Our Guadalajara Trip

Greetings in Jesus' righteous name! He is faithful and I am blessed to share some of my adventures with you.
Our two-week trip to Guadalajara was wonderful, and I wanted to share just a few of the pictures from our journey on the blog today.
Greg and Robin Goza and Susan Carver were my companions, and I was actually just along for the ride, having the privilege of accompanying them, but I was blessed make the trip.

One of the chief purposes of our journey was to share the gospel with the people God put in our paths. We had many opportunities while we were there, often with Uber drivers transporting us all over Guadalajara and the surrounding communities. My companions shared with the teachers and students at the University, also. We gave out tracts and shared our testimonies and we pray many seeds were planted there on fertile soil.

"I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase."  1 Corinthians 3:6 KJV

Robin, Greg, Susan and me outside our apartment Sunday a.m.

Our first Sunday there, we attended a wonderful service at the Casa De Cristo Iglesia. The worship was amazing, and so was the message. If you are interested, tap on the name above and you can enjoy their worship and church service recordings.

Worship At Casa De Cristo

Robin, Greg and Susan attended a Spanish School at the University of Guadalajara during the day and I walked around the area, talking to people and enjoying the city. It's so beautiful and the people are generally very friendly. I was sick the first few days after imbibing in a tainted cup of cappuccino from a little coffee shop near the apartment we stayed in, but got over that quickly. I usually had a meal ready when they returned from their classes, but sometimes we went to the café nearby for lunch.

The Cathedral in Guadalajara

We enjoyed some great meals, toured some nearby cities and had a great trip overall. One of our favorite restaurants was a little café near the apartment, and the owner, Alejandra, went out of her way to make us welcome. Of all the flan we enjoyed in Guadalajara, hers was, by far, the best. We made flan our favorite dessert, after trying out many of the local fares. Jericalla is a custard with a burned top, similar to Creme Brulee, and is really delicious. Chongos Zamoranos is a milk curd dessert named for its place of origin, Zamora. We weren't big fans of that dessert.

We visited Chapala, the town located next to Lago de Chapala, Mexico's largest freshwater lake. There were many vendors there, and lots of shops and restaurants. It has a great collection of artisans representing many parts of Mexico.

This Boy Scout and Girl Scout were part of a team of young people

cleaning up Guadalajara, and all the tops and lids made a mosaic

to depict their programs in the square behind the Cathedral.

The Programs were "RECICLON" and "TAPATON"

When we were in Tlaquepaque,
a man was selling fried grasshoppers.

Susan and I each ate one.
My variety had chili and garlic.
Hers was just fried with salt, I think.

I had to take a picture of this sign.

It's advertising a business that removes lice.

The  name Piojolandia translates to LiceLand,

like Disneyland?

Free Diagnosis. Be free of lice in 90 minutes,

without chemicals, with a European Machine.

Sitting in front of Lago de Chapala

My ceviche at the Palapa del Guayavo, en Chapala

This concoction was boiling hot! Chicken, shrimp,

mushrooms and lots and lots of queso! (cheese)

We talked to this little boy and his

dad, and he loves his puppy!

This was a clay sculpture in an art gallery. Amazing work!

Outside the restaurant in Chapala

Getting ready to order our meal

Enjoying the beauty of the

city of Chapala

Near the main plaza de Catedral

Hang on tight!!!

Chapala

Getting refreshments for the bus trip

These brothers preach the gospel in the square every afternoon
We spent two evenings with these amazing men.
May God continue to use their testimonies for His glory!

Praying for a woman and her children

next to the Cathedral

We have many more pictures of our journey but this gives you an idea of the sights and wonders we saw along the way. We hope this encourages you to share your testimony with others, and to be the light He wants you to be in this dark world. People are looking for answers, and we who know the King of kings can point them to the Savior, and love them unconditionally.

Thank you for following the blog, and if you are interested in the ministry, please comment and I will be happy to connect with you. God bless you as you share His love with the lost.

In His grip,
Toni

All Creatures Great And Small

Greetings from Mexico in Jesus' glorious name! It has been busy for me the past few weeks and I wanted to catch you up on some news from our part of the world.

I spent last week with my granddaughters in Ft. Worth while my son and his wife enjoyed an anniversary vacation in Mexico. Before I returned to Mexico, I was able to pick up donations from our friends in Dallas, Chava and Elvira Rodriguez, and these donations will be a big blessing to the families in our area of Mexico.

This baby deer was standing on the Hwy 277 Saturday when I drove to Ft. Worth.

I picked it up and took it to Sonora, Texas. It was injured and Derek Rogers, the Game Warden of Sutton County, received it from me on Saturday afternoon. He was amazed that I was able to transport it 35 miles without problems, but the deer stayed between the seats in the back of the van.

One of Bill's rescued puppies,
given to a good home last week

A cold drink of water on a hot day...in our yard

I had so much fun taking pictures of Texas Wildflowers last month that I wanted to share a few of them here. The highways were filled with color.

Texas Wildflowers

"Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it."

Psalm 96:12

God's adornment on the roadside

"Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand.."

Psalm 95:7

Sunday in Centinella was great, and I brought 2 families from Tepeyac and Palmira to join us for the Mother's Day service and meal. Here are a few photos from that special day.

Veronica with the youngest member of the church

Enjoying the Mother's Day Fellowship and meal

Thank you so much for you interest in this blog and the ministry here in Mexico. I am so blessed by your encouraging notes, comments and emails.
I pray God uses me for His glory and I am excited to have the privilege to share the gospel wherever He leads me.
In His loving embrace,
Toni

"...and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel..."

Ephesians 6:19

Let The Little Children Come Unto Me...

 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me,

and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 19:14 NKJV

Greetings from Mexico in the wonderful, glorious name of Jesus Christ!

We are so grateful for your interest in our blog, and wanted to share photos of the Childrens Day event in Tepeyac with you.

We had a wonderful time sharing the gospel with children and mothers alike, and Blas Martinez brought a great message to start the afternoon activities off. After the message, the kids played several games, including baseball in the basket, water balloon toss, and sack races. We were short on helpers but served everyone a meal of hot dogs and chips, with cupcakes for all the kids.

I couldn't have done any of this without the help of Maria Vasquez, Socorro, Estrella and Manuel Martinez. Yessica Garcia and Gemma Gonzalez were a big help, also. Praise the Lord for sweet friends who are there when you need them!

Hermano Blas Martinez sharing the message

Lining up for the balloon toss, dog not included.

Lining up for the sack races

And they´re off!!!

Balloon tossers getting ready for the game

With lots of help from moms...

The final push for the finish line!

The moms received gift bags sent from Cynthia Hilsinger and her sister, Kathy in Virginia, complete with beautiful wash cloths, shampoo, Kleenex, lotions and combs. We also offered lots of donated clothes and shoes from Cynthia and the Primera Iglesia, Asamblea de Dios, Dallas, Texas. The same church donated toys, as well as those received from Carlos and Laura Lopez of Austin, Texas. The children each received several toys they picked for prizes at the event. 

We are so grateful for all of our donors, and for all of your prayers for our event. God provided every need and we pray the gospel was sown on fertile ground in the hearts of the children and their mothers and grandmothers.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to do the event in Centinella because I became ill on Saturday, but we handed out bags of candy with gospel tracts and Bibles in Centinella, and I was able to bring 7 people from Tepeyac and Palmira to the church service there on Sunday. We even got to attend the Sunday School class, where Alejandro is using the materials from Primera Iglesia Bautista Corpus Christi.

The case of Bibles was supplies by donations from Treasures of Grace Ministry in Haskell, Texas.

Thank you for your interest in the ministry here in Mexico, and thank you especially for your prayer support. It means so much.

God bless you as you serve the King of kings!

In His loving embrace,

Antonia

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