Dear friends, family and supporters,
We’d just like to take a moment to update you on our activities over the last couple of months. God is so good! We have been enjoying His presence, His people, and the work that He has placed under our care.
Mexican Independence Day
September 16 is Independence Day in Mexico, but by tradition, most celebrations take place the evening before. September 15 was a Sunday, so we enjoyed a typical celebration after our church service with those of the congregation who decided to stay and celebrate with us. We all enjoyed eating a variety of traditional Mexican foods and playing some of the old Mexican-style games together.
Advanced School of Ministry in Houston
The following Monday, we took a plane to Houston for the Advanced School of Ministry seminar there. We spent about a week with some of the pastors and leaders in the Hispanic community in Southern Houston, teaching a seminar on finances.
We arrived in Houston just as a tropical storm moved in, and there were several flash food warnings in area. As we taught, the flood alarms would go off every few hours (a bit distracting, I must admit) and we’d look out the windows of the little church to make sure we weren’t surrounded by water yet. One of the afternoons, several of the people couldn’t get back to where they were staying, so they had to stay at the church. We are happy to report that the water never reached the church, and the Lord took care of all of us during those days of heavy rain.
God is good, and we enjoyed teaching, worship and the presence of God. We also enjoyed meeting new people, some with a real hunger for God. It was a blessing to work with our team members Pastor Jacobo and Pastor Humberto during the seminar.
Team Retreat
The first weekend of October we did a team retreat at a hotel in Real del Monte (the mining village where Sara was born), which is a picturesque town founded by Cornish miners, located about an hour from Tulancingo. We dedicated two full days to worship, prayer, Bible study, teaching and team-building activities. We enjoyed great fellowship, food, and above all, we had a really good time learning together in God’s presence.
We were a total of 10 people who play key roles in our local church in this moment, including our daughter, Anna, who is 16, and Zabdi, the 14 year old daughter of Carlos and Shaddai García (leaders in the church), who has a wonderful heart for prayer and worship. It was definitely the best retreat we have done! There was so much good ministry among the team members, as we prayed for one another, worshiped together and worked to build a team vision.
We came home a bit tired after two intense days, but very blessed and pleased with the results. I believe that God has united our hearts with those who are serving together with us, and that this retreat has been a great encouragement to this team and by extension, to the local church.
Translations, Bible School and Seminars
This is the time of the year that I spend many hours working on material for the Advanced School of Ministry and the Online Bible School. I just finished work on a 160 page manual for a course I plan to record soon for the Bible School. Sara and Anna are participating as course facilitators, and together they are working with about 70 students each week, which is almost half of all our online students.
I have begun work on our next Advanced School of Ministry notebook manual (150+ pages), Anna is translating a book by Pastor Dick Iverson (which I am editing and formatting after she does the translation), and we are also constantly writing new teaching material for our church. As you may have inferred, we are keeping very busy.
We always have time for everything.
One thing that I have often stated throughout the years is that I always have time for everything. When I say that, I mean that we always make time for the things that are really important for us. I believe that God has given us time to do all the things that He wants us to do. The key here is to do His will, and not just fill our lives with “busyness”, or things that drain us of time and energy.
Remember the story of Mary and Martha? Martha was so busy, always doing many “things” for Jesus, while her sister, Mary, sat at His feet to hear His voice. We must not forget that Jesus said that Mary chose the better part.
So when I say that I always have time for everything, spending time with Jesus is definitely part of my daily schedule. Is it a part of yours?
Thanks!
Sara and I really appreciate those who follow our ministry, read our letters, pray for us and support what we do. We’re participating in the Kingdom of God together. Thanks, and keep up the good work!
In His Love,
David and Sara Lont with Anna