THE THREE AMIGOS



Three good friends together working again!

 Apolinar, Marcelino and Lloyd are working together again at the church!  This is a great event and everyone is very happy.

Apolinar is a walking miracle.  He not only improves daily, but he's spending his days working at the church.  Physically he can't do much, but he is valuable to us as a supervisor or maestro as they are called in Mexico.  He gathered a work crew, helped us negotiate for labor costs and figured amounts of materials we needed.  Best of all, he is a presence on the job to make sure things are done correctly.

Carlos, his stepson is working on the job under his guidance.  The money they earn will help with their expenses.  Many people in Nuevo Progreso are surprised to see him alive after such a horrible accident last July.

Still unable to straighten his left arm, he uses a lot of lotions and creams on his scars.  He wears long sleeves for protection against the sun.  But work is the best medicine for Apolinar!

PLANTING TREES

Lloyd and Nahum are planting an orange tree near the sugar cane plants

Lloyd has a hobby of saving seeds from fruits and vegetables, planting them and watching them grow.  In the last few years he has raised several citrus trees, mangoes and avocados which are now in the ground by the church in Nuevo Progreso.  Recently he put together some tall wire cones to put over the plants to protect them from goats and chickens.

Caring for a garden takes a lot of time and Pastor Gerardo and his family are very busy with school and other activities.  Thirteen year old Nahum has taken much of the responsibility of caring for the garden so Lloyd is teaching him how to keep them well watered and sheltered.  Nahum planted some stalks of sugar cane which have done very well.  He's proud of his little crop.

Much of the ground around the church is covered in caliche (gravel) and is not good for plants.  There's a small area behind the building that has soil for a garden, and that's where the plants and trees are being established.  There's room for a small vegetable garden and soon the weather will be just right for Nahum to begin planting.

This is a great project for the church.  Although it will take patience and many years, eventually there will be a small fruit orchard at the church.

PUT ANOTHER LOG ON THE FIRE!

Carlos struggled to light the damp wood and grass.  Apolinar was bundled up against the cold, but was excited and happy to be on the job again.

It was cold and damp last week at the church in Nuevo Progreso.  The men working at the church had to build a fire to keep warm during their lunch break, but it was hard to find dry wood.  After a long struggle, they soon had a good blazing fire to huddle around.

Lloyd said he watched as one log burned through and broke into two parts.  Each section of the log smoldered for awhile and then the fire threatened to die out.  But then someone rearranged the logs, joining them together again one leaning on the other; and the fire blazed again.

As he watched this happening, Lloyd said he thought about how Christian people need each other to keep the spiritual fire going.  When separated and alone, the fire can smolder and die out, but together with each other's support there will be a strong, hot cleansing fire.  It's difficult to live the Christian life without others to encourage us and share our successes and failures.  The Bible says, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as ye see the day approaching."  Hebrews 10:25

CHRISTMAS EVE, LA NOCHE BUENA

Lloyd, Joyce, Gerson, Dana, Esly, Pastor Gerardo and Miriam.  Nahum is missing because he was the one taking the picture.

La Noche Buena, The Good Night, is what Christmas Eve is reverently called in Mexico.  It's the night when Christ was born.  Lloyd and I spent Christmas Eve in Nuevo Progreso at the church where we celebrated the holiday with Pastor Gerardo and his family. 

The next celebrated day in Mexico is January 6 which is Epiphany, the day set aside to remember the wise men who visited Jesus in Bethlehem.  The tradition is for each family to share a cake or pastry in the shape of a ring that is decorated with dried fruits and nuts.  A plastic baby Jesus is baked inside the pastry.  When the pastry is cut and served, it's considered good luck to be the one who gets the baby Jesus in his portion.  And that person is required to host the next party where he should serve his guests tamales.

Many Mexican people celebrate January 6 more than Christmas Eve.  It's a very old religious tradition that has great significance.  But we enjoy La Noche Buena, The Good Night, as our time to observe the birth of Christ.

A MERRY CHRISTMAS FIESTA!

This little boy had so much fun he almost fell asleep by the end of the fiesta.

About 70 children and 20 adults attended a big Christmas party at the church in Nuevo Progreso.  Everything was well planned and went smoothly.  Most of the kids arrived early, so Pastor Gerardo kept them busy singing and playing along with songs and games.

Miriam and her helpers served sandwiches and coolaid.  Sandwiches are a novelty in Mexico, tacos are the usual fare.  Then treat bags containing toys, books, pencils and candy were distributed.  Kids clutched their bags happily and examined each item carefully.  Even the adults happily accepted gift bags when all the children had been served.

The boys were on one side and the girls on the other for games.

Lots of thanks came from everyone as they left the church with their goodies.  And everyone was invited back to Sunday  School the next morning.

Many of the children sat on boards between concrete blocks.  Last winter Walter LeGette made several benches and tables for the church.  There are so many children who love to attend activities at the church that we need lots more benches!

Treat bags held lots of treasures!

Even the simplest of gifts makes the children happy.  Most of the bags for boys contained Hot Wheel cars which they love, coloring books, bright new pencils, other small toys and candy.

The girls each received small dolls, bright knit caps, bath soaps, pencils, coloring books along with their candy.

Thank you everyone who has given us these items in past years to make this possible.  You were a part of Christmas in Nuevo Progreso!

Pastor Gerardo always has fun with the children.

Pastor Gerardo and Miriam have a strong ministry to children.  They seem to attract them wherever they go and maybe this is in part because of their own four children.  Gerardo can pick up his guitar and immediately have everyone's attention.

Because Miriam fell and injured her back last week, she was unable to take an active part in the festivities.  But she enlisted a lot of helpers and things went very well.  All the adults were impressed with the party and they seemed to enjoy it almost as much as the children.

Meanwhile Miriam's back is much better.  After much prayer and some treatments, she is able to move around without severe pain.  The walker we took helps her move a lot easier.  We are all very thankful that she was only bruised and didn't break any bones.

Baby Javier enjoyed the Christmas party!

Javier is the son of Apolinar and Carla.  At 18 months old, he is a tiny little boy who has learned his way around quickly.  Already he knows us well and has confidence in us.  He came to the party without his parents, only his two brothers and Bella, Rogelio's girlfriend.

These four children enjoyed the fiesta very much and when Miriam invited them to come back for Sunday School the next morning, they said they would be there.  They live close enough to the church that they walked to the party, but we drove them home.  It would be a tremendous blessing if these children would become faithful members of Sunday School.

Pray for the children of Nuevo Progreso!

THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL!

Excited children at a party at the church.

The greatest gift of all was offered to another large group of children who gathered at the church for a meeting.  They were told about God's gift of His Son Jesus who came to live in their hearts.  TWENTY MORE CHILDREN HURRIED FORWARD TO ACCEPT THIS GREATEST GIFT!!

Pastor Gerardo and Miriam's ministry to the children is prospering.  The latest event featured clowns, music, gifts and guest speakers.  The challenge in the future will be to disciple these children through regular Sunday School classes.

Mexico has many "idle" children.  These are children who no longer attend school and they roam the streets with idle time on their hands and no money.  The schools do not force the children to attend classes, in fact teachers are too quick to write them off as hopeless.  Marcelino, Jr. is now one of those children.  He's 14 years old and no longer wants to study with the others.  His father told him he would have to go to work if he won't go to school, but there are few jobs available.  These "idle" children are prime targets for criminals.

Sunday School is the only answer!  And we must reach as many children as possible with this great gift of salvation!

APOLINAR'S GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT

Lloyd with his arms around Apolinar.

Apolinar always enjoys a hug from Lloyd when we visit him.  There is gradual improvement, but he still needs pain medication in order to sleep at night.  Even though he can't work in the near future, he enjoys helping us plan for work to be done.  And we assured him we would try to use his stepsons on the job with his supervision.

Esteban and Javier, Apolinar and Carla's little boys both have chicken pox.  Both of them were outside playing although Javier was fretful and sleepy.  Other neighborhood children were playing with Esteban.  Lloyd noticed spots all over Javier's little body when Carla changed his clothes, and that's when they told us they'd been to the doctor for medicine.  How many others will now have this very contagious disease?  No wonder these things spread so quickly throughout the city.