Urban Hope Esperanza Urbana

The Workers Are Few

2012-02-06T11:28:00.006-07:00

(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.

The Ministries of Urban Hope

2011-11-08T12:56:00.001-07:00

The Rigors of Home Assignment

2011-10-13T21:46:00.002-06:00

Home Assignment (Furlough) is a strange thing. It dawned on me as we entered into Sheri’s parents place, that neither they nor my parents probably are going to get back up to our house (my mom hasn’t seen it yet) which is 3.5 hours north of where they live. The reason – we are constantly coming down to where they are! We have been doing quite a bit of traveling the last little while, at least it feels that way!

Moving forward, each weekend till December is booked with various speaking engagements or conferences. It can begin to take a toll on family. As I walked into Sheri’s parents’ house last night, I realized that most people don’t live this way. Most of them stay put generally. It is nice however, that we are allowed flexibility in that Sheri and the kids don’t always have to come with me as I travel to different churches from Regina to Langley BC. I hope I am not coming across as whining……………………….. many missionaries I know have to travel from the east coast, to the west coast……………………………of both Canada and the US! So by comparison, we have it pretty easy.

The picture of the kids is just them getting back to their Canadian roots! It was during a stop this summer while camping in the Rocky Mountains!

Well, just thought I would let you all know what has been happening in our lives lately. We are working on a new prayer card and will get that out soon. The next few weeks look like this. Saskatoon, Didsbury, Regina, Langley BC. Pray for us! Thankful to have you on our team.

Lane and Sheri and the kids

Happy to be Settled

2011-08-13T21:40:00.001-06:00

It has been a while since I have updated the blog so I thought it would be a good idea to do so. We are finally settled in a house just 3 kms south of our church in the evergreen studded pristine wilderness west of Sundre Alberta! That sounded good didn’t it? It looks good too! We are loving the peace and tranquility that this setting offers. Often Sheri will just step outside and take a minute to smell the pines and drink it in. I think it is medicine to her!

The kids love this area as well. There is enough grass out here for a full size football field! Lots of room for them to run and for our Maltese Poodle to run as well! This really is a nice change for us after the rigors of life in Hermosillo. We love the ministry there and look forward to going back, but we are also looking forward to our remaining time here too! We are not taking for granted the quietness that surrounds us!

I have updated our picture website with new pictures of our trip back from Mexico and some camping and catching up time with family etc. It is a joy to see family and friends again, we have many to see still! Just click on the slideshows at the top of the blog to go to our picture website to see the larger version of the pictures.

The Picture is of our front yard as the moon is rising.

back from Chihuahua and leaving again!

2011-07-12T12:45:00.002-06:00

It was a real good week in Chihuahua, thank you to all of you who prayed for us! I think we blessed the little church that we partnered with and I know they blessed us! At the height of the Kids club, there were 62 kids! Some Mom's came on the last day and indicated they were going to keep coming to church so please pray that it happens! That is the kind of fruit that God loves to see!
As for our family, we are in the throws of packing up and preparing to leave Hermosillo. We hope to leave tomorrow or Thursday and then arrive in Alberta a week later (hoping to take a night or 2 in Yellowstone National Park).
Please pray for saftey and a good trip back to Alberta. Sheri and the kids and I are excited to get going but sad to be leaving as well. We need your prayers, transition is never an easy time for a family!
God bless you and thank you for your prayers! We will be in touch once we get back to Alberta!

Off to Chihuahua City

2011-06-30T15:06:00.002-06:00

Today I (Lane) am packing up for a trip out to Chihuahua City tomorrow with some of the Church Youth group. We are heading out for a missions trip (partnering with another Church in Chihuahua City to put on a kids club and be an encouragement to this new Church). The plan is to leave tomorrow morning bright and early (6am) Pacific Time and arrive there by about 6pm. We will be coming back on the 8th. Please pray for safety on the highways and that we would be a blessing to this fairly new church that we are going to be partnering with. We will be praying for a good number of kids to come to the VBS we will be doing there.

Pray also for Sheri and the kids. Sheri has a big task in front of her as she is packing up for our Home Assignment that we will be taking once I get back from Chihuahua. Her health still isn't wonderful and with this extra stress of me leaving she could sure use your prayers!

Thank you for standing with us! We covet your prayers!

Harvest Time!

2011-06-10T11:28:00.008-06:00

(Some of the 250 Migrant Workers from Southern Mexico
exploring Gods word in their new Bibles)

God is at work! We are excited to be able to be involved with what He is doing here in Nothern Mexico, and in the South as well! What do I mean? Read on!

It was about a year ago that God put the plight of the unreached indiginous tribes of the world on our hearts. We prayed and did some investigating. It turns out that in this part of the world, and in Mexico specifically, many of the unreached groups live south of Mexico City. We found this info on the Joshua Project Website - to have a look yourself go to http://www.joshuaproject.net/ There is a really cool application that reads "Download KMZ file" on their website. It loads Google Earth and shows the reached and unreached people groups of the world by little different colored dots. Get the program free by clicking here http://www.joshuaproject.net/great-commision-maps.php If the link doesn't work just copy it and paste it into your internet browser.

Ok, fast forward to about a month ago. I got an invite to a local vineyard by a Christian friend from church who caters food to many different vineyards in the area. He provides food for the workers in the vineyard. These are private vineyards but since they contract him to provide the food, he knows the owners personally and therefore I was able to go in and see the operation.

It turns out that right now there are about 700 workers harvesting the grapes and the majority of them come from south of Mexico City! Many of them speak different tribal languages as well as Spanish. If you listen you can hear other languages being spoken. We didn't realize it but the "unreached tribal groups" are right here in our backyard! So we have been out to this one vineyard 3 times so far and last night we gave away 200 bibles! Some of the men and youth from our church came along with me and did a great job at handing out the bibles and explaining basic things about the bibles. As well one of the leaders in our church who is gifted in evangelism presented the gospel message and many people responded!
It is amazing to have 250 people who perhaps have never been in a Christian church and never had the gospel message explained to them sit there attentively for over 2 hours! One of the things that I am very excited about is the enthusiasm that the church people are showing for this ministry!
I mentioned that my friend caters to many different vineyards in the area. I just got off the phone with him and he wants to know how we can plan to reach the other vineyards as well! One of the vineyards has about 1200 workers!
Please pray for us! We are going to be praying and planning as we consider how to reach these people who are hungry for God's word! We will be returning from Canada in December and at that time we hope to begin at some of these different vineyards.
All of this is for God's glory, we want to get His word out into the hands of the people who need it trusting that "It will not return to me empty" Isaiah 55:11 There are 2 harvests happening. One is of grapes, and one is much more important that grapes! The human heart!

Training for Missions Trips

2011-05-24T18:13:00.005-06:00

As a youth group, we are currently preparing for 2 missions trips (Chihuahua City and Cuba) this summer. I tasked the youth with completing the "Experiencing God" Bible Study workbook and memorizing the 12 accompanying scriptures as part of the prerequisites to going on the trips. They also need to attend 2 weekends of team training.
Churches in Chihuahua City and Cuba have asked our church to send teams to them to partner in doing children's ministry this summer. It is a privilege to be asked to go! So we are busy training our youth and raising money here in order to go. If you would like to participate in sending a Mexican church to spread the gospel in another part of Mexico and in Cuba, please go to
https://www.efccm.ca/donate
Under "Project Designation" choose "Missionary" then in the box to the right put "Elliott #2102-Summer Ministry Trips"
It is a difficult task to raise the needed money although we are trying as a church! It would be wonderful to partner with you in bringing the gospel message to kids in needy places, so would you consider sending a child to one of these summer camps for $10? Or how bout sending one of our youth on the trip in order to help run the summer camps for $80?

If you have any questions, just email me at lane.elliott@yahoo.ca

The picture above is one of the group dynamics we did as a youth group a few weekends ago. The idea was to have all team members stay on the chairs and off of the ground while moving from one end of the field to the other and crossing over a rope that was about 3 feet off of the ground. This took a lot of communication and team work! We all failed many times but it certainly did show us the need to communicate well and work together!

This group activity had to do with staying as a group and not leaving anyone behind as we walked through the desert just outside of the city. Notice the beautiful Sonora desert!

This last activity had to do with what we as Christians will do (jump into a muddy pit) in order for a little "Sinful pleasure" - A buried chocolate bar! Once we realized how muddy we were, everyone wanted to shower off and not stay dirty because the Bible calls us sheep, we want to be clean, not stay dirty like pigs!

Dusty outing with our teammates and Director

2011-04-06T16:25:00.002-06:00

This is what our day outside of the city looked like. We went out with our teammates Greg and Shelli Neufeld and our Director Steve and his wife Myra Neufeld. We had to drive about an hour to find a creek (the kids loved it), however it was a windy day and in the desert, even in a "nice spot" in the desert, well the video shows what we got!

Olds Koinonia Christian School comes to Arbol de Vida Church in Hermosillo!

2011-04-04T13:06:00.005-06:00

It has been a blessing (as always) to have OKCS with us again this year. Their trip will wrap up on Tuesday the 5th. Much ministry has taken place, from orphanage work, to a kids camp especially for the young victims and their families of the daycare fire that happened over a year ago, to ministry with kids from a poor neighborhood, to the construction of a temporary tent structure where our future sactuary will be located (we are meeting under the new structure in the video- for the first time)!
The group did a great job on "Jesus Messiah" in Spanish! Thank you Olds Koinonia!

A Calm in the Storm

2011-03-12T13:04:00.003-07:00

These last few weeks have been trying ones. I (Lane) have been really stressed about various things. You know how sometimes it seems like everything falls at once? Like when it rains, it pours? Well it hardly ever rains here in the Sonoran Desert, but these last few weeks have seemed like a steady downpour in some ways.
There have been a number of things come up that need my attention and it just sometimes seems overwhelming. On top of that it, I feel like I am getting stretched thin in regard to dealing with people. That is me being brutally honest. Dealing with imaturity over and over again just plain ol gets tiring sometimes. Also Sheri continues to struggle with her health. She has been doing alright (no more pain associated to the stone they removed from her bile duct) but she still deals with frequent bouts of muscle ache in her shoulders, arms and legs and a heavy tiredness. These bouts last for a day or 2 and happen every week or so. The doctors are trying to get to the bottom of it. We are off to a new doctor this coming Monday.
This blog entry is not a whining session, although it may seem like it so far. You might be wondering what the picture above has to do with everything I have been saying so far!
Well this past week God gave us a break in the "storm". We escaped for a day to San Carlos (a beach town about an hour and a half from where we live). I had to pay my car insurance there and it was a good reason to take the family, take a break from home schooling and just rest on the beach! So the picture of the kids above is them playing on a sand dune right beside the ocean (the water is behind me when I took the pic). We just layed on a blanket and ate some munchies and the kids had a blast building sand castles! We then went out for lunch at a taco stand and then back to a different beach for family devotions. It was so good to read His word and just breath in His emensity looking out over the ocean! The kids finished our time by throwing rocks at jelly fish!

Psalm 23:1-3 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

This verse truly came alive to us this week! God is good and He knows just when we need a "calm in the storm".

Pray for Miguel

2011-03-01T15:46:00.004-07:00

This past Sunday our friend Miguel Angel moved out into his own place. He had been staying with us for the last 3 months. Miguel is a New Believer in Jesus and Lane has been discipling him. It is wonderful to see the steps of faith that Miguel is taking and seeing his new faith grow.
Those of you who follow our news letters may recognize the picture of Miguel, perhaps you have been praying for him as well. Miguel is waiting for a kidney transplant as neither of his kidneys are functioning. He is in a tough spot being unable to work any job that comes along due to his health condition. He can work, but it needs to be the right job, and not a physical job.

Miguel has been making good decisions lately and we pray that those good decisions continue now that he is on his own. His house is on the other side of the city so we won't see him as often now that is for sure. The enemy will certainly take every opportunity to tempt him and there will be more opportunities now that he is living on his own. We pray that his new found faith would continue to grow and that he would be able to continue to have wisdom to leave behind the negative influences that have impacted him in the past.

Please join us in praying for a job for Miguel, for a kidney transplant, but most of all that God would continue to grow Miguel into a wise and passionate follower of Jesus!

Current Goings On

2011-02-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

It has been a hard few days. It can be a roller coaster when you are ministering to broken people with difficult pasts. Just yesterday one of the men we have been helping out as a church decided to leave town. He struggles with alcoholism and had recently come out of a rehab centre. Well he fell off the wagon again, lost his job because of it and decided that he was getting on the bus and leaving town. So he did. I am not sure where he went or if or when he is going to come back. Please pray for him!

On another front, the Tuesday and Thursday bible studies are going well. Tuesday nights I (Lane) get together with a young married couple who I met at the gym, they both work at that gym. They approached me and started asking questions etc and so one thing led another and now each Tuesday night we go through a basic discipleship book. They have many questions and it is fun to see them discover truths in the bible, especially as those truths relate to their marriage – they have been married for one year.

The Thursday night bible study consists of University students from our church. There are about 8-9 each Thursday night and we are studying “Experiencing God” Henry Blackaby. The study has been really good. I knew they would benefit from it greatly as I did the study some 10 years ago or so, but this is my first time leading this study, in Spanish none the less! Their eyes are being opened to how God leads in their lives and how they are to respond to him.

Please pray for the things mentioned above and one more as well. I am in the process of turning the leadership of the Youth Drop In Centre we run over to the University students. Last Friday was the first time that they were in charge of it and there were some rough spots. I guess that is to be assumed. Please pray that they would “own” this ministry and not wait for someone else to do what needs to be done, but rather take it upon themselves to do it as for the Lord. There are 6 of them on the leadership committee.

Thanks so much for your prayers! We are grateful!

Youth Drop In Centre Christmas Party/Outreach

2010-12-20T14:19:00.002-07:00

Thank you so much to all who prayed for this ministry last Friday night! I was so proud of our youth! This party was their idea, they put it together, they worked hard to make it happen! There were about 60 or more adolescent kids at our church who don't normally come to church. They saw God's love in action and they heard the gospel message! It was great to be a part of it! May God continue to grow and use our church youth for His glory!

1st Anniversary of the Soup Kitchen - "El Comedor"

2010-12-04T16:08:00.001-07:00

Today was a great day, and it isn't even finished yet! Today we celebrated God's faithfulness to the kids of who come to the Soup Kitchen - "El Comedor". The Comedor has now been in operation for one year!

We started with about 90-100 kids when we began this ministry and as expected, we dropped down some, but one year later, we continue with 50-60 kids each and every week. This ministry is special to us because it is work that God is doing between 2 churches, and from different denominations! We work together because we believe God wants to change the neighborhood that we share. The vast majority of the kids that come to the Comedor live in very humble homes, consisting of some tin for a roof and nothing more than tar paper for walls. The community is full of drug and alcohol abuse, not to mention the unseen sexual abuse that takes place. It is a hurting place to say the least. However each Saturday morning there is excitement and hope!

We sing with the kids and pray together and then we split the olders ones from the younger ones. The older kids come to our church to play soccer and hear a devotional and the younger ones stay at our neighboring church to do a craft or color pictures and hear Bible Stories! Then we reunite both groups and finish our time with a meal that has been prepared by members of our neighboring church. This ministry is fully funded by the two churches as members of both churches give so that we can purchase the food. It has been such an encouragement to us to see the people of our church giving regularily to this ministry.

It was great to see how God has used "El Comedor" to touch the lives of not only the kids (some are now coming to either of the 2 churches) but also the volunteer leaders who help out each week. There were tears of joy today on the faces of some and big wide smiles on the faces of many!

Sheri's Ordeal and God's Faithfulness in it

2010-11-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

What a crazy last 2 weeks! I left last Wednesday for meetings in Mexico City. On Friday I received news that Sheri was not in good health. We were sending messages back and for via cell phone. Things got progressively worse as she ended up in emergency at the hospital a few times and finally got admitted into the hospital.

I changed my flight and came back a day early arriving on Monday morning (just over a week ago now). The diagnosis came in shortly after I arrived, Hepatitis A. So we went on that advice from the doctor. We left the hospital on Wednesday but Sheri’s stomach pain came back in waves after eating. On Thursday Sheri endured a growing pain in her stomach for hours until we went into emergency again. She was at the point of fainting from the pain it had got so bad. I had to carry her in my arms to our vehicle and then from the vehicle into the hospital emergency room. The security guard and the doctors had really big eyes as they saw me carrying her and her head laid against me, unable to support the weight of her head herself. The pain then went away on its own and after confirming that there was no impending danger health wise for her, they sent us home again.
The next day – Friday- a familiar pain began again and after a few cell phone calls to the doctor and a few new medications tried, he sent us to another doctor on Friday for an appointment. We still were being told it was Hapatitis A. However after an exam from this new doctor, he told us it was likely not Hapatitis but rather a stone caught perhaps in a bile duct. His plan was a blood test and then the following Wednesday an ERCP (Endoscopy). However the next day – Saturday –again Sheri started with pain after eating only a quarter of a bowl of oatmeal. I called the Doctor (the doctors here are so accessible and give you their personal cell phone numbers etc). He told us to meet him at the hospital and that they would speed up the whole process of getting to the bottom of her pain. So they admitted her again on Saturday and Sunday morning they did the ERCP and indeed found what the ultra sound could not find- a stone in her bile duct.

We are grateful for the technology of today (they went down her throat with a camera etc and made a small incision in her bile tube, pulling the stone into her small intestine where it won’t cause any more trouble). The care we received from the 2nd doctor was really good and we are so thankful that the medical care available here is so good. Not only is the medical technology good, but with high speed wireless internet in the hospital room, a flat screen tv and Starbucks and Walmart across the street we were pretty pampered. It is safe to say that I didn’t feel much like a “Hard-Core Missionary”!

I think one of the things that stands out to us the most is how we received such wonderful support via emails from so many of those friends of ours who follow our ministry. We were overwhelmed to know that no fewer than 5 or 6 churches prayed for Sheri during their Sunday morning service not to mention the numerous emails we received from so many friends and family! I read every email to Sheri and she was so encouraged to know so many people cared and were praying!

We recognize now that what was wrong with her was not a medically complicated thing to fix, but for much of the time we weren’t sure what was wrong with her. That is what was hard to deal with, not to mention Sheri’s pain! I could only take so much of seeing her in so much pain, never mind how she felt through it all!

God really showed us how much He cares for us through this all. He had our friend and team-mate Shelli Neufeld here to take care of Sheri (trips to the hospital), and He had other friends and team-mates-Jack and Lucy Vogt- here to look after the kids for us (Thank you Lucy!). God also showed us His love through all of you who took the time to send an email and tell us that you cared enough to pray. Thank you! We truly are so encouraged by your prayers! How many people can say that they have literally hundreds of people praying for them? It is a privilege to be Missionaries here and to have so many of you on our side!

Please continue to pray for Sheri as she recovers. The stone likely had something to do with causing Pancreatitis from which she is still recovering. She hasn’t eaten much of anything yet and is still really hesitant to do so, but little by little she will increase her meals. She will be on a no fat diet for a time.

Once again, thank you for your countless prayers! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful team of praying people with us as we continue striving to extend God’s kingdom here in Northern Mexico!

Short video encouragement to the Elliotts

2010-11-21T12:59:00.006-07:00

Musings

2010-11-09T18:16:00.002-07:00

Do you know how they say that a Doctor needs to not get emotionally attached to his or her patients? I think it is accepted practice that a doctor does not perform surgery on a loved one as they may not be able to perform well. I wonder how much that applies to a missionary........................maybe a little, maybe not at all.

To be completely honest I have been having a hard time, stressed and just not myself. The reason? I am sure it is more than one thing but part of it is that some "patients" of mine haven't been doing too well in the areas I have been attending to. I know I just need to do my best and pray and leave it to God but like some doctors, I have been taking the stress of it home with me. I don't want to become cold and seem unloving - afterall isn't that what we are here for? To show Christ's LOVE? I know Christ calls us to love and that is my goal so I need to keep loving but it is hard to not fall with people when they fall. Maybe I am supposed to fall with them in some sense though.......... If we are to "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ", it is hard to not feel it big time when the one you are carrying the burden for falls.

Sometimes Deut. 1:12 seems very real in my life - "But how can I bear your problems, and your burdens and your disputes all by myself"? I know I am not alone, that you are praying for me and my family, but sometimes it just feels like the load is heavy. I guess I just want to see people succeed so much. However God has been patient with me, so I need to be patient with others.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer, we need you!

I also ask for your prayers for Sheri and the kids and me as well this week. I am leaving for Mexico City tomorrow morning (Wednesday) for a denominational conference and won't be back until next Tuesday. Pray for Sheri and the kids in my absence as well as for safety on the trip. I will be flying with my teammate Greg Neufeld.

Blessings.

Lane

Deut. 1:12

God is Working

2010-10-06T13:45:00.004-06:00

It is such a blessing to be involved in a ministry that God is using! It is a joy to see the people of the church begin to reach out and really care for others. Let me give you an example.

A few months ago a family in our city experienced a tragedy that no one should have to experience. Their father and husband (a police chief) was murdered right in front of their eyes by assailants as the family played at a neighborhood park. This man leaves behind his wife and 4 children ages 6 or so up to 14. As you can imagine the children and wife are struggling mightily.

One of the ladies from our church is a hair dresser and one of her clients is the wife I have mentioned. Well our church member reached out to her and invited her to a ladies retreat that was held about a month ago. At this retreat the now widow gave her heart to Christ! She has now started to come to church with her kids and the older 2 kids have also started to come to youth on Saturday! It is such an emotional thing for me to see this family in church on Sundays learning about Christ in the midst of their heartache.

God is so good, he can bring new life out of tragedies! Please pray for this family. They are going to need much love and support and I believe the body of Jesus Christ - the Church - needs to meet these needs. Please pray that our church accepts them, loves them, and shows them Jesus.

God is working!

Youth Missions Trip

2010-08-29T17:44:00.001-06:00

Soup Kitchen- reaching out to "the least of these"

2010-08-06T17:57:00.005-06:00

fun surprise

2010-07-29T18:49:00.003-06:00

Finally the rains have begun! We are desperate here in Hermosillo for rain! We have been on water rashens since I can't remember when (close to a year maybe). We have city water from about 2pm till 10pm. In the morning there is no water pressure but we do get a dribble from our resevior on the roof which fills with city water when there is city water. They keep saying that once the summer rains come the water situation will improve. Well it has been raining off and on this week. Along with the rains though come problems.

On Tuesday I was informed that we had a waterfall coming from the roof of the church and pouring right into the Sunday School rooms. So I was up on the roof in the rain trying to patch up the holes with duct tape and silicon! Went back today in the rain to check on the patch job and it is holding nicely till it can be fixed permanently!

The biggest surprise of all though was a rat! Yes that is right, a rat, in our shower no less! The drain cover has not been screwed down in sometime as the screws rusted out. We have been covering the drain with a rubbermaid small container because of sewer smell. Sheri was in our room and she thought she heard something in the shower, scratching on plastic. So she peeked in and sure enough there was a rat in the rubbermaid container with was upside down over the drain cover! The container is semi transparent so she could see that it was indeed a rat! Sheri called me and I realized that the rat must have pushed the drain cover out of place and then once it was under the container, the drain cover fell back into place and trapped the rat! So I put my foot on it and after considering the possibilities (broom in hand ready for battle) I slowly moved the container away from the drain (rat underneath the container) and then removed the drain cover and slowly replaced the container over the shower drain. The rat escaped with his life and I didn't have to kill a rat!

Now to find some small screws to fix that cover on!

Prayer Request

2010-07-06T10:13:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone. These days are busy times for the EFCCM missionaires in Hermosillo! We are currently hosting 2 summer youth teams from Western Canada. One team is from Osler Saskatchewan and the other is from 3 Hills Alberta. The kids club that we are doing along with outreach at 2 different orphanages and some outreach into poor neighborhoods here in the city makes for full days!

Please pray that God works in the hearts of the youth and their leaders who are here until next Tuesday. I have the privilege of speaking to these groups 4 times and my prayer is that God would use those messages and the practical times of serving outside of their comfort zone while they are here to move them from being Believers into being Disciples. Jesus called us to make Disciples, not Believers, there is a big difference. So pray that they would be challenged and go home different people, and that those differences would last so that they might reach out more effectively back in Canada as well. I feel like we are able to have some influence not only here in Northern Mexico but also in Canada through the teams that come. It is a unique ministry and we are blessed to be part of it!

Thanks for standing with us in prayer!

Lane

Analyzing

2010-06-07T18:55:00.000-06:00

We recently returned from a trip to the Grand Canyon with our team-mates the Neufelds. The purpose of the trip was 3 fold. 1) Take a bit of a breather 2) Get reacquainted with some good friends from Paraguay (US missionaries who we served with there), 3) purchase some items in order to remodel the current youth room so that it will double as a Youth Drop In Centre.

It was great to get away and just relax for a week or so. Life and ministry here can get quite hectic with the many needs that exist. There are highs higher than we could have imagined - emotionally, spiritually - but then come the lows as well. All in all, we wouldn't trade our life and ministry here for anything. God is using this ministry and those that are involved with it and we are privileged to be a part of it!

One thing that has become part of my life that tends to drive me crazy is analyzing. Anyone who knows me knows that is the case. Sheri generally analyzes enough for both of us! However I have found myself analyzing many ministry decisions that we make. For example take the Youth Room I mentioned above. The vision is to make a nicer room and put some things in it that will hopefully attract the teenagers from the area around the church (the ones who respond tend to be those of the lower economic class) and get our Church Youth motivated to reach out to them, spend time with them and lead them to Christ. This all sounds well and fine but as I was purchasing some of the items we are furnishing the youth room with, I found myself wondering if I had gone off track. This ministry shouldn't be about "things" I told myself. Do we really need "nice stuff" in order to get the unsaved in the church? Can't the Holy Spirit bring them in without the "stuff" I wondered? Of course the answer is a resounding “no he doesn’t need the stuff to do His work”! Yet as long as our hearts are in the right spot concerning the “stuff” isn’t that what is most important? Our focus needs to be on Him, not on the stuff. However what are we saying to the kids who come from a lower economic reality? Might they think that church is for richer people who have nice things? That is a risk I suppose even though our hearts are to bless them and spend time with them in hopes of leading them to the Saviour.

These are the internal battles I have almost on a daily basis.

Then there is another reality that we face weekly if not more frequently. We have gotten to know some families from the same poor area close to the church. It has been exciting to get to know them a bit and plant seeds in their lives and even see some of those seeds begin to grow. We are realizing at the same time that these people live in another sub-culture of their own, one that we know almost nothing about. It is hard enough to understand a culture that isn’t our own (Mexican culture in this case) but then add to it their sub-culture and it can be overwhelming. These people have some resources and can be industrious if they need to be. At the same time they know how to ask and are used to receiving as well.
I have done considerable reading and research on “How to Help Without Hurting” this lower economic class of people and let me tell you, IT IS COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT! Just today I received a call from one family in that area asking me to come to the hospital and if I would pay for medication for one of their daughters who just had a baby. The word was that it was serious and both mom and baby were in danger of dying. I called our friend Marcella and Sheri as well, (since they both have had more contact with the family than I have had) and off they went. Even now they are at the hospital ready to pay for medicine (even though now we find out it isn’t as urgent as first thought – something I suspected from the beginning). Earlier in the day as they were waiting at the hospital with the family, the request was made for lunch. So off Sheri went to buy chicken, the whole time wondering how necessary it was. Yes they hadn’t eaten yet but that is nothing new for them. Often they go without meals because there is little to no money around. In this families case part of the reason is because the money is spent on illegal drugs to feed their habits.
So you begin to ask yourself, “Am I enabling them to continue in their drug habit even though I am simply trying to help them and show Christ’s mercy to them by buying some chicken”? I told Sheri to be generous in so far as meeting the urgent needs. The extras really need to be looked after by the family. They do have some resources and can be industrious if need be but if we just hand over what they are asking for, then we rob them of their ability to be industrious. The question is where is the line between helping them help themselves in healthy ways and maybe just being cheap? I really don’t think we are cheap and I don’t want others to view us that way either so sometimes I might give more than I really should and by extension, do something for someone that they really could have done for themselves inadvertently rob them of dignity.

Do you see what I mean when I say that helping the materially poor can be complex and difficult? Just like many requests are made of us, let us make one plea to you now. PLEASE PRAY FOR US! We need Christ’s wisdom!

At the end of the day we are blessed to be here as we strive to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and we are blessed to have you on our team! Thanks for praying!

Lane and Sheri

The Old Has Gone the New Has Come!

2010-05-12T09:17:00.002-06:00

I have started a Bible Study for new believers in our church. Each Tuesday night we go through a workbook that leads through the basic foundations of the Christian faith. It is a blessing from God that we are able to offer this study as we indeed have new believers in our church! Thank you Lord!

Yesterday was the 2nd time we have done the study. At one point I looked around the table and realized who was sitting there studying the Bible with me. On my right, a young man of 26 or so who gave his life to the Lord about a month ago. He was the leader of a small gang who were involved in petty crime as well as much drinking and drug abuse. In fact he is right now struggling to overcome his addictions and "dry out". Next to him a friend of a year and a half who also has come out of a life of drug abuse and even living on the streets. He is maturing in his faith and beginning to lead others in the ways of the Lord!
Next to him sat a new friend of a few months. He is close to 50 and he as well has come out of a life of drug abuse and trouble with the law. He gave his life to God about 2 months ago and is truly becoming a new creation in Christ! He is eager to read his Bible and recently told me, "I have read the Bible before but I never remembered what I read and it didn't really make sense to me. Now I am begining to understand it and I never I thought I would enjoy going to church but I really do enjoy it now!"
Then between he and I sat another new friend. He made a commitment to Christ a year ago or so but I have only got to know him in the last 3 weeks. He is still a babe in Christ as we would say, having very little to no knowledge of the Bible. He too has come out of a life of drug abuse and trouble with the law. He is currently waiting for a kidney transplant as his kidneys have shut down completely even though he is only 25 years old! Please pray for a donor! It is wonderful to see the light go on in him when I explain spiritual truths to him!

All but one of these men have spent much time in prison. They know who they were, and now they are begining to see who they are becoming and who they really are in Jesus. We read a page full of "who you are in Christ" descriptions with bible verses listed. It was such a blessing to hear them each pick out one or two of the descriptions of who they are in Jesus and explain why it was important to them.

Jesus is truly transforming these men! All glory be to Him! And I get to be a part of it! What a blessing!

Please pray for these 4 men. They still have their struggles and temptations are around every corner here. They need your prayers! Thank you for partnering with us!

Lane

Memo part 2

2010-04-10T09:07:00.006-06:00

Hey everyone,

The other day we went to the beach with the Didsbury Zion Youth team. I know, tough life.
Their time here is winding down as they will be leaving on Monday. If you read our previous blog entry, you will know that Memo (Guillermo) is a new believer who accepted Christ at a church family camp about a week ago. It has been a joy to see him jump right into ministry with the Didsbury team this week- orphanage ministry, fun outings and outreaches with our ministry in the poor area where he used to buy drugs. He has done all this with English speakers from Alberta even though he doesn't speak English!

Anyway as we were at the beach I was translating for one of the leaders and Memo. Memo told me a story that they write books about! Here is what I mean. Memo said that he was involved in a plan to assault a man who was going to be carrying a bunch of money. It was a simple plan, just jump the guy and take the money. These simple plans can sometimes go wrong as we know, and lives can be ruined forever. The plan was made and Memo was to be the guy to carry it out. So he was set and ready as the appointed day neared. Then he started doubting the plan and he began wresting within himself with doing such a thing, even though theft etc had been part of his life for many years.

Thursday night came along and the 2 friends that Sheri and I have been pouring into invited Memo to the church family camp over Easter weekend. Memo accepted, relenting to the still small voice inside that had been calling him for the last few weeks. He wanted to come to the church and see what it was all about. Once he arrived, he found a caring family with open arms. Of course not everyone was waiting with open arms, but he got to know some people and I was blessed to be one of them. He felt like people cared and he felt like he was starting to belong. This community felt so much more authentic than his "gang" in his neighborhood. Memo was becoming attached.

Then Friday night at a camp fire, the gospel was presented and a call to surrender to Christ was offered. Memo willingly gave his heart to Christ with tears streaming down his cheeks. He had found purpose and a place to belong.

As we wrapped up our talk at the beach Memo finished with this, "the assault was supposed to happen on Saturday , (he pauses- his eyes watering), look at the goosebumps on my arms".

Isn't God good? Wow, again, I marvel at how He works and His timing. Christ saved Memo from the trap Satan had set for him on Saturday, and He used His church to do it! Shouldn't love and accpetance and a sense of belonging in the church be replacing those same things young men look for in gangs? Memo is now experiencing the authentic version of what he was seeking.

Pray for him as he overcomes his addictions. He told me he has good days and hard days. The youth team leaves on Monday as I mentioned and the activity level will go way down as people get back into their routines. That might even be harder for Memo as he will have to go back home to his neighborhood where all the temptations will be. PRAY FOR HIM! He wants to find a job and start university, studying to become a Physed Teacher. I can vouch for him, God has certainly gifted Memo with kids!

Thank you for praying and lifting up Memo.

Easter means New Life!

2010-04-03T21:22:00.001-06:00

Where to start, wow! The last 12 hours have been the culmination of something the Lord has been doing recently. I am not sure where to start. I know, I will start with Memo.

If you have been a frequent reader of our blog and or prayer letters, you will know who Cesar and Marcela are. They left a life of drug abuse and homelessness just over a year ago after losing their 18month old daughter. One of the members of our church reached out to them in their need and their lives have never been the same since. They know what it is like to go without food, eat out of dumpsters, beg on the streets and be addicted to drugs.

That brings me back to Memo. He is someone who lives not that far from where Cesar and Marcela live. They saw him at the park hanging out with “the boys” which means the gang he runs. Cesar could see the signs that they were a gang and that drug abuse was common place for them, as he knows what to look for. So Cesar and Marcela started forming a relationship with Memo with the hopes of leading him to the Lord. They felt like if He would give his life to the Lord then the rest of the guys in the gang would maybe follow in short order.

Onto Alejandra. She is someone who lives in the poor area where we have been reaching out. She is 18 and still lives at home with her mom helping out. She came out to one event we had and played soccer with us. We have encouraged her to come to church and keep coming to the soup kitchen etc. She has done so and has attended church a few times. She has professed a faith in Christ but it seems she knows very little about her faith nor the bible.

Onto George. George is a man in his 50’s who got in trouble with the law in the US where he has lived all of his life. He was born in Mexico and moved up to California with his parents as a young child. He never bothered getting his papers and so lived his life there in California as an illegal. He got into trouble with the law and after a lengthy jail stay, he got deported to Mexico. George has no family in Mexico and Spanish is not his first language (man can I relate to that!). The first day after arriving in Mexico, George fell and broke his leg (compound fracture). So he arrived in Hermosillo where the main hospital is and received medical care – surgery. He was put up in the homeless shelter and has been there since. Shelli Neufeld, our colleague, has been doing therapy at the hospital and came across George, who was drawn to her because he heard her speaking English. Shelli invited him to church and he accepted. He has been coming for about a month or so.

Ok, fast forward to this weekend. A team from a church in Didsbury is here and we have just finished a weekend family camp at the church. Memo was invited by Cesar and Marcela and accepted. George also wanted to come. I called Alejandra and encouraged her to come and she accepted. Last night we had a campfire and one of the leaders from our church gave a great message. God started moving, tears started flowing, and hearts started breaking. Memo gave his life to the Lord! George wants to take his newfound faith more seriously and Alejandra does as well! All three of them are going to get baptized tomorrow! Wow, what a testimony to the changing power of the Lord!
Today we went out into the poor area with Memo and Alejandra, Cesar, Marcela and group of the youth from Didsbury. Alejandra was giving out sandwiches in the name of the Lord to her neighbors and Memo was passing out Bible tracts to his suppliers (drug suppliers)! Surely they thought he was coming to buy more drugs but instead he was coming to give them the good news about his new faith! They offered him drugs and he replied “no I am done with that stuff”. I am overwhelmed by what the Lord is doing right now!

When we finished our distribution of tracts and sandwiches, we returned to the church. Cesar said, “I have done all sorts of drugs but nothing compares to the rush the Lord gives me when I see him use me like this”!

Pray for Memo, George and Alejandra tomorrow. It will be a big step for them! Pray for the guys in Memo's gang who will really be wondering what has changed in Memo. Continue to pray for Cesar and Marcela to stand up against the old temptations of the life they have left behind. God is using them and so Satan will continue to attack them.

Thank you for standing in prayer with us!

Lane for Sheri and the kids

Langley E-Free comes to Northern Mexico

2010-03-15T13:56:00.005-06:00

We just finished a busy week with the youth from Langley E-Free. They were here from the 6th to the 13th. This was my (Lane) first time planning and hosting a group largely on my own. We spent 2 of the days ministering in a little village about an hour outside of the city called "San Juanico". Our intention was to bolster the ministry in this village that an organization called "Partners in Christ" is doing there. We did a kids club and built a small one room house for a man in the town.
In the pictures above you can see the before and after images of his home. His name is Esteban and he has some health issues including diabetes. The pastor of the church there and the representative of Partners in Christ asked us if we would be willing to improve Estebans living conditions.
It was so good to see Esteban helping here and there in the construction of his new place. On the second day as the contruction was nearing its end, he even went and got a haircut to celebrate the occasion!
We gathered around the house holding hands and dedicated the house to the Lord and thanked him for Esteban. Right after one of the people from our church asked Esteban what he thought of his new place and he just choked up and tears welled up in his eyes.
What a blessing the youth and leaders of Langley E-Free were to this town and ministry, not to mention our own ministry as well.
Another evening we did a "Hot Dog" night at the soup kitchen and near 200 people showed up from the community that we have been reaching out to! What a blessing!

Thank you for your prayers and encouragements!

Lane and Sheri

The Beginnings of Transformation

2010-02-09T09:13:00.003-07:00

Sunday was a great day! Have you ever left a church service and just felt like God was absolutely working in it? I sure hope so. Well Sunday was like that for me.

You see Sheri and I and some of the people in the church have been trying to reach out to a poor community beside our church. We have done this in various ways although the principal way has been the soup kitchen that we have been involved in running. Sheri and Marcela (one of our friends from the church) have visited in a few of the homes in this area. Jeseña and Maria are two of the ladies we have been reaching out to.
We first met them when they came by our house looking for baby clothes. They each have 4 children. We told them the clothes that we had were all at the church and were available to be given away, they just needed to come by the church to get them. So we invited them to the church and the next Sunday they came! The each took some bags of clothes home and since then we have seen their kids wearing these clothes which is a blessing in and of itself.
They continued coming to church here and there and then we offered a sewing class at the church (led by a volunteer from Alberta who was here for 3 weeks) and invited them to it. They both accepted and Jeseña particularily flourished in learing how to sew. We are exploring the possibility of connecting her with a seamstress here and maybe helping her to possibly start into sewing as a way to supplement the household income.
Fastforward to yesterday. Jeseña and Maria along with their kids were both and 2 other families that we have had some contact with as well. The message was a salvation message and when the pastor said that salvation is found not found with anyone (Buddah, Confusious, Mother Mary) except Jesus, I saw Jeseña say "amen". Sheri and I both felt burdened to pray for Jeseña's salvation at that point. The message continued and I could see that Jeseña was hearing every word. Then the end came and the pastor prayed a salvation prayer and asked everyone who had prayed with him in their hearts to stand. Jeseña stood up! Sheri and I both rejoiced in our hearts!
After the service I went up to Jeseña and asked her if she had given her heart to Jesus. She said that she had and I told her that if she kept seeking Jesus, her life would change as mind had 17 years ago when I made that same decision in my life. I told her that Sheri and I and Marcela were available to help her in her new faith and I gave her a bible.
Sheri and Marcela are making plans to start a bible study with Jeseña and I am so excited to see how God will be changing her life in the weeks and months to come! God is bringing about fruit and we are blessed to be a part of it!

Please continue to pray for Jeseña and for Maria and the others from this same community that have been coming to our church. They need Jesus and our church needs to be His hands and feet! Pray that Jeseña would grow in her new faith and that all the new comers would feel loved and supported by the people in our church.

Thank you for being part of our ministry- the transformation of the lives of the poor by Gods love shown through His kids, the local church. We continue to covet your prayers!

Lane and Sheri

Dream Come True

2010-01-11T16:28:00.005-07:00

Yesterday a dream came true for our family. We were part of a Samaritans Purse Distribution of Shoe Boxes!

Each Saturday we help run a Soup Kitchen for a poor community close to our church. We do this in conjunction with a Methodist Church close by. For a few years in a row, this church has received shoe boxes filled with toys from Canada and the US from Samaritans Purse.

Well yesterday after we had played with the kids, and taught them Bible Stories and songs and after they had eaten, we passed out the shoe boxes and then just let our eyes feast on the joy filled kids as they torn into their boxes! It was great to see them so excited and the sound that came from all of them was good and loud!

It was great to see our kids help out with passing out the boxes as well, they were so excited to finally be part of something that our family has participated in back home (buying toys for shoe boxes and sending them). In fact we have also visited the distribution centre in Calgary (before leaving for the mission field) and that got our kids really excited as well!

Each box was passed out with a pamphlet explaining the Christmas story cartoon style in Spanish. Now we must pray that Gods word takes root in the homes of these children. Please pray for us as we build relationships with these kids and their parents. We are starting to see a few of them attend church and we need your prayers! Thank you for partnering with us like this!

For more pictures from this event please visit www.flickr.com/photos/elliottspics

Tar Paper Shack

2009-12-15T11:00:00.003-07:00

I am not sure where or how to begin, words never have come easily to me, especially when it comes to explaining what the Lord is saying in my heart. Language falls so short, any language. This story is more about what the Lord has shown me rather than what He is telling me.

Recently at a prayer meeting at church, we took a collection for a lady who needs medication. This lady is the mother of a large family. She is a grandmother as well and she has ten or more people living with her (not sure if they are all family or not). I came to get involved with this family through my friend Marcela. You see Marcela was leaving her work the other day and rather than showing up for an appointment, she felt the Lord tell her to go home and on the way, saw this family picking through the garbage looking for food. Marcela can relate to that as that used to be part of her life as well not so long ago. Now the Lord has changed her circumstances and her heart but she still remembers what it is like to have to look through the garbage for food. So she had compassion on this family and took them to the store to buy some food and a few things they needed, even though Marcela doesn’t have a lot herself (by Canadian standards anyway).

Fast forward to the prayer meeting one night later.

A few members of this family took Marcela up on her invitation to come to the prayer meeting at our church the next day. We took an offering and then went to buy the things that were needed with the money that had been given. Afterwards we took this family “home”. I put home in quotes because it could hardly be called a “home”. Marcela and I followed them into their house to find their bed ridden mother/grandmother inside. I have never really seen the inside of a tar-paper shack (maybe once briefly in Paraguay) but this was so hard to swallow. It was cold that night and the wind was blowing the cold air through the many holes in the boarded up, patched together walls. There was one mattress in the room (the size of a very small bedroom) but there were 8-9 people in there. The smell inside resembled the smell of an outhouse, just not quite as strong. The baby lay on the mattress but fell asleep beside the make shift boarded up wall that was full of holes.

As Marcela shared the hope of Jesus with this family, they all seemed quite content and comfortable; perhaps I was the only one uncomfortable standing on the sloped dirt floor as I tried to keep my balance in the dimly lit room.

That night after we parted ways, I returned to my house speechless. “They have nothing” I kept thinking, with tears running down my cheeks. “Lord how do they live in there”? In Canada, our garages are plush mansions compared to this home.

The next day Marcela and I returned with the medicine for the mother/grandmother. As part of our routine, Marcela and I prayed together before we set out, feeling weak but strong in the Lord, knowing we only had to be willing to be used by Him, and that He would do the rest. When we arrived, everyone was sitting outside of the house, visiting with a lady whom we had not yet met. They quickly welcomed us and brought two broken unstable looking chairs to sit on…………………

We took our seats and Marcela and this lady began to visit. As it turned out, this lady (Blanca) was a niece who RARLEY visits. Marcela and she hit it off and talked for an hour, while I took my usual position of praying my heart out for Marcela as she talked and for the people as they listened. At times I got distracted from praying as I focused on trying to understand the Spanish that was being spoken between 2 native speakers at a record speed, and the open sewage that rushed out from the house into the street and the smell that it produced.

“Lord sometimes I have good thoughts and feel privileged to be here, but sometimes the overriding feeling is to get up and run away, far away”. This time the latter was what was coursing through my brain. I wanted to go back to Canada, where it is comfortable for me, clean and safe. I know this is only the beginning of our time in serving the poor here in Mexico, and is only the beginning of spending time in places like this, I think that is why I wanted to run. It can seem like a big mountain to have to scale. Sooner or later however, the Lord brings perspective back to me.

Did not the Lord himself come from a much more glorious place than Canada into a gross and smelly place? Was not the first smell He smelled as a little baby, the smell of animal feces? His “house” was hardly a place for a newborn baby. “Lord to say ‘thank you’ isn’t enough, I need to give you all of me, I can’t run away”. “You took your cross and now I need to take mine, though you gave so much more than I could ever give”.

As Marcela and I left the family and drove back to my house, my thoughts were still of running away. Then God touched my heart with his grace and mercy (which he didn’t have to do) and gave me a better perspective. He reached out and touched me because of his loving heart.

Marcela then spoke up, “Did you understand what happened last night to Blanca?” (Remember she was the niece who had visited with Marcela). I confessed I didn’t follow Blanca’s story enough to understand what had happened. Marcela then explained how Blanca and her boyfriend had a fight the night before as he had come home high on drugs again. He accused her of cheating on him and grabbed their baby saying that Blanca would never see the child again. Blanca also grabbed the baby and a struggle over the child began. Blanca pleaded with him to let the baby and her go. He then tried to rape Blanca but she somehow managed to escape with the baby in her arms. She managed to find a place to stay that night and had what she called “a vision”. She saw her auntie’s face and then a voice told her that her life was going to change the next afternoon. The next morning she went to her auntie’s house and that afternoon Marcela and I arrived and she heard the good news and hope of Jesus Christ from Marcela.

Thank you Lord for your mercy. I know you have called me here and even though at times I want to run, I have peace about being here. Thank you that you allow me to see your mighty hand at work around me. Use me in my weakness Lord. Be glorified.

The family in this story has been coming to church here and there since this story took place. Thank you for your prayers, we need them!

Blessings to you this holiday season.

Sheri Elliott

Teaching and Singing Before Eating at the Soup Kitchen

2009-12-08T10:52:00.002-07:00

We had about 80 kids in total by the end of the day as well as 20 adults, and for our first time, we were very pleased! We will continue serving the community each Saturday in December. Please pray for us! We want to reach the spiritual needs by reaching out to the physical needs.

Serving Food for the First Time at the New Soup Kitchen

2009-12-08T10:06:00.001-07:00

Soup Kitchen Opens to Meet Needs- Physical/Spiritual

2009-12-07T15:07:00.003-07:00

Soup Kitchen nears completion

2009-11-19T16:27:00.001-07:00

Youth Group Partners with Canadian Team for Hurricane Relief

2009-10-05T13:43:00.000-06:00

New Soup Kitchen Coming!

2009-09-28T22:08:00.002-06:00

God of Miracles

2009-09-10T13:01:00.000-06:00

Full of Purpose

2009-09-10T12:59:00.003-06:00

Humility or Discouragement

2009-09-03T11:56:00.002-06:00

Ok, it is time to get vulnerable. Not that I really enjoy being vulnerable, but having just read a blog of a former teammate in Paraguay, it has inspired me and if I wait, I won't do it, so here it goes.

Yesterday was our weekly prayer meeting at church. Wednesday nights at the church have been a real source of encouragement for Sheri and I. You see one of the passions we came to Mexico with was the desire to see a prayer focused church. We passed out a few copies of a book called "Fresh Wind Fresh Fire" by Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn New York. God has used this book and many others in the same series to move us toward a deeper prayer life. Not that we could be considered "prayer warriors" but that we are on the journey and are beginning to recognize how important prayer is in the life of a Christian (how come it has taken 16 years to get there)?

Anyway God is using the teachings of Jim Cymbala and the testimonies of so many in the Brooklyn Tabernacle that have attested to the power of prayer. He is moving our church toward deeper prayer. Prompted by the leaders, we have changed the prayer meeting from Friday nights to Wednesday nights and as leaders we prayed that God would send more of our congregation to pray (we used to get 5 or 6 out on Friday nights). Now after about a month of meeting on Wednesday nights, we are getting about 30-40 people out for the prayer meeting! We are excited, the church is getting excited and it seems that God is beginning to move in our midst! That is all great right? Yes it is! So where does the title of this entry come in? In a word, Spanish!

Let me explain. Last night at the prayer meeting I shared the devotional with the church before we prayed. When I speak up front, I like to (no, I need to) move around and use my hands and speak what is in my heart. The problem is that the things that are in my heart usually express themselves in English! When I share in Spanish, I need to stay behind the pulpit and read what I wrote and not deviate too much or I might get lost! It feels forced, unnatural, uneasy and boring. I really don't like it at all, and unlike most, I love public speaking! In English. Once I finished, one of the national leaders got up to lead the church in prayer, it felt and sounded so much better! Those poor people who had to listen to me for 20 minutes! I know I can communicate and be understood and my Spanish is improving all the time, but I guess I need more patience with myself. I wonder why I get asked to share in public settings like that. For now I do much better one on one.

All this leads me to humility for sure, which is a good thing, but I confess last night it also led to discouragement in my heart. I believe Sheri and I are having an impact here and I am happy about that (one of the church leaders told me that he felt like God called us here to show the church that they need to focus on prayer). Thank you Lord and praise be to you!

Learning a new language isn't easy, especially when you are figuring out how to speak infront of 30-100 people! God has a sense of humor!

Pray for me, I am preaching on the 13th...........................

Lane

Reaching into Desperate Lives

2009-08-21T17:23:00.001-06:00

This week we attended a birthday party in a humble part of town. You see the couple we have been discipling (Cesar and Marcela) have befriended a family over there and it was their 7 year olds birthday this past week.
The mom and dad of this family are caught up in an addiction to drugs. Cesar and Marcela know this all too well, having themselves been clean from drugs for about 10 months or so. They know what it is to be so addicted that you feed your habit before your family. When one is addicted like that, there is never any “extra money” around for frills like birthday parties.
This 7 year old had never celebrated her birthday. She had never had a birthday party in her life. Marcela explained the circumstances to Sheri and the planning began. The ladies went uptown and purchased ingredients for a birthday cake and a few other party supplies. They spent most of the day baking the cake and preparing for the party.

Cesar, Marcela, their daughter, Sheri, our kids, and I showed up with supplies in hand and a few little presents. Their daughter was so excited to see us and when we started blowing up balloons she just started shrieking with excitement! Soon there were probably 15 kids from the neighbourhood at their place. There were no chairs, no tables, no air conditioning, just joy and excitement! Some neighbours set up a trampoline in front their house and the kids jumped till their hearts were content. The kids then enjoyed the birthday cake that Sheri and Marcela had made and then it was time to break open the piñata! A great time was had by all the kids and the parents of the birthday girls were all smiles as well.

It was great to see our kids in their playing with the other Spanish speaking kids and adding their words to the conversation as well. They didn’t seem to be bothered in the least by the dirt floor and absence of chairs etc etc. It wasn’t a “stretch” for them to be there like it would be for so many of us Canadian adults. Sheri and I pray that we will continue to have opportunities for us and our kids to reach out into humble circumstances to bless others, to be Jesus to them. Then when our kids grow up, it won’t be hard for them to continue to reach out to the poor and needy wherever they are.

It was also wonderful to see this couple we have been discipling (Cesar and Marcela) looking for opportunities to bless someone else. Their testimony is so perfect for this situation as they can relate to this family having walked in their shoes as recent as less than a year ago. Christ has made such a difference in their lives and they want everyone to know it! We are blessed to be a part of their lives.

Thank you Lord for giving us the opportunity to live and serve in such a needy place. And thank less than a year ago. Christ has made such a difference in their lives and they want everyone to know it! We are blessed to be a part of their lives.

Thank you Lord for giving us the opportunity to live and serve in such a needy place.

P.S. Please pray for our children Alexis, Jemma and Noah. They will be starting school this Monday (3 days a week) for the first time for all of them. We have been home-schooling up until now and we will continue 2 days a week. Our purpose in putting them into school 3 days a week is so that their Spanish improves. It will be hard for Mom and Dad to see them go! They won’t understand everything that is being said in class and so we ask for your prayers. Thank you for partnering with us in this way!

Lane for all of us

Mexican Sword Dance Performed Outside our Church

2009-07-16T16:15:00.001-06:00

Traditional Mexican Dance Performed for Winnipeg Youth Team

2009-07-16T14:06:00.002-06:00

Kids Club at Our Church with the Help of Winnipeg E-Free Youth Team

2009-07-15T15:52:00.002-06:00

Youth Team Visits Hermosillo

2009-07-06T08:39:00.002-06:00

This past Saturday, a youth team of 22 people from Winnipeg E-Free arrived at our church Arbol de Vida. They are here to ministry until the 15th. Please pray for them and for us. These next 11 days are going to be hectic but wonderful as well, we anticipate. We will be doing a lot of kids ministry at our church as well as at a Methodist church that is only a block away from ours.
This morning we are heading over to that church to paint it and bless them in Jesus name. Then the afternoon will be full of kids ministry in our church. Each day will be similar.
Please pray for open hearts and changed lives. Also pray for health please. I (Lane) am not feeling real well this morning but there is much to be done!

Thanks for your prayers!

Lane for all of us

Church puts faith in action

2009-06-29T19:45:00.000-06:00

This past Sunday I was privileged to speak at church. I gave a brief sermon on “Putting our Faith into Action”. I believe that action, by in large, is what is missing in many of today’s Evangelical Churches.
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He replied that loving God with all our heart and mind and strength was the greatest but He didn’t stop there. He went on to say that the 2nd greatest commandment was like it, loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matt.22:36-40). Has it ever crossed your mind that He was only asked for 1 commandment? However He offered 2. Why? I think it is because you can’t separate the 2. In other words, if we truly do love God with all our heart mind and strength, a natural outcome of that will be loving our neighbor as ourselves. If we don’t love our neighbor as ourselves, then the obvious conclusion is that we don’t love God with all our heart mind and strength.
The same principal can be applied to the Faith vs. Works question. It shouldn’t really be Faith VERSUS. Works at all. It should be Faith + Works. There is a difference. Ephesians says that we are saved by grace through faith.
Salvation cannot be earned, it is a gift that can only be accepted. However, if we truly have faith, then we must also have works. Works in this sense is not a negative (trying to earn our salvation) sort of a thing. Rather we should think of it as fruit. If we are saved (truly love God – greatest commandment) then the natural outcome is that we will have good works in our lives (love our neighbor as ourselves). If there is little to no good works (fruit) in our lives, then we must question if we have taken care of the greatest commandment, in other words, our salvation. I know these are strong words, but I simply can’t escape the simple teaching of Jesus in this matter.
Works or fruit, is the proof that we do love God with all our heart and mind and strength, and that we do have faith in our lives, saving faith. If the proof isn’t there………………it is time to start asking some hard questions.
So after explaining this to the congregation, I proceeded to tell them that it would be hypocritical of me to talk about fruit, or good works and then for us all to go home and carry on with our week. No, now was the time for action.
I challenged everyone to come together and clear out the sanctuary and convert it into a kitchen, a sandwich making kitchen. They did so and we made about 150 sandwiches (the ingredients had been bought the day before without the congregation knowing about it). We then ventured out into the 40C weather and passed out ham sandwiches and a cold bottle of water in the name of Jesus. If you know the neighborhood near our church, it is a place of great need. It was a joy to see our church body serving in this way and blessing many needy people in the name of Jesus. I hope when they went home afterward, they rested in the knowledge that they had given Jesus something to eat, and had given Him a glass of water. I hope they were blessed as I was, I hope they know Jesus was blessed as well.
My prayer is that they would see the benefit of serving in this way, leaving the church and leaving our comfort zone to seek out needy people and serve them, and by extension, serving Jesus. I pray that they might have “caught the vision” and will seek out those types of opportunities in their own lives on a regular basis. I pray that as you read this, you too will seek out ways to serve Jesus by blessing someone who is in need, someone who needs the loving touch of Jesus in their lives. You will be blessed, they will be blessed, and Jesus will be blessed. Best of all, if you make this a pattern in your life, when you stand before our Lord on judgement day, you will hear Him say, “for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. Come and take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world”.

“A Church that lives within it’s four walls, isn’t a Church” – An African Pastor

“Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.” James 1:22- The Message

Blessed to serve Jesus in this needy place,

The Elliotts

Mourning with those who mourn

2009-06-22T16:35:00.003-06:00

We received news this morning that little 2 year old Jimena (one of the victims of the daycare fire that occured at the beginning of this month here in our city) has passed away.
Sheri and Marcela (a Mexican friend) have gone to the memorial service this afternoon. Please pray for them as they search for how to comfort Jimena'a mother and father. Pray that God's love would be so evident in Sheri and Marcela. You may remember from a previous blog entry that Marcela has also experienced this kind of pain. Her youngest child passed away almost a year ago now in the same hospital. She knows what Jimena'a mom is going through.
Pray that God would bring something wonderful out of such tragedy. Only He can do such a miracle.
Matthew 5:4 says "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Please pray for comfort for Jimena's parents.
It isn't easy to be here in times like this, but this is when the church needs to stand up and be the church.
Thank you for enabling us to be His hands and feet in a place and time like this.

Lane

Searching for how to Help

2009-06-16T08:07:00.004-06:00

Today I plan to pick up a church member and head over to the other side of town. Her sister (Reina) lives over there, close to the train tracks. I met her sister in church on Sunday. She doesn't normally attend our church but she does come once in a while.
It turns out she is trying to minister to some desperate people and I would like to see if the Lord is leading us to help in some way. The desperate people I speak of come from all parts of Mexico and beyond. Some as far away as Central America. Why do they come you ask? For a chance to make what they think will be, a better life in the States. Our city Hermosillo, is a stopping point for those who travel by train. They must get off their train here and walk (I am not sure how far) to catch the next one. Most of them travel illegally and will attempt to enter the USA illegally as well. They come hungry (some of them haven't eaten for up to 2 weeks), they come dirty, they come bloody (stowed away on a train is a dangerous form of travel and assaults during ones sleep are apparantly not uncommon), and most of all, they come desperate.
In their transfer, they walk very close to Reina's house and she sees them every day, 6 to 8 or more. Most of them are men although sometimes families with children to come by as well. All of them are in search of a better life that they think will be theirs if they can just cross the border.
How can we help? How can we make a difference? With so many different needs that exist, how do we know if this is one that God is calling us to get involved with? We can offer food, we can offer hope through Jesus. For this reason I am going today.
I am also going with something else in mind. We have a team of youth coming from Canada in a months time and one of my responsibilities is to find a morning ministry for them while they are here. The goal is to find a venue where they can reach out to needy, even desperate people. We also desire that God would reach out to the youth group through these needy people as He has done in my life, and continues to do. That these kids would go home changed people for having reached out and touched hurting and desperate people and in so doing, would have had the privilege of serving and touching none other than Jesus himself- "For what you have done to the least of these, my brothers, you have done to me".

Please pray for guidance, pray for understanding, pray for compassion. Perhaps this particular need isn't one to be met by a youth group from Canada, but by your prayers for guidance and understanding, we will see that. There are lots of needs here, we just need to find the right one for them, the one God wants. He simply wants us and them to be His hands and feet in a hurting place.

"Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out;
yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good;
and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now."

Saint Teresa of Avila

Update on Daycare Tradgedy

2009-06-12T08:45:00.002-06:00

After spending some prayer time I suggested to Sheri that she and Marcela (a friend from the church who Sheri is discipling) go down to the kids hospital to see if they could help in some way, via prayer or whatever (in response to the day care fire last Friday that claimed the lives of over 40 children under the age of 5 years).

Marcela comes over to our house to meet with Sheri every Tuesday afternoon. At this time last year Marcela was sitting in the same hospital watching her little girl pass away. Marcela felt she could offer hope to these grieving families and pass on some of the love that God had shown her since the death of her daughter.

They went down to the hospital to find hundreds of people there. Within 30 seconds of entering the place a man stands up says to Marcela, "Don’t I know you”? Marcela couldn’t place him. As they talked she explained that she was looking to pray with the families. He said, “I am an uncle to one of the little girls who was burned, my 2 year old neice Jimena. Her mother is upstairs, would you like to go talk to her?” (Them passing the door of the waiting room would have never happened without the help of this gentlemen). The three went upstairs and talked for a while with the mom, there were tears and encouragement, Marcela shared her new faith in Christ. Phone numbers were exchanged, hope was left.

Please continue to pray for us as we seek to how best minister to a hurting city. Your prayers make a difference!

Day Care Tradgedy

2009-06-09T07:50:00.003-06:00

As many of you have already heard, there was a terrible tradgedy that happened this past Friday in our city of Hermosillo. A day care caught fire and to this point, 43 children (most of whom were between the ages of 0-5yrs) have died. As you can imagine, the city is in mourning.
We (our family as well as most of our young adult group) were headed out of the city at the time of the fire. We were driving through an area not far from where the fire happened and it was caos. Traffic was jammed and ambulances, many many ambulances were trying to pass through. Police were directing traffic and trying to bring it all under control without much success. Once we left the city and arrived at our destination for the young adult weekend retreat, then we found out what had happened.
We ended our retreat early in order to return to the city to attend a city wide church service. Many Christians all across the city joined together to cry out to God to heal the remaining victims who are in hospital, heal the families of the victims, and heal the city as a whole. We received a donation from a church outside of the city as an expression of love from them to those who are hurting. That is just one of the ways that we are going to attempt (administering this gift) to bring Gods love and mercy to those who are desperate for it.
Please pray for us, pray that God would show us exactly how to get involved and how to show compassion in His name. We are called to be Jesus to these people, to a city in need. Thank you for your prayers.

Update

2009-05-13T07:04:00.003-06:00

Things have been ticking along here in Hermosillo. With the summer heat approaching, we are already feeling that familiar "drain of energy". I remember in Paraguay during the hot season feeling like it was all I could do to get up and eat and kind of just exist day to day. You feel so tired on an ongoing basis. Well that feeling is coming back. We have been regularily up near 40C each day and they say it isn't about to let up. Right into July and August we will see temps of near 45C. You kind of get used to it but at the same time, your body goes into preservation mode and you just can't muster the energy you had when it was cooler.

We bought a puppy for the children finally. He is a little French Poodle, Maltese cross and we named him Gilligan. He is a joy to have around the house but the reality is that he is a lot of work too! We are hoping to have him trained sooner than later but with him being only about 2 months old, we have a ways to go still! The kids love him and he is quite cute. He is a litte white puff ball running around the house.

We have just punched a hole in the back fence in order to connect our yard to the Neufelds yard. They are our teammates here in the city. Now we have easy access to each others yards with the main goal being an above ground pool that will be put just on the other side of the fence. The kids will love it I am sure and are bound to spend many hours in the water as the summer heat swealters.

On the ministry side, I am discipling 2 or 3 young men from the church on a weekly basis. Some of those relationships are based in English, some in Spanish, and some are mixed. It is a unique fact that in this area of Mexico there are more than a few people who speak English quite well. Some of them are new believers and it is a blessing to see their eyes light up when I explain to them a bible passage or a truth in scripture. I wish we all had the same level of excitement about our faith as new believers do!

This Thursday I will be going downtown with "Marina" (if you remember she is the one who we raised money for in order to pay off a debt that she incurred through no fault of her own- and because of that she has been living with her 2 kids on the gererosity of a distant relative-living in their small house- but that relationship is beginning to be strained as you can imagine living in such tight quarters) in order to pay off her debt. She is so excited and is already making plans to move out of their current living situation into their own rented house. It will be a blessing to us to see her living in her own place and having enough each month to provide for her family.

This morning after our discipleship class I am heading downtown with Cesar. Sheri and I have been working with Cesar and Marcela. They are another couple in our church with quite the testimony. Having overcome drug addictions and many other problems, they are now new creations in Christ and Cesar is holding down a regular job. It isn't easy to raise a family on little income each month and there are certainly no frills, but we are trying to help them to manage their money and stick to a monthly budget while at the same time, disciple them into mature believers in Christ. Cesar and I are heading downtown to purchase some fans for their house. Air conditioning is just too expensive for them to buy and to maintain - power bill.

It isn't easy to know where the line is between helping and creating dependency. You know the age old saying "give a man a fish or teach him to fish"? Well that is what we continually struggle with. It is sometimes hard to know the difference. We are aiming to teach Cesar and Marcela how to fish. They are learning as well and have made great strides, however part of the key to learning how to succeed is going through failure first. Man that is tough to see friends failing when you know you could step in and fix the problem. Does that teach them how to avoid the problem the next time though? Usually it doesn't. However we need wisdom in this so please pray for us!

Finally, thankyou for enabling us to be here. We really do love the ministry here and love being where God wants us to be. It is a blessing, not without challenges, but it is a blessing for sure! We hope you are enjoying being where God has put you as well. Lets all remember that our purpose in this life is not earning money to feed our families, rather it is to do the work God has given us, to extend His kingdom by remaining close to Him and being His hands and feet in the world. That is where our true joy comes from!

Grateful for you,
Lane and Sheri

Olds area Christian School comes to Hermosillo

2009-04-07T10:46:00.001-06:00

We were blessed to facilitate 40 students and leaders from Olds Koinonia Christian School these last 9 days or so in Hermosillo. They served in many ways- Ministry in a park each morning (kids clubs, soccer, ladies crafts). We also had a work team that came to finish the roof of a small house and install city water into that same house. They also built a security wall for another modest house. Each afternoon these students played with kids in different clubs at the church and in area parks (basketball and soccer). Many kids and ladies made commitments to Jesus! Thank you OKCS!

"Right in the Middle of it"

2009-03-09T09:43:00.003-06:00

If you should ever come down to Hermosillo Mexico to visit us and the ministry here, you will find a strange sight as you approach our Church/Ministry Centre. It is surrounded by garbage! Over the last number of years, the dusty dirt road that passes by the front of the church has become a bit of a garbage dump really. You will notice the church at the end of the road in the picture.

On Saturday mornings I usually walk to the church for our weekly men’s meeting and already by 8am the sun is getting hot (we do live in the desert after all!). The searing sun nicely heats up the rotting garbage, not to mention the carcasses of dead dogs and cats that have been left amongst the garbage. All of this provides a distinct odour as one prepares their heart for worship………………………

Now that your stomach is queasy and you are wondering why I have decided to provide you with this intimate glimpse of our church setting, let me explain the point.

Jesus said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”- Jn 17:15. It struck me one day as I passed by one of those rotting dogs (my nose knew it before my eyes did), that Jesus wants us to be “right in the middle of it”- (my interpretation). When you think about it, where did Jesus spend most of His time when He was living on the earth? I will tell you this, it wasn’t in the temple. He was out there with the sick, the hurting, and the suffering. He got involved in the lives of the dirty and smelly people and He wasn’t afraid to touch them. He even explained why He wasn’t just hanging out in the temple most of the time- “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” –Mk. 2:17.

It doesn’t take long to realize that many things in your and my world are a mess. Just pick up the paper, listen to the news on the radio or turn on the TV. It is all around us and it reaches right into our very neighbourhoods. To me, the garbage in front of our church that one must pass in order to enter the church, is symbolic of the mess that is our world. However this isn’t depressing news to me! You see “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” – Jn. 3:17. How can we be Jesus’ hands and feet and continue the work that He started when He walked dusty dirty roads Himself, if we aren’t “out there in the garbage”?

God wants to change the smell of our world from the odour of rotting garbage, to the sweet smell of redeemed lives! He hasn’t changed over the years, He is still about the same thing, changing lives. The most amazing thing about it is that He invites us to be involved in the process. With His help you and I can “clean up the neighbourhood” to the point that the stench of sin is replaced with the amazing aroma of redeemed lives. We can’t do it however, if we turn a blind eye to the garbage and just drive through it into our garages and close our doors. That is pretending that the mess isn’t there. Or perhaps it is getting so used to the mess that we have given up and just accepted that it will always be there.

Our challenge is to get out and walk through the mess- physically- to remind ourselves of the stench and to determine to find God working in it- it means getting involved in the lives of our neighbours. He wants to change messy lives, He wants to redeem them. He wants to use us to do it just like Jesus did it. We need to be involved in the lives of those who need Him, we can’t ignore them or keep them at an arms length, that sounds like what the Pharisees did as they tried to avoid “getting dirty” in the public squares.

Lets remember that God has put us in the world to bring the sick and dirty and hurting to Him so that He can redeem them and save them! He hasn’t put us in the world just to have us avoid the world. So next time you see or smell the rotting garbage in lives of those who don’t know our Lord, determine not to avoid them, but rather to introduce them to the one who can clean up all the garbage!

Garage Sale to Benefit Family

2009-02-20T16:38:00.001-07:00

Security Wall for Single Mom

2009-01-24T16:56:00.001-07:00

Remebering What it is Like

2009-01-19T19:03:00.004-07:00

Today was a good day. Today I messed up a lot of Spanish! Today I misunderstood what people were saying to me. Today I sweated from the heat. Today I got dirty. Today I remembered what it is like to be a Missionary again, and I loved it!

Let me give you a little pre-amble. Sheri and I came to Hermosillo Mexico with a vision. We came with a vision of seeing a community of like minded believers reaching out to care for those who are struggling, in the church and outside the church. We came with a vision of service to those less fortunate than ourselves and with the hope that the church would join us in reaching out in practical ways to those who are in need. We believe that Jesus ministered to the physical and emotional needs of the people He came in contact with and then He gave them the good news of the gospel. We desire to do the same. I think that loving people first before you present the gospel to them is an effective way to do evangelism. It is something the church should be doing and it is our aim here in Hermosillo.

Enter Jorge (not his real name). You see God has also planted this vision in him and has given him many practical skills in which to serve with as well. Jorge attends the church and wants to see the church reaching out in love to those in need as well.

Enter a team of 7 men from our area of Alberta. These 7 arrived on Saturday night and will be leaving this coming Saturday. They are here to further the construction of the church building. However they also said that they wanted to serve a person or a family in need in some practical way.

There is a lady in the church who is raising 3 kids (16, 13, 7) on her own and she is getting by, but with no room to spare. She lives in a tiny 3 room house in a very modest neighbourhood where there are many abandoned houses. Two of these abandoned houses front her property (one on the side and one behind). Now these types of houses tend to attract people who are up to no good. Often drug deals and other such things happen there. This family doesn’t have a wall to separate their property from the others and therefore after doing their “business” in these abandoned houses, the people will often walk right through their yard or even through their house! The 16 year old girl often cares for her younger siblings while Mom is at work. This obviously isn’t the type of environment in which anyone would want to raise 3 kids on their own!

This morning I met Jorge and 4 of the men from the team (the other 3 were working on the church) at this lady’s house and we began the construction of a proper wall made of brick to provide much needed security for their home. This project is happening because of the combined efforts of people in the church (Jorge specifically), the men from back home, myself, the other Missionary Family that serves here and the Mom of the 3 kids who is going to pay for part of the materials needed to build the wall.

I spent a good part of the day driving around with Jorge picking up materials needed for the construction and we also ate lunch together in his home with his wife. It was wonderful and difficult to speak Spanish as we drove for so long with no way of escape! After we ate lunch I thanked Jorge and his wife for the lunch they provided and then as we got into his vehicle, I thanked him again. After a minute or two he told me “I have something to teach you about our culture”. He proceeded to tell me that very few people say “thank you” here and that it bugs him when people do thank him! I told him it would be very difficult for a Canadian who has been invited over for a meal to not say “thank you”! Ah the intricacies of Missionary life!

I don’t want to be too idealistic or get the horse in front of the cart, but I was so encouraged by today! In working toward seeing the church reach out to others in practical ways, it is absolutely key for them to “catch the vision”. Today I saw a leader emerge from them, one who has the same vision and one who will hopefully draw others into service as well. God is obviously at work and today was just the beginning we trust.

Today for me was the beginning of seeing this dream realized. Today I saw Mexicans serving Mexicans. Today I saw Canadians serving Mexicans and being changed in the process. Today a family was blessed. Most of all, and I believe this with all my heart, today God was pleased.

Please continue to pray! We need your prayers!

Lane for the Elliotts.

English Kids Club at the Church- Sheri helping at the back

2009-01-10T20:33:00.001-07:00

Almost There

2009-01-01T21:51:00.002-07:00

I am typing this from our hotel room in Blythe California which is almost on the border of Arizona on Hwy 10. We have been traveling for 4 days now. The kids have been doing well, but we are all tired. Our drive to Mexico began on Monday morning in Coaldale Alberta where it was -15C or so with lots of snow. We headed south and have traveled through Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and now California enjoying the 19C weather! When we pulled into Blythe we saw a dirty pickup and RV ahead of us and I jokingly commented to Sheri and that it looked about as dirty as our vehicle and must be from Alberta. Upon further inspection the license plate indeed confirmed that it was from Alberta!

We are planning on taking a break tomorrow and not traveling at all. Maybe we will take the kids out to a movie and then hot tub here at the hotel later.

A highlight of the trip for Noah was when we traveled on the "Historic Route 66" hwy on which the movie "Cars" is based- (His favorite). The girls have been enjoying the trip as well except for when Jemma got her fingers caught in the electric window when Dad rolled it up...........................no worries, all her fingers are still there............
This really has been quite the fun time for the kids. These are memories they won't soon forget!

So the plan is to head to Tucson on Saturday and then down to Hermosillo on Sunday. We would love to have your prayer support again for this border crossing. By the way, the one into Montana went without a hitch. The border gaurd asked me for my license plate number and because it is new to me, I hesitated when giving him the answer and even though I got it right he still wanted to see my registration. Oh well, we made it through fine.....................without having to open the trailer!
We were going to spend New Years Eve in Las Vegas but couldn't get a hotel room as the whole city was pretty much sold out! Oh well, we went to Mesquite Nevada (an hour north east of Las Vegas) and stayed there instead. The kids loved the tredmills in the exercise room of the hotel we stayed at.........................go figure.

Well that is about it. We are getting more and more excited as we get closer to Mexico. We are truly looking forward to what God is going to do in and through us there in Hermosillo. We have a vision but God is refining it and will continue to do so. There is a song that we have been listening to on the way down here that is new to us. It is called "God of This City" by the Passion Worship Band. The chorus goes, "greater things have yet to come, and greater things are yet to be done in this city". That kind of sums up our anticipation as to what God will do in Hermosillo. We believe He has big plans for the people of this city, and we consider ourselves blessed that we are hopefully going to be a small part of it!

We will update again when we can and also we will post pictures of our trip at www.flickr.com/photos/elliottspics

Blessed to have you behind us, The Elliotts.

The Rollercoaster Ride Continues

2008-12-21T17:57:00.003-07:00

Well we have left our home where we have been living for the past 6 months in Sundre. We packed up our 5 by 10 trailer in the minus 27 degree temps. Let me tell you that in those temperatures we are sure looking forward to leaving! On that topic though, it has been hard. This life of transition that we "signed up for" sure isn't the easiest thing, but we wouldn't change a thing. We so completely enjoyed our time in Sundre connecting with the people from our home church - McDougal Chapel- and we truly felt loved by them. It was a wonderful 6 months with our church family. It is obvious that so many people from our church care for us so deeply. They proved it to us time and again in many different ways and it sure isn't easy to leave them all.
The kids loved their time in Sundre as well and got so connected again with their friends at church. It truly is bitter sweet for us and for our kids to leave. We are all excited- the kids included- about leaving for Mexico and getting settled in there. However it sure isn't easy to leave. Each one of us deals with the leaving a little differently. We have had times of crying as a family and times of jumping up and down as we look forward to what is coming. Just when we were ready to leave our house for good, we couldn't find Noah because he was hiding in the closet crying. It is at times like these that as a parent you wonder if it is all worth it. However God is gracious and He quickly reminds us that there is no doubt it is worth it. He gives us what we need to get through the hard times and He allowed us to stay in Paraguay long enough to experience some wonderful relationships with the Paraguayan people and that showed us that all of the hard work of learning a new language and culture was so worth it. We didn't just endure the hardship of learning and adjusting without reaping some benefits, specifically with a number of wonderful Paraguayan people.
This helps us to remember that even though we are having a bit of a hard time with the transition that is upon us again, we will get through it and we will come to love the people in Mexico that we will be serving and serving with.
We are looking forward to spending Christmas with our families and then we will be driving to Mexico shortly after Christmas sometime.
One more big goodbye, to our families! Then we can look forward to some hellos in Mexico and be finished with the goodbyes for a while!

Thanks for your prayers.

Lane for all of us

Preparing to Leave Again

2008-11-15T07:40:00.001-07:00

Preparing again

For those of you who aren't familiar with what we have been up to nor what we are going to be up to let me introduce ourselves.
We are Lane and Sheri Elliott, along with our kids Alexis 9, Jemma 7 and Noah 5. We lived in Paraguay as Missionaries for the last 2 years or so and now we are back here in Canada. Our plan was to stay longer, but God had other plans.
Now we are preparing to leave once again. We are committed to serving as Missionaries in Latin America and we believe God is calling us to serve in Norther Mexico in a city called Hermosillo.
Hermosillo is a city of about a million people. There is already an existing church that we are going to join. There is a Canadian Missionary family there already as well. This family is from our area of Western Canada and they have 3 children who are about the same age as our children.
Vision-
Our desire is to partner with the believers in the church that we are going to be attending with the goal of going into the poor areas of the city in order to serve. We desire to demonstrate the love of Jesus to the people of society that are often overlooked.
We see plainly all throughout scripture that God cares deeply for the poor of the world and how He warns against the exploitation of them. When Jesus walked the earth, He most often ministered to the poor and most often it was the poor who responded to Him. God loves to use the poor, and the weak and the broken to accomplish His purposes, it is a pattern in scripture.
We would love to see a church full of ex-adicts, ex- prostitutes, ex-whatevers. It is a big dream, but we serve a big God. We believe God still wants to change lives and He chooses to use broken vessels like us to do it.
We are supposed to be the hands and feet of Jesus, living here on the earth to do what He did while He walked the earth. Simply said, we should be characterized by love, by reaching out and touching the broken hearted just like Jesus did.
We believe that when we reach out and touch and love in practical ways, that people will respond to that love. Once they do, then we can share with them the best news of all, that Jesus loves them and having died for their sins, wants to enter into a loving relationship with them.

That is pretty much it. We covet your prayers as we perpare to leave for Mexico by the turn of the new year. We will do our best to continue to update this blog regularily and hopefully we will be able to add video soon as well. Alternatively, you can see pictures of our time in Paraguay and soon, of our time in Mexico at www.flickr.com/photos/elliottspics

Micah 6:8- Arbol de Vida Church- Hermosillo Mexico

2008-11-07T13:10:00.001-07:00

2008-11-02T05:29:00.000-07:00

In our yard in Sundre- won't see this in Mexico!

2008-11-01T23:22:00.000-06:00