Casa del Obrero Centro de Entrenamiento. The House of the Laborer Training Center. Our new sign and logo. There is much to be said about the meaning of the logo, but that will be done elsewhere.
According to Got Questions Ministries, “Koinonia” is a Greek word that occurs 20 times in the Bible. Koinonia’s primary meaning is “fellowship, sharing in common, communion.” The first occurrence of koinonia is Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Christian fellowship is a key aspect of the Christian life. Believers in Christ are to come together in love, faith, and encouragement. That is the essence of koinonia.
This may be the denotation of the Greek word, but we lived it on the first day of February.
As I mentioned in my last entry pastor Moises, the director of the new Christian radio
The team from Listowel Community Church lays out the interior floor plan
station Cielos Abiertos FM, planned and organized a “blow-em-out-of-the-water” event on the Training Center farm which he dubbed Koinonia 2014. It was to be truly nondenominational, and indeed was not designed to be an overtly religious event, which would draw both Believers and nonbelievers to enjoy a day of shared fellowship together. It was to be a day of food, live music, festivities, clowns and gifts for the kiddies, and generally a good time to be together in shared communion to celebrate what God is doing through Cielos Abiertos FM and what he has done, and will continue to do though the ministry of Casa del Obrero.
The interior walls begin to go up
To set the stage properly let me backtrack to the last couple of weeks of January just before the 1st of February and the Koinonia 2014 event. You will remember that we had lost almost two months of work on the building due to the non-ending rains. This placed an incredible time pressure on all of us because Fred Erb and a team from Listowel Community Church were due to arrive on the evening of the 24th of January to finish out the interior of the new building. This meant that we absolutely needed to complete everything in the outside walls and roof in order for them to build the partition walls and place the drop ceiling. The pressure was on.
Since the building has a corrugated metal roof we decided to spray the inside of the metal
Fred Erb preparing for the electrical wiring. It might not be 100% code, but it will work
with polyurethane spray for insulation. I had found a business here in Cd. Valles which would spray it, but they did not have a generator large enough for the application. We searched for days to find one that would be adequate for the job. Time was ticking!
We also needed to place the tiles onto the floor before the Canadian team arrived since this would make the job of tiling much easier than having to cut into each room after the interior walls were placed. Our “floor guys” came and began, but then took a couple of days off just when we really needed them most. Time was ticking!
The walls get a primer coat of paint to prepare for the Koinonia 2014 event on Saturday
On Thursday morning I finally found a generator. On Thursday afternoon the polyurethane guys arrived to begin applying insulation to the roof (this needed to be done before the interior walls were put in, and certainly before the drop ceiling was placed). The Ontario guys were to arrive the following day. Time was indeed now really ticking!
But we had a little overlap problem. On Thursday morning the floor guys returned to try to finish their job. This meant that part of the floor was uncured and could not be walked on. So what were the insulation guys supposed to do? Time was now flying by!
As it turned out, the polyurethane guys got some of the work done and then had a breakdown and couldn’t complete the whole job anyway – they would need to come back the following day. This meant that the floor would have a chance to cure before being walked on – this was good, but time was definitely ticking by now!
On Friday morning the polyurethane crew arrived to try again. This time they were able
The ecological toilets take shape (the labor-intensive way). This gives a whole new meaning to “sitting on the throne”
to finish. It was now Friday noon. I would need to leave for Tampico to pick up the Canadian team at about 3:00 o’clock.
But Friday had another problem as well. In a week we were going to be having an event on the site where potentially hundreds of people might attend. We had no toilets. No one approved my (very simple and logical) idea of offering the surrounding sugarcane fields as the only facilities available, and we needed to build toilets. We had looked into renting a couple of Porta Potties for the day but soon realized that this was not a viable option. I spoke to a local Christian builder who told me that he would have his men build us two ecological toilets using the style that they build them in the Huastecan villages where there are
Setting up for Koinonia 2014
limited sources of water. He would donate one outright, and I would pay for some of the second one. Wow, what a blessing. However, it took days to build these toilets because they were completely made from concrete block and poured concrete work. Time was again (or perhaps, still) ticking!
On Friday morning the work of preparing the site for the toilets began. A Huastecan father and son team set up their bed rolls in the shell of the Casa del Obrero house and would dedicate the next week or so to building our ecological toilets – we prayed that they would be able to complete them before the 1st of February and Koinonia 2014…still ticking!
The ribbon cutting. Officiated by a guest from the government, and including Javier, Fred and me
On Friday night Fred, Rick M., Ralph, Pedro, Rick K. and his wife Barbara, and Heidi arrived into Tampico from Listowel Community Church in Ontario.
On Monday morning the team began full throttle. Walls went up, drywall was placed, drop ceiling beautifully hung, and a house was artfully crafted out of a concrete shell. By Thursday some of the guys began painting the walls around the rest of the crew who were completing the ceiling work. By Friday night the whole inside was done, complete with primer coat of paint – five days start to finish – wow, what a great job guys!
On Friday evening the father and son team who were building the toilets were also picked up. Job completed! The concrete attaching the doors to the frame was still curing, but the job was done and ready for use the next day: Saturday the 1st of February – Koinonia 2014!
There were somewhere between 500 – 800 people at Koinonia 2014. What a victory
On Friday evening we also put up the 24’ X 45’ Bible Institute tent in preparation for the following day’s events.
On Saturday morning Roberto applied paint to the exterior front of the house while the rest of the guys cleaned up the site. Stage, tents, and chairs arrived and the grounds were prepared for the soon arrival of the celebrating crowds. Roberto finished painting just in time for the guys to hang the large sign and logo onto the front of the house minutes before the first bus load of guests arrived. The paint was still wet to the touch, but would soon dry in the intense sun and midday heat of this toasty 1st of February.
And Koinonia 2014 began! There was somewhere between 500 to 800 guests. Several
Luz de las Naciones Bible Institute graduates
Government representatives arrived and officially participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony. Pastors and the churches that they represented came from all over the city and the region, from as far away as Rio Verde and Hidalgo, and throughout the Huasteca.
What an incredible victory, and what a memorable day!
Everyone had plenty to eat. The sun was hot and the weather good. The music was enjoyed. The drinks were satisfying. The fellowship was wonderful. Christians from across denominational lines, as well as non-Christians, enjoyed a day of koinonia, hospitality, and communion. Praise God for victories.
On the 8th of February we celebrated the graduation of the Instituto Biblico Luz de las Naciones and Project LAMBS students. This is the first graduation of Project LAMBS students from a 100% nationally directed school. Praise God for the successful culmination of this vision.
And then the attack began.
Theresa presents pastor Moises with the puppet that she has created for his children’s ministry and radio show personality “Super Sapo”
Please pray for Theresa and me as well as the national directors of the work – Javier and Cristina, and Alejandra and Mario, as well as the others on the leadership of the Bible Institute, Project LAMBS, and the Casa del Obrero. The attack is strong, directed, severe, and potentially deadly for the ministry. Pray that God will quickly silence the enemy and that those supposed Christian leaders who have been blinded to truth will have their eyes opened to the words of Jesus when he instructed us to walk in humility, unity, and harmony – in koinonia and love.
Today, Sunday, I will once again head over to Tampico to pick up friends of ours from Canada. This time they will arrive from Landmark Christian Fellowship in Manitoba. They will be here for a little over a week and come specifically to build a septic system for the Casa del Obrero Training Center. We look forward to spending time with them as friends, and also are grateful for the answer to many prayers that they are in coming to build the septic system. Thank you Lord.
It may be a while again before you hear from Theresa and me. As you can see, it has been busy, and it looks like it will continue to be so. As soon as the team from LCF is taken back to Tampico for their flight north again we will host friends from Grove, Oklahoma who will be staying with us for several days in the beginning of March. It is all good, and all a blessing. I am thankful though on many a night for a good bed to crash until the alarm clock rings in the morning.
Blessings,
Steven and Theresa
