Mexico!

Just wanted to fill everyone in on what has been going on here in Tijuana, Mexico. We are almost finished with our lecture/class phase. We have about 2 weeks left before we leave for the outreach phase of our training. Each week during our class we have a topic or theme that is taught. Such as… Hearing the voice of God, Nature and Character of God, Marks of Disciple, Father heart of God, Spiritual warfare, Biblical worldview, and Missions. The teachings/topics have been very basic principles for being a Disciple of Jesus. I say basic, but they are essential fundamental principles for discipling. We also work with ministries in the afternoons. It has been such a blessing to be here and be in this season, to learn and prepare for our future. The literature we have been provided (it’s been awhile since we’ve done a book report!) will help us in our ministry for the rest of our lives no matter where we are. The friends and contacts we have made are priceless. The knowledge we have gained about YWAM and the work they do has been eye opening. It is encouraging to see and hear stories of God working through people all around the world. God is using YWAM to do so much for the Kingdom. So, needless to say, we feel very blessed to be a part of it all. We are still unsure of our plans come August, but we do have some leads, most of them based in Latin America. Please pray with us as we seek God’s guidance for our next season. And specifically, pray that we can be disciplined to learn the language of our neighbors.

A few weekends ago our home church from Seattle, New Life, came down to build some houses with Homes of Hope. It was such a fun and powerful weekend. Six families were blessed with a new home that weekend. It’s amazing how powerful giving is, not only for the person receiving but also the giver. I think a lot of the team members from New Life really understood this after building over the weekend. Pastor Loran is awesome, and has continued to pour into us even from a distance. It’s pretty incredible that a year ago we hadn’t even heard of the YWAM base in Tijuana, and now here we are. God works through us in crazy ways when we take time to listen.

Jacob was here for a few days this week. It is always a blast catching up with him. We learned more about his upcoming adventures in Alaska, took him surfing , and ate tons of the worlds best tacos!

So…our outreach phase is about to start up. On July 4th we will be flying to Mazilan, Mexico for about 2 weeks working with a handicap orphanage along with other various ministries. We will also get to visit the YWAM base in Mazilan. From there we will fly to Oaxaca, Mexico for one month. We will be working with a local christian ministry that operates in the mountains of Oaxaca. Our main focus there will be putting on a VBS in the different communities and working with the local churches. We will be camping in the mountains/jungles for about a month, and also staying with some local families. There are many indigenous people groups in Oaxaca, and very few christians. It’s a very poor and corrupt part of Mexico. From Oaxaca we will take a bus to Mexico City (10ish hours) and spend a day or two in Mexico city. Then we will fly to Cancun, Mexico. In Cancun we will be staying at a YWAM base. We will be doing ministry with present day mayans! Cancun is known as a paradise but do a little research and you will learn it is very poor and a lot of old traditions still exist, including child sacrifices. As it gets closer to our departure time please keep us in your prayers, not only for safety and health, but patience and unity within our group we know can speak just as loud as any word we might share. Please pray for these youngsters and their parents as well. God is going to do great things, and as always you guys are in our prayers as well.