Last Trips Of The Year - Mexico & Cuba

An update from Joselo Mercado, Lead Pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Gaithersburg…

Mexico (7th-9th December)

I arrived at scorching hot Michoacan on Saturday, December 7.  After a two hour drive from Ixtapa Airport to Lazaro Cardenas, I only had half an hour to change and go to the church.  Iglesias Emanuel is a group of 10 churches that are friends of Sovereign Grace Churches through a relationship with Carlos Contreras. Emanuel Guitierrez and his father Alfredo are regular attendants to Fieles in Juarez.  

I was there for less than 24 hours, but it was a prosperous time. I preached in their yearly conference where the ten churches get together. Abelardo Muñuz from Juarez was the other guest speaker. I believe the churches were encouraged, and the pastor strengthened. One of the most significant times was dinner with Emanuel, Alfredo, and their families. It was just a sweet time of fellowship.  

On my way back home, I had a layover in Mexico City.  I used the time to go to dinner with a church planter that I met at a conference in November. During dinner time, it was evident that they require care. This is a common theme in all my travels, pastors that are lonely, that need encouragement.  I'm so grateful that in my pastoral journey, I have never been isolated, Sovereign Grace is such a blessing to the pastors that they serve, and we then want to be a blessing to others in the nations. 

Cuba (17th-19th December)

Arriving at Havana Airport is a combination of entering a communist country, with the vibrant atmosphere of a Caribbean Island. It is like you are entering two worlds that are inconsistent with one another, yet somehow manage to work together. It is also like entering a time machine. Although there has been much progress in the last decade, there are still some areas where technology and Western way of life has not arrived. 

In this reality, we have two churches that are seeking adoption from Sovereign Grace Churches. The gospel is moving forward, but they have a day to day challenges. One of the pastors says that the challenges of the day to day living can be draining. The purpose of my visit was to encourage pastors and be of help for them and their families. I was able to have multiple dinners with the pastors, laugh, cry, and have fellowship. 

With the help of the US Mid-Atlantic Region, our local church was able to make a donation to one of the churches to help them finish their church building. Earlier this year, half of the building did not have a proper roof. So with donations from Grace Church in Clarksburg, MD, and Crosspoint in Arnold, MD we sent the needed money to finish the work.  I was able to stand on top of the roof and experience the beauty of the Gospel partnership.