Tepeyac VBS 2019

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Isaiah 52:7

We are so grateful for all who came to our little corner of Mexico to bring the good news to so many. The group from First Baptist Church of Haskell, Texas was 40 strong, and brought encouragement and love to the children and families in San Carlos, Tepeyac, Centinela and Casa Hogar Bethesda. 

This year, they stayed in a church in Acuna, and we saw many attend the Vacation Bible Schools at each of the locations.

Here are a few of the pictures from the week in Tepeyac. It was a wonderful time of praise and worship, teaching of the Word and encouraging the new believers that came to Christ that week.

These few pictures don't nearly tell the story, but the faces should give you an idea of the enjoyment felt by the children and mother's who joined us at the church in Tepeyac.

Thank you for your interest in the ministry in Mexico, and for your prayers for the families in our area. We are so grateful to God for you and your love and support.

By His grace,
Toni

Children's Day in Tepeyac 2019

Greetings from Tepeyac in the gracious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! What a blessing to serve the Lord here in Mexico. I am so grateful for all of you who pray for and support this ministry and I apologize for not keeping you updated more often. Things are busy here and I am finally getting a chance to catch up on the ministry blog today. I pray these pictures and stories will bless you as the experiences have blessed me.

The Lord has been working here in our little corner of Mexico, and we have seen salvations and lives changed as I minister to families in our communities.  Here are some photos from our recent Children's Day Outreach in Tepeyac. We had dozens of moms and children attend the event and all enjoyed fun, games, gifts and a meal served by our friends from the Agua Viva Rehabilitation Center in Centinela. Pastor Alejandro gave a message and his wife, Veronica led the games and fun for the kids. The brothers that reside at the center also helped with the games.

Pastor Alejandro Alvarado sharing the Good News with the
 mothers and children at the plaza in Tepeyac.

This fishing for ducks game was by far the most

popular with the younger children. I love how the

kids waiting to play were already wearing their 

blindfolds!

Preparing for the sack race

Carrera De Niños de Ejido Tepeyac

Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and support of this ministry in Mexico. I am blessed for the privilege to serve the Lord here and pray this blog encourages you as you make a difference in the lives around you.

Serving with joy,

Toni

Christmas Eve In Prison

Greetings from Coahuila in the glorious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

We are so grateful God answers prayers. We had the privilege of going into the prison in Piedras Negras on Christmas Eve this year, and shared the gospel, along with pozole with all the fixin's.

We were blessed to have the presence and support of the guards to join us as three pastors shared the messages, along with the rest of us sharing testimonies and encouragement to the inmates. 

Manuel and Alejandro making the pozole

Cleaning out the ice chests

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Buying bolillos at the bakery

Pastor Alejandro Alvarado made a big pot of pozole and since we can't bring metal into the facility, we placed it in our ice chest, and brought rolls, limes, lettuce and punch to fill the stomachs of the men who attended the service in the small church inside the prison.

How glorious to hear the praise and worship of these men, giving God the glory in the midst of challenging circumstances behind bars. Many of the men came up to us to thank us for being there, and for the meal. It was wonderful hearing many of them share their stories. 

I have not been permitted to enter the facility since the escape of over a hundred inmates, and was so blessed to finally be able to enter, after praying for God to open the doors once again.

Lord willing, we will be going in to do Bible studies on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Pastor Alyejandro is working with other pastors to make it a regular ministry opportunity. God remains in control and we trust Him for His perfect timing in all things.

Me and Isabel Ruvalcaba, Christmas Eve at Agua Viva

Thank you so much for your interest and prayers for the ministry. May God use you and yours mightily as you seek His face.

In Him,

Toni

Agua Viva Thanksgiving Meal, 2018

Greetings from Tepeyac in Jesus' beautiful name!

Our Thanksgiving meal at Agua Viva Centro Rehabilitacion Center in Centinela was wonderful. We held it Sunday, Nov. 25th after the church service. The 22 lb turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, home-style beans, broccoli-cauliflower salad, bread rolls and 6 pumpkin pies was enough to feed 37 people, and we even had leftovers!

Thank the Lord for the sweet fellowship and Alejandro's message of gratitude.

Thank you so much for your interest in this ministry in Coahuila. God is our protector and our supply, and we are grateful for you and your prayers for all of us here.
May God use our lives mightily for His glory.

In His loving embrace,
Toni

VBS 2018: Full of Decisions And Blessings

Greetings from Tepeyac in Jesus' name. God is so faithful and we were abundantly blessed by the efforts of the 40-plus friends from the First Baptist Church of Haskell, Texas and several other churches in Texas and beyond. It was a week of sharing Jesus with children and families in San Carlos, Tepeyac and Centinela. We saw many friends we had seen before and many new faces joined the teachings. All together, it was a wonderful week of fellowship and outreach in our area of Coahuila, Mexico.

I worked in Tepeyac, teaching the youth Bible School. Our class had 15 children make decisions for Christ and we were so glad to pray with these young souls.

The last morning of the VBS in Tepeyac, we had a little grass snake visit the area where the kids were on benches, doing the study, and naturally, it caused a chaotic uproar. With the kids standing on the bench, yelling, I was able to catch the snake and release it in a lot next to the church, but not before it bit me on my finger. It wasn't painful and I knew the snake was harmless, but the kids were still having difficulty settling down to work after the incident.

One new friend who joined the group for the first time this year from Guthrie, Clell McCauley, asked if he could share something with the kids after the snake incident. I translated as he shared that during the Bible Study, all was well before the snake showed up, just like in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. They were walking with God and having a great relationship when along came the serpent. Everything became chaos from then on, as it is today. Without God, our lives are in chaos and it's only through a relationship with Jesus Christ that we can return to a peaceful life.

Our VBS Class in Ejido Tepeyac

It was such a profound revelation on Clell's part, I was nearly in tears as I translated that message. Then I shared the gospel and asked the children if they wanted to pray. All were willing and repeated the prayer of salvation, asking for forgiveness of their sins and asking Christ to give them the ability to walk in truth and obey the commandments of the Word of God, the Bible.
I believe the Lord gave us a profound reality with the little snake that day, and am so grateful He put on Clell's heart to share that message. God is faithful, all the time.

The Group who came from Texas for this year's VBS.

Yuki Refreshers

Joyful faces

Helping the little ones with their crafts

Evelyn's winning smile

Greg and Robin Goza joined us from Guadalajara

The littlest ones also enjoyed the VBS in Tepeyac this week

Spicy Watermelons suckers with chili are the best!

"Yuki Anticipation" in the heat of July

Loading up on donated clothing after the VBS

Thank you so much for your interest in this blog, and the ministry here in Coahuila, Mexico. We appreciate your prayers and you encouragement. May God be glorified as we bring His love and the good news to the lost and hurting here in our little corner of the world.

Serving Him with joy,

Toni

All Aboard! VBS In Tepeyac 2018