July 2015 – AMO MÉXICO

Dear Friends,

Last week, we completed the AMO® Apprenticeship in the city of Puebla, about two hours southeast of Mexico City. This was our very first apprenticeship in this historic city. The dedication and passion of those we trained was inspiring and we’ve been invited back to involve more key ministries and churches, next year.

Another great “first” was the introduction of Esther Suarez, one of our four Mexican AMO teachers who are training to become certified AMO Trainers of Teachers (TOT’s) in Mexico. Esther

Francelia introducing Esther Suarez, future AMO Trainer in México.

joined us from Oaxaca to practice teaching and to continue being mentored in AMO. She, and the other three trainees (Elizabeth Bermúdez, Gloria Viveros, and Elizabeth “Ely” Aguilar), are making wonderful progress and we thank God for these new leaders! We look forward to them conducting their own AMO Apprenticeships in the future.

Attending, last week, were representatives of five churches, one organization for abused women and children, and one university professor. The professor, Liliana, plans to begin an AMO Program in her home for the children of her university students. Two women, Judith and Erika, who help abused women and children, expressed that the principles they learned will be invaluable in their work. A few in the class even expressed desires to begin their own schools, incorporating the biblical principles they learned.

Erika, class participant in Puebla, practicing an AMO lesson.

We met each day at the Biblical Seminary of Puebla where our host ministry, Club Neón, a children’s program directed by Diana Torres, is housed. Our friends, Ed and Lois Oglesby, lifetime missionaries in Mexico, gave us warm lodging and meals for the week in their home near the seminary.

We would like to invite you to visit México with us to meet some of the parents, teachers and church leaders involved in this ministry. Puebla would be a great place to visit and meet those just getting started with AMO. Easy to access, Puebla is a place of modern growth and fascinating history.

For instance, the first public library in Mexico, Biblioteca Palafoxiana, was established here in 1646. Its founder, Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, was a strong advocate of education. Unfortunately, and for

Biblioteca Palafoxiana of Puebla, the first public library in Mexico, founded in 1646

specific reasons related to the rejection of God in education, the majority of the children in the nation today receive poor education that ignores the heart, divides the mind, and helps lead to fatalism and other destructive worldviews. There are also many museums in the city that can help you better understand the nation of today. Contact us to make plans.

With your help, more and more families and local churches are taking charge of their education and placing the Master Teacher – Jesus Christ – at the center of learning and teaching. They are also re-engaging biblical principles that guide and inspire children and parents, alike. We ask for your continued prayers and financial support for this work.

We also invite your support for the training of our four TOT students. Contact us, the McReynolds, at mexico@amoprogram.com or (830) 719-5812 for more information.

In the Fall we will be dedicating time to visit those in the United States who would like to discuss with us this work in México. Please, contact us if you, or your congregation, would like to meet with us.

Thanks and blessings to each of you. We hope we can visit!

In Christ,

Chris and Francelia

Class discussion continues during coffee-breaks in Puebla.

Puebla’s first AMO apprentices!

(See photos at bottom)

Last week we trained thirty-two, very motivated, parents and church leaders in Comalcalco, Tabasco, Mexico. This was our fourth trip to the state this year with another planned for September.

Six churches and at least twenty different families were represented. It is always a joy and blessing to spend the week getting to know each person and, although it’s sad to say goodbye, we can look forward to staying in contact to continue discipling them in their renewed role as educators.

Our visit here last May sparked enormous interest in having this AMO® Apprenticeship. Leaders from other churches who are planning with us for future apprenticeships were present to learn, first-hand, what their congregations can expect when we train in their area.

From the participants evaluations and comments, we could tell that all twenty-five sessions of the apprenticeship provided new insights and inspiration. The sessions on Christian Self-government and The Power of Blessing Children seemed to have the greatest impact. Many participants had no memory of every being intentionally blessed by their father so, Pastor Salomon Bautista blessed each one (see photo).

Since true liberty comes only from Christ governing our hearts, the Christian Self-government session captivated everyone. Participants described families and even whole congregations caught in cycles of ill-health, bad finances, and deteriorating relationships because “everyone did as they saw fit” without submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in daily decisions.

Something new that we tried was to have an abbreviated AMO class for the children of the parents attending our apprenticeship. The children were taught by Mariana Chavez, Francelia’s sister, who used two guides from the AMO curriculum, The Book of Proverbs: Reading for Reasoning and Joel, A Boy of Galilee. The children loved the lessons and insisted to their parents to continue reading Joel, at home after the week was done.

We ask for your prayers or these families in Comalcalco as they implement their children’s programs using AMO. We also ask for your prayers for us as we travel to Puebla, Puebla, Mexico, this coming week to teach another AMO Apprenticeship there.

Thanks to each of you for your prayers and support. Drop us a line anytime at mexico@amoprogram.com or give us a call at (830) 719-5812, we love hearing from you!

In Christ,

Chris and Francelia

Photos from Comalcalco, Tabasco, in southeast Mexico: