Monday, April 20, 2009

Ministry in Mexicali!

Every day it amazes us
how God is in control of everything.  A little over a week ago we loaded up the pastors, interns and our family for Mexicali.  We were met a group there from Las Vegas for a week long trip.  As we pulled out of the second floor we noticed the lights on the trailer did not work, we tried everything.  From there we made our traditional gas stop at the same gas station before we left town.  As we loaded up the vehicles our mechanic came from around the corner, we told him about the problem and he fixed it.  Praise God!  Two days into our trip Sammy got a call, his dad passed away while we were in Mexicali, Sammy's dad was from Mexicali, as hard as death is, it was God's timing that Sammy was there and he could be with his family.  And all the pastors and our family and friends
 from Las Vegas could be there to support Sammy during the burial. We went to support him, Pastor Jamin actually was asked to give the message at the burial, Sammy asked him when we pulled up to the cemetery.
 
We had a great week with the team from Las Vegas, they built Pastor Gustavo's church.  This was a stretching week for us, a lot of firsts.  We had never done a VBS there, we had never stayed there and had to learn where Home depot and Costco was.  It all worked out, the kids loved the VBS, each day you could see them grow with excitement to learn.  I don't think any of us got lost, we 
had a good time hanging out in Mexicali.  The team from Vegas and our team from Ensenada stayed at a hospital in a beautiful compound 20 minutes outside of Mexicali.  We learned a lot about the pastors, especially the fact that they really like mornings and they wanted to make sure we all knew they were awake.  We were grateful for
Neal and his team, they were flexible and willing to make a change from Ensenada to Mexicali.  They poured a lot of time and love into this new community we are working alongside, we hope to bring more groups to Mexicali.  The pastors from Ensenada poured a cement floor in Mexicali for another church!  Not sure when we will build the next church in Mexicali.
 
While in Mexicali Tomasa got really sick, please pray for her.  It is really hard for her not to be able to cook as she is recovering.  Pray for Sarah, the group that came to build Gustavo's church was Sarah's home church.  As much as she loved having them here, it was
 painful for her to say goodbye.  And last week Kourtney had her home church in Ensenada working in Faustino's church.  Pray for Kourtney as I am sure it will be equally tough on her to say goodbye. 
 
I have been able to sit back and watch the interns take control and lead their home churches.  I am so proud of them as they "shine like stars"  serving the Lord.  Even though Casey's home church is not able to be here, I have been encouraged to see  her take on a prayer ministry with the groups. It has been exciting to see her desire to encourage the groups with prayer.  Each of the girls have been stretched and it has been so encouraging to see them grow in serving the Lord here in Mexico.

2 comments:

Kyle Rock said...

Hello Rick and Tammie. My name is Kyle. I was with the Las Vegas group in Mexicali. You may remember me as the cereal guy. I wanted to thank the both of you for all that you do in Mexico. You, Faustino, Tomasa, and everyone else really helped to make the week unforgettable. Your heart for missions has inspired me to reach out to other peoples and cultures. Thank you again.

Neal Benson said...

Man this Vegas team looks like they are super amazing! I bet you love them the most!