Click here to view the Legal Victory Report from the De La Parra's.

Dear Faithful Partners,

February greetings in the name of the Lord Most High! He is precious, gracious, and most glorious. King Jesus is His name, the Christ, the Messiah and forever the same.

You may think the Christmas Holidays are over; however, your climax to the season may be this letter, as we share our Christmas report with you. Being that the last of our Christmas events spill over into January, it is February before we can send our final news of Christmas in the Pueblos 2006.

We send a heartfelt thank you to all the generous hearted folk who prayed and payed for these outreaches. Thanks to you, 15 teams in 103 towns, in 2 Mexican States ministered the Gospel of Christ’s birth to 16,000 people.  This was the first time we did the programs in 15 of these towns. Of the total 103 towns, many do not have Protestant churches or have new works needing encouragement. Some of the towns we went to have never heard the salvation message before. Hallelujah!

Our teams have many testimonies of special blessings. One of those took place in San Jose, Chihuahua, a small and very remote school house in the mountains of the Sierra Madre. Our last years attempt to reach them failed due to a washed out bridge. The bridge now being repaired, we arrived on time, however the teacher had heard through the grapevine that Pastor Luis had died in a terrible car crash and he told the children we couldn’t bring Christmas this year. Well, it wasn’t our Luis in the accident, so as we drove in, their little faces begin to shine and these words can’t begin to express their look of surprise and joy.

The teacher immediately sent out runners inviting everyone to come see the Christmas program at the school. Within a short time many mothers and babies arrived, dripping wet from the cold rain to join the children. Some of the children couldn’t wait to open their gift bag to explore its contents, yet many others, especially the preschoolers, just had a blank look on their little faces, not knowing what to do because they have never received a gift before and they simply don’t know what to do with it.

As strange as it may seem, we have actually watched little boys 4 to 10 years old with their first little car trying to see how it works. Little girls with their first doll or stuffed animals trying to figure out what it is all about. Times like these remind us of two things:

• Oh, how blessed and rich we are!
• How being a blessing to a child in need make all our efforts, worth it all.

Again, muchisimo gracias and Merry Christmas, one more time.

From the Mountains of Mexico,

Our Dear Friends,

Greetings and blessings in the name of Jesus.
We write you with good news. Our church is now registered with the federal government, a process that has taken 4 years and required much work. We couldn’t use the name of Centro Cristiano Rhema, as that name was already taken, so now our new name is Centro Cristiano “Palabras de Vida y Amor”. Now all of our activities are legally backed up by the Mexican laws. While this is good, the truth is that now we need to be able to complete all of the legal requirements, and are using the services of accountants and lawyers.
    Included in the benefits, we will now be able to import many things, such as toys and candy for the Christmas programs, as well as furniture, clothes, and equipment. Some things we can import free, while we will need to pay importation on other things. Some things we haven’t been able to import, even by paying taxes. Now we can! Hallelujah!
    Visiting ministers and missionary groups that come will now have legal covering to freely evangelize, where as before they had to come to Mexico as a tourist.
    We need to build and equip an office, and rent or purchase property in Agua Prieta to process the things that we import.
    Changing subjects, we are hungry for the things of God. In the pueblos where we did Christmas programs, we were impressed that not only the children came, but their families as well. They showed us their appreciation and invited us to return as soon as possible. Also different missionaries, regardless of their denomination, came to greet us and esteem our work. We saw in them the need and desire for fellowship.  
    Overall, we are doing well. Shamar is VERY BLESSED. She is doing extremely well and attending kindergarten. Juan Antonio finished his studies and now has a title as an engineer of Computer Systems. Abraham and his wife and daughter are doing well. Raquel is with us and in August David will be attending the University. Glory to God!
    In 2007 may you be filled with blessings and success in every direction. May you be close to God and complete His plans.
 
In The Love of Jesus,
Juan and Maria

Editor’s note: New Mexican church organizations are required to function without legal registration for 5 years in any community with only local recognition as a vital church, before they can become a legally recognized denomination with the government.

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You will find information about Missions Trips, Christmas Outreaches and Vacation Bible Schools from previous newsletters by clicking on the Evangelism link to the right under the Main Menu.