The School of Ministry, Boca del Rio, initiated on October 1^st, with 8 students excited to start preparing themselves for full- time church ministry.  The year of training and classes will be intense!- with lots of opportunity for practical application of the truths we are learning. 

 Our basic schedule includes:

Group prayer 5-6am, Facilities cleaning 6-7am, Cooking/Preparation for the day 7-8am, Breakfast and cleanup 8-9am, Classes  9am-1pm, Cooking and/or homework 1-2pm, Lunch and cleanup 2-3pm, House visits and discipleship of people in the village 3:30-5:30pm, Cooking and/or homework 6pm-7pm, Dinner and cleanup 7pm-8pm, Church services in Boca del Rio on Sunday Morning and Wed evening, Church services in Compuertas on Sunday afternoon and Thursday evening.

           Our daily assignments include written inductive analysis of two chapters of the New Testament daily- which has been a huge blessing forcing us to study the Bible more in-depth chapter by chapter.  Each day, two students are randomly picked to give devotionals or sermons on the assigned chapters.  We also have evangelism days,dedicated to visiting, praying for, and sharing the gospel with members of thevillage who we visit door-to-door. (Everyone in the village is so open and friendly- and excitedly receive us into their homes to chat!) Professors from different areas of Mexico and the United States will arrive to teach classes throughout the year, and between the visiting professors the classes are led by the local pastor. 

The school is a lesson on living in community- we cook, eat, pray, study, minister, travel (2 hrs to and from Compuertas twice a week), get up early and stay up late, share a bathroom, and even exercise together!  We feel like one big family already! 

We are very excited about everything the Lord is teaching us, and will teach us, about Himself and His heart for others this year!!

 In anticipation of the start of classes, the church staff and students excitedly worked together to prepare the facilities for the School of Ministry.  The mass effort included:

-Dorm room preparation- moving beds and mattresses, and installing door locks

-Kitchen preparation- installing appliances and counters, washing pans and utensils, repairing the water pump and stove.

-Cleaning out and converting the church office into a classroom

-Spraying insecticide everywhere!

-Purchasing food and cleaning supplies for the first month of classes

We are so thankful forthe school facilities here at the church in Boca del Rio that the Lord has provided for us- so complete with dorm rooms, bathrooms, kitchen, classroom,and visiting-professor’s home. 

 The men are not the only ones who work during shrimp season- the women of the village are also busy.  They wait at the riverside to receive the men and rapidly help them de-head and prepare the shrimp for sale before it goes bad.

It is dirty work- standing in muddy water filled with discarded shrimp heads, hands covered in fish slime, mosquitoes buzzing at the water’s edge…but it is good fellowship talking with the women and fishermen.  The women taught us to grab with shrimp without being stuck with the spines and remove the entire head without taking off the first ring of the body.  I have gone twice with the village ladies now and they say I am a natural shrimp de-header! Oh the pride- what a gift, I suppose. :)  

The fishermen "pay" the shrimp de-headers for their work with shrimp, so I brought home food for us! Paco says I can de-head with the ladies whenever I please if I bring shrimp back for him J. 

The church family was all impressed that I was there, and have commented about it to me when I pass them.  It was a good way to deepen relationships and form camaraderie with the people of the village.

 The joy of shrimp season is the food- so much seafood: enormous shrimp, crab, squid, shellfish, and more!

 Now that there is an abundance of food in the village, many church families have invited us over for dinner to share the blessing!  We have enjoyed breaded-shrimp, boiled shrimp, ranchero shrimp, fried fish and crab, seafood soup, and we have prepared our own garlic shrimp and spicy shrimp.  Though there is definitely an art to cooking seafood- the village people know which fish are edible, which parts of the fish are toxic, how to cut/peel them, and what colors to avoid, … important information! 

We are enjoying all the culinary blessings of shrimp season, as well as the fellowship it has provided with the brothers of the church. 

 Shrimp-fishing is dangerous work!

  The first morning of the season, Paco went out to the beach early to watch the some 80 motor boats head out to sea, and saw 2 boats flipped completely over as they tried to pass through the waves (imagine the movie "Cast Away"! Waves push the boat up vertically and it falls backwards! It gives me chills just to imagine it). Paco suddenly found himself pulling bodies and equipment out onto the beach, calling emergency services, and praying over the injured and the worried, crying women and children. So horrible.

After the injured were loaded into ambulances and police cars, 2 of the emergency services vehicles got stuck in the sand trying to leave, and Paco was there helping push them out. Most of the village men were out at sea, so besides the emergency services, it was mainly Paco and women there assisting, though other men arrived later as word got out.

Two days afterwards, we heard that one of the injured men died, and the other serious case is still in intensive care. Four of the other men in the flipped boats have only minor injuries, though their financial loss is great: thousands of dollars in fishing boat/equipment that was purchased with loans before shrimp season.  Such a tragedy- the lost life, the multiple injuries, and the loss of ability to earn money for their families…

As you can imagine, we pray daily for the safety of the fishermen.  Paco went out early the second day of the season to pray for each boat that left the river. Fortunately, now that we are a week into the season, the situation has calmed down alot, and not as many boats are on the water and the men spend less hours out each day. We are also praying that the fishing would be abundant, because the village really needs a good income this week to pay off debts and get set up for the coming year. My heart breaks when brothers from the church return downcast from a bad fishing day.

         Please join us in pray for the Lord’s blessing over shrimp season in Boca del Rio. 

 Shrimp fishing season officially opened last Wednesday, Sept 19- big news for Boca del Rio! Everyone waits for shrimp season like Christmas, because it is the couple weeks when they earn the majority of their income for the whole year. What a change in the village! So many cars and boats pulled in last week to join the fishing that the town doubled in size.  And everyone is busy (in the usually lazy village!)- getting up before 5am so the women can prepare the meals for the men and get the men out to sea super early with all of their equipment in good condition.

  Starting around 3pm, the boats start returning to the docks on the river. The whole village waits out at the river to receive them to sort and de-head the shrimp, clean equipment, and see how much each fishermen catches.  It feels like a town festival- the kids run around playing in the water, the women talk with neighbors as they help sort through the catch, and the men stand around the weigh-station to see how much each fishermen brings in.  Most are joyful knowing that they are bringing money and sustenance home to their families.

Paco and I went out to the river the first afternoon to experience shrimp season with the rest of the village. All the fishermen and families were very proud to pose with their catch for pictures and tell us about their adventures that day on the sea.  And multiple church families lovingly shared some of their catch with us .  What a new experience! 

           Paco and I were shocked to discover that the majority of the village never does anything special to celebrate Mexico Independence Day, on September 16^th.  This major national holiday usually just passes them by as any old day!  We immediately saw the opportunity for an evangelistic outreach event to touch the whole community:  a Mexican FIESTA night hosted by the church for the whole village!  Not only would  it be a time of healthy family fun, but also a moment to share the true message of freedom in Christ as we celebrate our freedom as a nation!  

          The whole church body participated excitedly in the party- each member preparing either a game or food  stand for the carnival-style event, and helping decorate the auditorium.  It was beautiful to experience the unity of the whole congregation working together to show Christ´s love to the community!

The games were a blast!-a dart-throw, coin-toss, cake-walk, bobbing-for-lemons (in flour), fish pond, horseshoes, face-painting, and balloon figures. Kids, youth, and even adults went back and forth between games winning candy and balloons and covering themselves in flour!  Pastor Sergio led hilarious contests on the stage which had the whole audience riveted- a best Mexican yell contest (among children and youth), and the Chile-eating contest (the winner actually ate 10 roasted chilies!).  The food stands were very professional- with a selection of nachos, menudo, flautas, or sandwiches, and a side of popcorn, chips, or gelatin, and icepops for all. It was a true carnival!

Paco delivered theevangelistic Bible message on true freedom with a passion directly from the Holy Spirit, and one of the older ladies of the church, on her own accord, found and shared a Bible verse on freedom in Christ with the entire audience!  With that true freedom in mind, Sergio led the group in the traditional Mexican “grito de independencia” (independence yell) in unity as a village. 

So many people arrived!  We had planned for 120 people, but almost 200 people crammed into the church that night.  As Paco and I passed out food tickets, we prayed repeatedly that the Lord would multiply the food miraculously so that each person would eat.  Though we ran out of food tickets and had to make more- every single person ate!!  I still cannot believe it.  We were left without a single chip or cup of water, but everyone received food.   

The whole village seemed joyful with the party.  The village´s makeshift youth band even set up outside the church to add atmosphere to the event.  And, God was impacting lives with his love and unity: the very next day, four new faces appeared in the congregation for church service.  May the Lord continue to guide our church to touch the lives of all of Boca del Rio!  

          The women of our congregation in Boca del Rio gathered together for a morning of teaching, food, and fun.  Many had commented in the previous weeks that the women needed fellowship and encouragement, so the ladies arrived excited for community time.  Even a woman who had left the church a while back arrived for fellowship! 

          The event was originally planned for the ladies of 2 congregations- both Boca del Rio and the Compuertas.  However, at the last minute, the women from Compuertas had to cancel, and the event was enjoyed among only the Boca del Rio ladies.

          Luz led the group in worship, and I led a Bible message on being a community as Christ´s body from 1Corinthians 12, followed by a time of prayer.   (As a side note, when I was preparing the message, I felt it was God´s message only to the Boca del Rio ladies, and not the Compuertas ladies, and I struggled to find a more appropriate topic for the joint fellowship time.  However, in God´s sovereign plan, only the Boca del Rio ladies ended up attending and received the message the Lord had spoken for them specifically! Wow!)

          The teaching was followed by fun and craziness! We laughed like a group of school-girls at soda-drinking and banana-eating contests, and a lively game of charades.  One of the sisters, Gloria, truly blessed us by preparing  “gorditas” over a hot stove in the 95° heat for us, and we enjoyed an amazing meal together. 

          Since arriving at Boca del Rio, Paco has felt the great need for the Christian men of the church to grow in spiritual leadership.  Much of the congregation in Boca del Rio consists of women- the wives of non-Christian husbands, and very few men.  If these Christian men would stand firm in their faith, they would set the example of a God-fearing life to the rest of the men of the village- many of whom are trapped in sins of alcoholism, prostitution, machismo, and laziness without Christ.

          To encourage one another in the Word, Paco organized a men´s group at the church, and celebrated their initiation with a barbeque.  The men were pumped at the idea!  Paco received excited comments from the brothers the whole week preceding the event. Not only did every brother in the congregation attend, but also 2 others who had left the church returned for the event!  And, they did not come in shorts and flipflops (common village attire), but rather their shoes and clean shirts.  Paco could have sworn that one of the men even worn a new shirt and pants especially for the event. J Even more exciting, the Lord brought a new family to the congregation the day the men´s group was announced, and the father was thrilled to be included in the group his first day at the church. 

The barbeque was a huge success (even with all the mosquitoes). The men enjoyed their fellowship, their steaks (which are usually not seen in the village the week before shrimp season because no one in the village has money!), and they jumped at the idea of meeting together once a month.  Temo, one of the men who had left the church, even commented that he needed a group of men to help him find what God has for his life.  Wow!  The Spirit is moving in the men of the village- and we are excited to be witnesses of it! 

 After Vacation Bible School, I did not have specific plans of continuing ministry to the adolescents of the village- but the Lord had other plans! A group of the girls, who visit my dorm weekly now just to chat and hang-out, suggested that I host a slumber party to get everyone together again.  Great idea!

  Though the church had planned slumber parties before, the parents of the village were resistant to their daughters spending the night at the church. However, God’s grace was on us, as I went to meet the parents of each of the adolescent girls in the village (which only takes about an hour in a village as small as Boca del Rio).  Consequently, almost all the parents allowed their daughter to come to the party!- and it was a great way to initiate relationships with other adults in the village. 

It was a crazy, girly, night!  We played a ton of games: photo scavenger hunt around the church grounds (which resulted in tons of laughter and wild photos!), pictionary and charades, card games, the cup game, and more- until 3am.  I was also able to share my testimony of how the Lord changed my life from my adolescent days into the person I am now.  It was definitely an awesome time of strengthening relationships! The very next day, the attendance at the adolescent Bible class doubled! 

In general, adolescent girls in Boca del Rio and in the U.S are the same.  However, I was surprised by a couple differences- 1. The head lice (most of the girls are infected. I did not get any sleep that night, as I did not want to lay down beside them!), 2. Money- a third of the girls did not even have $1 to contribute for snacks because of the difficult financial situation of their families before shrimp season starts.  How lightly I take for granted having $1 for a party!  God touched my heart through the experience.