Nice and Simple

Sometimes I just love Mexico!  Yesterday I woke up with an ear infection.  These are not uncommon for me here in Mexico.  I get 3 or 4 a year.  Back in Canada this would mean a doctors appointment - a month down the road!  Or it would mean waiting at the drop in clinic......................in the cold!  Unless you want to wait all morning, you need to be there in line outside a half hour before they open the door.  Even in a little town like ours!
Anyway I went a few blocks down the street to a Pharmacy where they have a doctor.  I had to pay $2.50 to see the doctor (which was refunded after I bought medication there).  I had to wait inside which meant air conditioning for about 5 minutes.  She said I had a fungal ear infection alright.  Right next door I bought the 2 medicines she prescribed for me which totaled about $20 and then she refunded my $2.50 for seeing the doctor.............................................

All said and done in 20 minutes or so!  And I am on the road to recovery!  Sometimes I just love Mexico!

Fruit is Coming!

            Some of the girls who come to the Drop-In-Center and some of the leaders making cupcakes
                                                   
Each Friday night is a time of satisfaction and joy for me.  It didn't always used to be that way however.

Every Friday night I go to the church to mostly observe (although the leaders have asked me to do some teaching for a few weeks) the Drop-In-Center we call “The Seed” or “La Semilla” in Spanish.  This is a ministry that we founded a few years ago.  Its purpose was to reach out to the teens of a nearby shanty town who wouldn't otherwise come to church.  My vision in this ministry was (and still is) to pour into the more mature youth in our church and train them to lead this ministry, which they are now doing.  Those first months after we started, really that first year, had its share of bumps along the road.  The youth who were running it weren’t very faithful in showing up and taking much leadership and the kids who came from the shanty town absolutely bounced off the walls!  Well times have changed!

We have mostly new leaders who are being much more faithful and responsible and the kids who come actually listen to what we have to say!  I have encouraged the leaders to focus on building relationships with these kids and that has been happening.  The female leaders will sometimes take the girls out for something to eat after the drop in centre or they plan an outing on another night of the week.  The male leaders just recently planned a night out at a local night-time soccer field for the boys.  They absolutely loved it!  Just this past Friday a mom of two of the female leaders came and began to train the girls in how to cut hair.  Her hope is to train them so that they might be able to earn some money in a respectable way and not end up on the streets selling themselves as so many in their circumstances do. 

I shared a short message from the word with the boys this past Friday and they were all attentive!  It was quite a shock for me!  This never used to be the case.  These boys are changing!  God is working in their hearts!  I have also seen a lot of maturity among the leaders of this ministry as they see that God is using them in the lives of these kids.  What a blessing for me to be a part of this and see how God is changing lives through this vision He gave me a few years ago. 

Thank-you for enabling us to be here to make a difference!

News From Haiti on our Adoption!

Introducing Jackson and Judeson!  We were overjoyed and overwhelmed to find out this past week that these 2 precious twin baby boys have been matched with our family for adoption!  Aren't they adorable?  These 2 little fellers are 4 months old.  As you can imagine our family is going crazy with excitement!  Unfortunately we aren't on the brink of bringing them home into our family just yet.  There is much paper work in Haiti and some immigration work in Canada to be done still.  So please pray with us that it will be done quickly!  We don't really know how long it will take but we do know that things are moving much quicker than they used to in Haiti since the earthquake.  Pray them home!  We appreciate your prayers so much!  Thanks for journeying with us!
On another note we are off to Mexico on Oct. 1st and will be returning at the beginning of December.  There is much ministry planned for this 2 month trip and we appreicate your prayers for that as well!  We will be in touch from Mexico!  Thank you for being in our corner!
Lane and Sheri
Alexis Jemma and Noah Elliott

September prayer letter

Check out our September Prayer letter by clicking here!

Crazy Amazing Missions Trip Comes to an End

It has been a week and a half or so since many of the young people I work with in Mexico were here in Western Canada on a missions trip!  It was such a blessing and a dream come true to have them here to see where I grew up etc and to get to know the people who sent us out to them.
We spent a week in Buffalo Narrows Saskatchewan doing a kids club there and in another smaller town called Dillon about 45 mins away.  We partnered with an E-Free church in Buffalo Narrows and it was a privilege to be able to plant seeds in that spiritually need community as well as encourage the pastor.  Working in an area with hard soil can be discouraging I am sure, so it was a blessing that the pastoral family was encouraged!  We also did ministry with teens and with moms.  I translated many testimonies from Spanish to English and many hearts were touched.
Then we spent the better part of a week doing another kids club at our home church in Sundre.  What a blessing it was to have our Mexican team billet out with friends from our home church!  The interaction between them was priceless and I know that our church was so encouraged and challenged with what they saw and heard.
We mixed in a bunch of other church presentations each evening as well as a presentation at the E-Free National Conference held in Okotoks.  Thankfully there was one break when we took the team to Banff National Park.  They were amazed as were we (even though we had been there before) at  God's nature and the work of His hands!
Often we a team goes on a missions trip the goal is to accomplish something at the destination, whether it be discipleship, evangelism or some other goal.  However often times I think the greatest work happens in the hearts of those who go to serve.  God is so amazing that way.  I saw many of the people from our Mexican church break out of their shell and share what God was doing in their life with strangers.  Some of them had never done that before and once they did and saw the reaction of the listeners (some of whom asked questions and related to their stories - I translated for them back and forth) they were hooked!  They were so thankful that God used them to touch someone's life!  Hopefully they will continue sharing and being used by Him back home in Mexico as well!
So thank you so much for your prayers for this trip.  It was amazing and it was about the busiest 2 and a half weeks of my life!

Pictured is the group at Lake Morraine in Banff National Park.  We sang a song of praise to God at that location above the lake, in Spanish!  Some onlookers cheered afterward!

One Last Push Before the End of the Season

Monday night we were out at a local vineyard again.  The number of people from the church was larger than ever!  We must have had about 15 people there!  Once we arrived we walked around the area in groups of 2 where the people sleep etc with bibles in hand.  We started up conversations about spiritual matters, matters of the heart.  Almost all the Migrant Workers listened to what we had to say and most wanted a bible.  I think we gave away about 400 in an hour!  Then we invited them to come an listen to a few praise songs that some of the youth played live for the people.  After that it was time for a few short videos which explained the true gospel message and then I wrapped it up, again with the gospel message from John 15 "I am the vine you are the branches".  I figured the Migrant Harvest Workers who harvest grapes should be able to relate to that part of scripture!  Then one of the men from the church prayed for the people who were there listening.  He invited anyone who had been convicted, or who wanted to know Christ to come forward.  About 30 or so people came forward, most of them young men!  Some of them were crying, even sobbing.  I believe the tears were because of a repentant heart.  These young men really wanted to know Christ!  You could just feel the Spirit of the Lord present as my friend prayed and prayed for these people!

It was a great night, a great way to finish what has been a wonderful season of harvesters coming to hear about and some of them coming to know Jesus!  I know He has been glorified in our effort out there.  Hopefully we will be able to continue in discipleship with those few who do remain at the vineyards year round.  We are so thankful to the Lord for this opportunity and thankful to the Lord for people who gave financially for the bibles to be purchased!

Check out our most recent prayer/news letter by clicking here!  

Ministry to Migrant Workers

Back in Mexico!

No we aren't here to stay..............yet, but we are here as a family once again!

We were able to find really cheap flights from Great Falls Montana to Phoenix where I had left the car last time I came up from Mexico. So we picked up the car in Phoenix and drove it to Mexico! It was very affordable to do it this way and what a blessing for me to have my family with me this time!

Sheri and the kids are really excited to be here again as well, even if it is only until the beginning of May when we go back.

As for the ministry here, the outreach to the Migrant Workers in Vineyards close by continues to be very busy as each Monday and Thursday evening we are out there showing a Christian movie/preaching/singing and discipling. There are hundreds of people from Southern Mexico who are hearing the good news of Christ, many for the first time! What a privilege to be able to deliver the good news to those who haven't heard it before! We have handed out over 300 bibles and are ordering more because the need is so great!

Thanks for keeping up with us! We appreciate your prayers!

Amazing opportunity/responsibility

Pictured are the young men who responded to the message that was presented last week at the vineyard that we visit. Please pray that the seeds that have been planted and watered would not be robbed or chocked out but would grow and flourish unto new life, eternal life, eventually bearing much fruit!

I was just listening to a message online and it hit me again what an amazing opportunity/responsibility it is that God has given me. As you can see in the picture above the people who hear our message (mostly young men) really do respond! They have questions and want to know more about God and His plan of salvation!

I am going out to a different vineyard tonight (Thursday) to present another movie in Spanish and am going to preach a short message in relation to the video. I am unable to move these men in their hearts, only God can do that. And God responds to our prayers so I would ask you to pray for me, pray for these men, pray that God would have a harvest among the harvesters (these young men are working in the vineyards harvesting grapes)!

I would absolutely love to see many of these young men come to truly know the Lord and then take His message of salvation back to their native areas in Southern Mexico where the gospel still has not made major inroads in some areas. The opportunity is astounding! Pray with me!

In Mexico Once Again

Hey Everyone,

I left my family for Mexico on Tuesday. That is never an easy thing
to do, the 2nd time wasn't much better than the 1st time I left! This

going back and forth every 3 weeks does carry an emotions price tag with it!

It was a long day of traveling as I had to transfer planes in Salt Lake
City, and Phoenix before arriving in Hermosillo. My time here has
been good so far and I hope that things will even be better tonight!
The ministry to the Migrant Workers is going to take place tonight
and I will be presenting a Christian movie (or part of one) and then
giving a message after that. I expect there to be between 100-200
people out there tonight so I am really asking for your prayers! I
haven't preached in Spanish in a long time! I really need your
prayers for this tonight. There will be many people there who speak
Spanish, but not as their first language. Pray that God would help
me to communicate clearly and help the hearers to understand!

I hope to send you some pictures and a report about how it went.
This will all take place just after the sun sets so be praying for
the God of the harvest to have a great harvest tonight!

Thanks so much for standing with me tonight!

In Christ and for His glory,

Lane

The Workers Are Few

(Pictured are some of the Migrant Workers from Southern Mexico, as they listen to a gospel presentation)

The dusting of snow falling on the evergreens that surround our house just west of Sundre Alberta is a big change from the desert where I have been the past 2 plus weeks. This past Wednesday Sheri and the kids picked me up from the Calgary Airport. It was so good to see them again!

Just before I left for Mexico I got a call from Greg Neufeld, my teammate in Mexico. He told me he would be coming up to Calgary to see his dad who had been hospitalized and wondered if I could delay my departure by one day so that we might travel back to Mexico together. What an unexpected blessing of God to be able to spend 3 days together getting caught up and also planning ahead! Greg’s dad has recovered and is back at home again thankfully!

My time in Mexico was profitable. It was good to be reunited with many friends from the church and to see how the various ministries had advanced in our absence. It gives me such joy and fulfillment knowing that people in the church have continued running the Soup Kitchen and the Drop in Centre and have continued to reach out these last 5 months while we have been in Canada!

One opportunity that God opened up for us just before we left for home assignment last year was to bring the gospel to various vineyards around the Hermosillo region of our state of Sonora. We have an open door into 6 different vineyards that harvest grapes and oranges mainly. Each vineyard will have as many as 1200 workers (mainly young men) at the height of the harvest. Many of these young men come from areas in Southern Mexico that are considered to be “unreached” by the gospel message. While I was there I was able to get a team together from our church to go out to one particular vineyard and present the gospel via a Christian movie and preaching. This team continues to go out to this vineyard each week, presenting the truth of the gospel.

Pray that I will be able to motivate other evangelical churches in the city to go out to the other 5 vineyards! When you think about it, we have an open door to reach as many as 7000 young men with the good news of Jesus Christ and currently we are only reaching about 1000. Matthew 9:37-38 has become more real to me than ever! “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”

Boy is that ever true! We certainly need more people to step up and get the message out to these other vineyards! I think about the wording “harvest field” and that is exactly what these young men are doing! They are working in the harvest fields! I think they will have a pretty good understanding of Jesus’s teaching about the vine and the branches!

Thank you for your prayers, we need you! Pray for more workers in the harvest fields! I will be back in Mexico for 3 weeks starting near the end of February.