Amazing Miracle in San Vicente Dec 2018

Miracles in San Vicente Dec 2018

Hello, friends!

I have to tell you about an actual miracle that the LORD worked in San Vicente.
It's been a slow-grow miracle, that has taken quite a number of years to bring about.

Remember this picture: it's a picture of a miracle under way!

What's that miracle? It's churches and their peeps willing to 'cross borders' and fellowship together.

Background: when we arrived in Mexico as missionaries in 1991, we were shocked and 'not sure what to do' when we constantly encountered a severe 'no tresspassing' rule between Christian churches in Mexico.

I could tell you story after story we experienced in Juarez, Chihuahua, Baja California, Los Cabos, Oaxaca, Chiapas... painful stories when we witnessed kind-hearted members of one church who went to an activity at another church... and for 'cross-fellowshipping' with people from another church, they received a public castigation for going 'to another church for an activity'. These activities were as simple as special speakers or special music, a celebration, or an outreach to the community. In the community of Juarez we lived in for 6 months, there was an instance that a couple went to their friend's wedding at another church, and they were kicked out of their own church for having gone to that 'other church'.

Sad.

We have experienced situations in 'our village' of San Vicente where youth from one church went to a special youth event at another ministry center, and had to withstand 20 minutes of being yelled at from the pulpit on a Sunday morning.

Super-sad.

However, GOD is doing an incredible work. He is making the situation in San Vicente so that churches have had to begin trusting and interacting with each other.

The Bajmission ministry 'Star Seamstresses' is purposely INTER-denominational. We have Assemblies of God (AG) women, we have Nazarenes, we have Baptists, we have Pentecostals, we have Calvary Chapel people... you get the point. Lori had some difficulties in the early days, but now we are seeing positive interactions between Followers of Jesus in the Sewing ministry that has nothing to do with 'what church they belong to'.

Enter one of the Star Seamstress ladies, Elsa, who is the AG church 'women's ministry' leader. She felt the leading of the Lord to have a Woman's Event, and invite the women from other churches... including their female leadership and pastor's wives... to a time of worship, an 'inter-sharing' with skits and music, a special speaker, a time of prayer and a meal. The women of the AG church raised the $$ to do it, and the event would be free to the women of the surrounding churches.

Guess what happened? EIGHTY women came out, 55 of them from other churches. Mainly from the Nazarene and Baptist churches, they were together for almost 4 hours, and had a glorious time together.

The pastoral leaders of women at these three churches, standing together, worshipping, praying for each other, sharing tortilla...

As Lori and I prayed for the event 'the day of', we were so drawn to the fact that, in Psalm 133, that it is the ONLY place in the Scriptures that says that God will COMMAND a blessing in the presence of demonstrated Unity within the larger, multi-congregational Church.

The gathering happened. The Miracle took place. The ladies we've talked to are super-jazzed at the PResence of the Lord in their gathered midst.

God is commanding blessing on the Church of San Vicente
After 28 years of Mexican ministry, I got to see a true miracle in a small farming village in Baja California, Mexico.

your brother,
Chris

Bajmission Strategies and Methodolgies 2018-2020

Hello!

Here is the final installment of our 'Mission Perspectus'... we want our Partners to know that a great deal of prayer, waiting on the Lord, discussion within our ranks and careful consideration of 'what is the Lord saying' has gone into all that we have built.
Also, these areas have been written and re-written over the course of 28 years of being 'out in the mission field'. They are not casually drawn, and they give us great direction along the way.

Here are the Bajmission Strategies and Methodolgies 2018-2020:

On-going Development of Micro-Enterprises in Baja Mexico (participation is limited to those who are active in their faith & local church)

+Providing an avenue toward restoring financial health in Christian families

+Teaching Jesus’ Parables to impart biblical truths and kingdom business practices

+Assisting individuals, especially those with limited education, in setting up their own businesses

+Establishing a pattern where accomplished participants willingly train new apprentices

+Creating an environment of learning advanced sewing skills and building self-esteem

+Training of assistants for community wide sewing courses

+Expanding venues for hand-made product sales

+Increasing product line both locally and beyond

Week-long Community wide sewing courses

+Outreaching into the community

+Providing an activity that can be used for friendship evangelism by local churches

+Training others for the purpose of reproducing the sewing ministry

+Offering an occasion for families to gather and learn together

+Teaching new skills in order to build self-esteem

+Creating useful handmade items for their homes and families

Specialty sewing classes

+Growing discipleship relationships with individuals

+Providing new skills for intermediate students in a small group setting

+Training in sewing machine maintenance and care

Worship and Creative Arts Evangelism

 +Training ‘Lead Worshippers’ for Hispanic ministry through individual and corporate gatherings.

+Continuing to build and grow AdoreTheLord.blog as an avenue for ‘modern worship’ praxis in the Western church, as well as devotional and Scriptural study for developing ‘Lead Worshippers’ in the modern era.

+Developing training and teaching guides, materials and workshops

+Growing worship communities in the region of Baja Mexico

+Encouraging individuals moving in worship arts ministry

 Community Heath Education

 +Rewriting of the (huge!) ‘Save 3000 Kids a Day’ educational material. This is better known as the ‘Oral Rehydration Treatment for Diarrheal Disease’ class. This is involving a significant ‘just in time learning’ to turn the entire curriculum into a digital, on-line, interactive course to be hosted through an on-line learning platform and available world-wide with a click. Before this is over, it will reflect hundreds of hours of course-build. (The previous content was published in a nursing journal, taught at multiple mission conferences, and used in training curriculum that has been taken to over 55 nations of the world by the Health Care Evangelists we’ve trained)

+Revamping of the ‘Festival of Health’ educational outreach for use by Mexican churches and youth-groups. The previous ‘package’ is adequate, but needs major up-grading for outreach in resource-poor villages and locations.

+Increasing a community presence through health education opportunities

+Responding to felt need of community leaders regarding health

+Teaching disease prevention and healthy habits through innovative methods

+Sharing outreach opportunities with nationals in order for them to have an occasion to give back to their communities

+Encouraging a “Touch Point” for local Christians to build relationships with their neighbors

+Conducting health screening and evaluation for improved self-management

+Developing new health educational tools

Hat distribution

+Working alongside churches to provide “friendship evangelism” opportunities

+Building an ever expanding network of people making hats

+Providing child-focused give-aways at feeding programs, migrant camps, schools and orphanages

Passing it on

+Mentoring those who the Lord is calling to serve in similar ways

+Modeling Jesus’ method

            Jesus did, disciples watched and learned

            Jesus did, disciples participated

            Disciples did, Jesus encouraged

            Disciples did, Jesus left and sent the Holy Spirit

+Creating on-going relationships, communication, and encouragement

+Seeking the Holy Spirit’s leading to new locations for possible expansion and duplication

+Offering logistical support

+Sharing ministry resources in order to jumpstart self-reproducing works

+Encouraging local Mexican churches to reach out and minister in innovative ways

<<>>

Any questions? Email us at

admin@bajmission.com

your brother
Chris