New Era

This blog has been rather quiet in recent months, but it was not for lack of news. New contacts continue to be made. Visits and on-going gospel conversations continue to be had. The faithful preaching of the Word is carried out. A new teaching series on the Heidelberg Catechism has been started. Prayer meetings continue to bless the congregation. Kids clubs are held on a regular basis. 

And that is only a quick snapshot of the work. 

But perhaps the most “new” development in the work is the addition of co-labourers: Marc and Hannah Vermeulen. Together with their two young boys, Marc and Hannah have been steadily progressing through the preparation and training stage of missionary work. They still have a ways to go, mainly nine months of language acquisition in Costa Rica, but they have been spending the last couple weeks with us here in Querétaro. 

One of the blessings of having them join us for several weeks before they head further south is that it has given us a glimpse of what it will be like to have two families on the field together. Up to this point, our family has been the sole mission workers. By no means do I mean we have been working alone. Quite to the contrary. God has richly blessed us with the help of all sorts of people from many different countries and churches. That has been a real joy for us – to see who God will place on our path to help us do what we, on our own, could not do. 

Having said that, it will be different to have another family who is working alongside us in the same mission. We have seen that already in a few weeks together, particularly with the recent Vacation Bible School we ran. We were able to share the load of all the preparation, planning, cleaning and more that goes with a week-long outreach, and that was a blessing. Also, when Annemarie was sick on Sunday, we had an accompanist to fill in for her! 

It has also been exciting to think about how having two men on the field could open up new possibilities for the work. At the moment, much of my time is spent on discipleship in the church and it can be challenging to find time for evangelism and following up on contacts. With two men sharing the work-load it will free up time for more outreach and more gospel-conversations on the streets and in the shops of our neighbourhood. 

As we think about the future and make plans for a “new era” in Mission in México, it is also important to remember that while man makes his plans, God is the One who makes things happen. Whether it is one missionary family on the field or dozens, we will still bump up against our human limitations and neediness. We still are in utter dependence on God to open hearts to the gospel; transform minds with the knowledge of Christ; strengthen mustard-seed faith; and build up His church into the stature of Christ. 

Such dependence is vital to any mission work and must continue to be at the center of our ministry, no matter the size or capabilities of our team.