Gonzo Gab: Double whammy!

We have had some really neat Sundays the past couple of weeks, and it seems worth writing about. Most obvious, we had attendance of over 100 on each occasion, so that in itself is noteworthy. Two weeks ago we had a full house and there wasn't any kind of special activities or food we had announced (that is very, very amazing!). So, it was really exciting for us to see so many people join us to praise God. We did have some special happenings. First, we had a family share their testimony of God's greatness in their lives. About a month ago, their 18 year-old son was diagnosed with viral encephalitis. It was touch and go for a while, but Cesar Ruiz, is recovering above and beyond any physician's expectations and so his family was there this past week to praise God and share with us. When I say that they brought their family with, there were about 30 of them present, all visitors! What is most amazing is that they have only been to our church once before. They came with some friends of theirs, yet in a time of desperate need, our church rallied around them, prayed for them and helped in any way possible. It is so encouraging for the church to see how God is working and how their servant hearts do make an impact. According to their friends that brought them, there has been much more good happening in their lives than just healing from disease. Wow!!!

Cesar Ruiz and his family sharing how God healed him

Second, we had a couple of baptisms, another great reason to celebrate. Claudia, who has come to us through Lex and Alli was baptized. She has had a rough past year and was ready to give her life completely to Jesus. Please pray with us that she will remain stedfast in God's love and look to Him first in all that she does. The other person that was baptized was Francisco. He is fairly new to our church, but has wanted to do the right thing in his life for some time. He knew that this was a critical step in doing what is right in God's eyes. How he came to our church is a pretty cool story. We have a friend, Tere, who I don't even remember how we connected with her (Morelia, I think), but she lives in California. She also has a house here so she comes periodically for a month or so. From our vantage point, it seems that her sole mission is to evangelize. it is really amazing. So, she brought Francisco and his girlfriend Eloisa (who you'll hear more about shortly). She is constantly bringing new people of introducing us to her friends that are in spiritual need. She is a true warrior in God's kingdom and we praise him for her life and what she means to us.

Francisco being baptized

Claudia being baptized

A full house means we have a good sized group of kids!

Our friend Tere (in the middle) with Francisco and Eloisa

That was two weeks ago...Last week, we had our "church outdoors," as we like to call it. We went to our usual outdoor setting for worship and for something even more special -- a wedding. We had our first official wedding at Rio de Vida. Francisco (baptized the week before) and Eloisa were married. It was really neat to be a part of it and for our church to be a part of it also. Again, we had a house full and we enjoyed the joy of a new marriage, of people wanting to make their lives right with God's desires, and with relaxing surrounded by God's creation. And, in the midst of all the joy, we also had some sadness. Our church bid farewell to Lex and Alli, Caleb and Daniel Smith. They are from New Zealand and have been in Mexico for almost three years. They have only been in Morelia for six months, but they came with open hearts and people really fell in love with them. They also came as servants to help in any way they could in the church. So, they have been a real blessing for us and we are very, very sad to see them go. We pray that God will take care of them and show them what is next in their lives back in New Zealand.
These have been amazing things happening in our church. Yet, in the midst of all this, we have had some serious struggles. Several of our leaders are having tough, tough times right now. We believe Satan is roaming and looking for any way to divide and conquer. So, please pray with us that we will individually and collectively stand against the schemes of Satan and that we will see God's victories in all of this. Sam and I could especially use your prayers that we will focus on the positive and not on things that threaten to drag us down. We look forward to this next Sunday to see what God will do corporately.

Eloisa and Francisco in typical wedding garb from Oaxaca, and no it's not typical for the groom to have a bouquet of flowers also. He was just holding it for Eloisa. She was about to toss the other bouquet.

Somewhere, somehow it was decided our girls should be "flower girls." So they all dressed in white and led in the bride's procession. They were all very pretty and they were thrilled to participate.