Mexican Bible Study

So we've been down here in Tlaxiaco going to Missions Training School for about 5 months now. We sit in class for about half of the day 5 days a week and then try to go apply what we're learning in class when we hit the town for the second half of the day. Up until now we haven't seen a lot of fruit from that. I mean we've made a lot of good relationships with people, but haven't really got into conversations that did more than scratch the surface. This past Sunday, though, we had our first Bible study with some people from here in Tlaxiaco. We've been talking a lot about what an indigineous church should look like in class and in theory. This past Sunday we got to put some of that learning to the test. I think what I took away from it most is that no matter how much planning or "theory" goes into a Bible study or indigenous church, if the Holy Spirit isn't the true leader of what's going on then you might as well be shooting in the dark. That's not to say that no one is getting anything out of it. We know that God's Word is useful for many things when we study it, but we also know that only God can change the hearts of men. This meeting was no exception to the rule. About an hour before the people were supposed to arrive, about four of us got together and just gave the whole thing over to God and thanked Him for the opportunity to be involved in the work going on down here in Mexico. Romans 8:26&27.

The people that came were a family, Bulramo (the Dad), Valerosa (the Mom), and Crystal (their daughter), along with her daughter who's name is Ximena. Some of the people down here in school with me have been talking to this family for about as long as we've been down here. They own a couple of shops in town. We also went and played basketball with Bulramo on Wednesday of last week. I think he's in his mid-fifties, but runs around like he's 25. They decided a couple of weeks ago that they would like to get together with some of us to study the Bible and this past Sunday was the result of that. Another guy that came is named Javier, and he's 18.

The family is Christian and from hearing their testimonies on Sunday they're really seeking God. Javier is still trying to figure things out, but is definitely interested and seems enthusiastic about getting into the Word and learning more. We looked at John Chapter 3 and butchered our way through some praise songs in Spanish. The ultimate goal of this study/church is for us (the white people) to be there only for a little while and then indigineous people to completely take it over and make up the group. Everybody that was there said that they wanted to meet up this coming weekend at the same time, and the family has already volunteered to host future meetings in their house. So praise God for the things that have happened up until this point, and we're looking for even more exciting things to come in the future.