"The stedfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him."
Lamentations 3:22-24
September 26, 2020 surrounded by friends and family Jorge and I were married on the beautiful beach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We were joined by family and friends here in Mexico as well as several around the world via video transmission on youtube. If you would like to see the video of the wedding, follow this link: https://youtu.be/jLovT9F-ofs Thank you to all who celebrated with us and sent blessings and well wishes for our special day!
God has called us to the beautiful town of Tequisquiapan. It is located in the state of Querétaro. We arrived here mid October and moved in to our new place, we are currently renting. It is close to church and several other things in town. Shortly after moving and getting settled in we were blessed with an SUV. This is extremely helpful in doing ministry since our focus is reaching other towns. We love it here, are quickly feeling at home and enjoying making this house our home. I do greatly miss my friends and disciples back in Puerto Vallarta and the warm weather.
This year has been very different from all other years. We have had to quickly learn how to use the internet and lots of new technology. Thankfully Jorge has been able to take his english classes all online and the move has not changed anything for him in this regard. We have been able to connect with the church here in Tequisquiapan weekly and the transition was not so overwhelming, this church has been so welcoming and loving towards me. I already have several friends here and even started a discipleship with a mom and her daughter this past month. Since returning Jorge has been put back on the role for preaching and leading the church services and we are participating in the biweekly bible studies for men and women. Jorge is also discipleing the pastor's son weekly. We have even sang on the praise team twice.
Jorge and I have been able to connect with several other courses via internet in the middle of the pandemic. The first was the Pastors conference with Word of Life. This normally happens in a warm beach location. However this year they offered the conference via Zoom. We were able to hear several great preachers share the word of God and encourage us. It was a great time as pastors to talk and seek God's word and wisdom in a very difficult time for so many. We were encouraged and refreshed after these days in God's word with other ministry leaders.
After this conference we headed to the "Con tu consejo" conference. This conference is a week long intensive course with three levels of training in biblical counseling. We were able to participate in the level one week. All the classes were sent to us via youtube links and our workbooks we printed out at home. This was a two week long class that taught us basics for biblical counseling. Again we saw how God is allowing us several different opportunities and preparing us for His ministry in the middle of a difficult year. In both of these conferences we were able to connect with people from all over North and South America. God is good.
Another way we are using technology is connecting with the youth. Jorge and I are leaders for the youth group at our church. The youth were very eager to start back up and connect again. We have about 5-10 students each Saturday evening. We play games, sing songs, have lesson time and small groups. At the end of each meeting we have a hard time getting the kids to say goodbye. They greatly miss being with their friends and find this time very encouraging.
- That God would allow us to see a church in each town surrounding Tequisquiapan
- Jorge's visa. We are praying for him to have an interview next year and be able to visit all of you next year as well.
- Jorge's English, so that he can communicate what God has laid on his heart with all of you.
- Contacts in a few towns that would open their homes to us for bible studies.
- Our new marriage that has just begun.
- That soon we can have church services in person.
- Our righteousness before God.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thank you for all your prayers and support this year. We thank God for each one of you and hope you have a great rest of the year celebrating Our Savior's birth.
Blessings,
Jorge and Alicia Ramirez
jramirez@fim.org
awhitmore@fim.org
To give financially: www.fim.org/give/whitmore
