There's a question that we often get from groups that are coming and down, and a number of you have asked me as well over the past couple of years, how safe is it really to be in Mexico? Good question, especially considering the kind of media coverage that Mexico has been getting over the past couple of years. It seems that every Canadian that gets hurt or killed in Mexico makes the headlines and puts another notch on the never-going-to-visit-Mexico side of the equation! Granted, there are areas in Mexico that I would rather not go to, if I could help it, but thankfully, the place where we are at is a very safe place.
Some of the most violent areas are along the border where there is much drug trafficking taking place and the most dangerous places include cities like Tijuana and most of all Ciudad de Juarez, or on the American side, El Paso, Texas. The amount of lives that have been claimed in Juarez as the military and the drug cartels clash has been very sad, but both of these cities are well to the East and West of where we are and where we cross the border, thankfully.
The city of Guaymas, on the other hand, (a city of over 100,000, about 10 minutes from San Carlos) has been a very peaceful place, largely untouched by the affects of drug cartel. It is somewhat out of the way of the mountains to the east, where lots of drugs are grown and a lot of trafficking takes place. But I was asking a good friend who is also the son of Pastor Rafael, the pastor for whom we built a house this past winter, why he thought this was the case, why Guayas has been spared of the violence that other areas of Mexico have seen. One reason, he said, could be because of the presence of the Marina, the Mexican Navy here in the city, with a Naval base present in Guaymas. But the other reason he shared had to do with God at work in this city.
From my perspective, over the past four years that I have been here, this has been one thing that I have loved about being here, seeing how God is at work in Guaymas. Not only is there a large number of healthy, active evangelical churches in the area, but they have an aliancia, an alliance among the churches, where they meet once a month. To see the spirit of unity among these churches and amongst the pastors is something very special.
The absolutely incredible part is that the government of Sonora has recognized it! Desperately wanting to do what they can, specifically in the drug war, they have actually recognized that something is different here in Guaymas, and actually approached the pastor's alliance, realizing that it was the presence of the evangelical church that was making a different in this city. About a month ago, they came to the pastors to encourage them in what they were doing and to offer help and resources to keep it up!
One of the things that the churches have been doing is evangelistic conferences for the city. This past week, they had a four day conference in Guaymas, outdoor, by the downtown plaza. The conference began with about 1,000 people on the first night and grew to several thousand as it went on. A number of people gave their lives to the Lord each night. The pastors are hoping that with the help of the local government they can tap into some resources to help promote and continue to have these types of events.
So is this a safe place to be? Well, first of all, is there really any place where we are guaranteed to be 100% safe? Probably not! Second of all, if God is truly at work here, there's no other place that I would rather be! There are other fruits of this conference that I would love to share but maybe I'll save that for a different post. Dios te bendiga!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Off the grid...
After a super busy winter season, I suppose I have fallen off the grid for a bit! It's been a little while since I've let you all know where I'm at or what I'm up to. Actually, I'm writing from just outside of Bozeman, Montana, of all places, watching it drizzling out the window with no sun in sight, surrounded by snow covered mountains... a little different setting than what you would find in San Carlos this time of year, or any time of year for that matter!
I've spent the last two weeks here having come up with Itzel, one of the staff members who will spend the summer here in Bozeman along with Art & Brenda who farm during the summer season, as well as my sister. She spent from February till May down in Mexico with and together we made the drive up here. She later when the rest of the way home to MB. I've taken some time to rest and relax and also tackle the huge project of updating the website with updates, pictures, as well as work on a video highlighting this past year and also some projects that we are looking forward to for the year to come.
It's always rewarding to look back on the last season to see how God has been faithful. It's such an important thing to do, something I often forget to do, and something that you find continually in the Psalms, the Psalmist looking back and reminding themselves about how God has been faithful in the past. This season has been no exception to that rule with Him showing Himself in powerful ways. I won't go into anything here but encourage you to check out our website, www.koenesministries.com and in particular check out this story. Some of you might remember me sharing about this church in Batacosa. It has been exciting to see not only the church's growth but also how they've have overcome opposition and are now affecting the communities around them.
I'll be boarding a flight in a couple of hours for Phoenix and then take the bus down to San Carlos, leaving behind what has been a cold, rainy stretch. It might be a shock to the system, leaving 11 degrees, the temperature it is here, and going into highs of 35 or 37... Believe it or not, I think I'm ready!
I've spent the last two weeks here having come up with Itzel, one of the staff members who will spend the summer here in Bozeman along with Art & Brenda who farm during the summer season, as well as my sister. She spent from February till May down in Mexico with and together we made the drive up here. She later when the rest of the way home to MB. I've taken some time to rest and relax and also tackle the huge project of updating the website with updates, pictures, as well as work on a video highlighting this past year and also some projects that we are looking forward to for the year to come.
It's always rewarding to look back on the last season to see how God has been faithful. It's such an important thing to do, something I often forget to do, and something that you find continually in the Psalms, the Psalmist looking back and reminding themselves about how God has been faithful in the past. This season has been no exception to that rule with Him showing Himself in powerful ways. I won't go into anything here but encourage you to check out our website, www.koenesministries.com and in particular check out this story. Some of you might remember me sharing about this church in Batacosa. It has been exciting to see not only the church's growth but also how they've have overcome opposition and are now affecting the communities around them.
I'll be boarding a flight in a couple of hours for Phoenix and then take the bus down to San Carlos, leaving behind what has been a cold, rainy stretch. It might be a shock to the system, leaving 11 degrees, the temperature it is here, and going into highs of 35 or 37... Believe it or not, I think I'm ready!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Houses and Homes
It's amazing how time flies sometimes! Looking back at the date of my last post and thinking about that has taken place since then, I could be writing here for a long time! But I won't take away too much of your time - I'll just share one highlight in particular.
We've come to the end of our busy season with the final mission team have left just over a week ago. It's exciting to look back on this winter season and to see not just some of the projects that have been completed by the many teams that have come but much more importantly the lives that have been changed not only through the opportunities that the work projects have created but also the local churches at work in their surrounding communities. As I said before, I could write for hours here about the different ways in which God has shown Himself and lives have been touched by His grace. Look for a newsletter coming in the next few weeks taking more of an in depth look into this season. But for now, let me share with you the final project that we found ourselves working on.
Some of you have probably met a young man named Alex. He's a living testimony to God's grace and power, and how He can change a life around. By observing him now, you would never guess the past that he has come from. His testimony has left a deep impact on the lives of many who have heard it. Alex was born in the state of Durango but grew up living with his grandmother in neighboring Sinaloa though she struggled to make ends meet, taking care of him and some of his siblings. At the age of 12, he left home began traveling around Mexico, working in a traveling circus. Those of you who have met him probably saw him at some point balancing just about anything on his chin from a spade to a pick axe to even a chair! For about 4 years he traveled around even learning how to ride a motorcycle in those metal, circular cages with up to three bikes going around at once! Growing tired of this lifestyle, along with the drugs that tended to accompany it, he left the circus and ended up staying in a little town about six hours from here, called Banamichi. In this town there was a missionary couple, who themselves were originally from San Carlos and were planting a church. Having found a place to stay renting a room from a Christian lady, he was invited to the Sunday services at this church plant. As weekends were typically spent in drinking and drugs, by the time Sunday morning came around when this lady asked him if he wanted to go to church, the answer was a no! But one weekend, not having had anything to drink nor having had any drugs, the invitation was made and he said yes, meeting the pastor of the church plant, whose name was Nacho. Nacho and his wife, sensing that God had something in store for this young man, built into his life and encouraged him to look to the Lord. Eventually, he gave his life to the Lord and the process began of leaving the old life behind!
He will be the first to tell you that this is not always the easiest to do! Over the past couple of years he made his way down to San Carlos to live and find work here. I remember first meeting him probably about three years ago, helping him patch a tire on his bicycle. Those three years have been up and down for him, leaving drugs behind and then falling back into them. He drifted around from job to job, at times jobless, and moving from place to place, sometimes regularly a part of the local church and at other times not. But about three months ago or so, he came to the point where he had had enough of the old life. He shared with myself and Juan Carlos, a good friend who works here at the mission with me, his desire to leave the old lifestyle behind once and for all. He took us to his place where he had a little stash of marijuana. He took it and spilled it on the ground, (covering it with dirt and gravel so that he couldn't come back and gather it together later!) and together we prayed that God would give him the strength to live as a new creation, leaving the old behind once and for all.
Since that day, the joy that has filled him has been so evident. If you have met him in the last couple of months one of the first things you would notice about him aside from his servant heart and always positive attitude is the fact that he is almost always singing worship songs. It has been a joy to see him walk in this new found freedom!
So, back to the final project of the year, the final team of the year that we hosted was a youth group from Reno, Nevada. Having a little extra time on their hands and still having some extra project money, they took it upon themselves to build Alex a little place of his very own. As we worked to build a little 12' by 12' quarter for him, he would thank everyone of us time and time again, each and every day.
Not many of us would be super content with a little 144 square foot place to call home but for him, it was as if you had built him a palace! A place to call his home...security, something that he had known little of in his life.
The group wasn't able to finish it in the time they were here but we were able to put the finishing touches on it, getting him some basics such as a new bed to sleep on, a microwave oven, some drawers for his clothes, and curtains on the windows, transforming that little room into his home.
Looking back on this season, it is a joy to see God's hand at work in the lives of people. I look forward to sharing more stories soon about this past winter. Until then, Dios te bendiga!
We've come to the end of our busy season with the final mission team have left just over a week ago. It's exciting to look back on this winter season and to see not just some of the projects that have been completed by the many teams that have come but much more importantly the lives that have been changed not only through the opportunities that the work projects have created but also the local churches at work in their surrounding communities. As I said before, I could write for hours here about the different ways in which God has shown Himself and lives have been touched by His grace. Look for a newsletter coming in the next few weeks taking more of an in depth look into this season. But for now, let me share with you the final project that we found ourselves working on.
He will be the first to tell you that this is not always the easiest to do! Over the past couple of years he made his way down to San Carlos to live and find work here. I remember first meeting him probably about three years ago, helping him patch a tire on his bicycle. Those three years have been up and down for him, leaving drugs behind and then falling back into them. He drifted around from job to job, at times jobless, and moving from place to place, sometimes regularly a part of the local church and at other times not. But about three months ago or so, he came to the point where he had had enough of the old life. He shared with myself and Juan Carlos, a good friend who works here at the mission with me, his desire to leave the old lifestyle behind once and for all. He took us to his place where he had a little stash of marijuana. He took it and spilled it on the ground, (covering it with dirt and gravel so that he couldn't come back and gather it together later!) and together we prayed that God would give him the strength to live as a new creation, leaving the old behind once and for all.
Since that day, the joy that has filled him has been so evident. If you have met him in the last couple of months one of the first things you would notice about him aside from his servant heart and always positive attitude is the fact that he is almost always singing worship songs. It has been a joy to see him walk in this new found freedom!
So, back to the final project of the year, the final team of the year that we hosted was a youth group from Reno, Nevada. Having a little extra time on their hands and still having some extra project money, they took it upon themselves to build Alex a little place of his very own. As we worked to build a little 12' by 12' quarter for him, he would thank everyone of us time and time again, each and every day.
Not many of us would be super content with a little 144 square foot place to call home but for him, it was as if you had built him a palace! A place to call his home...security, something that he had known little of in his life.
The group wasn't able to finish it in the time they were here but we were able to put the finishing touches on it, getting him some basics such as a new bed to sleep on, a microwave oven, some drawers for his clothes, and curtains on the windows, transforming that little room into his home.
Looking back on this season, it is a joy to see God's hand at work in the lives of people. I look forward to sharing more stories soon about this past winter. Until then, Dios te bendiga!
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