Here is a link to our latest update for Sept./Oct. Thank you for always remembering us in prayer and praise as we rejoice in all the wonderful things the Lord is doing down here....

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/100217329/Calvary-Puerto-Vallarta-News

August/September 2011 Hello to all of our beloved family in Jesus!

It is hard to believe that three fourths of 2011 has passed so quickly! It reminds of Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” How so very important it is to make the most of the time the Lord has designated for us on earth for His glory! When I get bogged down with those things that can trouble me, distract me, or plain hurt me, I have to go back to the cross and ask the Lord to direct my steps in His perfect and favorable will no matter the circumstances. Our ways are not His ways which are much higher and better than ours!

This brings me to reflect as I thumb through all the pictures of our activities for this year and I have to say overall the Lord has helped us to “knit our heart with His” in service to His kingdom. Every day I stand in awe of what He does when we come to end of ourselves. Coming to the end of ourselves being the key words here because when we die to “us” we will live in “Him” and He will complete His work through us.

As summer has come to an end, as we welcome the fresh air of fall in the evening, I am grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness to our church and to its members. We hosted two teams who were a big blessing in the ongoing construction at the school. The first team came from Atlanta, Georgia with our friends Tom and Debra Kent and Randy and Dodie Costales CC Golden Springs in southern CA. The rains had started and the roof at the school was leaking! That meant mold! Well this wonderful group of people came and installed our upstairs floor which has now sealed it completely, saving our adobe walls and floors on the first floor!

Some things seem have a bittersweet side to them; it was completed at a time that we hadn’t thought would get here so unexpectedly…We held a memorial service for our dear friend Gloria who passed on to eternal life when she was about to complete 86 ….It was a very sad time for us because she was to all of us our faithful “grandma” in church. She was a woman who always exerted herself to get to church every service in spite of her physical disabilities, because she loved the Lord and His word so much. We miss her greatly as she was such a faithful friend to all of us and always had an encouraging word for her family in Christ. The kids at the school all wrote symbolic letters to her sharing their love for her, and then tied them to balloons that we released to the heavens… It was a beautiful time and we were blessed to be able to have the service on our newly tiled floor upstairs at the school. Who would have known…

In the middle of July we had our annual VBS in a two-day camp format at the school in Laguna del Valle. The theme was High Seas. Thanks to our supporting churches at CCLV and Niceville 1^st Methodist we were able to utilize the materials they had passed on to us from their previous year VBS. We were able to pull our camp together quite quickly as they supplied all the adornments we needed! The youth prepared materials for the crafts which were all hand-made. The talent and creativity of the Mexican people certainly inspire us! We were able to hold the two-day camp at the school where the smaller children and the girls were able to sleep indoors and stay dry! Thank you Lord for our generous and hard working brothers from the teams you send down to help us! The bigger boys slept up stairs and only got wet from the breeze that blew during a torrential downpour that is so typical in July!

The youth ministered to the kids in such marvelous ways as the lead them through this high-sea adventure as their “shipmates” teaching them their memory verses, praying for them, disciplined them, and simply loved them. This was such a blessing for us to see how they are putting in action all they are learning in their Youth bible study with Miss Mari on Saturdays. They are really a great bunch of kids!

In August we hosted a youth team that visited from Lynn Valley Community Church in Vancouver, Canada. We were blessed to have these sweet kids with us that worked tirelessly in the morning making block (1608 to be exact), and then had arts and crafts, games and bible stories in the afternoon for all the kids at the school. They made beautiful bonds with the children and once again the kids were poured out Jesus’ love. It was fun for our youth at Calvary as they worked alongside them during the whole week and had a chance to do a “missions’ trip” right here in their backyard. The youth grew in their awareness mostly in the area of how much they are really blessed in what they themselves have at home compared to the children at the mission. It definitely focused them on being “others centered”.

Serving the Lord is such a privilege and it really gives you the opportunity to grow in ways you never imagined as it stretches you to do things you normally wouldn’t do. One young girl named Mavi told me as she helped clean up a house that we were prepping for the following teams project: “I felt wonderful inside when you had me do things I would never do on my own for someone else”. We had helped Luz, mother of 6 clean her house, sort through very dirty laundry, and bathed her kids. We were expecting a team from Niceville, Fl. to arrive the next week to work in this house.

I always marvel at how the Lord strengthens us to do so much more than we thought we were ever capable of doing even when we are suffering! That really to me is the beauty of going through trials and seeing Him work in spite of your trial. This year we have suffered economically, physically, sometimes emotionally, but as we continue to put our faith in the Lord to do great things. He has come through every time. The beautiful part of walking in obedience even when your physical body says, “I can’t walk one more step”, the Lord is their doing His work through us and in every circumstance we may face!

We are starting school today when last week I said to the Lord, “How?” We are at a very low point economically speaking in the church. People are out of work or struggling to pay their rent so consequently the operating budget of the church is at its lowest. But guess what? We have beans and rice for today’s meal at the school, material printed for the month, gas in the van, helpers for today, and above all the presence of our Lord Jesus to guide the way! He definitely provides our daily bread and loves to put us in a place of trusting Him literally every day for our sustenance.

I am so blessed to see how the Lord takes care of His own because when we committed to do Luz’s construction in her house we had no money in the “mission” account but I knew the Lord would make a way because she needed the help. She cooks with wood in her house, has no refrigerator, and no bathroom! Can you imagine this with 6 children? The Lord provided! 1^st United Methodist Church along with other folks, who have joined this team in the past, came for a return visit to help with this project! Juan Manuel and Luz now have drainage in their back patio, bathroom, and kitchen, a shower, a place to do laundry, and kitchen cabinets made out of cement! They no longer have to bath inside their living room with lack of drainage and the back yard no longer has grey water accumulating!

Isn’t the Lord awesome! He also made a way for us to talk to the school so they would accept her children with fewer requirements in regard to transcripts. Her boys have lost 2 years of school due to their extreme poverty. God has made a way for these kids to get back into school and for us to help them by teaching them simple life-skills that they as parents need to give their children a healthy and godly life. The eldest son Jesus has a learning disability and the director of the school went to his classroom to introduce him and told the children that they needed to accept him and help him and if they fought with him and his brother they would have to answer to her.

My point being that the Lord is always at work and we need to decide if we want to be part of that work or not. It is making ourselves available in spite of what we humanly see possible and falling into the potters hands and letting Him mold us, and use us in the way He sees fit even if we don’t see it with our own eyes. This is the true meaning of a faith that can move mountains.

It took me awhile to really be able to write you this update because of the difficulties we have been facing physically, economically, and sometimes emotionally…but the Lord has reminded me that he will turn our mourning into dancing, our tears into rejoicing, our heartache into worship, and the labor of our hands into glory for Him because it is pleasing to Him. My encouragement to you is that you let Him use all things for good in your life today and wait on Him in every difficult circumstance to shine His grace into your life as He uses you to bring others to Him!

By the way, Luz’s husband Juan Manuel gave His heart to Jesus as He saw the Lord’s love poured out into the lives of his wife and children. It reminds me of the song by David Crowder Band that says,

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

Down here when you talk about a hurricane, the people know the immensity of the force of the wind that brings. God’s love truly is like a hurricane and He pours out his grace and mercy in such an incredible way that when He has your number you can’t resist it! The families in the church are learning to let the Lord love them with His incredible affection and they are working on letting Him lead them into obedience. Please continue to pray for these families and for God’s provision in their physical and spiritual lives as we know that we face a battle for the saving and maintaining of their souls.

We thank the Lord for all the help many of you gave through the pouring out of service to the Lord. The teams that came in June laid the foundation for the next team from Lynn Valley. Lynn Valley block making was prep for the work on the mission school done by 1^st United Methodist Church. They laid the bricks, painted the classrooms, cleaned out the storage room, washed uniforms which was a tremendous help before classes begin today. The other part of the team provided all that wonderful work at Juan Manuel and Luz’s home. Above all we thank the Lord for the continued work that He is doing in the hearts of our congregation as they learn to love Him more and grow in the knowledge of His Word.

Praise Reports:

· We praise the Lord for His continued sanctifying work in the lives of the people that are coming to church and for the new believers coming into the fold!

· We praise the Lord for His constant provision for our church and the congregation.

· We praise the Lord for all the workers he has sent to the harvest for the fields are ripe and their help makes it easier for us to reach many for Christ.

Prayer Requests:

· Please pray for the new believer’s that come into the fold every Sunday. That they will commit to the new believer’s class and personal bible study.

· Please pray for the “Hallelujah Party”, that many will come out of darkness and into His light!

· Please pray for all our discipleships, New believer’s, Men’s meeting, Women’s bible study, and Youth Group. That the Lord’s Word would be rightly divided and penetrating to bring change.

· Please pray for our English Women’s bible study that we would like to start in late November in the book of Revelation by Cheryl Broderson.

· Please pray for our church’s finances, that the Lord will provide for our basic operating costs, for the food for the kids CCMS, and funds for our helps ministry to the people out at the Mission and so that we can hire someone to help work at the church during the week.

· Please pray for our personal finances as well as we try to subsidize the operating costs at the church when necessary…God is faithful and we are still here!

· Please pray for those who have fallen away and have been caught up in the world and sin as Puerto Vallarta is a very decadent place. Please pray that they would get tired of the emptiness and would come back to Jesus!

· Please pray for unity in the body as “body living” can be difficult at times when all are not spending time in the Word and prayer. Pray for God’s grace in the lives of His children.

· Please pray for our youth that they would be single-minded in their walks with the Lord and that they would maintain holiness, purity of heart, and a desire to share their faith with others.

· Please pray for our children, Estie, Micah and Abby in their homeschooling. That they will be able to fulfill their goals daily and would not be distracted in what they need to accomplish. Please pray for their continued walks with the Lord.

Thank you so much for your constant love and support and for always being “mindful of us in your prayers”. We love you and are so happy to be able to share with you all the Lord has done through your faithfulness of prayer and support!

If you are interested in supporting this ministry you can make your tax-deductible donations to:

Global Adventures, Calvary of Albuquerque, 4001 Osuna Rd. NE 87109. If you want to make a contribution to the Martin’s write it in the memo of your check. If you want to donate to our General Ministry Fund write “Building Fund” in the memo and Global will know what to do from there.

God bless you!

They played games in the basketball court till they couldn't run anymore....

"Marea Alta" or High Seas was the theme of our Kid's Camp this year at CCMS. We spent two glorious days with the kids from CCPV out at the school where we experienced the depths of God's glorious Word...The kids learn God's Word is truthful, comforting, gives direction, and for everyone. We spent the night in the school....all 52 of us, camping out on the floor and our newly tiled second floor! Thanks to Tom and Debra Kent, Randy and Dodie Costales and friends we were able to sleep in the dry! We had a tremendous rain storm but God faithful gave us His shelter. The youth did and awesome job leading the kids in worship and through this High Seas adventure with games, crafts, and wonderful bible lessons. Mari Molina brought the stormy experience of Paul the Apostle to life on a High Seas journey with sound effects and drama. The kids also experience the Miracle of Jesus' death and resurrection where they were given the opportunity to receive forgiveness and restoration. We were by God's grace able to develop a one-week VBS into a program of two days. Three of the of the mothers, Anna, Margarita, and Gaby made Posole for the closing dinner along with all the other snacks and meals they prepared during the two day camp. Many children prayed to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit as they asked God to help them overcome habitual sin. Our youth laid on hands and prayed for the children....this to us was the most touching thing to see them ministering to their little brothers and sisters in this way! It was absolutely a success and all the glory goes to the Lord. Thank you all so much for your continued prayer and financial support which make these outreaches possible. We thank the Lord for your lives and pray that you feel blessed by being part of our ministry!

Sincerely, Pastor Bill and Renee'

Julio and Agustin during High Seas VBS

Abby helping her kids make thank you cards..

Kasia makes a card for a friend....

Bill receives a card from Litzy during VBS

Julian is part of our young adult's group....He is welding the frame for the new roof!

Chuy and Carlitos helping take down the old roof.....

The poverty in Puerto Vallarta's outer population can be debilitating for some families....The needs can become overwhelming to meet so I am glad we can come before the King of King's and ask Him to give us direction to help those who are in need of economic help. He faithful has lead us to a group of families in Laguna del Valled who we can than funnel help to from our visiting brothers and sisters from the US and Canada. Today we will start on a roofing project to help our sister Luz and her husband Juan Manuel and their 6 children. The awesome thing is that He has provided the funds through our visiting brothers and sisters and the labor will be done by our Mexican brothers and sisters! What a blessing this combined effort is as we see His love manifested by His church from both places! We are thanking the Lord for letting us be His eyes, hands, and feet in seeing this need met! The family has improved greatly from the time we first met them... Juan Manuel is taking more seriously his role as father, drinking less and working more. We are still praying for His salvation. Luz faithfully attends bible study and church, no matter the conditions she and her family live in. She doesn't limit herself to going because of shame of appearance or other things that normally stop the ladies from the Colonia from attending church. The biggest...."I have to wash clothes and cook for my husband so I can't make it today". Pray for Luz and her children and for her husband's salvation. Her kids are rejected in school because they are very poor and kind of wild. The director told them to come back next year....Pray that we at CCMS will be able to help the boys work on their reading, writing, math, so that they won't be so far behind next year and that they can continue improve in the area of discipline so they will be accepted by their peers...

Thank you our faithful prayer warriors!

Calvary Chapel PV May/June 2011 Newsletter

It is 12:00 and time to get ready to go to school at CCMS in Laguna del Valle. What a blessing it is to be able to serve the Lord’s children! We are always amazed that they keep coming back…I don’t know why we are surprised, because it is the Lord that is doing the work in their hearts…and we just get the privilege of being His hands and His heart. What an awesome privilege that really is.

There are times when we get overwhelmed with the trials so many of our people face in our church….Economic struggles, struggles with sin, disappointment with other believers, lack of clothing and many of the creature comforts so many of his don’t even consider because we take them for granted. It makes my heart fill with gratitude every time I see the Lord provide for one of His own with one of these simple things in life. I am broken by God’s goodness to my family in the provision of the basic needs He fills in our lives. I am more broken by how He blesses our cup to the point of overflowing so we can share with others who are so needy. I always try to encourage others to have a generous heart because we can never give more than God gives us… as a family we are living proof of how He manifests Himself through His provision. We never have too much nor do we ever have too little so as not to defame God’s glory. Of course we try to live a simple life focusing on things eternal more than on things that are earthly, but our basic needs are important to the Lord and we are able to clothe, feed, and give our kids a life that doesn’t leave them wanting. For this I am eternally grateful…
Life on the mission field for a child can be a blessing or very difficult depending on how you help them focus when it comes to things eternal. I am reflecting on this because my children are in the advent of becoming independent adults and discovering the calling God is putting on their lives as they use their gifts to bless others.

Estie, Micah, Abigail, and our adopted daughter Sarahi are such an important part of our ministry as we are seeing the fruit of our labor as parents as their lives bear fruit. They serve in Worship, maintaining the church clean, preparing for service, children’s ministry and all the other things the Lord calls us to do to build his church. I am presently teaching a woman’s study where we are learning the truth of God’s Word in order to combat the lies of the enemy in our marriages, child-rearing, and our relationship with Him. It has been such an awesome time to me personally and I know the Lord is working in the lives of our women. God’s Word is really the only hope we have when it comes to planting good seed into the hearts our children. Of course this may sound repetitive as we have all heard it in messages throughout our lives but if we look in retrospect we have looked for instruction in many places other than the Word of God: example of friends as we compare kids, books, television, culture, and the many other things that affect our unconscious perception and influence us.

About two years ago we made a commitment to disciple the youth and challenge them to a deeper walk with Jesus…We committed to teach them the true meaning of worship using the beautiful illustrations we have in scripture such as Isaiah 6, the Psalms of David. We committed to teach them how to pray using the Lord ’s Prayer, John 17, and other scripture as models. We committed to teach them how to serve the needy at the mission and at the church. Even those youth from mission who ARE the needy have learned to have a compassionate heart to others as they are learning that there is always someone else that is more needy than they. We are seeing the fruit of the labor now manifested in our own children and in the children and youth of the church.

Those who have come to serve alongside us always are amazed at the servant hearts these young people display. Only Jesus can make that change in our hearts…for this we rejoice and thank the Lord. We hope to have our youth camp this summer. We haven’t confirmed the dates but we are looking forward to it as we will use the book “Crazy Love” as the theme. Please pray the you will be inspired and motivated as we challenge them to continue to grow and be strengthened as soldiers of Christ.

I will not venture to say that the work of the ministry has come without challenges, trials, and discouragement as we see others struggle in their lives as they have chosen to openly transgress against what the Lord has taught them. I believe that this is the hardest thing for us as missionaries to see and it burdens our hearts greatly to watch them struggle so. But I must say that we don’t lose sleep as we trust the Lord with those He has begun a good work in. Henry Blackabee says it the best in “Knowing God”: God is always at work, even when we don’t see it. We pray and rest as we put these in His hands knowing He loves them and will complete the work in them as well. I believe this is the heart of anyone who disciples others as to see them grow in the “full knowledge of Jesus Christ” as was Paul’s heart in Romans chapter 10. Bill has done an incredible job teaching the Body the writings of Paul and we are seeing them respond as they mature in Christ.

As summer has begun we are really, really hot! It is a time when the body has to adjust greatly and it is difficult not to be overcome by the heat as we serve the Lord. I don’t know how the kids in the public school can concentrate as they are finishing out their school year. Please pray for super-natural strength for all of us to not let this affect us and the work the Lord has us. It makes you want to be in air-conditioning or to stretch out in a hammock and take a way to long siesta!

I accompanied Bill to the CC Pastor’s Conference in Murrietta (He attended and I shopped with my friend Evelyn Tan, wife of Pastor Jon in Singapore). One of the things that I was able to do with him was attend a dinner at a nearby ministry called “Far Reaching Ministries” to Sudan where they focus on training Chaplains for the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. Their vision is to train up leaders and soldiers of Jesus Christ to put on the front-lines of a place that lives under constant threat of war. One of the things I was so impressed by was a scroll they had painted on their wall which was written the “Knight’s code of Chivalry”. I loved it because it applies very well to what the Lord wants to do in “His People’s Army” no matter where we are. Here are the Words I leave with you and that we hope to use as part of our theme for our youth camp as we train up soldiers for Jesus:

KNIGHTS CODE OF CHIVALRY
To fear God and maintain His Church
To serve the Lord in valor and faith
To protect the weak and defenseless
To give refuge to widows and orphans
To refrain from giving offense
To live by honor and for glory of God
To despise the love of money
To fight for the welfare of all
To obey those placed in authority
To guard the honor of fellow knights
To despise meanness, unfairness, and bereft
Never refuse challenge with innocents in peril
To keep faith
At all times to speak the truth
To persevere to the end
To respect the honor of women
Never to turn the back upon a foe

Our Praise Reports:

• Thank you Lord for continuing the ministry at Calvary Chapel PV. We praise You for the spiritual growth we see through the discipleships. We praise you for the work of salvation You are doing in the kids at CCMS. We praise You for putting our church on the hearts of all our supporters and for providing for our family. Thank you Lord for those prayer warriors that have been praying for the struggling brothers and sisters....they do come back to church or we have the opportunity to cross their paths! For this we are grateful!

Our Prayer requests:

• For those we have lead to Christ throughout the years to continue to grow in their walks with the Lord as was Jesus’ Heart in John 17.

• For the kids at the school who have continued to be committed to finish out the school year at CCMS that they would grow in faithfulness to Christ.

• For those youth that struggle as the world wants to pull them in and make them compromise their walks with the Lord. Pancho, Juanita, Conchita.

• For the struggle the Body faces in hard economic times. It’s expensive to live here!

• For the Church finances that God will continue to provide for the rent, electricity, and all operating expensive. For continued support for the ministry.

• For continued work at the mission as teams come this summer. For safety and blessing on the work at the school. For spiritual- life changing experiences for team members.

If you are interested in supporting this ministry please go to
Global Adventures, CalvaryAlbuquerque.com
or if you would like to designate your donation to a our general fund in
Puerto Vallarta call their office at
505 344 0880 and speak to Trudy Waddleton for instructions.

God Bless you from The Martin's in Mexico

We worshipped Him in Song, and Hymns, and Spiritual Songs!
I have to say I am so consistently amazed at how the Lord meets us in worship…. Why am I always so surprised? I guess it is because the Lord always is doing something new, something refreshing, and something so awe inspiring that it takes my breath away! I am referring to how he inhabited the praises of His children during our Christmas outreach! Although there was a lot of noise in the back of the basketball court, as you will always have those that are more interested in the fishes and the loaves than in hearing Jesus, He was working! We don’t have a great sound system and I suppose next year we will work on that so we can capture those in the back, but I have to say that what the Holy Spirit was doing on the set, with the kids choir, the youth, and those that were sitting up close was marvelous!
The pre-school and kinder class kicked off the night by reciting Psalm 121 and sang two songs which their teachers Roberto and Lulu taught them. What a testimony it is for the people to hear these tiny little kids speaking for a whole chapter of God’s Word! We thank the Lord for our teachers and helpers! Our visiting team from Calvary Las Vegas along with Estie, Micah, and Abby presented a moving modern version of the hope Jesus can give to struggling teens who are tempted with drugs, alcohol, vanity, un-godly relationships, and suicide. It was a very powerful message and I am sure he used it to speak to the teens in the crowd! Then the youth from Calvary PV did a wonderful black-light and white glove presentation to the song “I Am Yours” which was a beautiful message of how the Lord picks us up when we fall and how He makes us His own! He moved through the music that the kids presented in spite a few technical difficulties…which caused our timing to be a bit off with the timing of the drama that was taking place. It goes to show that the Lord blesses availability more than ability. But with that being said, the kids are definitely improving in their musical skills and acting abilities.
There were several trees in the drama…Sarahi, Haniel, and Fabiola that represented the things we want out of this life that don’t seem to be in line with what the Lord wants. In the drama the Nativity story was interwoven as the trees reflected on how God used them for greater things than they imagined. Even if they were things that in the world’s eyes were not that splendid. One was used as a rustic manger; another was a small boat that carried the King of the universe who calmed a great storm, and another a Rustic Cross that would remain a reminder of His resurrection. This drama the youth presented gave a wonderful representation of the gospel story while the Kid’s choir was added to sing “The little drummer boy” in Spanish and English. If you could have only heard Luis Angel doing the solo part of the song it would have moved you to tears. The beautiful thing was as I was preparing the music God had put it on my heart for him to do that solo. When we started to practice the music I asked for a volunteer and guess who raised his hand? Luis Angel! God is so awesome! He is a talented young man who has told his mother who is unsaved that he wants to be a pastor like Pastor Bill! Isn’t wonderful to see what the Lord can do through His word! Other wonderful praise and worship songs were added to give the special touch to our Christmas program.
One of the beautiful testimonies of how the Lord worked in the Christmas outreach was given by our friends Pastor Roberto and Paloma. Paloma’s father who is a retired military officer came to the outreach. Paloma and Roberto had been praying for his salvation but had a very difficult time sharing with him due to the many things the couple went through before they were saved. Her father and his wife both came to the outreach and in spite of all the things we felt we could have done better his comment was this: “I thought for sure when the lights went out for that black light drama the crowd of 600 was going to be out of control! I was so amazed how their attention was captured and how everyone followed instruction so well! I have not seen anything that well organized since I left the military! I am truly touched by how all of you have reached out to the people in my country with such a lovely message of God’s love!” He and his wife both gave their lives to the Lord! What an answer to prayer for Roberto and Paloma! Then we had our little prayer warrior Litzy of 9 years old come up to me during the second altar call for the youth to tell me she had a message and prayer to share with the youth. We gave her the microphone and she began to pray for the kids to stop falling in temptation to drugs, alcohol, and other things that drive them away from God. She prayed for their repentance and salvation. It brought us all to tears! Many, many teens came up that we had ministered to in the past as little children to make a re-commitment to the Lord or to accept Him for the first time! The Lord is mighty to save!
When the ministry part of the outreach was completed we started the gift distribution. It brought many smiles to many faces and it gave us an opportunity to pray for the parents of these children who are so grateful for the love the Lord shares with their kids through this ministry. We were so blessed to have the team from Calvary Las Vegas NM headed up by Pastor Robby and his wife Felicia make themselves available from dawn to dusk to wrap presents, clean the church, organize the presents and then serve tirelessly at the outreach! Before they got here the Lord sent a team of wrappers from our church and from other places to help us get the 500 gifts ready for the outreach. We thank the Lord for constantly provided his warriors to come alongside of our Gideon size army! The Lord is the winner of every battle! We thank Him for moving so mightily amongst us and for giving us all the support through you prayer warriors and generous donors to make these outreaches possible.
We were also blessed by the Las Vegas team with the monthly food packets for the kids at the school much to our surprise! Thank you Lord for making life a little bit easier for those who need your help not only in a spiritual way but also in a physical one! We Love your faithfulness!
Well we began the New Year with a service and a shared meal on New Year’s Eve. At 7:00 pm we were only 3 families and we thought “well it will be nice for us to share time together even if it is only us…” By 7:30 as we were in the middle of worship and the church filled up! It was a beautiful time of worship, testimonies and thanksgiving for everything the Lord has been doing in our lives in the Body of Christ. Sunday morning we shared communion after the message. It was really awesome to see folks in the body come forward for prayer for this coming New Year! Every service the Lord meets us! Glory to His name alone!
We had a team join us from Calvary Chapel Bachiniva, Chihuahua headed up by Pastor Luis Vargas and his wife Kim and their four children. They brought 24 people from their congregation to enjoy a vacation and work at the CCMS. They helped work on the shower and prepared a slab for the bathroom area and mostly enjoyed leaving the cold of Northern Mexico behind. The night before they left we were able to join our youth group with their youth group for a time of games and fellowship in a park. It was a blessing to see our kids making new friends with the young people from CC Bachiniva and from CC Las Vegas NM. It is such an encouragement for our youth to see that they are not the only kids who have chosen a different lifestyle than the majority of the youth in our community. It is always such and blessing for our children as well to meet other missionary kids and those who love Jesus from other places! We thank the Lord for youth pastor Jose Nieves from Bachiniva for his commitment to help the kids under his care to grow in service to the Lord. We have invited them to come down for our youth camp in the spring if it is God’s will. Please pray for that event and for the youth group to have creativity to know how to raise funds for it. Last year’s camp was such a important part of their spiritual growth and we pray this year’s will be also!
As far as what is to come….we will wait on the Lord to show us. We will start school up again at CCMS and we pray the Lord will continue to strengthen the team of leaders out there. We have several repeated visitors that will come down to help come alongside to serve the kids but we still would like more permanent teachers so we can have more opportunity to accept more children at the school. Please pray for that for us. Pray if you think of anyone in your fellowship who would like to serve on a short-term or long-term basis in our church and the school. We have had college and career aged young people come and serve for a few months at a time which has been a blessing to us and to the kids. If someone has been laid on your heart to serve in this way please let us know.