Dear family, friends and supporters,

Greetings from Mexico! We are happy to report to you about our recent activities and ministry here in Mexico. Here are a few highlights of what has been going on with us over the last couple of months.

Christmas Dinner and Program

This past December, our church once again put on a small Christmas program and a dinner for the congregation. We rented a large tent that covered the entire parking lot outside, opened up the curtains on the building and used the entire space, both inside and outside, for seating and tables.

We started our service with a few worship songs, after which I gave a short message on the Christmas story. Then it was time for the children to participate.

Our children’s church leaders, Sergio and Andrea, did a good job of organizing a program of songs and small spoken parts, which the children sang and recited. All the parents were so happy to watch their children as they participated in the program. Some of the parents invited other family members to come and see their children perform. The entire children’s church staff worked hard on the scenery and the rehearsals, getting all the details ready.

After the program, we rearranged the auditorium to set up tables both inside and outside for our dinner. Many families participated in the preparation of traditional Mexican Christmas dishes. Thankfully, there was enough food for everyone.

Then, it was time for the piñatas. Colorful piñatas full of treats were suspended in the auditorium, and the children and young people took turns by age group, breaking them open.

Book translation and preparation of material

Also in December, Anna finished the translation of Bill Scheidler’s book. After going through numerous revisions, we sent the book for publishing shortly after Christmas. It was printed and sold at the Advanced School of Ministry conference in Cuernavaca during the third week of January. We congratulate Anna for a job well done.

While Anna worked on the book, I worked on the manuals for the Advanced School of Ministry. We create two versions of this book – one for the teachers and another slightly modified version for the students. The main differences between the two versions is the fact that the student’s version contains blanks for them to fill while listening to the sessions, while the teacher’s version contains the words that go into those blanks, as well as other additional Scripture verses and other information. After more than three months working on these books, we finally sent them for printing the first week of January.

Both the book by Bill Scheidler and the conference manuals turned out very well. Our son, David Jeremiah, designed the cover art for both of them.

Advanced School of Ministry

Soon it was time for the Advanced School of Ministry conference in Cuernavaca. This annual conference for pastors, leaders, and others who serve in local churches all across Mexico, attracted around 1,000 people for almost every state of Mexico and several others for the United States. We had a very good attendance. There were even pastors from Cuba who were able to attend this time. Our theme for this year’s conference was “Ignited in Him”.

Our keynote speaker, Bill Scheidler, did a series of six sessions on topics including the Apostolic Ministry and Ministry Ignited by the Holy Spirit. His book on the apostolic ministry was offered as complementary material and was one of the homework assignments for the students who are working on the bachelor degree program.

We had some wonderful evenings of worship led by two worship bands, one for the local church in Cuernavaca, and the other from a large church in Mexico City. The entire Advanced School of Ministry team participated in the teaching sessions. Even Gerda Brown, who was not able to attend because of health issues, had a “representative” that read her “Spoons full of sugar”, which she annually gives during the conference. The pastors and leaders took home the 200+ page manual, which many of them will be using to train their own leaders and minister in their own churches.

It is a wonderful blessing for us to be a part of this great team and ministry. Now we are looking forward to our annual planning session, which will be held the end of this month. During this time, we will gather with Bill and Gerda Brown and the entire team to pray and plan next year’s conference.

Prayer requests

Please continue to pray for us, our family, and the ministry activities we are involved in. Here are some specific requests.

• Please pray for the Lord’s hand of blessing and safety on our family. In the midst of much instability in Mexico, we know that the Lord is with us!
• Please pray for Bill and Gerda Brown and their health issues. Please pray for the supernatural strength and vigor of the Lord upon their lives.
• Please pray for our sons, David and Daniel, as they prepare for what the Lord has for their future. David plans on attending college in Michigan and Daniel may possibly go to Bible School in Oregon.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

David and Sara Lont

P.S. This update and other information is available online at www.desert-streams.org.