Praise and Prayer Request

We are excited about the beginning of our pastors' conference. This morning we had over 50 pastors in attendance, as well as pastors' wives and other church leaders. You can listen to the sermons here. Of course, they are in Spanish :-). You can also see some photographs as well.

Last night's sevice was a blessing. The choir and orchestra did an amazing job on "The Majesty and Glory of Your Name." We serve a great God.

We would also appreciate your prayers. Graduation activities are Friday night and evening. Early Saturday morning we will begin our trek to Greenville, SC. We hope to arrive in Greenville on Sunday afternoon. From there, I will hop on a plane at 6:00 Monday morning to go to NBBC for a D.Min. class. We would appreciate your prayers for safety and strength.

The Glory of God: Discovering the Majesty of His Glory

That is the title of the pastors' conference that is right around the corner for us. Next week we are expecting about 80 pastors and church leaders to attend a three day conference that is scheduled to coincide with our university graduation next Friday. We are excited about the opportunity to minister to these pastors. The topics are really stimulating. I get to preach on The Glory of God and Preaching and the Glory of God and the Church. Right now I was preparing the sermon on Preaching. I will be preaching 2 Cor. 3 and 4 and referencing 2 Cor. 10 and 1 Cor. 1 and 2 as well. I am excited about the opportunity to challenge the pastors to let the glory of God shine through their preaching of the New and glorious Covenant of which God has made us able ministers (2 Cor. 3:5). Whew! Glory!

I am also working on a sermon from Ephesians 4:11 and following. Dr. AJ Gibson will be preaching out of Ephesians 1-3 on the Glory of God in Creation, how God's eternal purposes are carried out in redeeming all creation and individuals. I will follow up his sermon by preaching on what a community of redeemed believers (a church) that glorifies God looks like. We are also going to be giving each pastor the short, booklet-form of "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church" by Mark Dever. We are grateful that this booklet is in Spanish (translated by Faro de Gracia).

Please pray that the Lord will truly be glorified through everything that is said and done. Our hope is that each pastor will walk away saying, "Wow, I hadn't quite realized what a great God I serve."

Forty degree swing

Yesterday was extremely hot: 108. Today it is not: 70. If you do the math, that is a 38 degree swing from one day to the next. I don't know that I have ever experienced that big of a difference between two days. Yesterday day was so hot that the temperature in our room last night, even with air conditioning, never got below 84. Things have started cooling off considerably today. Needless to say, we much prefer today to yesterday.

I would appreciate your prayers regarding a very difficult discipline situation we are working through right now at the university. We have been made aware once again of how Satan seeks to destroy God's children, even here in Mexico. We need God's wisdom to know how to handle it, and we need God's grace so that sin will be defeated and His will done in the lives of the young people involved.

Adopt-A-Student Program

Finances. It doesn't seem to matter where you are, finances always seem to pose a major obstacle to students attending Christian colleges. Although room, board and tuition is much less expensive in Mexico that it is at a Christian college in the US, school bills are a major source of faith stretching for our students. We are grateful for the way the Lord has been providing for the needs of our students. One of the ways the Lord has chosen to provide is through the UCLA Adopt-A-Student Program (formerly UCLA Education Fund). We have seen literally thousands of dollars every year donated to students by caring and generous believers in the US. If you would like to participate, please email me at mbixby@tcmissions.org, and I will have information sent to you.

One of our finest young ladies is Alma Angélica Contreras. During the Christmas break, two of her cousins were involved in a car accident leaving both of them paralyzed (I blogged about it here). Because of the hospital bills, her family facing some humanly insurmountable financial obstacles. She was recently awarded a significant scholarship. I will post her thank you letter and picture. You may be able to detect some veiled references to what she has gone through in the past semester.

Pastor **,
Through this letter, I would like to thank you greatly for the financial gift I received from you. My name is Alma Angélica Contreras. I am 20 years old. I am from Guadalajara, Jalisco. I am currently in my fourth semester of the music major.

At the University I have learned many great things that I would not have learned anywhere else. Without your financial support, I would not have been able to continue studying. This year in particular I have seen the Lord’s hand of provision.

Thank you, Pastor **, and ** Baptist Church. I know that the Lord will bless you richly for the generous support you have given.

May the Lord bless you,
Alma Angélica Contreras


Please let me know if you or your church would like to help Alma or other students like her.

Día del Niño

April 30th is the "Día del Niño", or Day of the Child, here in Mexico. On or around that day, schools, parents, government, businesses, etc. throw extravagant parties in honor of children in Mexico. The one constant at every party is...candy. Children are given bags and bags of candy. Last year, the school gave each child a two-liter bottle full of candy. Yes, you read right: the school! Last year Aaron gathered at least four bags of candy from various parties. We were suffering the consequences of his sugar high for months!

On Saturday, April 29th, we had a special activity at the mission for the children. Without doing an extra promotion, we had over 50 children come. They have learned to expect something special that day. We were able to share the Gospel with them (as well as "tostadas" and a big chocolate sucker). On Sunday, April 30th, over 250 children came to church for a special activity that involved skits, songs, games and, of course, candy! While the amount of money spent on candy is a shame, it is a wonderful opportunity to reach out to more children and their families.

Sunday was also a Día del Niño for me and AJ Gibson. Sunday night, Inter-City Baptist in Detroit called to inform us that the church had voted to give the University a substantial gift to purchase theology books for the library. I definitely feel like a child in a candy store as I get to purchase more books for our library! Thank you, Inter-City, for your generosity! I am glad that I get to spend it on something more significant than candy.