FBC Missions

Hola to all you in Eugene,

Today’s post is going to be very short because we are short on time. The whole group left Victoria at 9:00am and traveled to Algodones for some “de compras” (shopping). We are all mostly healthy, happy, and safe. God is good. Today we are looking forward to all enjoying carne asada at Tidy’s. Please continue to pray for safety and unity as we spend our last full day in the Mexicali Valley.

Dios le Bendiga,

-The Mexico Mission Team

Hola to all~

It hard to explain all that has happened here in the past 48 hours, but we will try . On Tuesday evening we met at K57 where the new church has just been completed. The group in Victoria and K39 had a “stay at home” night with their families. The rest of the team sang a few songs and then showed the movie “Fireproof”. It was in Spanish with English subtitles so everyone could appreciate the message. Everyone loved the movie, folks were crying and even at the end one woman gave her life to the Lord. The pastors here think it is a great ministry tool and plan to use it again. They said it touches on all the problems in our world~ marital issues, drugs and alcohol, pornography, and relationships.

Early Wednesday morning a group left for the asparagus fields to share with the workers there and take them granola bars, juice and socks. Over 60 workers rallied around as the team sang and shared and Pastor Bibliano gave a short message. Fourteen people responded that they wanted to acceppt Christ. We are praising the Lord!!

In the afternoon the work continued ~ painting in all the towns, construction, VBS and a visit to another Rehabilitation Center. Wednesday night was the basketball game with the Pistones (we lost by 7 points) and our group sang and presented the “Everything” drama. The teens did an excellent job! Rudy closed with a gospel presenation.

This morning K39 and Oaxaca kids went to yet another asparagus field where several others gave their hearts to Christ. So far this week we have seen 23 people come to the Lord. It is such a joy to be able to witness the fruit of the labor here and the testimony that comes as we unite with the leadership here.

So now it is time for another meal. We then have VBS, another Rehab visit and then the service in K39 tonight where we will once again show the movie, “Fireproof.” Please continue to pray for the witness and testimony of Jesus here in the Mexicali Valley.

Everyone is well, happy and working hard. Such a blessing!!

Dios le bendiga,

Rudy and Gayle

Hola a todos en Eugene,

Thank you for your prayers. Today was a good day packed with learning, growing, building, and loving. A small group of us went to K-57 to finish construction on the church there. Our work included installing ports in the wall for ventilation and frame supports to protect the building from high winds and earthquakes. Mark Atkins did a fantastic job organizing all the work and making sure everyone had what they needed.

VBS continues to go well. The children always love spending time with the high-schoolers and listening to bible stories told through puppet interpretations.

Also a small group from Victoria went to a drug rehabilitation center in Nueva Leon with Pastor Issac. We sang songs in spanish and Tim Bennion gave a short and sweet testimony of God’s transforming power.

Please continue to pray for energy and patience as we look towards our fourth full day in Mexico. All the work and sun (it’s been about 70 degrees J) has started to catch up to some people. Pray that God would continue to work in our lives and in those of our Mexican brothers. Despite all the news of violence, the towns feel much like they have every other year. However, we would appreciate continued prayer for safety.

God Bless,

The 2009 Mexico Mission Team

It is hard to imagine what you can pack into two days! It somehow seems that we have been here for weeks and it is only Tuesday. Yesterday we awoke to a gorgeous day with sunshine and light breeze. Steve Leighter and a group of young men were off early to K57 putting vents in the new church and adding extra bracing to the building. Tim Bennion and a group of guys and gals started digging post holes for the fence around the church in K39. In Oaxaca groups were putting insulation in the ceiling of the church and new wiring for the air conditioning. They power washed Pastor Onesimo’s house to prepare for painting. The group in 28 were off to the nursery school where they had 60 children ages 3-5. The medical clinic was in Colonial Juarez and saw a number of patients.

After lunches of beans, tortilla’s, carne asada, chicken mole, tacos, enchiladas, and pan dulce everyone was quite happy. In the afternoon over 200 children met for VBS where they learned about the conversion of Saul and made butterflies to tell of the changed life of Paul. It was a wonderful day and it wasn’t over.

One of the biggest highlights of the day was when Wes and the pastor’s wife from 28 came to the medical clinic with a women and her son just as the clinic was closing. She was a sixty year old lady with back pain. When Dr Jim asked if he could pray for her Lety, the pastor’s wife said that the woman was not a Christian. As they shared with her and her son about Jesus and how much He loved them they both prayed to receive Christ.

In the evening there was a basketball game in Delta. Delta is a very old community and is adjacent to Oaxaca. There were two huge blessings in Delta. Rudy was introduced to a man who had come to our game last year and also saw our teens sing and share the drama, “Broken Heart.” He came to share that after the play he had many questions and a few months later gave his heart to the Lord and has been growing ever since. The other blessing was that the “mayor” of the region came to make sure we felt safe. He even had several additional police cars in the area. At the close of our sharing at halftime he said to Onesimo, “This is a good work, this is what our people need.”

What a wonderful way to begin our week! Monday’s have never been so exciting. We appreciate your prayers!!! Colleen said she even got a nap!!!! The teenagers are precious and so great to work with. You would be proud of them all.

Blessings,

Rudy and Gayle

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Yesterday was an amazing day. We left Eugene at 6 am and headed to Portland. All the flights were on time and the trip was great. The vans were all ready for us to pick up and by 3 pm we were on our way to the border. A quick stop at IN n OUT and Walmart and we were off. Don Travis and Larry Burton met us at Walmart along with Colleen and our dear Julie Hafemeister. It was great to see them.

The border crossing was as easy as it could be, just a wave by the immigration officer and we were in Mexico heading to Victoria. We met our host families at the church and said HOLA to all our friends.

It was great to sleep in a little this morning and have a relaxing breakfast with our host families before Sunday School. My host mom asked us all last night if we wanted pancakes or a Mexican breakfast. She was met with a resounding “Mexican breakfast!!!”

At 11:00 am we met at our perspective churches and had a Bible Study led by one of our Mexican brothers. There were a lot of children in Sunday School and some of our teenagers helped in their classes. Sarah Yamada did an excellent job of translating for us in Victoria.

The afternoon has been a great time of practicing Spanish/English with our host families and enjoying another delicious meal (Dinner is about 2:00 each day) The meals seem to run together ~ we are in a state of constant fullness.

Tonight everyone will gather at the Victoria Church for praise and worship and a time of remembrance around the Lord’s table. We will sing and Pastor Isaac will preach.

Tomorrow the projects begin! Steve Leighter will take a group of eight guys to K57 for the day to work on the new church there. They plan to do some framing. Tim Bennion will take about 15 teens to K39 in order to dig holes for the fence around the church. Others will set up for VBS and the medical clinic. The group in 28 will go to the nursery school in the morning and hold VBS in the afternoon. In Oaxaca there are many small projects for us to do.

In the evening we will play basketball in Delta and Matt Busse and Sarah Yamada are ready with a group of teens to do the EVERYTHING skit. It should be a great evening. Please pray for the testimony of this skit and my message.

In spite of recent media releases, it feels and looks like old times here in Victoria and in the Valley. The folks around here don’t even recognize what we are talking about except to shrug and say, “Oh, yes, in Tijuana, there are lots of criminales.” We feel very safe and “at home.”

Thanks for praying.. we look forward to updating you throughout the week. God bless or as we say down here.

Dios le bendiga,

Rudy