AIMING FOR CHRIST

December 2009

“Now to him
who is able to
do far more
abundantly
than all that
we ask or
think,
according to
the power at
work within
us,to him be
glory in the
church and in
Christ Jesus
throughout all
generations,
forever and
ever. Amen.”
We serve an
active and
living God,
brothers and
sisters. Here’s
how he’s
been at work Updates on John McCoy in the
in Mexico. Adventures in Missions program

Ending Spanish Class
December is the month that Spanish classes
finally came to an end. For the four of us who have
been taking them for the past six months, these are
good tidings of great joy. Since June, we have been
diligently attending classes with Tana from 9:30 to
12:30. The last part of our studies involved writing a
research paper over, and giving a fifteen minuet
minimal oral presentation over, an influential figure in
Throughout late November and early
Mexican history. Jedda did his over the Mexican
revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, Trasa over the painter
José Clemente Orozco from Guadalajara, Renato’s
being over the Argentinian freedom fighter Ernesto
“Che” Guevara. My report was over the Mexican
president Benito Juárez, who lead the country
during the years of the War of Reform, and helped
change many injustices in Mexico. Shortly after our
presentations, we had our final exams. We are now
on break here in León until January, when our
personal ministries will really start to kick up. I am
excited about the new opportunities that are
opening up here on the mission field, and I would
like to thank you all for helping me go through
Spanish classes. This is a skill that will be greatly
helpful in the future here and whatever comes next. I
will be able to share the Gospel of Christ with that
many more people!
Toy Drive
December, Renato has been heading up a
campaign to collect toys for children who wouldn’t
be able to get anything for Christmas. The church
and our team was encouraged to donate toys for
the drive, and we collected a ton of toys. So on the
19th and 20th of this month, we headed downtown
to pass out little Christmas packages to street kids.
It was a bittersweet sensation to give out these
presents, knowing how blessed I am, and how very
little these children have. After that we headed to a
very very poor part of León and handed out the rest

1
AIMING FOR CHRIST December, 2009 of our gifts. It was amazing seeing
people gladly accept gifts for their
children without pride or
appearances getting into the way.
Finally, on Saturday afternoon, we
went to a hospital here in León
and handed out packages to
children who would be spending
Christmas in a hospital bed. In
total, we handed out about 100
packages filled with toys,
invitations to church services, and
small bible tracks. This was a
great opportunity to involve the
youth of the church in reaching
out to the community.
Circus Time
While Renato has been
working on the gifts, Ivanka has
been hard at work planning a
circus event with a member of the
church named Adriana. This took
place on the 22nd, and it was a
huge success. The whole team
worked really hard on putting the
whole production together, from it’s
conception to decorations to final
skit preparation. I was able to paint
the children’s faces as well as help
out with paint for the costumes of
the circus. Here’s the rundown of
the team: Ivanka was one of the
Rag Doll assistants, Trasa was the
Sweets Lady, Ramiro was the
Dwarf, Renato was the Magician
Well, this was my first
The circus troupe
from Brazil, and Jedda was Hans
the German Strong-Man. There
was also a clown, bearded women,
a “lion” (Chihuahua) tamer,
acrobats, and of course a
ringleader. It was a great
performance and I think the
children really enjoyed it all. At the
end there was a puppet show
explaining the true meaning of
Christmas, the birth of Christ. There
were four adults that had never
been to our congregation before
that we were able to reach out to,
and we are excited to see where
God is taking events like this.
Christmas in Mexico
official Christmas away from home,
and I will admit that it was a
challenge. Being in a different
country, being 60º F outside, and
having my family so far away made
it difficult to enjoy the season. But
it has been enjoyed nonetheless,
thanks to God’s help. The sole
reason I had such a good time is
God providing an awesome church
family, an amazing missionary
Passing out toys to the
children downtown
team, and my dear fellow AIMers. I
was able to spend Christmas Eve
and Christmas morning with the
Gary family, and then Christmas
day with the Galvan family, who are
part of the church here. I had a
great time and amazing food at
both places. I hope that you all had
a great Christmas wherever you
were.
Contact Information
Email:
john.mark.mccoy@gmail.com
Website:
johnmarkmccoy.blogspot.com
Phone:
918.266.1766 (US number)
Mailing Address: !
Iglesia de Cristo
C/O John McCoy
Apdo. Postal 453
León,Gto C. P. 37001
Mexico