Children from the neighborhood learning vocabulary and biblical principles with Damariz

Teachers in Cunduacán, Tabasco, are working hard to transform Christian education for their students and families in these hot and humid coastal lands of southeast Mexico. Since December, when the teachers trained with us, they’ve been busy implementing the AMO Program. Their plans are ambitious. Not only do they want AMO for children, but also for youth, adults, new believers, and non-believers. The challenges and triumphs have been, and continue to be, many.

As we visited the area for a few days last week, Priscilla Torres, Director of Christian Education at Jesus, La Luz del Mundo church, told us that their students are benefitting, wonderfully, from their AMO classes. Children have improved their reading and Christian self-government skills. Interest in education at the church has increased. Many families, eager to participate, have become punctual in arriving — a true rarity!

In addition, adults express new-found hope in biblical Christian principles that they had never contemplated before. The youths are being challenged to reason and engage their Christian faith and not simply go along with pop-culture and social pressures. One working couple, professionals, decided to cut back on the hours they work to devote more time to the education of their children. All these triumphs and more have not come easy.

The church has twelve mission churches in Cunduacán and the surrounding communities. While a dozen of its teachers have trained with us, there are still more than sixty who have not had the AMO training. Also, some of the leaders do not have the vision. This has made implementing the program a challenge.

Families responding to Francelia’s call for renewed efforts for inspired education at church and in the home.

Many do not understand the objectives of AMO – to bring every area of our lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, principally, through inspired wholistic biblical Christian education. Families and their churches are challenged to begin retaking dominion of their children’s education. For most, the study of classic literature, government, history, vocabulary, geography, art, and more, is foreign to church classrooms. AMO provides a way to change that and the small group in Cunudacán wants to share that with others.

Damariz Coyoc Rivero disciples forty-five children and their families from neighbourhoods around Monte de los Olivos, one of the mission churches of Jesus La Luz del Mundo. These families do not attend any church and Damariz is on fire for the education of these children. “One of my students,” says Damariz of seven-year old, Ismael, “could not read and had no interesting in learning. He is from a very dysfunctional family and was very discouraged. After a month of being with the other children in their joy and engagement in the class, he has begun trying to read. He pays special attention during our class of Proverbs and he has been encouraged since we studied the word potential and that God has given him great potential.” (Key-word studies are an important part of AMO.)

Points for Prayer:

• Please, pray for the families in Cunduacán and surrounding communities that they continue receiving education that inspires and equips them in the wonderful purpose and potential that God has for each of their lives.
• Pray for the congregations, the families, teachers and leaders, that they continue to understand AMO more completely and embrace the call to wholistic biblical Christian education for the transformation of families, communities and the nation.
• Pray for AMO México as we continue to walk with those in Cunduacán and provide additional training for them and many others throughout Mexico.
• Please, also continue to pray for the more than twenty AMO teachers from various countries in Latin America who are currently taking the AMO Trainer of Teachers (TOT) course so they can become qualified to train more teachers for AMO. Pray for Ely, Elizabeth, Gloria and Esther, our Mexican TOT students. Pray for their instructors and for everyone’s computer and internet connection needs during this nine-month online course.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

In Christ,

Chris and Francelia