Burns family update (January)

Feliz año to everyone and I hope this finds all of you doing well. Today we celebrate 5 years being here. It’s amazing to me how fast the time has flown. I was sharing with Chadd the other day that when we had been here two years it seemed like we had been here for five and now that we have been here for five years it seems like we have only been here for two. I think that is mainly because of the hump we had to get over in our first years here learning the language and culture, and while we would still consider ourselves learners we are way more advanced than when we first arrived here.


We enter this year with lots of excitement. We feel very blessed to have the leaders that we have and we feel grateful for the communities he has formed. I feel blessed to see the maturity of several youth in the church as well. We have been meeting with the youth on Saturdays and it is encouraging to see how they are growing. This past Saturday, the twelve present at our time together agreed to memorize the Sermon on the Mount in 20 weeks. Each week we will be memorizing a new section. The idea is to add a section on each week until it is completely memorized. Nancy will also be helping them develop a skit to share at the all church retreat coming in March. This is always a fun and encouraging time when all of the house churches spend the weekend together at a camp site. We live together, share together, laugh together, cry together, sing together, and so on. It is also a time when we have some more in depth study time with the church.

I also feel very excited about the work with the homeless. The AIMers have done a really good job and are consistent meeting with them. They now know several of them by name and are developing relationships. Every week there are always at least twenty they are able to help. Some are even asking about studying the Bible now. I met one named Eduardo on Friday and this week when we meet I will give him a MP3 player with the gospel of Luke on it. We have found listening to the Bible very useful because of illiteracy. Ken Hargesheimer helps me get the MP3 players from the States. They are very simple in construction, but only cost $4. This makes it very economical to share the story of Jesus. Please keep opportunities like these in your prayers.

Two of my friends from our guys group on Tuesday nights announced last week that they are going to be beginning a microfinance ministry in February. This is something we have been praying about for a while and it is an amazing way for us to practice need oriented evangelism. It is a way that has helped eliminate poverty in lots of places around the world. Basically is gives very small ($50 for example) loans to the poor who have not collateral and no credit. I saw firsthand how these loans work in León and it was amazing to see how the poor were not just being helped, but how poverty was actually being eliminated. Arturo tells stories of families he has helped who were literally living on tortillas and salt. It was so encouraging to see them advancing in life in a way where they are able to buy meat and vegetables. Arturo and Ismael are the two starting this ministry. Please keep Ismael in your prayers. I think he is getting close to being baptized.

At the end of this month we will be beginning a series for married and dating couples we know. We will be using the movie Fireproof to guide us in our discussions. This will be a great time for us to invite non-Christian friends to participate with Christians. We pray that this will bless relationships but also lead to opportunities to share the gospel as well. Our brother Héctor is leading this up.

I am also excited about evangelism that is taking place among the churches. I heard on Saturday that 5 from the church in La Nueva Santa María are very close to being baptized. I always get excited about the church in La Nueva Santa María because it was planted by Mexicans and is led by Mexicans. Gerardo also shared with me that one is close in Jardines del Valle. Ismael from our Thursday night guys group is close and also Laura, Arturo’s girlfriend, is getting closer as well. Héctor is studying with his girlfriend Violeta and that seems very promising as well. Zach and Greg meet with a guy named Jesús every Monday. He is a manager at Starbucks. He seems to really be searching for the Lord as well. Please keep these opportunities in your prayers.

We want to thank you again for your partnership with us in this ministry and we pray God’s richest blessings on you this year.

God bless,

The Burns family