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| From Christmas in Queretaro 08 |
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| From Christmas in Queretaro 08 |
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| From Christmas in Queretaro 08 |
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| From Christmas in Queretaro 08 |
God is huge in his grace and provision... and he has allowed me to buy a HUGE car to get around and to carry the young people for activities and after our student group. I bought a 9 seater, Chevrolet Suburban 1997 with my savings and it is BIG! I have been super-excited to have it, but it also needs a few repairs which have been a bit of a stress... it has something going on with the transmission that we didn't find before I bought it (I had a mechanic mate check it over) that is costing me a bit to repair.
As they say in Mexico... mi Suburban es tu Suburban! (hehe well actually, it's "mi casa es tu casa", but you could sleep in this baby!)
Greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city.Ok... here I am catching up! Passion Mexico was INCREDIBLE! It was a massive time of excitement and blessing for our uni students and leaders. Just before lunch on the 3rd of October we all piled into our hired bus and headed on down to Mexico City with a group of 25 students from Queretaro.
Got a cool God story to share about the weekend, but will have to wait for the moment. Been a bit sick in the stomach over the weekend and until Monday but feeling better now.
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| From Boda de Jessi y JP |
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| From Boda de Jessi y JP |
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| From Boda de Jessi y JP |
Cruising down the highway for Cuernavarca, I didn't have any idea of how fantastic the weekend would be. After a quick stop-off in the city of Cuernavarca for the comida, and following some of the organisers down the wrong road (they were collecting the signs they had put on the road giving incorrect directions to the camp hehe), we arrived at Camp Kikoten.
Camp Kikoten is just out of Cuernavarca which is about 45 minutes or a bit more south of Mexico City. The theme of the camp was 1 Timothy 4:12 - Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
One of the most impacting times for me was in the Friday night session when we had a time of worship and we sang (in Spanish) the song "Lord I Give You My Heart". This song was the song I chose for my baptism just about 10 years ago. It connected with me in a new way as I remembered how God has brought me through so many things to arrive here and that he has much more in store for my life. I can't believe that I'm here in Mexico, serving Him, being used to impact the lives of others. God is growing me lots and in that moment I remembered once again that I have to leave everything in God's hands, let go of my own pride and let God work. After I spent a little time reflecting and writing some things down that I wanted to say to God, I felt so much joy and freedom! I wanted to shout out how good God is! It was something really cool for me and another step in my journey with God.
The rest of the weekend was awesome also – a great balance of fun activities and great bible teaching. My favourite was a talk on love and purity by Jaime Foote (www.semillacuerna.com) which was very relevant and impacting for us blokes.
Check out some of the photos!
Last week I had the excitement of another visitor from Australia – Sezza B! Unfortunately, her flight was cancelled last Sunday, so she ended up only having three short days in Mexico! However, we did our best to pack the mexperience into those three days.
Quick note: Mexico City now has two airport terminals, T2 is actually a new terminal (absolutely amazing actually!) that is separated from the other one and you have to take an aerotrain or bus to get to the other one. That caused a bit of fun when picked Sezza up from the airport as things weren’t the same as two years ago!
Anyway, on Tuesday we ventured out into the big wide world of Mexico City for a whirlwind tour of some of the city sights. After passing by the Angel of Independence, we had breakfast at the historical Sanbornes in el centro, then on to the Palace of Bellas Artes to look at some interesting (and some kinda crazy out-there) Mexican art exhibitions.
After feeling nice and arty farty, we headed through the crowded streets to reach the Zocolo which is the main square, surrounded by historical government buildings. Zocolo is used for a range of events from big concerts to protests to showing off the new Mexico City tram that’s going to be put into service. On one side of the Zocolo is the Iglesia Principal (main church) in Mexico City. We went inside to have a look and it is HUGE! I found that there is a Saint Felipe who was the patron saint of youth which I thought was pretty cool...
After that we started looking for a market I went to two years ago, but unfortunately it’s been cleaned up, so we chatted to an information guy who ended up being a tour guide trying to sell us tours, but we ended up with a cheap ride to the arts market and later to the bus station.
Rocking our way back to Queretaro by bus, we headed out for a farewell pozole for Nolan at Job and Sandy’s house. The pozole was great and Sezza was impressed (if not a little overwhelmed) by a big Mexican cena. After dinner we jammed out some worship songs with Job and Nolan on guitars and me playing the makeshift djembe on a water cooler container (sounds really cool!).
On Wednesday we went for a lap of the Queretaro sights and sounds taking in Theatre of the Republic (where the Mexican constitution was signed), el centro including the plazas and gardens and andadors, some quick shopping, Templo de la Cruz and the convent and finally los arcos!
Wednesday night after our uni students event, we headed out for some authentic Mexican tacos at Tacos Francia and Sezza really got into those tacos de pastor. It was Nolan’s (by the way, Nolan is a mate from Atlanta who has been a missionary here for over two years) last night in Mexico so there were a stack of young people hanging out, which turned into arm wrestles on the pavement – goodtimes!
Then Thursday flew by with a late brekky, a bit of a wait to go out and some rapid shopping for souvenirs before rushing to the bus station a little stressed but all good. Sezza came and went on her whirlwind tour of Mexico!
I’m writing this from the aeroplane heading back to Queretaro (sidenote: Volaris is highly recommended! They even have powerpoints for every seat!). It’s been an absolutely amazing five days in Ensenada and Tijuana. I personally have grown, been challenged and seen God’s hand in so many things.
The reason we went to Ensenada and Tijuana was to attend a conference for pastors and leaders of Calvary Chapel churches in Mexico. I started with the attitude that we were there to receive teaching, resources and recharge. But God by His grace had much bigger plans. When we arrived and were able to see what God is doing here, He allowed us to be a part of it! To listen, pray and share with the people we met and to serve them was so much more meaningful than just receiving. The coolest thing was that, when we served, encouraged and shared, we ourselves were massively blessed and encouraged!
The conference itself was really helpful. The time was intense and full of lots of teaching from a range of pastors. There were eight talks in total and we listened to five talks in one day on Friday! Through all this, God was speaking to me, guiding me and giving me renewed faith in His perfect plan. One of the challenges that impacted me was to have the passion and thirst in Christ for the people of Mexico that says “Give me Queretaro (for Jesus) or I will die”. Knowing forgiveness, love and hope in Jesus is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I LONG for all of Mexico, all of Queretaro, the whole of the university of Queretaro to Jesus personally and intimately.
Another thing that impacted me during this time are these words that Jesus said to his disciples when we was on earth:
Jesus told him [Peter]: You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or
brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land for me and for the
good news will be rewarded. In this world they will be given a hundred times as
many houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and pieces of
land, though they will also be mistreated. And in the world to come, they will
have eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30 CEV)
I really miss my family in Australia – my mum and dad, my brothers and sisters, my nieces and nephews. However, I have discovered in a new light during this time how much I have gained hundreds of brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, nieces and nephews here in Mexico. I feel so much a part of the family of God and have been encouraged and blessed with the generosity and openness of brothers and sisters here. Over the past few days I have met so many people with whom I’ve talked and prayed – sharing each others’ burdens and problems, joys and triumphs.
It has been particularly special to stay with Chris and Rosalba who opened their home and their lives to us. Our time with them has been awesome and I’ve got a stack of really cool memories. Chris is a bigtime encouragement. He pastors two churches in Tijuana and has been working here as a pastor for about 18 years. He is a massively humble guy and I appreciated the opportunity to share with him what God was doing down in Queretaro and the challenges we have been and are facing. It was exciting to hear of his heart to see people encounter Jesus here in Mexico and to raise up Mexican leaders to strengthen the church here. I also appreciated his balance of wisdom and a great sense of humour!
I’ve also had a lot of fun over the past few days. God knows that I love surfing and I was able to go for a surf at Cantamar where we were staying. Chris has a longboard that somebody gave him and he hasn’t used yet. He said GO FOR IT! So I went for it. As I was getting ready, I was so excited – the others could see that I was about to jump out of my skin. I ran down to the beach with the board and jumped into the water. It was great to get back out there even though I realised that I hadn’t been surfing for several months!!!
On Sunday night Martin, Sara and I went along to a Christian café in Tijuana called Todo Por Ti (All for you) with some of Sara’s friends. We drove through a maze of backstreets in Tijuana until we arrived at a big shed with a little door – Café Todo Por Ti: Café Cristiano. When we entered the little door we were transported into a vibrant space for young people complete with fuzball tables, air hockey, a pool table, indoor volleyball court, stage with musical instruments, indoor soccer field and lots of tables to hang out with friends. The café is open during the evening on Friday, Saturday and Sunday until late as a place that young people, particularly Christians can come to hang out with friends in a relevant atmosphere free from the pressures of bars and clubs. For me, it was a great place and mmmm, the coffee was really good too!
Wow! I’m learning so much. The last day has been huge in terms of God working, building relationships, seeing more of the church in Mexico and opening my eyes to real poverty.
Yesterday, Martin, Sara and I left Queretaro at 4am to drive to Leon and take a flight from Leon to Tijuana. When we arrived, we met Pastor Chris Martinez and various others from the church here in Tijuana. We left directly from the airport with Jaime and Chris to meet some visitors from the US. When Korean Ken and his team arrived, we went to the first rehabilitation centre to see what God was doing.
In this rehabilitation centre, somewhere in the suburbs of Tijuana, 50 guys have taken the step to get free from addictions to drugs, alcohol and other destructive things. In the centre, they experience the love and message of Jesus Christ as the one who can help them out of the hole and lift them up into a new transformed life. That’s exactly what we saw – transformed lives by the power of the Spirit of God. After praying with the team and the guys at the centre, we proceeded to our next stop.
We arrived at a building in another part of Tijuana called Rosarito with all the crew. We were met with smiles by Victor and his wife and had the privilege of seeing a great facility dedicated to the glory of God. This guesthouse is used to facilitate short-term mission teams who want to serve the people of Baja California and share the message of Jesus Christ. It provides a safe, comfortable place for the teams to rest, debrief and get recharged. The ministry also assists short-term teams to serve in areas where there is genuine need so that they can be most effective for the kingdom of God.
Next stop was Tacos Manuel. These tacos were big, man! We ate two big quesadillas each and enjoyed the big flavour of the rich barbeque meat.
We proceeded, feeling fairly tired, down to Ensenada to The Ranch. This ministry only started up last September, but it was the most impacting stop of the day. The Ranch is a rehabilitation centre run by the Calvary Chapel here in Tijuana. After meeting the crew and the donkey called Dulce, I went down to the paddock to see the other animals with three of the guys there. There were rabbits, chickens, goats and pigs hanging out in their pens. The goats decided to give us a bit of entertainment when one of them did a pee and another decided it might be tasty to drink. When we started yelling out that it was gross, the goat started laughing at us which was hilarious! One of the guys started to share his story with us, a story that demonstrated to me just how much God longs to transform lives.
Alberto was an alcoholic, his Dad taught him to kickbox so he was fighting all the time with other guys, he was into drugs and crime and he told me that he was hopeless. The crowd that he hung out with weren’t real friends and he was living some really full on stuff. Alberto lost hope and decided that it was better to end it all. He tried to commit suicide four times, but God had his gracious hand in the situation and each time Alberto wasn’t successful. Later, one of his friends who had been living these full on situations with him told him that he had something that was even stronger than the drugs he was taking and asked if he wanted it. Alberto was up for it! This time it wasn’t a new drug, it was Jesus Christ. Later, someone invited Alberto to the church because they were going to have free pizza. He went along to the church simply because there was going to be pizza and he hadn’t eaten for three or four days. That day, Alberto accepted Jesus and his life started to change. Now Alberto is in the centre, knows Jesus as his salvation and only hope, wants to live every day for Jesus and tell others about Him, loves reading his bible and has recently been baptised. His ambition when he leaves the centre is to tell others about the power of Jesus to heal and transform lives.
Later, the guys showed me the dormitory where they sleep, we listened to some worship songs in Spanish including La Niña De Mis Ojos that Alberto really likes because it says (translated roughly to English), you found me when nobody else cared, you called me by my name, you are my child, the child of my eyes. We read the bible together and prayed together – thanking God for His son Jesus who has transformed our lives and given us new hope. I am praying that God would continue to work in the lives of Alberto, Javier and Aaron and see them grow in their relationship with God and impact the lives of others with their stories.
Later, we arrived here in one of the poor neighbourhoods of Tijuana called Pedregales de Santa Julia at one of the churches where Chris is pastor. The poverty around us here is profound.
We arrived for the Wednesday night service and Martin shared the word of God in the service. By God’s design I’m sure, we sang La Niña De Mis Ojos, which now has even more significance for me because I see in the lives of my new brothers in Christ, the depth and strength of God’s love for us in Jesus. Martin was talking from Luke 15 about why tax collectors and “sinners” – those who were not holy and righteous – were attracted to Jesus, the one who is holy and righteous, and why Jesus was attracted to them. We saw in the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son, God’s amazing desire to “seek and save that [those] which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
Later we listened to the story of a brother from Chiapas who has a mountain of problems – economic, family and personal. We saw the love of another brother who has taken this guy in and is showing him the love of Christ – tangible and practical. We prayed together and once again, I was impacted by the love and compassion of our God who knows each personal intimately and has a plan for each of us.
This morning we met for morning devotions with about 18 people here in the church. I played the guitar and sang a couple of songs in Spanish (it was a little bit dodgy, but God uses even the least of us for His glory). Chris shared a really cool devotion from Daniel 4 about God’s transformation of Nebuchadnezzar. We saw that sometimes God has to take us to the floor before we lift our eyes to Him. Sometimes our pride is too much and like Nebuchadnezzar, we fail to acknowledge the king of glory and trust in our ourselves. But God is gracious and when we come to our senses, He saves us.
More to come…
“God did not intend for us to walk alone. The Church seems like it is going in this crazy direction of huge multimedia presentations ... but I really think that people want other real people."
Faith No More is a really interesting article that I just read on Relevant Magazine.com. I found it particularly engaging because it talks about an issue that I've been thinking a lot about lately... that people want, and need, other people who are willing to be there for them, love them, and walk together through the messy stuff of life. As a person who is involved in working with university students, aiming to see them encounter Jesus Christ as their answer to their questions of life, and working to help them grow in their life as followers of Jesus to serve and influence others, it's this tension that I struggle with... what is a relevant atmosphere and environment? How do we introduce young people to the reality and authenticity of Jesus - the man who was fully human, who ate, drank, partied, cried, loved, served, healed, related to others, taught, was tempted, was beaten up, who was perfect, who died and who came back to life... and who at the same time IS GOD!
I think that sometimes presentations, multimedia, events, concerts, music, cool lighting and things are cool. But sometimes I think we focus too much on having events that are "cool" and forget about those conversations in the street, or sitting around the kitchen table, or drinking coffee, or running together, or just being... together. I think that what Jesus came to do, and what we need to take note of, is to show people what God is like, and to save them from a life of ignoring God and rejecting the true Life that is God. He didn't run huge concerts, but he spoke to lots of people. He didn't just talk his message, he LIVED it. That's why he said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Man, that's what's really cool. That Jesus IS God, and that he SHOWS us what God is like by BEING God right here with us, as a human being. That for me is good news. That God himself was prepared to come and BE human to show us that he's not just some far off diety, but he is a God that is personal and relational. And then, this Jesus, who is God, was prepared to die in our place for our crimes and brokeness and shame and dishonesty, our rejection of the perfection and life of God... our sin... so that we could be restored, forgiven, made new... but more than all that... so that we could be connected in a relationship with this God, through Jesus.
So I'm interested in your thoughts... what are your deep questions, that may be uncomfortable or unanswered? Do you connect with God through Jesus or think it's just a fairytale? What does it mean to be relevant? Hmmm...
An Evangelical Manifesto is an open declaration of who Evangelicals are and what they stand for. It has been drafted and published by a representative group of Evangelical leaders who do not claim to speak for all Evangelicals, but who invite all other Evangelicals to stand with them and help clarify what Evangelical means in light of “confusions within and the consternation without” the movement. As the Manifesto states, the signers are not out to attack or exclude anyone, but to rally and to call for reform.
As an open declaration, An Evangelical Manifesto addresses not only Evangelicals and other Christians but other American citizens and people of all other faiths in America, including those who say they have no faith. It therefore stands as an example of how different faith communities may address each other in public life, without any compromise of their own faith but with a clear commitment to the common good of the societies in which we all live together.
Phil, Lalo, Charlio, Pepe and Olmo
The last month has been full of more new experiences, challenges and fun times. I took the following picture that describes my life at present when I was feeling a little bit arty or something.
1. The bible – God’s word has been my guide and sustains me in my relationship with God
2. The Cross of Christ – that’s the reason I’m here – the cross of Jesus Christ has changed history and gives us the opportunity to have a restored relationship with the Creator God and to discover a full and meaningful life now and forever
3. 501 Spanish Verbs – yes, there are many more than 501 but I’m still learning and speaking Spanish. I’ve been really excited that I can now converse pretty comfortably in Spanish and my Mexican brother told me (in Spanish) “you’re speaking really well, a lot more clearly and rapidly than before – it’s good!”
4. I took the photo in Mexico… i.e. I’m in Mexico
Earlier in the month, we had a break from our youth ministry for about a week and I had the opportunity to head to the beach for four days! YAY! Being close to the beach is one thing I really miss about Australia so this was a real treat. I went to a beach called San Blas which is in a state called Nayarit on the west coast of Mexico. It was about 7-8 hours drive from Queretaro on a freeway with lots of toll gantries! We passed Guadalajara and Tepic on the way as well as seeing signs to the town of Tequila (that’s really where Tequila comes from!).
San Blas was great – very quiet (tranquilo) and not full of foreigners (apart from me!). We ate on the beach, listened to some roaming musicians for the birthday of one of our friends and played AFL footy on the beach! I managed to go for a surf even though the waves were a bit small.
Me, Alma Rosa and Sarahí
Yes!!!! The Wild Brumbies continue to run free!!!
Some authentic Mexican tunes!
Footy on the beach - they're not bad... I'm gonna start and AFL development squad...
Amidst all the fun, I have actually been doing something! We have started working as a team to form the way forward for our ministry. It’s helped a lot to have the team working together at the church to improve our communication and sense of community. At present we are working hard to build up a strong group of young Christians and involve them in reaching others.
We’ve had various activities in the church that I’ve been involved in and guess what… one of the other team members has blogged about that so I’m going to link to that to save me some time! You’ll see some photos of Conectate and Universitarios. I helped to run games at Conectate (a day to connect with a community group in the church) and also I’m a leader in the uni students group. Click here to go to Jessica’s blog post…
I’ve made some cool new friends like Bruno who I have been catching up with over the past few weeks. I’ve also been catching up with some young people from the church and I’ve made some friends with whom I can play music which is really awesome.
My real passion here is to see young people encounter Jesus in an authentic and relevant way, see their lives transformed by God’s power and invite others to meet Jesus. It’s so cool for me when I see young people who are passionate about God and who live out what it means to be a follower of Jesus in way that is truly relevant in their life (fully Mexican, in all areas of their life). This is how I long to be – not simply a missionary whose job it is to share the gospel of Jesus, but a radical disciple of Jesus who lives in Mexico and invites others to come and meet Jesus in their context and culture.
It as been a big month of change for the ministry to university students here in Queretaro. Over the past months, the team has been grappling with some difficult decisions. The rent and other costs for the Global Grounds café location have been very high and the income (from sales and donors) insufficient to sustain operations. We made the difficult decision to relocate the café to the church premises to assist financially as well as to refocus the ministry and seek God for the best and most effective student ministry possible. Global Grounds has been an amazing space to hang out, build relationships, drink coffee and explore faith in Jesus Christ. We want to continue to create spaces where we can engage with young people, make disciples and equip leaders for the kingdom of God.
In the new café location, we have created a new, relevant space for young people to enjoy that is well connected with the church community. We are also taking a fresh look at how we reach out to young people with the message of Jesus Christ in relevant, authentic ways and make disciples who will be leaders for the kingdom of God here in Mexico and around the world.This time of refocus and change is challenging, however, I can see amazing opportunities for God to work through this change and help us build a strong, effective and sustainable ministry with uni students.
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| Phil's Mexico journey updates |
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