PRESENTED TO THE LORD

Pastor Gerardo, Oscar with Oscar, Jr., Carla and Miriam.

“The time came for Mary and Joseph to do what the Law of Moses says a mother is supposed to do after her baby is born. They took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord,” Luke 2:22 CEV

Oscar and Carla brought their baby boy to the church Sunday evening and asked that he be presented to the Lord.  Two month old Oscar, Jr. was dressed in a little white suit.  There were many family members who brought Oscar, Jr. to be presented, including two who had driven all the way from California to witness the event.

Little Oscar seemed fascinated by the event.

Pastor Gerardo brought the baby’s parents and family forward while he talked to them about the great responsibilities of raising a child.  He read scriptures of encouragement and advice.  Then he took the baby in his arms and prayed a blessing over him, asking the Lord to guide and protect him and his family.  At one point Oscar, Jr. added his own voice to the proceedings, indicating his impatience with the whole affair.

Pastor Gerardo held the baby and prayed a blessing over him and the family.

After the presentation and a short sermon with testimonies of how the Lord helps in raising children, everyone gathered for coffee and a snack.  It was a blessing to watch this ancient ritual that Joseph and Mary had also observed when Jesus was born. Oscar, Jr. is a beautiful baby boy whose future is safe in God’s hands.

For a brief moment, sunlight through the window highlighted the couple and the child.

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  Proverbs 22:6 KJV

NELLIE

Nellie lives wherever she can, in a shelter on the streets, in a borrowed house, with anyone willing to take her in.  She has no clothes, no belongings, nothing she can call her own.  Nellie is a large, middle aged woman who was recently released from prison.

Nellie had been a police officer in Mexico, but when drugs and other types of corruption became common among her fellow workers, she got caught up in their crimes.  Eventually the police department was disbanded and Nellie and the others were incarcerated.  Nellie was severely abused and overly punished while in prison for her part in crime because she had been a police woman. She was beaten, half starved and misused.  She gave up hope and became bitter and angry and mean.

When Nellie was released from prison and began her life on the street in Reynosa, she met Pastor Gerardo who was ministering to the young people who gathered around him during the day. Gerardo played Christian music on his car radio, read the Bible to them and prayed for their needs. One day he looked around to see Nellie sitting on the curb on the side of the road and she was crying softly.  The music was touching her deeply.

Through prayer and counseling, Nellie decided it was time to turn her life over to the Lord and she accepted Him as her Savior right there on the street.  It was as though she had been set free! Nellie was very happy!  She watched for Gerardo’s car every day and was first to greet him and to thank him.  Several others were meeting there on the street by this time and they all enjoyed listening to Gerardo and also enjoyed the fact that he listened to them.  They met together daily for several months until circumstances changed and Gerardo no longer drove daily to Reynosa.

Recently in Nuevo Progreso, Gerardo was driving down a side street near the local fire department when he heard someone yelling to get his attention.  And there was Nellie!  She had found her way back to her original town of Nuevo Progreso and was living in a small shed alongside the fire department and near the baseball field.  They greeted each other and Gerardo learned that Nellie had been in town for several weeks, but didn’t know how to find Gerardo and his family or the church. She had begun visiting a church down the street from her dwelling.  She told Gerardo that she would get so happy worshiping the Lord in church that the other people stared at her.  But she said she was so happy to be set free and to become a child of God.

Gerardo reported that he will continue to stay in touch with Nellie, but will encourage her to attend the church of her choice, and that may be one that is near where she lives. Nellie has an occasional job selling bottled water to tourists outside of local stores.  Maybe she will work her way up to a job that will improve her life.  Meanwhile, Nellie has come home to where she started, to the Lord and to Nuevo Progreso.

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."  Galatians 5:1

THE ART OF MEXICO

Wishing well and cups and saucers made from discarded tires.

There are many talented artists in Mexico, people who create things out of every day things around them.  Some work in clay to make pottery, some paint on pieces of bark or on wood, others carve animals from various types of wood.  A great variety of artistic items are for sale in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico.  The colors are bright and cheerful, the indiviual pieces are sometimes rustic and primitive.  And it’s a great way to make a living.

Chair with back and arms.

Recently we drove past a yard sale in front of a home.  There were unusual items displayed along with used clothing and other items for sale.  Discarded tires had been cut and formed to make yard ornaments and they had been painted and decorated in bright colors.  There was a cup and saucer that could be used as a planter and there was a large and elaborate bird made to hang from a tree.  In the center of the display was a wishing well made from three old tires.  Someone had an imagination!

The most interesting piece was a bright pink chair made from two tires.  It looked comfortable with a curved back and arms also cut from a tire.

Plant container made from tires turned inside out.

We have also seen attractive urn shaped planters painted white that are very clever pieces. No one would know that the graceful planter had once been rubber tires on a car.

It’s a very clever thing to make something useful and pretty out of discarded and unwanted materials.  And it’s very enterprising to make money selling them in the process.

The Bible says that whatever we do, we should do it as unto the Lord.  He will bless the work of our hands.

"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."  Colossians 3:17

THANK YOU, GIRLS!

These flowers will look great when arranged on the altar.

The Wednesday night Girls Club at Bethalto, Illinois Church of God sent a large “care package” to the Church of God in Nuevo Progreso. The box was filled with children's underwear, pens, pencils, crayons, bright and colorful notebooks, coloring books and bags of food.  Also, there was an armload of beautiful artificial spring flowers that will light up the altar of the church in Mexico!

The Girls Club, led by Sisters Ramona and Debra,  has been learning about foreign missions in their classes, and they decided to go into action and send us some needed items.

This will be something the girls will always remember, their “hands-on” lesson in missions.  There was probably much thought given by each girl to her contribution to the box.  And the church in Mexico definitely appreciated all their generous gifts.

Wednesday Night Girls Club at Bethalto Church of God.

We pray that the Lord will bless the Wednesday night Girls Club and that He will help them to grow spiritually through their lessons and their actions. Thank you Ramona and Debra for being such good examples for the girls.

“And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.”  Acts 16:5

SOWING PRECIOUS SEEDS

Noah and his mother on their patio.

Time to plant gardens!  Time to grow good food to eat: corn, melons, tomatoes, peppers and beans.  The weather has been very warm but also very dry, so it won’t be easy to have a successful garden.  But many people plant in pots and containers on their patios and in their yards.  And we love having packages of precious seeds to give away.

Noah plants a big garden every year.  Noah lives with his mother on the south side of Nuevo Progreso along the busy truck road that bypasses the town.  He plants rows of corn and beans and whatever he can find or save seed for, but most of the time he has to water his garden by hand from buckets and containers.  It’s a demanding job.

The corn in the center of Noah's garden is already coming up nicely.

We like to stop and admire Noah’s garden, and we can see he’s very proud of his work.  Noah is quiet and serious and he doesn’t talk much.  But his eyes light up when Lloyd hands him a handful of colorful seed packets.  It’s a good way to establish a friendship and it’s a good way to provide ongoing food for a family.

God’s Word is likened to seeds in the Bible.  Jesus tells a parable about sowing seed and then he explains what the story means:

Jesus said, “This is what the story means: The seed is God’s message,  and the seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But the devil comes and snatches the message out of their hearts, so that they will not believe and be saved.  The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don’t have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up.
The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they are so eager for riches and pleasures that they never produce anything.  Those seeds that fell on good ground are the people who listen to the message and keep it in good and honest hearts. They last and produce a harvest.”  Luke 8:11-14  

The Word of God is being distributed around the world. We pray that this seed will fall on good ground and will produce a harvest of souls.