Celebrating An Anniversary With A Loose Wheel

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

I am so grateful for another day to serve the Lord. He is faithful and I am abundantly blessed that His mercies are new every morning.

Last night, I took my pastor, Manuel Alejandro Alvarado, his wife Veronica and his daughter Priscila out to dinner at Pescaderia Garcia in Piedras Negras. The special occasion we celebrated was Alejandro and Veronica’s 14^th wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful meal and picked up a Choco-Flan cake for them to celebrate with at home.

On our way, when we were just passing the prison near Centinela, there was a terrible grinding sound coming from the rear passenger wheel. We drove a little way, about a hundred feet, and then I stopped and we got out, looking for what the problem could be.

Apparently, when I had purchased 2 new tires and had work done on the wheel bearings in Del Rio earlier in the day, the technician had not tightened the lugs on that wheel, and the wheel was coming off, and one of the lug bolts had broken off. The wheel was coming off and all the lugs were loose, ready to come off also.

Thankfully, Alejandro was able to jack the car up and tighten the remaining lug nuts. I drove them back to their home in Centinela and went home to Tepeyac, so grateful to God for His traveling mercies.

It could have been so much worse. I know God has His loving hand on our lives, and I know He puts people in our paths just when we need them. I am not sure how quickly I would have realized what the problem was if I were alone, but I am so grateful for God’s care and love for all of us.

I am in Del Rio at the car dealer to replace the broken bolt and do the repairs necessary. Thank the Lord for His timing in all things.

Blessings in Jesus’ name,

Toni

VBS July 2021

Greetings in the merciful name of Jesus Christ! We just finished our Vacation Bible School in our area of Coahuila, Mexico and I wanted to share some photos of our events. 

Due to the pandemic, our attendance was noticeably less than usual but we were blessed to have many new faces at our churches. 

I worked in Centinela and in Tepeyac, and although it was a very warm week with the weather, we were able to do most of our classes indoors with open windows and a mild breeze or outside under trees and tin roofs. 

The first few days, we didn't have very many show up, but by Wednesday, more children and mothers started attending. 

The group from Haskell was fewer but we managed to cover all the VBS events without a problem. While I was in Centinela and Tepeyac, the other part of the group did VBS classes in Remolino and San Carlos.

Our group was wonderful and Phoi McGuire had all the projects ready for each group each day of the VBS. She works on these for months ahead of time and it's such a blessing to see the women and children, and even the men doing the studies and the art projects.

For the days in Tepeyac, I picked up mothers and children from Jarita and Palmira, but by Thursday, Brother Luis had to help me pick up Palmira children because my van was packed with 20-22 people after Wednesday. It was a lot of fun to be with those van-loads of children and moms.

(The pictures I've posted are a composite of both Tepeyac and Centinela VBS classes.) 

I pray the Lord blesses all the seeds planted for the gospel last week and that the decisions made to receive Christ will bring life-changing transformations and bring God glory.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for all of these ministry facets. I am blessed to be here and to have so many making a difference alongside us here in Coahuila.

God bless you and you serve the King of kings.

In His strong embrace,

Toni