Brittany leaving for Costa Mesa, with bike in tow. This is her main form of transportation, as she is staying at the home of one of the pastors, about two miles from the church.
This past month or so has brought about some changes in the Struska household, with some promising changes coming up on the horizon. At the end of November, Brittany left for an internship/job at The Crossing Church in Costa Mesa, California. We have been working with this church several times a year for the past few years now. They have joined us in ministry here in Mexico, building homes for families in need, serving at different orphanages, working on various construction projects, and more. We are very excited to see what the Lord will be doing in and through Brittany in the coming months. She will be graduating high school early this year, in December, as she is currently finishing up one last class. At least half of her time will be working with the large children’s ministry at The Crossing. She will also volunteer in different areas in the church, including their Spanish ministry. (A Spanish worship service was started there in April of this year.) William is adjusting to being the “only child”. He’ll be starting soccer in January, which will help keep him busy. The house definitely feels a little empty with Brittany away.
Change can be difficult, but it really is a good thing. Right now in ministry, we have a reoccurring problem that is continuing to grow. We have a few different dorms/homes where we house our teams. More and more, they are filling up quickly and we are are having a hard time finding a place to put our teams. We have been praying about this for some time now. We strongly feel that we need to purchase or rent something that will help accommodate some of our teams. After looking at many listings, considering and viewing many properties, we are not yet certain what the Lord has in store. Ideally, we would purchase or build something just outside of town that would fit teams of 60-100 people. One option we are considering is renting a home that would house our family and teams of about 25-30 people, and later possibly getting something larger. This option could prove to be somewhat difficult in the beginning while we are getting things ready and just getting started with teams, as our rent/living expenses would be at least triple of what they are right now. However, the need is so great. This year we had around 35 teams. On at least five or six occasions, a team was actually bumped from their housing due to double booking, or other circumstances. At the moment we have at least two teams that do not have housing yet for the spring. It’s such an awesome problem to have! This is why we are praying about and leaning towards renting a home right away.
Please join us in prayer as we start making some big decisions in regards to housing and finances. It is possible that we will be making a decision in the next few days. We have a rather promising option we are looking at right now, however the owner wasn’t originally considering renting, just selling. If we are to rent this property, we will have the risk of it being sold after booking teams to stay there. This particular property is actually very reasonably priced at $150,000, providing six bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and kitchen for team use, separate from what would be the living quarters for our family. It is near the church and includes a big patio and a large terrace, as well as proper parking and storage for our tools, etc. It is also prepped for a third floor, which if purchased, would give us the opportunity to add on, allowing the ministry to grow. It’s a rare find. The difficulty comes with securing a loan as Americans in Mexico. If we do rent, we believe that after three to six months, the teams will begin to relieve the financial burden of renting a large home. However, we know that we will also have expenses in the beginning, a large portion of which will be bunk beds and mattresses.
If you would like to partner with us financially in this venture or give an end of the year gift, you can do so online here. Without our financial partners and generous one-time gifts, we know that this ministry would not be possible. We are so thankful for the support that we have received these past six years on the field here in Mexico.
Blessings from our family to yours. Please don’t forgot to take time to remember the real reason for this Christmas season!
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6
