especially from those who knew him.
Thank you all for your concern and support!
This month we have travelled quite a bit and this week is just full of meetings and visits.
Moises Ruiz who has been part of our missionary team here in Mexico returned from Canada for a short visit and Ministry Trip with Phil to La Sierra Norte of Puebla. At the beginning of the month, they travelled for 4 days, visiting many of the churches, pastors and groups of students studying with us in the Seminary by Extension SEAN. It was a jam packed trip and they were able to be a real encouragement.
In the middle of the month a family from Canada came to visit and we were able to show them around Puebla and Mexico City. It was great for them to be able to see life in Mexico first hand and really interact about the ministry we are involved in. Here’s a wee video of them sending greetings from Mexico City pyramids.
Last week, we had the privilege of hosting a visitor from one of the churches we work with in Cuetzalan. Freddy is a young man who is studying with us in the SEAN program. He was given the opportunity to take a course here in Puebla for a couple of days and we offered to host him in the evenings and overnight. We had a great time connecting and deepening our relationship. He is very capable and desires to learn. Please pray for him as he seeks to live out his faith and be a blessing to his family and those in his community of Cuetzalan. More on this in our next update.
For the next 3-4 months we are looking after a dog named Ruby. Our friends Zac and Jen are returning to the U.S. for the delivery of their first baby. They dropped Ruby off on their visit to Puebla for a doctor’s appointment the other day and had a great visit.
To prepare for the coming of December events, Carolyn attended a women’s Christmas Breakfast at the church we attend here in Puebla. Lots of fun! Lots of food!
We have been blessed to make so many connections and visits through the busyness of the past months. We are grateful to God for all those who are bringing such richness to our lives. We pray God’s rich blessing on you all!
Goodbye Bear
Yesterday we said goodbye to our best friend, Bear.
We are so grateful to God for the opportunity to have taken care of one of His most amazing creatures. Bear was among the most loving, gentle, and calm dogs. Everyone loved him! From him we learned so much more about unconditional love and the need for companionship. We thank God for all the fun we had with him and how he was always there to be a friend, more than anything. There are countless people we have come to know and become good friends with through his presence with us. Thank you everyone for loving Bear and being part of our lives!
The last month in particular has been difficult. After a number of Vet visits to deal with a build up of fluid, Bear was diagnosed with a tumor in his thorax which was causing the fluid build up. Test results came back saying that it was cancer. He was 11 and a half years old and had a really good life.
Below are some of our favourite photos of Bear. We are missing photos of some of his friends. Goodbye to his Lakewood friends, Charlie, Jazz, George, Pepper, Mac and Nugget. Goodbye to his Mexico friends, Canela, Jasper, Ruby, Kori, and Dakota. The individual photos below are also in this PPT – Bear
