Armonia Mexico Thanksgiving Message

Dear friends and family in Christ-

A successful visit to the UK and US:
Today (November 27th 2008) is Thanksgiving Day in the US. Maybe in the UK and in Mexico we can join them in expressing thankfulness to our dear God for his faithful love to us.  Along with that purpose Pilar and I want to express our immense gratitude for your care and concern for us during our visit. We had a wonderful time visiting with you, and we were able to celebrate the achievement of some long-awaited and cherished goals of Armonía: speaking in Conferences and Churches, making new friends, renewing old friendships, and sharing stories of Kingdom joys and sorrows. In the midst of these special times, we were confronted with many difficulties: getting sick, tooth problems and being robbed, to name a few. These are the times, however, when we need to bring to action the faith that brought us to this path of Kingdom work. We need to remember that in this world we will be afflicted, and we should not be fooled with the idea that if we are serving God, everything will go smoothly and perfectly, as we will not have to deal with any difficult situations. Furthermore, these times of affliction are when God multiplies his blessings and gives us amazing help and friendship with brothers and sisters like you, around the world.

Our health:
We thank God for your care, concern, readiness, and generosity, whether in giving us food, a place in your home, beds to sleep in, medicine, taking us to the doctor, and letting us use your computers and cars. Truly, we have been blessed by your generosity. After finishing our trip in the UK, we were blessed by the help of gastroenterologist Doctor Bill Rylander in Titusville, Florida, who looked after Pilar and discovered that the problems she is having are treatable. We praise God that the doctor did not find pre-cancer cells or any other affliction that could put significant limitation on our life and work. Pilar's problems are treatable, although she needs to take precautions on how she eats (especially the hours) and needs some good rest. We rejoice that her problems are not as serious as we thought, and we were incredibly privileged to have so many people praying for us and to have friends so that we will be safe.

Life in Mexico is difficult at the moment:
When we arrived back in Mexico, we had the joyful opportunity to meet up with all the members of Armonía's communities and to hear about their situations and listen to their stories. The financial situation of Mexico is terrible, unemployment is on the increase, and many former illegal migrants are back from the US with their hands and pockets empty and cannot find jobs. Theft is increasing and great despair is being lived among the poor and those who are jobless. Many are running into solutions that will destroy them or at least will complicate their lives even more. Many others are flocking into sects and looking for the ¨magical-spiritual fix¨.

Hope remains for those who have faith:
In our communities, among those who stay firm we have found faith and hope. A few days after arriving into Mexico City we travelled to Oaxaca City to visit the Students Residence (AIMS-Oaxaca). We arrived very early in the morning, and the students were very kind to let us sleep and rest, waiting for us so that we could have breakfast together. After we woke up, they cooked breakfast, and Veronica, who is one of the older sisters, volunteered to pray. In her prayer, she thanked God for reuniting the family that we have become in Jesus Christ. She also prayed for our health asking the Lord's mercies for Pilar, myself and Dani, and the health of her own relatives and the relatives of others. She prayed for those that help us to run the house, and all of the volunteers who contribute to the work of Armonía. When she finished, we were very moved, because a very short time ago, this girl did not know about God's love for her or for the world, and she didn't know about the power of prayer. Now, however, this 18-year-old girl is praying in a wonderful way in the name of Jesus.  Veronica is pictured below.
Once again, we thank you for your love expressed in practical ways for us, and please join us in praising God for old and new friendships, good health, and especially for the way in which God is working to transform people's lives into something unimaginable beautiful.
Yours in Christ-
Saul and Pilar Cruz