I was completely convicted, pierced and humbled by these words as if he was rebuking me directly - every one a dagger... and rightly so.
"They have dealt treacherously against the Lord" - Hosea 5:7
Believer, here is a sorrowful truth! Thou art the beloved of the Lord, redeemed by the blood, called by grace, preserved in Christ Jesus, accepted in the Beloved, on thy way to heaven, and yet, 'thou has dealt treacherously' with God thy best friend; treacherously with Jesus, whose thou art; treacherously with the Holy Spirit, by whom thou hast been quickened unto life eternal! How treacherous you have been in the matter of vows and promises. Do you remember the love of your espousals, that happy time - the springtide of your spiritual life? Oh, how closely did you cling to your Master then, saying, 'He shall never charge me with indifference; my feet shall never grow slow in the way of His service; I will not suffer in my heart to wander after other loves; in Him is every store of sweetness ineffable. I give all up for my Lord Jesus' sake.' Has it been so? Alas! If conscience speak, it will say, 'He who promised so well has performed most ill. Prayer has oftentimes been slurred - it has been short, but not sweet; brief, but not fervent. Communion with Christ has been forgotten. Instead of a heavenly mind, there have been carnal cares, worldly vanities and thoughts of evil. Instead of service, there has been disobedience; instead of fervency, lukewarmness; instead of patience, petulance; instead of faith, confidence in an arm of flesh; and as a soldier of the cross there has been cowardice, disobedience, and desertion, to a very shameful degree.' 'Thou hast dealt treacherously.' Treachery to Jesus! What words shall be used in denouncing it? Words little avail: let our penitent thoughts execrate the sin which is so surely in us. Treacherous to Thy wounds, O Jesus! Forgive us, and let us not sin again! How shameful to be treacherous to Him who never forgets us, but who this day stands with our names engraven on His breastplate before the eternal throne.
from Morning and Evening, Daily Readings by C.H. Spurgeon, December 12, Evening
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
save the lausd honors programs! (final revision)
October 11, 2007
Dear Music Families and Friends,
We hope that this letter finds you all well! The year is off to a wonderful start as all of our kids have been working extremely hard already. Mr. Miyoshi, Ms. Jacques and Ms. Ling are back for what promises to be another wonderful year for music at Paul Revere Middle School. We do appreciate your generous support of the music department through the years, and we truly hope that you will stand behind us as we fight to save an important and unique part of the instructional year.
In 2003, the Arts Education Branch of the Los Angeles Unified School District launched the LAUSD Middle School Honors Program, a high-quality, rigorous program that has since been an important pillar of instruction in many ways. The Honors Program allows instrumental and choral students from the entire district to audition for several performance groups: a string orchestra, a symphonic band and a chorus. It is a true honor for students to be selected to represent their school as they have to spend extra time working on this set of music as well as their own repertoire. The selected students then gather for two full, school day rehearsals where they work with outstanding conductors/music educators (high school and university level) that are experts in their various fields. Music coaches are also hired to provide students with extra instruction. The program culminates with a concert at the prestigious Kodak Theater in Hollywood where family and friends may gather to behold the fruits of the students’ labor, again, at no cost to them. The music standards-based program is open to all middle schools district-wide. Overall, it's a chance to unite teachers, students and communities from the entire district in an educational experience that crescendos to a final concert which represents the very heart and soul of how music thrives through the students in the Los Angeles area. With the success of the middle school program which took about four years to hone to a functional level, an elementary program was introduced two years ago. That, too, has been extremely successful. Hopes were high for the addition of a high school program this coming year, but things came to a crashing halt with the Arts Education Branch’s decision to eradicate both existing programs, thus eliminating the dream (and logical next step) of taking it to the next level.
This year, the Arts Education Branch received a 20% budget cut ($964,000), which resulted in the decision to “suspend” funding for both the elementary and middle school honors programs for this year. Both of these programs have been seen as merely a “showcase” of only a few hundred students by a handful of people, while many others have seen and understood timeless value and integrity of the entire process and product. Actually, hundreds of students audition and several thousand people attend the free Kodak Theater concert. The LAUSD Middle School Honors Program is another tool in the music teacher’s belt to encourage the student to develop his/her skills evermore – they practice this music in addition to those required by their own music programs, work on technique, intonation, bowing and all other aspects of musical performance pedagogy to be able to audition and take part in this experience. The program is also run by teachers who act as managers for the various performance groups. Our own Ms. Ling and two other teachers from Palms Middle School and Sherman Oaks CES have managed the respective groups for the past two years. They dedicated extra time and effort into making this the best learning experience for the students involved as possible. One proposed solution from the Arts Education Branch is for the creation of four regional festivals in the place of the “suspended” one. Would it not be easier for them to eliminate the program completely after suspending it for one year? This projected “solution” would only increase expenses by four (four times everything – costs and rehearsal spaces, concert venues, conductors, managers, music, etc) and would subdivide music programs and teachers against each other.
The programs had to be eliminated because the Arts Education Branch has to provide financial support to the schools. They have more money now than ever before, but they are doing less for secondary students and teachers than before. Secondary teachers are not seeing any more money than they have in the past, and they all have to jump through millions of hoops to “justify” receiving money from the governor that is rightfully theirs to have and use to improve the quality of their music programs. Music teachers in other districts outside of LA have easily obtained and many have already spent their governor’s money while LAUSD music teachers are still trying to figure out what other papers they have to fill out so that they can purchase items that will probably not arrive until the end of the school year if even then. Within the past few years, elementary schools arts programs have been expanding and those teachers have and are receiving their per pupil money from the district. Secondary teachers had their yearly professional development meeting (where all local district arts teacher gather together in their various areas to collaborate) taken away three years ago and no per pupil money (a supposed $43 per pupil this year or SB1131), which involves an even larger quantity of smaller hoops, has been going to the schools. All that being said, secondary music programs basically survive on no money from the district. Without the generous support of PRIDE/PTSA here at Revere, our music department would not be able to function and thrive as it has been. The bottom line is that, yes, the Arts Education Branch received close to a $1 million dollar budget cut this year, but they are also receiving $28.4 million from the governor. Where is the money going? Why are they adamant about not seeking outside funding for programs? Schools, teachers and the districts they function under should exist solely for the betterment of every maturing young adult that they service. And finally, what is the cost to run an honors program? It is a mere $65,000 for one.
Finally, because the honors programs are suspended, there are no programs at all this year provided or funded by the Arts Education Branch that directly affect our students.
Those of you that have had your sons and/or daughters participate in the process definitely do know how valuable and rewarding this program is. We implore that you please help the programs be reinstated for this year by contacting by phone as well as in writing ALL of the following people ASAP:
Board of Education
District 1: Marguerite Poindexter Lamotte
Marguerite.lamotte@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6382, Fax: 213-241-8441
District 2: Monica Garcia
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6180, Fax: 213-241-8459
District 3: Tamar Galatzan
Tamar.galatzan@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6386, Fax 213-241-8979
District 4: Marlene Canter
Marlene.canter@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6387, Fax: 213-241-8453
District 5: Yolie Flores Aguilar
Yolie.flores.aguilar@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6383, Fax: 213-241-8467
District 6: Julie Korenstein
Julie.dorenstein@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6388, Fax: 213-241-8451
District 7: Dr. Richard Vladovic
Richard.vladovic@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6385, Fax: 213-241-8452
Board Director of Education Policy: Randy Ross
Randy.ross@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-2021, Fax: 213-241-8443
Executive Officer of the Board: Jefferson Crain
Jefferson.crain@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-7002, Fax: 213-241-8443
Local Superintendents
Local District 1
Jean Brown, Superintendent
6621 Balboa Blvd,
Lake Balboa, CA 91406
Phone: (818) 654-3600, Fax: (818) 881-6728
Local District 2
James Morris, Superintendent
5200 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Phone: (818) 755-5300, Fax: (818) 755-2810
Local District 3
Susan Allen, Superintendent (interim)
3000 S. Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Phone: (310) 253-7100, Fax: (310) 842-9491
Local District 4
Richard Alonzo, Superintendent
4201 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Phone: (323) 932-2266, Fax: (323) 932-2115
Local District 5
Carmen N. Schroeder, Superintendent
2151 North Soto Street
Los Angeles, CA 90032
Phone: (323) 224-3100, Fax: (323) 222-5702
Local District 6
Martin Galindo, Superintendent
5800 S. Eastern Ave.
Commerce, CA 90040
Phone: (323) 278-3900, Fax: (323) 720-9366
Local District 7
Carol Truscott, Superintendent
10616 S. Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90047
Phone: (323) 242-1300, Fax: (323) 242-1390
Local District 8
Linda Del Cueto, Superintendent
1208 Magnolia Ave.
Gardena, CA 90247
Phone: (310) 354-3400, Fax: (310) 532-4674
October 11, 2007
Dear Music Families and Friends,
We hope that this letter finds you all well! The year is off to a wonderful start as all of our kids have been working extremely hard already. Mr. Miyoshi, Ms. Jacques and Ms. Ling are back for what promises to be another wonderful year for music at Paul Revere Middle School. We do appreciate your generous support of the music department through the years, and we truly hope that you will stand behind us as we fight to save an important and unique part of the instructional year.
In 2003, the Arts Education Branch of the Los Angeles Unified School District launched the LAUSD Middle School Honors Program, a high-quality, rigorous program that has since been an important pillar of instruction in many ways. The Honors Program allows instrumental and choral students from the entire district to audition for several performance groups: a string orchestra, a symphonic band and a chorus. It is a true honor for students to be selected to represent their school as they have to spend extra time working on this set of music as well as their own repertoire. The selected students then gather for two full, school day rehearsals where they work with outstanding conductors/music educators (high school and university level) that are experts in their various fields. Music coaches are also hired to provide students with extra instruction. The program culminates with a concert at the prestigious Kodak Theater in Hollywood where family and friends may gather to behold the fruits of the students’ labor, again, at no cost to them. The music standards-based program is open to all middle schools district-wide. Overall, it's a chance to unite teachers, students and communities from the entire district in an educational experience that crescendos to a final concert which represents the very heart and soul of how music thrives through the students in the Los Angeles area. With the success of the middle school program which took about four years to hone to a functional level, an elementary program was introduced two years ago. That, too, has been extremely successful. Hopes were high for the addition of a high school program this coming year, but things came to a crashing halt with the Arts Education Branch’s decision to eradicate both existing programs, thus eliminating the dream (and logical next step) of taking it to the next level.
This year, the Arts Education Branch received a 20% budget cut ($964,000), which resulted in the decision to “suspend” funding for both the elementary and middle school honors programs for this year. Both of these programs have been seen as merely a “showcase” of only a few hundred students by a handful of people, while many others have seen and understood timeless value and integrity of the entire process and product. Actually, hundreds of students audition and several thousand people attend the free Kodak Theater concert. The LAUSD Middle School Honors Program is another tool in the music teacher’s belt to encourage the student to develop his/her skills evermore – they practice this music in addition to those required by their own music programs, work on technique, intonation, bowing and all other aspects of musical performance pedagogy to be able to audition and take part in this experience. The program is also run by teachers who act as managers for the various performance groups. Our own Ms. Ling and two other teachers from Palms Middle School and Sherman Oaks CES have managed the respective groups for the past two years. They dedicated extra time and effort into making this the best learning experience for the students involved as possible. One proposed solution from the Arts Education Branch is for the creation of four regional festivals in the place of the “suspended” one. Would it not be easier for them to eliminate the program completely after suspending it for one year? This projected “solution” would only increase expenses by four (four times everything – costs and rehearsal spaces, concert venues, conductors, managers, music, etc) and would subdivide music programs and teachers against each other.
The programs had to be eliminated because the Arts Education Branch has to provide financial support to the schools. They have more money now than ever before, but they are doing less for secondary students and teachers than before. Secondary teachers are not seeing any more money than they have in the past, and they all have to jump through millions of hoops to “justify” receiving money from the governor that is rightfully theirs to have and use to improve the quality of their music programs. Music teachers in other districts outside of LA have easily obtained and many have already spent their governor’s money while LAUSD music teachers are still trying to figure out what other papers they have to fill out so that they can purchase items that will probably not arrive until the end of the school year if even then. Within the past few years, elementary schools arts programs have been expanding and those teachers have and are receiving their per pupil money from the district. Secondary teachers had their yearly professional development meeting (where all local district arts teacher gather together in their various areas to collaborate) taken away three years ago and no per pupil money (a supposed $43 per pupil this year or SB1131), which involves an even larger quantity of smaller hoops, has been going to the schools. All that being said, secondary music programs basically survive on no money from the district. Without the generous support of PRIDE/PTSA here at Revere, our music department would not be able to function and thrive as it has been. The bottom line is that, yes, the Arts Education Branch received close to a $1 million dollar budget cut this year, but they are also receiving $28.4 million from the governor. Where is the money going? Why are they adamant about not seeking outside funding for programs? Schools, teachers and the districts they function under should exist solely for the betterment of every maturing young adult that they service. And finally, what is the cost to run an honors program? It is a mere $65,000 for one.
Finally, because the honors programs are suspended, there are no programs at all this year provided or funded by the Arts Education Branch that directly affect our students.
Those of you that have had your sons and/or daughters participate in the process definitely do know how valuable and rewarding this program is. We implore that you please help the programs be reinstated for this year by contacting by phone as well as in writing ALL of the following people ASAP:
Board of Education
District 1: Marguerite Poindexter Lamotte
Marguerite.lamotte@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6382, Fax: 213-241-8441
District 2: Monica Garcia
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6180, Fax: 213-241-8459
District 3: Tamar Galatzan
Tamar.galatzan@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6386, Fax 213-241-8979
District 4: Marlene Canter
Marlene.canter@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6387, Fax: 213-241-8453
District 5: Yolie Flores Aguilar
Yolie.flores.aguilar@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6383, Fax: 213-241-8467
District 6: Julie Korenstein
Julie.dorenstein@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6388, Fax: 213-241-8451
District 7: Dr. Richard Vladovic
Richard.vladovic@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-6385, Fax: 213-241-8452
Board Director of Education Policy: Randy Ross
Randy.ross@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-2021, Fax: 213-241-8443
Executive Officer of the Board: Jefferson Crain
Jefferson.crain@lausd.net
Phone: 213-241-7002, Fax: 213-241-8443
Local Superintendents
Local District 1
Jean Brown, Superintendent
6621 Balboa Blvd,
Lake Balboa, CA 91406
Phone: (818) 654-3600, Fax: (818) 881-6728
Local District 2
James Morris, Superintendent
5200 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Phone: (818) 755-5300, Fax: (818) 755-2810
Local District 3
Susan Allen, Superintendent (interim)
3000 S. Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Phone: (310) 253-7100, Fax: (310) 842-9491
Local District 4
Richard Alonzo, Superintendent
4201 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Phone: (323) 932-2266, Fax: (323) 932-2115
Local District 5
Carmen N. Schroeder, Superintendent
2151 North Soto Street
Los Angeles, CA 90032
Phone: (323) 224-3100, Fax: (323) 222-5702
Local District 6
Martin Galindo, Superintendent
5800 S. Eastern Ave.
Commerce, CA 90040
Phone: (323) 278-3900, Fax: (323) 720-9366
Local District 7
Carol Truscott, Superintendent
10616 S. Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90047
Phone: (323) 242-1300, Fax: (323) 242-1390
Local District 8
Linda Del Cueto, Superintendent
1208 Magnolia Ave.
Gardena, CA 90247
Phone: (310) 354-3400, Fax: (310) 532-4674
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Friday, August 03, 2007
post-mexico trip recap letter
Dear family and friends,
Thank you so much for your prayers and support of the Mexico City 2007 STM team! It was a real comfort and encouragement to know that you all were here praying for us and thinking about us. We are home safely after two incredible weeks, and it was truly a trip filled with lessons of faith and God’s sovereignty in every aspect. You can read some more detailed email updates on my blog: vase888.blogspot.com, and you may view pictures of our trip on this site: www.dropshots.com/vasey.
Before Mexico.
The story of the Mexico City team begins in January of this year, when God ordained all of the individual team members to be a part of the journey which entailed so much more than just two weeks in Mexico. Each member was hand-picked before the creation of the world, each with his or her own divine giftedness to be used completely and only for His glory. There were some veterans to the Mexico City team. Some of them spoke Spanish well and some did not. Some were gifted with music, others with the gifts of leadership, serving and teaching. All of them possessed a passion and a love for their Creator God and Savior Jesus Christ whom they would have the opportunity to share about with people in a country that is so ready to hear.
Prior to the trip, the team members were required to raise support for their team. They sent out letters and prayed unceasingly that the Lord would provide for their every need. The Lord was (and is) abundantly faithful. Before the team was slated to leave, they had reached and far surpassed their financial goals. With hearts of true gratitude and praise, they set about planning the two main aspects of their ministry: a week-long VBS (day) and a week-long youth conference (evenings). The team met frequently to discuss every detail: music, ice breakers/games/activities, crafts, lessons, snacks, efficiency and transitions, down time, etc. After much thought and preparation, the five days of VBS were broken down by the pages of the wordless book: gold, black, red, white and green. Each day would have an attribute of God highlighted, a Bible lesson pertaining to the theme and a memory verse. Overall, the entire Gospel message would be shared in an effective way. Plans for the youth conference were slightly different as they had to wait to hear from Josiah Grauman on his individual messages before they could proceed with planning which ultimately took place in Mexico.
The team departed for Mexico City on July 7th. Family and friends were on hand to send the team off at the church, the Van Nuys Flyaway and LAX. Upon arriving safely in Mexico City, the team was welcomed by Josiah and Crystal Grauman as well as members of the congregation at Iglesia Naucalpan who would be hosting them.
In Mexico.
Time in Mexico was filled with people, service, ministering and fellowship.
- Host Families (1-2 members per family): warmth, welcome and love; provision for physical, emotional and spiritual needs
- Missionaries: Contreras family, Rosie Martinez, Ellen Parker, Josiah and Crystal Grauman… the team was deeply encouraged by all of them and joyfully served them in any way possible
- Julio and Valeria: faithful brother and sister in the Lord that served with the team everyday
- Iglesia Naucalpan: place of worship on Sunday mornings, where Luis Contreras serves
- Iglesia Remanente: site of VBS and youth conference, where Josiah Grauman serves, location of the seminary
- VBS: 5 days, 30-40 kids per day… went very well overall and the Gospel was proclaimed; 2 kids (Omar and Milca) responded to an invitation
- Youth Conference: 5 nights, 75-80 attendees per evening (ages 13-60)… theme: An Eternal Perspective, speaker Josiah Grauman and Carlos Diaz (one night), Thursday night highlight: 4 non-believing girls came to the older women’s group and the leaders were able to share the Gospel with them in Spanish and English!
After Mexico.
The hearts of the team are still with those in Mexico. Many, Lord willing, desire to return in the future. There were many lessons to be learned and much to reflect upon as the Lord worked through us. He knew that this group of mostly strangers would come together and be able to work together according to His Word for His glory in a land that few members had traveled to before. It was extremely encouraging to see how the truth is being taught and proclaimed elsewhere in the world. In reality, God really does not need us to do His work at all, but He chooses to use us. Thusly, faith and genuine trust in Him were tested constantly. It was truly humbling to see how each member on the team was used in different ways to minister despite our individual inadequacies, weaknesses and the illnesses that afflicted the team (2 Cor. 12:9-10). 90% of the team got sick within the first week, but each person served evermore and without complaint. He knit our hearts closer together as a team and as brothers and sisters in Christ through these trials. Every moment of the trip was filled with His grace as flexibility and patience were needed at every turn. All in all, God, our sin, Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, repentance, the realities of heaven and hell and the necessity of the Gospel are much clearer than before.
Pray Unceasingly.
1. The missionaries there would continue to be strong, bold and encouraged, and the seminary would continue to send out truth-honoring teachers.
2. The seeds that were planted would continue to grow.
3. The team would apply all that was learned not be complacent.
Thank you again for your prayers and support!
Dear family and friends,
Thank you so much for your prayers and support of the Mexico City 2007 STM team! It was a real comfort and encouragement to know that you all were here praying for us and thinking about us. We are home safely after two incredible weeks, and it was truly a trip filled with lessons of faith and God’s sovereignty in every aspect. You can read some more detailed email updates on my blog: vase888.blogspot.com, and you may view pictures of our trip on this site: www.dropshots.com/vasey.
Before Mexico.
The story of the Mexico City team begins in January of this year, when God ordained all of the individual team members to be a part of the journey which entailed so much more than just two weeks in Mexico. Each member was hand-picked before the creation of the world, each with his or her own divine giftedness to be used completely and only for His glory. There were some veterans to the Mexico City team. Some of them spoke Spanish well and some did not. Some were gifted with music, others with the gifts of leadership, serving and teaching. All of them possessed a passion and a love for their Creator God and Savior Jesus Christ whom they would have the opportunity to share about with people in a country that is so ready to hear.
Prior to the trip, the team members were required to raise support for their team. They sent out letters and prayed unceasingly that the Lord would provide for their every need. The Lord was (and is) abundantly faithful. Before the team was slated to leave, they had reached and far surpassed their financial goals. With hearts of true gratitude and praise, they set about planning the two main aspects of their ministry: a week-long VBS (day) and a week-long youth conference (evenings). The team met frequently to discuss every detail: music, ice breakers/games/activities, crafts, lessons, snacks, efficiency and transitions, down time, etc. After much thought and preparation, the five days of VBS were broken down by the pages of the wordless book: gold, black, red, white and green. Each day would have an attribute of God highlighted, a Bible lesson pertaining to the theme and a memory verse. Overall, the entire Gospel message would be shared in an effective way. Plans for the youth conference were slightly different as they had to wait to hear from Josiah Grauman on his individual messages before they could proceed with planning which ultimately took place in Mexico.
The team departed for Mexico City on July 7th. Family and friends were on hand to send the team off at the church, the Van Nuys Flyaway and LAX. Upon arriving safely in Mexico City, the team was welcomed by Josiah and Crystal Grauman as well as members of the congregation at Iglesia Naucalpan who would be hosting them.
In Mexico.
Time in Mexico was filled with people, service, ministering and fellowship.
- Host Families (1-2 members per family): warmth, welcome and love; provision for physical, emotional and spiritual needs
- Missionaries: Contreras family, Rosie Martinez, Ellen Parker, Josiah and Crystal Grauman… the team was deeply encouraged by all of them and joyfully served them in any way possible
- Julio and Valeria: faithful brother and sister in the Lord that served with the team everyday
- Iglesia Naucalpan: place of worship on Sunday mornings, where Luis Contreras serves
- Iglesia Remanente: site of VBS and youth conference, where Josiah Grauman serves, location of the seminary
- VBS: 5 days, 30-40 kids per day… went very well overall and the Gospel was proclaimed; 2 kids (Omar and Milca) responded to an invitation
- Youth Conference: 5 nights, 75-80 attendees per evening (ages 13-60)… theme: An Eternal Perspective, speaker Josiah Grauman and Carlos Diaz (one night), Thursday night highlight: 4 non-believing girls came to the older women’s group and the leaders were able to share the Gospel with them in Spanish and English!
After Mexico.
The hearts of the team are still with those in Mexico. Many, Lord willing, desire to return in the future. There were many lessons to be learned and much to reflect upon as the Lord worked through us. He knew that this group of mostly strangers would come together and be able to work together according to His Word for His glory in a land that few members had traveled to before. It was extremely encouraging to see how the truth is being taught and proclaimed elsewhere in the world. In reality, God really does not need us to do His work at all, but He chooses to use us. Thusly, faith and genuine trust in Him were tested constantly. It was truly humbling to see how each member on the team was used in different ways to minister despite our individual inadequacies, weaknesses and the illnesses that afflicted the team (2 Cor. 12:9-10). 90% of the team got sick within the first week, but each person served evermore and without complaint. He knit our hearts closer together as a team and as brothers and sisters in Christ through these trials. Every moment of the trip was filled with His grace as flexibility and patience were needed at every turn. All in all, God, our sin, Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, repentance, the realities of heaven and hell and the necessity of the Gospel are much clearer than before.
Pray Unceasingly.
1. The missionaries there would continue to be strong, bold and encouraged, and the seminary would continue to send out truth-honoring teachers.
2. The seeds that were planted would continue to grow.
3. The team would apply all that was learned not be complacent.
Thank you again for your prayers and support!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
mexico city updates (as sent out in emails throughout the trip)
-----Update #1------
Hola everyone...
I hope this email finds you all well. I just wanted to let everyone know what Team Mexico City has arrived safely, and we are already seeing God at work here...
Flight day was thankfully uneventful and without real incident. We all rallied at church then went to the Van Nuys Flyaway. There was moderate traffic on the 405 and checking in went smoothly. A few people from the 310 came to send us off and even stayed to hang out with us as we had lunch at McDonalds.
Our flight out was delayed for an hr and a half due to issues with pets and the cargo department. Apparently the ac in the cargo dept was not working, so it took them awhile to bring the dogs up and secure them in the main cabin. The flight itself was relatively smooth, but we did have to navigate around some thunder storms... but oh how glorious it was to behold!
We finally arrived in Mexico City at 1230am. Praise God that we cleared Customs without incident AND all of our luggage arrived with us!!! Josiah and Crystal Grauman and some other church members were there to greet us. Unfortunately, they did not know that our plane was delayed so they were there waiting for us for almost 2 hrs. We went home with our host families, and were able to sleep or nap for a few hrs before heading out to church this morning.
The team met at the church that Luis Contreras serves at, and we were able to lead worship as well as be introduced to the congregation. The rest of the afternoon was left open for time with our host families. I have the privilege and blessing of rooming with my sister Grace Yang, and our host family is a young couple named Julian and Bredka Bernardo. They have warmly and graciously welcomed us into their home, and I know that these 2 weeks will be wonderful with these two Christ honoring servants.
VBS starts tomorrow and will run for the rest of the week then the youth conference starts next week. Thank you all of our support and prayers. I will try and update as much as possible. Welcome home, Team Japan!=) Dios te bendiga...
------Update #2--------
Hello everyone!
Grace and Vanessa here... We hope that you all are doing well. Once again, please forgive me for not knowing how to punctuate properly on this comp.
We all love it here in Mexico City! The weather is lovely... highs are in the 70s with rain in the evenings so it drops into the 60s. And its consistently like this throughout the year. They have mild winters as well. It has been really nice to be away from the extreme heat in LA. Did you know that Mexico Citys altitude is 7,600 ft above sea level? Thats higher than Denver! We have had to adjust to that elevation. We wish that we could explore the city more, but it isnt safe for non Mexicans to wander the streets, and Luis and Josiah both are very protective of the team. We have enjoyed views of the city from our rides in the car however... Its huge and driving around the streets is like driving on the 405 with all sorts of people walking around. Yup... Meaning, the traffic is bad and the drivers make their own rules.
So every morning, Grace and I wake up to a wonderful breakfast and time with Julian and Bredka. They have much wisdom and talking to them and spending time with them has been so wonderful for us both. We connected really well from the beginning because of our mutual love and passion for God and the truth. After eating, we go through the devotional book, 365 Days with Charles Spurgeon. What a great way to start the day off! Grace and I also have the chance to pray with each other and share when we wake up and right before we go to bed. We are getting to know each other very well. After just 3 days, we were completing each others sentences and thoughts.
The Bernardos also have a wonderful collection of Christian books by authors such as John Mac, CJ Mahaney and John Piper. Grace is reading Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney, and I am reading Humility by CJ. We are hoping to finish these books by the end of our time here.
Tomorrow is our last day of VBS at Iglesia Remanente. We planned out the 5 days according to the pages of the wordless book (yellow, black, red, white and green). It has proved to be a very effective way to share the Gospel with the kids. The ages of these kids range from 3 yrs old to 13 yrs old. The Mexico Team is divided into 3 instructional teams to work with the different ages. Praise God for enough Spanish speaking team members to be teachers on each IT. Before the kids arrive for VBS, a team member leads a devotional then we break up into pairs and pray. When the kids arrive, we start with singing and a brief intro (incorporating the use of puppets!) then divide into our groups. We have instructional time, snacks, crafts and games then send them home. The kids are adorable and have been a blessing to work with. Please pray for the salvation of their souls.
Each day is different after VBS ends (around 130pm). We have had one group outting to a local Grovelike mall, we have time with our host families, and yesterday we started working with the church and the Graumans. The Graumans recently moved into a new apt that is full of mold. The gals went and scrubbed and cleaned their entire apt from ceiling to floor with toothbrushes, scrubbers and a whole lot of Chlorox. The guys spent time on the 2nd floor of the church building prepping the room to be painted by sanding walls and fixing things, etc. Tomorrow we are going to spend time with the Contreras family. Praise God that the team continues to grow closer together with each new day.
Prayer requests...
1. Team members are falling ill... Isaac, Tiara and Valeria (new friend that is helping here).
2. Right attitudes toward frustration with communication (non Spanish speakers)
3. Next weeks youth (ages 18 to 30) conference... music team, small group leaders, evangelism in general. Some of us will be sharing our testimonies as well.
4. Leadership and missionaries here... Carlos (team leader), Luis, Josiah, Rosie, Ellen and Spanish speaking teachers
5. Lack of a time and place for music team to practice for Sunday service and youth conference
We miss you all, and we cant wait to share our pictures (Grace and Katie have been taking A LOT of them) and stories with you...
Gloria a Dios!
Grace and Vanessa
------Update #3-------
Hello again...
Grace and Vanessa are back! This update may or may not be our last one for our time here. The team will be home Sun night.
Its been raining a lot here in Mexico City. Oh, random facts for you! You can run red lights after 11pm for your safety, and a drivers license can be purchased at the local supermarket. You dont have to pass a test or anything. A lot of people learn to drive here just by driving. Well, we all do, but that explains a lot about the driving here. Oh! And last random fact... If a soldier that is taking down the flag in the Zocalo drops any part of it on the ground, he can get up to 2 wks in jail.
VBS ended well last Friday, with 2 kids from the Primary (7 yrs old to 9 yrs old) group who raised their hands during the invitation. Their names are Omar and Milca. The team was so amazed at how gracious the Lord was in guiding us through the whole week. We ended with a deep clean of the church (Vanessa mopped the whole church... literally), a team dinner at Chilis and then dessert at an ultra modern Haagen Dazs cafe. Oh if we only had those in LA. This Haagen Dazs cafe has 2 floors. The first floor was set up like a restaurant and then the top floor was set up as a clubby loungeish area. It was nice to unwind and indulge in 3 chocolate fondue platters. PLUS, in their bathrooms, they had really rockin, vertical sandwichy hand dryers. Stay tuned for pics... Yay for sweet fellowship!!
The weekend was spent with the team and the host families. On Sat, we explored Chapultepec, which is a castle turned museum in the middle of the city. We had lunch at a Buca Di Beppolike restaurant called Italiannis (Mexican chain) then watched Ratatouille... Yes, both of us have seen it more than once. But it was still entertaining for the 2nd and 3rd times respectively. Sun was spent at Iglesia Nacaulpan, where we led worship and then listened to a message on Matthew 5 verse 6. We had a taquisa afterward (food), and we got to spend time with the congregation. After the taquisa, Grace and Vanessa went with Bredka and Julian to visit Bredkas family in the south part of the city. They are nice people. Unfortunately, a tragic accident involving Graces camera occurred, and now Vanessas camera has taken over the job of taking pics. Its ok though, its just a piece of metal... Grace keeps saying this to herself... Its only temporal and it will burn. We drove around the Zocalo then went to the Folklore Ballet of Mexico (an evening of Mexican culture).
This week has been different from the last. Our mornings are spent either working at the church or the Contreras household (boys and painting) or in Bible study breakfasty fellowshippy time (gals). The youth conference started yesterday, and again, God has been so gracious in allowing it to run very smoothly. It runs from 6pm to 9pm nightly. We have had about 75 youths (ages 13 to 50... yes, note the ginormous age range) in attendance these past two nights (75 nightly). We lead worship then have a testimony (Jhaneth and Tiara have shared so far), then a message based on the overall theme of An Eternal Perspective. We eat a snack then break into small groups by gender and age (2 gal groups and 2 guy groups). The small group time is very important and effective in ministering to the attendees in a more personal and discussion based environment. Oh yeah, and on a side note, the gals wrote a rap to encourage the bros... You can ask Miranda for our lyrics. We performed it for them tonight... twice. Pastor Luis wants to record it and put it onto cds. Right.
About 90 percent of the team is or has been sick since we last updated you. This, however, has not brought down the team at all... We still function and serve at our best, and its by Gods sustaining grace that we are able to rejoice in our trials. All sorts of medicine has been used to fight our infirmities ranging from Chinese medicine to American medicine. Please continue to pray for our overall health.
Prayer Requests...1. Youth conference... msgs will be clear, youth will come with ready hearts to absorb and apply, small group time would be effective, and the Gospel proclaimed
2. Health... again, 90 percent of our team is or has been sick since we last updated you... meaning, everyone except for Vanessa
3. Leadership, missionaries, church and host families ...that our team would be encouraging to all of them
Until next time or until we see you...
Gracia y paz en el nombre de Jesu Cristo,
Gracia y Vanessa
-----Last Update--------
Hellooooo!!
And we have reached our last full day here in Mexico City. It's a bittersweet feeling as we are torn to leave the people here, yet we are also filled with joy to be returning home to you all tomorrow night! What a true blessing it has been to be here as God's instruments to a nation in desperate need of the true Gospel.
The team has been working hard since our last update. We spent Wed thru Fri mornings at the Contreras household cleaning, painting, organizing and doing all sorts of projects for them that they will probably never have time to do themselves (Robin had LISTS and praise God we finished all of the items on all 2,000 of them). We spent Thurs afternoon at Iglesia Remanente's pastor's house for lunch and fellowship. They served us pozole (soup with special corn and chicken) and then sang some songs for us in Spanish (like everyone's fave Via Dolorosa). We then shared some songs with them and ended the afternoon with group worship. It was a really nice time. Fri was Robin's birthday, so we celebrated with flowers, Haagen Dazs ice cream bars (she doesn't like cake), and the gals made up a song for her to the tune of Avril Lavigne's Sk8r Boi. Tomorrow is also Josiah's birthday, but we won't be able to see him before we leave.
By God's providence, the youth (correction... ages 13 to 60... ha) conference went very well. Josiah spoke on evangelism on Tues evening, relationships and marriage on Wed, Carlos spoke on justification and sanctification on Thurs, and Fri was a big Q and A time to clarify issues that came up over the course of the entire week. Jhaneth, Tiara, Katie, Luis D (not el pastor) and Grace shared their testimonies. The small groups worked out well, and we got some good discussions going. Jhaneth, Grace, Miranda, Vanessa and Crystal worked with the older women's group (20ish and up). Thurs evening was a special evening for our particular group because there were 4 new, non believing girls (Mayra, Genesis, Angelica and ?) that showed up. We split our small group into 4 smaller groups with Vanessa, Jhaneth, Miranda and Mayte (a faithful sister at Iglesia Naucalpan) leading each one. In our groups, we shared testimonies and discussed the doctrines of justification and sanctification, but what was truly amazing was that we were all able to share the Gospel to the girls in each particular group. By God's sovereignty, the new girls understood English and left interested in learning more. Grace only had one Alto! tract to give out, so she gave it to one of them hoping that they will all read through it together. We were going to hand out a Roman Catholic tract to them, but Carlos decided that it would be too much, so we held on to it. And God's providence strikes again! On Grace and Vanessa's ride home, which is always usually a Spanish speaking lesson, we were able to share the basics of the Gospel with our driver (a man named Flavio who works for Julian) who comes from a Catholic background. With our combined Spanish skills (barely Level 1 combined... really), we laid out the very main points... God is holy (Matt 5, 48), man is sinful (Rom 3, 10 and 23) and faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins (2 Cor 5, 21). We also spent a lot of time talking about how good works cannot save anyone (Titus 3, 5). He said that he understood, and as we arrived home, our conversation ended. We encouraged him to talk to Julian and Bredka more. Grace gave the Catholic tract to Flavio (the one that Carlos told us to hold on to), and asked him to read over it so we could discuss it on the drive home the following evening. As the Lord would have it, the girls did not show up the following evening, and Flavio did not end up picking us up from Remanente either, but we know that the Lord is working, and we praise Him for using us! Just think about it... two of the team members with the most remedial Spanish skills were able to hash out the Gospel in English and Spanish to people that somehow understood them.
Today, we went to see the Aztec pyramids in Teotihuachan (about an hr and a half outside the city). Miranda was surprised that it wasn't sandy there like the ones in Egypt. There are two main pyramids (sun and moon) and many smaller ones where they sacrificed humans to the minor gods. We climbed to the top of the sun pyramid (a bit larger than we imagined... Carlos RAN up the entire thing last yr) and had a devotional and prayer time led by Luis D (not to be mistaken with Pastor Luis). How cool it was to be able to go through God's Word and pray on top of a pagan monument. We explored the rest of the area afterwards... the main walkway is called el Calzado de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead). Everything about that place was so... magnificent yet so empty. We kept hearing people around us asking questions like, How did they build these things? The Aztecs, so motivated by what they believed in, used the hands and knowledge that the true Creator God (Psalms 24, 1) gave them to build these amazing structures that ended up being used to worship false idols. And they are all in hell now. So what does it all mean? Tourists from everywhere marvel and stand in awe as they walk through the ghost town that is these pyramids. The structures are filled with echoes of strength and extreme devotion all directed to the wrong place which resulted in the ultimate consequence. How sad is that! Can you imagine if all that energy was directed toward the work of the one true God? But did they ever even know Him? Then we are reminded that God is sovereign. We are just as sinful as these Aztecs were. We are NO better (Rom 3, 10 and 23 again). And how gracious He was to choose His elect before the creation of the world. It's all about HIM and never about us.
This afternoon was spent eating lunch and shopping in San Angel, and our evening is to be spent with our host families for the last time. Julian and Bredka bought some churros for us to share. The food in Mexico is not like the Mexican food back at home! What an enlightening cultural experience this has been.
Tomorrow, we will worship at Iglesia Naucalpan, have lunch, then bid Mexico City farewell. Lord willing, some of us will return next summer. We will remember the people, the food, fellowship, serving the pastors and missionaries, the laughter and memories, but most importantly, Christ's supremacy and the work of the church here. God's work is being done by His faithful servants here, and we see that through the growing seminary and the Word centered teaching at Iglesia Naucalpan and Iglesia Remanente. Praise God for the people He has placed here!
Prayer Requests
1. Flight home... Safety and ... Oh, we forgot to mention that Carlos doesn't have a U.S. passport. He came into the country without one. Here's to praying that he (and the team) can leave without a hassle.
2. The souls of the kids, the youth and Flavio.
3. The team would truly apply the lessons learned here to our everyday lives when we return home and not fall back into complacency.
4. Iglesia Naucalpan y Remanente and the seminary... Rosie, Ellen, Luis and Robin Contreras and Josiah and Crystal Grauman.
Solo por Su gracia,
Grace and Vanessa
-----Update #1------
Hola everyone...
I hope this email finds you all well. I just wanted to let everyone know what Team Mexico City has arrived safely, and we are already seeing God at work here...
Flight day was thankfully uneventful and without real incident. We all rallied at church then went to the Van Nuys Flyaway. There was moderate traffic on the 405 and checking in went smoothly. A few people from the 310 came to send us off and even stayed to hang out with us as we had lunch at McDonalds.
Our flight out was delayed for an hr and a half due to issues with pets and the cargo department. Apparently the ac in the cargo dept was not working, so it took them awhile to bring the dogs up and secure them in the main cabin. The flight itself was relatively smooth, but we did have to navigate around some thunder storms... but oh how glorious it was to behold!
We finally arrived in Mexico City at 1230am. Praise God that we cleared Customs without incident AND all of our luggage arrived with us!!! Josiah and Crystal Grauman and some other church members were there to greet us. Unfortunately, they did not know that our plane was delayed so they were there waiting for us for almost 2 hrs. We went home with our host families, and were able to sleep or nap for a few hrs before heading out to church this morning.
The team met at the church that Luis Contreras serves at, and we were able to lead worship as well as be introduced to the congregation. The rest of the afternoon was left open for time with our host families. I have the privilege and blessing of rooming with my sister Grace Yang, and our host family is a young couple named Julian and Bredka Bernardo. They have warmly and graciously welcomed us into their home, and I know that these 2 weeks will be wonderful with these two Christ honoring servants.
VBS starts tomorrow and will run for the rest of the week then the youth conference starts next week. Thank you all of our support and prayers. I will try and update as much as possible. Welcome home, Team Japan!=) Dios te bendiga...
------Update #2--------
Hello everyone!
Grace and Vanessa here... We hope that you all are doing well. Once again, please forgive me for not knowing how to punctuate properly on this comp.
We all love it here in Mexico City! The weather is lovely... highs are in the 70s with rain in the evenings so it drops into the 60s. And its consistently like this throughout the year. They have mild winters as well. It has been really nice to be away from the extreme heat in LA. Did you know that Mexico Citys altitude is 7,600 ft above sea level? Thats higher than Denver! We have had to adjust to that elevation. We wish that we could explore the city more, but it isnt safe for non Mexicans to wander the streets, and Luis and Josiah both are very protective of the team. We have enjoyed views of the city from our rides in the car however... Its huge and driving around the streets is like driving on the 405 with all sorts of people walking around. Yup... Meaning, the traffic is bad and the drivers make their own rules.
So every morning, Grace and I wake up to a wonderful breakfast and time with Julian and Bredka. They have much wisdom and talking to them and spending time with them has been so wonderful for us both. We connected really well from the beginning because of our mutual love and passion for God and the truth. After eating, we go through the devotional book, 365 Days with Charles Spurgeon. What a great way to start the day off! Grace and I also have the chance to pray with each other and share when we wake up and right before we go to bed. We are getting to know each other very well. After just 3 days, we were completing each others sentences and thoughts.
The Bernardos also have a wonderful collection of Christian books by authors such as John Mac, CJ Mahaney and John Piper. Grace is reading Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney, and I am reading Humility by CJ. We are hoping to finish these books by the end of our time here.
Tomorrow is our last day of VBS at Iglesia Remanente. We planned out the 5 days according to the pages of the wordless book (yellow, black, red, white and green). It has proved to be a very effective way to share the Gospel with the kids. The ages of these kids range from 3 yrs old to 13 yrs old. The Mexico Team is divided into 3 instructional teams to work with the different ages. Praise God for enough Spanish speaking team members to be teachers on each IT. Before the kids arrive for VBS, a team member leads a devotional then we break up into pairs and pray. When the kids arrive, we start with singing and a brief intro (incorporating the use of puppets!) then divide into our groups. We have instructional time, snacks, crafts and games then send them home. The kids are adorable and have been a blessing to work with. Please pray for the salvation of their souls.
Each day is different after VBS ends (around 130pm). We have had one group outting to a local Grovelike mall, we have time with our host families, and yesterday we started working with the church and the Graumans. The Graumans recently moved into a new apt that is full of mold. The gals went and scrubbed and cleaned their entire apt from ceiling to floor with toothbrushes, scrubbers and a whole lot of Chlorox. The guys spent time on the 2nd floor of the church building prepping the room to be painted by sanding walls and fixing things, etc. Tomorrow we are going to spend time with the Contreras family. Praise God that the team continues to grow closer together with each new day.
Prayer requests...
1. Team members are falling ill... Isaac, Tiara and Valeria (new friend that is helping here).
2. Right attitudes toward frustration with communication (non Spanish speakers)
3. Next weeks youth (ages 18 to 30) conference... music team, small group leaders, evangelism in general. Some of us will be sharing our testimonies as well.
4. Leadership and missionaries here... Carlos (team leader), Luis, Josiah, Rosie, Ellen and Spanish speaking teachers
5. Lack of a time and place for music team to practice for Sunday service and youth conference
We miss you all, and we cant wait to share our pictures (Grace and Katie have been taking A LOT of them) and stories with you...
Gloria a Dios!
Grace and Vanessa
------Update #3-------
Hello again...
Grace and Vanessa are back! This update may or may not be our last one for our time here. The team will be home Sun night.
Its been raining a lot here in Mexico City. Oh, random facts for you! You can run red lights after 11pm for your safety, and a drivers license can be purchased at the local supermarket. You dont have to pass a test or anything. A lot of people learn to drive here just by driving. Well, we all do, but that explains a lot about the driving here. Oh! And last random fact... If a soldier that is taking down the flag in the Zocalo drops any part of it on the ground, he can get up to 2 wks in jail.
VBS ended well last Friday, with 2 kids from the Primary (7 yrs old to 9 yrs old) group who raised their hands during the invitation. Their names are Omar and Milca. The team was so amazed at how gracious the Lord was in guiding us through the whole week. We ended with a deep clean of the church (Vanessa mopped the whole church... literally), a team dinner at Chilis and then dessert at an ultra modern Haagen Dazs cafe. Oh if we only had those in LA. This Haagen Dazs cafe has 2 floors. The first floor was set up like a restaurant and then the top floor was set up as a clubby loungeish area. It was nice to unwind and indulge in 3 chocolate fondue platters. PLUS, in their bathrooms, they had really rockin, vertical sandwichy hand dryers. Stay tuned for pics... Yay for sweet fellowship!!
The weekend was spent with the team and the host families. On Sat, we explored Chapultepec, which is a castle turned museum in the middle of the city. We had lunch at a Buca Di Beppolike restaurant called Italiannis (Mexican chain) then watched Ratatouille... Yes, both of us have seen it more than once. But it was still entertaining for the 2nd and 3rd times respectively. Sun was spent at Iglesia Nacaulpan, where we led worship and then listened to a message on Matthew 5 verse 6. We had a taquisa afterward (food), and we got to spend time with the congregation. After the taquisa, Grace and Vanessa went with Bredka and Julian to visit Bredkas family in the south part of the city. They are nice people. Unfortunately, a tragic accident involving Graces camera occurred, and now Vanessas camera has taken over the job of taking pics. Its ok though, its just a piece of metal... Grace keeps saying this to herself... Its only temporal and it will burn. We drove around the Zocalo then went to the Folklore Ballet of Mexico (an evening of Mexican culture).
This week has been different from the last. Our mornings are spent either working at the church or the Contreras household (boys and painting) or in Bible study breakfasty fellowshippy time (gals). The youth conference started yesterday, and again, God has been so gracious in allowing it to run very smoothly. It runs from 6pm to 9pm nightly. We have had about 75 youths (ages 13 to 50... yes, note the ginormous age range) in attendance these past two nights (75 nightly). We lead worship then have a testimony (Jhaneth and Tiara have shared so far), then a message based on the overall theme of An Eternal Perspective. We eat a snack then break into small groups by gender and age (2 gal groups and 2 guy groups). The small group time is very important and effective in ministering to the attendees in a more personal and discussion based environment. Oh yeah, and on a side note, the gals wrote a rap to encourage the bros... You can ask Miranda for our lyrics. We performed it for them tonight... twice. Pastor Luis wants to record it and put it onto cds. Right.
About 90 percent of the team is or has been sick since we last updated you. This, however, has not brought down the team at all... We still function and serve at our best, and its by Gods sustaining grace that we are able to rejoice in our trials. All sorts of medicine has been used to fight our infirmities ranging from Chinese medicine to American medicine. Please continue to pray for our overall health.
Prayer Requests...1. Youth conference... msgs will be clear, youth will come with ready hearts to absorb and apply, small group time would be effective, and the Gospel proclaimed
2. Health... again, 90 percent of our team is or has been sick since we last updated you... meaning, everyone except for Vanessa
3. Leadership, missionaries, church and host families ...that our team would be encouraging to all of them
Until next time or until we see you...
Gracia y paz en el nombre de Jesu Cristo,
Gracia y Vanessa
-----Last Update--------
Hellooooo!!
And we have reached our last full day here in Mexico City. It's a bittersweet feeling as we are torn to leave the people here, yet we are also filled with joy to be returning home to you all tomorrow night! What a true blessing it has been to be here as God's instruments to a nation in desperate need of the true Gospel.
The team has been working hard since our last update. We spent Wed thru Fri mornings at the Contreras household cleaning, painting, organizing and doing all sorts of projects for them that they will probably never have time to do themselves (Robin had LISTS and praise God we finished all of the items on all 2,000 of them). We spent Thurs afternoon at Iglesia Remanente's pastor's house for lunch and fellowship. They served us pozole (soup with special corn and chicken) and then sang some songs for us in Spanish (like everyone's fave Via Dolorosa). We then shared some songs with them and ended the afternoon with group worship. It was a really nice time. Fri was Robin's birthday, so we celebrated with flowers, Haagen Dazs ice cream bars (she doesn't like cake), and the gals made up a song for her to the tune of Avril Lavigne's Sk8r Boi. Tomorrow is also Josiah's birthday, but we won't be able to see him before we leave.
By God's providence, the youth (correction... ages 13 to 60... ha) conference went very well. Josiah spoke on evangelism on Tues evening, relationships and marriage on Wed, Carlos spoke on justification and sanctification on Thurs, and Fri was a big Q and A time to clarify issues that came up over the course of the entire week. Jhaneth, Tiara, Katie, Luis D (not el pastor) and Grace shared their testimonies. The small groups worked out well, and we got some good discussions going. Jhaneth, Grace, Miranda, Vanessa and Crystal worked with the older women's group (20ish and up). Thurs evening was a special evening for our particular group because there were 4 new, non believing girls (Mayra, Genesis, Angelica and ?) that showed up. We split our small group into 4 smaller groups with Vanessa, Jhaneth, Miranda and Mayte (a faithful sister at Iglesia Naucalpan) leading each one. In our groups, we shared testimonies and discussed the doctrines of justification and sanctification, but what was truly amazing was that we were all able to share the Gospel to the girls in each particular group. By God's sovereignty, the new girls understood English and left interested in learning more. Grace only had one Alto! tract to give out, so she gave it to one of them hoping that they will all read through it together. We were going to hand out a Roman Catholic tract to them, but Carlos decided that it would be too much, so we held on to it. And God's providence strikes again! On Grace and Vanessa's ride home, which is always usually a Spanish speaking lesson, we were able to share the basics of the Gospel with our driver (a man named Flavio who works for Julian) who comes from a Catholic background. With our combined Spanish skills (barely Level 1 combined... really), we laid out the very main points... God is holy (Matt 5, 48), man is sinful (Rom 3, 10 and 23) and faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins (2 Cor 5, 21). We also spent a lot of time talking about how good works cannot save anyone (Titus 3, 5). He said that he understood, and as we arrived home, our conversation ended. We encouraged him to talk to Julian and Bredka more. Grace gave the Catholic tract to Flavio (the one that Carlos told us to hold on to), and asked him to read over it so we could discuss it on the drive home the following evening. As the Lord would have it, the girls did not show up the following evening, and Flavio did not end up picking us up from Remanente either, but we know that the Lord is working, and we praise Him for using us! Just think about it... two of the team members with the most remedial Spanish skills were able to hash out the Gospel in English and Spanish to people that somehow understood them.
Today, we went to see the Aztec pyramids in Teotihuachan (about an hr and a half outside the city). Miranda was surprised that it wasn't sandy there like the ones in Egypt. There are two main pyramids (sun and moon) and many smaller ones where they sacrificed humans to the minor gods. We climbed to the top of the sun pyramid (a bit larger than we imagined... Carlos RAN up the entire thing last yr) and had a devotional and prayer time led by Luis D (not to be mistaken with Pastor Luis). How cool it was to be able to go through God's Word and pray on top of a pagan monument. We explored the rest of the area afterwards... the main walkway is called el Calzado de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead). Everything about that place was so... magnificent yet so empty. We kept hearing people around us asking questions like, How did they build these things? The Aztecs, so motivated by what they believed in, used the hands and knowledge that the true Creator God (Psalms 24, 1) gave them to build these amazing structures that ended up being used to worship false idols. And they are all in hell now. So what does it all mean? Tourists from everywhere marvel and stand in awe as they walk through the ghost town that is these pyramids. The structures are filled with echoes of strength and extreme devotion all directed to the wrong place which resulted in the ultimate consequence. How sad is that! Can you imagine if all that energy was directed toward the work of the one true God? But did they ever even know Him? Then we are reminded that God is sovereign. We are just as sinful as these Aztecs were. We are NO better (Rom 3, 10 and 23 again). And how gracious He was to choose His elect before the creation of the world. It's all about HIM and never about us.
This afternoon was spent eating lunch and shopping in San Angel, and our evening is to be spent with our host families for the last time. Julian and Bredka bought some churros for us to share. The food in Mexico is not like the Mexican food back at home! What an enlightening cultural experience this has been.
Tomorrow, we will worship at Iglesia Naucalpan, have lunch, then bid Mexico City farewell. Lord willing, some of us will return next summer. We will remember the people, the food, fellowship, serving the pastors and missionaries, the laughter and memories, but most importantly, Christ's supremacy and the work of the church here. God's work is being done by His faithful servants here, and we see that through the growing seminary and the Word centered teaching at Iglesia Naucalpan and Iglesia Remanente. Praise God for the people He has placed here!
Prayer Requests
1. Flight home... Safety and ... Oh, we forgot to mention that Carlos doesn't have a U.S. passport. He came into the country without one. Here's to praying that he (and the team) can leave without a hassle.
2. The souls of the kids, the youth and Flavio.
3. The team would truly apply the lessons learned here to our everyday lives when we return home and not fall back into complacency.
4. Iglesia Naucalpan y Remanente and the seminary... Rosie, Ellen, Luis and Robin Contreras and Josiah and Crystal Grauman.
Solo por Su gracia,
Grace and Vanessa
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Dear family and friends,
I hope that this letter finds you all doing well! I am deep into my fourth year of teaching choir at Paul Revere Middle School, and the Lord has graciously blessed me by allowing me to attend Grace Community Church for that same amount of time. I am being challenged spiritually in many ways and continue to grow in my understanding of the Word of God daily. As some of you may already know, the Lord has placed a budding desire in my heart to serve in Spanish-speaking countries. This July, I have the blessed privilege and honor of serving on the Mexico City short term ministry team.
Mexico is wrought with many challenges. The sinful natures of 35 million people all converge upon a small area. Crime and smog are just a way of life to most. Yet these challenges are not what concern us, but rather that the Gospel be proclaimed.
Aztec paganism, Catholicism, and Postmodernism all collide in Mexico City. For this reason, I am very grateful that God has provided an opportunity for me to go and stand alongside our full-time missionaries in their work for the kingdom. Please pray with me, that God's power in the Gospel would conquer the challenges and rescue the perishing. Please also pray that we may be a tremendous encouragement to our missionaries who daily fight the good fight.
We are well aware that the success of this trip is dependent on the Lord and your prayer support. Along with your prayers, if you would like to partner with us financially, please send a check payable to Grace Community Church with "For the team of Vanessa Ling" in the memo line. Your tax-deductible donation will go toward covering the costs of the trip, which is about $1,250 per team member.
Thank you so much for your support! I look forward to reporting back to you on how the Lord used our team for His glory this summer.
By His grace,
Vanessa Ling
I hope that this letter finds you all doing well! I am deep into my fourth year of teaching choir at Paul Revere Middle School, and the Lord has graciously blessed me by allowing me to attend Grace Community Church for that same amount of time. I am being challenged spiritually in many ways and continue to grow in my understanding of the Word of God daily. As some of you may already know, the Lord has placed a budding desire in my heart to serve in Spanish-speaking countries. This July, I have the blessed privilege and honor of serving on the Mexico City short term ministry team.
Mexico is wrought with many challenges. The sinful natures of 35 million people all converge upon a small area. Crime and smog are just a way of life to most. Yet these challenges are not what concern us, but rather that the Gospel be proclaimed.
Aztec paganism, Catholicism, and Postmodernism all collide in Mexico City. For this reason, I am very grateful that God has provided an opportunity for me to go and stand alongside our full-time missionaries in their work for the kingdom. Please pray with me, that God's power in the Gospel would conquer the challenges and rescue the perishing. Please also pray that we may be a tremendous encouragement to our missionaries who daily fight the good fight.
We are well aware that the success of this trip is dependent on the Lord and your prayer support. Along with your prayers, if you would like to partner with us financially, please send a check payable to Grace Community Church with "For the team of Vanessa Ling" in the memo line. Your tax-deductible donation will go toward covering the costs of the trip, which is about $1,250 per team member.
Thank you so much for your support! I look forward to reporting back to you on how the Lord used our team for His glory this summer.
By His grace,
Vanessa Ling
Monday, March 19, 2007
SINGLENESS.
so i went back to my old home church, mbcla, yesterday for my cousin shanna's baptism. of course all of my mom's generation were gossiping about their kids, etc... and turns out that most of my old friends from back in the day are all single right now!
on the ride back to her house, my mom and i had a little talk about why... first of all, it seems that generally, a lot of people are getting married at a later age than before. 25-30 seems to be the new 21-25. what's going on? marriage aside, why aren't we even holding onto boyfriends/girlfriends? are arranged marriages really the solution? where does the gift of singleness come into play? we all can't be gifted with singleness... so what's the conclusion or resolution if there is any at all?
WE REFUSE TO SETTLE.
and i'm waiting for God's best for me, so i will rejoice in singleness, and i will rejoice with all of my friends as we move on to different stages of life at the Lord's divinely appointed time. in the meantime, i will strive to be content in all that i have right now, and i will strive to grow in the knowledge of Him through His Word.
so i went back to my old home church, mbcla, yesterday for my cousin shanna's baptism. of course all of my mom's generation were gossiping about their kids, etc... and turns out that most of my old friends from back in the day are all single right now!
on the ride back to her house, my mom and i had a little talk about why... first of all, it seems that generally, a lot of people are getting married at a later age than before. 25-30 seems to be the new 21-25. what's going on? marriage aside, why aren't we even holding onto boyfriends/girlfriends? are arranged marriages really the solution? where does the gift of singleness come into play? we all can't be gifted with singleness... so what's the conclusion or resolution if there is any at all?
WE REFUSE TO SETTLE.
and i'm waiting for God's best for me, so i will rejoice in singleness, and i will rejoice with all of my friends as we move on to different stages of life at the Lord's divinely appointed time. in the meantime, i will strive to be content in all that i have right now, and i will strive to grow in the knowledge of Him through His Word.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
back from ACDA in beautiful miami beach...ghetto hotel, expensive taxis, sun, hot dogs, cinnamon-sugar almonds, pizza, humidity, mansions, yachts, beautiful people, topless women, beach volleyball, la jeune, calle ocho, crystal-clear blue waters and white sandy beaches, caribbean cuisine... all to a latin soundtrack playing somewhere in your hearts...
and a whole grip of choir performances, mini reunions, name dropping, choral big wigs, workshops and everything else that make you feel both inspired and incompetent at the same time.
thank you, miami beach. we had a grand time...
maybe i'll visit again, but maybe not. i had my fill, and i'm ready to see other places and other things! it's just like how you picture it in the movies - gangsters, bling, nice cars and everything... wow, that totally rhymed.
Lord, save them from their immorality because oh, there was so much of it to behold!
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