Baja Blog

What's Happening in Kansas?

Well, I've put off posting in the hope that there would be good news to share, but I'm tired of waiting.  On the job front, there are several irons in the fire that could be promising if the Lord chooses to open a door.  So far, all doors have been closed and it's not fun.  But, we are to "count it all joy" when we go through difficulties.  My hope is in Jesus Christ and not in resumes, cover letters and interviews.  Right now, my jobs are looking high and low for work and studying/preparing materials for the bible study group that it seems the Lord wants me to start.  I'm also trying to practice Spanish a little in case the Lord sends me back south of the border.

On the evangelism front, I've been able to do some street evangelism at a few events around Wichita.  The first was a "music crawl" where people went from bar to bar in the Old Town section of Wichita to see different bands play music.  Wichita's huge River Festival was in mid-May and I was able to hit the streets for a couple of days.  The rest of the week was thunderstormed out.  Also, I've gone out with a street evangelism group from Wichita's Calvary Chapel.  When the Lord provides a place for me to live in Wichita, I should be able to hit the streets more often and, if He's willing, begin a bible study group.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who are continuing to support me prayerfully and financially!!  My prayer requests are for a place to live in Wichita where I believe the Lord wants me to be serving and a job.  Most landlords will not even talk to me without a job.  We're meant to work and I WANT to.  Remember, Adam was responsible for keeping the Garden of Eden before he and Eve blew it.

I've been attending a couple of churches in Wichita.  A few weeks ago, it was Cristo Vive Assembly of God.  It's a bilingual church and was good for my Spanish.  Lately, it has been Wichita's Calvary Chapel which has its own small group of people who do street evangelism on Saturday evenings.  Both are good fellowships and I'm seeking the Lord as to where He wants me to go.

That's it for now.  Hoping to have more good news soon.  God bless you!

What's Happening?

Sorry for the long time since my last entry.  Things are settling down since my move to Kansas.  What???  You didn't know?  Well, I didn't know either until March.  It seems that the Lord has led me back to the area where I grew up near Wichita, Kansas, USA.  Quite a surprise.

I've always been willing to go where the Lord wants.  That's how I became a missionary with IDT near Colonia Vicente Guerrero, Baja Norte, Mexico.  All of the ministry I was doing in Baja was going fine.  I was busy doing street & evangelical film evangelism, as the Base Director for IDT's facilities, leading worship, giving guitar lessons to my fantastic Mexican students, etc.  But, I kept having the nagging sense that the Lord wanted me to move to Kansas to do street evangelism and maybe begin a home Bible study.  This went on for a long time after I returned to Baja after visiting my family in Kansas over Christmas.  Long story short...IDT sent me out prayerfully as a missionary to Kansas.

I've heard it said that we are not responsible for the results when we are obedient to what the Lord wants us to do.  The only time we bear responsibility for the results is when we are disobedient and doing our own thing.

So, here I am in Kansas looking for opportunities to serve and a job to pay the bills.  I have no desire to simply work and live life.  I take evangelism very seriously and want to truly be a missionary here just as if the Lord had sent me to Africa or anywhere else.  If you think about it, please ask God to give me eyes to see what He wants me to do, boldness, and His wisdom.  Thanks!

Outreaches Only

There were no visiting missionaries here at IDT this past week.  That left me opportunities to do outreaches, but the Lord didn't provide any evangelical film opportunities for me.  So, I took advantage of the time to write a tract in Spanish and hand a bunch out.

The main points of the tract are:  #1 The Ten Commandments are God's Law.  #2  Everyone has lied or stolen and has broken God's Law.  #3 God is our judge and one day we will stand before Him.  #4 The only way we can have our debt paid and be released from guilt is by repenting and trusting Jesus Christ for His sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection.  Pretty simple.

Last night, several churches in the Triqui village held a church service in a street to reach out to the community.  The Lord let me distribute 50 tracts in less than an hour.  Even some cholos, (young, gangster-type guys who need to repent and trust Jesus), asked me for tracts.  Maybe they thought the tracts are invitations to a fiesta - and they are.

This week, we have a group from a Christian school in Canada.  I believe they're going to build a house for a family somewhere.  Please join me in praying for more evangelistic opportunities and for God's will to be done!

Housebuilding Season Begins

Our 2009 housebuilding season has been up and running for a few weeks now.  So far, visiting groups from the U.S. and Canada have built a couple of public school classrooms and several houses for poor families.  The two large groups (100 people total) who were here last week from Saskatchewan even helped their families start small businesses.  That's the blessing that keeps on blessing!  It's the proverbial "hand up" instead of a "hand out".  My role in the housebuilding program is to deliver "Este es Jesus" (This is Jesus) books to the families and encourage evangelism at the job sites.

The responsibilities as "Base Director" for IDT Baja have been taking up too much time.  Every day lately  has been a battle, but I truly believe the Lord is toughening me up and taking away my fear of man in order to do the next thing on His agenda.  The desire I believe God has placed on my heart is to evangelize on the streets through distribution of tracts, speaking with people, maybe some street preaching, and, when opportunities come, to show evangelical films.

Last week, the Lord presented an opportunity to show a film for a fledgling outreach to street kids in the Triqui Indian village.  God has raised up two men in the village to reach out to young boys who are addicted to sniffing glue, paint, etc.  Like any drug addiction, it makes them want to do whatever it takes to get money for another bottle of glue, can of paint...   These two men are reaching into the fire and pulling the boys out.  Their desire is to establish a safe place for the street kids to repent and trust Jesus Christ, to be discipled, have fun, and stay off the streets.  They have the location, but it needs money, materials and work to be operational.  Please ask the Lord to send resources their way.

Until next time, continue repenting and trusting in Jesus!

Back in the Saddle

Hi everyone!  It's been a long break from posting, partially due to writer's block.  I returned to Baja in mid-January and jumped back into the groove.

Christmas was great!  Lots of traveling by bus, planes, train, automobile, foot, etc.  The bus ride to Tijuana was slow but good.  I flew to Kansas by way of Atlanta, Georgia (yeah, I know it's out of the way but the price was right).  My parents took me to Dallas, Texas to celebrate a very special birthday and visit family.  After flying back to San Diego, I hopped an Amtrak train up to Lodi to visit my home churches.  One of Jesus' servants brought me back to IDT along with a huge trailer load of furniture, food, wood burning stoves.....  All in all, it was a very enjoyable few weeks!

Recently, I've been working on improving a few things at our mission base and doing some street ministry.  This weekend, I have appointments to show two evangelical movies.  Please join me in asking the Lord specifically to raise up a street ministry partner to help.  Maybe He has a local pastor who needs my help in street ministry??

Be sure to check out a brand spanking new blog at http://www.brandycook.blogspot.com   Brandy is the wife of our senior pastor and founder here at IDT.  She always has good stuff to say!

Miles To Go Before I Rest

The plan is:  go to San Diego tomorrow and fly out Wednesday to Wichita, Kansas (by way of Atlanta, Georgia - go figure).  Before that happens, there is much to do!  This blog entry is one thing I will quickly check off the list.  Others that should be done today are (1) finishing newsletters, (2) helping a family in Las Misiones, (3) delivering some fotos to a friend, (4) sending an important e-mail or two, (5) giving a guitar lesson to the girls at our La Paloma childrens' home, (6) delivering a Christmas gift, (7) purchasing a bus ticket up to the border, (9) pack for my trip to Kansas, (8) maybe some landscaping to help finish off a sidewalk project here on IDT's base.  Today is a full day, but I want none of it to get in the way of what Jesus Christ would have me do.

Anyway, the past week has been a lot like the above.  The Lord allowed two crucial concrete sidewalks to be poured last Tuesday by Isais, our local concrete master.  He does wonderful work and is a true servant of the Lord.  The concrete dried very, very, very slowly and I was able to finally open it up to traffic Saturday night and remove the forms yesterday.  Thanks to Isais' hard work and the patience of people at IDT, the concrete looks as beautiful as concrete can.  When it rains now, we won't have to skip, hop, and jump over mud puddles.  This is also a nice improvement for when we have conferences and other events here.  Thank you, Lord!

I've been led into a new style of evangelism lately.  In the evenings, I've been handing out gospel tracts in our area.  The tracts ask if people believe they are good.  They lead them through the Law of God (the Ten Commandments) and emphasize doing a 180 from sin and trusting only in Jesus Christ's sacrificial death on the cross as payment for all sin.  So far, the indications are favorable.  Everyone I've handed a tract to has been happy to get it.  Only the Lord knows about salvation because only He knows the heart of each person.

Well, I've got to get some other things crossed off my list.  God bless you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! to those of you in the U.S.A.  However, no matter where we are, everyday is Thanksgiving if we're following Jesus Christ.  The Bible promises that" God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)  No matter what happens, we can confidently thank Him for who He is and what He is doing.

We've gained a few visitors lately.  A couple is visiting us for a week from Bear Creek Church in the Lodi/Stockton, California.  A gentleman from British Columbia is visiting for a month to teach French at our school for missionary kids.  We also had a trio of bicycle tourists from Bellingham, Washington pass through on their way to Tierra del Fuego.  If you're not familiar with Tierra del Fuego, take a world map, look at the Americas, and go south until you hit nothing but ocean.  They're in the beginning stages of a year-long trip to the tip of Argentina.  Wow!

Last week, God let me do some street ministry and show the Passion of the Christ at an agricultural labor campo called Las Brisas about 20 miles north of IDT.  The Lord gave us a beautiful evening and a crowd of about 50 people.  We also passed out gospel tracts to a least 100 other people throughout the campo.

This week, I'm working on street ministry.  We're also eagerly awaiting the arrival of some faithful clothing and food suppliers from the Lodi, California area.  They're planning to arrive just in time for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.  They've got their priorities straight!  I'm thinking that, after dinner, we'll all get together and unload their trailer while they rest from the long trip.

God bless you!

Autumn in Baja

Welcome to November in Baja.  The colors you see here are the normal, year-round shades of brown and dusty green.  The trees lose a few leaves and the temps drop 10-20 degrees from the height of summer.  We recently had a couple of rain showers complete with the symbol of God's promise not to flood the earth again.  I love that!

Since we've had no visiting groups of short-term missionaries lately, I've been wearing my "base director's" hat and trying to prepare and improve IDT's facilities for the winter rains.  We hope to have concrete for a couple of short sidewalks poured soon.  These should diminish the amount of mud that gets tracked into our buildings.

We're also preparing for our Christmas shoebox gift program.  This year, we plan to visit hospitals and other facilities to distribute gifts to those who may think they are forgotten.  God has not forgotten them!  He knows the number of hairs on each of their heads.... yours, too!  If you would like to participate by sending Christmas gifts in shoebox-sized packages, please e-mail me quick at guitarforjesus200100@yahoo.com

A quick note about Hacienda Sinaloa (mentioned in previous posts) - Most of the people have left this agricultural labor camp in the hills of Baja.  There is very little work here for them this time of year and they have moved on to other parts of Mexico.  I was able to visit with the three remaining families last week and they were preparing to leave soon.

May God bless you!  Thanks for reading!

Just the normal chaos....

That's how I normally describe driving here in Baja and it also describes the past two weeks.  Last week, I sped up to San Diego to fulfill my civic duty as a juror, waited in the courthouse a day and a half, and answered questions from two judges and four lawyers.  The result - they didn't want me because God had other plans.  Afterwards, I spent about 30 minutes at the DMV to renew my driver's license.  Only 30 minutes, you say?  Yep!  A miracle indeed!  As I left the DMV, my trusty Toyota pickup began to make a very strange noise.  I ended up going to a Toyota dealer where NO ONE would speak to me.  So, I asked the Lord to heal it, re-started the engine and drove away.  The noise has not returned.  He is not only the Great Physician, He's a fantastic mechanic!

After speeding back to Colonia Vicente Guerrero, (not speeding in the illegal sense - that would be wrong), opportunities were presented to help kids with things for school.  Salvation is absolutely the most important thing, but, after that, kids need to be educated so they can read the Bible, have opportunities to leave the poverty that comes with laboring in the fields, and climb to a position in society where they can help others.  Helping them stay in school is close to my heart.  The Lord provided four kids with new shoes and two with new backpacks.  The schools take a hard line and will kick kids out of class if they don't have just the right uniform, etc.

On Wednesday of this week, I received a big request for 70 Bible story CDs in Spanish and the Mixtec Juxtlahuaca and Mixtec Mixtepec dialects of the Mixteco language.  A pastor in the Triqui Indian village is planning to take them to the Mexican state of Oaxaca near Mexico City.  After burning CDs for two days and scrambling to find enough CD cases, the pastor's order is ready.  Thank you Lord for this good laptop/CD factory.

Next week, I'm planning a return to Hacienda Sinaloa for another evangelical outreach with a local Mexican missionary.  Please join me in asking God to open the eyes of the men in this camp so that they will choose to follow Christ.

Cornerstone In Baja

Last week was amazing!  Cornerstone Church, from Lodi, California, visited IDT Baja last week.  Seventeen people came to re-roof a house, install a front door, and do five evangelical outreaches to the poor.  They also brought an astounding amount of things that were distributed to our La Paloma children's home, La Huerta daycare center, the poor, and missionaries in need.

The group arrived last Sunday evening.  Monday was a dinner & movie outreach in the town of Colonia Vicente Guerrero.  They served a tamale dinner, did cartoon character drawing lessons, a music & puppet show, and then we all watched the movie La Esperanza (The Hope).  On Tuesday, we took the hour long trek to the agricultural camp of Hacienda Sinaloa mentioned in previous posts.  Along with dinner, they served up drawing lessons, music, Bible teaching by our Mexican missionary, and with a cartoon about Samuel the prophet.  Each family received a large grocery bag of gifts given with the love of Christ.  Also, each family had their picture taken.

On Wednesday, we pounded down the rough road to a fishing village called La Chorera.  Another outreach was held at the church Cornerstone built a few years ago.  Nearly every family in the community came for lunch and the Samuel cartoon.

On Thursday, a few of the guys went fishing out of San Quintin and landed several big ones.  Also, we took a spur-of-the-moment return trip to Hacienda Sinaloa.  The family pics were delivered along with a hot dog dinner, more Bible teaching, and some much needed clothing.

Friday was our last morning together.  Two of us visited a senior care home and everyone made the rounds at the Oaxacan market in the town square.  The Triqui and Mixteco Indian people who live here weave bracelets, purses, etc.  It's a good place to pick up some souvenirs and bless a family with some business.  After this, Cornerstone headed north toward an overnight in San Diego and then Lodi.  Wow!

Baja's Indian Summer

Normally, our weather is about like San Diego's along with a truckload of wind. Today, we may have enjoyed the beginning of Indian summer. It was the first day in a long time that we have had virtually no wind all day. We did have lots of sun and a heaping helping of humidity.  It was a good day to be in the shade.

Two groups have joined us this week.  One from Canada and the other from Valley Springs, California.  The Canadians have a big 2-3 week construction project going about 30 miles south of IDT's base.  The Valley Springs crew is building a house for a family in the Triqui village one mile north.  Both just completed their first day on their projects today and are ready for some well earned sleep.

I've been preparing for my home church's (Cornerstone) visit from Lodi, California.  They're planning to arrive here this Sunday evening.  We have four outreaches planned during the week and are asking the Lord to touch hearts and draw people into His Kingdom.

We've been keeping up with the economic/political news from the U.S.  It sounds bad, but here's the good news - God is bigger than any problem or politician.  Better yet, He doesn't lie!  People who are looking to any person to deliver them from problems are barking up the wrong tree.  The Bible says if we confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord and if we believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved from our sins and be given eternal life.  In the end, that's all that matters.

Return to Hacienda Sinaloa

Yeah, I know it sounds like some Mexican vacation hotspot.  It's not.  I just returned from there last night.  Hacienda Sinaloa is a small camp of agricultural laborers who pick tomatoes and peppers.  It's about 20 miles north of IDT and then another 10-15 miles east into the mountains of Baja.  Most of the people are there to harvest and then move on to other camps once the fields have been picked.  Imagine living in a homemade tent with a frame of sticks you found and wrapped in black plastic 30 gallon lawn & leaf trash bags.  That's how they live.

The Lord let me give away two CD boomboxes with Bible stories and songs on CD in Spanish and Mixtec Metlatonoc (the dialect of Mixteco spoken by many at Hacienda Sinaloa).  The two ladies who received them were knocked out.  Within minutes, they were listening to the CDs!  A huge THANK YOU! to the folks at http://globalrecordings.net for providing the downloads for the CDs!  If you're looking for a ministry to support that distributes the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world, I can definitely recommend them.  Be sure to check out the pics in the "Trip to Hacienda Sinaloa" photo album to the left.

In other news - the Lord's funnel of clothing, food, drinking water, etc. was active again recently.  A couple from the Lodi, California area took the roughly 1,500 mile round trip over labor day weekend to bless the poor of Baja and also IDT's missionaries.  Much of what they brought was distributed in Hacienda Sinaloa last night.  Thank you to this couple with such servants' hearts and Cornerstone Church http://www.cornerstonelodi.com

This past Thursday, God provided two wonderful young ladies from our La Paloma children's home to help me lead worship for our church service.  They're also learning to play guitar.  This wasn't their first time to sing with me, but it was their first time to sing three songs in English.  It was a challenge for them, but they practiced and, with the Lord's provision, they did it.  We also sang three songs in Spanish.  They're learning quickly and will probably be turning professional soon. ;-)  These girls are at our children's home for good reasons and my desire is, as the Lord leads and provides, to help broaden their view of the world.  Many come to the children's home thinking their future is to pick strawberries as migrant laborers.  God has given them more than that.  Learning to play guitar and lead worship helps give them the abundant life Jesus promises.

End of Summer

Here at IDT Baja, we're nearing the end of our main, primetime, summer housebuilding season.  Groups from all over the United States and Canada have been coming and building houses for poor families in our area and doing evangelical outreaches to help build the Church.  After next week, our season comes to an end.  Since kids begin going to school around early September, few groups are able to visit us.  Also, our facilities need a period of R & R before we have more visiting missionaries in October. 

This past week our visiting groups built six houses for families.  It was a busy week.  After delivering "Este es Jesus" (This is Jesus) books to all of the families, I got to go to San Diego.  Yea!  After seven months of not being in the good ol' USA, it was time for a trip!  It was a great opportunity to visit the Superior Court to explain why I didn't show for jury duty (didn't get their invitation in time) and to get my pickup smog checked.  Woohoo!  God miraculously made my pickup pass the smog test with flying colors!  I get to go back for jury duty near the end of September.  More on that at a later date.

The previous week, a group from Yucca Valley, California added amenities to a house they built last year and also put on a vacation bible school for children in the town of Zapata.  About 50-70 kids (maybe more, I lost count) participated in the VBS.  In the afternoons, the leaders of this group gave guitar, voice, & keyboard lessons to those of us who lead worship at IDT.  The lessons have been a need here for a long time.  None of us could have afforded to pay our professional level teachers what these lessons were worth.  What a blessing!

A quick example of how the Lord works:  Recently, some visiting missionaries delivered a bunch of
new reading glasses to IDT.  Since none of us know how to match the glasses to those who need them, I took them to another ministry across town that has a medical clinic.  I took the grocery bag full of reading glasses into the clinic and told the receptionist what I had.  She called a nurse and doctor over to show them the glasses and they all began praising God!  They said they had just asked the Lord to provide glasses that morning because the previous day someone took their whole supply of reading glasses.  Thank you Lord for using me.... and the folks who brought the glasses to Mexico.... and those who donated them!

Is It August Already???

This year has been screaming by!  I guess we should expect that here near the end of the end times.  As I keep an eye on the news, it's amazing that the Lord hasn't grown weary enough to come for His Bride (the Church) and bring everything to a halt.  One day He will.

We had two wonderful groups of visiting missionaries here this past week from both coasts of the U.S.A. YWAM (Youth With A Mission) sent a team from the northwest and CCOB (Calvary Chapel Old Bridge) sent a team from New Jersey.  The YWAM group built homes for two families in Camalu and Monte Alban which are a few miles north of our base here at IDT.  They also did an outreach event at a rehab center for alcoholics and drug addicts.

The CCOB team did a construction project to help an IDT missionary.  They also supported us with an evangelical outreach.  They traveled with us way off the beaten path of Mexico's Highway 1 to an agricultural labor camp called Hacienda Sinaloa.  While a Mexican IDT missionary taught from the Bible, the servants from CCOB distributed clothing, cookies, juice, and, most importantly, Bibles and Bible story books.  The 50ish people at the camp were blessed!

Speaking of the people at Hacienda Sinaloa, I'd like you to imagine something if you can.  Imagine yourself unschooled, illiterate, with a very small vocabulary, without a car or phone, living about 15 miles from any good store and 5 miles from even a small one,  Your only transportation options are your feet or the bus that takes you to work in the tomato fields for $15 U.S. per day when work is available.  Your house is made of old wooden pallets and plastic tarps from your employer plus whatever makeshift building materials you can find.  Most likely, you don't have a birth certificate which means you really don't exist to the government.  That's what it's like to live in an agricultural camp here.  Poverty is not a lack of money - it's a lack of options and opportunities.

Thank you Lord for the opportunities You've given me!  Please help me to use them wisely for Your glory.

House Building Continues....

Lately, we've been building lots of houses.  God is giving new homes to six families this week.  Some weeks it's only a couple of houses, other weeks there are more.  Last week, we built precisely zero houses because Unto the King Fellowship was visiting from Lodi, CA to help the Lord build His Church.

During Unto the King's mission trip, we began at the Globos (a huge outdoor market of everything you could want used and new).  The visiting missionaries purchased clothing to distribute among the poor in our area and some medical equipment for a local care home for the elderly.  During the days, Unto the King did work projects to help IDT missionaries and set up a large swing set at the local kindergarten.  During two evenings, we did evangelistic outreaches at a small, very poor campo in Padre Kino.  Another evening was spent at an evangelistic outreach in Las Misiones where we  showed the movie La Esperanza (The Hope).  The week flew by fast, but it was very productive and, I believe, eternally fruitful!  Thank you, Lord!

An interesting tidbit is that Unto the King Fellowship left one of their own here to stay for a few weeks for our youth "Summer of Service" program.  He's already having a great time!

This week began with plumbing problems.  Oh what a joy.  Anyway, plumbing problems around here are the norm and we're gradually working our way through them and seeing a slow improvement.  About 100 people are here from Pleasant Valley Baptist and YWAM.  I'm very thankful that they're patient!

Yesterday was a brief break from IDT's base for me as I was able to visit all six house sites and evangelize a little.  Este es Jesus (This is Jesus) books were distributed to all the families and a girl who asked for it.  The Lord let me speak to a mom and five kids about Him while they were selling bracelets and other items at one of the house sites.  I also got to help at our daycare center for a while, play with the kids, then fill a propane tank for a fellow missionary.  All of this made the toilet plunging worthwhile.

Too Busy to Blog

Wow, it's been busy here lately!  We've had about seven groups of visiting missionaries (over 200 people) during the past three weeks.  God has given me five opportunities to do evangelical film outreaches in various places.  For example, a wonderful group from Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada put on a film outreaches at agricultural labor camps in Padre Kino and Hacienda Sinaloa where everyone spoke a dialect of the Mixteco Indian language.  Life with the Lord is an adventure!

In my other life, back at IDT's base in Zarahembla, the facility planning, maintenance, repair, supply purchasing, etc. has continued.  The highlight in the past few weeks at the base was when someone accidentally drove their car through our fence.  This knocked down two brick pillars, the steel fence, and temporarily put our main propane tank out of service.  The most difficult part of this is finding bricks to replace the pillars.  I've looked all around our area and have found exactly six bricks of the size we need.  That's not good when we need twenty or more.

This week, groups from Vinewood Church in Lodi, CA and a large group from YWAM (Youth With A Mission) have joined us to build houses and re-roof a few of our dorms.  There is talk of an evangelical film outreach in Las Misiones this week with the Vinewood crew.  Please ask God to use it to transform this community.

As always, we at IDT are watching the events in Israel and stand in firm support of the the Lord's people and His Land.  Politicians can do what they want, but the Lord of Israel will accomplish His plan.

Wheat Harvest in Baja

Since I was born and raised in Kansas, it's interesting to watch fields of wheat grow and ripen here in Baja.  You can always tell it's Father's Day in Kansas because all of the farmers are driving their combines around and around the fields harvesting their wheat.  Wheat harvest arrives a little earlier here, but it's nice to see the golden fields waiting to be cut.

We're busy preparing for the big, summer house-building season.  There have been no visiting groups in May and that's given us an opportunity to get the facilities ready for the rush.  My "Base Director" position is going fine.  We have a large facility here including offices, dining hall, two-story school for missionary kids, showers, dorms, etc.  It's challenging to keep everything operational and make improvements.  It reminds me of those guys I used to see on TV who would spin plates on sticks.  By the way, I haven't seen anyone do that lately.  It must not be the big path to fame they thought it was.  :-)

We're looking forward to a visit from a few people from Lodi, CA this week.  The Lord has placed them in a position of making supply runs.  They bring things for the poor and a few things for missionaries, too.  Please keep them in prayer for their long drive and God's blessings all along the way.

A quick story about Mexico's "healthcare system":  A couple of weeks ago, God let me take a woman to a doctor's office two times for some sort of infection that caused swelling and pain in her leg.  We drove to the doctor's office.  He saw her within 20 minutes, gave her two antibiotic shots and a package of pills.  He told us to come back in a week and we did.  He gave us a prescription for another medication which we purchased at a local pharmacy.  She's fine now, thanks either to God's answer to prayer or His use of the medication.  We did not pay premiums or call an insurance company for permission.  We did not pay a co-pay.  We did not pay a deductible.  We did not even make an appointment with the doctor.  Total charge - about $80 U.S.  It's amazing what happens when you remove attorneys, insurance companies, and lawsuits from the healthcare equation.

This Tuesday, I'm headed out with a Mexican IDT missionary to an agricultural labor camp that's off the beaten path and up in the mountains somewhere.  We're going to show an evangelical film (probably La Esperanza - The Hope) and preach the gospel.  Please pray for many people to enter God's Kingdom through this outreach!

This Week's News

This past week, we were blessed to have a small, but very ambitious group of visiting short-term missionaries from British Columbia, Canada.  With only about 12 people, they built a house for a poor family AND did a "Vacation Bible School" for neighborhood kids at a local church.  Most of their construction was done in the mornings and, in the afternoons, a few of the crew would run the VBS for up to 60 kids.  It was a busy week, but many lives were impacted.  To top off the week, the family that received the new house also received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord!

Also, we have re-welcomed our visitors from Jerusalem!  Zvi and Lisa, who operate a ministry to victims of terrorist bombings in Israel called Springs of Hope have returned to prepare for a summer camp.  A summer camp???  Yep.  Their plan, (and they believe it's God's plan), is to bring children and a few adults who have suffered from terrorist attacks to our little piece of Baja for a summer camp.  Terror attacks are used because they are very effective.  They cause - big news here - TERROR.  These victims suffer long-lasting psychological problems that affect everything in their lives.  Some victims refuse to leave their homes for fear of another attack.  A couple of weeks in Baja, thousands of miles away, is a good opportunity to relax, have fun, and develop normal relationships.  One little thing to keep in prayer is that the U.S. would give them the visas for their passports so they can land in California and drive over the border into Baja.

In other news, I've recently been given the assignment of "Base Director".  I'm not wild about the title, but that's what it is.  This means I'm in charge of IDT's facilities here in Zarahembla, Baja.  If the grass needs to be cut, it's my duty to get someone to cut it.  If we build a new building, it's my duty to be heavily involved in the planning and construction of it.  If a doorknob is broken on one of our dorms, it's my duty to get it replaced.  My main reasons for being here in Baja has been evangelism and I don't want that to change.  Maybe the Lord wants me to learn something from this new position.  I want to learn it quick and move on.

Loreto Praise Report, etc.

Just over a week ago, we returned from our mission trip to Loreto.  Over 30 of us loaded into a borrowed school bus and went 500 miles south to the land of sportfishing and beer.  However, our purpose was to participate in a youth conference themed, "To live, we must die".  The idea being that when we Christians die to our desires and comforts, God is able to use us to bring life to others and, in the process, give us the abundant life He promises.  Too often, we trade God's abundant life for temporary comforts.  We don't know what we're missing.

Golgota, the all girl Christian worship band, traveled with us and led worship during the conference.  My job was being the sound guy.  During the week, the youth and band did an evangelical outreach at the malecon (think boardwalk) along the beach in Loreto.  Everything in Loreto happens at the malecon among the local Mexicans and visiting Americans & Canadians.  One man came forward to publicly accept Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord!  We also distributed some "Este es Jesus" (This is Jesus) books and tracts.

The Lord completely blessed the whole week.  We had no problems while traveling.  He even let us miss a bull standing in the middle of our lane at 1:30 a.m. on the way back to Vicente Guerrero.

Since the trip, I've done evangelism at our house construction sites and am preparing to implement a new street evangelism idea with the help of another IDT missionary.  Please keep it in prayer.  Details to follow in a future post.

Walking With Jesus

During the past 3-4 weeks, I've acquired a new appreciation for how many of the people in our area of Baja  live.  You see, the water pump that faithfully helped cool the engine in my Toyota pickup for 165,000 miles finally gave out.  That means I've had the opportunity to put some miles on my tennis shoes and a few miles on the local bus instead.

During this time, I've borrowed an IDT pickup to haul the film equipment for a showing of "The Story of Jesus for Children" in the Triqui village and my first ever showing of "La Esperanza" in Playas Guerrero.  You can see La Esperanza in English at http://www.thehopeproject.com.

When there hasn't been a load to haul, the walking from IDT's base to evangelize at the house construction sites and to help families has been good.  Being the only "Americano" on the bus into Vicente Guerrero has never been a problem.   I've ridden the bus several times to gather parts to fix my water pump.  In fact, the bus service is reliable and very easy to use.  I recommend it if you don't mind a lack of legroom!

Looking ahead, we have a busy March.  We're planning a concert outreach at the Dome church in the Las Misiones village for the youth of that area.  Our youth will soon be heading 500 miles south to Loreto to present a youth conference at Ancla de Fe (Anchor of Faith) church.  Other opportunities for movie outreaches are just on the horizon and we have our ongoing house-building program, too.  Please pray that the Lord would bring many people into His Kingdom during these outreaches.