“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

As we say goodbye to 2021 and dive into 2022, our hope as Christians is in Christ alone. There is no fear, as it says in Psalm 27, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

We celebrated Jesus’ birth in our church on December 25th with a special service–a beautiful drama by some of the children about the true meaning of Christmas, a special song, and then a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. These special occasions are very important to us, as they draw in the parents. (They come to church to see their children). Our hope is that they see Jesus, and surrender their lives to Him!

We have demolished our kitchen and are in the process of building a new multipurpose room that will also serve as our soup kitchen. God has provided all the funding for the entire project! This will especially help for when it’s cold and rainy to be able to eat indoors.

The children of our church and the surrounding community were blessed by a special Christmas party. It was kind of like a drive-thru party due to Covid restrictions here. We had 10 children come every half hour, so it was a very long but fruitful day. They first made a craft and had a lesson on the birth of Jesus, then received goodies and gifts that friends provided stateside. For many of the children, it is their only gift, so it was very exciting for them. They also left knowing that the greatest gift to us is Jesus, and He is the true reason for the season!

The kids in Tijuana are still not in school due to Covid, and their online school has ceased as the teachers are on strike due to lack of funds, (they are not paying them!), so the after school program is their only “school” for now! Our focus is Jesus, Mathematics and Reading. They attend three days per week, and absolutely love coming. It is a safe place where they feel loved, are heard, receive a hot meal, have “school”, and learn about Jesus and His great love for them.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• For all who are suffering with illness and loss in these crazy times that we are living in–that Jesus would be their comfort and strength.
• For the parents of the 40 children in our afterschool program to come to Christ!
• For vision, and God’s direction and guidance in the running of the afterschool program / soup kitchen. We would like to expand it but are in need of volunteers.
• For the saints to come back to church! Many have slipped away and are just not interested in attending church.
• That I would please God always in all that I do, say, and think. That He would give me much needed wisdom!

Thank you for reading this post and praying for me and the people of Tijuana! May God richly bless you!

Summer is drawing to a close, and school has started for the kids in Tijuana! Some schools are in session, and some are still online. Here is a summary of the latest happenings at Calvary Chapel Pedregales:

“Destination Dig” was the theme of this year’s VBS. There were 60 kids in attendance due to Covid Precautions. It was great fun for all, servants and kids! We dug into God’s Word and experienced God’s great love through His servants. It is the highlight of the year and always an all-church event. Those who cannot help physically gave food for the meal each day. This was our first year doing this work on our own as a church with no help from the U.S.

We said goodbye to 10 of our kids that graduated and are going off to Jr. High. They have grown up in our after school program, and they will truly be missed! They each received a backpack filled with school supplies. I pray that they all continue to seek God as they grow.

Our summer theme in our after school program was “Learning can be Fun!” We focused on math (fractions) and reading. It was lots of fun and the purpose of course was to prepare these kids for school, giving them a jump start! We are thankful and blessed with the youth of our church who volunteered their time this summer helping the kids.

Our older single gals group has not met in over a year, but has recently started up again! We meet at my house every other Saturday to study God’s Word together. It is a small group but very intimate. I love pouring into these girls, they are dear to my heart and we have such sweet fellowship!

I am still receiving physical therapy for my right knee. I had total knee replacement on April 21st. It is a slow healing process but it gets better each day.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

for volunteers to help in our after school program. We have 36 kids and the youth have gone back to school so can no longer help!

for more teachers to be raised up for our Sunday School.

for my knee to heal. I have problems with my extension.

Thanks for praying for me and for reading this post! With love from Mexico.

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”–Jeremiah 33:3

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

This is my life verse! As we celebrated Easter this month, the resurrection of Jesus from the grave is the reason why I am a Christian! I love this special day each year, it is a definite highlight in our church and with family!

For the first time in a very long time, I was with my family for Easter Sunday. My sister-in-law lost both of her parents last year and so I felt the need to be with them and we had a lovely time together.

Our after school program, Amigos del Rey (Friends of the King) is up and running! We are receiving at this time only 10 kids per day, four days per week. We hope to have all 40 of them every day soon! Online school is very difficult here for the kids for many reasons. For these first two weeks, our focus was on our emotions and the importance of communicating how we feel using our words. Also, it was a time for the kids to share how they have been for the past year! (We had a lot of catching up to do)!

I will be out of commission for a few months as I will have a total knee replacement on April 21st. (Huge answer to prayer, have been waiting for this for a very long time)! I am currently covering all of my areas, and preparing for this! Lots to do!

Thanks so much for taking time to read this update and praying for me and the children here at CC Pedregales. I appreciate it and continue to press on until the Lord returns!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1. For my upcoming knee replacement on April 21st. 
2. For the property below us that we desire to purchase in order to have a fire escape for the children from the classrooms. (This is a requirement from the city and needed if we want to start a school here). 
3. For the construction of a new multipurpose room. (We will tear down the existing building. This will help with the retaining wall which is moving). We are stepping out in faith without much funding, but trusting the Lord to provide.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Rom. 12:12The word for me this year is… hope! Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ who is Sovereign. I’m sure we were all are so ready to say good-bye to 2020! A year with much suffering for some, and a “welcome to the kingdom of heaven” for others. This past year has given me a determination to get the message of the gospel out to a dying world more than ever! Here is a little bit of what I have been up to at Calvary Chapel Pedregales in Tijuana, Mexico:We were able to bless the children with a Christmas party Covid style! It was such a blessing to see all of our little friends. They came for a very short time to just basically pick up their gifts and a sack lunch and other goodies. It was a huge blessing to them, as many kids here don’t receive presents at Christmas time. They all know that the biggest and best gift is Jesus! Thanks again to all who made this possible! We love you! 

Our church was closed, then open, and now closed again. We continue to minister to all via facebook with women and men’s Bible studies, Sunday School for the kids, and of course midweek and Sunday services. The kids come to the church to pick up their material, all in ziplock baggies so they can participate at home. 

We continue to feed our families of the 40 kids who are in our after school program, “Amigos del Rey” (Friends of the King). We purchase food and drive to their homes to drop it off. We are praying that soon we will be able to open up. The kids desperatley need help with their homework. There are many obstacles for them with online learning, so we want to help them. 

The Lord blessed me with a mini vacation to Sacramento and Lake Tahoe with the Martinez family, my spiritual family here in Mexico. It was so nice to just relax and bask in God’s glory. I also tremendously enjoyed the Missions Conference in January at CC Costa Mesa. Great teaching and fellowship. It is refreshing and necessary to refill and spend time with the Lord to continue to give out. 

Prayer requests:

• provisions to purchase the land below us to help us open a school that we are in prayer for.
• for the parents of the kids to come to surrender their lives to Jesus.
• for the govt. to allow us to open up our church and after school program 
• for my right knee replacement to happen soon

Muchas gracias! Thank you so much for your prayers for me and the children at CC Pedregales. Dios te bendiga (God bless you)!!