The summer months are traditionally even busier for Armonia than usual. We're halfway through an intensive 12-week course on Christian Transformation at Jalalpa. As well as this, and its usual day-to-day work, Armonia is preparing for the following events:-
As at 23rd May, we're halfway through a very demanding and intensive 12-week, 5-day a week, 8-hour a day course on Christian Transformation at the Armonia center in Jalalpa.
This involves teaching 14 parents there on personal transformation, leadership and organisational skills with a strong Biblical context. The aim is to equip and empower community members who can experience transformation in their own lives and understand God's will for their community. They in turn can then lead and empower their own communities in a process of Christian transformation.
- Please pray -
For the parents:
- that they will take on the
teaching with God's guidance and wisdom to apply it to their
lives and their communities for His glory;
- that God will give them the
strength to fight the temptations and the resistance that will
come as they work at applying the teaching in their lives and
communities.
For the teachers:
- that God will guide and
inspire their teaching;
- that He gives them His
strength and stamina to prepare for the trainings and to lead
them, and also His protection for the 3-4 hours travelling that's
needed to get to and from Jalalpa each day.
This Sunday the congregations will be celebrating the 'Day of Family', a Mexican festival that we'd love to use as an opportunity to thank God for the wonderful work he's done in the lives of so many families here.
The congregations will be joined by the visiting teams from both Nashville and Orangewood, who will be singing and giving testimonies of their call to Christ.
-
Please pray -
-
that through this event God will help families and
individuals to recognise how much He loves them, so that more of
them seek to walk with Him;
- that families who are going through
very difficult times will recognise His love for them in the
support of the Armonia communities.
At Santa Cruz we're holding a big party to celebrate the birthdays of seven members of the Armonia youth clubs. Three of them are 15 (which represents coming of age in Mexico, so it's especially important for them), while the others are 16, 17 or 18 years old. It's a very important event in the lives of these young people.
-
Please pray -
-
that the young people have a really great time;
- thank God for allowing
Armonia to provide an environment where the children can
celebrate their birthdays without the alcohol and violence that
so often spoils these kinds of occassions.
There are two key building projects taking place at Armonia this summer. One is the extension of an upper floor at Jalalpa to provide a much needed working area for the increasing number of adults who are attending Armonia for Bible studies, reading and writing workshops, and for other further education. The other is the building of a carpentry workshop at Santa Cruz where community members can learn woodworking skills.
-
Please pray -
-
that these improvements will succesfully help Armonia to
serve and empower its communities;
- that the construction work
will progress safely;
- for sufficient funding to
allow the successful completion of these projects.
From May until September we have many friends from supporting
churches and organisations come to visit and help us with
teaching, with construction work, the summer schools, and with
anything else that needs to be done! In May we have teams
visiting from churches in the US, and in July and August we have
more teams coming from the UK and Mexico.
-
Please pray -
- for
all the planning and logistics that the teams and
Armonia have to make for the visits; - for
the team leaders - that God will give them His strength
and guidance in their role and responsibilities;
- for the health and safety of
all the visitors;
- above all, that in their work
with the poor in Mexico, God will lead them to a deeper
understanding of an authentic Christ-led response to the poor
that will affect their attitudes and their actions on returning
to their home countries.
On 10th-14th of June we're holding a meeting with the Armonia Board of Directors to discuss and review policies and objectives for the short, medium and long term future of Armonia.
-
Please pray -
- that God
guides their discussions to best serve His purpose for
Armonia's work;
- for safe travelling to and
from the meeting for the Directors.
In early July we're hoping to hold our second successive summer camp for the members of the Armonia Youth Clubs of the Jalalpa and Santa Cruz community centers, as well as some of the families who play a strong part in supporting the work of the community centers.
This is a time when these children and families can spend three or four days in an environment away from their usual 'home turf' for some very intensive Bible study and Christian teaching, as well as some serious playing together!
- Please pray -
- for a
process of Christian Transformation in
these children's lives during the event that continues when they
return to their communities;
- that God will awaken their
sense of Christian vocation in how to serve Him in Mexico.
In Jalalpa and Santa Cruz alone, up to 600 children attend these schools held at the Armonia community centers for three-four weeks during the summer holidays. This year, however, a summer school will also take place in Yalalag for the first time.
These schools require a great deal of advance planning, as well as taking a great deal of effort actually to run (as many UK volunteers can testify). At each centre, up to 200 children are taught and fed in the morning, before being replaced by another 200 in the afternoon who are fed then taught!
Children are taught crafts, sports, English, mathematics, Bible study, music and many other subjects during the three weeks. Armonia has run these schools every summer for eight years now (and the children keep coming back for more).
-
Please pray -
- for all
the preparations that the Armonia staff need to make for
this important event;
- for the visiting workers who
help teach at these schools, that God will give them wisdom,
patience and much-needed stamina!
In June (as a result of a very gracious offer from John Stott), Saul and Pilar's 22-year old daughter Eidi is travelling to London and staying for six weeks attending the "WIDE OPEN '99" course at the Institute for Contemporary Christianity. This is a wonderful opportunity for a deeper understanding of her Christian faith and to integrate her faith and the profession she is seeking to have as a psychologist.
- Please pray -
- that all
arrangements and expenses involved in her travel and her
stay in England are covered (London isn't cheap for anyone, but
by Mexican standards it's cripplingly expensive);
- that the course will help her
to strengthen her commitment to serving God in whatever she goes
on to do when her psychology degree finishes in two years time.
In the first week of September, a team of qualified doctors and dentists arrive from Orangewood, Florida to help Armonia in its aim of providing physical healing to people who have no way of affording treatment. These Medical/Eye/Dental (MED) clinics are an important and long-standing part of Armonia's calendar.
One of the key elements of preparing for this event is making sure that medical attention reaches the individuals and families that need it most. This involves weeks of work beforehand by the Armonia staff who visit hundreds of families in the communities to prioritise the most urgent cases.
-
Please pray -
- for
God's guidance on all the arrangements that Orangewood
and Armonia need to make over the coming months to prepare for
these clinics
- that God would use these clinics
to bring more people from these communities into a closer
relationship with Him
And as the clinics wind up, Saul and Pilar prepare to leave for the UKand Europe for six weeks! Their itinerary is still being finalised, but they have a very demanding schedule including Saul preaching at All Souls Church (Langham Place, London) the day after he arrives in England.
Saul plans to base his talks and presentations on the theme of Christian Transformation. We'll give a fuller update on their activities and whereabouts nearer the time.
-
Please pray -
- for all
the travel and accommodation preparations that need to
be made;
- that the Holy Spirit will aid
Saul and Pilar in writing all the English-language talks they
need to prepare;
- that their talks will challenge
and inspire those who hear them into taking on a more deeply
Christ-led response to world poverty
Rodolfo and Karime are having a baby!
Many of our UK supporters will remember Rodolfo and Karime Buenrostro from their visit to England in 1997. (Rodolfo also visited the UK in March/April this year - he had a very valuable time and returned home safely). Rodolfo is co-ordinator of the Santa Cruz Community center and Karime leads the Youth Groups at Santa Cruz and Jalalpa. The baby is due in October.
- Please pray -
- for the
safe delivery of a healthy baby to them in October
- for Karime's (and Rodolfo's) health
and safety during this time
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