Snippets From The End of 2012

Advent- time of new beginnings and promise

As we look forward to tremendous promise of next  year’s activities we would like to share what has been going on here over the last few months. It has been a time of sharing Christ’s love alongside friends both old and new. A time of finishing touches on the church building, teaching new skills to local women, reaching out to the community and helping support another group’s efforts.

 Camarillo Electricians

The lunch room in the church (and rest of the building) has power and lights

There are some things in life that are just puzzling and for us electricity is one of them.  We can run extension cords pretty well.  So we see a group that knows something about electricity as a huge blessing.  We are thankful for the four-person group that came down from Camarillo Community Church in Camarillo, CA. They came down on Saturday morning and got right to work. By Sunday afternoon they finished installing the wires, tubes, and light fixtures for the kitchen/dining room at the church and the new bathrooms.  This finishes the electrical installation at the church.  We are so thankful for people that come and serve even for a few days; their help makes a huge difference

Joining the Greater Body in Service

We passed another first in the ministry...One of the desires as the dorms were finished at the Ministry site was to use them year-round.  Groups generally come in the spring and summer, so the rest of the year they are empty.  But part of changing lives is being open when the opportunity comes. 

By word of mouth and the internet, we received a request to come and check out our facilities. A church in Cave Junction, OR, was partnering with a church in a neighboring area to build a building to house their congregation.  This was another way for us to help make a change in our community.  The group was here for the whole month of October.  They actually came in phases starting with 3, then 6 more, some left, and a few more came in.  The whole situation worked out great.  They were able to get the two-story building functional till they can come back.  They were very comfortable and enjoyed our facilities giving us the joy of sharing the blessing that God has given us.

Lunch Program Going Strong-

The lunch program, providing lunches for school age children, continues to touch lives (as well as bellies) with weekly lunches and Christian education/entertainment from David. The new lunch room lighting and finishing is a great step in continuing the success of reaching the next generation for Christ. It brings people into contact with a living/loving church in a way that is not intimidating.

Susan - what can we say…..

 Susan contacted us earlier this year to see if there was a way she could come down and be of use to the ministry. She’s a registered nurse who has spent quite some time working in various places around the country (and world) doing “whatever is needed”. She came down in November  for an extended stay of a few months doing “whatever is needed”  which has included working at a local orphanage, helping with the lunch program, teaching several people to knit and medical monitoring (blood pressure, sugar levels etc.).  Here is a snippet from an open letter she sent-

Your personal information is always kept confidential – we never share it outside of NWO

 “An amazing week full of great work and so much fun, I am happy and healthy and doing so well.  Will work Mon, Wed. and Thurs.at the orphanage with 11 babies/kids less than 5.  The 3 young ladies who work in the nursery are so glad for the help are wonderful and incredible to teach me also!  So the 3 year olds and I are about in the same year/session of Spanish, I am better potty trained and then they have me beat for ability to unconditionally love.  We are all in heaven!...
  Katrina and Roman  run a busy house with the whole neighborhood seeming to show up for love, food, or advice weekly.  The church is one of the busiest I have seen with activities almost daily.  Different people from week to week, think there are about 50 or 60 total with about 30-40 on any given Wed. or Fri. bible study or Sunday church.  Katrina home schools the kids and has since they started school and is devoted teacher for 8-9 hours a day.  It is amazing to see such a hard working family all together with love abounding.”

One person can make a real impact! Thank you Susan.

The New Year is Filling Up!

This past year we have seen several groups returning and new ones coming along side us as well. Our calendar is starting to fill for next year with groups coming to build houses, run carnivals, outreach and other ministry activities. We have had interest from some to come for internships and fulltime mission. It is an exciting time to come and see what God is up to the Baja! Won’t you join us!

 

Specific needs ·          Please pray for the Santiagos, and those God leads to serve in Mexico and our ministry as we continue to find ways to reach the lost and hurting. ·          Please pray for us as we continue to seek ways to touch those around us to, not only alleviate immediate needs, but more importantly to communicate the loving healing forgiveness that is in Christ alone. It’s becoming more and more apparent that reaching out to the community is effective for getting the message of Christ into new places. ·          A truck-We are still looking for a small or medium sized pickup with automatic transmission and regular size bed to replace the one Roman uses for pulling the cement mixer and delivering materials ·          Safety and Direction: Mexico continues to be an active and vital place to serve our God. The US media paints a picture of danger and concern. While there is some concern for these events, please know that we have not had any issues with groups coming down and serving. We continue to serve and invite those in the US and Canada to come. Please pray for continued safety for those who come and more importantly those who live here every day. ·          Support for local missionary/pastors/Christian workers as they face daily struggles of provision, strength and encouragement.