AIMING FOR CHRIST

August 2009

“Let not your

heart envy
sinners, but
continue in
the fear of the
LORD all the
day. Surely
there is a
future and
your hope will
not be cut off”
August, has
usual, has
been very
busy.
Besides
Spanish
class, small
groups, and
just living in a
foreign
country,
here’s some
of the things Updates on John McCoy in the
that have
been going Adventures in Missions program
on.

Cañada del Real
Early in the month of
August, we had the opportunity to
help out some members of the
church as well as some of León’s
less fortunate citizens. We
travelled quite a distance (luckily
we were able to catch a ride with
Omar and Tana) to a completely
different part of the city, to a
government-funded apartment
complex called Cañada del Real,
This month witnessed the
where we taught lessons to young
children there. It was a type of
summer-school program to occupy
them during the day while they
were out for summer break. We all
taught about different aspects of
water. The children made rain
sticks at Ramiro and my station.
Though we were unable to really
reach out and minister to the kids,
it was a great opportunity to just
serve people and let the state
know that we are here to help
people. We actually were able to
go back to a recognition ceremony
for all the workers with the
governor of León.
Youth Rally
first-ever León Youth Rally. This
was a big deal for Shawn Gary,
who’s main ministry here is the
youth. Youth came in from all over
the country, from Chihuahua to
Guadalajara to Cuernavaca. It
wasn’t the turnout that was
necessarily hoped for, but God is in
control, and the people who
needed to be there were there. Our
speaker, Raul Solis, a missionary in
Toluca, really reached out to the
youth and got them fired up about
the Christian walk. From what I’ve
heard, most youth rallies in Mexico
are simply an old man berating
kids for hours at a time. This was
a great improvement. The hope is
that next year, those that came this
year will encourage others to do
the same.
VBS
During August, my team
was able to plan, conduct, and
teach a Vacation Bible School. It
was are first real project on our
own. It took quite a large amount

1
AIMING FOR CHRIST August, 2009
of time and energy on our part,
and it was only one day, as
For only being in the
opposed to a whole week. I now
have a great respect for those who
plan these sorts of events for
large-scale groups. Each of the
team members headed up either a
lesson or activity for the different
stories from the life of Christ. For
the story of Jesus calming the
storm on the lake, My station
made little boats made out of
construction paper, popsicle
sticks, a plastic plate, and a bit of
clay. The turnout was significantly
less than we were expecting
(having food for 150 and only
having 25 show up. But I know
that it is not about numbers, but
rather working with what you are
given. I feel good about it and
hopefully the seeds we planted into
these children will one day sprout
into seeking truth in the Christ
alone.
Emma and Micah at Cañada del Real
and
Raul teaching at youth rally
Around Mexico a tourist city, with many retired
Americans coming down to live
fhere. There is also a large amount
country three months, I have been
of artists studying and working
able to do a good amount of
their trade fhere
traveling so far. Comonjia,
Guanajuato, Comonfort, Mexico
Contact Information
City (in February) and now the
massive city of Guadalajara and
the picturesque township of San Email:
Miguel de Allende. I had the john.mark.mccoy@gmail.com
opportunity to visit the AIM team in
Guadalajara for a weekend in Website:
August, which is west of León. As
johnmarkmccoy.blogspot.com
the city is significantly larger than
León, it takes a long time to travel
Phone:
to most places in the city. They do
918.266.1766 (US number)
cell groups for church in
Guadalajara, which is not a bad
thing at all; it is just a different Mailing Address: !
approach. One day for Spanish Iglesia de Cristo
class, we were required to visit San C/O John McCoy
Miguel de Allende for the day. It is Apdo. Postal 453
a smaller city in the state, with León,Gto C. P. 37001
deep historical roots. It is definitely Mexico