This is what Armando sent out, so I just copied and pasted it here...
Presenting the Gospel at 30,000 feet
Guillermo and I were supposed to leave at around 9:40 AM, but American Airlines had canceled the flight and we ended up on another flight and sat separately. Next to me was this gentleman in his 50s, ponytail, boots and hat, he said he was going to Mexico for his Mother’s funeral. As we continued to chat he mentions how sad and depressed he had been after he heard of his mother’s death. You could tell his heart was heavy, but I told him he looked very composed. He said he was getting ready because he knew that he had to confront one of his brothers, whom he doesn’t have a good relationship with, and he mentioned he was getting ready in case the confrontation got physical. During our talk he actually mentioned something about God and even mentioned something he had read in the Bible. I had been praying as we were talking to have an opportunity to present to this man the gospel and the moment the conversation turned to spiritual things I presented the gospel and at the end I asked him if he had any objections about trusting Christ as Savior and Lord and right then and there at around 30,000 feet he said “I don’t have any objections” and he trusted Christ as his Savior; I then prayed for his situation, his family and his safety.
Arrival and my grandmother
We arrived Thursday night in Guanajuato and I went to see my grandmother. I had a chance to once again pray with her and talk to her about God and salvation. Thanks to God and all of you who prayed, she is doing much better, she began to eat again and gained some strength. I spoke with her again this morning after we arrived in Dallas and her spirits are high. She told me how much she loves me, which felt really good because she seldom mentioned that before and for those of you who don’t know, she raised me as a little boy and I do actually call her mother.
Friday Conference in Acambaro Church
On Friday, Guillermo and I presented 7 principles (from Josh McDowell’s Belief Matters) on how to build a healthy relationship with our kids, over 30 people in attendance. We talked about unconditional acceptance, appreciation, affection, availability, accountability, etc., and gave part of our testimonies. We had no idea that people would react so positively to the presentation. A lot of people shed tears, I guess God touched a few hearts there. This area of Mexico is known for a lot of broken families, single mothers, lack of affection; we can see families love each other, but affection and I love you's are not a norm. One lady in particular was crying so much that the Pastor and his wife had to console her; later on she came to us and said, "thank you for showing me this, I have never ever told any of my kids that I love them, I need to go home to call each of the!!" The lady was over 50 years old.
Saturday Evantell Seminar
On Saturday, we presented a seminar to a congregation, two pastors and several church leaders on personal evangelism, how to present the Gospel clear and simple from the Evantell Organization. One of the pastors was actually shocked to hear what we had to say about the gospel and the way to present it from the Bible. He was particularly upset when we explained that in order to be saved we have to Trust, believe in, have faith in Christ alone for salvation, he was upset because that is not the way he presents the gospel, or … teaches it. He happens to teach the class on evangelism at a Bible Institute. Guillermo and I explained the meaning of the word “believe” using a digital Strongs Dictionary on our laptop, which we left with him as a donation. After the class he came to us and said, "I need to teach this course in my Bible Institute!" We will be training him in July so he can actually teach this class himself.
Sunday presentations on 3 hours of sleep.
On Sunday we had 3 more presentations in the City of Irapuato about 2 hours away from the first city we went to. We again presented the 7 Principles in the morning to about 60 people. In the afternoon we did a presentation about the Center for Church Based Training founded by Dr. Gene Getz which helps local churches bring people to maturity and leadership. Later on, we taught a seminar on personal evangelism on how to present the gospel to children from the Evantell organization.
There are a lot more details about this trip. These are just some highlights. There is movement in those small churches...God is being glorified and as such, Satan is working hard to cause disunity in each of the churches, so please continue to pray. Thank you!!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Evangelism Seminar
Today was THE big day of the trip, the day of the evangelism seminar. Just to give you a little background, through the recommendation of one of his mentors, Armando got certified with EvanTell, an organization founded by Dr. Larry Moyer, who has been teaching and training people a clear and simple and biblical way (a method) of sharing the gospel for 35 years. Giving an evangelism seminar was not Armando's original plan, but I believe it was God's all along. Through help from friends and lots of last-minute scrambling around, they were able to get the Spanish version ready in time for the trip.
The seminar was a success! Over 60 people from surrounding cities/churches came. Armando had some reservations at first because there were parts of the seminar that were different/contrary to what they have always known, but the material presented is thoroughly backed up by scripture. Well, everyone was very receptive and were thankful for having their eyes opened. Many of them even want to get certified themselves!
Armando wishes to thank you for your prayers! He is encouraged and very humbled by the experience of being used by God. Just imagine the possibilities, if those 60 people each presented the gospel to one person, then those people presented it to others...and from these little towns to surrounding towns and cities in a country that desperately needs hope. Please continue to pray that the people who attended will continue to share what they learned so the gospel will continue to spread in Mexico.
Armando is now in Acambaro and the pastor there has asked him to give the first 2 sessions of the seminar to the congregation. He will then be back in Mexico City Monday to continue the business portion of the trip. Again, please continue to pray...I may have more to report soon...
The seminar was a success! Over 60 people from surrounding cities/churches came. Armando had some reservations at first because there were parts of the seminar that were different/contrary to what they have always known, but the material presented is thoroughly backed up by scripture. Well, everyone was very receptive and were thankful for having their eyes opened. Many of them even want to get certified themselves!
Armando wishes to thank you for your prayers! He is encouraged and very humbled by the experience of being used by God. Just imagine the possibilities, if those 60 people each presented the gospel to one person, then those people presented it to others...and from these little towns to surrounding towns and cities in a country that desperately needs hope. Please continue to pray that the people who attended will continue to share what they learned so the gospel will continue to spread in Mexico.
Armando is now in Acambaro and the pastor there has asked him to give the first 2 sessions of the seminar to the congregation. He will then be back in Mexico City Monday to continue the business portion of the trip. Again, please continue to pray...I may have more to report soon...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Irapuato Church
Armando went to Mexico City on a business trip and was able to extend the trip to go back and visit the church in Acambaro as well as Irapuato. He flew to Mexico City, bringing with him some computer equipment for a business associate. Normally, they would have paid much attention to that, scrutinizing everything to see if they can collect taxes on something. However, what they made a big deal and thoroughly questioned him about were the evangelism booklets, pamphlets, and especially the Bible...apparently, the X-ray machine could not recognize the Bible, but then again we all know it's not just any ordinary book! They also leafed through the gospel booklets (which were in Spanish) and Armando offered to give them one, but they declined. Well, maybe next time...
He arrived by bus in Irapuato Friday and on Saturday he will be giving an evangelism seminar there from an organization based in Dallas called EvanTell. He was informed a few days ago that there will be over 50 people there, WAY more people than Armando expected. Please pray for open and receptive hearts and minds. Check back to see how the conference went...
He arrived by bus in Irapuato Friday and on Saturday he will be giving an evangelism seminar there from an organization based in Dallas called EvanTell. He was informed a few days ago that there will be over 50 people there, WAY more people than Armando expected. Please pray for open and receptive hearts and minds. Check back to see how the conference went...
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Just The Beginning
Armando and Guillermo got home Sunday afternoon around 1:00 PM. The trip back was incredibly smooth and they even got unusually friendly immigration officers! He has SO many stories that I hope all of you will get a chance to hear sometime.
Armando just had a conversation with his cousin who attends the church and it was a very eye-opening...the kind of moment when you see in retrospect God's plan, and it wasn't necessarily what you had in mind. This trip for Armando was exploratory in nature in terms of how can we partner with them and how can we help in tangible ways. He brought leadership development messages for those in leadership already, which was received with much gratitude and excitement. What Armando didn't anticipate was perhaps THE biggest, most basic need the Acambaro church needed to learn and be shown was LOVE and COMPASSION. The reason Armando and Guillermo were received so graciously was because they actually showed love--they gave people hugs, they listened, prayed with individuals. Yes, other great things happened from the trip, but perhaps God sent them to Acambaro to show the church, "THIS is what you need for unity to happen, for you to flourish as a church! If the members are not even showing love and compassion for each other, why would anyone else want to step inside the church?"
They were all loving people individually, but left and right, Armando and Guillermo kept noticing the lack of love with each other. Armando even had to have a heart-to-heart talk with the pastor to confront him about the lack of the action of love in his congregation. From tonight's conversation, Armando was very encouraged to learn that certain people had their arm around their spouse, people were giving hugs to each other, playing/having fun with the gloves and baseballs Armando brought them (courtesy of a Sports training facility here in McKinney). He even learned that certain people who had stopped coming to church that he personally talked to, listened to, prayed with, were there at church on Sunday, happy and glad to be there! Imagine that!??! Something as simple as a hug, a listening ear, a prayer can change the course of someone's life!!
As the title says, this is only the beginning! Yes, the trip was very successful and lots of great things happened, BUT, there are also an abundance of needs. This is meant to be a long-term mission. There is much follow-up to be done. Continued prayers are needed. So friends, while this may be the end of these reports for this trip, this will not be the last about the Acambaro mission. God is not done working in that area. Spreading the gospel has become even more critical now that they have witnessed first-hand the need for it. Till next time, a heartfelt thanks for all your prayers for the trip. Let's praise God for the outcome! This is only the beginning...
Armando just had a conversation with his cousin who attends the church and it was a very eye-opening...the kind of moment when you see in retrospect God's plan, and it wasn't necessarily what you had in mind. This trip for Armando was exploratory in nature in terms of how can we partner with them and how can we help in tangible ways. He brought leadership development messages for those in leadership already, which was received with much gratitude and excitement. What Armando didn't anticipate was perhaps THE biggest, most basic need the Acambaro church needed to learn and be shown was LOVE and COMPASSION. The reason Armando and Guillermo were received so graciously was because they actually showed love--they gave people hugs, they listened, prayed with individuals. Yes, other great things happened from the trip, but perhaps God sent them to Acambaro to show the church, "THIS is what you need for unity to happen, for you to flourish as a church! If the members are not even showing love and compassion for each other, why would anyone else want to step inside the church?"
They were all loving people individually, but left and right, Armando and Guillermo kept noticing the lack of love with each other. Armando even had to have a heart-to-heart talk with the pastor to confront him about the lack of the action of love in his congregation. From tonight's conversation, Armando was very encouraged to learn that certain people had their arm around their spouse, people were giving hugs to each other, playing/having fun with the gloves and baseballs Armando brought them (courtesy of a Sports training facility here in McKinney). He even learned that certain people who had stopped coming to church that he personally talked to, listened to, prayed with, were there at church on Sunday, happy and glad to be there! Imagine that!??! Something as simple as a hug, a listening ear, a prayer can change the course of someone's life!!
As the title says, this is only the beginning! Yes, the trip was very successful and lots of great things happened, BUT, there are also an abundance of needs. This is meant to be a long-term mission. There is much follow-up to be done. Continued prayers are needed. So friends, while this may be the end of these reports for this trip, this will not be the last about the Acambaro mission. God is not done working in that area. Spreading the gospel has become even more critical now that they have witnessed first-hand the need for it. Till next time, a heartfelt thanks for all your prayers for the trip. Let's praise God for the outcome! This is only the beginning...
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