Happy New Year! Part 2

15Jan

“The House of Feasting”

I LOVE weddings! In 2025, I got to officiate at 3 weddings: first for my friends Alfredo & Teresa, then for my daughter Natalie and new son in law Marcus Salinas! Finally, in November, I got to officiate for a young couple Kevin & Negin.

Imagine a Persian & Filipino & American wedding in Mexico! It’s so much fun to do weddings! The food was great and the wedding celebration was amazing! Pray for this new couple! There is a small Persian community in the Rosarito area!

Have you ever seen a Persian - Sofreh Adgh? It is a table with many beautiful symbols for a blessed and happy marriage!

The Lord is not being slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change their ways and stop sinning. ( 2 Pet 3:9)

Men’s Discipleship group 2025

God’s been doing great work in the lives of my friends, like Vicente (2nd from the left)! He is a single dad with two kids. (My daughter Poiema gets to teach his children in her class!) He had the privilege of teaching the group for the final class! It has been a privilege and joy to see men like Vicente stay faithful and grow all year long!

Teaching opportunities!

On November 18th, I had the honor of addressing the Married couple’s fellowship on their final day! You try teaching while they’re bringing out bowls of pozole!

Here I am teaching on a Wednesday night! It is a great honor to teach over 400 people on a Wednesday night!

This is Yolanda, a friend of many many years! She recently brought her husband’s adopted son, Celestino to church! We constantly get to meet new folks every single week! Here are the statistics for 2025!

1363 first-time visitors, 703 professed faith for the first time, & 244 baptisms!

Women’s Ministry!

Claudia enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner celebration for the Women of Worth and Purpose Bible study. Claudia and the ladies had a very fruitful year! Over 80 people attended weekly in person and online!

Claudia also has a heart to support the wives of pastors from our various church plants with a couple trips per year. Claudia taught at a conference in Calvary Conexión Mexico in Calpulalpan, Tlaxcala!

Family Notes!

Cristian just finished his 3rd semester of medical school! The work load is massive! Here he is in a neighborhood collecting health data. Apparently going door to door is fun and intimidating all at the same time!

And we have made many friends in 4.5 years! Here we are with our dear friend Tania celebrating her birthday at the Churrasqueria Brasileña in Tijuana!

I am back on my road bike getting some exercise with my pals!

Baja California is a beautiful part of the world! An incredible view is always on the horizon! Here we are on Christmas day! The big storm knocked out the electricity for a couple days. We truly appreciate water and electricity more than ever since we moved to Tijuana!