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!

This is the “God-did-it-again” story of Scary (pronounced Scotty) and Diana. Scary is originally from Mazatlán, Mexico. As is the case with many young men in Mexico, Scary was deeply involved in gang activity for many years. When Scary turned to the Lord, though, he started serving God as wholeheartedly as he had lived his previous way of life. He has been active in church for years now.

Around one year ago the Lord did something life changing for Scary and Diana…

Scary was working as a waiter at one of the nicer local resorts. He had a desire to be in full-time Christian work, but as is often the case in Mexico, he needed to work full time, as well as work with Pastor Carlos Maciel and the Cristo es el Camino churches. One day he shared a word of witness to a gentleman as he waited on the man’s table. The tourist to Los Cabos, Leonard Pearson, picked up on the word and started a conversation with Scary about his relationship with the Lord. From that moment on, a friendship of Christian love developed. After hearing Scary rave about his pastor, Leonard wanted to meet Pastor Carlos. Leonard visited Pastor Carlos at his church and continued to be impressed with the Godly character and ministries of the two men.

The end to this marvelous story began with Leonard questioning Pastor Carlos as to what would help him the most with his many ministries. Pastor Carlos’ answer was to have the salary for a full-time assistant pastor−the choice for this man being Scary. Shortly after that visit, Leonard arranged with Pastor Carlos to pay Scary a monthly salary sufficient to comfortably support him and Diana, in addition to blessing Pastor Carlos’ ministries.

All of this led up to a recent, wonderful reunion with Leonard and Marcie Pearson of Washington State. Since Richard and I were also highly talked about (and have become the English speaking connection for phone conversations), we were also honored to join in on the festivities.

God continues to be amazing! Scary was faithful to be a discreet witness on the job, and Leonard was impressed. For several months already, Scary no longer has had to be bi-vocational, and God has fulfilled the desire of his heart. Pastor Carlos has the help he desperately needs, and Richard and I get to glory in another amazing testimony of God at work in the Los Cabos area!

We were recently blessed to have Rick and Nancy Cramblet back in Los Cabos. The company Rick works for, Aerovision in Norton Shores, MI, donated the bulk of the funds for the Tierra y Libertad Church building project. We also had the pleasure during this visit of meeting their friends, Dave and Vonda Biona, for the first time. Dave and Vonda live in Kalamazoo, MI, only a couple hours away from our home base in Muskegon, MI. The Bionas have an amazing heart for missions and have been on many short-term mission trips. They are also very active in their local church, which has a huge heart for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

Rick’s visit did have an official slant, as he took several photos of the project to share with Aerovision’s benevolent committee upon his arrival back in Michigan. Many of the materials used in the church project were salvaged from our house that was destroyed by Hurricane Odile in September of 2014. Rick blessed our hearts while standing in what, according to North American standards, would be a very humble structure, by proudly exclaiming, “Look what $10,000 and a hurricane can build.” Rick is always very quick witted!  

We send another big thank-you to Rick and Nancy Cramblet and Aerovision of Norton Shores, MI!

The Lord just gave one of our intercessors a precious revelation in regards to the Carlos Annacondia Crusade that was held in Los Cabos in April of 2016. When he shared it with us, we were again amazed at our God!

When Richard and I started talking with the Annacondia events coordinator, he had projected the crusade would be the first part of March 2016−almost a year ahead of us at the time. We were very happy with that time period and knew it would work well for the Los Cabos area as it fit around the spring holidays and the weather at night would be perfect. With much disappointment, due to a series of events beyond our control, we found out the crusade would not be held until the last half of April.

When we first started making the arrangements for the event, we asked for six days so there would be time for a snowball effect from the testimonies of the people who were touched early in the crusade. Sometime later, again with much disappointment, we found out we were only going to have a three-day crusade.

There is one last, “When we first started.” Due to the work schedule of the Mexican people in the Los Cabos area and from living with the people for several years before the crusade, we knew if we only had three days, the best days for the crusade would be Thursday through Saturday. Again, with much disappointment, we were told the crusade would have to be Monday through Wednesday.

Despite all this, the crusade was a success! There were over 4,000 in attendance by the third night (in an area of approximately 280,000 people). Just under 900 people came forward for a first-time commitment to Christ and there were many amazing, documented healings.

This brings us to what the Lord shared with our intercessor. As our intercessor was watching the DVD of the Annacondia Crusade, the Lord brought to mind Luke 4:18:

      "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR; HE HAS SENT ME TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED, TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED; TO PROCLAIM THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."
      Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."     −  Luke 4:18-20
 
Our friend told us, “The Lord knew exactly which days He was choosing.” On April 18-20, 2016, the Lord launched the fulfillment of this scripture in Los Cabos. This is also the scripture we had printed on flyers, way back in 2010, which we handed out throughout Los Cabos.  In addition, Luke 4:18 was the verse both Richard and I individually considered our ‘life verse’ before we were married.
 
After considering what our friend had told us, the Lord brought something to our attention: Cabo San Lucas translates as the Cape of Saint Luke. In fact, Saint Lucas is the patron saint of the city!  God, in a way only He could do, just gave us precious confirmation that He is bringing to pass what He spoke to our hearts in 2010 in Los Cabos. We originally asked Carlos Annacondia’s ministry to come because he is known for bringing breakthrough for the spiritual climate. Nine months ago, God arranged for His seasoned general to come to Cabo San Lucas to challenge the power of the enemy – on 4/18-20, in the city of Saint Luke (Luke 4:18-20)!
 
So many times when it has seemed like things are going bad, the Lord is showing Himself mighty and I just don’t see what He sees. In this situation, He was carefully arranging the details of the crusade to confirm His fulfillment of the promise He had given us six years before. What a mighty God we serve!  May we continue to pray for the spiritual eyes to see as He sees—that while we feel a moment of heart break, we may experience the joy of His fulfillment.

Bill and Jacki Glaubitz have been friends of ours now for several years. They are Canadians who felt the call of God to open a men’s rehabilitation center in San Jose del Cabo. With Bill’s business background and Jacki’s training in pastoral psychology, as well as business, they have built a top notch Christian rehabilitation center of the quality you would find anywhere in North America. They, along with the rest of us pioneers down here, would eventually like to see a woman’s facility opened, as well. Please pray for the many needs that would be required for such an expansion of the ministry.

Bill and Jacki had talked to us several times about helping with regular ministry at the Center. After twenty-five years in the prison ministry in our home town of Muskegon, Michigan, though, we knew how important longevity was when dealing with men who expect to be rejected or abandoned. With this in mind, our calling in Los Cabos requires flexibility, as well as our being more involved in training others, as opposed to us doing the bulk of the ministry ourselves, as we have done in the past, so we had kindly declined signing up for regular ministry.

Bill, Jacki and the men attend Cabo English Church, where we attend and serve each Sunday morning. We have the honor of greeting them most Sundays. Our hearts are with the men and Palabra de Vida; with our own ministry background being full of ministry at the City Rescue Mission, our own halfway house, and many years volunteering with the state prison system, but we have to be careful to remain focused on our current assignment from the Lord. Finally, Jacki offered only one chapel a month, with flexibility and no long-term commitment—she finally talked us into it and what a joy it has been!

For several months now, Richard and I have been taking turns presenting at the chapel service and then we go into the “best” part; we have complete freedom to minister in the gifts of the Spirit, with words of knowledge, words of wisdom, healing for broken hearts and deliverance; and God is showing up strong!

Personally, this is my forte, but I must admit, I am being led to say some very strong words to these men that even I can’t believe I’m saying. Let me share one testimony... On our very first scheduled chapel, Richard preached and I asked the Lord to show me what He would have me say to the men in the back row—and He did. I called up the first man, who just happened to look like he had not had as rough a past as the others. To save time in this blog, I won’t tell you what the Lord had me tell him, but it completely changed his life! He accepted the Lord, his countenance changed, and although he still has several months left in the program, he is reconciled to his family and they visit regularly. On our last visit, this brother, smiling from ear to ear, looked me in the eye and said, “I’ll never forget what you said to me the first time I met you.” My response was, “Neither will I.” Our God is a God of signs and wonders, which He uses as attesting miracles to grip the hearts of men and women, and gives us words of knowledge and words of wisdom that can set the captives free!

Please continue to pray for safety and encouragement as Bill and Jacki continue to pour their lives into the lives of others that they might be free!