Family
We are super excited that grandbaby #2 is on its way! Joshua just turned one this month and in October he will be a big brother! Brian and Brittany have recently started attending the church planting class offered at our church. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for them! (While secretly hoping that God doesn’t take them too far away from us.)
William has a big life change coming up. On Monday he will be moving to Idaho with a friend that he grew up with here in Mexico. We are excited for this next step in his life. Please keep him in your prayers as he looks for a job and adjusts to living on his own. While he has been working in the U.S. for about a year and a half now, he hasn’t lived there since 2010. So he will definitely still be experiencing some culture shock.
As many of you already know, Ron’s back surgery was rescheduled for February 23rd. It went very well and the surgeon was happy with everything. He has definitely experienced some pain relief and is getting better little by little. However, almost five weeks later, he is about in the same place he was just before the surgery in regards to how much he can do. Of course he has lifting (bending, reaching, etc.) restrictions, but he is only able to stand, sit, or work for so long before he has to lay down again. Please keep him in your prayers as well, as he has a long road of recovery and a hard time resting when he’d rather be working.
Ministry
We were blessed this month to serve alongside the youth from Calvary Chapel Saving Grace (Yorba Linda, CA). They served at a local church who hasn’t received a team in over two years, Iglesia Bautista Cristo Rey, here in Rosarito. The team ministered to the children with games, crafts, worship, and a Bible lesson. They also shared a message and testimonies with the adults. At the end they gave out backpacks to the children and food boxes/cleaning supplies to all the families.
The team also blessed a local children’s home, Niños Con Fe, in Tijuana. There was a lot of soccer, tug of war, crafts, worship, testimonies, and a Bible lesson. They also served dinner to the 30+ children there and their staff. It was awesome to hear the conversations and testimonies being shared over face painting, crafts, nail painting, and even an open Bible on one of the tables. Afterwards, the youth and a few leaders prayed for the anyone that wanted it. It was really neat to see not just some of their staff go up and ask for prayer, but some of the youth from the children’s home as well!
Church Planting
In our January update we mentioned that we had returned for a second trip to Loreto in Baja California, Mexico. We had helped church planters, Elmer & Crystal, move to plant a bilingual church, Calvary Loreto, located about fourteen hours south of us.
We had driven back to Loreto without a trailer. Somehow Ron managed to get all of our stuff, 30 folding chairs, Juan’s motorcycle, and some other donations in the back of our pick-up. We even brought the kayak, which we were able to use a couple of times after the work on the church was done. Juan, who is on the church plant team, had to leave his motorcycle behind because it wasn’t ready when he left. So we surprised him by bringing it down for him.
Mostly, Ron managed the crew working on the church, but he did manage to get his hands dirty. You can see above that he put up the banner on the side of the church. Don’t let the photo on the right fool you, though. He only helped Kristy paint the logo over the church doors for a little over an hour. Of course, he worked on many other things as his back would allow. Kristy took three days before the church’s first service to work on this sign. The first evening she traced it – mostly by light from the truck because it was too bright during the day to see the projector. Then the next two days were mostly spent painting it. She didn’t claim to be quick or to be an expert, but it turned out pretty good! Below you can see the church ready for the first service and the logo painted over the front doors of the church.
The first service at Calvary Loreto was February 7th. There was a full sanctuary and three professions of faith! Kristy led worship, along with a couple of other ladies. Pastor Carlos from Calvary Rosarito joined us for several days, along with his wife, Robin, and our friend Grace.
We are so excited to see how the Lord continues to work in Loreto! Since we returned home, they added seating for about 10 more people by tearing down the back wall of the sanctuary. After that, they removed the side wall and expanded even more, adding another 15 or so chairs. They’ve had two much-needed air conditioning units and a sound system donated, and are now working on painted the sanctuary floor.
Kristy is going to have an opportunity to return to Loreto this May for a pastor’s conference that they are holding. She will be helping with the food and wherever else needed for the conference and hopefully arriving early enough to help with the ladies’ event the week before. She will likely be bringing a trailer, as there are more donated chairs that need to be brought down, plus some other donations. Brian & Brittany will also be attending the conference, as Brian is going to be one of the speakers. About 75-100 men are expected to attend!
Connections House
A huge thank you to all of you who have been praying for us! Your prayers are felt and they are much needed! You, along with everyone that has partnered with us financially, make this ministry possible! To those that have specifically given toward our 3rd floor project, here is a quick update on its progress. Over the last few months, you donated a little more than $3400. With that, the ceiling of the Upper Room (dining/meeting room) has been tiled and it looks awesome! Some trim and beams were painted. Donated cabinets for the Upper Room, and a few for the kitchen, were painted are currently being installed.
We have been blessed recently on this project by several volunteers who have donated their time, including but not limited to, Pastor Carlos & Robin Oliveros, John Vandenhaak, Omar Cossio, Esau & Sandy Quintero, and a few others. About 75% of the kitchen has been moved to the 3rd floor. Next, we will be installing some sinks and moving the water filtration system to the 3rd floor. After that, some electrical work for lighting, and then we can tile the kitchen ceiling. Unfortunately, the floors will not get tiled yet, as this is a very expensive step. We’d love to paint the floor to make it more cleanable, but it would cost too much for this temporary fix. Instead, after all these things are done, we will shift our focus back to the first floor and finish the new bathroom and shower room under the stairs. From there, when the Lord provides the funds or materials, we will be able to add some dorm rooms, as well as more bathrooms and showers to the first floor.
Please continue to pray that our summer teams will come to serve and not have to cancel. We know that the best place for any believer to be is in the center of God’s will, but we also know that it is up to each individual or team coordinator to decifer his will for them. As for us, we will continue with the work the Lord has called us to in Rosarito, in Baja California, in Mexico, and beyond. God bless!
