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The joke goes like this:

A dog says. "You feed me, you caress me, you house me. You must be God."

A cat says, "You feed me, you caress me, you house me. I must be God."

Thus, from this little joke, we tilted our bi-annual conference, "Cat Theology or Dog Theology?", a serious call to a God-centered view of life. Francisco Presenda, representing the ministry Unveiling His Glory, presented a series of teachings on the difference between a view of a God who exists to serve us and the God of the Bible, Who has saved us to serve Him. We were called to review our teaching, our music, our decisions and our view of the world based on a God-centered perspective. The final session presented the fulfilling of the Great Commission as a primary objective of the church of Jesus Christ, and reminded us that the principle motivation is not pity for those who have never heard but a desire to see God receive the maximum glory.

150 people from congregations in Arandas, Tepatitlan, Guadalajara, Jiquilpan, La Barca, San Jose, Manzanillo and Atotonilco enjoyed the exposition and the fellowship. Arandas took responsibility for the schedule and the meal preparation, while Tepatitlan (a congregation that didn`t even exist 7 months ago!) was the host church.

During a open time, a family from Atotonilco stepped to the front. Ricardo introduced his wife and children, then explained, "I can't sing or play an instrument, and we are all too new in the Lord to know many verses by memory. And I certainly can't preach to you! I simply want all of you to know that we have decided to follow the Lord Jesus, and count it a privilege to be here among you."

The Sunday after the conference, a brother shared this testimony: "My mother died when I was young, leaving behind several of us children, including my little sister, who has Down's Syndrome. My dad, an alcoholic, sought solace in drinking, and I grew up resenting what had happened. Even after I came to Christ, I continued to struggle with my mom`s untimely death. "How can we say God is just, when it is manifestly not true?" I wondered.Then at this conference, Francisco called us to see things from God's perspective. Life is not fair, but God is just. I saw how my dad, who had not treated my mother well, came to see what he had lost. I saw how I had enjoyed many years with my mom and how what she had taught us held us together after she was gone. I even saw how many of the things she taught me prepared me for the Gospel. I see now that God is just and He does what is right, for His glory."

Thank you for praying for this event and the fruit from it. We trust this will redound to the glory of God in the advance of the Good News in the Jalisco Highlands and throughout the Circle of Silence.

Steve writes:
10 days before the First Highlands Christian Music Camp only 14 people were registered. That meant that the number of students was only slightly more than the number of teachers! I wondered how to proceed. Should we cancel the event? The day I felt we needed to make that decision, I read Ps. 115. In verse 16, David says:
"The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men."

As I read those words, I seemed to see a sense of this verse I had not seen before. Part of the Lord's having given to us the earth in stewardship is that He has laid out His will and expects us to make faith decisions toward the accomplishing of that. Just as God said to Adam that he could freely eat of all -or any - of the fruit of the garden, the Lord has told us, "You know what my will is: to see my son glorified in the church and others be brought to Him. I will bless those things which are done according to that purpose and within the confines of My Word." Thus the Lord was inviting me to make a decision in faith, to say, like the church leaders in Acts 15, "it seems good" to proceed in this manner.

I asked the Lord to make my heart clear in this and as neutral as was possible, then, evaluating what we had proposed, I was refreshed to keep believing that this was a profitable use of time and energy.

In the next few days, phone calls poured in as 45 more people signed up for the camp. We had set a maximum of 60 students and had exactly that number!

Guitar, mandolin, violin, flute, bass, keyboard and drums were offered to the students. We had expert instructors, including Raul Reynoso (called one of the finest guitar players in the world!) and Ben and Brendan Booher. Jeff Nelson, from the Tri Cities area of Washington, taught beginners guitar and cast a vision of excellence for his students. José Luis Garcia, multi-talented musician from Guadalajara, taught guitar and mandolin and assisted with keyboard and bass! Beto Nava taught guitar and bass. Steve Maricle lead the choir time and taught flute and clarinet, while his son Mark taught keyboard and guitar. Juan Guerra taught drums in the warehouse on the other side of the property! This team of highly talented and dedicated instructors from Mexico and the US took their students from where they were on arrival (many had never so much as touched their instruments!) to new levels of understanding and ability. Two-thirds of the students were not currently playing music in their churches when they came to the camp, but all planned to use their instruments in praise upon returning to their churches.

Steve Maricle organized the students into a choir and coaxed from them enthusiastic harmonies which we shared with the town of Santa Maria on the last evening of the camp.

We continue to hear reports from churches that sent people to the event: New participants in the music ministry; a solo shared by one of the students; on-going communication and fellowship between students.

We are deeply thankful to the Lord for the blessing this camp has been. Many of you prayed and several gave sacrificially to see this come about. You have fruit in the Highlands of Mexico!

For photos of the music camp, go to Photo Albums.

Josh Montgomery, Steve and Linda's youngest, will be married on October 6th in Guadalajara. He is marrying Melisa Rivera, whose parents Jorge and Blanca have been close friends of Steve and Linda for many years.

All of the Montgomery's children and grandchildren, as well as Linda's parents and one of her brothers, will be coming for the wedding, so we will have many visitors in the week before and the week after the "long-awaited celebration".

Josh and Melisa will live in Dallas, TX, where they will meet with Household of Faith.