Millar Missions Mod

What an incredible couple of weeks. Yesterday (Saturday) I dropped the group off at the Phoenix Airport, 11 Millar College of the Bible Students and 3 "old guys." We had spent the past 13 days in San Carlos in a Missions modular course where we spent some time in the classroom and also time out on the field learning from other missions, churches and missionaries. We trust and pray (and I believe we can confidently say) that God used this time to shape them in their understanding of what missions is, whether it be in a short-term setting or a long term commitment, but maybe even more importantly we saw how God used them and worked in them as they served so willingly alongside our Mexican brothers and sisters. There's a couple of things that stick out in my mind.

Guaymas Norte

The first took place last Saturday as we had arranged from the group to work alongside Jorge & Angelica, teachers at CEC who have spent the last year in an outreach in a small part of Guaymas, working particularly with kids. In the morning we visited some people in particular need, giving them a food hamper and spending some time praying for them. In the afternoon the kids were invited to the local park where Jorge & Angelica have a weekly kids club with them.  The park had become overrun with weeds due to lots of rain recently and the task was to work together with them to clean it up.

Before - the park where they regularly have the kids club.

Though the idea of renting weed eaters was mentioned we decided to work with the same tools as the people there would have - giving up efficiency to engage in the task (quite INEFFICIENTLY!) but much more RELATIONAL. What happened was not only exciting to see but probably one of the greatest testimonies to that community. The group started with about 6 children helping. By the time it was done, there were over 20 children working alongside them.

The crew at work

Getting ready to work.

The swings repaired and playground equipment repainted.

The nearly finished product!

But not only that, as they worked, some adults started coming out of their houses to see what these "gringos" were up to. By the end several of them had come out too and were working together. As we talked with some of them later they were deeply moved by this expression of love towards them and their community. But what was particularly awesome to see was not even so much what was accomplished as HOW it was accomplished, working side by side and building relationship. Sure, the "task" at hand didn't get finished (though they cleaned out a significant part of the park to make it usable again) but perhaps the much more important task of connecting with people was more than accomplished!

El Choyudo

One other opportunity that stands out took place during the overnight trip we took with the students to El Choyudo where Pastor Guillermo (who is part of our teaching staff) lives.  On our second day there God opened up an incredible door for Pastor Guillermo through the local elementary school (grades 1 through 6).  He already had a good relationship with the director of the school and asked him if the students could come and use the outdoor shaded cement pad to have a somewhat informal kids club with the children, right after school was out.  His answer was nothing short of a miracle as he suggested that we come instead and take the two last hours of class, knowing that the group would be sharing a message from the Bible.  To understand the significance of that you need to realize how in Mexico there are strict laws separating church and state - what he was allowing was something that could get him into a lot of trouble in the community and even with the law.  And not only that, as the Catholic church is so strong even here in El Choyudo, to give this opportunity to a Christian, Evangelical pastor was nothing short of amazing.

The students took the opportunity first having some fun with the kids:

And they shared the Gospel message along with one of the students sharing a short testimony of how God had worked in their life - his own prodigal son story.

Sharing the Gospel

The Gospel message was so clearly preached and the director of the school was excited to have it take place.  He took several of us on a tour of the school and at the end invited the group to come back anytime!  Pastor Guillermo was so excited to see how God and opened the doors for these students.  He shared with us how he as a young man in El Choyudo had heard the Gospel message shared by some young people from Canada in a very similar fashion.  He didn't turn to the Lord until he was 19, but he shared how those seeds were planted in his life and we pray that these seeds were planted as the students had a chance to share some love with these kids and the Gospel message.

En Fin...

To say that only the students (hopefully!) were impacted during this time, and also those whom they ministered with and minister too, wouldn't be a complete picture of all that God accomplished.  As refreshing as it was to see what God did through them and in them, it was encouraging and challenging personally to go back to the Word and see what the mission that we have all been given, the Great Commission, is all about.  It was a privilege to be able to share with the students what this responsibility looks like in class and on the field but it was also a renewed personal challenge for me in what our calling is.  The Gospel is so much more than just an idea, or a set of beliefs.  Ultimately the Gospel is a Person, Jesus and our call is not to teach people about the Gospel as much as introduce people to a Person: making disciples is about making people excited to follow Him!  

Thanks for all of the many prayers that have covered these past two weeks!  God worked through them powerfully!  Thanks also to the many hands that were a significant part of this time.  Dios les bendiga!

New Heights

Mid October is always a welcome time in San Carlos! It typically means the tides of weather have finally taken a turn from super hot to just comfortably hot (and yes, the evenings cool off to a nice mid 20's!) It really is one of the nicer times of year. It also means that the next school term is coming up but before that, there's a few current as well as up and coming things taking place.

SECOND STORY

Many of you have been involved in making the second story above the dining hall come together and for that we are very thankful! The work is rapidly coming under way as you can see below:

The second story features a teacher's suite with a kitchen/living room area and the remainder of the story has 6 bedrooms, 2 washrooms and a common area that can be doubled up as a smaller classroom. The extra room will be important as we plan ahead for the years to come and even for this coming year, the way things are looking! Our intention had been to begin a second term this year, inviting back students who had already gone through the first term however we as a staff came to the decision within the last month that we didn't sense that this was the year to do it just yet. Also, there's been a significant amount of interest in the first year program, with about 16 interested students already, several of whom have already paid their deposit. Perhaps that doesn't sound amazing but for anyone familiar with how things tend to go here, that is miles ahead of where we have been in the past years!

So we are exciting looking ahead to this year. 16 would be the largest class that we have had to date. 20 students would be the maximum that we would want. So pray for these students and any other prospective students, that God would bring those who He wants to be here!

MILLAR COLLEGE OF THE BIBLE

Another exciting opportunity, just around the corner, is that we will be hosting a Missions module beginning this coming weekend. 11 students from Millar College will be down here for a two week, two credit hour missions course where we will be doing some teaching as well as some hands on outreach work in the local area. It is a new opportunity, something that we have not done before and it has been an exciting challenge to put together. Stepping into new ground is always intimidating and exciting knowing that God is going before us. It will be something new to be teaching in English and encouraging the students who come not only in their walk with God but also with what it looks like to serve Him in a different culture. Please pray for the students coming and also for us as we prepare. There will be several of us teaching and we will also be plugging into various local ministries to give the students some hands opportunities to serve.

As always I want to express how valued your support is! Your prayers literally carry us. Pray for us over these next three weeks with the Millar group here; they will be arriving Oct 24th and heading out Nov 7th. God bless!

Open Doors

It's been a busy stretch to say the least and I believe I've shared this with some of you but the countdown is on till I head up north for several weeks to be with family and friends, August 12th till the beginning of September. (Yep, looking forward to it, and not just to escape this wonderful heat wave!)

But before we get to that I want to share about some new opportunities that came our way last week, and it looks like might be doors opening to new avenues of ministry for the school.  This all came together quickly as one of our teachers, Pastor Guillermo, got in contact with a pastor in Imuris (yes, the town close to the border along the highway that comes down to San Carlos, the one many of you have stopped at for those amazing carne asada tacos!).  They were very interested in having us come out and do a 2 day workshop, just looking for some encouragement.  It quickly together and we headed out there last week Thursday and Friday, while our contact there made arrangements with local pastors and church leaders to come out.  The purpose on our end was three-fold: make some new connecting in a new area, be an encouragement to those out there, and also share about the ministry of the school.

The pastor who we connected with out there actually runs an orphanage - with a local church gathering that has grown out of their ministry.  We pulled in Wednesday evening to join them in their evening church service and then got at it Thursday morning.  Each of us, Jorge, Guillermo and myself took two workshops, sharing first of all about the program that we offer at the school, and then also sessions featuring material from the classes we taught.  Our topics covered evangelism, the book of Acts, Spiritual Disciplines, and finally we finished off with a personal challenge from a short class that we generally finish of the school term with, The Calvary Way, which is really an encouragement to deal with sin in our lives in whatever form it is so that Christ can fill us and shine throw us more brightly.  The two days finished of Friday afternoon with a personal challenge by Jorge and an opportunity to write whatever sins or issues that people might be dealing with on a little post-it note and stick it on a cross.

The Orphanage were the conference was held - El Reino de los Niños

During a workshop

It was such an encouraging time for both us and them as we made some new connections, and also met 3 couples who are very interested in coming to the winter school term!

The entire group, about 25 in all plus us.

One particularly encouraging connection we made was with a young man, Alejandro, who had actually grown up in the small fishing community where Guillermo pastors.  Alejandro had grown up involved in the lifestyle of drugs and Guillermo had on many occasions witnessed to him and encourage him to give his life over to Christ.  This was always met with resistance and even anger.  Alejandro ended up leaving El Choyudo a couple of years ago and the Lord got a hold of his life.  He is now serving at this orphanage, with a passion for missions, to reach some of the remote native people in southern Mexico.  This was the first time that Guillermo had seen him since he came to the Lord and time and time again he couldn't believe the transformation that had taken place in his life.  Alejandro, with his wife and three young children are one of the three couples very interested in coming to school this winter.

Alejandro - a potential student for this coming year

It seems as though God has been opening up opportunities beyond the four walls of the school - opportunities for ministry as well as an effective way to get the word out about what we do at CEC.  We are encouraged to see people like this, not caught up within their own denominations, people who are hungry for the Word, and faithfully serving Him.  As I have mentioned earlier, we are looking forward to another opportunity, this time a little longer in a small town about 6 hours south of here, spending up to two weeks with local church leaders, sharing some teaching with them.

Yes, in one week I'll be on Canadian soil again, but it seems there's no shortage of things to get done before then!  Here's a couple of prayer items you can keep in mind in the coming week:
          * Youth Retreat - we are hosting a youth retreat at the school and church, approximately 150 youth (not run by us but rather local churches and we are providing the housing and food).  It should be a good time!  Pray for God to move in the lives of these youth!
          * Preaching - this Sunday I get the opportunity to share with the congregation of SCCC.  Pray for me as I prepare - it seems that time has been a rare commodity but I have a sense of what God wants me to speak on.  Pray that it's only His words that are communicated!
          * Course preparation - we have an opportunity to host a 2 credit hour missions course (really it's a missions trip with some teaching time) to a group of 12 students from Millar College in Canada, in October but preparations are already under way - pray that God would lead us as we prepare for not only the teaching but for the opportunities to serve.

As always, thanks!  For those who were prayer during the conferences last week, we definitely sensed your prayers covering that time.  They are so valuable.  God bless!