A December Recap

Saludos, greetings from San Carlos! They say that somehow Christmas is just around the corner. It's kinda easy to lose track of things like that - there's no snow lying on the group, there's few Christmas lights strung up, but I have hauled out the hoodie and the pants for a number of evenings. I won't share the temperature we've been going down to because I'd be embarrassed to have the Manitoba crowd know at what temperature I'm sporting such "winter" clothing.

So, moving right along, I just want to give you a quick recap of things going on over the past little while and things coming up. Here's a quick summary:

CONFERENCE

The week I got back from MB (beginning of November) we had a week of conferences, one running Monday to Wednesday on the theme of Living An Authentic Christian Life and from Thursday to Saturday where the author of a curriculum we've made a lot of use of called Firm Foundations presented it to pastors and people involved in ministry in their churches. Between the two conferences we had about 50+ participants here all week and were blessed to be able to be a part of building up and encouraging men and women from the local churches.

TEAM FROM BC

A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to host a team from a supporting church in British Columbia. I had the pleasure of getting to know a number of them two years ago, right at the beginning of my time here at CEC, when they last came down. They came down with just over 20 people and got an incredible amount of work done, painting, building cabinets, various welding projects, and did some major work in landscaping a little garden with a fire pit with a wonderful ambiance to chat with someone or spend some time with the Lord. Thanks a tonne to the incredible group of people who came down and not only got so much done but were a huge encouragement to us!

PREPARATIONS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR

Just last week we got together as the full-time staff to hash through plans for the coming school year. We are looking forward to about a dozen or so students who are interested at this point, some already more or less confirmed. This is a huge blessing as often in the past at this time we have even wondered whether there would more than a handful of students! We as a staff are excited for what God has in store. We are encouraged as team and sensing a real unity as we approach this year. Keep us as well as the students in your prayers as we continue to lay out the groundwork for this coming school year.

PREPARING CLASS MATERIAL

This has been my major focus over the past couple of weeks as I've got two classes I'm focussing on at this point, one I taught last year - Music Ministry and a new one (for me) that I have the privilege of taking on this year, Spiritual Disciplines. It has been a humbling and inspiring walk through a number of the spiritual disciplines. I think I'm pretty lucky to be able to just spend these days studying, spending time with God, and getting a sense for what He wants to speak through these classes. As is often the case, He seems to have things to say to me first, before I even think about what to share in the class. Actually, over the past year or more I've been sensing His call to a much deeper relationship with Him, something that requires an investment of our time, our focus. But God meets us powerfully when we open ourselves up to Him and that's really the essence of the spiritual disciplines, isn't it? I'm excited to be able to share that with the students and pray that they will hunger and thirst for a deeper relationship with the Lord. Pray for me as I continue to study and prepare!

BMC GROUP COMING!

I'm excited for my church, the Blumenort Mennonite Church to be sending a team out arriving here shortly after Christmas and spending just over a week down here. We're putting together the schedule, finding places for them to serve and to get to know not just the ministry but some of the students who have come through school, so that can get a feel for what God is doing here in Mexico through this ministry. I am very much looking forward to seeing them here! Pray for this time, that they would be encouraged, and that God would lead us to all the places where we can be His hands, His feet, His voice, and whatever He needs!

That's about it for now. Time is cruising by and between the preparation, the group coming, and whatever else lies between, the school year will be here before we know it. We covet your prayers in all of this! ¡Dios les bendiga!

A Day At School/Moving In!

Wish you could have been there! The purpose was to communicate the vision of our school to the local churches in the area, San Carlos, Guaymas, and Empalme. However I think we as a staff (perhaps I should just speak for myself!) came away as encouraged as the pastors if not more so!

The event took place last week Monday here at the school and Jorge, one of our teachers has been working the phones and paying visits to many different local churches, getting more acquainted with the pastors and local church leaders. It has been difficult at times to build bridges with local churches as many churches are hesitant to get involved with those outside of their denomination. When doctrinal differences get thrown in the mix and the question of "what could a school not part of our denomination possibly be teaching that we don't agree with..." can inadvertently build up walls. (I know the same issues and questions have built the same walls in Canada and the US but praise God that in many places those walls are falling down!) With that said, it has been difficult at times to overcome those superficial boundaries here in this area in the first years as a school but God is bringing down those walls.

Through a lot of legwork, Jorge was able to "confirm" around 60 local pastors and leaders interested in coming out and hearing about the school. As is often the case here in Mexico, you never know how many will show up until, well, they show up! As the time came to begin, there were about a dozen or so with people slowly trickling in. But taking a count about half an hour into the event, I counted up to 80 people, not including any of us. Wow! What a blessing to see such a great response from our local church community. We spent the afternoon with each of the different in-house teachers sharing what their respective courses were about, emphasizing a couple of things: one being the desire for transformation and not merely information; another being the Biblical-Christ centred teaching, meaning the important things are not the things that often divide us but rather knowing Christ and preaching Him to those who don't.

The pastors/local church leaders hearing about CEC

We sensed a real positive response from the pastors and even have some new student prospects from connections made. Not only that but since then we are seeing a much higher response than we have seen in the past for two conferences coming up the beginning of November to the point where we have been throwing around the idea of what to do if we run out of space with our current facilities. What a great problem to have! But personally what was probably more encouraging was not only hearing the other teachers share but also from the four past students who shared from their experiences of their time here at CEC. It was so encouraging to hear how God powerfully used their time here in CEC to seriously change them and use them in their places of ministry. And I don't write this to say, "how amazing we are as a school" but rather "how amazing God is, how He brings change to people's lives and what a privilege that we can be a part of it!"

So yeah, I wish you could have at least been a fly on the wall but I suppose reading this blog post will have to do for now!

MOVING IN

On another front, this past week I was able to move into a new place after having lived in a (albeit clean, dry and cool - when the AC was turned on!) camper for the better part of seven years. As I had mentioned earlier, we sold the camper I was staying in to be able to build this little house. A number of you helped as well, for which I am very grateful, and finally this past week I was able to pull out all of my stuff from storage and move in. It's situated on the same lot as the Dining Hall and has already been a huge blessing, having a place that is a little bit more fijo, more permanent in nature, and some more space to enjoy. A huge thanks to all who were involved in making this happen!

The house while it is still under construction

Summer Update

I've put together a more thorough update for you to get a picture of what I've been up to over the past couple of months and what's on the horizon. You can view it by clicking here or check it out below. God bless!

Praying for Benny

It's been a little while since I've connected and lots has been happening! More than I can cover in just a blog posting, so I'm hoping to put together a more thorough update sometime over the next week to let you know what's been going on.

In the meantime, I wanted to just highlight one particular need, mostly a need for prayer, but also a way that you can help financially, should you want to! There are many good things happening in Arizpe with Benny's ministry of the rehab centre as well as the church. The church continues to grow and strengthen. The members are encouraged and new people are coming as well. Being able to spend some time there every so often one feels the life and fellowship of a healthy church.

In respect to the rehab centre, there have been about half a dozen individuals who have come through now, most of them heading out encouraged and ready to step back into the real world, changed, genuinely wanting to move forward and not fall back into the traps they once knew. Of course you can be praying for these individuals, as this transition is always hard! Unfortunately a couple of those who started out in the rehab centre decided to leave partway through, perhaps because they figured they were already ready to face those same temptations head-on or because they just didn't have an interest in continuing. This too, unfortunately, is part of the struggle and happens from time to time. 

This brings me to the first major area of concern, that you can be in prayer for. Pray for the direction of the rehab centre. Most rehab centres operate on the basis of those entering in are under a "lock-down" situation, where they may come by the own accord or they may have been brought by a family member. Either way, there often comes a point where the intern wants to leave, perhaps because they want to return back to their lifestyle or just can't take the rehab experience. I know of a friend who spent some time in a rehab here locally and I remember visiting him on occasion and even after 1 month he was feeling ready to return back. However, the original agreement had been for a minimum of three months. The danger in returning back too soon is that one may think they are ready when in reality, there bodies of just begun to get used to being drug free! This is the reason for the lock-down approach. Up until this point, Benny has only been taking in people who come entirely on their own will and are allowed a lot of freedom (including leaving, if they wish!) And a couple of those who have started have done just that. He's got many contacts of people who want to bring their loved ones but it would have to be in a lock-down type situation, because of their types of cases.

This brings us to another issue. The facility where the rehab centre is being hosted right now is a large gymnasium with bedrooms and a kitchen. This is the same gym where the church that Benny is pastoring meets for their services. If the rehab centre were to take the direction of more of a lock-down type facility, the church as it stands now would be somewhat displaced. So we are looking into alternatives, ways we can make both work. Benny's desire is to move in this new direction but we are seeking the Lord's guidance in this, for the good of both the church and the ministry of the rehab centre. Please pray along with us as we seek God's direction in these very important ministries!

 I'm always inspired by Benny's example as he faithfully serves the Lord. To think of the past that he came from, the violence but also the prosperity and how he was able to leave all behind. Now faithfully serving the Lord, I know there's no other place that Benny would like to be! But with it comes its challenges. The church is fairly small and the people are poor. There isn't a lot for Benny to survive on. He takes on odd jobs when they are available but in reality between the rehab centre and the church, he already has more than a full-time job! The situation is compounded with his three children whom he has to provide for as well. Here lies the other opportunity...if you would like to help Benny out financially, he is needing to help with his children as they enter into a new school year. Right now he doesn't have the means and these things need to be taken care of in the next couple of weeks. If you would like to be involved and help him out, let me know and we'll make it happen. Meanwhile, keep praying for Benny! Look for an update coming soon! Dios les bendiga!

Has it already been a month??

It already feels like a distant memory.  I suppose that it has already been a month since we said farewell to our fearless band of students.  Perhaps fearless was a bit of a strong word!  Faced with the prospect of leaving behind the safety of the classroom and heading back into "the real world", there's often some apprehension or at the very least, a sadness at leaving behind people you have come to know deeply and love.

Check out the video below sharing some highlights of the school semester from the students themselves and also a brief update from Benny:

This past weekend I had the chance, hitting two birds with one stone so to speak, heading out to see Benny in Arizpe, and also connecting with several of our students who live in the area.  On the way I picked up one of our students, a young man about my age, who has been overseeing a young, growing church in Hermosillo.  He's gotten right back into the midst of things, doing an excellent work with the youth, as well as with the adults of the church.  Despite being only about a year or so old, this church has grown to over 50 people, with a strong presence of young people.  If you met Gerry, you would quickly see how God has used him powerfully.  He is sensitive to God's leading and has a personality that just draws people in.

He came along with me as he wanted to see some of the other students that we would be visiting.  So, he, along with Jorge, a fellow teacher and member of our staff, crammed into my little Ford Ranger with the windows down and made the three hour (hot!) trek up into the mountains from the city of Hermosillo.

Once in Arizpe we stayed with Benny and were once again encouraged to see how God is continuing to use him and how both the church and the rehab center are seeing exciting fruits.  The first young man to enter the rehab center back at the end of last year was baptized two weeks ago and had since returned to his hometown, having completed his four months.  He had left excited and ready to serve God wholeheartedly.  While he was still in the rehab center, he had expressed interest in coming to CEC to take the first year course - he had a real desire to serve God and to grow in his relationship with God.  We will see where this goes but in the meantime keep him in your prayers as he takes on "the real world" with a different, changed perspective from his time in rehab.  I can't imagine how difficult it might be returning back to one's life but we trust that God, who began a good work in him will carry it on to completion!

Jorge, Gerry, myself, and the four guys currently in the rehab center in Arizpe

We visited a student named Alex, a young man who is actually planning to continue his studies in Canada this coming fall, going to Miller Bible College.  He's not even 20 yet but we know that God has already and will use him in powerful ways.  Heading out of school his greatest desire was to begin some small group studies, using some of the technics and material that he had learned from CEC.  As we visited with him he shared with us his plans and preparations to begin doing just that in a small town close by, where him and others are working at planting a church.

On our way back we drove through a small town where another of our students came from, Jesus.  We spent a couple of hours connecting with him, seeing where he was at, and seeing how we could encourage him.  Jesús as well left school with a lot of ambitions to get plugged into his church especially in the area of ministry with the youth and with the men.  Jesús was a little discouraged however with doors not having opened to get involved in these areas as quickly as he would have liked.  For whatever reason some of the local leadership in the church wasn't as gung-ho as he was to implement some of the new ideas, and Jesús was feeling a little discouraged.  We encouraged him as best he could, helping him to remember that his family, whether it be providing physically or spiritually is always the first priority over any ministry, and also that God would open the door in His time, in His way.

Jesus, Gerry, and myself meeting with Jesus in Banamichi

Pray for our students as you think of them!  Right here we saw examples of students getting right back into the think of things, some beginning new ministries, and some feeling discouraged with the slowness of change.  It's often a difficult transition leaving the comfort of a place like a school and returning back to "normal life" with a changed perspective.  This often presents challenges but they are necessary ones!

By the way, I wish I could say our return was without incident but it wasn't!  Already on the trip up, my truck's voltage gauge was showing a slightly lower than normal voltage reading, but it was holding steady!  Being in a small remote town I didn't have a lot of faith that in the course of two days I would be able to get it looked at and taken care of so we set out back for San Carlos with a hope and a prayer that we would arrive.  Well, this wasn't to be as a couple of hours down the road, as the voltage was slowly going down, my truck finally died.  And of course it decided to die in the middle of now where, without cell service, about 15 km from the next major town.  Hitchhiking into the next town (leaving my faithful companion Jorge with the truck), Gerry made a call to some people he knew from the church who actually made the hour and a half trip with a pickup and flatbed trailer to pick us up.  So, three hours later we returned to my truck in the darkness, loaded it up and brought it to the place Gerry was staying.  Behind close to midnight, we called it a night and wondered what we were going to do the next day, being a Sunday.  How would we get this taking care of.  But God had it taken care of.  The people who had given us a lift knew of someone they could call who came by that very Sunday morning.  Within half an hour he returned with my alternator rebuilt and by noon we were on the road!  And between gas for the tow and the rebuilt alternator I spent around $80.  Not bad for an unexpected change of plans!  God bless!

What can I say?

Update from Benny - Rehab Center in Arizpe

Greetings from San Carlos!  I'm enjoying a change of pace, thought it was a bit of a weird feeling hitting Monday and knowing that there wouldn't be any students around!  We definitely miss them and are thinking/praying for them as they get settled back into their homes and ministries.

Benny has written a brief update which I wanted to pass along to you.  Thanks to those who wanted to be involved in their outreach for tomorrow, Día de los Niños.  More help was offered than what was needed, so some of you will just have to hold on for the next opportunity!  Here's Benny's letter:

Greetings from Arizpe, Sonora from your brother in Christ, Benito Hernandez.

We want to inform you of some of the activities that we are carrying on, firstly we want to inform you that when we first came to this place there were two people that were meeting here (mother & daughter) who helped us to find some of the people that had left the church for various reasons, people that we began visiting at their homes and inviting them back to the services and thus some of them have returned and are actually a part of the Church once again. Other activities that we have had is evangelism. We’ve have gone door to door, house by house where some people have showed much interest but they’re still afraid what others may say. Others who accepted the invitation are now attending some of the services. Also we’ve had some meetings in the town plaza where the people have come to listen to God’s word. The young people from the Church have helped presenting shows and dramas. Also we’ve been visiting Buena Vista, a town close by from which we had a good reception. The people came over to us and thanked us for going there. They told us that they were very thankful and blessed and asked us to return, something that we will keep doing since we had such a positive response by the people there. 

Other activities that are occurring in the Church are that Monday is a day of prayer in which we pray for the different needs each one has and for the growth of the Church.  On Wednesday we have a discipleship group where all are learning ways to  share the Gospel. It focuses on teaching how to reach out to people who are lost and on how to share God’s word with them.  On Thursdays we have an evangelistic meeting where we ask each member to bring a guest. On Fridays we show Christian films as an outreach ministry, also with the purpose of evangelism. On Saturdays we are going to neighbouring Buena Vista to continue in the work there.  We’re at the point of forming a study group in this town, since some of our Church members live there and their neighbours are excited about what is going on there, telling us that they would be interested in some Bible studies. For this reason we are thinking of forming a Bible Study group in Buena Vista. Finally, on Sundays we meet at 10:30 am. Our meetings are for singing and praising our Saviour Jesus Christ and the study of His Word. The children also receive a Bible Message. We continue to have a Biblical message every morning that we share with the town through two loud speakers. We do it as if it were a radio program, praying for the town, the people, their farms, etc. We have got good responses from the people, some have come closer to listen, others have made positive comments, we have seen that many want to come but they fear what others may say; we are sure that God is working in their hearts and those persons that still haven’t had the courage, we believe firmly that God is touching their hearts.

Also I want you to know a little about the work we are doing in the Rehabilitation Center. We actually have four young people that are in the process of rehabilitation. These youth are being instructed with the Word of God. Their activities are focused in the Biblical instruction where each morning they have a devotional discovering firstly the counsel of God, then both individual and group Biblical Readings, prayer, fasting and a discipleship class on how to incorporate themselves into society giving them the Biblical tools for living a Christian life, knowing that without God we can’t do it alone . Other activities that they do is sports where they have time to build themselves up physically, being active through exercise and sports. Also we have visited the Junior High School talking with the kids about drug prevention and their consequences where our youth share their testimonies making the youth reflect on the impact of drugs on their own lives. I follow this with some photos of the different activities aforementioned.

And without more, awaiting to hear from you, I say good bye, but not without blessing your life in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I ask that you will join me in prayer that the Lord will give us strength to follow Him in His work.

With love, your brother Benito Hernandez

MAY THE PEACE OF CHRIST THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING REIGN IN OUR HEARTS,  AMEN

Here's some pictures of things happening in Arizpe:

A Church service

The inauguration service for the Rehab Center: Lugar de Encuentro, Vida Nueva - Meeting Place, New Life

A service at the village of Buena Vista

The four young people currently in the Rehab Center.

A Bible study at Benny's house.

God bless each one of you and thanks for your prayers!

An Easter Reflection

First of all, I hope you have all had a wonderful Easter season, and that every year you celebrate it, the significance of Christ's death and resurrection are becoming something more and more real for you!  We spend a lot of time (and rightfully so!) looking back on the personal cost to Jesus, all the He had to go through up to and on the cross.  It's so good to reflect on the path of the One who has gone before us leading up to the cross, and realizing that our path, as His disciples, leads to the same place - a death to our selves.  But the great news on the third day points to a wonderful, glorious future for us!  And we can have this confident hope overflowing within us as Paul writes in Romans 15:13:

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Looking back on this past semester, I've got to wonder where the time has gone!  We are on the final countdown, with 3 days left to go!  Friday holds the final graduation ceremony and we are expecting about 100 guests celebrating what God has done in the lives of the 9 students.  Last weekend we had the opportunity to go out altogether to serve in two different communities, one community a small agricultural village down some paved roads in very bad condition, which happened to be the home of one of our students, and then to a small remote fishing village, the home of another one of our students.  The students have been preparing elements for children's and youth ministries including testimonies, dramas, puppets, etc. which they had the chance to present in both of those communities.  It really was a pleasure to watch them and to see them being stretched and used, perhaps in ways that were outside of the comfort zones.  All students, even a couple of the pastors in the 50's and 60's were involved even with the puppets, (definitely a stretch for some of them!) and were willing to serve in whatever capacity, whatever the opportunity that arose.

Our students and staff

Looking back on my own experiences this semester, I'm very thankful for the things God has been doing in my own life.  It has been a very different year for me personally than the previous year.  God had other things in store for me, that I wasn't necessarily aware of (or ready for!)  Perhaps a second kick at the can allowed for more confidence, a greater level of comfort with my fellow staff, and more opportunity to get involved.  Those opportunities came largely in being more involved in the classes of the students.  I had the opportunity to teach a class called Music Ministry, focussing on what it means to worship and how to effectively lead others (well, that was the intention anyways!)  I have done some teaching and preaching in the past, though my experience was quite limited!  And though I have done it in Spanish before, this took on a whole new level, having to teach some each week.  Those first classes, my heart was pounding pretty much since the night before each class right through till the end of the class!  The preparation was always rewarding but the actual teaching still always felt like an uphill battle.  By the end of this semester, I can say that I actually got to the point of looking forward to the next class, (a miracle in and of itself!)  I thank God for these opportunities to step out of the boat, onto a windblown lake, and seeing Him proving Himself faithful as He never left my side.  I trust and pray that the students learned (even half) as much as I have.  I also had the opportunity to take in a couple of other courses taught by some other teachers which I may have the opportunity to teach in the year(s) to come.

One other quick update on the Arizpe front, Benny is doing very well with the church.  He keeps telling me of new people going to the services, some who have returned after not having gone for some time and others who have never gone to church.  That is exciting to hear!  He has a third person in the rehab center which is also great.  There is an opportunity for those who want to be involved.  At the end of this month (April 30) is Dia del Niño, Children's Day, which is a pretty big day in Mexico.  Many churches use this day to have activities aimed towards the children.  Often this involves carnival type activities, parties, and giving out little gifts (like stuffed animals, small toys, etc.)  Benny has asked for help to get some small gifts for 30 children, the amount of children he is expecting that day.  If any of you would want to be involved, let me know!

There are of course many ways you can keep us in your prayers including:

* Of course, Benny's ministry, the rehab center and the congregation he is working with
* Our final week - for the students as they start thinking about transitioning back to their homes and ministries
* Us as staff - wisdom, discernment, love, courage, all the things we need to be vessels of Christ for these students

Thank you for your faithful prayers!  God bless you for them!

Let it rain...

Every time I look at the calendar, I can't believe how quickly this year is going by! We are well over halfway into our semester, with six weeks remaining. A new week starts and before we know it, they students are out the door for their weekend ministry assignments once again! Yesterday evening (Thursday), as we often do, we spent some time sharing communion together. Earlier the students had spent a number of hours in the desert, something that takes place once every couple of weeks or so, where they take nothing more than their Bible and maybe a notebook with them and spend some one on one time with the Lord. During our evening service a couple of the students shared about their desert experience and how they heard from the Lord. One student in particular shared how he came back full of joy and refreshed, having been very much encouraged by his time with the Lord. Though they were out there for several hours, he shared with joy written all over his face how the time just flew by and before he knew it it was time to come back. He also shared how he was just pleading with the Lord to give him the ability and words to preach His Word, especially in the church. Alfredo (the student) comes from a difficult past of drugs, etc. but the Lord powerfully rescued him from that, and now Alfredo is an evangelist at heart. He has no fear in going up to anyone and sharing the Gospel with them. He will tell you himself that he's probably struggled more than many of the others in some classes, catching on to everything, but far more importantly is seeing his heart fully engaged and being touched by the Lord.

On another front, exciting things are happening in Arizpe with Benny. He came out to visit us last week with a heavy heart. Although things were going well with the rehab center and with the small church congregation that he's been overseeing, there has been some opposition from a couple of people, one from a person who had been involved with the church in the past. Basically it came down to rumours and attacks towards the church and towards Benny. Though in spite of all of this, the congregation itself has rallied around Benny and even affirmed him as their pastor.

Benny shared how one day, during his daily morning devotion over the loudspeaker, he felt that he should pray with the people and ask for God to send rain. So he told them that the following day they would pray for God to send rain, this being the dry season and the farmers in need of some moisture.  The next day came and he encouraged the people to have faith in God and ask Him to send rain. During the day as he talked with people, they would ask him, "Do you think it's going to rain?" And he would encourage them to have faith in God and ask Him. As the afternoon wore on he continued to encourage the people and inside he was pleading with God to send some rain! Sure enough as the afternoon wore along, some clouds started to from.  At around 4:00 a few drops start to fall. By 5:00, a good steady rain is falling and it didn't stop until 5:00 the next morning. One could just see the excitement in Benny's eyes as he shared this story - and it was nothing to do with him but everything to do with God and His Goodness coming through, showing everything who He is.

We are very encouraged to see how God is at work among the people in Arizpe and using Benny. Keep praying for the ministry there. There are two people in the rehab center at this point, and they are both doing well. Pray for the church that it would grow in passion and numbers, that more people would come to know Christ through their witness.

Pray also for us at the school. Our desire is always to see this heart transformation in the lives of the students, above all else. One of the teachers shared last night during the time of communion how easy it is for one to leave something like Bible school as a "Pharisee", having an intellectual knowledge of many things but what we really want are true disciples, who leave with a more intimate relationship with the Lord. God bless!

A church service in the rehab center gym.

The church holding a public service in the community soccer court.

One of the young men currently in the rehab center.

Transformation, Inauguration

Four weeks in, eleven to go.

How did that happen?  The first days seem to move rather slowly as we go through orientation, getting to know people, etc.  The first day or so everyone is still rather reserved, even quiet but it doesn't take long for the ice to break and before you know it, almost a month has gone by and days start to rush by!

Back (L to R): *Guillermo, Gerry, Jesus, *Jorge, Alex, Arturo, *Ryan, Alfredo, *Howard, Joel, Juan, *Eric
Front (L to R): Jessica, *Angelica, *Susan, *Katie, Rosy, Noemi, *Roxana (*staff)

It has truly been a great first month of classes in so many ways, getting to know the different students, walking alongside them in their studies and seeing how they are responding to the Spirit's work in their lives.  What a privilege for them to spend 12 hours a day deep in God's Word and see the Spirit use it to make some deep profound changes in their lives.  One of the focusses in the beginning part of each school term is to spend significant time studying Spiritual Disciplines, and not just studying them but incorporating them into their lives.  Prayer, Meditation on Scripture, Solitude, Confession, Simplicity, Fasting, and the list goes on, tools that we have as Christians to grow in our relationship with the Lord.  Ephesians 4:13 is the goal (and also happens to be the theme verse for the school):

...until we all reach unity; in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God; and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

Spanish uses two different words for the word "knowledge", the word saber when it talks about knowing something as in intellectual knowledge, and the word conocer when it talks about knowing someone, a personal connection.  The word used in this passage of course is conocer implying not a meer intellectual knowing but a personal meeting and getting to know "the Son of God".  What a difference this approach makes, not just attaining a bunch of facts but getting to know a Person!  And when that happens, one cannot helped but be changed!  It's this change that we are looking for, not just in the lives of the students but we want to see in our own lives as well!

I've had the opportunity of sitting in on some of the classes (including Spiritual Disciplines) and also had the opportunity to teach a couple of the last classes.  I've also started teaching a class on MMusic inistry.  It's been exciting (and a little intimidating!) preparing for these classes, especially since they are being taught in Spanish (yes, the Spanish part of my brain is having to grow daily!)  It's always exciting to open up God's Word and see what it has to say to us.  Please pray for me as I continue with the Music Ministry classes as you think about it!  Pray that above all it would be the Spirit speaking and not myself!

Rehab Center Inauguration

This past Friday (a week ago) Howard and myself had the privilege of heading up to Arizpe and celebrate with Benny and the church there the official opening of the Rehab Center! He already had one young man who came from Guaymas and had spent two weeks there. During the service he actually got a call from an acquaintance in Hermosillo who knew of another candidate. He has several other people in mind from his home city of Hermosillo who are candidates. One of the obstacles that often exist is the entrance cost. Though it is not much (basically something to help cover the cost of food during their stay), for some it is too much. Typically friends and family will help cover this cost for a loved one but sometimes this is not possible, or they can only pay a portion. Benny's desire is to not turn anyone away, especially if the issue in coming is only the inability to cover this cost and so we are looking for ways (and trusting that God will provide!) so that no one would be turned away from getting the help they need to overcome their addictions! Since the weekend, Benny has received another individual, a 15 year old young man. We are excited to see the ministry in action and the Church rally around Benny, excited about the ministry!

Please pray for them as they minister to these people, and that God would bring those who need help to their doorstep! I have mentioned many times to Benny of how there are many people in many parts of the world praying for him and this ministry and you can't tell how much this encourages him! Thanks for your many prayers and we will look forward to sharing with you how God works through them to transform the lives of those who go there. Thanks for all your prayers for us as a staff and ministry! It is encouraging to know that there are people all over the world praying for us. God bless!

Week One

How are we already through the first half of January?! This holiday season has flown by and we are already full steam into the new semester of classes with today (Wednesday) being the third day.

I trust that you all had a very good and blessed Christmas season. I had the opportunity of spending it with most of my family and a group of 37 extra people whom they decided to bring along with them! My parents lead a team of 37 people from their church in Winkler, MB to spend just over a week here in San Carlos on a missions trip. 37 people is a lot of people to keep busy but they came ready to work hard and also ready to be a blessing to the people here! They came with backpacks and pillows to give away, suitcases and boxes full of clothes, a program for the children, and also plans to give out hotdogs and a Coke to the people in the different places we visited. On four different occassions we set out for different locations in Guaymas and the surrounding area, working together with some local contacts, different pastors and people who are involved in ministry. Early afternoon the entourage would roll in and we would set up for several hours of a carnival for the children with different areas including games, facepainting, songs, a Bible verse, balloon blowing, and things like that to interact with the children. In the meantime a trailer was opened up and the adults would pass through and take home items of clothing for themselves and for their family. As the afternoon wore on, the BBQ's came out and the hotdogs were thrown on the grill. We fed anywhere from a couple of hundred people to as many as probably 500 in one of the villages. As the sun would begin to set, a screen and projector were setup and a movie about the life of Jesus was shown. The evening concluded with one of the local pastors or ministry leaders presenting the Gospel message and giving people an opportunity to respond. Apart from this the team would spend the mornings in work projects from painting to helping a local ministry out in a construction project and things like that.

I'm exhausted just writing about it! But it was a wonderful way to spend Christmas as a family, and it's always neat to see how God uses experiences like this not just in the lives of the people who the team came to serve here in Mexico but how He uses them to touch the hearts of those who come to serve. Thanks to all of you from Bethel who gave of yourselves so selflessly! You were a blessing to those whose lives you touched and an encouragement to me as well!

A NEW YEAR

That brings us to a new school term which is already underway. In this culture, it's always an uncertainty planning ahead! Probably a week before the classes were supposed to start we had three confirmed students who had their application and references already sent it, and then of course a fairly long list of "possibilities!" Well, Sunday evening rolled around and we were up to 10 students, the same number we had last year, and there's actually one more who is supposed to show up later on today. As Howard our director has mentioned, we have been praying for these students ever since the last ones left, back in April, and we trust that God has brought these particular people here for His purposes.

As in past years, there is a great variety in the age and backgrounds of these students. The youngest is a 19 year old young woman who comes from a small, isolated fishing village about an hour northwest of San Carlos. She comes having been quite involved in her church's ministry and with a desire to learn more. Not far down the road from her comes a pastor who is probably in his late 50's or early 60's. He has been in the ministry for a number of years already, pastoring a small church in a small agricultural village and comes with a desire to study the Word of God in a deeper way than he has had the opportunity to do so through any type of "formal education". It's a wonderful mix of young people who are just figuring out how they fit into God's plan and older, more mature people who have already been serving for years in different ministry capacities. One man shared yesterday of his intense struggles with drugs and alcohol and how the Lord saved him from that lifestyle, taking away the tremendous weight that that lifestyle left on his shoulders.  He shared with us yesterday his hunger to learn and his desire to just share with those who don't know how the Lord set him free.

Over the course of the next months you'll come to know a little more about these students as I hope to share with you how God works in their lives through the course of this school term. The goal, as we've been sharing with the students, I think is best put by one of our teachers: it's not about the information as much as it is about formation. Of course as one studies the Word of God there is lots of information that one can and should take in, especially as we study the background, the history, even the geography, etc. surround any given passage. But much more important than that is how the Word forms and shapes our character, the internal formation that takes place!

So I'd invite you to pray for us as we enter a new semester! Here's some ways that you can be praying for us as we being:

• Pray for our students, that they would desire this same transformation in their lives.
• Pray for the range in backgrounds, some perhaps having more knowledge and experience than others; pray especialy for those with a very basic understanding, that they wouldn't feel "left behind".
• Pray for us as staff, that we would be the servant-leaders we need to be to help encourage and to demonstrate the kind of life that we see Christ calling us to.
• Pray for the unity in our leadership team as we are excited to have three new people join our team this year.

Thanks for your tremendous support and prayers!  ¡Dios les bendiga!