That's about how I'm feeling these days as I'm in the process of...well, maybe thinking about starting the process of packing my bags so I can get on a bus later today and head up north to Canada to spend some time with family and friends in Manitoba.
The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of hosting groups here at the center, and preparing to be gone for several weeks. As many of you know, there are very few Canadian/American groups that come down during the summer. Well, actually, in the four years that I've been here, there's only been one! My youth group from the Blumenort Mennonite Church in Rosetown, MB are the only ones who have braved a Mexican summer missions trip (way to go, guys!!!). Needless to say, with they way summers go in Canada and the US combined with the crazy heat and humidity we have, summer is definitely the slow season as far as "foreign" groups go. However, that's not the case for "national" groups!
The weekends are largely booked up with local church groups who have church retreats, women's retreats, youth retreats, etc., etc. here at the mission center. You may not believe it but over the past two weekends we hosted about 140 people altogether! Yeah, you read that right...for those of you who have been here before you're probably doing the math trying to figure it out. Each weekend had a group of about 70 youth. The first weekend they actually all managed to stay and sleep here...I guess "sleep" might be a bit of a loose term as there didn't seem to be a lot of sleeping for some of them! Saturday night anyways, I'm pretty sure I heard them going hard till about 5:00am. Thankfully the next weekend only about 40 slept here at the center and the rest in a local hotel. Even 40, you're probably wonder, how in the world did they manage to find enough floor space, never mind the 70 from the weekend before! Between our two dorm rooms (which typically hold 12 people each) and a whole truck load of foam mattresses borrowed from a neighbouring bible school laid out over the entire living room/dining room of the mission center, everyone managed to find some real estate to call their own for the few hours they did sleep!
Beyond the craziness of having to feed up to 70 people (80 when you count all of us as well) 3 times a day and keeping on top of everything, it really is a blessing to be a part of events like that, to meet people from different parts of Sonora and to just provide an atmosphere and place where God is at work in the lives of those who come.
So, you can imagine that getting away for a little bit sounds kind of nice! I am looking forward to spending time with friends and family and by all means, for those in MB, if you want to hook up over the next couple of weeks, let me know! I'd love to do coffee or something! Just send me an email, Facebook me or you can also call me at my parents house, 204 325 4496. I'll be heading up today evening and be flying out August 21.
Thanks to all of you, as always, for all the prayer support that we as a ministry receive, and me personally. I know I've said it before but you are all an integral part of this ministry! God bless!!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
FAQ: How safe is Mexico?
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!
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!
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!
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