So Strong!

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge-
10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."


This is a favorite psalm in Mexico. I would compare it to Psalm 23 in the States..."Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil..."

Over the past week I've trusted in the promises of this psalm. The promises that God is strong and will never fail us. This past week, the spiritual darkness has become more real to us. People have been telling us story after story about their experiences with spirits here. Everyone has a story. And they all believe. Spiritual warfare is real here. One of the pastors we work with lives in a house where many people have seen or experienced the prescence of demons.

But I can't say it's dangerous. Because we have God on our side. And he is STRONG. And when you read this psalm you know that there's nothing to fear. Because as many demons as there are here, there are so many more angels protecting us and fighting on our side.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:9

Lots of Smiles

I just told Casey how I can't believe it is only 6pm. I'm already so tired. This morning we drove out to the Boys Home like we do every Tuesday and Friday. I brought along my camera because we had plans to learn how to make corn tortillas after class so I decided to take some pictures while we were with the boys. Teaching them English is slow going and sometimes it seems like they might not even want to learn. But they do their best. Usually. And it's been really fun to get to know them and know that they see a difference in our lives and what we live for than the lives of their friends and the gangs they have been a part of. Here are some pics and a video of our time today.

From left to right: Cozmel, Daniel, Jaime, & Miguel

Please pray for Daniel and Cozmel to realize Christ's love for them and realize there's nothing better in this world. They the draw their gang signs in class and still talk about going back to their same old lives when they get out of the rehabilitation center. Please pray that their heart would be softened to hear and understand the words of God they're hearing each day.

After class, we drove to Rosi's house. Last night, she invited us over to learn how to make corn tortillas with her from a woman named Ruth who goes to Roca Fuerte (the church I go to each week). We got there an hour late which Rose actually thanked us for. This is Mexico. So I can't say I'm any expert tortilla maker but it was a lot of fun.

Ruth...She was the expert tortilla maker!

That's my tortilla Sergio's eating. Doesn't it look good!

Ricardo being silly for the camera

Funny Story of the Day...

Actually, it's the funny story of yesterday...



Every Sunday I take care of the chiquititos (chee-kee-TEE-toes). That means the little little kids. About the ages of one to three or four. Usually there's between five and eight kids in my class. We play with playdough, sing songs, play musica instruments, read a story from the Bible, color or whatever. It's pretty fun. As long as I don't have a crying child. They drive me crazy. I'm not good at handling crying children. Just give me a crying child and I know immediately I don't have or currently want kids.



Anyways, the funny story doesn't have anything to do with that.



After I service ended, I went upstairs to see what everyone else was doing. We have the kids classes downstairs and church service upstairs. The worship team and pastor and his wife and all of their kids were all talking and hanging out at the front of the room. I walk up there and Rosi (Pastor Ricardo's wife) walks up to me with a pair of scissors in hand. I knew exactly what this meant. All summer she had been bothering me to give her some of my hair. Always half joking and always with a big smile on her face. I though she was just kidding at first but she was serious. Instead of saying yes or no, everytime she would ask, I would say, "Tomorrow". (I learned that little trick from Rick!) But this time there was no getting around it. So, I sat down in the the front pew of the church...and she cut it! It wasn't too much. Probably a quarter inch square. That sounds like kind of a lot, huh? After she cut it, she ran down to her house, hot glued the top end together and put it right in her hair! It was so weird to see all of them handing this long piece of my hair around and saying how pretty it looked on her. So weird!



But that got me thinking...maybe I can sell my hair! I'm thinking it's a pretty good idea...

Happy New Year!

So I wanted to share some pictures of my New Year's with you guys. We invited all of the churches to the Second Floor to have dinner. It was so much fun to be mingle and laugh and joke around. And the dinner was delicious. Faustino made birria which is a popular soup here. I told some of you guys we were going to put goat in the soup but that didn't quite fit the budget. Here, a goat costs about 1,000 pesos which is about $75 and one goat only feeds 30 people or so I think. So we had birria with beef which was still great!

Inside was packed with people. Here's a picture of people eating. There was about the same amount of people eating outside.
Reynerio (waving) and Faustino (in the back). They were the chefs of the night.

After dinner we started the fireworks. Rick was the master firework lighter of the night. Here's a picture of some of the kids hanging out downstairs watching the fireworks.

And the grand finale was lighting our Christmas tree on fire. While we were in the States we left it outside to dry out and it lit right up! The flame got higher than the Second Floor. It was sweet. And hot.
Here are some of the kids watching the crazy flames of the Christmas tree.

After dinner and the fireworks and Christmas tree, we cleaned up a bit and then went to a church service. Most all Christians here go to a church service just before the new year strikes. To reflect on the blessings of God the year before and ask for his blessing in this coming year. And to surrender this coming year to him and to his plan.

Overall, it was a very good New Year's with lots of good friends.

Happy New Year to all of you guys and your families.

Blessings

I'm Back

Hi!

Just wanted to let you all know I'm back in Mexico. Safe and Sound.

Right now we have a group from North Carolina with us. I already knew a couple on the team because they came over the summer and it's been fun to see them again and catch up. That's one thing I've been finding a lot of fun...seeing people again that I got to know a little bit over the summer.

This group is building a house right next to Iglesia Aposento Alto (Francisco's church). They've been doing a great job and getting it done very fast even though it's a relatively small group.

I'm very happy to be back in Mexico. When the group went to the construction site this morning us interns went to the Boys' Home to teach English. We could tell they didn't really want to have class. They never really do. So we just decided to play volleyball. They knew the rules pretty well. We all had different opinions on some calls but it was lots of fun. And a beautiful day. I have to say I am thoroughly appreciating the weather. It's been sunny and a high of 70 or 75. Just beautiful.

Well, we're off to dinner. Then to church at Aposento Alto.

Please just pray that I would continually grow more into Christ. That I can learn from His Word and apply it to my life. And the Holy Spirit would work mightily in my heart. Because I can't do it on my own. That's for sure!

Love you guys!!

ps. Thanks to all of you guys who are reading this humble little blog of mine. When I was home so many of you told me you were keeping up with my blog and praying for me when you look at my magnet. It surprised me and it means so much. So thank you! And keep it up!

Hermana Sarita

In Spanish that means Sister Sarah. At church everyone calls each other brother and sister. And I freaking love it when they call me Sarita. I think it's my favorite nickname ever.

Roca Fuerte had our very first women's ministry meeting tonight. A woman there called me Hermana Sarita and it was funny because it was the first time she met me and was already calling me that but I think it's because she just heard Rosi call me Sarita and picked it up. Anyways, tonight went really well. I was really tired before I even got there and a small part of me hoped no one would show up so I could go home and go to sleep. But there were 8 women total. I'm not really a woman according to Mexican culture. Once you're married, you're an adult. That goes the same for guys. If you're 30 but not married you are still called a youth. I know. Crazy. Not a concept Americans (me included) can easily grasp.

Tonight, there was a "woman" who kind of blew my mind. She walked in with two kids in tow and sat next to me and I didn't think she could be much older than 19. Her name is Mary. We got to talking and I came to learn that she is 17 years old with a husband and two kids. A two year old and a one year old. Can you say wow! She was beautiful. But now I know why women look so much older and more mature than their actual age!

But I had a lot of fun tonight at the women's ministry meeting. We had coffee and cookies and just sat and talked. We went around and everyone shared a little and it was really cool to see a little into their lives. It's so hard for me to break down those walls at a service so this was really neat.

Pray for the women of Roca Fuerte to be bright lights for Christ in their homes and in the communtiy. That they would know their worth and power and purpose in Christ.

Micro Madness

So I have to take the Micro to and from Spanish class now. That means I take a bus to school. But they're not like the public bus transportation we have in the States. Have you ever heard of the short bus? For students with special needs. Well, here, there are hundreds of short buses painted white driving around all day. My first experience was yesterday. Granted, I'd been on the micro once before but I was with four other interns and a friend who lives here and he talked to everyone and did everything for us. So, yesterday was my first time by myself. I got on fine. No problem. I happily rode it for a good twenty minutes. Then it came time to get off. I forgot to tell you that the way you get on and off is different here too. To get on the micro, you just stand anywhere on the side of the street and they'll pull over to pick you up. There are no real bus stops. That goes the same for getting off. You can get off wherever you want. When you want to get off all you do is say "Bajan" which means something like stop and they'll pull over. So I said, "Bajan aqui, por favor" and I hear a teenage boy in the back repeat me. I'm sure because he was mimicking my accent. But it was kind of funny. Anyways, I'm slowly getting used it. One of my friends offered to give me a ride on his friend's horse so I didn't have to take the micro. I think I'll stick with the micro. :)

I spent all afternoon with Rosi yesterday. I took the micro to their house after class yesterday because Casey and Kourtney went to the States. Rosi and I made fish tacos, painted a wall in her house (purple!), and talked and laughed a lot. For some reason there were tons of flies in her house yesterday afternoon. They just covered the ceiling. So we got some big sheets of paper, rolled them up, lit them on fire and held them up to the ceiling so the flies would fly away and out the door. It was pretty nasty.

This Saturday, December 6th is our first women's ministry meeting at Roca Fuerte. Please pray for Rosi. I think she's pretty nervous. She really like working with kids but she has a harder time working with women older than her. I think because she's been hurt in the past. She told me yesterday that a woman from the neighborhood came up to her at church and told her that since Rosi is so you she doesn't have the wisdom or ability to teach anyone else anything and the woman said she didn't have anything to learn from Rosi. Rosi is 26. So you can pray for her. That God would give her love and wisdom in how to lead these women. That she would have confidence in the gifts God has given her and not doubt because of her age.

Missing Home

Today was hard.

It's the first day I've really been bored. Nothing to do.

We were supposed to go to the States so switched around my Spanish class schedule but it ended up that we couldn't go because the car we needed to take went into the shop on Saturday and isn't done yet.

And last night I was in a bad mood because I was just getting frustrated not being able to understand and speak Spanish. Sometimes I feel good about the level I'm at and then other times I just can't seem to get through a sentence. I spent all afternoon yesterday with Rosi, Ricardo and Perla. We went to visit a boy from Durango (the area Roca Fuerte is in) then we walked around Walmart and a little shopping mall, and got hamburgers and ate in the car infront of a convenience store. It was fun to spend so much time with them but I just got so frustrated by the end not being able to talk to them the way I want.

So that bad mood has carried over to today since I really didn't get to see anyone or do anything besides grocery shopping and studying Spanish. This whole sitting around thing has really made me miss home and friends and family.

I miss you guys and I love you. Please keep praying for me and my Spanish and just living here in another culture and new people.

Accion de Gracias

Otherwise known as Thanksgiving!!!

And that's today. It's been a very chill day and I'm really liking it. I got to sleep in which was very nice. Then I took a cold shower because the pilot was put out by the rain last night. I talked to family which was very fun. Decorated and watered our Christmas tree. Made some rice. Did my Spanish homework. And that brings me here.


And it's beautiful outside. We've had a lot of rain over the past couple nights but the days are gorgeous. We woke up yesterday to find a bit of a disaster on our patio because of the rain. There was a makeshift shade thing the pastors built and gave out under the weight of all the rain gathering in the tarps.




In just a few minutes we're going over to Rick and Tammie's to peel potatoes for dinner tonight. We're having the classic Thanksgiving meal plus the tamales Laura's family (my Spanish teacher) is bringing.

I hope all of you have a fabulous Thanksgiving. I send all my love!

My Weekend

This past weekend was eventful as every day is here. On Saturday, Casey, Kourtney and I went to have a late breakfast with my Spanish teacher, Laura. She is such a sweet lady who loves to talk and laugh and get to know people and she tells it how it is. We had pancakes, yogurt, eggs, bacon, tamales, juice and coffee. Much like the States. Except the tamales. We ended up staying about three and a half hours just because we were having such a good time. Laura and her family are also going to have Thanksgiving with us at Rick and Tammie's house. Please pray that we will show the love and grace of Christ to her. She grew up in the Catholic church here in Mexico but was disenchanted with the legalism and was very hurt. This relationship God has developed between Laura and her family and Rick and Tammie and us interns is really neat and exciting.

After breakfast we went to Walmart to buy a gift for a baby shower. Saturday night we hosted a baby shower here at the Second Floor for Mary (Francisco's wife). Rossy and Mini (a woman from Mary's church) decorated the Second Floor with balloons and table cloths and baby shower signs and it looked really nice. The down side was that not many people showed up. But we still had a lot of fun and blessed Mary and her baby on the way. It's a boy and his name is going to be Francisco. Just like his daddy.

Sunday was church, of course. Rossy asked if I would take the little kids (ages 2 and 3) while she took the big ones. There were five of them and we went in the downstairs of the church. We colored and played with toy instruments and I read them a story and sang a song. Kourtney said they could here me talking upstairs. I hope they didn't hear me singing! I had a fun with them.

And I would write more but I have to go to class in 25 minutes and just realized I didn't do my homework!!!

Love you guys!

Saltwater Showers and Street Parades

Today was another interesting day in Mexico.

We woke up to another day of no water. I didn't take a shower yesterday or the day before so I decided that this was not going to happen again. I needed a shower. So we went to Agua Caliente (a name of one of the beaches) because I knew there was a campground there that would let us use their showers. But there's a catch. It's saltwater. And it's a little chilly. But I am now clean.

On the way home we ran into a slight problem. There was a parade blocking about a mile of the highway live on and that we need to take to get home. It was a huge parade for the Mexican Independence Day. There were thousands of people in the street. Cheerleaders, gymnasts, old ladies tossing around a volleyball, a drumline, 20 or 30 NICE classic cars and trucks, children dressed in Mexican "revolutionary" clothing, semi-trucks full of high school kids and live bands, horses, and so much more. We saw less than half of the parade go by. Before the parade started we were just walking down the street and looking at everyone in the street waiting to start. At one point, Kourtney said, "I think we're drawing more attention than the parade." We get a lot of funny looks around here and that's not going to change. But I find it pretty funny sometimes. Below are some pictures of the parade from our balcony. It started right outside the Second Floor.

After the saltwater showers and the Mexican parade, I spent the rest of my day doing my Spanish homework. I have so much more to learn. Slow and steady wins the race!

New, Fun Adventures

A few things I didn't expect to experience in Mexico:

1. Removing the fat and skin from 80 pounds of chicken


2. Amost having to go dumpster diving in piles of rotten food and garbage and swarms of flies


3. Having a car hit the building we live in


4. Buying a Christmas tree


5. Driving a big old construction truck with children riding on the hood, roof, bed and trailor screaming "Viva Mexico!"
   

I want to explain a little more about number 5. Yesterday and today are the days they celbrate Mexican Independence. I thought it was sometime in September but they have so much pride here they have multiple independence days! I think this one is just celebrating a different battle. Anyways, we gussied up the truck with balloons and streamers and hauled children around Durango (the neighborhood of Roca Fuerte which is where I serve). The kids dressed up like revolutionaries back in the day with their sombreros, mustaches, guns, flowing skirts, fancy hair and all. I have to tell you I was very, very nervous to have children riding all over this car that I was driving and responsible for. But all went well. Halfway through the neighborhood the horn gives out. I scream to Rossy, "El horno esta roto!". Only to realize in my Spanish class today that I was saying the oven is broken not the horn is broken. No wonder Rossy and Perla looked at me funny! From that point on Perla and I just made beeping/screaming noises to draw all the attention. Rossy made pozole (a Mexican soup with corn, onion, lettuce an chicken) for everyone to eat after.

Rossy drawing on Isaac's beard

Perla and I in Ricardo and Rossy's house

Once again, I ask that you keep praying for me. I know your prayers are strengthening me and giving me wisdom in new situations each day. Pray for my continued growth in Spanish. Pray that I can begin to build solid and meaningful relationships in Roca Fuerte. That I would be BOLD to step out and use the little Spanish I know to meet people and get to know them and their families. Pray for health. We've had a few people sick these last few days and it really wears on your ability to function and do ministry.

Pictures with my Pops

Hi friends,

I like pictures and I know you do too. So I wanted to post a few of when my dad was here. If you don't know he did the coolest thing of taking time off work to drive me all the way down to Ensenada and hung out for a couple days. The first picture is in the car in Mexico. The drive to Ensenada follows the coast all the way down and it's beautiful. We drove my dad's 1966 Skylark down there and it was great weather. A little cold at times but great. We got into Ensenada last Monday at about 4pm west coast time. The next picture was taken on the way to dinner that night. We went to the best taco stand in Meneadero...Poblano's. The picture is of Kourtney, Casey, and Rafa who rode in the back seat on the way to dinner. The Skylark wasn't too happy with the extra weight in the back and bottomed out a couple times but we made it. The last picture was taken at breakfast the next day. We went to this cuagmante (I think that's how it's spelled) stand right down the road from our apartment. Cuagmante is a seafood soup they eat for breakfast here. It has shrimp and octopus and other seafood. It tastes really good but there are a few things you have to close your eyes for before you eat them. The soup comes in a big, white styrofoam cup and with tortillas.

Tonight, I'm going to a prayer service at Roca Fuerte. I'll be working with this church very closely for the next year. Each of us interns were assigned a different church to do ministry with. I'm so excited to be working with Ricardo and Rossy. I'll go to service at Roca Fuerte three times a week usually. Sunday morning for church. Wednesday evening for midweek church. And Friday evening for prayer service.

After the prayer service tonight we are having a surprise birthday party for Perla. Rossy's little sister. She's turning 16. Kourtney and I made a cake for her this morning for her mordida! They're going to have a fire outside of their house and music and it should be lots and lots of fun. I'll try to take some pictures to show you guys.

I love you all.

Please continue praying for me.

• Please pray for me as I begin doing deeper ministry with Iglesia Roca Fuerte. That I can build deep relationships with people in the church. And that I would have the wisdom in where to step in and help. I'm not here to save the church or lead any ministries for them. I'm solely a support to provide them with resources and ideas and help raise up leaders and encourage people in the church to take become involved and take ownership of ministries in their church.
• Also, please pray that my spanish would improve more and more every day!

Skype

Don't get used to me posting so often. I'm just doing it as often as I can and when I actually have stuff to share.

So I just downloaded Skype. If you have Skype, hit me up. My Skype name is roney.sarah. If you don't know, Skype is a program you can download for free online to make calls using your Internet. Calls are free from Skype to Skype and a couple cents a minute to call landlines or cell phones. This is what I'll mostly be using to talk to all you guys. Leave a comment or email me (skaroney@hotmail.com) your Skype names so we can chat it up.

I have my first Spanish tutoring in just an hour! I want to get this language so bad!!!!

One Group Down

This has been a great weekend. It's been really fun to get my feet wet with groups again and slide back into it all. After the distribution and dinner on Saturday, we went to a soccer game between two of the churches. Iglesia Roca Fuerte beat Iglesia Rosa de Saron. Sunday we went to church at Rosa de Saron (Pastor Reynario) in the morning and Aposento Alto (Pastor Francisco) in the evening. Today, we hemmed up curtains for the apartments, went shopping in downtown Ensenada and had a final dinner and debrief together at Rick and Tammie's. The whole weekend was very fun. But I am very happy we don't have another group coming tomorrow as this group leave like we do in the summer. We have a break of about two weeks, I think.

I start Spanish classes tomorrow with Tammie. 2:00pm. I'm very excited. I want to get this language so bad. Please pray for me in that.

Also, please pray for my family. For God's direction and blessing and mercy. It's hard to be away when crazy things happen but I know He is in control.

With love.

First group!

So I'm here. It almost feels like I never left. I've had so many warm welcome backs. It's so good.

My roommates for the next year are Casey and Kourtney. Casey if from a small town in NY and Kourtney is from New Jersey. Not a small town but definitely smaller than Vegas! Kourtney's birthday was a couple days ago and here are some pictures of her mordida at Rick and Tammie's. Mordida means to take a bite of the cake but it's code for get your face shoved in the cake. She looks good, huh?

We got our first couple groups this weekend. A group of 12 from Big Bear came late late on Friday night. It's a group of high school students and leaders. They're actually from the church Neal went to in Big Bear. This morning, after breakfeast they built a bathroom for Iglesia Rosa de Saron (Pastor Reynerio). They put the whole thing up in just a few hours. Painted and all. After lunch (my first sandwich of my year here. many more to come.), I took them to La Montana (The Mountain) to do a distribution of clothing, socks, and blankets to the men and women and candy, juice and animal crackers to the kids. It felt so good to be there. It was fun to start right where I left off. Leading groups on my own. For a very short period of time. Before coming to Mexico I really never thought I had much leadership skill. God has shown me here and stretched me in ways I'm not comfortable to learn about myself and grow.

The other group was from San Diego. They got into Maneadero (the city I technically work in) at 10:30 am and left at 4:00 pm. Just a quick day trip. They did a distribution at Iglesia Rosa de Saron of clothes, bags of beans and rice, juice, candy, and toys. I only spent about 45 minutes with them but their church is a great support to the ministry here and it was good to have them.

Here's a quickish breakdown of how a distribution works. Because there will be more to come. We try not to do a whole lot because we don't want the people to become dependent and cause more harm than good. We're very careful. First, we do songs. Worship songs for both kids and adults. Then, there are a couple testimonies of what God's done in the lives of people from the group. This group did a skit after that. Then, there's a short message about Christ. Finally, prayer.

It was so neat to see 20 or 30 women walk forward and ask for prayer. Tomasa (Pastor Faustino's wife) and girls from the team walked around and prayed for people in both Spanish and English. Total there were 40 or 50 women and over 70 kids. There were just a few men because most are working out working or just out. But I wanted to share some pictures of my day with you. So this was my today...

I'm reading my Spanish/English Bible and loving it! Thank you guys so much for praying for me. Please pray for unity in love among Rick and Tammie and us girls. Also pray for unity in the church here.

I love you guys!

Last Week in Vegas

I've had a great last week at home.

My mom came flew in from Minnesota and we got to spend a lot of time together. My brother's 21st birthday was on Tuesday. We did our first shot of vodka as a family. I played bingo with my mom and brother. I went to Club Christ one last time. I was prayed for by the entire South Hills Church family (thank you guys!).

All that's left to do is pack and say some last goodbyes. Then I leave bright and early on Monday, November 3rd.

I want to say thank you to all of you for your love and support through all of this. Just reading my blog means a lot to me. Don't be scared to leave a comment. I like to know people are reading this stuff.

I love you all!

Here are some pics of my family and two girls from Club Christ (Mikaya & Kwestchen)

Thank Him.

Wow. Less than two weeks. I get little butterflies and an uncontrollable smile when I think about it.

Thank you guys for all of your prayers for me as I prepare to go and as I get my finances in order. I've been doing a lot of praying and I have to admit I've been getting a little anxious about when all of my support is going to come in. Last night, I got a call from a friend who decided to support me quite a bit. When I thanked them they were silent for a moment. Then they said, "Don't thank me, thank God."

So a HUGE thank you to God that I am now one third of the way to my goal of $14,000. And I know He will quickly provide the rest of it before I leave. We serve one powerful, loving, knowing God.

If you think God wants to use you to help me get to my support goal, let Him use you. Use the resources He has given you to bring Him all the glory and fame. We are truly making Jesus famous! You can find the address to mail checks to in the right column of my blog in my Profile area. Be sure to put my name in the Memo.

Praise God and thank Him today for what He has given you and what He is doing in your life.

(The picture was taken in the community of Iglesia Roca Fuerte (Strong Rock Church) on a warm sunny day.)

The October Newsletter

Rick and Tammie just sent out their October newsletter and I wanted to post it on here for all of you to read. This way you can get a quick look at what ministries we will be beginning this next year and the things God is doing.


Greetings,

We have two weeks left before we head back to Mexico. It has been a great time of connecting with churches and spending time with family. While we are up in the States, Rick needed to see a doctor. He thought he might have Gallstones. It turns out that it is not Gallstones, but it may be a couple of other things. This week Rick will get a blood test and a stress test to find out what is going on. Please pray for him, that the doctors will be able to figure out what's going on.

While we have been up in the States we have been blessed with a donated truck from Michael & Val Wedman and East Hills Alliance Church donated a bus. What a huge blessing, we are so grateful for the generosity of people and many still continue to give money for ministry expenses. For those of you who were with us last summer, you know how many people we crammed in each car to get youth to a beach outreach. This will also make it easier to transport groups.

We are all excited to go home and begin another year of ministry in Ensenada. When we return home we have several new projects we want to start with the ministry. We would like to open a coffee house and drop in center at the second floor (where our groups eat) to youth in the community. We would like to offer free Internet, games, and coffee for youth to drop in. The churches have started to work with the youth, so we want to have creative opportunities to share the gospel with the lost. With the children we will be working alongside the churches to build a healthy children's program, possibly with awana. 5 of the 6 churches are now officially Alliance Churches, with 5 official Alliance pastors. Pray as we are trying to come up with ways that they can make money and pastor their churches, we are looking at offering them micro finance loans. At this time we have two other pastors that are working toward becoming Alliance pastors, and hopefully by next summer we will be able to build them a church in the community they are working in.

We have been praying for a facility to house the groups. This next summer we have four weeks of at least one-hundred people each week. As the ministry has grown our needs have grown, God has been faithful and supplied our every need. We are Gods servants in Ensenada and want to make sure that we are in His will. One of the options is buying a facility that is ready to move in and house groups, or purchase land and build. Our need is for this summer to have a place large enough to accommadate the groups, and to be wise with our decisions. Our summer is just about fully booked, we continue to be amazed at churches who have sacrificially come alongside the ministry. One of the new opportunities we have is Praxis students serving with us for one year. Not only will they be a huge help for us, but they have the opportunity to actively be involved in missions work. We have three girls who are willing to come work alongside us, and help us do some of these new projects. Pray for Kourtney, Casey and Sarah that they will have an awesome experience and that they would be sensitive to Gods leading in their hearts. Fransisco is still continuing to run the Bible Institute at our second floor, the people are so hungry for spiritual growth. As we focus on this next year, our desire is to continue to seek Christ and do His perfect will in all. Finally, continue to pray for Juan and the boys home. It is open with three boys, but Juan continues to run into problems with the government. The government always looks for ways to get money, it gets pretty frustrating.

Thank you for faithfully praying for us and coming alongside the ministry in Ensenada. We are excited to start our fourth year in Mexico, and excited to see what God is going to do. We are humbled to be His servants, working with these Alliance Churches expanding His kingdom. We will continue to be creative and intentional using groups to help the churches, and build relationships between the United States/Canada and Mexico.

Blessings,
Rick & Tammie

The Count Down Begins

Three weeks from today I'll be in Mexico.

Oh my goodness. I'm so excited!!

I called the two girls (Casey and Kourtney) I'll be working with a couple days ago. We are all doing the same year-long program called Global Ventures Praxis through the Christian and Missionary Alliance. They are super nice. They arrived in Maneadero just after I left. So by the time I get there they'll have been there for about two months.

Funny story: I got my teeth cleaned today. I decided I don't really want to go to a dentist in Ensenada so I better get it out of the way while I'm here. But it was really funny because the dentist and dental hygenist couldn't get over the tattoo on the inside of my lip. They kept looking at it and making comments and jokes. It made visiting the dentist a little more enjoyable!