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

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

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