Christmas in Mexico

“ The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

John 1:9

Greetings from sunny Tijuana. This Christmas as in years past, our neighborhood is brightly lit with Christmas lights, but unfortunately the true “Light of Lights”, Christ the Savior has no place in many Mexican homes. Starting with the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12^th and continuing until Christmas, many people in Mexico have “posadas”. They dress up as Biblical figures, with a Mary and a Joseph, and walk the dark streets holding candles, knocking on doors looking for someone to offer them a place to stay. Each night they find an open door with a party waiting, but the sad truth in their lives is that they themselves have never opened the door of their hearts to Christ. They are still wandering in spiritual darkness.

The celebrations continue until January 6^th, “Día de los Reyes” (Day of the Kings) When they celebrate the arrival of the Magi to present gifts to the Christ child. They gather with family and friends to eat a “Rosca” (Sweet bread in the shape of a crown) which has small plastic dolls baked inside. The person who finds the “baby” in his piece of bread gets to help host the next celebration, in February. In the past, families traditionally exchanged gifts on January 6th and not on Christmas. Children wait anxiously to see what the “kings” brought them. Like many homes in North America, the focus becomes the gifts and not Jesus. There are however, people in Tijuana who like the wise men of old are searching for a light to guide them to the true King of Kings.

In this past year we have had the privilege of seeing many step out of the darkness and into Christ’s light. It is exciting to see the men, women, and children from the “Agua Viva” Mission grow in their new faith. We had a special worship service on Sunday, December 23 to celebrate Christmas. There were special musical presentations from the children, the youth, and the ladies. The children also had a dramatic presentation of the Christmas Story in the form of a slide show with pictures of the children dressed in Biblical costumes acting out the story. It was put to music with narration from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Afterward, we had a pot luck dinner with lots of great food and fellowship.

We continue to reach out to the community with evangelistic films, the ladies Bible Study, children’s classes, and Wednesday night Bible study where we are studying the Gospel of John to help the people discover who Jesus really is. We are looking forward to holding regular Sunday services in the near future.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and we wish you a blessed new year. Our family is doing well and we are enjoying a visit from Daniel and Scott’s parents.

We thank you for your partnership with us as we reflect His light in Tijuana.

In His service,

Scott and Marcia Geurink

Maximina and Guillermina

For five months Maximina has been studying the Bible in her home. She is a 62 year old widow who lives with her widowed mother, Guillermina. They live two blocks from the new mission "Agua Viva". Maximina felt drawn to the mission since the inauguration. She knew about the eye clinic but decided not to go, that night she says that without knowing why, she just ended up at the puppet show, and was touched. When the story of the Philippian jailer came up in her Bible study this week, she shared that it was the first story she had heard at our church, the one that touched her heart (the story was one of the puppet skits).

Guillermina, her mother, does not read at all and has studied in the past with Jehovah's Witnesses. Maximina has a second grade education and sometimes she doesn't understand some words in the Bible studies and has a hard time memorizing, but she does it! This past week during the study at her home on Wednesday, we invited her to join the Monday morning Ladies group that is studying the same book. Maximina was a chapter behind them but we told her not to worry, just come and be part of the group. To our surprise, on Monday she arrived with both lessons done, and both verses memorized! We are hoping she will join the group, and find encouragement in studying with others. She sometimes comes to the Wednesday night study at Agua Viva but finds it hard to leave her mother alone at night, especially as it gets dark so early now.

Each Wednesday at 4:30 Diamandy and Marcia, and sometimes Jane Crum, arrive at their home to give the Bible Study. Guillermina is usually outside on the porch watching for us. Maximina has juice or coffee waiting. At first Guillermina would just listen, but for the past month she has been entering into the conversation and asking questions. It seems that during the week there are heated discussions between the two of them over differences in beliefs. We keep pointing to the Bible as the ultimate authority for what we should believe.

We are encouraged by the growth we have seen in Maximina. She truly wants to learn and grow. Even her mother admits that she has changed since becoming a believer. They both laughingly described times when she wanted to quit because she thought she couldn't answer the questions in the study or memorize a verse. Maximina has found that prayer works and the Holy Spirit is always there to help her. She even admitted that one other time she began studying the Bible but after a few studies she would purposely not be home or even hide when they knocked at her door.

Pray for Guillermina, that she will understand that salvation is only in Christ. Since she does not read, she has accepted what she has been taught by the Jehovah's Witnesses for years. She willingly admits she can not explain why she believes what she does, perhaps it is only tradition. Pray that the scriptures she is hearing in the studies will show her the truth.

James and Barbarita Lee

We are excited that the Lee family; James, Barbarita, and Joshua, will soon be joining us in Tijuana. James graduated this spring from Calvin Seminary with a MA in Missions and was later ordained as a Ministry Associate in the Christian Reformed Church. He did his undergraduate studies at Kuiper College (formerly Reformed Bible College). He has many talents including singing and playing guitar. Barbarita also graduated from Kuiper College and later earned a nursing degree. She continues to work towards her licensure as a RN. Barbarita also has many artistic talents including singing and scrap booking. Together they are excited about working with the people of Tijuana. Their son Joshua will have his first birthday the 21st of December. He is a precious boy, very friendly and happy. Joshua is already learning Korean and English and soon will add Spanish.

The Lees were able to visit Tijuana for a few days in November to get a first hand look at the work here, and to see the 'lay of the land.' While they were here we visited many of the churches and missions, and they were even able to find a house to rent, not too far from us! They plan to arrive in Tijuana on the 7th of January.

The Lees are replacing John and Jerre DeYoung who served with World Missions for 36 years. The first year, the Lees will be finding their niche in the work here: helping out at one or more of the new missions, and perhaps teaching a course at the Bible Institute. James lived for several years while growing up in Argentina and speaks very good Spanish (with a singing accent). Barbarita learned her Spanish on STS, at College, and on the job as a nurse. She will probably spend some time the first year fine tuning her Spanish. She also hopes to finish some classes for her RN degree. Joshua's job will be to charm the neighbors!

If you would like to learn more about the Lees, check out their blogsite; there is a link to their site on the right hand side bar.

"Forjando Nuevos Destinos" Rehab Center

One of the exciting new ministries of the Reformed Presbyterian Church here in Tijuana is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Terrazas del Valle. The center is called "Forjando Nuevos Destinos" (Forging New Destinies) and shares the property with the "Dios Viviente" (Living God) Church. The program started just over a year ago when several men in one of our churches, "Cristo Arca de Salvacion" (Christ the Ark of Salvacion) who themselves had been helped to break drug and alcohol problems through rehab centers had the desire to start a rehab program. They approached the pastor, Armando Ponce, with their burden to help others find freedom from drugs and alcohol by the power of God. The Director of the center is Carlos Vasquez.

They started with a small building and a handful of guys. The center quickly grew to ten, then more, and now they are ministering to over 40 men and boys. These men sign up for a 3 month program. The first step is the detoxification center where they are kept until their body completes the withdrawal stage and they are no longer violent. In stage two they stay in one of the dormitories, locked at night, and begin working on the compound. By stage three they are given more privileges, and some even go out of the center during the day to work. Many of the men decide to stay longer than the required three months, some do not feel strong enough to face the pressure on the outside, and others feel a desire to keep learning and growing in their faith and to help the new comers.

Their families are supposed to pay about $20 a week to cover food and other costs, but the reality is that many families do not have the money or no longer have any contact with the person in the center. The center is run on a very small budget.

The men attend two Bible Studies a day, sometimes in the mornings they attend a small group inductive Bible Study using the Bible League Project Phillip materials and other similar studies, and in the evenings they have a worship service. It is very impressive to hear these guys sing, and follow along (out loud) in their Bibles with the preacher. They are very enthusiastic!

There are also some young boys and teens at the rehab center. The government agency DIF (like Child Protection Services) has been to the center and has allowed them to stay. I would be great in the future to have a separate facility. So many children and young teens here have problems with sniffing glue, and then go on to use other drugs.

One of our work groups this past summer, Rusk CRC from Zeeland Michigan, helped to build bunk beds in one of the dormitories, and to put plywood on the walls. Another group from Hillcrest CRC in Hudsonville, Michigan held an eye clinic at the center during the day, seeing almost 150 people, and then the youth performed a great evangelistic puppet show at night for the guys at the center and the community in Terrazas. We were also at the center last week with a neighbor of ours, Chema, who makes plaster figures that are sold at the border to tourists. He went with us for a day to the center to teach some of the men how to make plaster wall placks with scripture verses on them, so that the men at the center can make, paint, and sell them to help with their operating costs.

If you would like to see more pictures from the Rehab center, click on the link to Forjando Nuevos Destinos on the right hand side of the page.

Noche Mexicana

On September 15th and 16th Mexico celebrated it's Independence from Spain. Yes, the Mexican equivalent to the 4th of July is not 5 de Mayo! The Prince of Peace church held a "Noche Mexicana", where everyone participated in some way, either by: decorating the patio, dressing up in traditional Mexican clothing, singing Christian songs with a Mexican flair, performing traditional Mexican dances, a puppet show telling the story of the beginning of the fight for independence, and selling traditional Mexican foods.

The community was invited to attend as well, and there were many visitors. The purpose was to reach out to the community and invite them to the Church for a non-threatening social event, and to raise funds to finish several work projects at the church.

Traditionally at midnight (Mexico City Time) a leader will call out the names of the principal people involved in the start of the Revolution, and the crowd will yell, "Viva" in response. The final yell is "Viva Mexico." At the church, Pastor Isaac added "Viva Cristo" to remember the religious freedoms we enjoy in Mexico, made possible by the freedom won from Spain. And to celebrate the Spiritual freedom we enjoy won for us by Christ.

To see more photos from the Noche Mexicana, click on the link in the lower right hand side of the page.

Karissa makes Profession of Faith

Karissa makes Profession of Faith at the Prince of Peace Church.

September 9th was a special day for our family. Karissa has wanted to make profession of faith and join the church for several years, but for various reasons, no new members classes were started. This spring, she and three other young people joined a catechism class. Along with friends Angelica Flores, Misael Escudero, and Andres Escudero, Karissa joined the church in a special service on Sunday night. After becoming members, Karissa and friend Lesly Giron, sang a special song to give thanks. Andres and his sister Diamandy also sang a song of praise they had written for the occasion. After the service we all enjoyed cake and ice cream, celebrating two birthdays as well, Marcia Geurink and Sanson Escudero.

The Prince of Peace congregation has a goal of becoming an organized church within two years. Adding new members is a step towards that goal. They will also be training elders and deacons, and the pastor, Isaac Rodriguez is taking steps to be ordained.

To see more pictures from Karissa's profession of faith, click on the link in the lower right side bar.

What's Hot?

Greetings from sunny and HOT Tijuana. Monday morning when we arrived at the Agua Viva mission for the 10:00 Bible study, the temperature was already 105 degrees Fahrenheit. By the time we left at 11:30 it was 113! There is no electricity yet, so no fans either. We were glad that four of the regular ladies came to the study, this shows the kind of interest they have in learning about the Bible and their new life in Christ.
Today it is a little cooler, but still in the 90's. Pray for the family that is staying at the mission: Ramon and Alma, and their four children. It has been difficult the last few weeks with such intense heat. They have not complained and are a real blessing.
Please take a look at our photo album for the new mission. There is a link in the side bar on the right side of the page. Just click on the Agua Viva Photo Album and you will be directed to the site. We plan to keep adding pictures as we are able.

"Agua Viva" Mission in Ojo de Agua, Tijuana

July 30, 2007
“Agua Viva” Mission
The new mission “Agua Viva” (Living Water) in the community of Ojo de Agua (Springs of Water) had its grand opening on June 13th with a with a vision clinic and puppet ministry from Hillcrest CRC of Hudsonville, MI. Close to 150 people had their eyes checked and were given glasses if they needed them. In the evening the puppet team gave an evangelistic program. Since then we have been holding Bible Studies each Wednesday evening.
Work at “Agua Viva,” the 10th church plant in Tijuana began earlier this spring. The land had to be leveled, filled, and compacted. The members from many of the Mexican Reformed Presbyterian churches helped with getting the foundation ready and pouring the floor. The Adult team from 3rd CRC Denver came during Spring Break to frame the two story classroom and parsonage. A group from Oak Harbor CRC came the next week to work on the electrical, plumbing, insulation, drywall, and shingle the roof.
Since the inauguration in June, we have had two more groups: a youth team from Denver; and a team from Rusk CRC, Zeeland; come and work on finishing the drywall and painting. The finished building is a bright peach and blue oasis in a dry and dusty community.

Vacation Bible School
This July we had an exciting Vacation Bible School at “Agua Viva.” We had help from the Mother Church, “Cristo Arca de Salvacion”; the youth team from Denver; four summer interns; and a puppet team made up of young people from various local churches. We had no clue how many children would show up since the mission was so new. The first morning we were surprised as wave after wave of children came. They kept coming, 158 children in all the first day! There were also many mothers who stayed all morning with their children. We started a separate adult class on Tuesday, and had as many as 30 parents learning the same lessons as the children. The final count was 268 different children and adults who attended the VBS!

Some of the adults from the VBS class were so interested in continuing studying the Bible, that we started a study of the Gospel of John on Monday mornings. Those who attend are very interested in learning more. Several have prayed to accept the living water Jesus offers. We are excited about the mission “Agua Viva” bringing new and abundant life found only in Christ.

Prayer and Praise
1. We are thankful for all the help in getting the new mission up and running!
2. We are thankful for the opportunity to spend two weeks in August in Michigan on vacation visiting family and friends.
3. Pray for the “Prince of Peace” Congregation, they are starting a two year plan to officially organize as a church.

In His Service,


Scott and Marcia Geurink