project was completed with new doors.
This has definitely been a different year of ministry so far! In March we watched all of our spring teams cancel due to the pandemic. This was difficult for a couple of reasons. One, because that meant a lot of ministry that wouldn’t be happening – children that wouldn’t hear about Jesus, orphanages that wouldn’t get visited, food that wouldn’t be given away, and so much more! Secondly, it meant that Connections House wouldn’t have any funds coming in to help pay the bills.
We thank and praise God for the teams that sent funds in place of coming down! One team was supposed to insulate and drywall the dining room and kitchen on the third floor here at Connections House. We are so thankful that they were able to send funds to pay for the materials and most of the labor for us to finish this stage of the project.
and about 80% of the electrical work completed.
As summer was approaching, our teams began to cancel until there was only one team left – Calvary School of Missions (CSM). This team is different than the rest. The School of Missions is run by Saving Grace World Missions, our sending organization. This was the second year for the school here in Rosarito, which is about 5 1/2 weeks long and is for people who are called (or feel they may be called) into full-time missions. The CSM team ended up staying at Connections for five weeks! This was such an answer to prayer! It was also good news for our summer interns and volunteers.
We had a couple of teams come in August and September, and we have a few teams scheduled in the next few months as well. Needless to say, our operating expenses for fall and winter will be a lot easier to pay now that we have had some teams.
Shawn continues to serve with us here at Connections House, doing a little bit of everything, as usual – including helping with photos, cooking, teaching Bible study for interns, and more. It was especially good to have him (and his medical training) with us during this time to help advise and guide us during the Coronavirus pandemic. We were super excited to have Kailyn, a former intern, serve on staff with us for the summer! Kailyn’s main duties were intern mentor and Bible study instructor, as well as our Cook for breakfasts. We were blessed with two awesome interns – Yajaira and Nadia. This was Yajaira’s second summer as an intern at Connections. It was great to see how she has grown and how the Lord has been using her to further His kingdom! Nadia is from Idaho and had previously come down with a team from her church. She did an amazing job and we are so proud of the way she was flexible, and willing to serve in whatever way was needed. Due to the extra amount of daily cleaning implemented this summer, we required more volunteer staff. Thankfully, the Lord provided three extra volunteers. Jenny, who interned with us at a previous ministry, helped us for a couple of weeks. If you know Sandra who cooks for us sometimes, you may know her daughters. Two of them, Yessica and Yazmín, served with us for a little over a month. We couldn’t have done it without any of them!
Summer Ministry
Due to the pandemic, a lot of ministry options weren’t available for most or all of the summer, such as visiting orphanages. Instead, we did a lot of relief ministry with our CSM team. They usually spent their mornings in classes taught by different pastors and missionaries. They learned about various aspects of missions, such as church planting, finances, the purpose of the church, and more. Most of our outreaches consisted of handing out food and/or cleaning products, sharing testimonies, helping church plants, and of course sharing the gospel. We even had the opportunity to hand out backpacks at a local church, which was an event that was postponed several times since January.
Connections House Projects
What does all of this mean for the projects here at Connections House? Well, we saw the Lord move way faster than we expected to build the dining room and kitchen building on the 3rd floor! We started with no funds and a bunch of donated material, so it is all based on donations. We have been praying that the 3rd floor would be usable by spring of 2021. While we have had some small donations come in recently, the 3rd floor project is currently at a standstill. In the meantime, we began remodeling the bathroom under the stairs. We decided to add a separate room for the toilet so that the current bathroom could become a much needed shower room. We are a little over halfway done with this project, and hope to finish it soon. The cost to finish up this small project is $1200. In order to expand our dorms and host more team members once the 3rd floor is ready, we will need to add two more showers and bathrooms after this project.
Family Update
We had the opportunity to spend a week in Puebla, Mexico, which is where our son-in-law, Brian, is from. We traveled there with Brian, Brittany, Joshua, and Brian’s brothers, Kevin & Aldrin. It was so great to meet more of Brian’s family and tour this beautiful, historic city! Our grandson, Joshua, is now six months old! He is getting so big and has such a big personality.
William graduated high school in June and turned 18 in July! Wow, how time flies! He is continuing to work at Chick-Fil-A in California and we are praying for him as he has been contemplating different career options.
Giving Opportunities
We know that many people prefer to give one-time gifts or give toward something that is close to their heart. So we would like to start outlining small ways each month that you can give toward ministry in some way. The first one we’d like to highlight was already mentioned above – the bathroom/shower project at Connections House. Again, the total cost needed to finish this small project is $1200.
Secondly, we’d like to present the option of helping a local intern at our church to be able to attend Bible college. This young man has interned at our church for some time and is praying about what the Lord has in store for him, including the possibility of planting a church. The total cost for the 2-year program at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Ensenada, Mexico, is $3500. We are more than happy to provide more information to anyone that is interested in helping. (Just text Kristy at 608.322.7650.)
If you would like to give you can just click HERE to donate online. (Please put the dollar amount next to “for Connection Ministry House”, and write in the “comment” section where we should direct your donation.) If you would like to write a check, just make it payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”, write a note as to what the donation is for, and send it to our mailing address.
Thank you so much!
