Resurrection Day With Aspermont Community Church Friends

He Is Risen!

Pastor Greg Goza Sunday morning at Aspermont Community  Church.

Greetings in the powerful name of Jesus Christ!

What a glorious truth, knowing that Jesus gave his life on the cross for our sins, and was raised from the dead on the third day, and is alive today. Those of us who know the King are blessed and are called to share our faith with the lost around us.

 I was blessed to be able to spend last Sunday, Easter Sunday, with friends in Aspermont. For 10 years, Bill and I attended that church and those believers are still a big part of our lives.

Greg and Robin when they came for a visit last week.

The past few weeks have been busy for me and Greg and Robin's visit was as refreshing as a cold drink of water on a hot summer. I enjoyed our visit and we had a great time doing simple things together. We took baby rabbits to Piedras Negras to sell them, and visited with Alejandro and Veronica and the muchachos at the Rehab in Centinela.

After I left Aspermont on Sunday, I came to spend the week helping care for my granddaughters.  It has been a sweet visit and I took this picture of the clouds at sunset last week.

 This is a photo of some our little congregation in Centinela after the church service earlier this month. We try to have a potluck once a month, and more often, a fundraiser to help with the church and rehab expenses.

 The calf we've been helping our neighbors care for is thriving and we are so grateful.

Here's a YouTube video I uploaded of feeding

to the calf when it was sick two weeks ago.

Feeding Baby a bottle of suero (electrolytes)

 

These pictures were taken at past Children's Day Events in Tepeyac.

It's almost that time again, time for fun and games with the kids in our little area of Mexico. Children's Day is a big deal in Mexico, and these kids know how to have fun.

We pray the gospel message will be sown on fertile soil this year, in the hearts of children and parents alike.

If you are interested in helping us with this effort, please contact  me by email or text message. My information in listed in the comments section of this week's blog. Saturday and Sunday are our planned event days in two different pueblos. We appreciate your prayers for us as we share the love of Jesus and the gospel message with these precious souls.

I am so grateful for your interest in this blog. God bless you as you serve the King of Glory.

In His loving embrace,

Toni 

Trusting Him To Direct Our Steps

 Greetings from Mexico, in Jesus' Holy name. I pray this update finds you encouraged and blessed, trusting God to direct you, as He guides you throughout your days. Allowing Him to put people in our paths who are looking for answers gives us opportunities to share our testimony to encourage others to seek His will for their lives.

I have had some sweet experiences lately, and wanted to share a few of them here.
Last week, I received a call for help and after a trip to a grocery store in Piedras, we saw a man stepping off a bus in front of the prison, beginning to walk toward Centinella. I stopped to see if he needed a ride. He said yes, and after he got in the van, he told us his story.

 He said his name was Mario, and he came on a bus from Sabinas to look for his brother, an alcoholic he hadn't seen for 8 years. He had received news that his brother had died, and Mario, having received Christ some years earlier, planned to try to locate the family, to console them and encourage them in seeking the Lord.

Veronica, Pastor Alejandro's wife, called several people in Centinella, asking if they knew Mario's brother, but nobody did.
Finally, we want to see the local judge, Blanca Gallegos. She knew José, Mario's brother, and told us he had moved to Piedras Negras. So we went to the forrajera (feed store) to ask where he lived, and they pointed across the highway to a house.  We went to the house, but nobody was home. Then a woman walled up, asking who we were looking for. Mario recognized her as his sister-in-law. It was a sweet reunion, with everyone shedding tears of joy. We said our goodbye's and headed home, grateful for God's perfect timing. The best part was Mario's brother had not died, but was alive and well.

This week, while I was in Piedras picking up parts ordered for the car, a woman was wandering in front of the parts store, unable to maneuver through the ongoing construction in progress there.
I asked her where she was going, and she said she lived in a Colonia several miles from the parts store. I offered her a ride, and we talked while I  drove her home. The house shown above is her house. She said she's a widow, lives alone, and her children are grown but seldom come to visit.  Her name is Dolores and she invited me to come back see her. I went back on Sunday to ask her to join us for church, but she wasn't home. I will try to go see her again this weekend. I pray the Lord encourages her as she is a lonely, sweet woman, and would enjoy fellowship with Christians.

The kids waiting for the teacher to open the gate in Centinella Primaria Escuela

Thursday, I helped Alejandro and Veronica transport the kids to and from the school in Centinella. Their van is in need of a fuel pump and they needed a hand. I enjoy the children and we often sing while we travel, making it a fun time together.  

Riding in the van heading home from school

Feeding the little calf given to Pastor Alejandro at the Agua Viva Rehab.

I love how they painted the Acuña sign for Christmas last year!

This vehicle had the window shot out of the back while we were in the line,

heading out of Piedras recently. It happened while I was right behind it.

Praise God, nobody was injured. 

We were recently blessed with another box of Bible Teaching Materials from Primera Iglesia Bautista of Corpus Christi. These materials are such a blessing, and Pastor Alejandro is looking forward to using them at Agua Viva. Thank you, Hermana Marie Ruth Fernandez, for sending them!

I have been reaching out to several women in Piedras Negras, and last week, held a class to show them how to make and decorate sugar cookies with a recipe from my friend, Dalia Hernandez of Corpus Christi. These are some of their results. One of the women, Maria Luisa, attends church with us every week in Centinella.

My good friend, Cynthia Hilsinger frequently sends boxes of goodies for the ministry here, and we are doing a bake sale, using the cake mixes she sent from Virginia to help pay for the van for the rehab. Every item sent is a blessing here to these families. I am grateful for Cynthia's boxes of shoes, socks, hygiene items, and lots more goodies that help hurting families in our area.

I appreciate your interest in this blog, and thank the Lord for your prayers for me and for the ministry here in Mexico. Your cards, letters, packages and phone calls always encourage me as I serve our King.

In His strong embrace,
Toni