The members of the legislative assembly of the federal district of Mexico City voted to legalize abortions in 2007. Since then, abortion business have done approximately 34,000 abortions and those numbers are likely set to increase — though they have prompted a backlash in other Mexican states.

The legislative assembly, in April 2007, approved a bill that legalized abortion within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.

The Archdiocese of Mexico City’s weekly newspaper, Desde la Fe, cited more than 23,000 abortions as of April 2009 and that number how now reached 34,000 according to a new Los Angeles Times report.

The site reports that a backlash against the Mexico City law has been felt throughout the country, but much will hinge on the state laws passed during this sexenio (the six year presidential term) and the next occupant of Los Pinos (the Mexican equivalent of the White House).

Mexico City on Tuesday formally put on the books a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, with Mayor Marcelo Ebrard rejecting demands he veto the controversial measure.

The law was published in the official government newspaper, and will go into effect in 45 days. It was passed by a comfortable margin by this sprawling capital’s legislature last week.

Mexico City is also the only place in the country that allows abortion on demand.

Section I. Religious Demography

The country has an area of 1,220,663 square miles and a population of 109 million. According to the Government’s 2000 census, approximately 88 percent of respondents identify themselves as at least nominally Catholic. There are an estimated 11,000 Catholic churches and 14,000 Catholic priests and nuns. An additional estimated 90,000 laypersons worked in the Catholic Church. Groups that constitute less than 5 percent of the population include evangelicals (Pentecostals, neo-Pentecostals, and Pentecostal Roots), “historical” Protestants (defined by the Government as Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Nazarenes, Mennonites, and others), Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Muslims, and Jews.

The General Director for Religious Associations of the Federal Secretariat of Government (GDAR) registered 169 evangelical and traditional Protestant associations. The exact number of evangelical and other Protestant churches and pastors is unknown, and statistics on membership remain scant. Official figures sometimes differ from membership claims of religious groups. For example, the Seventh-day Adventist Church claims a nationwide membership of 600,000 to 700,000 persons; however, in the 2000 census only 488,945 persons identified themselves as such. Also in the 2000 census, 205,229 persons identified themselves as Mormons, whereas Mormons claim membership of approximately 1.2 million. Protestants are concentrated primarily in the south. In the State of Chiapas, 21.9 percent of respondents in the 2000 census identified themselves as Protestant; however, some Protestant evangelical groups claim a much higher percentage. The National Bar of Christian Lawyers reported that in November 2008 they requested that the Interior Secretariat include a category for evangelical Christian in the next census but did not receive a reply.

The Jewish community claims approximately 50,000 members, most of whom live in Mexico City; there are also congregations in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana, and Cancún. There is a small Shi’ite Muslim population in the city of Torreón, Coahuila and an estimated 300 Muslims in the San Cristobal de las Casas area in Chiapas. Some indigenous persons in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Yucatán practice a syncretic religion that mixes Catholic and pre-Hispanic Mayan religious beliefs.

In some communities, particularly in the south, there is a correlation between politics and religious affiliation. A small number of local leaders reportedly manipulate religious tensions in their communities for their own political or economic benefit, particularly in Chiapas.

Mexico City received 10.4 million tourists in 2009 and expects that figure to increase to 14 million next year, helped by events such as free public viewing of World Cup games, according to city officials.

Last year was pretty ugly for tourism (worth 3.3 billion USD to Mexico in 2009) with the recession and the swine flu.

Dear friends, feliz navidad from Mexico City, where children are putting out their shoes hoping for gifts from “the three kings” and we are celebrating the arrival of the True King!

As you read this letter, the inhabitants of Mexico City are preparing for the massive holiday exodus that will leave the great megalopolis lonely, blissfully free of smog and traffic, and looking in to family and up to God. The gates of the UNAM have swung shut for the year, and students are enjoying some vacation, their academic stresses pushed into the back of their minds until school begins again at the beginning of February.

It has been a full semester on campus, beginning with our servant team retreat just before classes began, continuing with our large group, small group, and one-on-one activities (as well as special social, service, and prayer events) and culminating in our Christmas feast. Thank you so much for supporting this ministry as it reaches out to UNAM students with the gospel for the sake of Christ’s church and kingdom!

In our large group, Peter preached through the book of Acts, focusing on the amazing spread of the Gospel as the power of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and rule shook the Christian community and crashed through cultural and geographical barriers to reach the ends of the earth. We were encouraged by the power of the Gospel which enabled this marginalized band to live and die with radical faith, hope and love – ultimately conquering an empire!

In our three small groups, students studied the supremacy of Christ in a world of competing philosophies (Colossians/Humanities Faculty), the supremacy of Christ in a world of hunger and thirst (Gospel of John/Sciences Faculty), and the supremacy of Christ through all of scripture (foundations of the Christian faith/Central Quad). Two of these studies were led by pairs of students who are growing in their ability to study Scripture and to guide others in observing, interpreting and applying God’s word.

In our one-on-one meetings this semester, we continued to talk and encourage students as they struggled with loneliness, depression, dating and marriage decisions, family conflicts, changing majors, adjusting to university life, forgiveness, growing in reading Scripture, and leading and loving others. God is at work bringing students to faith and helping them grow in it!

Some big events this semester have included:

• A prayer and praise night and a costume party organized and executed by students
• A retreat in which we took 24 to the neighboring state of Querétaro for lots of fun and learning centered around the theme “lost in the middle of the movie” brought to us by Rev. Steve Robertson, a church planter with Mission to the World in Guadalajara.
• A fantastic final Christmas party in which we celebrated the birth of Christ and Ruth’s life-impacting ministry among us as she shifts her focus away from campus and toward translation this next semester.

Some big requests as we finish the semester include:

• Pray for wisdom and direction for Ruth as she works on completing translation of Dan Doriani’s Getting The Message and transitions toward other MTW/RUF work. Please keep giving or consider giving to Ruth this year, as her account has run a deficit and she will need funds to continue this year’s important translation and transition work!
• Pray for open doors for Peter as he visits churches and individuals in the US this January raising money for RUF at the UNAM. Pray for shared vision, generous hearts, and that Peter might be able to raise the 48% of his MTW budget that is currently unfunded! Every bit of prayer and $ support counts.
• Pray for wisdom for students as they make important decisions over the 2 month winter break that will impact who they are and where they are headed next semester (and beyond!).
• Pray for encouragement and commitment for students who are moving into our group, especially freshmen. Pray for our group to grow next semester and to find a permanent large group location just off campus!
• Pray for continued joy for students who are new in their faith, and for them to find and join churches that preach and live the gospel clearly. Pray for local churches and new church plants.
• Pray for diligence, discernment, and passion for Peter as he prepares sermons, small groups, spring break trips, and leaders for next semester.

Thanks again for supporting this ministry – may God bless you in this new year as he reaches your heart with his grace and equips you to love as you have been loved!

Peter Dishman & Ruth Martinez

National Autonomous University of Mexico

MEXICO CITY — When pressed about why Mexico is struggling in its battle with illegal-drug cartels, Genaro García Luna, the nation’s top police official, likes to put his inquisitors on the spot with a question: Would you encourage your child to become a Mexican cop?

I’ve heard of at least one student who wanted to become a cop, and he was counseled to go into some other part of law enforcement, since whole groups of new recruits are sometimes sent into ambushes through narco-induced corruption among the police.

Mr. García Luna has modeled his new Federal Police force after the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and other international agencies, with modern equipment, technology and enhanced investigative powers like wiretaps. His plan is to gradually replace the army on the drug war’s front lines with this two-and-a-half year-old force of around 40,000 cops. For now, the army is still in place, and the government won’t give a timeline for pulling the troops out.

The challenge is enormous. The average Mexican cop never made it past the eighth grade. Some can’t read or write. Many Mexicans’ only contact with a beat cop comes when they pay $5 bribes to get out of traffic stops. In some cities like Tijuana, well over half the local cops have recently failed lie-detector tests, according to one former city official familiar with the tests. In 2007, local cops in the Pacific resort town of Rosarito ambushed a new police chief drafted to help clean things up. He lived, but his bodyguard didn’t.

It’s a big job to nationalize and professionalize the police force! Read the whole article…

Monterrey Retreat
I spoke at a retreat in the Monterrey area in mid-July. I had a great time teaching hanging out with about 35 students from several different churches in the area and teaching on how God has saved us, how he is saving us, and how he wills save us. We also had the opportunity to rappel, go down the zip line, swing on the “tarzan” rope, and a bunch of other “extreme” activities!

Atlanta Training
I went to RUF staff training at the end of July, which is always a great opportunity to be refreshed by good teaching and by good fellowship and prayer with other campus ministers. On either end of the training, I was able to visit supporting churches, and this summer I was able to visit ChristChurch PCA in Atlanta and Redeemer PCA in Athens. I’m very thankful for the warm friendships with those two churches and their support of the ministry here in Mexico City!

Starting School
Before school started, we had a “servant team” retreat, in which Ruth and I and seven students studied what the Bible has to say about service, got to know each other better, and planned for serving the RUF group at the UNAM this summer. Pray for this little group of students as they grow together and love other students through RUF this semester!

Students were back on campus for classes starting on the 10th of August, and we were busy with our information table and handing out flyers during that time. At the end of the week, we had a “welcome party” at which about 30 folks showed up (in spite of the rain!), and we hope that many of these students will form part of the ministry this semester.

On Tuesday, we had our first large group at the New Life Center, which the Baptist Student Union continues to lend us until we can find more permanent place (please pray that a place would open up and that we would have the funds to purchase or rent it!). We’re studying Acts this semester, so we looked at the first three verses and talked about what Jesus has done, what he continues to do, and how we can respond. Pray for schedules to work out for more students to be able to make our 2:30PM large group time!

On Wednesday, we had our first English Club, and again had about 30 students show up to talk about “getting to know you.” In my group, I had students ranging from the first semester the post-graduate, and a number of majors represented. Pray for these groups to be sustainable as we eventually lose our intern, and for the Lord to provide other native English speakers to join in the effort! Pray also for students in these groups to develop or express and interest in spiritual things to take opportunities to be involved in other RUF relationships and activities. We’ll have English Clubs on Wednesdays and Thursdays each week. If you visit the city, we would love to have you participate!

On Friday, we will have our first ratito con la CUR, a fellowship time for RUF students and friends that is more informal, though it starts with a get to know you activity, a game, or a discussion and usually ends with lunch (it starts at 2PM, and usually ends around 4PM).

Next Week

This coming week, in addition to these activities, our small groups will begin! Please pray for groups that are forming or continuing in Philosophy and Letters, Chemistry, and Sciences. Schedules are always a nightmare to navigate at this time of the year, and apparently the swine flu scare has affected them even more! (They don’t want too many students in each class, so there are less open spaces for students to get their requirements).

OK, that’s all for now. Pray for us as we “reach students for Christ and equip them to serve” at Latin America’s largest university. Pray for excitement, connection, commitment, in these early days of the semester.