Dear Friends:
Our next ministry weekend in Palomas is on April 12, 2025 We would love to have you join us!
We are busy preparing for our new school year already, and that means that we are looking for teachers to teach all ages in the Alas ministry. Specifically, we have about ½ hour of teaching on the second Saturday of each month. A lesson outline is prepared for you in advance, and then you can take it from their with your imagination as to how to stir the hearts of the group you are teaching. We are looking for 2 teachers to lead the following groups:
1. Elementary
2. Secondary
3. High school
4. Parents
We also have a group of our volunteers who work with the college kids in our program, and this coming year, we want to strengthen that program by developing a relationship between each college student and a volunteer, who can facetime with their student each month to keep up with how they are doing, what is going on in their lives, learn how and what to pray for them, alert the team to any special issues, and generally, do all they can to encourage the students. Every student who makes it through college means a high likelihood of an entire family coming out of poverty, and, hopefully, strengthens a family witness to the power of God in their lives.
The teaching months are September, October, November, January, February, March, April. We have Family Fiestas in December and May, and a kids recreation day at a swimming pool in July. In June, we have graduation ceremonies, and in August, we are busy enrolling and outfitting kids with their school supplies for the coming school year. Would you be willing to volunteer in one of these areas? In addition to teachers, we need people to help with administrative things, food prep, clothing distribution, building repair and clean up, and translating letters.
Every month, our volunteers check kids in, get their letters to their sponsors from them, distribute sponsor letters back to them, distribute supplies for the month, and check to make sure they are doing ok in school and in church. We also spend about ½ hour in worship with families, we prepare a lunch meeting with Pastors, planning for events, keeping them informed and involved in the activities, and seeking to encourage them. We would like to expand that to include teaching and encouraging them and seeking to be a resource for them in their ministry.
Anyone with a little spare time translates student letters for their sponsors. It is truly a blessing to see how God is meeting us and encouraging people in Palomas who are involved! Our goal continues to be to help transform a town into a place where revival in Jesus is occurring all around, and taking captive the works of the devil and the world that are trying to destroy what God wants to do in people’s lives. Anyone who wishes to come and see and become involved is welcome, especially those who are bilingual.
In April, our meeting week-end will be on Saturday, April 12, which also coincides with Passover! You can catch a ride with Emiliano at the Light on Friday afternoon, and you have the option of returning home on Saturday after supper or on Sunday, as we have groups that do both. Typically, those who stay until Sunday morning, do the teaching for the college students before leaving.
This coming month will be our last teaching session for the year based on our theme of Deut. 31:6—“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." I am continually in awe of how Jesus was able to always overcome fear in his life. The religious leaders of his day had established all kinds of rules and traditions that were supposed to protect people from breaking God’s laws and thus allow them to have God’s approval and blessings. There are churches that do the same thing today. There are those who call themselves Christian, and who think they can be saved without going through the cross of Jesus. But Jesus made it clear. The life of a Christian begins by laying down our ideas, our conceptions of how to gain God’s approval, and accepting what He says.
Jesus tells us in John 14:6-- "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
And then in Luke 9:23-26-- "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.”
And in 1 Peter 4:1-3-- since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning. 2 And you won't spend the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. NLT
I am continually amazed, impressed, filled with love when I think of how Jesus lived his life, confronting the religious leaders for their errors, pointing others to the truth when they had embraced a lie, demonstrating what true love looked like, and continually being persecuted for it, finally with incredible suffering and death, all of which he knew was coming, and yet he never wavered! Would you? Would I? It really is what our Lord calls us to when he tells us to deny our own ways, to take up a life of sacrifice for God and for others, to embrace self-denial, even show love to those who wish evil for us. I don’t think anyone would understand this unless they are willing first to repent before God and say, “Not my way, but may it be YOUR way that leads my life, oh Lord.”
That transaction with God is so amazing, because it opens the door for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives, and suddenly we have the courage to do things God’s way, even if it means suffering and death for us! Think of the fear all of the disciples lived in until that day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit! From that day forward, they truly became imitators of Jesus in their lives. That is how fear is overcome. So, we will be talking with our students in April about making this incredible life-changing transaction with the Lord! Please pray that our teachers will be able to deliver this message with conviction and with power and that the listeners will have open hearts and truly be ready to receive God’s gift of power to overcome fear and to destroy the works of the evil one in the world around us.
The other side of the surrendered life, as we all know who have lived it, is that we have MORE joy, MORE peace, MORE love than we ever had before we made that transaction with God, and we learn that God truly provides for us in miraculous ways. Thankfully, most of us will never have to go through the kind of persecution and suffering that Jesus went through for us, but we should never give up praying for those who do have to go through those things!
May the Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.
Jim & Pat