Seedtime and Harvest Ministries News: Philip and Lucy Tolman

Letting Go

2012-01-22T18:57:00.005-06:00

January 2012 Newsletter

The only constant in life is change. Except for God everything around us changes and we have to be flexible to move with the changes. I was sent a presentation a while ago about comments that some people made in the year 1955 about change:

Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $1,000.00 will only buy a used one.

When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 25 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage.

In the church we have experienced changes. I remember Sundays in church as a child with my suit and tie, the old hymns and the Sunday night revival services that went on well into the night. That is not found so easily now but what we have is good and blessed.

On the home front we are also experimenting change. For many years I was a one-man band, the music, the singing and all the extras well as the preaching. One gets comfortable with that but as growth comes so do changes. I seldom play music at a service now and often I find myself sitting to listen to others preach. My role now as a missionary is being an administrator, councilor, and an animator. Things are not necessarily done my way but I do believe that they are being done God’s way.

The church in Xalisco put on a Christmas musical using the Dr. Seuss story of the GRINCH to portray the real meaning of Christmas. It was presented in a local theater and was professionally done. The two-hour presentation was directed by Damara, with Simri doing the sound and music. Both Lucy and Vanessa were part of the cast and I was one of the fans. The musical was a resounding success and more than anything it made us all stretch to new heights. The most important result was the message that Christmas is not a time of Happy Holidays but a time of celebrating the birth of our blessed Redeemer.

Christmas is a time of parties and church gatherings. Since we oversee six different churches and centers, as a pastoral team, we had a lot fellowship and parties to attend. The food is delicious but the time of sharing and fellowshipping is even better. The Lord has blessed us with the six centers that we pastor, as well as two church plants in the city of Tepic that are functioning on their own. We also give pastoral covering to three other churches in the States of Jalisco and Michoacan. In the month of December, Philip made a fast 24 hour bus trip to the church in Cuaracurio (it is situated on the border of the States of Michoacan and Guanajuato) to ordain the pastor’s son, Emmanuel, and install him as assistant pastor along side of his father. All of these events mark changes that give life its flavor and mark the continuity of the gospel

In this year 2012 invite you to invest in change as you support this ministry as it moves forward.
We covet your prayers and your faithful offerings.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

Team Work Works

2011-12-09T18:46:00.001-06:00

December 2011 Newsletter

In each newsletter we try to inform you about the ministry in the areas where we are working. Activities are great and we always have many different things happening at the same time. In the last two months we have had a sports day with the city Pastor’s Alliance, a town parade where our school students participated, and weekly practices for our Christmas pageant, ¨The Grinch¨. In total on a regular basis we have 15 services per week. All these things don’t just happen. As a team we work together to help the church family be well and whole.

Agustin and Damara just came on part time into the ministry. Damara has been with us almost all her life. After getting married as a couple they spent two years helping out in another church in the city. A year ago they felt that it was time to come back home. They are in charge of the praise and worship teams as well as ministering in one of the smaller town churches. They are also the directors of our Christmas pageant. Damara continues to teach in our Christian schools, where she has been working for the last 5 years

Gibrán and Rosi are the newest members of the team. They have wanted to be on the team for some time now and have been working hard with us. They took charge of one of our oldest village churches that has been established for over 25 years. They are in charge of visitation, evangelism and church maintenance, both in the physical as well as the spiritual. Both were saved under our ministry, although Gibran spent several years out of State working a secular job.

Marcela, Lucy’s sister, is still single and works as a youth leader. She has grown up under our ministry and directs her ministry under the guidance of Agustin and Damara. Our main church is over 50% single youth and they are the life of the church. Many of them have been saved even though their parents are not Christians. We don’t have to motivate them to come; they want to be in church.
Rossy, Lucy’s niece has just come home from spending 3 months in Spain working on her Master’s degree. Even from there (thanks to internet) she kept the children’s ministry working. She is not one of the teachers but she makes sure that the teachers are in classes and she gets their material ready for each class. For me, the children’s ministry is the most important in the church. Psalm 1 places a special blessing on people that have never walked in the ways of the world. This is the way to bless the children in our churches.

Simri will be coming on the team this next year in the area of massive outreaches and the music ministry. He has been now been home for almost two months after spending two years in Bible School in Australia. He is full of ideas and he has a desire to serve in the kingdom of God. As parents we are proud to see our children walking in our footprints and dedicating their lives to the preaching of the gospel.

Lucy is my right hand and a true helpmeet. Together we minister, teach and work. The vision is something we both carry, and even more the burden of the work that the Lord has placed before us. We are blessed to be able to work in harmony even with our differences in ministries and natures.

Just as the apostle Paul when he wrote mentioning his co-laborers, we have taken time to let you know that it is not just us but the team is growing. It all started with the calling the Lord put in my parents’ hearts that brought them to Mexico in 1976. From there we have branched out into new areas of ministry, and as we plant and water God gives the increase.

We invite you to sow in this fertile ground as we pray rich blessings upon all you who support and pray for this ministry. We covet your prayers and your faithful offerings.
Have a blessed CHRISTMAS and even a more blessed year 2012 is our declaration over your lives

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

News from David and Elizabeth Tolman- Autumn 2011

2011-11-08T17:49:00.002-06:00

My mouth will tell of thy righteous acts, of thy deeds of salvation all the day,

for their number is past my knowledge.

Psa 71:15 RSV

Dear Friends and Family;

We wish to thank you for your prayers and encouraging words to us in these times of critical physical challenges.

It has been 6 weeks since I last wrote asking for urgent prayer for our son Stephen who had a ruptured appendix, and is now recovering after the 2 emergency surgeries 5 days apart. The 1st surgery removed much of the infection but too much still remained for healing. Stephen called and asked if Philip could be with him for the 2nd surgery. Philip left the same day from Tepic and arrived by bus in Torreon 16 hours later. Just before surgery the doctors asked Stephen if he had something to say before the anesthetic.

Stephen replied, “Yes, I want to pray for this medical team.” He prayed for their hands to be skillful, their eyes to be observant to see the unusual and the team to work in unity.

After the surgery the doctors affirmed that all that he prayed for came to pass. Please continue to pray for him as he still has several months of recovery.

Philip had been without a car for several months. When he left Tepic, he heard from the Lord that before he returned home he would find the good used vehicle for which he was searching. This came to pass and he was able to drive home.

Four weeks ago Elizabeth had numerous tests and all were conclusive that there was no trace of cancer in her body.

We are enjoying teaching in the Bible School as we have a class of mature adults who are anxious to learn. We are seeing also that the church is growing and in the main church there have been baptisms almost every other week.

We wish to thank you again for your prayers and financial support. These are so important to us.

November 2011 David & Elizabeth Tolman

Back to Classes

2011-10-04T15:33:00.001-06:00

October 2011 Newsletter

From the 15th of August through the end of September are very busy times for us. During the summertime we dedicate our time to the local churches almost exclusively. Since it is our rainy season, special outdoor activities are very difficult to program and school is out for summer holidays but then:

SCHOOL STARTED on the 22nd of August. One week before this the work started; cleaning, painting, and getting everything ready to start classes. This year we opened our NEW primary school. With two teachers full time and 12 students we are off to a good start. Our secondary school also continues, starting classes at 7 AM every weekday. Even with the good team we have, the extra work is taxing.
    Once again we offered full scholarships to 3 indigenous children. Juan Carlos, Ernesto and Fidelia. They have come over 6 hours in bus from their homes in the mountain villages to live and study at the school. Through the generosity of some of you over half of their scholarships are now covered.

Stephen went through a very trying time this last month as his appendix burst and it was days before the doctors found out what was wrong. In one week he was in the operating room twice for major surgery. Just as Stephen was going into his second surgery Philip jumped on a bus and made the 14 hour trip to be with Stephen and his family. God has done the work that the doctors couldn’t do and in response to the churches’ prayers Stephen is now well on the road to recovery. As we know that ALL things work together for good when we walk with God and this was seen in Philip’s trip to San Pedro. While with Stephen in the hospital Philip found on-line a 2006 Chevy Malibu in good condition and $1,500 dollars cheaper than the same type of car in his State. Needless to say Philip drove home instead of taking the bus.

We are really excited about the growth that we are experiencing in the Xalisco church. Even though we are going through a time of change in the leadership, the church is growing and we have new people in almost every service. In the month of September alone we have had 7 baptisms and we have more lined up for the month of October. We are believing that the same fire that has swept into the Xalisco church will also ignite the other smaller churches we minister in each week. The work is the Lord’s, we are only his servants trying to do His will.

We are also excited about Simri’s coming home from Bible school. He left Australia the first part of September and decided to make his trip home a lifetime adventure. With money that he had saved up while working at school he traveled to Malaysia, through South Africa and on to South America. His plans are to be home by the 9th of October and his goal is to work with us in the churches

We thank all of you who responded to our financial requests last newsletter and we pray rich blessings upon all you who support this ministry with your prayers and your giving. We covet your prayers and your faithful giving.

Philip, Lucy, Simri and Vanessa Tolman

Thank you Lord Always!

2011-07-29T17:31:00.000-06:00

The month of June was an extremely busy time for us. We were trying to tie loose ends up in various areas of ministry before we took a trip outside of Mexico including:

The schools: We finished our 10th year of classes in our Secondary school. We had a total of twelve students in the school with the majority of them being non-Christians. We start every morning with a devotional and we have two bible classes a week. As a result one of the students and all of her family were converted and now attend one of our churches

The church: Construction has been the word for the last couple of months as we have seen growth in the number of people attending church and we need more room to fit everyone in. In our main church we are seeing new people come to the church every week and we are working to establish them in the Word and in the Church as the two go hand in hand.

The pastors’ alliance: As of the first of this year Philip was voted in as the president of the Statewide Pastors’ alliance. The State is divided into 5 sectors and each one has it’s own meetings but Philip’s job is to oversee all that goes on and also to program different activities among the churches. In this month of July we are organizing and participating in a pastors’ get together and also a week of outdoor evangelism among the churches.

The trip: At the end of June we drove to the States to sell our car (as it is now very difficult to use an American plated car in our area of Mexico) and then head on to a conference in Sydney, Australia. A family in San Antonio, TX took care of selling our vehicle leaving us free to travel. Our son Simri was graduating from two years of Bible school in Sydney and we had promised to visit him. Lucy at the last minute was not able to go with us as her Australian visa did not arrive. Vanessa and Philip spent 10 days with Simri and were able to be part of the church conference there as well as seeing the different areas where Simri has been ministering these last couple of years.

Seldom do we make specific requests in newsletters since we feel that they are praise reports but we are making an exception. We have two needs that we would like to give you the opportunity to supply. The first is support for 3 indigenous children that we brought into our school this year. They lived on the property and we had the privilege of helping them get away from a drug related background as well having them in church for the whole school year. We covered the cost of their studies this last year but for them to come back for another year we need your help. The monthly cost for each student is approximately $200 a month. This includes room and board, uniforms and school tuition. For a total of $600 a month for 12 months we can have all three of them back for next school year.

Our second request is our need of a new (used) vehicle for our use. Some of you have already sent offerings to help us purchase a new vehicle but we are still short. This month our old car was sold for $1,000 as it had almost 200,000 miles on it. The church vehicles that we are using at present will not stand up to long trips. We need to purchase something that can get us safely around Mexico. The amount of money we raise will determine what type of vehicle we can purchase.

We thank you for your support that makes this ministry possible.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

News from David and Elizabeth Tolman

2011-07-28T17:49:00.000-06:00

The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the homes of the righteous.
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly...
Psalm 118:15

It is now just over a year since Elizabeth was told that she had but a short time to live because she was in Stage 4, terminal cancer. During this past year a heavy load has been laid upon David as he wore so many other coats from cook, dishwasher, and laundry man to encourager in the Lord to me. Now that we are as much back to normal as life on a Mission Field can be, I shall share these past months with you. I praise and thank the Lord for all of your prayers and encouraging notes.

Prices continue to escalate but Jesus is not limited by weather or prices. The church in Xalisco, Nayarit, which started 20 years ago, is now crowded to the doors of the present building and new rooms have been added for children and youth on a 2nd storey. Likewise the new church in San Pedro, Coah. built to seat over 500, is filling rapidly with people who have had an encounter with Jesus Christ.

Our grandson Simri, will be graduating this summer from Ministry and Music course at Hillsong School of Ministries in Australia. He plans to return to Mexico and engage full time in the ministry here.

Elizabeth was blessed to be able to travel to Torreon, Coahuila, in April and minister in a Ladies’ Conference for several days. There were about 500 in attendance and the presence of the Lord was so real. People were saved and healed each day. The spirit of unity was great and there were many answers to prayer. Each day a bus brought ladies from Stephen’s church in San Pedro to Torreon.

We want to thank you for your faithful help in prayer and financial giving in spreading the good news of Jesus Christ here in Mexico.

The Lord bless all of you in Jesus name.

June – July 2011 David & Elizabeth Tolman

Where is the Promised Land?

2011-06-14T04:31:00.003-06:00

Heaven has always existed. Hell was created for Satan and his angels. Here on the earth God’s people have been invited to live in the Promise Land. For Abraham, Jacob and Moses it was one physical location, the land of rest (He. 4:6, 7). For us it is a spiritual attitude where we can live in the world.

In the month of April this was one of our focuses at our annual youth camp. This year we had well over 100 in attendance. Great teamwork effort made this one of the easiest camps ever. The power of God descended on our mountain abode on the first night and never left. The Holy Spirit transformed lives, healed wounded hearts and implanted new hope and vision into the young people and workers too. The youth lay out in the dust, filled with new tongues and taken to an altar of repentance. As always the campers wanted the week to continue but the six days came quickly to an end and we all had to return to our daily jobs but changed in our attitudes.

Children’s camp came next at our school facilities. 75 children had 4 days of excitement, devotions and fun. Jesus was the center theme as we took part in the teaching of the Word so that they can live blessed in obedience to His Word.

Camps are only a small part of our daily work. Let me tell you why all this works:
Ana (not her real name) is a young girl that was invited to youth camp by her neighbor, a non-Christian student from our school. I was surprised to see her show up for the camp bus since her parents hadn’t called to see who we were or what the camp was about and she was still in primary school. She was big for her age but not really ready yet for youth camp. Two days later it was brought to my attention that she had not been in a meal line once. Lucy and I called her and talked to her about what was happening. That night at the fireside service God’s Spirit touched her. She came over and sat beside Lucy and started to talk about what was happening in her life. She just broke down and cried and couldn’t go on. We didn’t talk to her the next day except to check that she was eating. That afternoon she came looking for Lucy with a big smile on her face as she said: “I finally got it out and I am free” and free she was: We watched her participate in the praise and worship, weep under the moving of the Spirit and be a different person. She now comes to church and even though we haven’t met her parents yet we know that God is going to continue to do great things in her life and her family.

As I write I am flying to China to represent Mexican products in a food show. Ministry is not only getting people saved. Once they get saved we must walk with them and pastor them. It’s not just saying a prayer but being there with them in the end. Preaching in church is great but so much more needed. We believe that this trip give more finances, not for our ministry, but also for Mexicans that want to invest more time or money into the ministry. We want to live in the land of rest with God’s abundance.

We thank you for your support that makes this ministry possible.

Philip, Lucy, Simri and Vanessa Tolman

March-April 2011 Newsletter

2011-03-22T18:58:00.004-06:00

In the fullness of the blessing of Christ
 

We live in exciting days. The prophecy of the book of Daniel 12 is a reality as are the words of Jesus: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed;…”
Even in these chaotic times, the excitement of being a faith walking Christian is exhilarating. The Middle East is a hot bed, Mexico is full of violence, but the church is a bulwark in these times of trouble.

Abundance is a word that describes the church. I’m not talking about riches, wealth or fame. Abundance means that we always have more than enough to fulfill the work that the Lord has called us to do. On the home front in these last months we have continued with construction in several of the churches. The church in the small town of San Luis de Lozada has more than doubled in size from a small room that sat 30 people to a building that seats over 70. The doors, the concrete floor and the bathrooms are finished. The windows and the electrical installations are still lacking.

The church in the town of Xalisco is building a classroom and a youth center along with new plumbing and a water cistern. Our church plant in the city of Tepic just moved into a new loaned facility and they had over 180 people in their Sunday inauguration service.

In our education ministry we continue with our Secondary school. We are also finishing the paperwork and the permits for a Primary school that we will be opening, Lord willing, this coming school year. In these schools we have not only the opportunity to give Christian children a Christ- centered education but we also have the privilege of discipling children from non-Christian families for nine of their most formative years.

We could continue to tell you about all our weekly services and different activities but the activities that we do are not what is important. What is important is that we are doing God’s will for our lives. We have been called to evangelize, make disciples, and walk with them to the end of our journey as we fulfill our calling.

We invite you stand with us and to sow in this fertile ground as we pray rich blessings upon you as we do for our disciples also. We appreciate your prayers and your faithful offerings. Thank you for giving.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

January 2011 Newsletter

2011-01-15T06:35:00.001-06:00

January 2011

A new year starts and for us that is important, God has no need of time but he made time for His creation. Days, weeks, seasons, and years are all part of our needs. As a ministry we look at this New Year with much expectation and with plans to reach many goals. For us it is a year of success. The word that was given us comes from Joshua 1:8 that tells us our responsibility and then it says: “for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.
Before making plans for a new year it is healthy to look over the past year and see your strengths and your weaknesses. Throughout the years we have informed you of our successes and our needs. The year 2010 was a year of evangelism, consolidation, youth ministry, seed sowing and church growth.

As were look into this present year our ministry plans are to open a second school that has grades 1-6 to compliment the school we presently run. We will be expanding two church buildings as our congregations continue to grow. We will be teaching once again in the ‘Rios de Agua Viva’ Bible School as we continue to focus on training leadership for the churches. Our youth and children’s ministries will continue and they are growing as we join these ministries together with evangelism in different parts of our State. Our work with the Pastors Alliance of our State is also a priority as is our missions program.

Lastly we know that the Lord will send us the finances to attend our son’s graduation from Hillsong’s school of ministries in Sydney Australia this summer. Simri finishes his two years of studying there and has plans to return to Mexico to be part of our ministry team in the areas that the Lord is leading Him.

Success is completing God’s will for your life.
How successful are you?

We invite you to sow in this fertile ground as we pray rich blessings upon all you who support and pray for this ministry. We covet your prayers and your faithful offerings.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

December 2010 Newsletter

2010-11-30T21:17:00.002-06:00

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

2010-11-30T21:06:00.003-06:00

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

Being Part of His Promises

2010-06-22T18:34:00.002-06:00

God is not in a rush. We get all worked up over time and when we have to get things done. Life picks up a very hectic pace but God is not in it. He is never in a rush and if we move with Him we can live a life without stress and worry as we cast all our worries on Him.

At the end of May we (Philip & Lucy) had the opportunity to be part of a conference and missions symposium in Western Canada. It is a part of Canada we have never visited before and what caught our attention more than anything else was the calm that the western Canadians have in carrying on their everyday events. In Mexico the slow “mañana” attitude of the past has changed to a very up beat pace of life, which we have carried into the church. The change of pace and the lesson that God taught us were very enlightening.

In Mexico we have seen a move of God as we walk into the promises that He has given us.
Since their marriage. Agustin and Damara (our daughter), have been helping other churches but the Lord has led them to work with us. As well as joining the music ministry of the Xalisco church they also took charge of one of the village churches in the town of San Luis de Lozada. San Luis is a town of under 2,000 inhabitants and we are the only Mexican Christian church in the town. They planned a special children’s program to celebrate Children’s Day here. In the church we have about 30 children but this activity in the plaza drew about 300 children plus many mothers. We had to divide our 150 bags of candies so that each child could have something.
The next week there was a special Mother’s Day service in the small church. Instead of the usual 6 mothers we had 50 visitors. This helps to break the taboo town people have of attending a Christian church.

The end of May we partnered with other churches in the Tepic area to have a three-day outdoor evangelistic campaign. Using the open-air theater that is in the State Fair grounds, a Mexican evangelist shared with the non-Christian on how to increase their faith to receive from the Lord Jesus what He has promised them. Many people came to be healed and God was faithful to His Word. On the first night of the campaign we had close to 300 people in attendance but by two days later there were more than 800.

This summer we will be staying home in Mexico in order to be close to my parents as they walk through a new trail in their lives. In May my mother went through two major surgeries and was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Thirteen years ago she was given 3 months to live after having a radical cancer surgery and the Lord Jesus performed a miracle. We are praying at this time that another miracle will take place in her life. Thank you for your prayers and the concern that many of you have shown.

We invite you to sow in the fertile ground of Mexico as we pray rich blessings upon all you who are supporting and praying for this ministry. We covet your prayers and your faithful offerings.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

Living the Promises

2010-03-29T04:54:00.002-06:00

As Christians we don’t live life in the same realm as the rest of the world. We not only live to please God but we also live directed by God. As servants of the Lord we thrive on the promises that He gives us and we walk towards them each and every day of our life. Even the direction of teaching that we take for the church depends on the promises that we receive to go forward.
As we entered into this new decade we received, through prophetic word and confirmation, six promises for the churches working under our covering in Mexico. As we are now in the third month we are thoroughly blessed as we see these promises taking form and overtaking us. After a year of sowing all we had into the areas that the Lord directed us, we are excited and encouraged as we see this seed growing.

Promise #1: That there would be an influx of new believers into the church. In the past years the churches have evangelized but with little results. So far this year we have seen over 10 families come into three of our churches drawn only by the Holy Spirit. No one invited them to come or evangelized them. To establish them in their walk with Christ we were given a simple three-step plan, disciple them, baptize them and then teach them.

Promise #2: Extender the cords of your tent: One of the pastors that ministers under our covering called me last week and he said: “Can you loan me 25 chairs because on Sundays I have people standing”. Considering that he pastors a church of 60 members that is an exciting problem. This year we will be building, expanding and making room for more people to come and worship in the house of God. Even now we are looking for a property to move one church out of a rented building and into a larger building that will be there own.

Promise #3: Recover the lost and the stolen: We were given the example of David and his men when they went to war with the Philistines. When they returned to their homes in Ziklag everything was gone. David first strengthened himself in the Lord and then asked for direction of what to do. They recovered everything. In the churches we have had people leave. Some have gone to other churches while others have simply stopped serving God. The reasons, in many cases, have been hurts and offenses that the enemy has used to move people away from the plan of God in their lives.
One example of what is happening is a telephone call that I received three weeks ago. One of the leaders that had left the church a number of years ago offended and had gone to minister in another church called me and asked to talk with me. He said that the Lord had told him and his family to return. He had already talked with his present pastor and received confirmation. They are now back and looking on how to restore the ministry that they had in the church before they left.

There are still three more promises that the LORD has given us in financial areas as well as areas of authority in our lives. These promised will also overtake us this year even as we are seeing these first promises coming to pass.

We have also enjoyed the visit of a group of youth from San Antonio, Texas that spent their Spring Break with us painting churches and working with the children. I know that they returned exhausted but blessed.

We invite you to sow in this fertile ground as we pray rich blessings upon all you who support and pray for this ministry. We covet your prayers and your faithful offerings.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

March/ April 2010

The Route 2010

2010-01-20T19:46:00.005-06:00

2010 is a very special year for Mexico. It was 200 years ago that Mexico started its war for independence from Spain (which came to pass 21 years later). One hundred years later, in 1910, Mexico had it’s equivalent to a civil war, the Mexican Revolution. This year as Mexico gets ready to celebrate its bicentennial and it’s centennial at the same time, the church in Mexico is also getting ready to celebrate. In 2009 we closed out the year with a national call to prayer that impacted Mexico and continues to do so. Through prophecy we have received a word of 6 promises that the church in our State of Nayarit can enter into this year. They are ours to take.

Even as Joshua entered to take possession of the Promise Land, we have grouped together to take hold of these promises. The first three have to do with the church:

The church will fill with new converts through a process of discipleship to baptism and then teaching
It is time to extend the cords of our tents as growth comes into the church
We will recover what as been stolen by the enemy in regards to church members

The next three promises are individual for each member of the church body that wants to receive them:

Abundant finances for the Kingdom
Important governmental positions for Christians
Prosperity in all things as our soul prospers

To bring God’s army into these promises we have joined together in a Statewide Pastors´ Alliance of respect, trust and joint activities. We are programming the following activities in the first three months of this year:

A Christian open-air concert the 30th of January
A youth conference the 12th & 13th of February
A couple's dinner and conference the 14th of February
The first of March we start classes in the Bible school
The end of March we have our youth and children’s camps

Make yourself part of this victorious eventful year in Mexico with your prayers and your finances. You will be sowing in good ground.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

Expectation Creates Joy

2009-09-21T14:34:00.000-06:00

Our expectations create the atmosphere in which we live. When we live expecting big things, we often live downcast because the small things that pass our way are not perceived. When we have expectations of small things, we can live delighted for every small detail that comes our way and together many small details create big blessings.
In the way a small child lives expecting his father to fulfill the promises that he gives, we are living in expectation of what God has promised to do in Mexico. The small blessings that we are receiving from the Lord at this time are reason of great joy.

In the town of Santa Maria del Oro, a county seat, the Lord told us to plant a church there over 12 years ago. We started and in these 12 years we have only seen 3 families saved of which two moved out of town. This last week we had 17 people in our weekly service and now we have a young minister from our Bible School that is working with us there. We still have no church building or new converts but the Lord is fulfilling His word and it is reason of great joy.
In the small town of San Luis de Lozada we have had several deaths of older members in the last years including Pastor Chuy that was overseeing the work. Many services only had 4 to 6 people attending. This last Sunday we had 18 people in service, most of them non-Christians. A cause of great joy.

Our State of Nayarit (along with all of Mexico) was called to a time of prayer and fasting and various pastors answered the call. Along with the 56 days of prayer and fasting we decided to participate in three joint activities. By the time you receive this letter the first one will be history but the miracle has already started. We invited the participating churches to form a joint choir. At the first choir practice we had 25 people show up to sing. Now after one month of having two practice sessions a week we now have 83 people coming out to each rehearsal. TO GOD BE THE GLORY

Even in finances the Lord Jesus Christ has been faithful. In the last months money has been really tight, as we have reached out to start new endeavors. Three times in that time span we have received a text message from a brother in the Lord, that he has wired us money just at the right time without us even mentioning our need to him. This last week I had to make a trip out of State and I didn’t have the finances to go. Unexpectedly we received a down payment on some products that we had sold, when the contract said that no payment had to be made for 2 months. Once again our needs were met.

Joy is the fulfilling of our expectations. The Lord is showing us to expect small things and thus live in His eternal JOY.

In this time of a special moving of the Holy Spirit we pray rich blessings upon all you who support this ministry. We appreciate your faithful offerings that help us to continue moving forward.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

I Have Learned

2009-07-27T18:46:00.003-06:00

JULY/AUGUST 2009

We are born without knowledge and when we get to heaven we will know all things even as we are known. Life is a school of learning. As Christians, God brings us through learning experiences so that we will obtain wisdom, understanding and faith.
Here in Mexico, on the mission field were God has called us to participate in His school we continue to stretch out faith to receive the promises that are given to us. Even though we have seen over a 30% drop in the offerings we receive in the last 6 months, the Lord Jesus has called us to push on forward. He is calling us to sow more, do more and give more.

Mexico has never had a revival with in its borders. A prophetic word has gone out from heaven that a might revival is coming to Mexico. We are watching this prophecy being fulfilled as we are being joined together with other pastors in the city to work together. We are joining together to pray, to worship God and to fellowship. In our pastor’s meeting in June we had over 25 pastors present. As a ministry we are one of the State organizers of a national call to prayer. Our job is to coordinate the activities among the churches in our State. The finality of the activities that we are organizing is a 56 day call to prayer and fasting nation wide. Even though we have started with preliminary activities our 56 days of prayer start the 2nd of August through the 26th of September. During this time we will be organizing various joint activities among the churches as well as promoting times of prayer and fasting in each individual church. The final day we are programming as joint service for over 100 churches in our State as a night of prayer and intercession for Mexico.

The call is not only to work with the churches but to also raise the finances necessary for each activity. In a time of recession, we are called to believe on the One who as called us knowing that He is able. This is part of the school of God.

In our everyday ministry we were able to finish two school years together. In the middle of June we finished a course at our Bible school ‘Rios de Agua Viva’ and in the first week of July our Christian Secondary school ‘Xecora’ closed its doors for summer vacations. We will be using our extra time this summer to get caught up with the backlog of office work and visitation that need to be done. We have also opened a small factory that processes food products that will bless us in many facets of our ministry.

We are also extending our family ministry outside of Mexico as our son Simri leaves us this summer to finish his studies in Australia. In June both Simri and Damara graduated from university where they majored in music. Simri will be continuing his studies in music as well as ministry.

On the home front Lucy is doing a great job of ministering in the churches,especially with the women and in the music ministry. Vanessa has now graduated from 2nd grade and travels with us to the many churches we minister in sometime participating in up to five services a week.

In this Summer time we pray rich blessings upon all you who support this ministry. We appreciate your faithful offerings that help us to continue moving forward.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

God Given Ideas in Times of Economic Upheaval

2009-03-20T19:57:00.000-06:00

March-April 2009

God’s work is going to get done. It doesn’t depend on abundance or on friends, only on God’s providence. In Jesus` three years of ministry we never find that He was in want, even though he had a thief for a treasurer. Paul knew what it was to have abundance and to be in want in a physical sense, but through it all, the ministry he carried out kept going forward. There were times of physical work as well as ministry. He told the Thessalonian church that while he was with them he worked to not be a burden to them. Later on that same church became a donator into the ministry. Paul’s words in Acts are what catch my attention; Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. ¨

In the churches where we minister, one of the challenges is getting young people to work. With the minimum wage now only $3.50 a DAY in our part of Mexico, many youth prefer to not do anything. One of the passages of the Bible that we teach is that we work not only so that we can have money but also so we have money to give away (2 Thes. 3). In first place I don’t work for people, I work for God. In second place I don’t work so that I can have more, I work so that I can have more to give to people who have needs. This might be a good lesson for more than the youth to whom we are ministering.

Being constant is a virtue that makes things go. Our ministry team continues to minister in all the local churches in the area. More over five days a week we have classes in our Secondary School and four of those days are also used to minister in the Bible School. Children’s ministry, counseling. prayer and activities are all part of a life of ministry. The programming of our youth and children’s camps is also in the making. All this is necessary but more than all of this, what makes this work exciting is when we see people set on fire by the Holy Spirit.
A young man who I will call Jose had become disillusioned with God. In his time, in another city Jesus had touched his life along with the lives of his family. Trials and false accusation had made the family run and under the pressures that society placed on them they had slipped away from their walk with God. When Jose came to church with us for the first time he was an aloof, disinterested young man. He worked a menial job and lived without any apparent motivations in his life. One day while in service, the Lord told me to invite him to attend Bible School. I could see no interest of serving God in his life, much less the need to attend a Bible School. Eventually I obeyed God and gave him the invitation to attend our course that was starting in March. Much to my surprise (not God’s) he came. Within the first week he was transformed. His desire to serve our Lord Jesus was rekindled and the change is incredible. If that can happen in one week, try to imagine what 3 months of study and prayer will do.

To be able to fulfill the calling God has put on our lives, we have involved ourselves in the overseeing of a new business in our town. Through it we are able to minister to a lot of new people who we wouldn’t meet otherwise. Also we can supply good jobs to some people from our churches. We know that in the near future this will also bring financial blessing into our lives so that we will have more to give. Jesus´ words ring true still today; ¨It is more blessed to give than to receive.¨

We continue to pray rich blessings upon all you who support this ministry and the vision that we carry here in Mexico. We covet your prayers. We appreciate your faithful offerings that help us to continue moving forward.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

The Same Message in a Different Manner

2009-01-18T14:46:00.004-06:00

Since 1976 Seedtime and Harvest Ministries has primarily focused on missions in Mexico. There have been many changes in these passing years. For example, newsletters such as this were run off on mimeographs or written by hand. Black and white copies with streaks through them were standard. Today every missionary has to have a computer and color printer just for mail outs although there is now a shift to e-mail instead of print outs. The challenge of presenting an unchanging God to a rapidly changing world is humongous.

In presenting our unchanging God we need to differentiate between God's laws and man’s interpretations of those laws. Clothing and hairstyles have changed. Work habits and travel have changed. We can even go as far to say that our culture has changed. Missionaries used to be sent to minister to lost tribes of the world but now outreach to closed countries is also a missions focus.

There are countries in the world where Caucasian people cannot minister. Our ministry this year will focus on training Latin (Mexican) missionaries to reach out to people in these countries. It is a change of mentality. We can’t send missionaries out on offerings of $5 and $10 a month while we spend ten times that on incidentals during the week. We need to equip our missionaries doctrinally, culturally and financially. For the Mexican Christian church to change from being a receiving church to a sending church is a challenge in itself. The need for seasoned missionaries to stand behind this job is essential.

In 2009 we will be taking our first trip into Pakistan to open doors for missionaries from our churches to minister there. To be able to orchestrate this change we need to strengthen the local churches and shift the focus from ourselves to the needs of the world. Many in our present society consider Christianity a Sunday activity rather than a way of life. As we push our churches toward a "vision for missions" we try to bring Christianity into all aspects of our lives. We continue to work with Christian schools, sports projects, youth activities and more. We also work to get businesses and other organizations involved in our outreaches and activities. The finances of the world are needed in these times of change. The Bible promises us this:

For God gives to a man what is good in His sight: wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He gives travail to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. Eccl. 2:26

Our job is to be a channel of these funds.

Church planting, teaching, instructing and confirming the saints are jobs that we will continue doing as long as we are here on the earth. Being a holy nation and a peculiar people is essential and we will continue to teach these principles.

Please stand with us with your finances and your prayers as we walk with the church family in these times of change.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

January-February 2009

It's More than a Confession

2008-12-09T20:06:00.002-06:00

Newsletter-November-December 2008

It has been a busy time these last two months as we focused our attention on our youth activity, ‘El Punto’, as well as our regular activities. This is the second year in a row that we have done our mega youth activity, presenting Christ to the world in a different way. A lot of the activities that are done in the name of evangelism are good but not largely effective. The raising of the hands to accept Christ, the healing crusades and large outdoor evangelism campaigns all have their place. We count the positive results that these activities bring but we realize that many groups of people are not reached because they do not attend.

With our youth activity ‘El Punto’ we don’t focus on people accepting Christ or getting healed. We let them see Christianity as a lifestyle. We let them see Christ outside the church building in the world where they live. The street people, drug users, and others find a Christian atmosphere where they can express themselves and find a different option in life. They see that we Christians can have fun without the help of vices. We let them see Jesus on the street.

Thousands of youth came through the two day event we held on the 24^th and 25^th of October. We gave out over two thousand dollars in prizes donated from local businesses. We made an impact on our city and area. This is something that we are going to take to other areas of Mexico because it works.

It’s a lifestyle

The middle of November we had a wedding and a surprise. On the 17^th my niece Stephanie (who is working with my brother Stephen here in Mexico) was married to Hugo Baigorrio. Stephen married them in the town of San Pedro where they minister. We had a partial family reunion as family from Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico came for the wedding. We had a great five days together. This is something that only happens every 6-8 years.

We pray rich blessings upon all during this Christmas time
as we all celebrate CHRIST JESUS
and His birth that has given mankind hope and life.
We covet your prayers as we work to meet
our financial obligations for the projects
we are continuing to carry on.
We appreciate your faithful offerings
that help us to fulfill our vision.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

God Always Wins

2008-11-10T18:48:00.003-06:00

Newsletter September-October 2008

The life of a Christian moves in many areas that include the spiritual and the natural. Since the spiritual was first it is the most important. The modern society has tried to eliminate the spiritual aspect of mankind and categorize spiritual problems as physical disorders. As Christians we understand what is spiritual warfare “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” Even though we live in a very natural world we are affected by spiritual events.

We had a very good trip this summer through the States of Texas and Florida. Even though few churches opened their doors for us to share our vision, we were blessed to be able to minister on a personal level. We were also able to spend some time with a Bible School roommate of Philip’s who was in the midst of a hard spiritual battle. In the natural we look to meet many people to supply our needs but we must never forget that our supplier is Jehova-Jirah and when He meets our needs we are lacking in nothing.

On the home front we are blessed to be in a time of tribulation as we are going through a time such as Paul wrote to the Romans: “For we know that all nature has been groaning and travailing together until this hour. And not only that, we ourselves, although we are grasping the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves are inwardly groaning, while we are waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body”. We are blessed in that tribulation brings us closer to our Father and makes us trust in His Word. If we were to look at our situation with natural eyes we would see defeat. We will share with you some of the struggles that we are going through:

a) Enrollment in our Secondary school dropped this year instead of increasing and we are $12,000 dollars short for our yearly budget. The Primary Christian school in our city that we worked with closed it’s doors for lack of finances

b) The youth activity we call ‘El Punto’ that we will be doing in different States was almost completely financed through offerings, pledges and support from foundations. At the last minute one of the foundations broke the contract and we are $80,000 dollars short at one month from starting the activities. We are going forward with the activities and our God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory.

c) Our national churches are all self supporting (except for our own income) but we have experienced a large drop in income to the place that we have spent all our reserves and we are living each day as it comes to just cover expenses. With all this we have not deceased our missions giving in the least.

All that is happening at this time are blessings as we are getting the opportunity to stretch and increase our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I know that some of you will be used by the Lord to help us through these trying times. What rings in my mind at this time are the words of Mordecai to Hadassah: “For if you are completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise to the Jews from another place,…. And who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for a time like this?” As the Lord was faithful with his people in the time of Mordecai so he will be with us as we march forward under His banner, Jehovah- Nissi.

We continue to pray rich blessings upon all you who support this ministry and the vision that we carry here in Mexico. We covet your prayers as we believe to meet our financial obligations for the projects we are doing. We appreciate your faithful offerings that help us to continue moving forward.

Philip, Lucy, Simri and Vanessa Tolman

God Created All We Are

2008-07-05T06:59:00.002-06:00

Newsletter July/August 2008

The Church has many aspects of life that it has to cover. A person’s walk with God not only involves getting saved and baptized. It involves the transformation of our lives as we take on the character of Christ in our lives. Mission work is not only getting people to recognize the need of having Jesus Christ in their lives but it is also walking hand in hand with them as they continue down salvation’s path. As a ministry we are working in the three areas of this process.

The Church: This is the spiritual side of the ministry. Every week we are ministering in 7 different churches or centers as we bring in new converts and help them as they grow in The Way. We also supervise 4 other churches that are directly under our covering. There are sermons to prepare, classes for the Bible School and many people to minister to. The needs of the people are so diverse as we minister to a wide spectrum of society, from the unschooled to professional people and from children through to octogenarians. The spiritual growth of the church is an exciting challenge.

The People: The church family is a small part of ministry. Just as Jesus ministered to many people that weren’t his disciples, we are called to reach out to all men. Much of our day is spent ministering to people that perhaps will never darken our church door but they need a touch from the Master’s hand. In our Secondary School, during street ministry or just with people we meet every day, we need to let them touch the Jesus in us.

Just the other day a young man that is a professing atheist stopped to talk with me. We have known him and his family for years. He described an event in his life where anger took control of his actions and when all was said and done he mentioned two thought came to his mind - what would Philip (I’m not brother Philip to him) have done in this situation and how would Jesus have reacted.

We really don’t know how much we influence other people’s lives.

The Social: The church has to be involved in the social aspect of people’s lives. Our main thrust in this area is a youth activity we call ‘El Punto’ which reaches out to thousands of youth in each event. Our budget this year for 4 events is over $200,000 dollars. Since it is social we look to the world to finance these events. Our focus is drug abuse prevention and youth expressions in a positive way. We are working hand in hand with different government agencies and private foundations to make these events a reality.

In this Summer time we pray rich blessings upon all you who support this ministry. We covet your prayers as we will be traveling extensively to meet our financial obligations We appreciate your faithful offerings that help us to continue moving forward.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

An Arrow Directed

2008-04-22T05:53:00.005-06:00

Newsletter March/April 2008

This year 2008 started out with a clear direction in the sector of ministry that we are covering in our State of Nayarit. David and Elizabeth have been traveling extensively while teaching in Mexico and the U.S.. They are teaching in areas of leadership training and financial integrity. They are also giving classes in both Bible schools, here in Tepic and in San Pedro Coahuila.

On the local front the secondary school and the churches continue to move forward. Every day we are seeing more the need of good Christian education in our public school system. The churches after going through a pruning this past year, are now going forward in spiritual and numerical growth.

The beginning of February we opened a new semester in the Rios de Agua Viva Bible School. In the past we have had mainly youth who have studied but the semester our medium age is 48 years old. They are people that have decided to leave all to follow the ministry that God has given them.

One can not move on forward without encountering opposition. The 15th of March three enemy attacks came at the same time. While David and Elizabeth were away their house was broken into and over $5,000 of merchandise was stolen. Half an hour after Philip and Lucy arrived home from the police station to register the theft, brother Chuy Sanchez passed away. He was a village pastor who had lived on the grounds for the last 12 years. His life changing experience
of salvation when he was converted was an example for all of us. That same night Pastor Chuy’s grandson, who was living on the property with his parents, ran away, not knowing
that his grandfather had died and has not been seen since.

The funeral service for pastor Chuy was held at 10 Am on the Monday morning. One hour previously, 96 young people boarded a bus to go to our Youth Camp. We were expecting only 50 to 70 youth because of the recent pruning that we had been through. What a fantastic camp we had! One young lady who arrive at camp very downhearted was given a spirit of joy and for hours she rolled on the ground laughing in a Holy Spirit drunken stupor. Another young lady who was at camp for her first time, in her reserved manner said: ‘Can’t we stay her for a month”.

We have many plans and goals as this year continues on. We want to take our youth activity “El Punto’ national. We also want to take some youth on a Missions trip to Asia, to an area where Mexican people are accepted to minister. As our short term and long term goals flow together we are sure of the direction in which the Lord has directed us and as an arrow we want to fly true to the mark.

In this Spring season we pray rich blessings upon all you who support this ministry. We covet your prayers and your faithful offerings as we continue moving forward.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

MARCH/ APRIL 2008
Seedtime & Harvest Ministries
8635 Callaghan Rd, San Antonio TX 78230 or
APDO 351, 63000 Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico
e-mail: philip@s-h-ministries.org or d_e_tolman @s-h-ministries.org
Volume 1, Issue 1

A Time To Go Forward

2008-02-22T19:18:00.004-06:00

January/February 2008 Newsletter

As we look over the past year, we see months of preparation for a gigantic harvest. 2007 was full of special activities such as Bible school classes, camp meetings, evangelistic campaigns, 5 outdoor Christian concerts with the last two having over 5,000 people in attendance. There was also the daily work of teaching, preaching, visitation, school classes, plus ministry and a busy home life. Vehicles must be kept running, buildings maintained, help given to people going though unbelievable hardships, as well as all of the unexpected events that occur. David and Elizabeth were also able to teach in the country of Chile for almost three weeks in conferences and churches.

As we start this New Year we prayerfully consider the events that will bring increase to the churches here in Mexico. The everyday work must continue. We must minister to the people’s needs and inner healing is a reality to be addressed.

As for our teaching ministry in Nayarit, Mexico, the Xecora Christian Secondary School is moving forward with a new principal that took over the office in October. Rios de Agua Viva Bible School is beginning a series of new courses from February 4 – May 15, both in ministry and music.

We wish to extend the very successful outreach, El Punto, to new cities with its youth oriented activities in 2008. There are already open doors.

Holy Week, before Easter, we will continue our annual and exceptional wilderness youth camp. The youth return each year challenged and spiritually aflame. The following week will be the annual children’s camp, held on the Xecora school grounds.

In answer to requests, we plan to have a regional Ladies’ Conference later in the year. There are also three churches now working completely on their own but look to us for spiritual guidance and counsel. We shall continue working on the growth of the local church with strong Biblical doctrinal foundations. This will include infusing them with a heart for missions, giving and moving beyond their present attitudes and local outreach

As we start this New Year with new goals we also continue to pray rich blessings upon all you who support this ministry. We covet your prayers and your faithful offerings.

David & Elizabeth Tolman

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

El Punto

2007-12-23T13:44:00.000-06:00

November/December 2007 Newsletter

The Point: This was the focus of the evangelistic activity, to reach the youth in the city of Tepic. The point was that Jesus Christ is Lord of lords and King of kings. Aside from letting people know this we also wanted to attack the enemy on his ground and defeat him here in our State once and for all.

The Purpose: Preach the gospel to over 5,000 youth in their territory using their activities and using the world’s money to do the job. At the same time we wanted to impact the city with a Christian activity that would be remembered.

The Promises we were given:

- This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

- Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

- Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations….

- That now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places

- And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us …

The point was made, the purpose accomplished and a new way of doing things was established. On the 28th and 29th of September we had 14 hours of motorcycles, acrobatic bikes, skateboards, graffiti, fashion show and more. It was all done in a Christian atmosphere with a Christian musical and two concerts at the end of each day. The effort made by the organizing churches was incredible, the prayers of the saints innumerable and the preparations unbelievable. The promises were fulfilled.

Our work has just begun as we start to reap the results of the Word that has been sown. Also we are planning to reach out to other areas and States with this activity so the impact that our city received can be made available in other cities and States as well.

At this Thanksgiving and Christmas season we pray rich blessings upon all you who support this ministry. We covet your prayers and your faithful offerings.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

The Battle Ground

2007-09-03T10:34:00.000-06:00

September/October 2007 Newsletter

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force, Matthew 11:12

In the Americas the concept of war, or going to battle, is foreign to most of us. Soldiers have gone to war in far away places and everyone has his own personal opinion on the value of these wars. When the Bible talks about us being at war, it is hard for us to grasp the reality of what war really is. Spiritual warfare is not just saying a few prayers and hoping that things will work out. It is about life and death. The Christians with the greatest risk, are those on the front lines of the battlefield.

This year in Nayarit we declared war on the principalities and powers that have ruled over our land for hundreds of years. We must not only win the battle, but we must destroy the kings of the enemy forces. King Ahab didn’t kill the king of Syria when he had the chance and it cost him his life (1 Kings 22:30-37). Gideon didn’t finish his battle with the Midianites until he had destroyed their four kings. In January of this year the Lord gave us a plan, not only to evangelize the city of Tepic and the surrounding area, but to saturate them with the presence of God. The work started immediately with the planning, the legal permits and the contacts we needed to arrange. The end of May we had a free breakfast for the pastors in the area to inform them of the project. Between the 9th of June and the end of July we presented 3 Christian open-air concerts.

Vanessa on Dad's motorbike at an activity

Did we get a reaction! The traditional church officials successfully cancelled our permit for the second concert 24 hours before the event. Unable to use the baseball stadium we had rented we closed off the main street outside the stadium, with police permission, and set up our 40’ platform on the street. We had a concert. The rains came and tried to wash us out but in war you don’t give an inch. Our causality rate has been high. In our main church we have seen our membership dwindle from over 100 members to fewer than 60 in 4 months. Economically we have felt the strain as we are $6,000 dollars short of our budget.

The biggest and final battle is yet to come. We have permits to hold a social benefit activity in the park in front of the State Government buildings on the 28^th and 29^th of September. This social event ends at 8 PM and at that time we have two Christian concerts and a musical depicting the salvation message. With over $20,000 in rented sound equipment, lights, fireworks and closed-circuit T.V. we will be heard everywhere. We are financing the activity through sponsors from large businesses in our city. We are going to let the world finance the preaching of the gospel. We are going to take the enemy’s money and use it in God’s kingdom. This is the promise that Jesus has given us.

Simri and Damara with music group

It has not been easy, but then, war is never easy. Casualties will be replaced by victors, sinners converted into saints. The kingdom of Satan will be destroyed in our State and replaced by the Kingdom of God. The battlefield, where there is no comfort or rest, is not a pleasant place. Our rest is in the knowledge that we shall be victors for we have been promised the land.

Please keep us in your prayers as we fight in the thick of the fray.

Philip, Lucy, Simri and Vanessa Tolman

Motorcycle Club Outreach

2007-06-19T17:03:00.000-06:00

Motorcycles are part of our life as my son Simri and myself travel over 150 miles a week on them between us. Even though we are not part of any motorcycle group or club we have been working on getting an inroad with them to be able to reach them for Christ where they are.

In our planning for a massive outdoor crusade in September for over 5,000 people, we invited the different motorcycle clubs in the city to participate.

To open the doors not only to their participation but also to their friendship we decided to invite one of the clubs to our ranch for dinner on a Saturday. Over 20 of them show up for the event.

After a good barbeque we did a drive through town and took a picturesque drive down the highway for an hour or so. We had a great relaxing afternoon as well as opening the door to new acquaintances and future Christian brothers.

Special Concert

2007-06-18T16:52:00.000-06:00

On the 9th of June we were able to carry out the first of several outdoor activities for this year. In the fair grounds of the city of Tepic we set up an outdoor stage with sound and lights for a first class outdoor concert with local Christian groups.

The first group that played was Red Sky, directed by Simri Tolman. They did an excellent job. The next group was Paco and Levi’s Band from the town of Compostela. Once again their performance was first class. The two and a half hour concert was closed out by Milo Jr. and his group ‘Rocka Solida’ (Solid Rock). With over 350 people that assisted and the rain that waited to fall until after the concert had ended, the whole activity was above all that we expected.

The whole activity would have stopped there except for a 7 year old girl that attended the concert. As the concert was in progress this child leaned over and asked her Mom how is was that some men were hanging above the stage. The mother answered that they weren’t hanging, only standing on the stage. The girl insisted that these men were dressed in white and once again the mother insisted that there was no one dressed in white. The young girl stood silent a while with her mouth open and then answered her mother: “What about the whirl wind?”
It was then that the mother understood that her daughter was seeing more than the concert, she was seeing angels of God flying around the stage. As the mother continued to investigate
she became sure that it wasn’t just her daughter's imagination but a real manifestation of the Lord. The whole time of the concert these angels were present, manifesting themselves only to this little girl but the presence of God accompanying them was felt by all.

It's a Thing of the Heart

2007-05-24T19:28:00.000-06:00

May/June 2007 Newsletter

The Lord offers us a choice of life and good or death and evil. Conscientiously we choose the good but our actions do not always suit our choice. The Word is in our mouth and in our heart but if we try to decide with our mind we have problems. The Holy Spirit works through our heart but never though our mind. As we are learning to practice this principle, the Lord has opened new doors to share the good news with the youth in our State.

Even though the daily work in the church is necessary to bring stability to the members, our calling is also to reach the lost with the gospel. This is not done in the church but on the street. It can be done one on one or in larger groups. At this time we are working on various activities of mass evangelism in our area.

On June 9, we are presenting an open air concert that equals the best the world can give in the technical area, but our advantage is the help of the Holy Spirit. On June 29 and July 20, we will be directing another 2 concerts together with other ministries that are working in Mexico to reach students. Our goal is to have over 2,000 non-Christian youth in this last concert. Please pray with us for this undertaking so that we can reach the goal that He has put before us.

Philip teaching at a Conference

At the end of September we will be having a 4th activity, a mega presentation, to reach thousands of youth in the downtown area of Tepic. We are thankful to have all of our family participating in all these activities.

Aside from our special activities, most of the local churches are experimenting a time of growth. The youth are still burning with the fire of the Holy Spirit they received at Youth Camp and are letting it extend through the churches. Our goal is still to lead people to a heart experience in Jesus. We are reaching out to attain one of the goals that the Lord has placed in our heart, to place a Christian church in each of the 20 townships in our State. We are only lacking 2 townships, Ahuacatlan and the Yesca. Please pray for us as we reach out into these areas. Both of these townships have their own special challenges.

Pastors’ breakfast and meeting

In Ahuacatlan we have had missionaries living there for the last 6 years and there is still no church. The Yesca, high in the Sierra Madres, is a 10 hour drive from Tepic. The town still doesn’t have electricity which makes life very primitive and difficult.

Last weekend in the town of Compostela, we had a gathering of some of our churches. It was a time of fellowship, sharing and ministry. Every three months we try and have this type of meeting so that the smaller village churches can participate with a worship team and feel the emotion of being among a large group of people worshiping the Lord. Many of these small works don’t have musicians or people that can lead in singing. We were also able to host a breakfast for local pastors and leaders to invite them to participate in the different outreaches we have planned. More than 65 leaders attended.

With all these activities on this summer we will not be able to itinerate and visit your church to raise the extra finances needed to live here on the mission field. Please plan special prayer and offerings to help us as partners in these efforts. You can designate your offering for our personal support or to cover the extra expenses that will strain our budget. At the same time we also want to thank each one of you that stand with us with your prayers and faithful monthly support.

Philip, Lucy, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

A Place of Blessing

2007-04-12T05:37:00.000-06:00

Last week, during Easter vacation, we held our 20^th annual youth camp. We hold it during Easter week for two reasons: one being that it is a week that all businesses, schools, and government offices are closed for at least 3 days; the other being that there is no probability of rain. In the summer rainy season it rains every day, and this makes camping difficult, if not impossible.

This year we chose a place up in the mountains away from civilization for our campsite. Each youth had to walk over a mile down a mountainside to get to the spring of water where we held our camp, and the same distance UP to get out. The general consensus among the exhausted young people who arrived was that the place was terrible, full of rocks and dust. By the second day, the opinion had changed due to two facts. The less important of the two was the fact that the over 110 young people had slowly made the place livable. The kitchen was made and bathrooms were installed. The land was cleared with large machetes and then leveled so that the tents could be erected.

What really changed everything, though, was the moving of the Holy Spirit. By the second night the power of God was so strong that almost no one could stand in His presence. Even the people who knew nothing about the moving of the Holy Spirit were moved. The signs of change were immediate. The men removed their jewelry and earrings, and the women began to dress much more modestly. We had a wonderful 5 days in the presence of the Lord. No cell phones, radios, T.V.s, video games or other distractions - only the Bible and the Holy Spirit moving in people’s lives. God’s hand was even on the poisonous animals - the scorpions and the snakes that were in the area didn’t bother anyone. The Bible is true; the desert place continues to be the best way to get in communion with the Lord.

Youth camp, although exhausting, is only one area of ministry that we are participating in. Camps held without the support of the local church would have no meaning. The local church is the life-breath of the Christian. During our years of ministry here, Lord has let us raise up 7 churches that continue to this day, as well as some centers that are still in the process of growing into churches. The daily ministry at the local churches is what makes life interesting as we deal with different areas of difficulties in the lives of the members and look for the guidance of the Holy Spirit on how to deal with each one. At times we get discouraged, as we do not win every battle, but each victory makes us shout for joy.

Please pray with us as we continue to focus on our ministry to the young people. In the next two months we still have our children’s camp, a church get-together for all our churches in the area, and an outdoor concert for over 1,000 youth. We thank you for remembering us, as it is your prayers and your financial support of the ministry that make this all possible.

Looking for a place

2007-03-16T18:35:00.000-06:00

Each year, during Holy week or Easter week (for those that are not from Latin countries), we hold a youth camp in the Sierra Madre. There are many special things about this camp both in the physical and in the spiritual aspects. Each year we change the location of the camp, looking for places that have lots of spring water (for drinking and bathing), no electricity, a flat area to camp at and fire wood for cooking and light at night.

On the spiritual side we don't allow the use of electronic equipment (cell phones, radios etc) or any other type of distractions. Each youth that attends comes into a personal encounter with the
Lord Jesus Christ because there is simply nothing else to do.
Looking for a place the fills all of these requisite is not easy and especially now that water is in such high demand. The pumping of deep artisan wells has reduces the flow of water in many natural springs or completely dried them up. Other water holes have been dammed up making the water putrid and only good for agricultural use. As the years go by (this is number 20) we have had to delve deeper into the sierra into areas that are more isolated and as such, more
dangerous. As we have combed the country side these last three months looking for a place for this year's camp I have learned two truths.

The first is that life is full of changes and if we don't change with life we become obsolete. The command that God gave Israel to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles and spend one week in a tent to remember the goodness of God will never become old. How we do that will have to change. The liberties that we had in an open, unpopulated world are quickly being lost. If we don't find a place where we can get alone with the Lord Jesus we will get lost in the preoccupations of this world. Next year our way of doing camp will have to change radically as we look to obtain the same results in a different way. Even outside of the camping experience we need to find places where we can get alone with God.

The second truth is that man is not only destroying the natural environment but also his spiritual environment. Things that we took for granted for many years are being lost. Our spiritual life spring is being contaminated by man-made 'improvements'. The time is measured and the environment now has to be comfortable and perfect. Crying out to God or letting His Spirit move on you for 2 or 3 hours is a thing of the past. Waiting in His presence no longer fits into our schedule. The same difficulty that we are having to find an adequate place for our youth camp is the same problem that many spiritually hungry people are having to find a church that will let them bathe in God's presence.

I know that change is necessary and that it is not easy. The problem is not that we have to change but the reason why we have to change. The destruction of our environment, be it natural or spiritual will eventually catch up with us and what used to exist will only be a memory in books or picture. What we need today are spiritual environmentalist who will fight against the tide and protect our spiritual heritage.

Seedtime and Harvest Newsletter January 2007

2007-02-17T07:52:00.000-06:00

Here is a copy of the latest Seedtime and Harvest newsletter, with information about all areas of the ministry, as well as current contact information.

Seedtime and Harvest Ministries is about to complete 31 years on the missions field. Our area of focus is Mexico, a country that has never experienced revival. Even though Mexico has had an increase of people who embrace the Christian faith, most new converts have not experienced the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. We do not want people with head knowledge only, but Christians that have embraced the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the goal of Seedtime and Harvest Ministries is to be a ministry of evangelism, teaching and spiritual support. As we scatter the seed in all directions, it is such a blessing to see the harvest that results. We have been involved in the sowing ministry for many years. It is wonderful to see the plants springing up in so many areas, and to know that the sowing and reaping will continue until Jesus comes. We thank each one of you who stand faithfully with us with your monthly support and prayers, and are part of this ministry.

David and Elizabeth Tolman, Camichin de Jauja, Nayarit (near Tepic)

As we stand with the mountains and valleys of 2006 at our backs, we look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie before us in 2007. We are enjoying greatly our new home near the village of Camichin de Jauja, Nayarit. Jauja is a native word that means “abundance” and we are looking forward to an abundant harvest for the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our areas of ministry this year include:

-Continuing to give regular classes in the Bible School, Rios de Agua Viva. Elizabeth is also ready to be a supply teacher in Xecora Secondary (Junior High) School here on the grounds.

-Giving classes in the various churches connected with our Mexican churches. We anticipate spending time with Stephen in San Pedro, Coahuila, and also in the new church in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

-Both of us are also expecting to return to Chile, South America, in September 2007, to participate in leadership training and women’s ministries there.

We are enjoying the changes that the past few months of 2006 have brought us. One of our granddaughters from Canada, Stephanie Kinzie, has joined Stephen in San Pedro, Coahuila, and another granddaughter, Damara Tolman, had a beautiful Christmas wedding. Agustin, her husband, has already visited the Philippine Islands and also completed two years in the Bible School here. We trust that the Lord will use them all in a great way.

Philip, Lucy, Simri, and Vanessa Tolman - Camichin de Jauja, Nayarit

As we focus on our ministry in the year 2007, the first thing that we have decided is that Mexico is our home. We have adopted a culture that is different than our natal culture in order to be more effective in our ministry. Second, we have taken on the role of developer (a concept from the book Equipped to Go, by Don Marchant, Vision Publishing) who works with the believers through the new challenges that are presented each and every day.

In our personal area of ministry in the state of Nayarit in central-western Mexico, our priorities are to:

-Plant churches in the most difficult areas where the national workers have not had the support to raise up works.

-Establish leaders and workers to occupy the areas of ministry that are needed in a local church to maintain a strong dynamic church.
-Mentor leaders as they step out into new areas of ministry
-Pastor local established churches to be able to reach out to the spiritual needs of the congregations.
-Teaching in the Bible school and giving intensive training to students that have an interest or calling to ministry.
-Teaching in the secondary school that lets us give adolescent children a strong secular and spiritual foundation.

-Help ministries that let us lend a hand to other ministries that do not have the human resources that we have to do special activities.

-Special activities such as camps, retreats, conferences and concerts that help strengthen the local church body.
Lastly, our focus is not on numbers. The Lord has not called us to an area where there is an abundant harvest at this time, but to an area where there is a great need. Our focus is on quality Christians who will finish strong and hear the Savior say: “Well done you good and faithful servant…”

Stephen, Marcela, Elisa, Timothy, and Peter Tolman – San Pedro, Coahuila

God has greatly blessed our work in San Pedro in this past year and we are beginning to see the bountiful harvest he has in store here after so many years of sowing seed. The needs now are even greater than before, but God has always been faithful in providing. Our areas of ministry and outreach this year include:

-Running the El Calor soccer ministry, which in 6 years has reached over 1500 men, women, and children. Our 3^rd division professional team is back in action after reaching the second round of playoffs last season.

-Managing rehab centers for men with substance abuse and social problems. Stephen and Marcela oversee two rehab facilities where there are almost 100 men currently in treatment. We also have plans to build a similar center for women.

-Providing breakfasts for children in the poorest part of the nearby city of Torreon. Every Saturday, the men from the rehab centers serve breakfast to up to 60 children. We are planning to build a permanent facility for this outreach in the near future.

-Building up local churches by planting new congregations and training pastors. Within our own church we train our young people in music and tambourine ministry.

-Expanding our cell groups, a ministry that began only last year, but which has increased our church attendance by 200%. We have just reorganized the groups and are expecting great things again this year.

-Teaching at our English school where over 40 students are enrolled this year. They not only learn another language, but are also exposed to the gospel through the example of Christian teachers. We have started a children’s Bible school every weekday at the school as well.

-The “Brilla Jesus” (Shine Jesus) drama and evangelism team, which goes on tour several times a year. They are involved in street ministry and innovative evangelism.

-Continuing the prison ministry, run by our co-pastor, Jacob Contreras. Every week services are held at the facility to minister to the prisoners. After leaving prison, many men are funneled to the rehab centers before reintegrating into society.

Our goal is to present the gospel in unique ways in order to reach the greatest number of people in the least amount of time. God has blessed us with growth in the last year, but the work is not over yet. Please pray for this country and for the work that needs to be done so that everyone will know of the love, mercy, and grace of God.

Stephanie Kinzie, San Pedro, Coahuila

Stephanie is the granddaughter of David and Elizabeth and the niece of Stephen and Marcela. She joined Seedtime and Harvest in San Pedro this past August, where she is working with Stephen and Marcela in various parts of their ministry. She holds an Honors degree in Communication and English from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and has begun taking over the communication aspects of the ministry including liaison work with ministry supporters and visiting groups, and maintaining the San Pedro blog and SHM website. As her Spanish improves, Stephanie is looking forward to expanding her ministry within SHM.

›As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease (Genesis 8:22)�

Contact Information: Seedtime and Harvest Ministries

Web Page: www.s-h-ministries.org General E-mails: office@s-h-ministries.org
Donations: All gifts and donations to this ministry are tax deductible. Please specify in writing the persons or projects to which the funds are designated. All checks and donations payable to:
(U.S.A.)
Seedtime and Harvest Ministries
8635 Callaghan Road
San Antonio, TX 78230-4550

(Canada)
Shiloh Christian Centre
P.O. Box 158
Fenelon Falls, ON, CANADA
KOM 1NO

Contact Information: Ministry Centers

David and Elizabeth Tolman
APDO 21
Tepic, Nayarit
63000 Mexico
Email: d_e_tolman@s-h-ministries.org
Blog: shmdetolman.blogspot.com

Philip and Lucy Tolman
APDO 351
Tepic, Nayarit
63000 Mexico
Email: philip@s-h-ministries.org
Blog: s-h-ministries.blogspot.com

Stephen and Marcela Tolman APDO 52
San Pedro, Coahuila
27800 Mexico
Email: stephen.tolman@gmail.com
Blog: sanpedroshm2.blogspot.com

Stephanie Kinzie
APDO 52
San Pedro, Coahuila
27800 Mexico
Email: sanpedroshm@gmail.com

Resigned But Not Down

2007-01-30T18:31:00.000-06:00

January 2007

There are lots of circumstances that happen in our lives that we can’t control or change. We can decide to flow with the circumstances or try to fight against them. Some things that happen in our lives are natural while others are caused through spiritual dealings as in the case of Job in the Bible. These past two weeks we had group of situations that taught us resignation without being defeated.
The adventure started actually the end of December when we took our ‘new’ Toyota van (a demonstrator model) into the shop to get the heater and defrost to work as without them it was impossible to use the van in cold weather. To our surprise the van was built without a heater/defrost system and the Toyota agency would not take responsibility for the error. We would have to go to court against Toyota but in the mean time we could not use the van to make a missions trip into Texas as the temperature was below freezing. We readied our old Dodge van that had a newly repaired motor and set out on our trip, Lucy, Simri, Vanessa and myself.
The first day was great and even though we started the trip in the early afternoon we made good time. The next morning, a Friday, we were on the road at dawn, hoping to be in San Antonio Texas by mid afternoon. Two hours down the road an engine valve jammed and the van came to a screeching halt. We managed to limp the van into the next small village where at the side of the highway we lifted the head off of the engine to replace the valve. THE Valve! A three hour bus ride was the closest place to get it and as it turned out the valve stem was too thin but it would have to do. By the time I got back to the van, seven hours later, it was too dark to start putting the engine back together.
By noon the next day we were finally on our way, at least partly. The oil had water in it from the work we had done and the partial engine job was leaking oil terribly. It was after midnight, now Sunday morning when we finally arrived at our destination, grimy and exhausted.
The mission’s conference at our home church, Destiny Church was well worth the effort made to arrive. It was the best conference we have been at because the word that we needed from the Lord was given to us there. We left for home early Friday morning, blessed and refreshed in our spirits. Our adventures were not over. Two hours out of San Antonio one of our rear tires blew to pieces. We had a good spare and in 15 minutes we were back on the road. We stopped at a Walmart up the way to buy a new tire and they said that they could do our work right away as there was no one ahead of us. Well it took them two and a half hours to get the tire on the van. I would of hated to be there when they were busy.
The story continues but I will spare you the details. Our head lights went out and we traveled for two hours with intermittent headlights and a spot light for driving. There was a major accident that closed the highway for three hours. The rad hose started leaking and the oil pressure gage went out. We were 35 km. from home and it didn’t look like we were going to make it back. It was then that we did a very spiritual thing and it wasn’t prayer because that’s what had gotten us this far. We stopped to eat! After a good hearty meal of lamb we got back in the van and it drove like a charm all the way home. Imagine, even the headlights are working again.
After a trip like this it is easy to get down. We could have blamed God for the things that happened but no. We have learned that there are a lot of things in life that we can not change. The important thing is to make sure that the things that you can not change do not change you. Many things can happen in my life that I don’t agree with but not one of them will defeat me or keep me down, I will just learn another lesson from the Lord.

Feliz Navidad

2006-12-23T15:05:00.000-06:00

I Watch My Heart

They are taking our liberties away
This seems to be the worry of the day
Christmas is now Happy Holidays
And marriages now can be gay

Is it really important the day that baby Jesus was born
In the bible we don’t know the time, evening, night or morn
If it really were so important the time would be spoken
So that the celebration of His birth would never be broken

The time, the day, the hour, or the season
Really don’t change what truly is the reason
His birth and his death, are really quite a story
Impossible to believe if you’ve never been sorry

It’s the sin that I have left that makes the old man die
Not the Christmas time story that many think is a lie
What the world needs to celebrate is not another familyget together
Rather on our knees we really need to get our act together

Let them make Christmas a holiday and Easter a spring break
That won’t make the least little change in what really it takes
To make the new birth come true, right down in your heart
Soon you will know that this is more than a story made for art

It’s Christmas, it’s Noel, Navidad or Bonart
It’s not a name that places it down in my heart
It’s an experience that only a Savior can bring
In knowing that my life is now fresher than spring

The birth of my Jesus isn’t really my worry
It’s my new birth that day that I really, really was sorry
Now every day I have to die, to make it really worthwhile
Knowing that Jesus can bring me much more that a smile

The day that they take this belief from my heart
Is the day when the worrying really should start
All the laws in the land and the police there could be
Will never let the Christmas story be lost to me

It’s not a story, a play or a special holiday
Not a tree or a manger where the little Jesus lay
It’s my belief, it’s an experience, it’s really my life
Though they change it all, I still know that my Jesus is alive

Philip Tolman
12-21-06

I Work Because I Serve - Nov/Dec 2006 newsletter

2006-12-16T10:12:00.000-06:00

The other day a young man came to one of our outdoor meetings and when asked if he was serving Jesus, he said: “I am really close to God”. As we continued to talk, I found out that he didn’t know the Lord Jesus nor was he serving Him. In his mind he was O.K. but as he saw that what he was doing - his works, were not in accordance with true Christianity, he had to admit that he wasn’t serving Jesus. It is easy to see errors in others but as we turn the microscope around we must ask ourselves the question: Are my works a sign that I am serving our Lord and Savior?
This last month we have focused on promoting special activities to help each sector of the church family to focus on their areas of service and to analysis the areas of their lives that need attention.
In the month of October, 13 men from two of our churches traveled 10 hours to participate in a Promise Keeper’s (Hombre a Hombre) conference that had over 4,000 men in attendance. We were not only edified by the teaching and the testimonies, but we also had a good time together to talk, form friendships, and even share hotel rooms together.
The women had to work harder. Lucy did an excellent job in organizing and carrying out a great Ladies Conference, with the help of Destiny Church, our home church, sending two ladies to minister at the conference. Friday evening through Sunday proved to be a short time to answer all the needs that were presented.
On the 18th’ of November we had our church get together or what we call a ‘convivio’ in one of the ranch churches. After many years of following the same format for the activities we made major changes in this one and it worked out really well. Normally our convivios have been an all day activity with praise and worship, teachings and preaching. This time we started in the early afternoon, taking into account that many people have to work Saturday morning. Instead of our times of teaching we created a time of sharing with special questions
The people responded well and we all had a really edifying time. The only problem we had was on the way home our old Dodge van that we are trying to sell blew it’s engine and it finally arrived home on a tow truck at 3 AM .
As Christmas time approaches we want to make sure that Christ is the center of this holiday time. Each church has a Christmas party and a time of fellowship. Without the birth and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, Christmas wouldn’t exist. We tell the church family that this is the most important time to be together because this is our opportunity to exalt the Lord.
Also on the 23rd of December we will be celebrating Damara and Agustin’s wedding that` is a first in our family. We will also have a time together as an extended family as some of my brothers and their families will be here for the wedding. Please remember Damara and Agustin in your prayers as they start this new stage of their lives together.
Again we thank you for standing with us so faithfully in prayer and giving during 2006. If you would like to send a special offering at this time to help us to give each child in the different churches a few candies and a small gift, please designate your offering to this cause. For many of the children it is the only gift they will receive.
May you and your families enjoying all the blessings of this season and may you continue to serve with us in the ministry here in 2007 is our prayer.

Philip, Lucy, Damara, Simri & Vanessa Tolman

Seedtime & Harvest Ministries
8635 Callaghan Rd, San Antonio TX 78230 or
APDO 351, 63000 Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico
E-mail: philip@s-h-ministries.org

Volume 1, Issue 1

Convivio

2006-11-21T00:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we had our quarterly “Convivio”, a reunion of all of the churches that have been begun through the church arm of our Mexican association, the Christian Churches of Mexico.The location was in El Ahualamo, about 50 km from Tepic. We arrived in the small village about 3 PM and turned off the highway on a cobblestone road a little way from the church.
The church people had wet down the earthen floor to control dust and the sun was brightly shining through the large space between the roof and the partly completed walls. As the 2 vanloads of people from our immediate area arrived, we set up the musical instruments as other groups came in from neighbouring towns and villages.There was an excellent turnout and soon we were singing and worshiping God. Instead of afternoon messages many of the people were glad to participate in answering one of three questions.

What is your favorite verse in the Bible and why?
How did you come to know Jesus Christ as your Saviour?
What promise have you received from God and how was it completed?

After another time of worship we moved the chairs around and lined up for the supper they had prepared. It was so good and was typical what the poorer people are able to serve. It was ‘pozole’ boiled parched corn with chicken, vegetables and mild seasonings. It is served in a bowl with chopped raw onions and raw cabbage on top. They also had a fruit drink. The large cooking pots were brought from the homes close to the church as there are no cooking facilities there. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and soon all were really full. We gathered together for more singing and a message from the Word. An invitation was given to those who had special needs and Jesus met so many as they were prayed for.This reunion was a real encouragement to the people of the village for they are used to just a few people rather than the large crowd that gathered. Their pastor was in hospital very ill but they also prayed in the service for him and he returned to his home early the next morning. It was a wonderful time and all look forward to the next gathering of the churches in three more months..

Flowers...beauty and purpose

2006-11-20T20:13:00.000-06:00

The other day a welder was working at my home and we were talking about some of the different fruit trees that are on the property (we have over 100 different types) and I showed him a passion fruit (maricuayo)which is not a tree but a vine. After trying the fruit he said “ In my 53 years I have never tasted anything as good as this”. Then we got looking at the exotic flowers that are on the giant passion fruit plants we have (each fruit weighs over 1 kg) and commenting on how wonderfully God made all things. I have seen the perfection of small wild flowers in the fields, and in the strange orchids that hang out of trees. I know that we have a God who likes beauty and detail. All of nature gives us the opportunity to see God in His creative beauty and gives us an idea of what He wants to do in our lives. This welder, even though he’s not a professing Christian, couldn’t help but see the hand of God in the flowers.God wants to make our lives just like these flowers, each with it’s own particular beauty and uniqueness. This passion fruit is one of the most exotic flowers thatI have seen, while a banana flower is of the most productive, with one flower giving up to 20kg of fruit. In our own lives it is the same... some are more breathtaking while others are more productive. What God wants more than anything is that we can show His beauty in our lives and bring people’s attention to God. If a single flower can make as man think in God how much more should our lives be a sweet smelling fragrance to our Lord Jesus.

Upcoming Women's Conference in Tepic

2006-10-31T19:21:00.000-06:00

This week has been a typical week in Nayarit. The secondary school Xecora has classes every day from 7 AM to 2:30 PM of which I give an average of 4 hours of classes a day.Church night is every night of the week except Fridays for us even though there are Friday services.This weekend we are hosting a women's conference called "una mesa para dos, mi amado y yo" ( a table for 2, my love and I). We are programmed to have between 60 to 90 ladies in attendance. On the Monday following the conference (November 6th) we have a special wedding. A couple that have lived together for 27 years are getting married, the reason is to obey God and give an example for their children. It will be an interesting wedding. They seem to be the only Christian couple in the town of Santa Maria del Oro where they live.

The Turtle Won

2006-10-10T20:04:00.000-06:00

We all like to win the fast race, the GRAND prize, the instant glory and the fame. In history we talk about Alexander the Great but few know that he achieved fame because of a doting father that laid the ground work. Solomon built the temple in seven years only because David, his father, had worked toward that goal for over thirty years.
Seedtime and Harvest Ministries is now in its 31st year here in Mexico as we continue to build on the foundation built by David and Elizabeth Tolman. The work has grown, the vision has expanded, the churches are more established and the bases have been laid. What goes forward from here has a strong doctrinal, spiritual and Biblical foundation.
What is happening in Tepic? August has seen us once again in classes at the schools. Both schools have a lower enrollment than we would have desired but we are praying that students will continue to register. The Secondary School that started classes on the 21st of August has been holding its own financially for the last 4 years but this year we saw the need to increase the salaries that we pay our teachers as this ministry also has to cover their living expenses. I know that the Lord will supply what we are lacking.The Bible School has five fulltime students for our three month semester that started the end of August, four of them from another state. One of our primary goals continues to be training leadership to attend a growing church body. The Bible School is one of our tools to accomplish this goal and in the last nineteen years we have seen many students pass through our doors and go forth to minister.
Evangelism is another of our primary goals. Over 90 % of our church members have been spiritually born again under our ministry. As Paul wrote, we don’t want to build on what others have planted but we want to have the privilege of bringing new people into the Kingdom. In our Xalisco church we have set up six different outreach groups that have the goal of reaching thirty new converts before the end of the year. In the other six churches and centers we are also reaching out in each one as we feel directed by the Lord. We have been blessed this last month to be able to buy a secondhand (new for us) Toyota van. Our Dodge van, that eight and a half year ago the Senger family so graciously helped us to purchase, now has traveled over 185,000 miles and is basically worn out. It has been a great blessing and has taken us a lot of places. We have to pay a difference of $18,000 US and we know that with the help of God’s people we shall be able to make these payments.
We are not only engaged in the current activities but we also have in the coming weeks various special activities such as a reunion of all of our churches in September, a Men’s Conference in October that we shall be attending, a Women’s Conference in November that we will be hosting and a Christian concert that is still in the planning stages.
On December 23rd we have the first wedding in the family as Damara and Agustin will be getting married. Agustin is a graduate of our Bible School and we have known him for years. For the time being Damara will be continuing to work with us teaching in the schools and in the area of music, praise and worship in the churches. We thank each one of you that stand with us by means of your monthly support and prayers. We are your hands extended to reach the people of the State of Nayarit, Mexico for Jesus Christ.

Philip, Lucy, Damara, Simri & Vanessa Tolman
Seedtime & Harvest Ministries
8635 Callaghan Rd, San Antonio TX 78230 or
APDO 351, 63000 Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico
E-mail: philip@s-h-ministries.org
Volume 1, Issue 1

Newsletter March/April 2006

2006-10-07T18:19:00.000-06:00

TEPIC IN THE SPRING

Spring is just around the corner and we once again look forward to the miracle of the new birth. It is not only because of the celebration of the resurrection but we also see plants breaking out and the barren landscapes once again become alive with new life.
Even though this doesn’t happen physically in our part of Mexico, spiritually we have arrived at this time. The barren days of struggle and spiritual dryness are fast coming to an end as we start to see new spirit-given manifestations in the churches. The prophetic word once again has begun to direct the churches and the supernatural, or spiritual direction is becoming more common.
An example of this happened the 28th of this past month. After arriving at a home meeting we have every week, I felt an urge to go personally and invite a young lady that had come once or twice to the cell group. One of the sisters offered to go and invite her, but shortly returned saying that no one was home. In that very moment this young lady’s estranged husband showed up unexpectedly and offered to accompany me to the home. We arrived and after knocking, walking in uninvited just in time to stop this young lady from cutting her wrists. She had the broken glass there as she was curled up in fetal position on her couch ready to end her life. The next day Lucy continued to minister to her at our home. God’s love for us never ceases to amaze me.
The daily workload has continued to be busy as we spread out ourselves in various different areas:
The secondary school is coming along fine even though after three and a half years we still haven’t gotten to a place financial stability. I continue to give 19 hours of classes a week and my mother another 5 hours. Once that the school’s income increases I hope to cut down my classes to 5 hours a week.
At the Bible school we continue with classes two days a week with only a handful of students. They are now in their second term. This slump in enrollment at the school is only temporary, as we have had to focus a lot of our attention to other areas. We hope by August to be back with a full enrollment in both courses that we offer.
The churches have come through a time of pruning and the new growth is just starting to come. On the 18th of February we had an all day get together of the churches in our original church (started in 1986). We had a great time in the Lord, as 6 of the 7 churches in the area were able to be part of the gathering. Not only did we have Christians from years past but we also had a good group of visitor at the meetings.
At this time we are gearing up for our two camps, a youth camp and one for children. This is one of the highlights of the year in the special events that we organize. This will be our 19th camp meeting.
Last year we had over 120 youth and this year we are expecting more. In the past we have catered almost exclusively to our own youth but this year we have changed our focus a little. The camp this year is called ‘Invited to the Wedding’ and our desire is to invite all the non-Christians that we can so that His house will be filled. Since it is a feast of tabernacles we have no problem with space. The whole mountainside is ours and the stars are the blankets. The wood is for cooking and the shade of the trees for classes. The power of God is what changes the lives of the campers and brings them back every year.

On the family side of things we are all in good health. With Vanessa now in kindergarten, Lucy now has an empty home in the mornings. The afternoons are a different matter as everyone has something different to do on the evenings that there aren’t activities in the church. Damara is still studying in Texas, with plans to get married in December. Rosy is in her last year of university and Simri in High school, Rosalia is in secondary school while Vanessa is enjoying her first classes. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to lead the body of Christ into the new spiritual keenness that is being manifested in the churches.
We also thank each one of you that stand with us with your monthly support.

Philip, Lucy, Damara, Simri & Vanessa Tolman