Bigger than Christmas

December 12 is the day in Mexico dedicated to the Virgen de Guadalupe. It passes up Christmas in the importance of the celebration, for on or before the 12th, tens of thousands of pilgrims travel in car, on foot walking or jogging, or by bicycle to the Basilica in Mexico City. So great is the number of pilgrims that the Catholic church has designated different days for different groups of people to make their journeys to the Basilica. If everyone tried to enter on the 12th, there would be no room for the majority.

Those who cannot make the pilgrimage to the Basilica gather in great numbers in other chapels or cathedrals dedicated to the patron saint of Mexico. People wait in lines for 2 or more hours just to be able to enter the crowded chapel.


































So the celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus takes second place to the reverence offered by tens of thousands to the Virgen de Guadalupe.

The day of Guadalupe fell on the Sunday this year, so we half expected that none of the kids would show up to the class in Huejotzingo. For the first hour and a quarter, it looked like they wouldn't, but then at 4:15, Flor came with her baby and her little sister. We read with them and studied verses in the Bible that refer to the roles of angels. Then we walked the three home. We stayed awhile there to talk with Flor and Lupita's parents and also with the three children who were supposedly going to be leaving for Oaxaca and Michoacan, and then we went to visit with two ladies who have been doing a Bible study with Abraham on Thursdays.

And here's the excellent news! On Thursday, both of them chose to give their hearts to Jesus. If you also follow Him, you have two new sisters. Please pray for them as they grow and pray for Abraham as he continues to study with them.