Discipling our future leaders – children – requires close relationships where trust and inspiration grow. The “pandemic option” leaves us interacting with postage-stamp sized images of each other. Will video conferencing work? Will inspiration and the desire to learn still grow? Our AMO teachers are finding out it does work, and with added benefits.

Children now join AMO classes from places where no programs exist locally. Parent involvement has skyrocketed as they print out materials for their children and listen in on their child’s classes. Meeting with parents to encourage them has become more practical. Due to this, almost a hundred parents have enrolled in the AMO video training-for-teachers in just the past three months and similar growth is happening in other countries, as well. More and more, AMO teachers are restarting their programs.

Often, a third of Francelia’s class is made up of AMO teachers who are tuning in to watch how it is done. The nature of AMO is highly relational. Those who are intimidated by the screen and might be tempted to simply present information to the children, fail. When they see Francelia’s determination to take time to interact with each child, they get it, and off they go to begin their own online classes.

What about the many children who have no internet access? That number is rapidly getting smaller. Some children are joining class via smartphones. And according to statistics, half of the people in Mexico now have cellular phones with internet access.

Also, we continue discipling new AMO Trainers. We ask your prayers for our next group to be certified by Chrysalis International as AMO Trainers in Mexico. As you remember, their nine-month training was online and now their practicum – which has always been in person – will also occur online in a live virtual classroom of parents eager to learn. Pray for Ananies, Laura, Stephanie, Lili, and Adriana who will all complete their certifications in August.

We thank God for giving His Church ways, not to merely survive, but to thrive in the midst of crisis! Thank you, for your prayers and support.

In Christ,

Chris and Francelia

Francelia teaching children online.

Children from four nations in the same classroom!

As Covid-19 highlights our vulnerable nature in this fallen world, Jesus Christ establishes our invincible – unstoppable – nature. Tomorrow we will celebrate Easter with much deeper gratitude for the power of salvation and transformation by God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

As His body, we are being “pushed out of the nest” in many ways. Never before has the Church harnessed technology to such a degree as now for worship, fellowship, education and evangelization. This might be the greatest ever blessing-in-disguise for discipling the nations for Jesus Christ.

In Oaxaca this past month, Veronica had worked hard to prepare herself and to invite others to attend her practicum. She would become the fifth AMO Trainer to be certified in Oaxaca, Mexico – a place where school closings are “old hat.”

Several people who pre registered had cancelled due to the virus threat and we were concerned that her hard work would be in vain. However, a brave group did meet, and we had an extraordinary, albeit surreal, week of being inspired and taught by God’s Word and watching as the world began to shut down.

Veronica was able to complete an excellent practicum and we are blessed to have her as a new AMO Trainer in Mexico! Please, pray for her and her family who serve so powerfully in Oaxaca. Pray for their protection and for God’s guidance in the weeks to come.

The long drive from Oaxaca back to Texas was eerily peaceful with little traffic as people began isolating at home. Now back in Texas we have had video conferences with various ones discussing the ministry and what to do. The Lord put on Francelia’s heart a burden for the children stuck in their homes.

After initial brainstorming with Elizabeth Youmans and Cristina Inchaustegui, we got to work setting up our spare bedroom as an AMO classroom for video conferencing with the children. As she broadcast an invitation to parents in the AMO network through Facebook, thirty responded within the first hour.

Now, children from Peru, Columbia, United States and mostly Mexico have begun meeting each morning with Francelia using Zoom. It has been working great.  Francelia and the children are able to interact well and they are engaged and excited!

Other AMO Trainers in Tabasco, Oaxaca, Yucatán and Mexico City have since started their own virtual classes. Importantly, the parents of the children are being encouraged to take the five-day AMO Training by video. In God’s providence Chrysalis International video-recorded Francelia three years ago and now has the full training available online.

As an image of our Lord’s death and victorious resurrection, the Church – worldwide – cannot be stopped, no matter what the threat. In Christ, we all march onward in His victory. Happy Easter!

Praying with you,

Chris and Francelia

The group trained in Oaxaca March 2020

Children signed in for their AMO class

Francelia in the AMO classroom set up for video

Video shot of AMO class online

Tabasco, the “Garden of Eden in Mexico.” The tropical forests, abundant fruits and large rivers are impressive. While God’s creation is in constant growth and renewal, the crown of creation needs help.

Here are just a few of the stories about help that we have heard this month. These from Lilibeth R. who piloted the “Discipulado AMO” class at her church in Villahermosa, Tabasco.

~ Eleven-year-old Samuel fell from the second floor of a building, leaving him unconscious. His mother called on the church for prayer. God worked a miracle and the next evening he was awake and in recovery. For three weeks Samuel insisted that he would return in time for the closing celebration of “Pilgrim’s Progress.” The children prayed for him. A dinner theater was planned, and Samuel was to play the Evangelist. Out of the hospital and just a week before the play, his mother called to ask, again, for prayers for Samuel. He had now contracted Dengue! Surely his role would now go to the understudy – his little sister. To everyone’s disbelief Samuel recovered in time. Praise to God overflowed from his classmates and the church.

~ Ari’s (not the child’s real name) mother shared with his teacher how thankful she was to God for Ari’s improvement and eagerness to attend classes. It turns out that he had spent the past year with a psychiatrist and in these last months since attending AMO there has been no need to continue his consultations. Ari’s teacher then remembered that upon entering the program Ari had told her that he hated his father and wanted nothing to do with him. She spoke with him and prayed with him and taught him that he needed to forgive his father and pray for him because his father also needed to know God. The following week Ari said that he had forgiven his father and was now praying for him. He seemed relieved. His mother and all the teachers then prayed together and gave thanks to God for the healing work in Ari’s heart.

~ Leo would balk at attending any kind of classes. Now he awakes his parents early to avoid arriving late to his Discipulado AMO. “He is excited and happy to go” says his mother. “¡Ya el Leo berrinchudo no existe!” (Now the temper-tantrum-Leo no longer exists!”) she said with amazement.

Pray for the growing team of AMO Trainers here who are helping to make testimonies like these possible. Five more trainers have been certified in Tabasco since January: Lili, Socorro, Yesenia, Nora and Elizabeth. Please, pray for them as they now begin training more parents and teachers.

Finally, we join everyone in prayer regarding the Coronavirus. A wise doctor noted that the primary antiviral we should always have in place is good diet and exercise.

Thank you, for your prayers.

Blessings to each of you,

Chris and Francelia

Seated L to R, Nora, Yesenia, Francelia, Chris, and Lili with training class at Manantial Church.

Training at Nueva Jerusalén, Villahermosa, Tabasco.

Nora, Yesenia, and Lili receiving their well earned certifications as AMO Trainers.

Francelia introducing new trainers in Tabasco, Elizabeth (L) and Socorro (R)

Today, here in Comalapa, Chiapas, the day started crisp and cool – green mountains all around. This small town near Mexico’s border with Guatemala is generally peaceful. For most people the nightlife is an evening in the town plaza for ice cream or a tamale and atole de cacahuate – a drink made from peanuts. Farming and ranching uphold the economy. The dark side is evident in the advertisements for witchcraft and stories of occasional drug cartel murders. One man, an alcoholic, roams the street where the AMO Training is taking place at Bethel Church.

After years of addiction, the man can barely walk. He asked to listen to the training. As he focused on God’s eternal truths about how he was uniquely created for God’s purposes he was visibly impacted, nodding in agreement. I couldn’t help but think if he had only heard God’s vision for life years ago – perhaps as a child – maybe he and his family would be healthy today.

Pray for the team here that is being trained. May they be empowered, protected and determined in the work ahead.

Pray for Doribel, the missionary here who invited us. She is a dynamic leader serving churches and the local seminary. Pray for her complete healing as she recovers from serious illness that threatened her life months ago.

Pray also for next week’s training in Tabasco. We will have exciting news on the new trainers who will be completing their certifications in the coming weeks.

And God bless your new year! We thank you for being with us in your prayers and financial support.

In Christ,

Chris and Francelia

Training in Comalapa, Chiapas

We are very thankful for all that the Lord has provided this year – so much of it by way of your prayers and support. We pray for God’s blessings upon you and your family as we celebrate Thanksgiving.

Things have gone well since our last post. The training in Xonacatlán, State of Mexico, was attended by 74 people – all from Divino Salvador church. Laura, a doctor in public education who attended the training, said she had never been so inspired and now wants to become an AMO Trainer. Francisco, a 22-year-old psychology student, exclaimed during the training that he now senses a calling in Christian education! Pray for this church as they implement the program and discern plans for founding a Christian school using AMO Program as its core.

Afterward, in Mérida, Yucatán, MeXED and San Pablo Presbyterian Seminary hosted Dr. Mark Beliles, author of National Transformation: Strategic Discipleship from the Church to the Nations. Along with our trainers and many others from the seminary and area churches, we were inspired by Mark’s teaching. Using a biblical framework for churches to work from, Christian leaders in all areas of society bring health and hope that transforms nations. Christian leadership in education is, of course, crucial.

From Mérida, Mark continued to Oaxaca where he was received by our partners at Nueva Vida Church. He presented to pastors, AMO Trainers and government leaders in that city teaching them biblical ideas for government.  He then travelled to Cuernavaca, Morelos, where we caught up with him after our stop in Orizaba, Veracruz.

We visited Orizaba to encourage parents and leaders there who implemented AMO earlier this year. They continue to inspire us with their commitment and perseverance. Pray for the teachers there as they work to help parents have a greater biblical understand and practice of their role in the education of their children.

Once in Cuernavaca, Mark introduced us to church leaders at Communidad Cristiana, a very large church. The leaders embraced the vision and teaching that Mark shared and they are now interested in hosting AMO trainings. Please, pray for God’s wisdom for us in those plans.

Finally, our future AMO Trainers are finishing up their 9-month online course with Dr. Elizabeth Youmans and Francelia has scheduled each of the practicums for those in Mexico. Pray for Dr. Elizabeth Youmans as she finalizes the course and for the Trainers as they begin this new and important chapter in discipling their nation for Jesus Christ.

Thank you, again, for your important role in this ministry. Happy Thanksgiving!

In Christ,

Chris and Francelia

Gift from Xonacatlán group, national leaders in stuffed toy production.

AMO Teachers in Xonacatlán

AMO training in Xonacatlán, Mexico

Dear Friends,

We ask you to pray for the following schedule of events. As the number of AMO Trainers increases it becomes a challenge to keep up! We praise God for the growth.

November:

AMO training in Xonacatlán, State of Mexico – Francelia teaching

AMO training in Mérida, Yucatán. This is Mildren Torres’ first solo training!

A MeXED conference for students, pastors, and AMO Trainers at San Pablo Seminary in Mérida, Yucatán with Dr. Mark Beliles teaching about equipping the Church to transform the culture.

After Mérida, Dr. Beliles teaches again in Oaxaca.

A seminar in Orizaba, Veracruz, on strengthening the family with biblical principles, taught by Francelia.

December:

A meeting in Puebla to plan assistance to local churches as they equip parents and congregations for educating the next generations.

January:

Certification training/practicum at Sureste Seminary in Tabasco to certify the first group of new AMO Trainers from the Class of 2019-20. This practicum is the final step after their nine-month online class preparation. Francelia and Chris McReynolds will evaluate the trainer’s on behalf of Dr. Elizabeth Youmans of Chrysalis International.

AMO Training in Frontera-Comalapa, Chiapas

Certification training in Comalcalco, Tabasco, for our second group of the Class of 2019-20

February:

AMO Training in Cárdenas, Tabasco

Certification training in México City for the third group of new AMO Trainers

March:

Teaching at the Bible Institute of the Huastecas

Certification training for the final group of new AMO Trainers in Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Biblical Transformation of the Nation ~ MeXED 2019 Oaxaca and Mérida

Dear Friends,

Please see Abraham Hernandez’ ministry update from the Huastecas, below. This is his first update since his wife Susie Frerichs passed away in June and we are so pleased to share it with you. Those of you who supported Susie and Abraham in their work are invited to continue supporting the work through Abraham. Please, click here for specific donation information.

Join us in giving thanks to God for His care for Abraham and God’s providence for all the work that continues in the Huastecas. Many of our AMO Mexico community members attended this conference and were able to visit with Abraham again, for the first time since Susie passed away, to give him encouragement.

All were blessed by Bob Moffitt and Yarley Niños’ teaching which further equips us all in making disciples of the nations. Those of you who donated to the Susie Frerichs Memorial Scholarship Fund at The Antioch Partners made possible the attendance of those from the Huastecas.

In Christ,

Chris and Francelia

(Translation of Abraham’s update)

22 de octubre de 2019, Frijolillo san Martín Chal. SLP.

Greetings.

May God greatly bless each of you.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,…” Matthew 28:19

By God’s grace we recently attended a conference on Biblical Worldview which took place at YWAM Guadalajara with teachers Bob Moffitt and Yarley Niño. This conference greatly encouraged us as we continue with God, extending His Kingdom in the Huastecas.

Ten participants from the Huastecas attended. These consisted of missionaries and students from the Bible Institute of the Huastecas.

Thank you for your prayers and support which makes activities like this possible. This brings many blessings to our lives and ministries. May God continue blessing each of you. Greetings from the Huastecas. (Signed Abraham Hernandez Hernandez)

Ministry Update from Abraham Hernandez

Abraham’s Update from the Huastecas

In Matthew 28:18-20, the Lord Jesus Christ gives us all our marching orders – teach all people to be my disciples. During these summer months, four of our friends and collaborators in this ministry – faithful to His command – were called home by the Lord. With each of those sad goodbyes, the Holy Spirit gave us deep and abiding assurance of His sovereignty and unwavering plan for discipling our families and the nations. We give special thanks to God for His plan and for those who have lived out their lives in faith and perseverance serving that plan.

Recently, I was amused and encouraged while reading a line by the late T. Boone Pickens who shared what his father said to him as an aimless young man. He told the young man, “A fool with a plan will beat a genius without a plan everytime.” Pickens said that was the turning point for him. I thought, we can be fools (for Christ) with an excellent plan!

More and more congregations are awakening to the great potential God has given them to transform communities through a plan for education and discipleship. Pray for churches everywhere to rise up and embrace a serious and inspired plan of action. The coming generations need God’s plan for their lives!

What parents and leaders are learning, modeling, and teaching to their children through AMO Program. With a plan and hard work they are transforming their futures. Graphic by Chrysalis International, publisher of AMO Program.

Please, join us in giving thanks for:

• The Susie Frerichs Memorial Scholarship Fund which will be funding a group of young students from the Huastecas, including Abraham Hernandez, to attend an important teaching conference in Guadalajara in October. For those of you who know Abraham, he reports that he is doing well under the circumstances and is encouraged that God is in the process of raising up new leaders for the various ministries that Susie led. Please, continue to pray for Abraham as he continues his ministry and farming.
• Those who have served with us and “fought the good fight.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
• The successful AMO trainings this summer in Orizaba Veracruz, Reynosa Tamaulipas, Guadalajara, Oaxaca and San Antonio, Texas. We are thankful for the hard work and increasing skills of our AMO Trainers of Teachers (TOT’s).
• The dedication of teachers at Isaiah 55 ministries in Reynosa, for their work to bring AMO Program to children who are deaf.
• The progress that the up-and-coming TOT’s are making in Chrysalis International’s online virtual course…only two more months to go! Francelia has been very busy with the Mexican group mentoring them and scheduling dates and locations for their practicum trainings, the final step for each of them to be certified.

Please, join us in praying for:

• Strength and perseverance for the all the TOT’s in the home stretch.
• Upcoming trainings in Xonacatlan Edo. de México, Oaxaca and Merida, Yucatan.
• MeXED special events in Merida and Oaxaca in November. The purpose of these events is to encourage and equip biblical Christian vision and strategy for transforming families, culture, education, and government.
• Safety for Chris and Francelia as they travel throughout central and southeast Mexico this winter.
• Pray for our TOT’s marriages and for God’s provision for AMO México to become a ministry with greater capacity to provide marriage ministry for our TOT’s.
• Pray for Dr. Elizabeth Youmans and Chrysalis’ online platform and website project. This has been a monumental task that needs your prayers for finalization.

Thank you, for your prayers!

In Christ,

Chris and Francelia

Dear Friends,

Saying goodbye to our dear friend and colleague, Susie Frerichs, was certainly not anticipated by anyone. We learned to an even greater degree that in all things we depend on God and we give thanks for that. Her life and her passing encourages all of us to continue on with even more focus and determination to respond faithfully to God’s Calling on our lives. We now ask your prayers for us and the rest of Susie’s fellow AMO Trainers who will be busy this summer conducting AMO Trainings in different parts of Mexico, including in the Huastecas where Susie lived and served.

AMO Trainer and pastor, Josias Luna, of Oaxaca, will be teaching at the Bible Institute in the Huastecas where Susie was director. Susie and the presbytery had invited Josias on prior occasions, and Susie and husband, Abraham, had led a group of young leaders from the Huastecas to conferences in Oaxaca as late as March of this year. We are grateful for God’s providence and for placing a desire in Josias’ heart to help at opportune times in the Huastecas even before Susie passed. Pray for him as he leaves his family and church in Oaxaca for a week to teach at the presbytery’s Bible Institute. We will follow up with additional AMO Trainings in the Huastecas as needed.

We give thanks to God for our team members who carried out the very first AMO Trainings in Ocosingo, Chiapas and Reynosa, Tamaulipas, earlier this month. Both of these troubled regions are in desperate need for the next generations of children to have God’s vision for life and the character formation needed to live out that vision for God’s transformation of their communities. We also had additional trainings in Oaxaca, Tabasco, and the Yucatan since the first of June. Pray for additional children’s AMO Programs to develop from each of those trainings.

We ask your prayers for the remaining Summer trainings:

• Nacajuca, Tabasco at Sureste Presbyterian Seminary
• Orizaba, Veracruz
• In the state of Mexico on the outskirts of Mexico City
• Guadalajara, Jalisco
• Our first AMO Training in San Antonio, Texas and you are invited! Contact our U.S. mobile at (830) 719-5812 for information.

Let us all continue praying for one another. Thank you for your prayers. Please, let us know how we can pray for you. Send an email to Chris at cmcr12@gmail.com.

In Christ,

Chris and Francelia McReynolds

Susie, Abraham, and young leaders from the Huastecas in the home of Josias and Elizabeth Luna in Oaxaca, March 2019.

Our November 2018 AMO Trainers’ Retreat in Puebla which included Susie and Abraham.

Dear Friends,

A beautiful memorial service was held for Susanne Frerichs Hernandez this past Friday at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Susie’s hometown of Kearney, Nebraska. Her memorial was attended by friends from high school and college as well as many other friends and family from far and wide.

Rev. Chad Anderson, pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church, led the service. Judy Rozema performed a wonderful solo of “In the Garden Medley.” Teri Adair and Chris McReynolds, of The Antioch Partners, shared about Susie’s extensive ministry in Mexico.

Susie’s ministry always had a special focus on biblical Christian education and discipleship for the formation of servant-leaders. Her work began at Proyecto Amistad on the border in Piedras Negras in 1993 and – through those she has discipled – continues on in the Presbytery of the Huastecas and beyond.

Also spoken about was her impact, not just in Mexico but, in the lives of so many individuals and congregations in the United States who supported her work and co-labored with her through the years. Thanks was given to God for each of you who supported, collaborated, and prayed with Susie.

A special message of thanks from Susie’s husband, Abraham Hernandez, was relayed to Susie’s family and to the Church for the love and support they demonstrated for them and their ministry as a couple. Abraham will continue facilitating ministry initiatives between churches in the Huastecas and AMO Mexico.  Please, continue your prayers and support for him.

Many of you have asked about the Scholarship Fund newly established in honor of Susie and the calling Jesus Christ made on her life. This fund will be hosted at The Antioch Partners and will be used to continue, especially in the Huastecas, the kind of work that Susie devoted her life to – making disciples of Jesus Christ with special attention to education. That is, biblical Christian education at all levels that informs and equips people to live out God’s vision for life in every area of life.

You can donate to the Susie Frerichs Memorial Scholarship Fund in these ways:

Write a check, payable to “The Antioch Partners.” In the memo line write “Preference for Susie Frerichs Memorial Fund.” Mail to:

The Antioch Partners

7132 Portland Ave, Suite 136

Richfield, MN 55423

Online donations can be made by clicking this link…  https://secure.qgiv.com/for/TheAntiochPartners/restriction/ProjectSupport/SusieFrerichsMemorialFund

Thank you, for your prayers of thanksgiving for Susie’s life and for God’s consolation for her family members and her many friends in Mexico and the United States. Let us all honor Susie by continuing the work!

In Christ,

Chris McReynolds

P.S. Regarding donations, please, note that 4% card/bank/online fees are taken out of each credit card donation, 2% is taken out of each e-Check, but e-Giving and regular checks don’t have those fees. A form to be filled out for e-Giving can be obtained from Hope Whitney by emailing her at admin@theantiochpartners.org.

P.P.S. You can read obituaries for Susie here and here.