“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”
Acts 1:8
¡Hola a todos! Hello everyone!
We made it to Mexico with our team that will be serving together at the Calvary School of Missions (CSOM)! There are 13 students this year who are either called to become full time missionaries or have the desire to hear from what the Lord has for them regarding missions. This is our second year helping with CSOM, and it has been so awesome to be able to disciple and train up these future missionaries who have a burden to reach the world with the gospel! These past couple of weeks here, the students have been going through the Word to learn what biblical missions is and have been partnering with the Calvary church plants in Mexico to host outreaches to give care packages with basic necessities, have children’s crafts & Bible stories, and share the gospel & personal testimonies.
Discipleship around the world
Our calling is to disciple believers in the Word to be witnesses in our Jerusalem (our neighbors), and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8) — that is, to be witnesses to our neighbors and to the nations! Similar to when we served in S.Asia, each semester had a fresh group of students who were eager to study the Bible and to learn how to rightly divide the Word themselves. It was also a new beginning of friendships and a new beginning for discipleship in their lives! This year at CSOM, it feels similar to that with this new group of students who are eager to also study the Word and get trained up to become future missionaries!
For the first week of class, the students always feel like there is just so much information to be retained, and they are all wanting to soak up as much information as they can about biblical missions. Each of them are personally convicted, challenged and encouraged to go out and share the gospel with those who have yet to know Jesus personally in their own Jerusalem and to the nations. One of the best parts about serving at CSOM is that we get to pray with the students the very same prayers we had prayed before we were first sent out to Asia almost 8 years ago. The prayers of God’s guidance on where to go, prayers of God’s confirmation, prayers for God’s provision and prayers for God’s wisdom. These are the same requests that we cried out to God and they’re the same one’s that these students are praying! Please be praying for each of these willing hearts, who have set apart these 6 weeks to learn and seek God for guidance in their lives!
Keeping us young
Last week, we had a team from our home church, CC WestGrove, bring a youth team full of high schoolers. They co-hosted a Vacation Bible School at Calvary Chapel Rosarito where they served with CCR’s youth, led the VBS worship songs & dances, shared Bible stories, and had crafts and games with all of the kids. There were about 150 kids that came for the week from ages of 3-5 all the way up to 11-12 years old! It was so great watching our youth step out in faith and use their gifts at different times during their trip. They definitely keep us young with all of their energy and excitement to serve!
CCWG’s team was able to join up with the CSOM students and serve together at a few outreaches. One of the highlights was seeing the students step out and share their faith with whomever was willing to listen, almost half of the team had never gone on a mission’s trip but knew that God had called them to go! We were reminded of when we went on our first mission’s trip, stepping out in faith, continually going on trips, which then led us to be full time missionaries. It’s exciting to think that that could possibly be one of the high schoolers that came on this trip.
An Update from Lily:
Being in Mexico has been tons of fun! This month, I’ve been learning that “hola” means “hello,” “adios” means “goodbye!” Everyone is really excited that I learned how to wave and clap my hands so it’s been extra fun watching and meeting people! I’ve been able to spend so much time with all of my tias & tios (aunties & uncles) here at the Calvary School of Missions. When we go on fun trips with the school, I get to sing worship songs & dance with my mama in my carrier with all of the kids before they share Bible stories and pass out bags of food! I really like going on the car rides with my parents where the roads are really bumpy and I fall right to sleep! I’ve also been eating solids, like green beans, sweet potatoes, pears, bananas, carrots and my new favorite, apples! My two bottom teeth have grown in much more this month and I think two more are coming in soon, just ask my mama how much I’ve been chewing on things!
Thank you so much for co-laboring with us in the gospel and for praying for us! It has been a blessing receiving the love from you upon our family and especially for Lily! We are thankful that she is here with us and that we’ve been able to continue to serve the Lord as a family of 3.
Praise Reports
- Staff & students have been working hard and have remained healthy
- Lily has adjusted to Mexico life and loves being with all of her tias & tios
- The WestGrove team did really well here and were a blessing to have them serve with us
Prayer Requests
- Our hearts yearn to be with our Nepali family and have them meet our little Lily, please pray for the country of Nepal to open up and be safe to travel to so that we can visit our family again!
- Please pray for the discipleship of the students at CSOM here in Mexico
- Protection of everyone’s health and over our travels when going on outreaches
- Divine appointment to share the gospel and for lives to be transformed by His saving grace
- The needs of the ministry and raising support for our national pastors / ministry workers in the 10/40 window