Feliz Navidad!

Wow...it's hard to believe that Christmas is here! For those of you who grew up with the usual snow on the ground and Boney M version of Feliz Navidad playing on the radio in the background, you would know what I mean! (Thankfully...) there is no snow on the ground! And well, no Boney M...I think I'll survive! But Christmas in Mexico will be exciting as well! Here's a look back on the last couple of weeks and what's been keeping us hopping here since our trip into the Copper Canyon:

Putting on a church roof...

Over the past two years a church in Guaymas, Iglesia de Dios has been tirelessly working at building a new church building. A church from Crystal City, MB helped purchase the bricks over a year ago and they have been busy ever since putting up the walls. This past November a good friend Jeremy and his wife Alana came down from this same church in Crystal City with the intent to construct a metal roof for this church, a fair sized undertaking considering it is about a 30' by 60' building. And over the past couple of weeks with the help of various teams we were able to get the roof done as well as the electrical wiring for the building. Praise God! We are pretty exciting in seeing this project come to a completion! This was probably one of the first churches that I remember visiting during my first year here. I remember it quite distinctly because it was a dark, dingy, small building built of wooden pallets nailed together with a tin roof. I know that God never puts much thought into where He "takes up residence" (especially considering that His first "earthly home" as a human was in a stable of all places!) But I remember when we visited as a team, we had to cram into that place to find a place to sit! If nothing else, a larger place of worship as definitely in order!

So, to see this project come together after the sacrifice of not only a number of teams but seeing the church itself pour hours of fund raising and hard work into it as well, has been a blessing! One evening, after the first pieces of tin were fastened on, we took part in a moving evening service with them where the pastor himself was in tears overwhelmed at seeing the project coming to a completion. An elderly man shared, through tears as well, how for years he had been praying he would live to see the day when a new church building could be built to replace the old shack they used to worship in, something worthy of the God they served!

Backpack Ministry

The San Carlos Community Church, a local body of English speaking believers takes on a ministry of giving out backpacks every Christmas season. This year well over 600 backpacks were packed and distributed to different local churches in the days leading up to Christmas. Each pack is filled with some school supplies, age appropriate toys and most importantly a Bible. We visited about five or six different churches having a bit of a program with the children and then handing out the backpacks.

One boy in particular sticks out in my mind, really bringing into perspective the whole idea of gift giving in this Christmas season. He was the son of a pastor whom I had gotten to know well over the past couple of years. After receiving his backpack he came to me super exciting over one of the things in particular that he had received. He shared, almost with tears in his eyes, how he had been praying for this exact thing. Any guesses as to what it might have been? How about this: a little LED flashlight...nothing special - something you could probably pick up at a dollar store, but this more than made his day! Kinda helps to put into perspective the whole idea of gift giving...or perhaps more so gift receiving! Also kinda neat to see how God takes care of us and even these smallest desires that we have! How much joy He must have had in answering this boy's prayer of faith?!

Looking ahead...

A couple of days after Christmas things are really going to start hopping as a youth group from Winkler, MB arrives. Along with them and the financial help from their church we will begin one of the bigger projects this winter: building a pastoral house. I look forward to keeping you posted not only on the project but also the stories along the way of how we see God moving!

Thanks so much for the prayers along the way! Feliz Navidad!

Beautiful Feet

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news..." (Isa 52:7). Who ever knew that pedicures could be so enjoyable? I don't know that my feet are that much more beautiful than they were before but what a blessing it is to be a part of what God is doing, and to share this good news that we have!

As you can tell by reading this post, we made it back, safe and sound with many adventures and stories of how God was at work. We traveled in a caravan of 4 motorcycles, 2 quads, and a Tahoe loaded with equipment and about a 1,000 Bibles and covered about 700 miles altogether. God kept us safe, with no major mishaps or accidents...the odd bruise and a bike or two may have taken a spill but nothing major!

I hope to get some pics posted soon but in the mean time I just wanna share a couple of neat examples of how we saw God moving. Our second night we found ourselves in the town of Chinipas, where we have been in the past. It's a hard town with no evangelical church, just the local Catholic church. Though the people are warm and friendly, we have always felt that there is a different kind of feeling in this town, with many obvious affects of the drug trade. In the past it has been hard to set up a film, not getting the necessary permission to do it in a public place. But this year, God really opened the door. Within in minutes of talking with the Comisario, the town mayor, we had not only permission that evening and the evening later on in the week when we would be on the way back, but he said he would make arrangements with the Comisario of the next town we were going to as they were good friends. And so we were able to set up in the town square. I'll share a little later how God moved the second night we were there.

From Chinipas we set out to an neighboring town called Temoris to work again with a pastor we've gotten to know well over the past years and each year I've come to appreciate more and more. He's more of a quiet, almost timid pastor but the passion he has to reach out especially to the small villages around his town is very evident. Temoris itself is located high up in the mountains, at about a mile in elevation. The first night we were there the pastor took us deep into the valley on one side of the town, not very far away but it took us about an hour to make it down the road. With no electricity we were the only attraction in town that night! I have to say I haven't seen the stars like I did that night for a long time! The next night, the pastor took is in the opposite direction down another valley, even a little further away. This was an even more remote village, once again with no electricity. It was inhabited by local natives with whom the pastor had also been working with over the past years. This was a particularly chilly evening, probably somewhere between 10 to 15 degrees and these people where showing up in barefoot sandals! (the only footwear they had...) I was sitting there in many layers, a toque, socks, shoes, gloves, barely keeping warm myself!

From Temoris we went to a town called Urique in the Urique canyons, one of the deeper valleys in the Copper Canyon area. The road arrives literally at the canyon edge and the town is at the very bottom. It's about a vertical mile from top to bottom and it took about an hour of back and forth driving to make it from top to bottom...25 kilometers to travel that vertical mile! But we were once again able to work with another wonderful pastor who took us to several villages surrounding the town and share the Gospel with them as well as hand out Bibles.

From there we backtracked and made our way to Chinipas once again where the final showing took place. The mayor had made arrangements for another showing in the town square and had also spread the word. As we were setting up, though there were people around, there wasn't the usual crowd coming together as there often was. As we were setting up, for whatever reason God had put it in our hearts to pray specifically for the men, that the men would be drawn in and come. However, at the point we had decided we would start, there wasn't a single person in the benches. But as soon as we pressed the play button, the people started to trickle in to the point where the seats were close to full. And sure enough among the children, there were more men than usual who were intently listening, some inconspicuously on the edge, others right in the center of it all. At the end, one of our team members shared and invited those who wanted to respond and there was one man in particular praying to receive the Lord as his Savior. He came up in the end as we invited those who wanted a Bible or a pair of reading glasses. When asked he came up and was asked if he wanted a pair of of reading glasses he emphatically replied that no, he had come for a Bible! Praise God for these changed lives! And now we can only pray for these new believers and for a town like Chinipas in particular, that God would raise up a church in this town!

Though we didn't give out all the Bibles, there are many more who now have a copy in their hands. Pray that the truth would grab a hold of them and change their hearts! After sharing the Jesus film in eight different locations, pray that those who made a decision to follow Christ would be encouraged and built up in their faith. Pray also for those pastors that we worked with, that they too would be encouraged in their work!

I'm hoping to get some pics posted soon so there is a little bit of visual accompaniment to these stories. Also, thanks so much for your prayers along the way...the preparation of hearts through prayer is as important as sharing the truth of the Gospel! We could see God working in many ways, and we owe a lot of that to you!

Just a Moment to Breathe

Looking back

We've just made it through our first team - a group that comes down from a church in Phoenix twice a year. It's a bit of a whirlwind trip for them with one day of travel here, three days of work, and one day to return. Backing up just a bit, a couple of weeks ago we had a couple from Crystal City, Manitoba whose church raised the money needed to put a roof on a church here in Guaymas that has been in construction for the past year or so. This was probably one of the first churches that I work with during my first year - a very much alive church and a joy to work with. Their building however, was nothing more than wood pallets nailed together and a flimsy metal roof. This church from Crystal City raised the money to buy the bricks for the walls, which the church has been working on building over the last year. Now, over this past week, with the help of this couple as well as this team from Phoenix, we have been working at putting a roof on the church.

This last Sunday evening the team was able to take part in their service and what a service it was! Several members of the church were so overwhelmed seeing the building come closer and closer to completion. Perhaps one of the most touching moments was when an elderly man shared how for 15 years it had been a dream of theirs to see a new church building put up. He shared how he prayed that God would not take him until he could see a new church built. And he shared, overwhelmed with tears not only with the fact of having a new building but with the desire to reach out into their community.

Looking Forward

And now onto the next adventure! The bags are back, and the bike is nice and shiny (for now...) and tomorrow morning a group will be heading out into the Copper Canyon in neighboring Chihuahua. 4 motorcycles, 2 quads, and a 4x4 Tahoe will be heading into the boonies loaded with Bibles and equipment to show the Jesus film in remote mountain towns. You never know what God has in store but you always know that it is going to be an adventure seeing how He will move in people's lives. Just about every night we will find ourselves in a new town, some towns we've never been to before and others that are familiar from past years. In some towns we already have contacts with existing churches, and others we will be looking for new contacts, new churches with a desire to reach out into their community.

I can't tell you how much we as a group covet your prayers on this trip! Not only for safety as we are traveling some treacherous mountain roads and traveling into some more intense drug-growing country but just that God would already be working in these towns, that the existing churches would be encouraged, and that we would be desponible, available for whatever God has in mind!

If you want to follow along with us in prayer, keep these places in mind:

• Day 1 - Alamos: showing a Jesus film.
• Day 2 - Chinipas: a hard town with no evangelical church; pray that God would raise up His church in this town!
• Day 3 - Temoris: we've been here a number of times and worked together with a wonderful pastor; pray for their continued outreach into their community.
• Day 4 - Bahuachivo: a town we've passed through on previous occasions. Pray for a new contact, that God would open the doors to work with an existing church that has a passion to reach out to their community.
• Day 5 - Ceracauhi: another town we've passed through on previous occasions. Pray again for God to lead us to an existing church in this community.
• Day 6 - Urique: A beautiful town at the bottom of a canyon more than a vertical from top to bottom! Pray for the pastor and his church as we reach out into their community.
• Day 7 - Urique: We will spend some time in neighboring villages - pray for opportunities in these villages.
• Day 8 - Chinipas: on the road home again, perhaps making some connections again in this town.
• Day 9 - San Carlos! Con el favor de Dios returning safely to San Carlos!

Thank you to the faithful prayer warriors! We wouldn't want to embark on a journey like this without you! I'll be looking forward to sharing what God does on this journey and how He will answer your prayers!

Changing of the Seasons...

I've come to adjust to a whole new concept of what it means to have the seasons change! It used to mean going from beautiful, sunny summer to chilly, leaf color changing fall, to freezing cold, white winter, to muddy, and wet spring, and all over again. There was no question about what time of year you were in or really what to expect, although sometimes you would get snow super super early and then the next year wonder if Christmas would have even a single snow flake!

Well, the seasons down here in Mexico are as follows: Nice with a little chilliness in the evenings and mornings (winter), to hot during the day and pleasant during the evenings (spring), to just plain blazing hot 24-7 (summer), to not quit so hot (fall), and the cycle starts again! It's pretty much the same sunny weather year round with different levels of heat throughout!

What is also odd is what I now consider to be "cool" or "chilly". For example, these nights we are having currently are a "cool" or even "chilly" high teens, hovering close to 20 degrees, and for you American folk, that is Celsius, not Fahrenheit! When would I ever have thought that 18 or 19 degrees could be considered cool?! How quickly we adjust to our environment!

Enough about the weather, though! As you can tell, we are in the midst of season change out here as well, and that includes not only the weather but our seasons of ministry. The team has arrived back at the centre including Art and Brenda, the couple who runs the mission centre as well as two new staff members, one of which many of you probably know, Shorty. For the few of you who may have not met the legend Shorty, he's a young man who's here from San Carlos and spend the last year and a half up in Manitoba studying and serving at Winkler Bible Camp through their Crosscurrent Discipleship Program. Prior to that he was somewhat of an adopted son here at the centre, helping out, learning English, and hanging out with the teams during the winter. For those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting him have witnessed his craziness and passion for life and you won't soon forget him! Having recently come back from Canada after spending more than a year there, there are always lots of adjustments to be made coming back "home", especially when home is as different as Mexico is from Canada. But for those of you who have kept him in your prayers at any point, it has been so encouraging to see how God has been shaping and forming him! To see the spiritually growth that he has taken place in his life is wonderful to see! I mention this first of all to give God the glory and second of all to encourage you to keep praying for him as God puts him on your hearts. One could imagine the shook of spending so much time in a culture different than your own and then suddenly being reimbursed in your own culture. And then you throw in the intense discipleship experience that takes place in a place like camp and then suddenly being taken out of that situation and put back into your "normal" life and to try to bridge that gap!

As a team we are in the midst of preparations for the coming busy season of hosting missions teams. It all begins in November with the first team coming in on the 13th, a small group from Crystal City, Manitoba that will help to construct a roof for Pastor Pablo's church. It's a building that has been in the process for that past couple of years. Their former church was constructed with wooden pallets as the main material and with the help of some teams that have come down as well as many hours of work on the part of the church, their building is close to being completed.

Thanks for the many prayers that have been offered up on my part and on the mission's part! You are all a huge part of the ministry that takes place here! I've gotta go and refill my cup of coffee here…it's a chilly 18 outside right now...

My ways are higher than your ways...

It's interesting how God works things out, sometimes, the people He brings across your path. This past little stretch has been that way - some people in real need, not just physically but spiritually.

Summer is always a hard time here in this area. Jobs are scarce, not just with the economy the way it is, but as many people depend on tourism in this area, summer is a slow time. This morning as I was on the way to Guaymas, about 15 minutes from the center, along the highway I came across this young lady also on her way to Guaymas, walking along the highway with her 2 year old daughter. Oddly enough, I had come across her before a couple of months ago at the exact same spot, carrying her daughter, in the heat of the day, making the 5 mile walk to Guaymas cause she didn't even have money to take the bus. Her name is Rosa and she is more or less on her own with her daughter. Her husband has left her alone to care for her child and she has not heard from her family which lives a fair distance away for a long time. Over the course of the past couple of months we've been able to help her out at times with food and had some opportunities to encourage her, share the Lord with her, and pray with her. But it is difficult when there is little if any work and one is looking not only after herself but a two year old as well.

Another crossing of paths has taken place with a young man named Jesus. Wanting to learn English, he has come along with another couple to the English church, San Carlos Community Church faithfully for the past couple of months. He is 15, living in Guaymas, and having recognized me from some of the work we've done in their community, quickly sought me out to see if I would teach him English. So, for the past couple of weeks he's faithfully make the trek out Tuesdays and Fridays to spend some time with me here at the center. Between helping me out with some work here and sitting down in some not-so-official English classes, he's slowly been learning and soaking it in. Last Tuesday when he came over, our conversations took on a different nature as he started sharing some of his past and some of the difficult things that had taken place in his life, many years ago. Our conversations turned towards God's plan for our lives, and the hope and healing that He alone can bring. Jesus hasn't yet committed his life to Lord and through things that have happened in his life is really searching for meaning and understanding. To this point he hasn't turned to the Lord, but pray that he would! Our English lessons have been great opportunities to talk about all kinds of things, but pray specifically that God would touch his life, and that he would see the hope and purpose we have in Jesus!

As you think of them, please pray for both of these people, Rosa and Jesus. You never know what God has in store, but we know that God is not wanting "any of these....should be lost!" Matthew 18:14. Thanks for your continued prayers!

La Paz En La Tormenta

Many of you have met Pastor Omar personally. We have had the privilege of working together with him and his wife over the past couple of years and they have become my adopted Mexican parents. They even gave me a key to their house if ever I need to get away for a bit and they are not home! They are the pastor couple that we built a house for this past spring. It has been awesome to see not only their pastoral heart, but also the heart of their church for their community.

Over the course of the last couple of months, they as a church, have adopted a Christian rehabilitation center that takes people in for a period of several months who battle with drug and alcohol addictions. Once a week, members of the church put on a service with worship and a teaching and yesterday I had the privilege of joining them. The service began with a time of worship as we sang along to some videos with words followed by a time of teaching. What a powerful reminder of God's grace and hope it was seeing these men and woman pouring out their hearts in worship! There was one song in particular, a favorite of theirs, called La Paz En La Tormenta, Peace in the Storm. There's no doubt that many of them had faced and perhaps were facing some pretty serious storms in their lives but they were passionately claiming that peace that only God can bring, no matter what our circumstances are! Following a time of teaching we spent some time also praying for those who had some specific needs. It's always inspiring seeing the heart that so many of the churches here have for their communities, for the people around them!

On a side note, for those of you who know Pastor Omar and his wife Cristina, Cristina fell and broke her foot a few weeks back and has been confined to bed rest ever since, never an easy task for anyone, much less her who is always up and about, visiting people. Her spirits were up yesterday but at times I think she's been somewhat discouraged as one could imagine! Pray for her when you think of her!

Let's get acquainted once again...

Welcome to this blog! Not sure if you are a new comer or perhaps you're an old friend who was once well acquainted only to be disappointed by the lack of attention I was giving you... It's true, as I look back to the previous posts I realize, one post for the year of 2009 just isn't going to cut it! I'm not going to be holding your attention for very long, am I, with one post a year!

So, with that I say, welcome, or perhaps, welcome back to this blog! I've made a few changes, adding some new features like an up to date photo gallery, a video gallery, and some other info to hopefully help give you a little better idea of what I actually do here and what goes on here at the mission center. I value your support so much, in words, thoughts, and prayers. The last part of Eph 4:12 says, "so that the body of christ may be built up...". Scripture mentions the body so many times, describing how we are connected with each other, working together. And that is definitely the case here too! As we work together with the local body, the local churches, we cannot, I cannot do it without YOUR help, YOUR prayers. You are an integral part of the work we do here!

So as my commitment to you, I will keep this blog updated regularly, so you can better be involved in the ministry here! It was a blessing seeing many of you over the past couple of weeks as I spent some time in southern Manitoba! There were many more I would love to have seen! I'm back in San Carlos, enjoying the slow pace of a HOT Mexican summer, though it hasn't been too slow here at the center! Just about every weekend is booked with local Mexican churches, not to mention the ongoing day to day activities here at the center.

Check out the blog! Look back regularly! I'll be sure to update once every week or two for sure. To those on my email support list, I will send an email out every time I write an update, and will do my updating here on the blog rather than in email form. If you want to be on this email list, just send me an email. So thanks for stopping by and look forward to getting better acquainted!

Hello, my old friend

I'm a little embarrassed to look at the date of the last post here! In my defence, I decided to move away from the blogging idea the past year and just do email updates, but I've realized that emails are so one dimensional! So I'm gonna take up blogging again! Just to give you an idea of whats going on these days, I'm counting down the days, well, almost hours now before I board the plane and head back down to Mexico! I've enjoyed the last two weeks here taking in a beautiful Manitoba summer "looking forward" to returning to plus 40 temperatures with high humidity! The last two weeks have been a huge blessing hanging out with family and friends but it will be good to get back to normal life in Mexico.

Here's a couple of highlights over the past couple of weeks here:



Jody and I, craving some fresh flour tortillas, attempted, key word being attempted to master the art of tortilla making...I think the variety of creative shapes says it all!



Enjoying being outside... wiener roasts, marshmallows, etc...I forgot how wonderful summers in Manitoba really are!



Playing endless hours of cards with the family!



Reattempting to make flour tortillas, this time bring in the expert, Shorty!



You could say that with the expert help we were more than just a little successful!

As I'm heading back to Mexico, things are staying fairly busy at the center with local Mexican groups coming in almost every weekend, using the center as a retreat center. I'm looking forward to being back and will keep you updated here on this blog! So check back regularly for updates and also photos which I'll post to give you more of an idea what this last year look like.

God bless! Dios te bendiga!