NEW WEBSITE + FACEBOOK PAGE

We are excited to announce the launch of our new website (dkgarcia.com) and Facebook page.

Over the coming days, weeks and months we will be developing these web spaces to allow you to
Engage, Learn, Connect, Share, Pray, Give

with our ministry in Ensenada. 

The website will also facilitate online giving through PayPal - please see dkgarcia.com/give

Step #1 for you is to Connect by:

+ signing-up to receive our blog posts via email and/or RSS at dkgarcia.com 

+ hitting the "Like" button on our Facebook page

Women Making a Difference

Last night I had a women's cafecito here at the house. There were seven of us around the table ranging from young moms in their 30's to a grandmother. It had been a few months since the last time we had met.

To get us caught up I asked for each one to share what had impacted, challenged or excited them in their lives recently.

It was amazing to hear how with passion and spontaneity each and every one shared that what was most exciting in their lives had to do with an opportunity that God has given them to serve in the community. Here is a sample of how God is using women from our home church and Reflejo to make a difference to those who need it most:

• Thermalton--a project between a Pre-school, an Elementary school and a Family Therapy clinic to collect long underwear as gifts for the 54 children and youth of a local orphanage
• Casa de Paz--the name of the orphanage mentioned above. Another woman, a psychologist, is working together with other colleagues and professionals to direct a program for the 11 special needs youth that live there
• Casa para los Bello--gathering resources to build a house for a retired pastor who is blind and his wife.
• A home Bible study
• A Day Care Center for working moms
• A feeding program for the homeless

And what did I share?...How I was witnessing a dream come true before my eyes--leaders who are following Jesus and are sharing the heart of their Saviour; to bring hope, help and healing to hurting people.

A Home Church Family serving the Community

Juan Carlos and Laura have been friends for many years, even attending the same church at one point. Because of Juan Carlos’ career as an executive with Mexico’s largest privately held corporation, they moved frequently, but each time they came back to Ensenada we would reconnect. Laura is a psychologist and has been a tremendous support to our work with the CAME crisis center.

This past February we “happened” to be at a CAME gathering at their home when Juan Carlos informed us that he had resigned his position that very day. Laura was even surprised! That evening when everyone else had left, we listened to their story and also shared with them what God has been doing in our lives and in our faith journey and told them about the Home Church. The next morning they called and asked if they could attend, and ever since then they have become part of our church family along with their 22-year-old son, Gabriel, who is also a psychologist. (At far left in the picture is Manuel, their oldest, who lives and works in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.)

Laura is also recently retired after 30 years of working as a school psychologist. But don’t picture them in rocking chairs somewhere! In May they cut the ribbon and officially opened their own counseling center called Desarrollo Personal (Personal Development) serving the Ensenada community with professional and value-centered therapy and support.

But they did not stop there. While promoting the Center’s services they connected with a local children’s home (sometimes known as an orphanage) that has 11 special need youth transferred from a psychiatric facility. So for the past few months this family and others on their staff have been developing and implementing a program for these young people, training them in basic motor, cognitive and interpersonal skills.

God has also given them the grand vision to assist the children’s home in becoming self-sustaining and in the process they have been inviting other friends and colleagues to partner with them in this project. It has been an incredible set of events that has us in awe of our awesome God!

As members of our Home Church it has been our privilege to support them spiritually as well as participate in this exciting new phase of their lives and life work. Leaders loving and serving God as they love and serve the community—That's the fruit we trust that God will continue to develop here in Ensenada.

Technologically Challenged

I am now convinced that there are some of us on this planet that are missing the gene that provides ability and understanding for tools of modern technology. Among those born into this unfortunate population are my husband, David, and myself. Fortunately it appears that our offspring have avoided this mutation and will continue to be productive and successful in a world dependent on batteries, chips, gigas, memory, and sufficient functioning brain cells.

Case in point: Our friend's two year old daughter can grab his I-Phone and navigate like nobody's business. Put one in my hand and I won't be able to turn it on, let alone make a call.

Having coffee with a friend this week she says, "You haven't updated your blog in 8 months!" (not technically accurate, but close.) I have no excuse, but here at least is an "explanation."

Two years ago our digital camera died. This past June we bought an inexpensive Kodak "EasyShare" ("Easy" being the operative word.) Happily I began taking pictures and even downloaded a few on my laptop. (It really was pretty easy.)

Mid July--computer won't recognize camera, can't download pictures. Fast forward to end of August--First attempt to re-download camera program. Result--need for full system back up of computer. Install Carbonite. Three days later(!!) computer is backed up on the free 15-day trial. Another week goes by (now it's September!)--second attempt to download camera program. Result--hard drive is out of memory. Run Disk defragmenter. Discovery--camera program is installed twice. Erase duplicate program. Connect camera and attempt to download pictures. Not recognized. Compress current files. No can do--insufficient memory. Spend hours deleting three years of emails and making CDs of four years of pictures to free up disk space. Not done yet. Stay tuned...........

So besides my lack of discipline to keep up this blog, my tendency to write chapters instead of posts, the other three family members clamoring to use my laptop (as our family PC died earlier this year)...I am officially "technologically challenged" and what would take any "normal" person 15 minutes takes me hours, that turn into weeks, months and years. Can someone tell me if there is a remedy for this, or could I at least get some government compensation for my condition? Better yet, maybe my 9 year old could become the family IT person. It can only get better!!

A "Commercial" for Reflejo

Perusing my Facebook I found a post from a good friend in San Diego sharing about Mexico and about our Reflejo community. He did a great job and I thought some of you would be interested in reading it too.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/notes/john-coghlan/reviving-the-church-in-ensenada-mexico/10150181248335188

May God help us to truly live up to our name as a community and by His grace be agents for change, revival and building bridges.

Defeating the Spirit of Fear

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and
of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

For a young mom it is a shocking realization that in spite of the overwhelming love she feels for her child she has repeated the pattern of abuse she herself suffered. This verse has become a source of hope and comfort as we share with her and her husband in counseling and study of God’s Word.

A young, professional woman struggles with depression and anxiety, yet she is trusting God for her healing and has experienced significant improvement. She and her husband are currently stepping out in faith in the areas of their careers and ministry. However, meeting with an “expert” last week, our friend received advice filled with fear and pessimism that threatened to pull her back into the hole she has been climbing out of. As we met with them and reflected on this verse, she recognized that what she knows now in her heart to be true defies any professional wisdom that ignores the reality of faith in God and His plan for their lives.

Another friend, married for 14 years, has come to realize there are major problems in her marriage. Through meditating on this verse together in a counseling session, she is taking courageous steps to overcome the fear of making decisions to provoke change while at the same time trusting God to rescue and restore her family.

We are aware that right now fear permeates much of people’s thought processes, decision making, and attitudes. Especially given the current political and social climate and events occurring both here and around the world, people are in a word—scared. Even followers of Jesus Christ (including the friends mentioned above) are not always aware when we allow fear to dictate what we think and feel and how we react. Incidents of violence, we run and hide. Talk of a flu virus; we lock ourselves in our homes, put on surgical masks, close schools, businesses and even churches. Economic problems, we panic and worry about if we’ll have enough. What do all these reactions have in common? They isolate us, tempt us to depend on our own wisdom and efforts to ride out the storm, and cause us look inward instead of outward.

As a family and as a community we are taking steps to reject the spirit of fear and step out in the spirit of power, love and of a sound mind that are ours in Christ. We are seeking to help those in financial need, praying together for the safety and healing of our city and our land, taking on community projects that have been sidelined as those who have historically helped are staying home; and speaking boldly about the truth that can set us free in any and every circumstance.

We are excited and optimistic about the opportunities that are opening up precisely because of these more challenging times. More and more people are considering their need for God and we want to be available and prepared to help meet needs and share the hope we have in Jesus. Please continue to pray for us and thank you for partnering with us in this spirit of power and love.

A Place to Find Hope and Healing

It's a humble setting--an old house with sparse landscaping and modest decorations. But for many who live on society's periphery or on life's edge it is an oasis providing help, hope, healing and the resources to overcome overwhelming obstacles.

CAME, as the Center is referred to, provides services to women and families in crisis. For thirteen years is has functioned as a non-profit NGO supported solely through volunteers and funds provided by events and donations.

In opening its doors, CAME found a niche in the strata of the Ensenada community. Many schools, hospitals and even the state and local governments refer people to the Center knowing that they will receive prompt, personal and professional attention. Not being bound by quotas, bureaucracy, political or religious affiliations has allowed CAME to operate on a shoe-string budget but continue to open its doors to people from all walks of life and levels of need.

Recruited as one of the first volunteer counselors shortly after the Center was founded, David soon realized that working with CAME offerred a tremendous opportunity to help people in need, while at the same time affording him the freedom to be more open about spiritual themes than at his other position with the government social service agency (DIF). Soon he was elected as part of the governing board of the Center, even serving as the President of the organization for two years. In that role he made many contacts with other leaders in the areas of government, health care, social services, NGOs and business. There were also many occasions to attend local functions, appear on radio and television programs and promote awareness concerning the problems women and families face in our society--opportunities that he used to share, as he always does in his sessions, about the spiritual needs behind the physical and emotional needs.

David later recruited Karen to also serve in the role of volunteer counselor. Currently they both dedicate six hours a week at the Center seeing patients, as well as assisting in fund raising events to keep the center's doors open to the community. This is just one of the many doors that God has opened to us here in Ensenada and we thank Him for the privilege to be used to share His love and hope with people who are yearning for exactly those elements in their lives.

What is Reflejo...Who is Reflejo?

"Reflejo" is a Spanish word that means reflection. A reflection illustrates the concept of mirroring , where one surface or object receives and then projects an image other than its own. Therefore the object displaying the reflection becomes intimately identified with the image that it reflects. Picture a full moon reflected on the ocean's surface or a city landscape seemingly painted on the windows of a skyscraper.

Here in Ensenada, "Relejo" refers to a group of people, a community of families who are seeking to be a reflection of Jesus Christ to those around us. Made up primarily of small business owners and other professionals, for the last several years we have been gathering regularly to learn more about God and His Kingdom, to fellowship and share meals together as those in the early church practiced, and to love each other as Christ directed His disciples to do.

Weekend of Reflejo @ Valle de Guadalupe

[View the full-screen slideshow]

The majority of those who make up "Relejo" attend one of three or four small group Bible studies represented within the larger community and many are members of several different local churches. Therefore, what unites us is the person of Jesus Christ and His mandate to love another. In the Gospel of John 13:34-35 Jesus is in the upper room with His closest friends and followers just hours before He will be arrested and turned over to the authorities to be put to death. He charges them with the following words: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

So just as the ocean or a skyscraper reflect the landscape around them, so our little community of faith in Ensenada seeks to display to those in our sphere of influence the person of Jesus Christ and His love for the world. Therefore, the prayer that expresses the yearning of our hearts is: "Lord, teach me to be a reflection of Your love."