Having Family Close-by!!

Since arriving in Mexico, we as a family have been accustomed to living far from our family (i.e. parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc). It's just an aspect of missionary life that you get used to....not to say that you "like it" but it's a part of the "cost" that we knew full well when we came here. Yes, our kids call our fellow colleagues "aunt and uncle" but you still miss those family ties.

Well, in God's plan, he brought some family down to us this past spring....actually the past 3 years during the spring!! Dennis and Sharon Kirsch (my aunt and uncle) have had a wonderful ministry here since 2008 helping at our CAM-related camp close-by called "Koinonia". What an incredible blessing to have them here!!

Uncle Dennis has helped in invaluable ways at the camp with his skills in repairing, building, maintenance....well, you name it and he can do it! He did an extension on the kitchen at the camp this year....what an incredible blessing to have another third added on to the small kitchen! Now it's almost spacious!! Our house is also in much better working order due to his handyman skills that have been put to use here too! Aunt Sharon (my Dad's sister) has also been very busy helping with some data input for CAM's website called Obrero Fiel. She has done an incredible amount of work to help get a Bible study tool (called Treasury of Scripture Knowledge) online for Spanish speakers.

A couple weekends ago I traveled with them to the border just to help with any unexpected events. Fortunately, we had a safe trip with very few stops (a couple military checkpoints but that's just normal!) and basically an uneventful trip. They will soon be back "at home" in Canada. They are greatly missed here as they impacted MANY lives during their months here. I thank the Lord for the great joy of having them here and having the chance to re-connect with family!

Mega Missions Conference in Guatemala

I just returned from the beautiful country of Guatemala where I (Bob) attended a "Mega" Missions Conference in Guatemala City. The conference was held at a seminary which CAM started many years ago called SETECA. What an awesome experience to be able to attend and see how God's hand is moving to send out Latin missionaries all over the world.

Over 650 participants came from all over the world: Spain, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Turkey, England, the U.S., and a host of other countries as well. A variety of workshops were offered on a variety of topics related to the missionary "enterprise" specifically from a Latin perspective. The overall theme for the conference was "Crossing New Frontiers: A Great Commission". One of the highlights for me was to see many folks go forward on the last night to commit their lives to serving God wherever that might be.

Another highlight for me was to have 9 other colleagues from Mexico (both missionary and national) with whom to share the experience! Three of us went representing the missions mobilization ministry of FAMEX here in Mexico. All of us went away even more passionate about missions as well as burdened to continue to promote a "Great Comission" vision throughout Mexico. Also, we pray that God will raise up more workers from Mexico to be sent out to the unreached peoples of the world. Please pray with us to that end.