January, February and a little March too

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 Ramírez Family Serving the Lord in San Nicolas, Queretaro, Mexico What a blessing filled few months it has been. Alicia’s great uncle David and his wife Louise visited us for a week. In that week they helped us organize at church, stamp bibles and evangelistic material with the church information, shared testimony with the ladies, taught us how to make sour dough bread, evangelized in the farmer’s market, played with the church worship group, brought us many Bibles for all ages, encouraged us and loved on Boaz. We were very blessed by their visit. Every month the church in Tequisquiapan has a marriage class. For Valentine’s day they had a special supper and renewing of your marriage. I married my wife again! Youth We have been able to attend several things for youth. There is a young ladies meeting once a month at the Tequisquiapan church that our youth have been a part of. At their meeting they do a fun girly activity and then have a time to learn from God’s word. This has been great for them to make new friends and grow in their faith. Our youth group also attended a sports day in the park with other area churches. The youth played sports with weird rules and were involved in a time of evangelism. Parents are not left out of youth activities. A church in Querétaro held a class for parents about identity and what God says about who we are in Him. One mom from church attended with us, it was a great learning event. The youth group had been holding strong. There are now 3 young ladies who are part of the group each week. Olimpicos: The kids’ club has changed name. We are now using a program with the kids that is similar to AWANA. The kids are really liking their new format of learning Bible verses and being encouraged in their faith. We have 10-12 faithful members of Olimpicos. Sunday church service: Every Sunday we have our regular church service in the evening. There are 5-6 families that join us each week. I am currently preaching about acceptable sins: sins we commit frequently as Christians, the series is called “It’s still sin. Music class: Tuesday and Thursday evenings we have music class with Israel. The class is learning to sing together and play as a group. They have learned several songs and once sang in church, one of the youth played percussion when Aunt Louise helped us with her Ukelele. In March we were blessed with a visit from my wife’s aunt and cousin, Marcia and Sara Aguilar. They helped us with visiting, we visited many women from church. They also blessed us by bringing material and other things from supporters in Iowa. Thank you to everyone who has sent things for our ministry! Prayer Requests: Spiritual growth and number of people at church in San Nicolas Mexico Lindo, Maribel and her family that we are visiting and will soon start a bible study with. That God would bless us with a team of people to help us reach more towns For the Green Card of Jorge, to be able to visit all of you soon! For our relationship with God For all the plans we have this year, that God will use each event to build His Kingdom Our financial support, we are now at 76%. Thank you! Thank you!! Blessings, Jorge, Alicia and Boaz jramirez@fim.org awhitmore@fim.org

January 2023

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! Psalm 133:1 Happy New Year!! We had a very busy and fruitful end to 2022. The Lord is GOOD! At the beginning of November Alicia’s parents came to visit for 2 months. This was a huge blessing!! Vonnie helped with all things crafts for the kids, taught two women’s meetings, one on bracelets and one on decorating Christmas cookies. Kent helped with the direction of the kids’ Christmas program. Alicia and her dad also sang special music at several churches. It was a great time for Boaz to get in lots of grandparent time. This was a huge help for my wife and I to be able to do ministry without distraction. The evening of December 22nd the church held it’s Christmas event. The kids presented their skit and two songs, special guest pastor Ruben Fonseca shared the gospel, we played games, had an ugly sweater contest and shared lots of delicious food. Many family members attended and many heard the true meaning of Christmas for the first time. Also at Christmas we visited many homes door to door, gifting the kids goodie bags. We were able to make many new contacts this way. Christmas is such a special season to be able to share and have fellowship with other Believers in the area. I was invited to share the gospel at the Iglesia Biblica Misionera Bernal. It was a lovely evening of worship. In November we celebrated the first birthday of Boaz. It has been a blessing to watch this little boy grow and to be his parents. For his birthday 20+ family members came to celebrate with us at a local hot springs pool. After a very busy December we were able to take a week off to visit family and friends in Guadalajara. Some good family time and some much needed rest. The regular church activities have resumed again. This year we have also begun offering music classes to church members in hopes of starting a praise team. A young lady at church has started a reading club on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, the purpose is to teach kids who don’t know how to read and to help other kids to read better. The first evening we had 8-10 kids! We are excited to see what God has in store for San Nicolas this year! Many exciting things are already in the works; visitors, women’s activities, camp, Vacation Bible school during Holy week and Summer vacation. Thank you for being a part of these events in prayer and financial support. If you would like to be part of these events in person please let us know, there are many opportunities available. Prayer Requests: Spiritual growth and number of people at church in San Nicolas That God would bless us with a team of people to help us reach more towns For the Green Card of Jorge, to be able to visit all of you soon! For our relationship with God For all the plans we have this year, that God will use each event to build his Kingdom Our financial support Thank you!! Blessings, Jorge, Alicia and Boaz jramirez@fim.org awhitmore@fim.org

November 2022

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9 San Nicolas to Iowa Late summer early fall Alicia and Boaz traveled to Iowa and I stayed in San Nicolas. We were blessed with this trip by a relative of Alicia’s. While we were apart God worked both here and there. This school year we asked for two students from Word of Life Bible Institute to come and do ministry with us. Evelyn and Daniel are here serving with us every Friday thru Sunday. It has been a huge blessing to have them. Youth group: In September we started a “Club Biblico” in San Nicolas. There are about 3-5 regular attenders. What a joy to see this ministry start in San Nicolas. We have had the desire to start a youth ministry for awhile. It wasn’t until now that God made it possible and opened this door. We are so grateful to be able to reach the youth now. Please join us in praying for the youth of San Nicolas. Kids’ Club: Maribel continues to invite kids from town and many have started coming. There is now a group of about 10-12 every Saturday. We have started Christmas program practice with the kids. My father in law will be the director of the program while they are here. Sunday school: Every week we have more kids coming on Sundays. Some just come for the class, they even come without parents. God has blessed us with more teachers for this ministry, this is a huge help for my wife. Sunday church: The Lord is working and in only a few months our new meeting space and chairs are almost full every Sunday. Those that come are regulars, each week there are new visitors too. Praise the Lord! Mexican party: September 16 is Independence day here in Mexico. The church in San Nicolas hosted a party to celebrate. We sang songs, played games, ate pozole and I shared the Gospel. Many new people came and several that don’t know Jesus as their savior. Evangelism: On Sunday mornings in San Nicolas there is a farmer’s market. A few times a month we have started attending and sharing the gospel and handing out tracks. This has helped the church to be known in the town and share hope with the lost. Updates to the building: In the month of September I was busying painting and doing small improvements to the meeting space. A few youth girls painted John 14:6 on the wall, a lady from church sewed curtains to replace the newspaper that was coving the windows and I cleaned and painted the classroom and a room for guests to stay. Women’s ministry: In September chef Sarai taught the ladies how to make salsa. Then in October Alicia and Evelyn taught the ladies how to make three kids of salads: apple, potato and egg. After the class one of the ladies shared her testimony. Several ladies joined us. It is a wonderful time of fellowship. Discipleship: During the week my wife and I have several discipleships. It is exciting to see each one grow and understand the gospel. Visiting: The Lord has opened doors for us to begin visiting other towns; Mexico Lindo, La Trinidad and Fuentezuelas. In La Trinidad we visit an elderly couple once a week to read the Bible and pray with them. Pastors’ School: In October we were blessed to attend Word of Life’s pastors’ school in Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico. It was a wonderful week of teaching, fellowship and relaxing. Alicia and Boaz’s trip to Idaho and Iowa: Thank you to all who were able to visit with my wife and son, those who hosted them and took great care of them. They had a great trip and we saw God work in each detail. Prayer Requests and Praises 1.The church in San Nicolas to grow and establish. 2. Opportunities in San Nicolas to share the Gospel. More families to visit and help. 3. Visits in new towns and the salvation of the people we visit. 4. Our spiritual needs and relationship with Christ. 5. Jorge’s Green Card. A quick reply about the appointment. 6. Our financial support. Praise that we were able to raise support with the visit in Iowa/Idaho. Pray we can reach 100% soon. Thank you! God is doing great things here in Mexico. You are all a part of this ministry. Blessings, Jorge, Alicia and Boaz Ramírez jramirez@fim.org awhitmore@fim.org

August 2022

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 Hello! This summer has flown by for us. It was a summer of many activities and even more blessings. We spent the first week in August at camp in Guadalajara. My wife helped with the kids of the people serving. They had about 15 kids and were exhausted at the end of the day. I served as head counselor. It was a very rewarding week and 25 youth accepted Christ. Enjoy the pictures below. One of our biggest praises in that two of my nieces attended camp with two friends, this is a first ever. Please join us in praying for them. Thank you for your prayers! The church in San Nicolas is growing and doing well. Before camp my nephew Francisco and I cleaned and repaired the new space we are renting. It took us about 2 weeks to finish. Praise the Lord for this new space (pictured below). It came just in time for us to have space for new families to come and some old members return. This next month I will be fixing up and painting two other rooms we rent. One will be used for a kids’ classroom and the other for hosting possible students from Word of Life. August 23-26 was our annual VBS! This year we learned about animals in the Bible. Creation, Noah, Daniel and the Good Shepherd. On the last day a Christian clown came to have fun with the kids and share the Gospel. About 9 kids joined us daily. The kids we have are faithful. At the end of our Life of Christ lesson series we rewarded the kids with the most points with camp scholarships, Word of Life camp. 4 kids from our kids’ club and one of their friends attended. I took the kids to camp on Monday, we visited them Tuesday night at camp, Wednesday afternoon at the pool and picked them up on Friday. They had such a great week they talked and told stories the whole way home. This summer I continued to preach at the church in Tequisquiapan. Pastor Coleman and I are continuing to teach on the Life of Christ. I also had the opportunity to preach at a fellow FIM missionary’s church in Queretaro. That sermon was about King David, the temple and worship. I preach most Sundays in San Nicolas, we had one visiting pastor and Francisco preach this summer. Preaching is one of my greatest joys and blessings. After camp we got to spend some time with my family in Guadalajara for one of my sisters’ wedding anniversary celebration, 25 years. Then another sister, her two kids and another nephew came home with us and spent 10 days in Tequis. This was a great time with them, we had a lot of fun and Boaz loved seeing his cousins. Now for the surprise! Many of you already know but Alicia and Boaz are back in the USA! They surprised her parents on Thursday August 25th. They will be in Boise, Idaho until August 30, visiting family and a church of one of Alicia’s uncles. They will be in Iowa from August 30 until October 11. We were blessed with this trip and saw God’s provision in all of it. The main goal is to raise support and connect with churches. I am still waiting on my Green Card appointment and was not able to join them this trip. They will be at the following churches on these Sundays. September 4 - Bethany Reformed September 11 - New City September 18 - Liberty E Free September 25 - Meriden E Free October 2 - Stanton E Free October 9 - Oakdale E Free They are in Iowa to connect and see everyone they can before they come back to Mexico, where I eagerly wait for them and continue to do ministry. Please reach out to my wife if you would like to see them, have a group you would like her to share our ministry with in person, or if you would just like to have coffee or a meal together. Her email address is awhitmore@fim.org. She would love to see you. Pray Requests: 1. Alicia and Boaz’s time in the USA and Jorge’s time alone in Mexico 2. The church in San Nicolas to grow and establish 3. Opportunities in San Nicolas to share the Gospel. More families to visit and help 4. Praise for a great summer of ministry 5. Jorge’s Green Card. A quick reply about the appointment 6. Our financial support. That this month in Iowa would be fruitful Thank you for all your love and support!! We could not do this without each one of you. Blessings, Jorge, Alicia and Boaz Ramírez jramirez@fim.org awhitmore@fim.org

July 2022

 

The Ramírez Family Serving the Lord in Tequisquiapan, Mexico “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” Ephesians 2:19

Ministry Partners, ¡Hola from Mexico! Hope you are all having a blessed summer. We have seen God’s blessings in San Nicolas, Mexico this summer. In May the church in San Nicolas had its first anniversary! We celebrated in a joint service with the church of Tequisquiapan. At this service I lead worship, Boaz was presented and prayed for and several from the Tequisquiapan church were baptized. We thank God for this time of celebration with church family.

The church is remaining steady in its number of people weekly, those that come are starting to come more regularly. I have been preaching through Ephesians this month. This month we have been blessed to have Francisco (preaching in the photo on the right) serving with us, he is my nephew, the only other believer in my family. We visited my family for a week in Guadalajara, while we were there Francisco was kidnaped outside of his church and held for ransom. His family was able to borrow money from a family member and pay for the release of my nephew. Thanks to God that he was released that same night without any harm done to his person. He came to serve with us for one month. Boaz likes having his cousin here. Francisco is the 1st and Boaz is the 34th.

Kids’ club is doing well. We just finished a study of the “Life of Christ”. There have been heart changes in the kids these last few months. Many more are memorizing verses each week and several a now playing games without cheating. One new little girl brings new friends each week. Praise the Lord! The kids are looking forward to summer camp in August.

My wife continues to have a monthly reunion with the women. The past two were classes on construction/concrete mixing, where they made little flower pots out of concrete and the following month they learned how to plant and care for flowers and plants. This time of fellowship is wonderful for the women of San Nicolas.

Thursday evenings we have a growing group that meets to share prayer requests, pray for each other and the town and study Romans. God blesses us weekly in this time.

My wife and I have been busy visiting serval families in San Nicolas brining them groceries and helping them with other needs. One young boy joins us on Saturday’s for Kids’ club, he is so excited about what he has learned that he shares everything with his family. This month we were in Guadalajara to visit and help my dad. He spend a few days in the hospital for a hernia. He is back home and doing much better. It was a blessing to be able to spend this time with him and the rest of the family. I shared the gospel with some of the family the night Francisco was kidnaped after he was at home again. Please join us in praying for their salvation. Bellow is a photo of three generations of Antonios (Antonio, Jorge Antonio, Boaz Antonio)

We have all the paperwork for Boaz done!! We also have all of my green card papers in and are in the waiting process to hear from the US government on when we will have our interview and my medical check. Thank you for praying with us that they will respond soon!

Prayer Requests San Nicolas- Spiritual growth for those that faithfully attend. That our number will grow. Opportunities to share the gospel. More contacts to visit. San Nicolas- Spiritual growth for those that faithfully attend. That our number will grow. The town of San Nicolas. Opportunities to share the gospel. More contacts to visit. That the people we are visiting with join us at church and accept Christ as Savior. Summer camp 2022- that the youth would be able to attend the Word of Life camp, the camp in Guadalajara or both. That we would have leaders and helpers that we need. That God will work in the youth's hearts this week. Kids’ club kids: that we will be able to take some of them to camp this summer and that we will be able to have a VBS for them before they go back to school. Women's meeting- that more women will come to learn a new skill and leaving with a desire to know Christ more. Green card and passport- we are still waiting on news and responses for Jorge's green card. Thank you for your prayers. Health and salvation for my dad. Salvation for the family in Guadalajara, that God would use the situation with Francisco to bring the family to know Him. Praise the Lord that he has provided for us in these months and continues to bring new partners to our team. We need about 41% more of our monthly financial support. Thank you for being part of our team and what God is doing here in Mexico.

THANK YOU! We are grateful for your love, prayers and support. God is good! Thank you for being a part of what God is doing here in San Nicolas. Blessings, Jorge, Alicia and Boaz Ramírez jramirez@fim.org awhitmore@fim.org

May 2022

 

The Ramírez Family Serving the Lord in Tequisquiapan, Mexico "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." Romans 1:16-17   Ministry Partners,  Happy Spring! We have been very busy the past two months. We spent a relaxing long weekend with Alicia's family in Merida, Yucatan. Boaz flew for the first time and met his uncle Bryce and cousin Leland. We enjoyed this time in family.  Photo 1: Boaz on his first flight Photo 2: Ramírez family  Photo 3: Alicia and her brother with their boys    San Nicolas The church in San Nicolas is establishing well and the people are faithful.(first picture) We are getting a constant group of people on Sunday evenings. We had one guest preacher, a friend of mine from Word of Life. (second picture) The kids club had two special events this past month. During Holy Week we had a 4 day VBS, it was all about water, stories in the Bible with water and games involving water. (group of pictures) The kids loved it!  At the end of April we celebrated kids' day and all the kids' birthdays with pizza, cake and a movie. We praise God for these kids! (last picture)  Women's meeting My wife has a heart for reaching the mom's in San Nicolas. In March she tried to start a meeting alone, she was the only person in attendance. In April she got some help and things really took off. Sarai, the wife of the couple that helps us in San Nicolas, is a chef, as a way to draw women in we offered a master cooking class. Sarai taught the women how to make three desserts, crepes, banana bread and truffles. Alicia shared a devotional during the time together. Two women from San Nicolas came and 6 from the church in Tequisquiapan. The women said they would come back for more classes we have planed for future months. Praise the Lord!    Guest Preaching During a visit from Paul and Bryan (FIM leaders) in February we met the Mata family serving in the city of Querétaro. Oscar Mata invited me to preach in his church one Sunday morning. We had a great time getting to know members of their church and visiting with the Mata family. It is a blessings to have time with other missionary families.  More kids' club Below are more pictures from different Saturdays at kids' club. We have a faithful group of kids! This time is a huge blessing.  Paperwork update At the beginning of April we had an interview with the US consulate in Guadalajara. Alicia had to prove that she is a US citizen and that Boaz is her son. Praise the Lord with us that Boaz was granted his naturalization to the US! We are now waiting on his passport and social security number. Thank you for your prayers.

Prayer Requests   San Nicolas- Spiritual growth for those that faithfully attend. That our number will grow. Opportunities to share the gospel. More contacts to visit. Amealco- that we can soon visit the believers there and start discipleships with them.  Summer camp 2022- that the youth would be able to attend the Word of Life camp, the camp in Guadalajara or both. That we would have leaders and helpers that we need. That God will work in the youth's hearts this week.  Women's meeting- that more women will come to learn a new skill and leaving with a desire to know Christ more.  Green card and passport-  we are still waiting on news and responses for Jorge's green card and Boaz's passport. Thank you for your prayers Praise the Lord that he has provided for us in these months and continues to bring new partners to our team. We need about 35% more of our monthly financial support. Thank you for being part of our team and what God is doing here in Mexico.

THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYER AND PARTNERSHIP! Jorge, Alicia and Boaz Ramírez jramirez@fim.org awhitmore@fim.org

March 2022

 

The Ramírez Family Serving the Lord in Tequisquiapan, Mexico   Ministry Partners,    The new year is off and running. God is doing great things here in Mexico. We have a steady number of people attending church. Lots of new disciples in San Nicolas, most of our disciples are faithful in their studies but not regular church attenders. Pray with us that our disciples will join us at church.  We have had the blessing of having a few guest preacher, this is an encouragement to many.  We praise the Lord that a young couple from the church in Tequisquiapan has been faithful in helping us at church on Sunday evenings a few times each month! Praise the Lord for answering this prayer.  Photo 1: guest preacher one Sunday evening Photo 2: Oscar helping get church ready for the service Photo 3: Kids doing a craft during Sunday school    English Class My wife started an english class for the kids of San Nicolas. They have been studying english for 6 weeks now. One of the goals of this class is to meet more kids from San Nicolas, half the class we did not know before and are now faithful attenders on Saturdays at Kids' club too. Praise the Lord!  Pastors' School At the end of January Word of Life Bible Institute held an annual Pastors' conference in Bernal, about 40 minute drive from Tequisquiapan. It was a blessing and encouragement to be able to attend the conferences. It is refreshing to receive the word of God and to be challenged to live a life serving in holiness.    Kids' Club  The number of kids attending of Saturdays is growing! The kids loving inviting their friends. We are very happy to have several faithful helpers too! We are able to share different responsibilities with them too.  The kids are continuing to enjoy memorizing bible verses every week. God is at work in their heats.

Prayer Requests and Praises   Pray for the church, that we can grow in number and spiritually, so that we can reach more people in San Nicolas Our relationship with God and our marriage Legal work for Jorge, his green card to be able to travel to the US. Boaz's citizenship and passport for the US.  Praise the Lord that we were able to get Boaz's Mexican Passport and Alicia's permanent residency for Mexico!  Our disciples: Maribel, Isabel, Martin, Irma, Paloma, Jatziry, Eliel, Leo and Rocio Our monthly support, that we can share with more families and churches what God is doing here in Mexico.  Creativity to think of new ideas to reach more people. Thank you for your prayers!    Sincerely, Jorge, Alicia and Boaz

THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYER AND PARTNERSHIP! Jorge and Alicia Ramírez jramirez@fim.org  awhitmore@fim.org