Picking Up Strangers and Donations

Greetings in Jesus’ mighty name.

The Lord is faithful and I am so grateful to serve Him, wherever He leads.

A few weeks ago, I picked up a young couple on my way home from Centinella, and gave them a ride.  I also invited them to church and gave them my number. Last week they contacted me and I picked them up for church, along with several others. We had 13 in the van, if you include the fact that Lupita is pregnant. What a blessing to have room enough to safely, comfortably transport so many people to services at the Rehab.

We had a wonderful service, and fellowship afterwards with a meal provided by a family of one of the past residents of the facility. Arturo and his family filled half of the seating in the church, and brought enough food for everyone. It was a sweet time of fellowship and we got to know Fernando and Lupita, the new couple, a little while we talked and visited.

Here are a few pictures of our time together at Agua Viva.

Lupita and Fernando

I picked up a van-load of donations from the members of Primera Iglesia Dallas yesterday, and wanted to post a few pictures, with my granddaughter, Charlotte Jo enjoying the toys. Brother Chava Rodriguez loaded the van with toys, clothing, shoes and bedding for the families in Mexico. What a blessing to be a part of the transportation crew for their generosity.

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This has been a week of time with my family. It has been a wonderful visit with Brandon, Jessica and the girls, and I am planning to visit Todd on my way back to Mexico tomorrow. I appreciate your prayers for me and for the ministry in Mexico. Thank you for your interest and especially for your prayers. I can't imagine doing anything without the prayer coverage I receive from friends of this ministry.

God bless you, and may God direct your steps and put you in the path of those needing to hear the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

By His grace,
Toni

The Greatest Eneny

Happy New Year from Mexico. At this time, I know many, if not most of the readers who follow this blog are seeking God in a way that brings us to examine ourselves, as the Word of God admonishes us. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

I believe it is a good time to share a quote from John Piper about the enemy we all face each and every day.

John Piper:

Christian fasting is not only the spontaneous effect of a superior satisfaction in God; it is also a chosen weapon against every force in the world that would take that satisfaction away.
The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.
Jesus said some people hear the word of God, and a desire for God is awakened in their hearts. But then, "as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life" (Luke 8:14). In another place he said, "The desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful"(Mark 4:19). "The pleasures of this life" and "the desires for other things"—these are not evil in themselves. These are not vices. These are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking. And all of them can become deadly substitutes for God. (A Hunger for God, Crossway, 1997)

Lord God, direct each of us and make us profoundly aware of Your will for our lives.  Give us the desire and ability to love You more than we love our own lives. Make us more in love with You than ever, and help us to live our lives for You above everything else this year and always.