Church Missions Network Missions Trip - April 2019

Last fall Pastor Pablo suggested that our Church Missions Network plan a missions trip during Easter.  During February, March and April we did training to help prepare the team to evangelize adults, children and youth. 

One of the churches lent us this van for transportation of 15 members and lots of clothes, medicine, and materials for the week of ministry (April 22-26).

On the left, Luis and Julie are the Mexican missionary couple in Zoquiapan, 3 hours north of Puebla.  Our team included 15 members from six churches in Puebla--most had never been on a missions trip.  Luis was a Summer Missionary with us in 2010, his wife is a medical doctor.

Here are the kids activities in Zoquiapan among the ethnic group Nahuatl Puebla Sierra (descendents of the Aztecs).

The residents of nearby Ecatlan, just 20 minutes from Zoquiapan, were excited to look for clothing for their families.  This built trust and relationships in this community where Luis was just beginning to contact this Coyutla Totonaco ethnic group.

Our team planned lots of fun activities for the kids as well as Bible lessons.  

Dr. Julie gave free checkups and two nurses on our team helped her distribute medicine and explain instructions.  We had great conversations in the waiting room (a local government building).

Javier gave massage therapy to many people with injuries.  Pedro is one of the believers in Luis' church in Zoquiapan.  God used Javier to open doors by treating some that turned out to be family members of leaders in the community.  One couple who trusted Christ though contact with him was baptized a month after we left.

Pompeyo was so excited about the team's arrival, that he invited me to his house to give me a basket of fruit for the team.  Since Spanish is his second language we were not sure he was understanding spiritual truth we shared with him, but see what happened below...

A member of the team who is a musician and architect designed a puppet show for the kids.  The team practiced their parts to follow the recorded music and voices.

Several kids and adults as well were very attentive to the message, "You are special to God."

Several from the community came to sit down, but others watched and listened from their homes.

Luis gave an evangelistic message to repent of sin and trust in Christ, and seven people came forward to pray with him-- which is a big step in a small town to make a public decision for Christ.  One of them was Pompeyo--Luis is praying with his hand on Pompeyo's shoulder.  After the team left, Luis began Sunday studies with these new believers to start a new church plant!