Up Coming Short Term Mission Trips

Hey everyone I need your help. I need people to take a vacation with a purpose. We have two trips planned to Mexico City to work along side to local churches while they put on their VBS for the children of the local neighborhood. Our trips are July 8 through July 13 and July 28 through Aug. 3rd. The cost of the trip is $1200.00. I know that everyone has concerns about swine flu and safety but all swine flu restrictions on Mexico have been lifted. "We can calm down now,"said May Marcel Ebrard at a news conference this week. Our short term missionaries all stay at a gated secure seminary. When we go and work in Mexico we really encourage the people of the church and our witness really makes a difference. I ask for your prayers and also for you to consider going on one of the trips in July. You can contact World Renewal International at 317-467-9899. Thanks for your prayers

Yesterday we had the birthday party for Jesus at the Contreras Church. The Church leaders did a great job preparing for the party. The children that were invited were all given a ticket to get into the party to participate. My best estimate of children and adults is 200+. The children sang songs and watched a drama put on by the youth of the church. They also listened to the salvation message. We all shared some rosca and atole. Atole is a type of drink (it is very good). Frank and I took alot of pictures and a few videos. The children realy enjoyed getting the christmas bags that we put together and sent here. Our luggage arrived around 5:30 pm yesterday. It was very good to have clean clothes and a razor but even through the difficulties Frank and I managed just fine. God has blessed our trip and the churches and home groups are growing. The have a heart to reach others in their community and beyond. You will see in some of the pictures the love that they have for each other. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Still no luggage

Day 3 and still no luggage. The airport should deliver it today. Last night we went to the newest home church to Fellowship with them. The fellowship was great. Ramiro's father spoke and Frank and I sang a song in English and then in Spanish. I shared a testimony using Jeremiah 29:11. Some of the people we met at the home group were Cano, Daniela, Diego, Laurita, Thania, and Miriam. After the service we shared a meal together of Chilaquiles and for dessert we had rosca. Rosca is a type of bread that is shaped like a wreath. The bake the bread with little plastic baby Jesus inside. The tradition is that whoever cuts into the bread and gets the baby Jesus, they have to bring tamales for the group on February 2nd. Below are some pictures. We will be going to a birthday party for Jesus on Saturday. I will post pictures of the birthday party. Continue to pray for us and for the churches here in Mexico and their pastors. Be blessed and have a great day.

Here in Mexico City once again

Hey everyone,
Frank and I have arrived in Mexico City safe and sound. We wish we could say that our luggage arrived with us but thats the chance that you take anytime you fly. God is good and He will make our trip successful with or without our luggage. I will bog more latter. Just wanted everyone to know that we arrived safely.

Well, here we are with day 2 and 3 completed. The kids have fallen in love with Kristen and Casey and want them to talk with them in English. Casey and Kristen taught the kids the "Baby Shark" song. It was alot of fun watching them try to mimic Kristen and Casey. VBS is going great. We couldn't ask for better days, it rains in the evenings and is sunny and warm during VBS hours. One of the the biggest requests from the people of Contreras Church is to spend more time with us. We usually don't have alot of time just to sit and fellowship. There always is something we need to do or we need to get back to where we are staying so that we can rest and be ready for the next day, but we have changed the schedule of our short term mission trips. At first I didn't know if changing them was a good idea but after today, I now know that the changes are the best thing for the people of Mexico. God is in control and I just need to follow His leading and everything else will fall in place. Today, after the VBS, we went on up into the mountain to fellowship with some of the families and teens from the church. We played soccer and ate some great food and some of us even went for a horse back ride. It was a great ending to a great day of working. Our devotion this evening was about sharing our lives with the people around us and so many time I have heard the saying "walk the walk not just talk the talk". That is what it is all about it is about relationships and real people with real needs. People who not only need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ but people who need to see Jesus Christ through us. Please forgive me for preaching a little but before I left Indiana to come to Mexico, I was reading in James 4:13-17. That passage is talking about us making our own plans to do things or go places on our own thoughts. It goes on to say what we ought to do is ask if it is God's will then we will go and do the things He has planned. I think in the study "Experiencing God", it says it best "find where God is working and go and join Him there". I have posted some more Pictures of the VBS and also our evening in the mountain. Please continue to pray for us Kristen and I have the beginnings of a cold and do not want to be slowed down, but other than that we are healthy and have adjusted to the altitude just fine.

Jim (Jeem) Flood

Hola, Hello, from Mexico City. Casey, Kristen and I just finished our first day of VBS at Contreras. Contreras is a community up in the mountain. It is where Pastor David and his wife Karla planted a church. This church has a heart for outreach and spreading the gospel of Christ. We are here helping them with a VBS. The people here are so loving and kind. They open their hearts and church and homes to us just like we were family. Casey and Kristen and I are in charge of crafts. The theme of the VBS is Sea Odysey. Our craft for today was making an octopus. We traced the hands of the children and cut them out. With a little glue and some wiggley eyes, we had octopi. Here are some pictures from today, I hope you enjoy them. I will update again as time permits. Keep praying for good health and safety while we are here.

Jim Flood

Ramiro Martínez
Church Planting Ministry
Mexico City

Mexico City, The Largest city of the world!
With 25 million people living in this city with all the problems that any big city has like, traffic, pollution, drugs, materialism, etc we have to add the very idolatric and spiritual blindest and lack of jobs for everybody. Pray that the Lord give people thirsty for his love and for Christ.
Less than 5% of the population is new born believers!

Roca de Vida (Rock of Life) San Lorenzo Tezonco
This is a dynamic and new church that is base to plant new churches; we have developed a team of people from this church that has a heart to plant churches in other parts of the city and to train other to do so.
We work with a discipleship philosophy in the ministry as well as new ways to reach people. Pray that the Lord guide us were to plant new churches.

Iglesia Cristiana Jireh (Xochimilco)
This church has a little more than a year in this very traditional and religious area. Many families has come to Christ and we are working to find a place to have the Sundays meeting because the house is to small to hold the group, please include this in your prayers. Francisco Endeje, a local church planter, is working side with Ramiro Martínez to develop this church but also to plant more churches in the area.

Iglesia en Casa (Del Valle)
This is the newest church planted and we are working here with a new strategy, to develop a network of house-churches, not looking for a place to have the meeting but using the houses and apartments were the people live, if the group grows more than the capacity we divide the group in. We are looking to reach middle class families with this non-traditional approach. Last Sunday we had three new baptisms! Praise God.

Iglesia en Hutchila, Morelos.
This small and poor town is located 2.5 hrs from México City, most of them are relatives of sister Faustina (a lady of the church of Xochimilco), they live by farming the land and they have cattle. We went to share the gospel with her family and a good group of people became Christian including 12 kids! Please pray for the follow up in their faith in Christ.




PICTURES…..

Mexico City










Roca de Vida San Lorenzo







Xochimilco







Huitchila

Col. Del Valle








FAMILIA MARTINEZ