2022, All Things New!

“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 Cor. 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 afterschool 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!