Praise, at least, for …:
1. The very first youth camp/retreat in Pie de la Cuesta was more than normal blessing to the 50+ teens. Though the sea was tempting (open sea so dangerous to swim), our teens had been participating all the sessions and restless activities. Moreover, the real challenge was sensed at Purity Vow Ceremony. More than 40 teens made and renewed their vow to the Lord to keep holy until marriage. Some others took the moment to repent for what they have already done and reset their spiritual journey with God.

2. ANC’s Vision 800 team to Chiapas was blessing especially for three church leaders and their ministry. Pastor Eusebio Vazquez (Horeb Church in Ejido Zaragoza) got a church call to pastor this church for the next 5 years. The team accompanied him in pastoral visit for the sick. It was an eye-opening experience for the team on such peasant and humble culture. They sensed great gospel need in everyone’s life. Pastor Samuel Espinoza (Mt. Sinai in Ejido Arimatea) has been suffering last 2+ years of diabetes. He lost not only weigh but also passion for ministry. We prayed for his personal and pastoral needs. Brother Cesario Guillen (Palenque) was pleased to have the team for his daughter’s 15th birthday party. The team blessed Ruth Guillen with songs and prayers.

3. Lighthouse Education Center (Los Angeles) sent a group of 8 students (junior-high – high schoolers) for a cultural learning and experience. They helped building 2 study rooms for Bethesda Church (Pastor Francisco Melendez). The church was pleased to have them work and host them in their homes, and the leader (Lena Han) smiled as witnessing the maturity opportunity in her teen’s teamwork.

Please join us in prayer for the followings:
1. Sept. 4 – TEE will reopen for Emmanuel Presbytery. Pray that there will come new students along with those who studied last two years and need to complete their course works.

2. Sept. 4 – Women Society will celebrate Pastor Day in Maranatha RPC. All the pastors and preachers have been invited to have a special lunch.

3. Sept. 6 – Dating with Pastors at Bethesda church. We are studying, beside business meeting, on Calvin’s The Need to Reform Our Churches, and Gregg Singer's John Calvin His Roots and Fruits.

4. Sept. 10-12 – Emmanuel presbytery will have its annual meetings in Quetzultenango, Gro. There should be a lot of ministerial agenda to be discussed. We plan to propose them our ministerial emphasis on spirituality, so we will be focusing on and pushing toward this important task in doing team ministry.

5. Sept. 25 – Second Encounter for Christian Men (Men of Integrity). Following the last year attempt, we programmed it again for more of their involvement in church life. Pray for Daniel Gonzalez, young but passionate for Men's ministry.

6. Christian Education (CE) teachers training will launch its second phase after 2 month break. Elaine and her assistants are arranging for the preparation of Reformation celebration. Soon they will have second competition, but this time Bible writing. ... there will be prizes, too.

7. Abe continues home visit (Raul and Leti) to teach them on Basic Christian belief. A month ago, the couple has accepted Christ as Savior/Lord. Pray that this family will soon attend a RPC church following introductory sessions.

8. Abe goes back to the seminary in DF to teach this semester. May God continue to bless this institution and its staffs. Pray for our new students (David, Noe, Daniel and Josue). They are all brilliant looking students. Especially pray for Noe who left his family behind to study the Word. May he find his God here and get straight his call.

9. Abe continues evangelism course at El Nazareno RPC (pastor Hector Abarca) on Sunday mornings. It has been slower than expected due to the listeners learning pace. However, we praise God who makes it understanding and passion for the lost in their heart.

10. The God’s Image seminar ministry team will meet regularly for our upcoming event in Cuernavaca. The team consists of about 10 table leaders and other staffs. As we make the invitation for the participants, we will be praying for those who will register to attend. … Also ANC is in process of team making to assist this ministry in November 19-20.

11. Pray for Jose Enrique Melendez (17) who recently returned back to Mexico from US. He was undocumented alien more than a decade in US and had difficulties going to a seminary. But his passion to serve God made him leave his parents and find a seminary to train himself for God. He found it in Merida, Yuc. His grandpa took him to San Pablo Seminary and enrolled him. He is now in front of the Word.

Thanks. God bless you!

A workgroup from Lighthouse Education Center (Torrance, CA; Dir. Lena Han) came to serve at Bethesda Church to finish their longtime project on 2 sunday school rooms. Mrs. Lena Han brought the teens not only for cultural learning but also learn on life and appreciate what's been given. Our pastor Francisco Melendez was ever glad to see a bunch of Korean kids and his own group of church members involved in work, too. Thanks, Lena. Our church folks remember El Chino (Nathanael) among others.

Another link is for the very first youth camp of Emmanuel Presbytery held in Pie de la Cuesta, Gro. (near Acapulco). There were about 60 participants enjoying beach and spiritual activities. Among the activities, purity ceremony was touching for many teens, specially for those who had to confess. Two nights were felt two short after all, but were perfect for our novice youth leaders. Our leaders had to be up for 48 hours (taking turn). We all give praise and thanks to God for His faithful leading throughout the retreat since 2 month preparation and prayer. We all learned to overcome a number of challenges such as gossips, financial shortage, disunity, etc. Moreover, our youth leaders are convinced the importance of settle-down youth ministry in their churches.

Click here for photos.

Click here for photos.

d. Aug 23 ... Most schools start new school year. Nanana will be back but at new schools. They are growing and Naomi has also decided to go back to school rather than home school. May God help them to make new friends and teachers. Let them be light and salt at the schools where they are going to be.

e. Every Thursday (or Monday) night Abe has offered Bible teaching to a new converts (Raul & Lety and their children). We teach them the beauty of God’s world. Please pray for this couple to experience the deeper truth in Christ, and find a church home.

f. Pray for two concerns in Emmanuel Presbytery: (1) Evangelism class at El Nazareno RPC. The learning pace is so slow, Abe has break down a session into 4-week lessons per session. May God speak to their heart first before stepping out to their neighbors! The gospel may empower them to be a good witness of God’s love. (2) Pastor Nain de Jesus is giving very negative influence at Shekinah RPC. Many members have expressed us their unconformity over his pastoral skills.

May God continue to bless you and your church. Remember our God is always good. thanks.

Abe and Elaine
Cuernavaca, Mexico

To say good-bye is always hard, but I am learning to give it a hug. I did it to my grandma (95). She returned into her Father's arms last sunday (10:00 pm, July 18, 2010, Paraguay time). As you see her lovely smile in the picture (2007), she was a sweet and warm-hearted person. Over 4 decades of my life, she was a great teacher for me to not give up but give a try and step forward in the Lord's path. She encouraged me wordlessly to follow him all the way to the end. For sometime she was hope to me, and later she taught me to deposit my hope in the Lord.

She was like a mom, but a special one, to me. She was an example to follow to embrace and forgive the world. I was very much hateful to the world, and at some point to God for having taken away my dad and mom from me at early age. My father passed away when I was 3, and leaving no sibling at all for me. My mom, still alive, remarried, right after the death of my father, leaving me behind under the care of my grandparents. I wasn't sure what was going on, so wondered off for a long time. It took me sometime to see the hands of God in this midst. God has been good all the days of my life. I am sure He was the same in her's. A proof of it is that my grandma was an angel of God. In her He had been always with me and on my side at times of uncertainty. Thanks, my grandma, my true mom.

A month ago, I was able to speak to her over skype. She hardly recognized me (due to alzheimer her mind was on and off) for a few brief seconds as I told her, "Grandma, You are the most beautiful person to me." She cried at recognizing my voice (the only son of her first son, who was buried within her heart). I cried, too, but gave thanks to God. That was the last conversation I had with her. Grandma, you finally joined your son and your husband. Have a lot of fun up there.

Grandma, I loved you, and will love you forever.
Rest now in the peaceful arms of the Lord.
We will see you there too.
Thanks for leaving a sweet smile in us.

We just came back from a touching ministry in Salamanca, Guanajuato. There were 51 candids from a number of churches in the area: La Piedad, Mich., Irapuato, Gto., and Salamanca, Gto. To make this happen there joined three different ministry teams from Los Angeles (ANC Onnuri Church), Cd. Juarez, Chih. (All Nations Seminary), and Cuernavaca (Reformed Presbyterian Church). It was almost a dream team as we learned to work together. All the glory for our God. Thanks God for the great experience we all had these days (July 7-9, 2010). We also continue to pray for the 51 blessed people of God in Salamanca to be disciples of God.

Please click to watch slideshow either here or God's Image in Salamanca on the right column. Thanks, God bless you.

PRAISES:
• Children are off school now for a long vacation. Our two boys finished their school year successfully and are now ready to hit the road for ministries here and there with us.

• The single mom ministry has been launched. On a fine Saturday, there came about 20 moms to take a speech on “single moms and their low self-esteem”. We as family attend Bethesda church where the majority are single moms (mostly divorced). There are only 4 couples, including the senior pastor. Pastor Melendez is very supportive for this ministry since his 2 daughters are divorced and have a lot of painful attitude against church activities.

• Sunday school teacher training has announced its break during summer vacation. There are a lot of activities at each church, including VBS. We will continue the training after vacation sometime in September.

• Summer retreat for young adults is in smooth preparation. Its 8 leaders are gathered biweekly to learn the core values of the event (spirituality) and to work together for the common cause (building a better church). We are doing our best to help them envision for cultural change in church activities—not just to have fun but also to grow in spirit.

• Seminary in Mexico City and extension center in Cuernavaca had a few graduates: 3 in total this year. Especially, our extension center will receive new students in September. There are some church members with great interest to learn the Bible. May the Spirit of God continue to raise leaders for His Kingdom.

A STORY:
We would like to introduce you Grecia, dear sister at Bethesda church. She wants to join us for the God’s Image seminar in Salamanca in early July. However she has unsolved schedule trouble. She is graduating her high school with specialty on nursing. But it’d cost her U$1000 which had to be paid before the graduation. As many other students she might quit the 3 years of effort, due to the lack of this fund. For now, her heart is to assist the ministry in Salamanca, but she would definitely need your and our prayer.

The followings are our needs IN YOUR PRAYER. Thanks in advance!

a. July 4-10 – The God’s Image seminar will be held in Salamanca, Gto. We have a list of 55 participants and about 40 assistants from Cuernavaca (21), Cd. Juarez (5), and Los Angeles (13). A group of All Nations (Onnuri) Church in L.A. has adopted this city to minister for the next couple years. We pray that this touching ministry would be a divine blessing to those individual and their families. May they experience the love of God and restore their lost identity back to be witness for Christ.

b. July 3 – Dating with Pastors meeting will be at our home. May all the pastors get spiritually recharged to lead and instruct their flocks during this busy summer. We will also study to enrich our pastoral ministries with Reformed literature. Please continue to pray for our Mexican friends in this northern Africa who have recently expelled due to their mission work in that closed country to the Gospel.

c. July 17 – We will visit our hosting church for Summer retreat for young adults (July 30-Aug 1). So far retreats were done to have fun. However, this year and on we would like to make it a spiritual challenge where they experience personal encounter with the Lord. Praying wholeheartedly!

d. July 21-24 – Pastor Joo (A teaching pastor @ ANC and the author of the God’s Kingdom Perspective Bible Reading in 90 Days in Korean) will teach for two groups: at a Korean church in DF, and also for RPC folks here in Cuernavaca. May it be a great feast for all of us as we’d be challenged to get closer than before to the Living Word.

e. Every Thursday night Abe has been explaining the Bible story to a new converts (Raul & Lety). They just accepted Christ however, yet to struggle with their inherited religious cultures. We’d continue teaching them the beauty of God’s world. Please pray for this couple to experience the deeper truth in Christ.

f. We assist a barely started missions in Col. La Lagunilla. Among those who welcome us every Monday night is a family with deaf-mutes. We found a translator into sign language, however the Reina-Valera version (like KJV) found to be very difficult for her to translate. So we donated a handful of easy-reading Bibles. Now they are loving it and getting closer to their Creator. It’s fun to be with them and watch them grow in spirit.

g. Pray also for our involvement with Evangelism training at El Nazareno RPC. The learning pace is so slow, Abe has break down a session into 4-week lessons. May God speak to their heart first before stepping out to their neighbors! The gospel may empower them to be a good witness of God’s love.

Abe & Elaine

Praise the Lord for our church staff and their eagerness to learn new language.

Courtesy Documentary

PRAISES:
As family, we celebrate May with a lot of blessing. Nathan had his pastoral debut as he preached (?) on Children’s Sunday. Though it was only ONE-TWO minute sharing on his daily devotion, it was a meaningful experience for him and exciting for us. We were all nervous. Naomi had a great time in Yucatan Peninsula as she blew her birthday candles there. Nahum is so excited for the upcoming World Cup games in South Africa. He loves soccer. One day he found a Wii soccer game which one would love to own. So we made a deal that if he controls his temper for the next 3 weeks, we will buy him the game. Right away, he agreed to do so. For a week, he did very well. The reason we proposed the idea is that it takes about 21 days to change a habit. We have worked with him with his anger management. We pray that this will help him to get started and continue on.

Ministry-wise we’ve finished institutional tasks at the Seminary and Institute. The shoulders of our students are so loaded with assignments, but they will soon return with a blossom smile on their faces. Elaine has finished her The Image of God follow-up Bible study. The 7-8 ladies have grown emotionally and spiritually over the four months of study. These ladies will be a part of a ministry team for this seminar in the years to come. We’ve also taken a weeklong family ministry training in town. FamilyLife has a ministry center in Cuernavaca.

A STORY:
Noé Santiago is our student at Ixtlatotaztin Bible Institute. He is a vehicle electrician by profession, but now he is seriously considering to serve in frontier for God’s Kingdom. He wants to move on for the formal seminary training in Mexico City and serve God as an ordained pastor.
At each class he is like a sponge sobbing the basic ideas. Last course he took was Abe’s class on Diakonia. For a final assignment, Abe assigned a project that might be good for their church and beneficial to the community. Noé decided to sweep the church streets and offer free electric service to church neighbors. He also invited his church to join him with their own talents from haircut to facial. He is trying his best to practice what he learned and set them as his life values. PTL!

The followings are our need IN YOUR PRAYER. Thanks in advance!

a. June 2-7 – Dr. Simon Kistemaker (Prof. New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL) will give a series of lectures on the Coming of God’s Kingdom at our Mexican Reformed Theological Seminary, Mexico City. Abe is so excited to be at the lectures for two reasons. First, our Presbytery pastors’ willingness to learn! It’d cost them U$50 per person to attend the lectures, in addition to relatively expensive bus fares. But they found a way to fund themselves. Second, their growing spirit of team ministry! Pastor Jose Ocampo, collectively inviting other colleagues to join the study, now offered to financially cover (that is U$25) for me to attend the lectures with them. It meant a lot to us since it’s not just an invitation but their initial steps toward team ministry. Pray that Dr. Kistemaker will be a great blessing to our pastors and seminary students.

b. June 7 – Dating with Pastors meeting will be at Bethesda Church. It’s been an edifying time as we come to learn to share and give hand to each other’s needs and also pray for each other’s ministry. Especially pray for pastor Nain de Jesus who seems to have a hard time to adjust to this fairly new culture among the pastors. Also please pray for our Mexican missionary friend (anonymous) who served about 4 years but have recently been expelled from a Muslim country in North Africa. We have not been in contact these days so don’t know much about their current situation, but they definitely need our prayer.

c. June 4, 18, & 25 – Our ministry team to assist the upcoming ‘Seminar on The Image of God’ (Salamanca in July 7-9) is set. About 10 adults (all participated last November’ seminar) will lead and assist a table of 6-7 people. On 3 occasions we will gather together to pray for the seminar and for 50+ participants. None of us has any idea what’s going to happen, but we are sure that many participants will experience a life-changing encounter with the Lord during the seminar. Please join us in prayer for this goal.

d. June 5 – Our dear friend pastor Constantino and Madai’s daughter will turn 15. It will be a big day for her as she celebrates her quinceañera. We’ve known her since she was 5 years old. Time has gone by so fast. Abe is honored to deliver a message for this young lady. May the Word lead her walk into adult life and equip her in becoming a woman of noble character (Prov. 31). … Due to the Mexico City traffic law, we’re unable to take our US licensed vehicle, so we’d need to travel on bus. Pray for the event and 6 hour round-trip.

e. Elaine’s Teacher Training continues every other Fridays. All the teachers are assigned to prepare their own story-telling lesson for a weeklong Vacation Bible School (VBS). Due to the financial hardship, if it done individually, they decided to work together on material purchase and textbook preparation. Pray that all the teachers will be encouraged in the process of VBS preparation.

f. June 26 – Elaine, Milca, and Gloria (members of Bethesda Church) decided to launch a ministry for single moms. There will be a Café and Cake Night targeting at least 15-20 ladies. Pastor Melendez is very supportive with his two arms wide-open.

g. We will also minister our Reformed churches on their effort to expand the Gospel through small missions in Puente de Ixtla, Amacuzac, La Lagunilla, Milpillas, Puerta del Cielo, and Nuevo Balsas. They would need some time to grow and organize as churches. Pray that our involvement with Evangelism courses and occasional preaching will fuel them in doing ministry to the needy.

Blessings on your ministry and your daily walk with the Lord,

Abe & Elaine Lee

English version 2010-05 or Korean version 2010-05
Thanks for your ongoing support with prayer and giving. Blessing!

English version or Korean version
Thanks for your ongoing support with prayer and giving. Blessing!

Praise the Lord for another fruitful trip to Chiapas: encouraging visit for Eusebio Vazquez, an ex-student of Chiapas Bible Institute and Reformed Seminary in Mexico City, who had celebrated special 3 day services with a lot of thanksgiving. His family willfully offered a cow (over 700 lbs.) for the feast. It was a pleasant visit to witness his walk in the Lord. I(Abe) was commoved as he claimed Abe to be his spiritual father. … It turned out to be also a good visit for Cesario Guillen, who had had some personal issues over some months due to the lack of a spiritual mentor near him. He had basically spent most of his life in urban setting, but considered a countryman himself. However, his ministry colleagues had caused him to wake up and reconsider his differences to work with them. He had a distinct mentality. So he renounced from Diaconia Chiapas. Somehow this visit helped him to restore his backsliding faith. Pray that God will provide him a friend(s) to walk alongside him. Click here

Praise for the Bible Verse Contest. We’ve had about 100 participants from 6 churches. The event was well received as all of them showed great interest, including teachers. We’re all excited as each participant did his/her best to not just win the contest but to confirm their further step in spiritual walk through this event. It was always hard for the judges to nominate the final three winners each age group. Click here

Praise the Lord for another warm and growing experience of our missionaries spiritual retreat in our area. Our team is a coolest ministry family as we get to know each one of us closely. You guys are fantastic! Click here Note: Some pics were taken by Barbarita.

Our dear brother Israel and his home church Bethesda successfully made known God’s presence in La Lagunilla, a tough area to evangelize through a one-day street campaign. There were 10 new converts who made commitment to follow Jesus and participate weekly gathering in a local. Praise the Lord as He said “He added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:47)! Click here

Please join us in prayer for the followings during this month.

Last Saturday (Apr. 10), all the pastors and most churches of Emmanuel Presbytery had gathered together for an evening evangelistic campaign in Col. La Lagunilla. It is the way to officially launch a new missions. According to the event coordinator and some other locals, this colonia is a well-known risky and dangerous area in town. “It is just like Col. Antonio Barona,” says pastor Hector Abarca (El Nazareno RPC). However, nothing happened to us during our event for God's angels had camped around us.

Since a week ago, we’ve visited this area to post the invitations here and there all over the colonia. We did a prayer walk scattered in groups. We tried to cover the entire colonia. In doing so, we met a number of Christians and found some Christian churches in the area, which was a comfort.

Around 6 pm people started to come and little by little filled up the small soccer field at the corner of colonia’s sports area. “Somos el pueblo de Dios …”. We sang and sang and sang a lot of praises. We also showed them a Christian movie and each church presented a mini drama and sketches. I(Abe) preached on Mephiboset’s restoration by the mercy of God(David). We harvested about 15 souls for Christ as we made altar-call at the end of the events. Praise the Lord!

We were all so exhausted and tired as we went to bed around 1 am next day. But God gave us a very very good night rest. Thank you God!