Tropical Cyclone Lidia hit the Los Cabos area last Thursday and Friday. I typically am not reporting local events, as would a daily news report, but we have received several inquiries from our faithful ministry partners;  so we put together a ‘slide show’ to help you understand the destruction of this storm and its effect on the area.

Although the storm (a cyclone according to the Baja Satellite Weather report) never reached hurricane status, the cyclone sat over the water, funneling the water out onto the land. The storm did support winds of 65 to 70 mph, which drove torrents of water and mud sideways into businesses and homes.  The official report as to the magnitude of this flooding stated we received only six inches less rain than Hurricane Harvey in Houston!

The residents in the squatter areas (which are all in arroyos—God-designed run offs from the mountains to the sea and ocean) had many tragedies. The official death count cited seven fatalities, but the count from our friends in the barrios is over 100.

The enormous amount of water carried away houses, belongings and anyone who chose not to evacuate. Cars, semi-trailers, large equipment and everything else imaginable were also carried away—some as far away as the Sea of Cortez at Medano Beach. Lower Caribe was completely washed flat. This coming Saturday, we will be participating with Pastor Carlos’ churches in distributing food and clothing; followed by an onsite, evangelical service in Lower Caribe.

A four-story government housing apartment building—only three-years-old—collapsed on the highland just north of Tierra y Libertad. Fortunately, there were no fatalities in that tragedy. Another high rise government housing building−built by the same company−collapsed in the outskirts of San Jose (both had reportedly poor site preparation and little-to-no building repairs following Hurricane Odile).

All of Pastor Carlos’ churches remained intact, including the church at Tierra y Libertad (purposely built in an arroyo to minister to the people there). Pastor Carlos’ faithful crew had two days’ notice before the storm and stacked up several rows of sand bags. After the storm, the site actually looked better than before since the dust-covered red roof is now red and shiny again. Cabo Church’s Feeding Station in Tierra y Libertad was also totally unaffected by the raging water.

Overall, the water was so deep it went over the bridge over the arroyo on Highway 1 near the soccer stadium where the Carlos Annacondia Crusade was. The force of the flow actually bent the guard rail along the highway and left dirt and debris blocking the highway and retornos (side access roads). The dirt left under the bridge after the water subsided was so deep, even a short adult could not stand upright.

We learned that the ‘apron’ on the arroyo at the ocean actually included the property on which the RIU Palace and Santa Fe are built, the country club, and many small businesses. The new Chevy Dealer had just relocated in the area since Hurricane Odile. One of our neighbors who has lived here many years made a very interesting remark, “Water has a memory.” When the waters come, they take the same route time after time—no matter which business and whose homes have since been built there. On Sunday morning, one quiet, polite soul at Cabo Church, who grew up here, was talking with me and just happened to share that Los Cabos traditionally didn’t have this type of devastation from flooding because everyone knew enough not to build in the arroyos.

The RIU hotels were reportedly filled with four-feet of mud and water, along with many other hotels and businesses. The Chevy Dealership’s new building suffered much damage and their inventory of new cars floated away. The San Jose Airport, being farther from the Sea of Cortez and not in a flood plain, was untouched. CFE (our electric company) was able to start restoring power beginning Saturday and there has been plenty of drinking water available due to the short recovery time.

Our own home only had a minimal amount of water blown threw the windows and our dirt road only washed out up near the top (where it does for most rains). We even had power and internet by Saturday afternoon. Walmart opened quickly and Costco was able to open by the beginning of the week.

I would like to wrap up with just a few insights:

• Los Cabos was a small fishing village thirty years ago and the rich and famous landed on a dirt runway to fish in the second best bill-fishing area in the world. The government wisely developed the area with huge, hotels and tourist attractions, which flooded the area with various kinds of revenue. In order to attract a large workforce for these businesses, people from all over Latin America were allowed to live, without cost, in the arroyos. Government housing has since been built, but many people prefer to stay in the “free land.” You can discern the issues involved.

• Large hotels and businesses have been allowed to build on the flood plain area near the beaches and highway (including the Walmart area). The businesses are responsible for their own infrastructure and repair, but it is difficult to be surprised at damage caused by storms such as Lidia in an area that gets its rain from the effects of tropical storms.

 

• Corruption in government is still one of Mexico’s biggest problems. Many of the after-storm conditions and casualties I’ve reported are the results of very large bribes for building and use permits (or for ignoring the need for a permit altogether), building locations, too few inspections, favoritism in issuing contracts, etc.

 

• One last point is that Los Cabos suffered a drought lasting approximately nine years (prior to August of 2012). In 2012, the Lord answered the prayers of His people with abundant rain, which has continued since. Many, especially newcomers, either do not know the traditional weather patterns of Los Cabos or have become careless during the drier years. Those who were raised here or have lived here for a long time are not surprised, since storms are the way we receive our needed rains (we do invite you to pray for storms that bring rain—without damage).

Since we know many of you are praying both for us and for the area, please pray for solutions to the insights I’ve shared above from living here for five years, as well as from reading The Mexico Daily News email (in English) on a daily basis.

Blessings to all of you. We really would not be here without you!

Sam and Karen Knapp started coming to Los Cabos long before the little fishing village blossomed into what you now see. Their early start in visiting the area for their business led to what is now multiple trips per year— ministering in local churches as far north as Constitución. Sam and Karen minister around the world with a love for people everywhere. Sam is an evangelist, with Karen tag-teaming in the pulpit with practical teaching. They both move in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and their ministry is known for notable healings and personal freedom for those in the audience.

Most recently, they ministered at Pastor Carlos Maciel’s mother church, Cristo es el Camino-Lomas del Sol, for the first time. I would like to relate two extra special testimonies of changed lives from that night...

The first testimony is that of Pastor Carlos’ sister. She and her two young children had to flee from their hometown due to extremely dangerous conditions (until her husband could relocate the family). Richard and I were blessed to spend much time with the family and have become very fond of them; not only because they are relatives of Pastor Carlos, but also because of her Christian character and faithful service. She and her children went on visitation in Tierra y Libertad with us for many weeks. Although she doesn’t actually speak English, she had been around English enough that she could understand my Spanish—even when I wasn’t right on. The standing joke was she translated my Spanish with Spanish for the rest of the evangelism team.

Shortly after we met, she came down with severe abdominal pain and had to be taken to the hospital. She was soon sent home, but had recurring similar symptoms. The night that Sam and Karen ministered, the Lord miraculously delivered her from a lifetime of chronic illness. From what Pastor Carlos later said, she had suffered from frequent infirmity since she was a young child. By the time the night was over, she had been transformed; she went from having a tired, painful look on her face, to being able to relax while smiling from ear to ear.

The second testimony is equally amazing! We had arranged for a translator for Sam and Karen as they spoke at Pastor Carlos’ church, but there was only one translator for ministry time. Richard had heard one young man speak excellent English, so presuming he was one of Pastor Carlos’ men, he asked the young man to translate for Karen. Since the ministry time was powerful, this young man was greatly exposed to the power of God that night. When the ministry time was over, one of the sisters from the church asked for prayer for this young man for salvation. Since he had translated with all his heart, he had looked like a believer, so Richard asked the sister why she thought he didn’t have a personal relationship with the Lord. Her reply revealed another wonder worked by God: the young man had just come into town and was renting one of her rooms. She clearly knew he had not accepted the Lord and invited him for the first time that night to church−he just happened to be fluent in English. He gladly accepted Jesus as his savior and related how he had originally moved to Los Cabos to work in a town known for its night life, but that his purpose for living in Los Cabos had now changed.

We want to give a big “thank-you” to the faithfulness of God, to Sam and Karen Knapp for their ministry, as well to our dear brother, Pastor Carlos Maciel, for his openness in sharing his pulpit.

Praise be to God, Who transforms lives, cities and even nations!

The Los Cabos municipal government has undertaken the huge task of tearing up the entire L-shaped courtyard in downtown San Jose. When we go for the patriotic assembly and marketplace prayer each Monday morning, the scene is changing drastically from week to week. In fact, they are moving faster than any government project we’ve ever seen—with a deadline of the end of September! This is the time of year when the tourists and snow birds flood the city (and they like it nice).

We immediately joked the renovation of San Jose central was transformation before our very eyes, and there could be a measure of truth to this. Each week the Lord gives us impressions of how to pray for a “new” San Jose. Somedays it has been to cleanse the land from generations of defilement; Pastor Carlos has been deeply impressed to pray for the foundations of the area, including the Delegación (city government building).  Altogether, the entire area is being spiritually prepared from the ground up for the future the Lord has in mind for Los Cabos.

We have included a portfolio of photos so those of you who have visited Los Cabos can see the drastic changes taking place. Please pray for the area with us—as the spirit of God moves towards the transformation of Los Cabos—spiritually, as well as physically.

We continually tell Pastor Carlos Maciel that he can make something look amazing out of very little. This was certainly the case in the recent Saturday afternoon outreach to the Tierra y Libertad neighborhood. Just the Friday before the event, while we were out on house-to-house visitation, Richard pointed out a relatively bare, wide spot adjacent to the dusty road, telling me this was the “soccer field” where the event would take place. I wasn’t even sure it was large enough for one segment of the event, let only big enough to play soccer in!

As always, by the time we arrived, the setup team had the area looking like a community fair. There were fully staffed information and refreshment tables, a piñata area for the young children, a Spiderman moon walk, and a basketball free throw area for the men. There were chairs set up for the after-dark movie presentation and a canopy area for three sisters who offered free haircuts. Along with all of this, there were gunny sack and human wheel barrel races for the adults later in the day.

One of the sisters who has been greeting visitors at the Tierra y Libertad Church during the weekdays walked around the fair getting the names and contact numbers for the neighbors that gathered. After the evangelical movie, around eight people came to the front in response to an appeal for salvation and several came to church the following day.

As always, enjoy the photos while picturing in your mind the humble surroundings where the fair was held, along with my description of the “soccer field.”

Three months ago we sent a “blog alert” asking our ministry partners for prayer in regards to the increase in cartel activity in Los Cabos. What had mainly been kept in private, exploded into the open in the tip of Baja California. Today, we are thanking the Lord for His intervention in the capture of the ‘kingpin’ of one of the rival cartels in Los Cabos.

Let me first share a few notes from an intercessory prayer viewpoint… The Lord has been impressing upon our hearts that as we (those with this assignment) are led by the Holy Spirit to pray, the Lord is using His Body on earth to cleanse the heavens of “ spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The Lord chooses the timing and extent of the effects of the prayers of His people. On the morning of June 19, the Lord spoke to my heart, “The shift of power has taken place in the heavenly realms. I now reign through you (those with this assignment) in that place.” One of our prayer team put it this way, “the protection in the heavenlies” of demonic activity in the area “has been removed by the Lord.”

Within an hour of this encouragement came an amazing confirmation from the Lord. Richard arrived home from a men’s breakfast with news he just happened to hear from another brother he brought home from the meeting. The word on the street was that the authorities had captured a major drug ‘kingpin’ in Los Cabos the day before, including closing the main ‘drug stores’ (supply houses).  The brother went on to say that between what little was left on the streets and the fear of the authorities; you couldn’t even buy drugs in Los Cabos anymore. He further explained that you were previously able to just make a call and a delivery would be made to your house, but now most would fear even making such a call—not knowing who could answer.

The very next day, the news went public in the Mexico Daily News (online newspaper in English). We give thanks to God for every prayer warrior fighting for Los Cabos; may the Lord bless you richly. However, the nature of warfare is, “attack − counterattack,” so please don’t stop now!

Our first extended stay in Los Cabos was during the first part of 2011. We helped Pastor Carlos Maciel add onto the small home that came with his church property. We also helped excavate and lay the foundation and knee wall of what is the Cristo es el Camino mother church today. During that stay, Pastor Carlos decided to have a movie night. We utilized white, plastic chairs on the leveled dirt inside the knee wall and projected the movie on a taught, white bed sheet. We watched a scratchy version of the famous movie, The Cross and the Switchblade with Pat Boone. It brought back fond memories of youth group activities when I was young.

Fast forward six years later…  Richard and I were sharing with Pastor Carlos how, for many years, we had activities on Friday nights for the residents of Holton, MI, where we lived and operated a Christian Community Center. That brought back memories of former movie nights in Los Cabos and the three of us decided to do a double feature—over two consecutive Friday nights—at the mission church in Tierra y Libertad.

I can’t say the crowd was huge, but the local children were thrilled they could actually attend a movie, eat popcorn, and drink soft drinks at a location near their homes. Richard was at the church working on construction earlier in the day, and the local children started asking when the movie would be showing.

The fellowship was great and the message presented by the Christian cartoons shown first, as well as the main feature, was very clear. If you had been there to see the faces of the children in one of the poorest areas in Los Cabos, you would probably be so blessed you’d be ready to sign up for any future movie nights!

When I was just sixteen-years-old, I faithfully attended a church that sent us out to canvas the three-mile plus radius around the church every time we had a special speaker or event. Then, later in life, a group of us young women took turns watching each other’s children so we could work on evangelism in the neighborhood. This was certainly good training for the places the Lord has had Richard and I throughout our ministry! Thanks to my early training, door-to-door ministry has always seemed very natural to me and Richard is just a gifted statesman!

Nonetheless, our new efforts to reach our neighbors around Cristo es el Camino’s Templo Tierra Y Libertad is definitely a new experience. First of all, we are in an area where the poorest of the poor live and secondly−the very obvious problem−we are still not fluent in Spanish and don’t always catch what is being said to us. This is especially difficult in an area where many different ‘dialect’ versions of Spanish are spoken. However, Pastor Carlos gladly came alongside our desire to go door-to-door in the colony of Tierra y Libertad by first coming with us himself and then by sending a faithful team that is not only experienced at this type of ministry, but really enjoys it.

For roughly the past two months, our Friday mornings have been fun and have been a new experience for Richard and me. So far, we have only had a handful of people respond to our invitations with attendance to one of our services, but it is a joy meeting many new people, as well as to have the opportunity to pray for many of them as we work our way through the colony.

We would like to thank Howard Bryant again—one of our faithful friends from our home base area—for his donation that has purchased the beans and rice we hand out as we go door-to-door (actually, fence to fence J). Even in Tierra y Libertad, most of the people who live here are probably not going to go too long without food, but the gift of food does encourage them to come out of their humble homes to talk with us.  They often come to greet us when they hear Richard calling out−in Spanish−“We have a gift for you!” They have been so inundated with one of the area religious cults they have a tendency to otherwise ignore our friendly calls from the road.

Please be praying for spiritual fruit from the squatter colony in Tierra y Libertad and, as always, thank-you so much for all you do for us and the area of Los Cabos, MX!

As is done in the United States, our Mexican flag is flown at half-mast in honor of a deceased dignitary. On a recent ‘Monday morning in the marketplace,’ we were honored with the company of Pastor Carlos Maciel. As we visited on the way to San Jose, Pastor Carlos suddenly exclaimed, “My children didn’t have school today. It could be a holiday and the government agencies might be closed today!” Richard and I knew it was the beginning of Holy Week but hadn’t thought about government offices shutting down for the week (the holiday actually being two weeks long). The three of us decided to continue on in order to pray for the area around the “Delegación” (government building) in the center of old downtown San Jose.

As we started into the courtyard, we noticed the flag, which is normally not raised when we arrive. The flag was at half-mast. I immediately asked Pastor Carlos who had died, and he replied, “Jesus.” I said, “Wow, a country with its flag at half-mast for the death of Christ.”  Pastor Carlos, who had already started praying, added nothing else. 

Richard and I were so impressed that, despite the doctrinal differences, the effect of Catholicism in Mexico is strong enough to cause the flag, throughout the country, to be flown at half-mast. Fortunately, before I started this blog, I researched the days the Mexican flag is to be flown at half-mast, along with the history of Holy Week, which is followed by an additional week referred to as Pascua (Passover). My research revealed that the flag was actually only at half-mast for a deceased dignitary that Monday.  It wasn’t in memory of Christ’s sacrifice for our sin, but…

As Richard and I watched the events of Holy Week and Pascua, there is still something noteworthy of the tradition. A whole country does honor and acknowledge the sacrifice Christ made for us. Actually, the remembrance starts with what we would refer to as Palm Sunday, with each day after that having its own ceremony for the entire week before Christ’s resurrection! The celebration then continues with an additional week—Pascua. There are dramatic presentations of Christ’s capture, trial and crucifixion performed in the streets, including a loud speaker announcement of the biblical account, throughout Mexico. It is considered an honor to be a part of these presentation/parades, with Christ carrying His cross for long distances. Regardless of the possible motives of the participants, almost everyone in the country knows what happened on Holy Week−this is still amazing!

As is the case in the United States, there is a new generation that may not embrace the biblical meaning of Holy Week and Pascua, but here in Mexico, it is still a small minority. We are told that so far the Easter Bunny and the accompanying traditions are not seen in the Mexican celebration of the holiday, including the use of the US name “Easter.” Most government agencies are closed for the entire two weeks!

Again, we know all the ramifications of many of the religious traditions in Mexico, but scripture does say to give “honor to whom honor is due” (Romans 13:7 ISV) and Richard and I are giving honor to Mexico, as well as glory to God, for the religious freedom that still exists!

Enjoy the photos of the typical Monday morning tradition of the mandatory patriotic ceremony for government and all schools—compared to the empty town square and half-mass flag we encountered at the beginning of Holy Week.

For some time now, Richard has had the vision of putting together a short video to show the need here in Los Cabos, as well as explain the heart of our ministry—what we are called to do.  While home in December, our long-time friend Scott Eikenberry of Relivit Media, agreed to take on the project. 

We met one snowy afternoon at Maranatha. There, he interviewed us, asking questions and getting to the heart of what we do and why we do it.  We then chose several pictures from the past six years here in Mexico, sending a variety of options to Scott.  From there, he went to work, putting together a great presentation of our ministry here in Los Cabos.

If you haven’t seen it, it is on our website at www.newlifeoutreach.us or on youtube at https://youtu.be/JNKaipbGl8c

Thank you, Scott!  We truly appreciate your expertise putting this together.

We, in conjunction with Pastor Carlos Maciel, have been struggling to get our church plant, affectionately now known as Temple Tierra Libertad, to the place we would call “thriving.” This is not to fault any one person; just another story, in what might seem to visitors to the area, a very progressive part of Mexico...

In case you are new to our blogs, this church was planted to disciple the women and children (and eventually men and families) that regularly attend the Cabo English Church’s feeding station in Tierra y Libertad. Our first obstacle was finding two lots located near the feeding station that were available for purchase. Although this was originally “free land” for people to establish homes with no cost, there was also no protection of ownership. Eventually, the government of the Municipality of Los Cabos let the Ehido (Mexican Indians) lot the property off and offer “the right to squat” for a relatively small cost for land in Los Cabos. For us, it was almost six months of praying and research before the Lord opened up the two lots Templo Tierra y Libertad is built on.

We were given the most generous gift we have ever received to build the “pavilion style” sanctuary, kitchen, and future classrooms (just in case you’re wondering, the property came with a real flush toilet and bathroom). Since this was our first corporate donation experience, however, we started spreading the word of the new building project when the money was earmarked, which, on our part, was too soon. The excitement grew and within a few months Pastor Carlos had around 100 residents from the Tierra y Libertad area attending the mother church in Lomas del Sol, waiting to move down to the new church plant.

When the money did come through (and we are very grateful), the next hurdle in the building project was for Pastor Carlos Maciel to find quality craftsmen who would finish the job within the building project’s budget. I know this story sounds like one of the skits on the old He Haw television show, but this is actually just the “tip of the iceberg” account of a different way of life. At long last, Pastor Carlos, weary from months of struggling with the project while maintaining the rest of his schedule, brought himself to ask Richard to finish the church complex. This new assignment for Richard brought about the rest of the story−the new burst of life for Templo Tierra y Libertad.

Pastor Carlos assigned Scary to be in charge of administering the new church activities and Scary was available, due to support from a wonderful couple (see previous blog). Templo Tierra y Libertad was added to the rotating preaching schedule with the other three Cristo es el Camino churches. Richard came up with the idea of going door-to-door throughout the large colony, handing out invitations to the Tierra y Libertad church services, along with beans and rice. One of our faithful supporters jumped at the opportunity to be a part of this project by funding the rice and beans.

Then, Richard, now very involved with a regular schedule at Tierra y Libertad, asked me to pray about the two of us changing our schedule on Sunday evenings to come alongside Pastor Carlos’ seasoned team of leaders and precious servants. After much prayer, we just recently switched to evening services on Sunday at the church plant to see what God might be doing.

By the time this entire story unfolded, the brothers and sisters who were ready to move down to Templo Tierra y Libertad had become a vital part of the mother church. However, we are not despairing. We are sharing this update because we know many of you have prayerfully followed the progress of this project. Because of the church plant’s location, we still expect it to outgrow the current structure and land, so please continue to pray with great expectation of what the Lord can do!