God's Networking

Together with our ministry partners we have been praying for God’s direction regarding how to more effectively offer help and healing to the needy in our city and beyond. During the first few weeks of this year there have been some great connections both with others who serve here and with like-minded friends from the U.S.

A group of seven came recently and spent a day with us considering some options for serving in Ensenada. Two of the guys are long time friends from our Agua Viva days who are part of our Reflejo community and attend Mount Hermon with us. They were shown a project that touched their hearts and they shared it with friends, who shared it with friends who decided to accompany them on a recognisance trip.

God did some incredible networking that day and we all marveled at how He is moving to accomplish His purposes here and in the world. Following this post we will add an article that we were sent from 0ne of the guys on the trip. It is one of the best pieces we have ever read about helping the needy.

At this point there are plans to start coordinating efforts between these state side friends and some Reflejo friends and their church to provide food, friendship and encouragement to a Women's Shelter south of Ensenada called Casa Esperanza.

The most exciting part about all of this is that Jesus told us that the world will know that we are His disciples if we have love for one another. This endeavor is the result of being united in our love for Jesus and the desire to love our neighbor. Our prayer is that in the process others will come to know this Jesus we seek to follow. Please pray with us for that.

"Think About Such Things"

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Philippians 4:8

The last Sunday of December we gathered with the families of Reflejo, our faith community, reflecting on the year gone by. The room was filled with thanksgiving as each one shared something they were grateful for—life, health, another year, the support of friends and family, God’s provision, growing in faith.

David then challenged us based on the verse above to choose to think positively in a world that tends to be negative and pessimistic, to set our minds on what is excellent and praiseworthy. And then in the following verse, he urged us to go beyond thinking to doing, with its promised result.

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Verse 9)

These are inspiring thoughts for a time when the words crisis, recession, violence, war, disease, poverty, corruption and others fill the air waves as well as casual conversations. We need to remember that these verses were written by a man who was imprisoned, shipwrecked, beaten, stoned and run out of many towns for telling others about Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God—the One who transformed him and the One whose birth we celebrate during this season. Surely his admonitions for right thinking and applied action can bring that same peace to all of us in our lives.

We hope that as you read this you will be reminded to pray for us, to pray for our city, for our faith community and home church, for the small groups and those we are discipling to continue growing in their faith and commitment to Jesus.

We thank you too for being a part of our lives, our family and our work. It is a privilege to serve knowing that we are supported by such faithful friends and partners. May the God of peace invade your lives in new and astounding ways as you “think about such things.”

A Small Bone Turns Into a Big Break

It all started with a distracted misstep and a fall. It ended up with a broken bone, a cast and three weeks of bed rest.

Small things can make a big difference.

It was just a one inch step I did not navigate well. It is just a little bone under the smallest toe. It took just a second or two to happen. But the results are significant. A purple and swollen foot…Pain… Immobilization…Cancelled plans…Tasks undone…Reliance on others.

As I have had more time on my hands lately, I have been reading a lot more than I usually do. It seems that everything I read and even the DVDs that I have watched have served to communicate the same message—have faith, trust in God. A small portion of faith, as small as a mustard seed, can cause big things to happen.

We, like many of you have been confronting some major obstacles and challenges (more long- term than a three-week convalescence.) The economic crisis in the U.S. has hit us and many of our friends hard. There has been unprecedented violence in our two neighboring cities of Tijuana and Rosarito that has made this last month the bloodiest ever. We know many people who are facing serious health issues, family crises, death in their families, marital problems, depression and even thoughts of suicide. People are scared, worried, hopeless and tired.

Honestly, there have been times lately as our energy and resources have run low that we have been prone to worry, fear and even despair. But God has faithfully been reminding us that we need to trust in Him and not in what we have or what the prognosis is for the future. He has used the book of Nehemiah to show us what leadership submitted to and dependent on God looks like and what He can accomplish through those who look to Him and trust in Him. He has used friends to give us other books that carry the same message--believe in God’s Word and His promises, not in our feelings or our circumstances.

We know many of you are facing overwhelming obstacles in these days as well. We want you to know that we are praying for you and asking God to bless you and your families, your households and your businesses. Just as in our community, you have the opportunity to be a voice of faith, to declare that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” and “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 13; 19)

Let’s take God at His Word. Let’s be a voice of hope and healing for our communities, our cities, our nations and our world.

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.

Following God's Agenda

Sometimes it is hard to accept that the “interruptions” to our plans are really our calling…and that the tasks we have planned need to take a back seat to God’s agenda.

Take today for example. Tomorrow I am going to the U.S. and I have to send the donor receipts for September but I have not written the letter yet. So, the girls are off to school. I have a chunk of time to get the job done. After meeting with a few people I go home ready to do a few chores, start preparing lunch, write a memo for Jessica’s class and work on the letter. But just as I sit down at the computer my cell phone rings. It is one of the women we disciple. She is faithful, teachable, committed and responsible, but life has hit her hard. She is just recovering from the latest punch when an incident this morning involving her youngest child threatens to cut the thread on which her life is hanging. I drop everything and run to be with her. The chores, the lunch, the memo and the letter can wait.

This afternoon I take our girls rock climbing. Can I watch a friends’ daughter until she can get home. “Sure!” Homework, baths, dinner, violin practice, bedtime Bible story and prayers…soon I can get back to the computer and get that letter written. Then there is a knock on the gate. Someone is yelling my name…a mother of one of Geneva’s classmates. It is her second visit in the past couple weeks. She needs counsel, encouragement and a listening ear. And the letter to our partners—maybe later…She does not leave until 10 p.m.

Urgent needs and emergencies are never scheduled and are rarely convenient. But being a part of meeting those needs or responding to those emergencies is a conscious choice we make. Apparently Jesus lived life this way. In the midst of sharing an important spiritual message, someone who needed healing would “interrupt”. As He tried to get some time alone to pray or rest, the masses would follow Him wanting more teaching…or more bread. Walking along the road, a heartfelt question from one of His followers would warrant a pause in the journey to speak to that specific need. My heart tells me that He knew all of these “detours” were part of the plan for His life and He invested the time and energy to show us this is how God loves.

May God continue to prepare all of us to respond as He does to the daily “inconveniences” and “interruptions”. May we give His love freely and trust Him for the rest of the important tasks and responsibilities...including belated letters and blogs.