Rush Family Update

This is a little long, but I've blogged our November Newsletter if you are interested in reading it.

(Alejandro's about to be baptized by family)

Monday, December 4, 2006

A Day at the Waterfalls
The Month of November started off with a huge splash! It seems that God had been bringing different ones from different churches to a decision about baptism. So the churches met together the first Sunday in November to witness the baptisms together. Five in all were baptized, but not necessarily the five we had expected. We believe God is moving in the hearts of many more that just weren’t to that point on that given Sunday.

(Angeles is between 70 and 80... she doesn't know.)

It was very encouraging to see over 100 people there representing at least 4 of the churches we are currently working with. When the churches multiplied into two about a year and a half ago, we numbered less than 50. We did have many guests and visitors that were with us for the first time, but it was still easy to see that God has added to our numbers in a huge way.


(Joe with Morgan and Natelie after their baptism... Luis was also baptized but is not pictured.)

The Church in Jocotan
We aren’t exaggerating when we say that we are always encouraged when we spend time with the family in Jocotan. They come from such a rough background that is so far beyond our own experiences. But they are always eager to talk about Jesus and stories from the Bible. They love sharing what they’ve read and how it has inspired and encouraged them.

The matriarch of the group, Lucia, has been back with us for the last couple of Sundays. She was baptized a few years ago but hasn’t been heard from much in the last couple of years. It has been interesting, and even sad, to see her children grow past her in their devotion to God. So please keep her in your prayers, that she would take life with Christ seriously.

And could you also pray for Omar. His job has him living 2 hours away during the week and home only on weekends. He seems to be doing well, but this past Sunday there were signs of the world getting its grip on him and tugging. He has talked a lot about being baptized when his brothers are here in December. We are certain that Satan wants to derail this new relationship with Jesus. Please pray with us that Satan not come between Omar and his Father.

Visit from Malissa
A former missionary to Guadalajara, Malissa Sheafer came down for a brief visit just before Thanksgiving. We all enjoyed visiting and catching up, but the missionary wives were especially encouraged. They were able to leave the kids with dads and get together for a girl’s night out which really isn’t as common as it should be. I (Tim) am so thankful for Malissa’s coming and offering such a special ministry to Kim. She is always such a blessing.

(Some of the kids at the Missionary Retreat)
Missionary Retreat
Though Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated here in Mexico as a national holiday, many of the Mexico missionaries were able to get away from their respective cities and meet for a 3 night stay in the mountains located two hours outside of Guadalajara. The weather was cold, the food was hot and the friendships renewed! It was such a blast. I heard that there were upwards of 80 in attendance from Mexico City, Toluca, Cuernavaca, Morelia, Leon, Lazaro Cardanas and Guadalajara. The majority of those in attendance were old friends from our days in Lubbock so that made it even more special.
(Thanksgiving meal in the Mountains)
As you may remember us mentioning, it was our team’s turn to host the retreat so we had a blast planning the sessions, speakers, food and game times. Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf. Everyone that we talked to felt renewed and we think it was a neat time for unifying the efforts of the Kingdom here in Mexico. Plus, we all had a lot of fun. Kent and Karen Smith, from Abilene, TX were generous enough to spend their Thanksgiving with us and lead our discussions of Christ centered life and ministry. God was really powerful throughout the time.

Coming to Tulsa!
On December the 18th we will be FLYING into Tulsa. We want to say thanks again to our family at Memorial for flying us home. We are still in a blessed state of shock that we won’t be racking up the mileage in the old Ford. This will be our first Rush Family Christmas in five years. (I can’t believe it has been that long.) Since our last Christmas together 6 new Rush grandkiddies have been born. That house is going to be a-rock’n!

Support
The bad news: As most of you know we are losing $875 of monthly support beginning in January.
The good news: God has already supplied us with $650 of that amount. (We just found out about a large chunk of that this morning.)

We want to say thank you for all of your help. So many of you have done much more than we’d ever imagined. Thank you.

Editor’s Note: More Good News… since writing this newsletter 2 days ago, we have found out the final $225 has been pledged. You guys are too good to us. Thank you again, so much.