Mexico Greers

Mexico Greers

Luke Greer  //  Missionaries to Mexico since 2002. Thanks for keeping us in you prayers!

Nov 18 / 9:05pm

Please Pray - Church Project, House, Baby

To the Faithful:

First off, we want to thank you for praying for us as we weather our current financial crunch. The good news is that God has provided us with some additional support from one of our churches! Please join us in thanking Him! We still need to gather more support moving into 2010, so please be in continued prayer for us in this regard. In the eight years we've been on the field, God has always provided, and we know that He will now, too. There are several churches that are currently considering supporting us, so please be praying for them as they make their final decisions.

Second, we want to ask for prayer for the Jubilee church plant, where we are working. The plant is just beginning a major project to purchase land for a building project to move out of our current rental facility. This is a major undertaking. Pray for energy, passion, perseverance, and unity in the people of the church. The church's small groups (cells) are doing lots of projects to raise funds for the down-payment on the land. For example at the end of this month, the church is hosting a Christmas Bazaar and in December we're organizing a concert and a neighborhood carnival. Please pray that all of these projects would be fruitful, and that we would be hard-working. 

Third, please pray that God would protect our house. Last week, a neighborhood security team told us that our house had been "marked" for a potential robbery. (A common practice in urban Mexico is for thieves to mark potential targets with a check mark, star, or other mark for a robbery while the house is unoccupied.) Our house had a "check" above the doorbell. We have removed it, replaced our locks, and taken some other precautions. Please pray that God would protect us and the house. Thankfully we've got some great friends and neighbors, and we're all looking out for each other!

As always, thank you for your prayers.

--Luke

PS-- Lindsay's pregnancy is progressing well, and everyone is healthy. The photo is of Baby Greer. We got to see him/her wiggling around last week! Keep Lindsay and baby in your prayers. 

baby_greer_11nov2009.jpg

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Oct 25 / 5:08pm

Please Pray - financial need

Dear friends and family,

This month, we have a personal prayer request for all of you. Over the past several months, some of our churches and other supporters have been dramatically affected by the economic downturn and have been unable to fulfill their monthly support commitments to the Mexico ministry. 

We wanted to take an opportunity to let you know that your financial gifts are absolutely critical to the ministry and mission here in Mexico. 

We are aware, even from Mexico, that the tough economy has affected everyone in some way. And we want to thank you again for your faithfulness. It is the only way we are able to stay in Mexico and do the work to which God has called us. You are a vital part of it all and we appreciate your sacrifice! Thanks also for your prayers! 

For the Kingdom,
Luke

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Sep 18 / 8:44am

Please Pray - Praise for Family Retreat

Dear Praying Faithful, 

First, thank you so much for your prayers over the past couple of weeks for all of the newly baptized believers. There has been substantial resistance against some of them, and they continue to need our prayers.  

Last weekend, with the help of a supporting church in the US, the Jubilee church was able to go on a "Family Retreat." This is the first time that any of the Pachuca Project churches have gone on an all-church retreat. It was an amazing blessing. We spent two nights at a small hotel, where we held workshops for adults and teens, and other classes for toddlers and children. Of course, there was also plenty of time to swim and play soccer. The retreat proved to be a wonderful challenge for our church's families. In Mexico, as in other places around the world, there are significant historical and generational obstacles in the way of God's design for marriage and family, and several of our families needed to discover or re-discover what God intends for them.

Please continue to pray for the marriages in our church--that they would be strong and rooted in God's perfect design. 

Un abrazo fuerte, 
Luke 

PS-- The picture is of David baptizing his son Gerardo at the retreat. They are part of our small group in Providencia. 
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Aug 28 / 10:15am

Please Pray -- New Baptisms!

This is one of the most fun prayer posts that I've been able to write. This month, we had a baptism celebration at the Jubilee church. It was excellent -- perhaps my very favorite time since our move to Pachuca. Our neighbors and sixteen others were baptized in a local pool park, with 160 others from the church surrounding the pool singing praises and thanking God. Then we spent the afternoon together celebrating, eating, playing soccer, singing, and just enjoying each others' company. It was a glimpse of heaven. Please keep all eighteen of these new believers in your prayers over the next few weeks and months. 

Go to our website to read more about the baptism celebration and to see some photos.

Thanks always for praying for us. We see the fruit of your prayers!

--Luke
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Aug 1 / 11:12am

Please Pray - Providencia, thanks for trip

Dear faithful pray-ers,

 It's been too long since my last prayer post. We've been busy with
some travel which makes it more difficult to send out our prayer
requests and updates.

 First, thanks for your prayers for our neighbors. Their two daughters
plan to be baptized today! We have had some great talks with them, and
we are happy to be getting to know their family better. Please
continue to pray for the husband/dad, as he has not expressed interest
in the "church thing" that his kids and wife are becoming more
involved in.

 Thanks also for your continued prayer for our small group in
"Providencia." We had a great meeting on Friday where we discussed
some of Jesus' parables. The group is growing in maturity and we're
seeing some cool things happen in some of the families. Please
continue to lift up Oscar, Wendy, Luz Ma, Xochi, Beto, Lupe, Andrea,
and the others.

 Finally, please join us in praising God for a great (albeit, quick)
trip to the US. We had terrific visits with supporters in Texas and in
Tennessee, and we got to spend some time with our families, some of
which we hadn't seen for nearly two years. We've returned refreshed.

 Blessings,
--Luke

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Jun 16 / 7:22pm

Please Pray - neighbor, small group

Dear prayer partners,

The past few weeks have been going well. Thanks for praying about our church's beginning a second celebration on Sunday. It's been a pretty big change, with a few kinks, but all-in-all it's going very well. We've been blessed to have a core of about 150 who are actively involved as a church.

This post, I've got a couple of other things to ask for prayer about. Please pray for Lindsay and me as we begin some basic Bible studies with one of our neighbor's daughters. She has expressed interest and has asked about baptism. Her mom is supportive and has some Christian history. Please pray for her dad, though, as he seems pretty disconnected from the whole idea. Pray that God would provide a way for us to talking to the daughter while respecting for and welcoming her father.

Also, please pray for our small group in a lower-income part of Pachuca. While we have seen some impressive growth in several people, there are others who are continually struggling with addictions, financial crises, domestic violence, and other hardships. Please pray that the small group would be a light in a tough neighborhood, and that God would work through all of us.

Un abrazo fuerte,
--Luke
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May 17 / 7:22pm

Please Pray - swine flu, new celebrations, new church!

Dear praying friends and family,
 
  We want to thank you again for praying for us over the past
couple of weeks. Thanks for reading these emails and sharing them with
your friends and Sunday school classes. And thank you for your
encouraging notes and phone calls. Hopefully this will be the last
prayer update with the word "swine" in the title. :)
 
  The government here has said that cases of swine flu have been
stabilizing, and Monday the 18th everything moves back into full swing
as schools and businesses reopen. This Sunday was our first to get
together normally in two weeks, and everyone was excited to be see
each other again. It was a big Sunday for us: we launched a second
celebration at the Jubilee church, and our good friends Greg and Vicki
Syverson held their first celebration in the new church plant, New
Life.
 
  Please be in continued prayer about the flu outbreak, that it
would totally subside and disappear. And also please pray for Jubilee
as it grows and for the New Life church as it begins. These are big
steps for the congregations here in Pachuca, and we "wait in eager
expectation" (Psalm 5) for all that God is going to do.
 
For the Kingdom,
Luke
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May 10 / 8:40pm

Please Pray for us - more flu stuff

Dear prayer partners,

We want to thank you for your prayers for us and for Mexico over the last couple of weeks. We know that Swine Flu coverage has been fading from the headlines, but we want to ask you to please continue to lift us up in prayer. Cases have actually been on the rise here in the state of Hidalgo, and the government has announced another week of shutting down schools and other gatherings, including churches. 

Yesterday, we canceled our normal church service, but opened the building so that people could trickle in for prayer and communion. It felt strange, a little sad, and a little happy all at the same time. People are tired of the extended "quarantine" and are ready to get back to normal life. Also, many asked for prayer about their finances. The closings of schools and businesses has hurt families financially, and many are struggling to make ends meet. Please be in prayer for the people here, and pray too for our young church. With two weeks of canceled services, our offerings are down and we're not sure how we'll make rent for this month. 

On the bright side, our family and our team are doing well; everyone is healthy. We are encouraged and hopeful, but trying to figure out the best way to be the church in a time when gatherings are prohibited. 

Thanks for your prayers! May God bless you greatly,
--Luke
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Apr 28 / 12:34pm

Pray for us - Swine Flu

Dear faithful prayer-warriors, friends, and family, 

Several have written or called about the situation in Mexico in relation to the Swine Flu outbreak in Mexico. We wanted to let you know that our IMPACTO Latino team is doing well and that we are trying to follow the precautions that the government of Mexico is giving to its people. 

Mexico City has had the most cases of the flu, but it has spread to other areas. Yesterday, Mexico's Health Secretary advised everyone in the country to avoid all public gatherings, and all schools nation-wide have been closed. Church meetings are included in the government's advisory. We have canceled all of our church activities this week including our small groups and our Sunday morning celebration.

The affect of this announcement means that our all-church Family Retreat planned for this coming weekend has been canceled and the group from the Community Christian Church of Baltimore will not be traveling to Pachuca. We will be working with Jubilee and with Community Christian to reschedule this activity for later in the year. 

This also means that the new sister church plant (led by CMF missionaries Greg and Vicki Syverson) that was scheduled to begin this coming will also have to postpone it’s launch date. It's been a strange time. Our worship on Sunday was a blessing and though the number of participants was down, it was a good celebration. However, there was a noticeable tension -- kind of like knowing a storm is coming, but it's still sunny where you are. 

We ask you to be active prayer warriors on our behalf, for all of the Christians here in Pachuca, for the people of Mexico, and for the world's health professionals and governments as we face this new strain of the flu virus. 

As always, thank you for your prayers.

In Jesus Christ, 
Luke and Lindsay
and the rest of the IMPACTO Latino Pachuca Project team
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Apr 15 / 12:31pm

Please Pray - Church Retreat and more

Dear Pray-ers, 

     Thanks for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts. I usually try to avoid bulleted lists of prayer requests, but this month there's a lot to pray for, so here we go:
  • Church retreat - At the end of April, Jubilee church will have an all-church family retreat. This is the first time we've ever done anything like this. Please pray that the marriages and families in our church would be strengthened!
  • Jubilee has been growing, and the leadership has decided that it would be best to move to two services. This will be a big transition for the congregation. Please pray for cooperation and excitement from everyone. Please pray that the transition goes well and that the church continues to impact its community and grow. 
  • Our health - some of you know that our family has been dealing with a lot of sickness over the past few months. This month Bella was even in the hospital overnight to rehydrate her after she was throwing up for several days. Thankfully, we are all healthy now, but our some of our teammates are still dealing with this stomach bug. Please pray for good health and renewed energy for the whole team. 
  • My parents will be visiting us next week. Pray for their safety and that they would gain a great perspective on the ministry here. Also, join us in thanking God that they get to visit!
  • Finally, please pray for a new church plant will be beginning here in Pachuca in May. This makes the third church plant that our association of missionaries has planted in Pachuca. Pray for a good start, for unity among the three congregations (New Hope, Jubilee, and now New Life), and that God's good news would continue to make inroads into this community of 1.5 million people! 
     Many blessings!

     --Luke, Lindsay, Bella, and Olivia
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