This is our last prayer letter. I wanted to show what God did during the year. It's kind of unbelievable, looking back at all the blessings we've had, not without battles. All the glory is our Lord's! He did it, and we rejoice to be here for the birth of this church. We pray that the fruit God has given remains to bear more fruit to His glory!
My next post will be some of the pictures I included in the letter.
January-December, 2011; Year in Review
Dear Praying Friends,
In this past year, God has done an amazing work here in Tizayuca, Mexico. I wanted to provide a quick month-by-month review of the year for our supporting churches and friends. God has blessed and done great things for us!
January: We started building on the property God provided for us. A building was an urgent need, as we were meeting in the back yard of one of our church members. The space was getting very crowded! I preached on the theme of revival all month long. God added a man to our pastoral team, and he is acting as a music minister and youth pastor.
February: Brother Jaimez, our co-laborer here, was injured on the 4th in accident, and began a month of bedrest, to heal bruised lungs. God blessed the church as they took care of the Jaimez family during this time. God gave us a great blessing with letting me get plates to put on my van so I could drive legally in Mexico after permissions I was using were cancelled.
March: We had our First Anniversary service on the 6th. We had seen real spiritual growth, and many came forward that day for believer’s baptism, which they had been putting off. The next service we had nine baptisms in the little inflatable pool we had purchased for the purpose. Later that month, I travelled to the border to cancel permissions on the van, so we could use the plates.
April: The focus was Stewardship, and we held a conference. As we preached the sermons, many people came forward to ask more questions and pray about how they could please God in their stewardship. They have a heart to do God’s will, and God blessed them for it! God provided a way for the unmarried couples in the church to get married without paying the punitive fine, and one couple made their union legal and honoring to God. This couple has since grown by leaps and bounds. They are praying about a calling to ministry, and are serving faithfully in the church, learning all that they can with a hungry heart. Obedience brings great blessing!
May: On the 8th, we had our first meeting in the new building. While there were no windows, or doors yet, the excitement was tangible. Our emphasis was on missions. On Mission’s Sunday, families from all over Mexico presented the need for missions in their home state. Awareness of the need for evangelizing the world increased and people began to be more serious about weekly soulwinning and learning how to win souls.
June; We held a Family Conference, and we spent this month focusing on helping families. Satan is attacking families everywhere, and Mexico is no exeption. We worked on teaching biblical family dynamics. Since then, many of the couples have been working on improving their relationships and building families that please God.
July: We had a Kid’s Camp right in the church building! The youth group helped taking care of the children, and they had a wonderful time.
August: At the beginning of the month, we had a work day to prepare the building for the Vacation Bible School, then we worked together as a church to invite the children in the area. God rewarded our labor with 58 precious young people lined up the first day. More children came every day until the last day, when we had 106! There were 40 professions of faith, and we have had three visiting families. One family who discovered us at the VBS is still coming faithfully and growing in Christ. We dedicated the new building on 22nd, giving not just the stone and mortar of the building, but ourselves to serve the Lord in this place. In a very sweet blessing of God on us, He called one of our teenagers to service during this conference, and she went to Bible College a week later.
September The theme was Liberty in Christ. September is Mexico’s patriotic month, and while we are thankful for our religious and personal liberty, we praise God also for the liberty from sin that He has given us, so that we can live righteously before Him.-
October:: Our weekly evangelism had grown again to the point that we needed another clinic to teach the new generation of believers how to share their faith. I taught on personal evangelism, as well as how to disciple new believers, and we are thrilled to see many of our faithful soulwinners discipling others in the way of Christ! Excitement over winning souls and obeying the Great Commission is growing!
November: The emphasis was on the importance of giving thanks this month, and we had a sweet service of Thanksgiving, with many tears and praises lifted up to God for the many, many victories we received at the hand of our great Saviour.
December: A holiday month, December is usually a very busy time in churches, and we were busy also. I preached on keeping our focus on Christ, and on His gift of Salvation, so that we can have a holiday that brings honor to Him. Activities included a couple’s banquet, a Christmas musical in which all the children participated, and a special Christmas service when we remembered Christ’s wonderful gift of His own life to us.
I am amazed when I look back that this year and see all that God has done in our lives and in our families as a church. I praise His name for the many victories!
Thank you for taking the time to read our report, as well as your faithful support and prayer. God bless!
In Christ,
Missionary Ryan Case
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