Annual Conference in Saltillo

Once a year the missionaries of the Mexico field with WGM get together to have a two-day annual conference in addition to several other meetings they hold during the year. The purpose of annual conference is to talk about the past year and plan for the upcoming one. Usually it is held on the border in McAllen where WGM has a private school and guest house, but this year it was held in Saltillo, Mexico. We started off on our 8 hour trip on Friday with our field directors and returned Monday afternoon.

In Saltillo we were joined by the few WGM missionaries of this field which include those who work on the border, and by some of our prayer partners who live in Kentucky, plus our missionary pastors who came down to visit with all of us one-on-one. We spent several hours in meetings and disscussing important matters pertaining to the field. On Saturday we talked about whether or not we would be returning to Mexico with WGM, and we announced that we have not yet made that descision. We of course are going to finish our term here, and we do feel called to live and work in Mexico. Currently, we have not decided whether God is leading us to return with WGM. Please pray for us as we seek God and make wise decisions for our future.

The highlight of our trip was making a visit to the Casa de Paz (House of Peace) in a very humble neighborhood in Saltillo. We had the priveledge of being there in April and meeting Annette at the annual pastoral conference, but this brief visit last weekend was extra special. Annette is a very dear woman who is part of on of WGM's congregations in Saltillo, and because she lost her house she had to move to a little neighborhood called Nueva Esperanza (New Hope). The name is ironic because when you look around you don't see many signs of hope, but Annette along with the help of a few other women, and now one of WGM's missionaries, is making that name a reality. In front of her little house made out of cardboard, scrap metal, and wood, Annette is teaching the kids in her neihgborhood about God and his love. The ministry has grown from merely giving the children a breakfast and a short lesson on Saturdays, to serving breakfast and offering lessons several times a week. The Casa de Paz also has a women's group now as well to reach the mothers and teach them about who God is and how he can change their lives. The last thing Annette said to our group after explaining her passion for the families of her neighborhood was ask all of us to pray. To pray that God would touch the lives of those they are working with, that God would give them strength to be good leaders, and that God would continue to provide what they need. Our hearts were full of joy as we saw the face of Jesus in the eyes of Annette, as we thought about the fact that she was turning her proverty into an oppertunity, and because whether she new it or not, we all left challenged. Shouldn't we all have a House of Peace?


Pictures:
Jennifer and Annette
Our prayer partners the Conleys
Sights of surrounding the Casa de la Paz in Nueva Esperanza
The sign in front of the house
Our current missionary team