December 2010 Newsletter

Life goes through cycles and the church is no exception. Some of the cycles are short and repetitive, while others are long and drawn out.

In our State of Nayarit we have walked the churches through a cycle of inner strengthening and consolidation. Through Bible studies and systematic teachings the church body has been strengthened through a time of testing. In the last couple of months we have seen an influx of new people who are not only visiting, but are also having a life changing experience with Jesus Christ. Some of these people have been irregular visitors in years past but now the Holy Spirit has brought them into conviction and a new way of life.


As we mentioned in past letters, we started a small business venture in our spare time that has opened many new doors in government, business and with new people in general. The end of October Philip was commissioned by the Mexican government to travel to Toronto, Canada for two days to promote Mexican exports in the area of food products. Brother David was also able to go along and spend time visiting family. This past weekend Philip was once again traveling in Mexico by invitation through the business. His contact in Mexico City called to ask how he can become a Christian after spending a day with Philip on business. Please keep this business venture in your prayers as we look for Christian investors who want take our business worldwide. We desire to continue to dedicate our lives to missions, evangelism and training of national leadership.


On another note we are praising the Lord for Sister Elizabeth’s healing from cancer. After only 3 chemo treatments and a lot of prayer God performed the miracle.

On the 1st of December Philip will be going into hospital for vascular surgery on his leg. All going well he will only be in hospital overnight, and within a month he should be back to 100%. Please keep him in your prayers.

I want to leave with you a saying that I read which has changed my way of looking at the gift of FAITH.

“If God gave you a watch, is it any less faith to use the watch
than to ask God for the time?"

200 Years

October 2010

This year is Mexico’s bicentennial celebration. On the 16th of September, 1810, Mexico stated its independence from Spain (even though the actual declaration came 11 years later). Two hundred years have gone by which is a long time for man but for God it is only a flash.
The changes that have taken place in Mexico in the last 200 years are incredible. It has grown from a population of 6 million people to a 110 million people; from horses and mules to super highways, from six months mail service to high-speed Internet. In all this our God has not changed. Among all the festivals we have continued sowing the Word in all the areas that we can.


Our Christian Secondary School started classes once again on the 23rd of August. This year we have a new challenge as we do not only have our regular students but we also have 3 Huichol Indian students who are living on the premises and studying. We also have now registered with the government to open a primary school. We have already received the authorization and we are now working on some paperwork that needs to be finished. Our plans are to open the school in August, 2011.

The 15th of September is a big Mexican celebration. This year with all the violence that has been happening many people were afraid to leave their homes. To combat that fear we got together with 4 other churches in the city and celebrated a Christian Fiesta. We used the county fair grounds and had a great time with all the 3 ‘F’s’ (food, fellowship and fun). The youth did skits, while the rest of us just enjoyed fellowship and feasted. Being able to join together with other Christians of different denominations is a great testimony to the community. This is what made the New Testament church strong.


Church buildings are necessary. Without them we have no place to gather together. Out-growing a church building is a wonderful experience. In the small town of San Luis de Lozada we have had to double the size of our small church building. The town's people are responding to the gospel and the number of believers is growing. Little by little the building is going up. This month we will be finishing the bathrooms and we hope to have the new section roofed by the end of October. Very soon we will be dealing with the same situation in other churches where we minister.
Ministry is a family thing and we are blessed to have all of our family involved in the ministry. Over all we are very grateful for the miracle that Jesus has worked in Sister Elizabeth. The cancer that had invaded her body is gone and she is on the road to recovery. Brother David is now able to get back to his reading and counseling that has become his ministry. Agustin and Damara are working well along side us and have been a great blessing in many areas of the ministry. Simri and Vanessa continue in school, Simri in Sydney, Australia, while Vanessa is here with us in Tepic. Lucy is very involved in many aspects of the ministry, as it has become a fulltime job for her.

Our special need at this time is to purchase a good used vehicle here in Mexico. We need just over $5,000 dollars for this purchase. We covet your prayers and your faithful offerings.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman