Dear Friends,
We are so excited about communicating with you via this new format! Congratulations to IM staff for their hard work in getting it off the ground!
Life in Baja has been busy--in both English and Spanish! The week before Christmas Joyce helped to organize a Women’s Tea. This is an event targeted for English Speaking Women who live in La Paz. However, because many Mexican women attended last year (last Christmas was the first time Joyce tried this), Joyce and her committee decided to orchestrate a bilingual program this year. Each woman was asked to bring a dozen cookies to share; the program was free. We sang Christmas carols, told the story of the Poinsettia (a flower which comes from Mexico), read the birth of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke, and had several special music pieces, including “Silent Night” sung in Hawaiian and accompanied on the cello! Sixty-five women attended! Afterwards, one Mexican woman commented, “This was the first time I’ve ever sung Christmas Carols, and the first time I’ve heard the whole story of Jesus’ birth read from the Bible.” Amazing! Sometimes those of us who live in countries where Christianity is prevalent, forget that there are still many who have never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. Most of the women who attended the Tea were ones who would never walk through the doors of a church. Therefore, we feel this was one small way to touch their hearts with God’s grace and love.
We also coordinated a Christmas Eve service in English at La Marina de La Paz. This is a ministry to the boating community of La Paz. (La Paz is situated on the Sea of Cortez and many people sail here for the winter.) Approximately 40 people attended. As we were setting up, one couple rowed up to the dock in their dinghy. When they discovered it was a “church service,” they immediately left saying, “Let’s get out of here fast!” Sadly, this is the attitude of many English-speaking people who come to La Paz. A ministry among these people is difficult and moves forward slowly. Pray that God would crack a few doors for us to sneak through!
During Christmas we also hosted a party for the women of the First Baptist Church of La Paz. As they brought all the food and decorations, it wasn’t too hard! They even had a piñata. If you’ve never seen grown women dive for candy as a piñata breaks, then you haven’t lived! What a riot! After Christmas, we invited one of the small, poorer churches we work with to have the cena (evening meal) with us—around 25 people. David decided to make Pozole. This is a Mexican soup that consists of chicken, pork, and hominy. Then, a variety of toppings are added when it’s served, like lettuce, radishes, onions, oregano, etc. As no one died, I guess you can say he did a great job! It WAS very delicious!
This week David is driving a family to Mexicali to attend our sister seminary “Dios con Nosotros” in Northern Baja. The family, Jesús, Miriam and Fabian siFuentes will be living in one room together at the seminary. Jesús and Miriam both plan to attend classes. Fabian is 10 and will be going to school during the day. They are a poor family. Jesús is a carpenter. It has been amazing to see how God has brought together all the financial resources they need for this first semester. This is a big challenge for them! We’re not even positive if Jesús has finished high school. But he has felt a call and is determined to study God’s Word at a deeper level. Pray that God will sustain them through all the changes they will undergo in the coming weeks.
Blessings and Peace,David, Joyce, Ian and Aaron Reed