Sunday, April 17, 2005
APRIL GROUND BREAKING
Building Task Completed
Although there are still a few touchups to be made, for the most part our task of building construction is completed. In the end it took about seven weeks for us to bring a two-story house with five large rooms and turn it into a fully functional church building. Where once there were walls there are now doorways, and where once existed empty space we now have bathrooms, classes, and an auditorium that can seat one hundred. This has not been the easiest task for certain; however, we are very excited about the final results.
Neighbors Getting In On The Work
As we began choosing a place for meeting together, we were concerned how parking and worshipping might negatively affect our neighbors. Little did we realize that because we were constructing, our neighbors would be such a large part of our work. Anywhere in Mexico one can easily find a welder, electrician, painter, bricklayer, carpenter or any other type of specialist without searching too hard. When we began our task, welders, painters, and carpenters literally came right out of the… (you know) right out of the woodwork. The consequence has been that we now know about thirty more people than we did before. It’s exciting to see God construct relationships here as we arre constructing a building to meet together in.
Just Stopping In
We experienced a positive result to having a building the first Sunday when meeting together. Last week during worship, we had a woman from the street “stop in.” While passing the building on foot, she heard singing and decided to step inside to see what was taking place. In the end, she stayed for quite some time and showed real interest in what we were doing. Our prayer is that this permanent location will result in many others for years to come that will hear the singing or preaching and want to see what’s inside.
Ground Breaking Campaign
Following construction, we began the process of preparing for our “Ground Breaking” campaign. As I have said before, this was a chance for us to accomplish the tasks of creating new contacts, and showing the community that the Church had arrived in Leon and where it was located. After passing out around 10,000 flyers and inviting our contacts, we had a positive turnout of around 50 people last Saturday night. The night was divided into a time of singing and prayer, a video about Jesus, and separate classes for kids and s where emphasis was placed on Jesus as Lord over all. The night concluded with bread and drinks and nearly two hours of “chit-chat.” We felt very positive about the campaign that ultimately lead to Sunday’s turnout for worship of 26 people (our largest Sunday worship to date). Please be praying about Leon. Although the city that is 98% Catholic, we see the Lord changing hearts and minds towards him.
It’s Not What You Know
When things start coming together as they have for this month’s groundbreaking, I must admit that my mind is brought back to the old phrase,“It’s not what you know but rather it’s who you know.” We needed a projector system to run our video for the “Ground Breaking” campaign and were nervous about the cost to rent such an item for a night. Because one member of our congregation works for the city council of Leon, we were loaned a projector (free of charge) for the night to use, as we needed. Again, when we first found our $200 a month building that needed some major construction work, it was a contact here named Arturo that drew blueprint plans to make our dreams a reality. As we looked to print 10,000 flyers for the campaign, a congregation in the States donated us a photocopier for the task. When the need arose for financial assistance to finish our floors here, there were two congregations back home that helped make up the missing funds. When the day came for us to fix the roof at the building, fish out trash from the septic system or paint the walls of our classrooms…. you guessed it…. someone always seemed to show up to take care of the need at hand. We have been so blessed in this process to see amazing things taking place. Ultimately, to those who call upon the Lord there are always blessings. Thus, “it’s not what you know but rather it’s who you know.” Thank you to all who acted to serve us in this huge task. Your work has truly been a blessing from the Lord.
Please Pray For
Strength and Unity of our Mission Team
Chris and Jessica’s Language Study
Visitors for our 5 weekly Bible study times
More contacts to result in more studies
God to raise up his workers in Leon
Satan’s stronghold in the city to be broken
Special Thanks
Thank you to the La Junta Church of Christ and Guymon Church of Christ for special contributions of well over $2000 for our construction efforts. The gifts given were a considerable help in starting us off on the “right foot” with our work here.
Although there are still a few touchups to be made, for the most part our task of building construction is completed. In the end it took about seven weeks for us to bring a two-story house with five large rooms and turn it into a fully functional church building. Where once there were walls there are now doorways, and where once existed empty space we now have bathrooms, classes, and an auditorium that can seat one hundred. This has not been the easiest task for certain; however, we are very excited about the final results.
Neighbors Getting In On The Work
As we began choosing a place for meeting together, we were concerned how parking and worshipping might negatively affect our neighbors. Little did we realize that because we were constructing, our neighbors would be such a large part of our work. Anywhere in Mexico one can easily find a welder, electrician, painter, bricklayer, carpenter or any other type of specialist without searching too hard. When we began our task, welders, painters, and carpenters literally came right out of the… (you know) right out of the woodwork. The consequence has been that we now know about thirty more people than we did before. It’s exciting to see God construct relationships here as we arre constructing a building to meet together in.
Just Stopping In
We experienced a positive result to having a building the first Sunday when meeting together. Last week during worship, we had a woman from the street “stop in.” While passing the building on foot, she heard singing and decided to step inside to see what was taking place. In the end, she stayed for quite some time and showed real interest in what we were doing. Our prayer is that this permanent location will result in many others for years to come that will hear the singing or preaching and want to see what’s inside.
Ground Breaking Campaign
Following construction, we began the process of preparing for our “Ground Breaking” campaign. As I have said before, this was a chance for us to accomplish the tasks of creating new contacts, and showing the community that the Church had arrived in Leon and where it was located. After passing out around 10,000 flyers and inviting our contacts, we had a positive turnout of around 50 people last Saturday night. The night was divided into a time of singing and prayer, a video about Jesus, and separate classes for kids and s where emphasis was placed on Jesus as Lord over all. The night concluded with bread and drinks and nearly two hours of “chit-chat.” We felt very positive about the campaign that ultimately lead to Sunday’s turnout for worship of 26 people (our largest Sunday worship to date). Please be praying about Leon. Although the city that is 98% Catholic, we see the Lord changing hearts and minds towards him.
It’s Not What You Know
When things start coming together as they have for this month’s groundbreaking, I must admit that my mind is brought back to the old phrase,“It’s not what you know but rather it’s who you know.” We needed a projector system to run our video for the “Ground Breaking” campaign and were nervous about the cost to rent such an item for a night. Because one member of our congregation works for the city council of Leon, we were loaned a projector (free of charge) for the night to use, as we needed. Again, when we first found our $200 a month building that needed some major construction work, it was a contact here named Arturo that drew blueprint plans to make our dreams a reality. As we looked to print 10,000 flyers for the campaign, a congregation in the States donated us a photocopier for the task. When the need arose for financial assistance to finish our floors here, there were two congregations back home that helped make up the missing funds. When the day came for us to fix the roof at the building, fish out trash from the septic system or paint the walls of our classrooms…. you guessed it…. someone always seemed to show up to take care of the need at hand. We have been so blessed in this process to see amazing things taking place. Ultimately, to those who call upon the Lord there are always blessings. Thus, “it’s not what you know but rather it’s who you know.” Thank you to all who acted to serve us in this huge task. Your work has truly been a blessing from the Lord.
Please Pray For
Strength and Unity of our Mission Team
Chris and Jessica’s Language Study
Visitors for our 5 weekly Bible study times
More contacts to result in more studies
God to raise up his workers in Leon
Satan’s stronghold in the city to be broken
Special Thanks
Thank you to the La Junta Church of Christ and Guymon Church of Christ for special contributions of well over $2000 for our construction efforts. The gifts given were a considerable help in starting us off on the “right foot” with our work here.
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posted by Chris J : 5:45 PM 
