One of Richard’s men from the Kingdom Builder’s group had a long talk with Richard and shared his desire to retire and spend the rest of his days investing in projects that would help the people of Los Cabos, would promote the gospel of Jesus Christ, and would help change the spiritual climate of our city. Brother Carlos hadn’t even retired yet before a great need in Los Cabos surfaced. Cabo Church has been having a men’s bible study on Thursday evenings, and one Thursday―not too long ago―a handful of the men from the bible study walked across the street after the study to check out a ‘new’ Alcoholics Anonymous facility. Much to Carlos’ surprise, the director of the new meeting place, Timothy, used to work for him, and since they had last talked, Timothy had accepted the Lord.

Timothy asked Carlos to minister at the center the following week. He and Richard talked, and Richard started a short training series for the small group of men who would be involved in personal ministry at that AA facility. When the meeting time arrived, the handful of men were ready for action. There were around 32 men and women present and they all desired ministry prayer. The night was very successful and the participants, as well as prayer workers, were deeply touched.

Carlos’ meeting with Timothy led to two ministry opportunities. The first was the restoration of the AA facility in Los Cabos. When Carlos saw the condition of the facility, he immediately ordered what was needed to repair the building, as well was what was needed to refurbish and bring the facility back to full use. This restoration is happening as I write! During this time, Timothy also asked Carlos if he was interested in taking a look at the AA facility in La Paz (the capital of Baja California Sur, which is around a two-hour drive from Los Cabos).

All of this led to Carlos being asked to minister at the AA facility in La Paz. Carlos invited a handful of men and asked Richard to train them, as well as come with them to the ‘all day’ excursion to La Paz. Every man in the facility wanted personal ministry. Approximately 120 men received ministry and the relatively new ‘prayer team’ was ecstatic over the wonderful ministry experience. To top this off, Carlos was compelled to buy all new mattresses for the facility, as well as to meet other physical needs the facility had!
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The Los Cabos Children’s Foundation event with our friend Chris was our first official Kingdom Builder’s event; with Carlos’ Alcohol Anonymous’ connections being next. Neither one of these endeavors is ‘Christian’ in themselves, but when ‘salt and light’ invade earth, the cause of the Kingdom of Heaven is advanced. Please continue to pray for both of these organizations!

Our friend Chris—a member of Richard’s Kingdom Builders group, as well as a board member of the Los Cabos Children’s Foundation—recently invited active Kingdom Builders and their wives to the foundation’s annual fundraiser/gala. The event was hosted by the relatively new Solaz Los Cabos Resort on the tourist corridor between San Lucas and San Jose. This event was probably the most lavish and beautiful event we have ever attended. It was an incredible fundraiser, and because of Chris’ generosity, a ‘new frontier’ was opened before us. All we can say is, “Thank you Chris!”

A New Frontier
For most of my life, I was of the persuasion that if an organization was not Christ-centered, I certainly did not want to be involved in it. This didn’t mean that all ‘non-Christian’ groups were bad, but since there are only so many hours in a day, I would concentrate on working with organizations where a relationship with Jesus Christ would be the main emphasis. Although this is still the case, scripture is clear about Christians needing the positive characteristics of “salt” (Matthew 5:17) and “light” (Matthew 5:14) in this dark, unsavory world.

On the day before the banquet, Richard took part in a tour of two of the ministries that are supported by the foundation. The first stop was Casa Hogar—the large, successful orphanage/youth home that was featured in the movie Blue Miracle. This facility is directed by a dear friend of ours from Cabo Church, Jason Stirrup. The second ministry toured was Rame, a day-facility used to train children and younger adults with severe incapacities—such as Autism, Downs Syndrome, Microcephalia, and other such disabilities—practical skills for everyday life. This group learning center also makes soaps and candles, which are sold to help offset the expenses of the program.

The last and most expensive initiative supported by the foundation is for heart defect surgeries. These surgeries take place at the children’s hospital in La Paz. Heart defects are prevalent in Hispanic children, but especially in children under twelve in the southern Baja area. This group of children will usually die before age twelve without medical intervention. The foundation also funds treatment for many more maladies that would either lead to the children being handicapped or to death.

The Handshake
This last paragraph may seem totally off subject, but this is a very important part of New Life Outreach’s possible involvement with The Los Cabos Children’s Foundation. During our weekly prayer team time, one of our intercessors told us to be on the lookout for a “special handshake.” What this meant to us, was that there would be an important introduction to someone attending the evening’s event. Richard and I take “words of knowledge” (I Corinthians 12:8) very seriously and we were ‘watching and waiting’ for that ‘handshake’ the entire evening. Then it happened; Richard was introduced to a man connected to the Municipality of Los Cabos mayor’s office, who could possibly be a connection to getting the Avanza sin Tranza program started again. We had finally found the ‘handshake’ just as we were dismissed from the dinner. But then—as Richard and I were leaving the washroom near the valet parking service, Richard started talking to an older gentleman who has been involved in the foundation for many years, and this became ‘handshake #2.’ Last, but not least, this gentleman introduced us to a couple who were just walking up to him. The couple had recently moved to Grand Rapids, MI (our home town airport). This was a third ‘handshake’—just as our car was pulling up.

On our way home from the gala, as Richard and I shared our impressions of the evening, we realized the Lord might have us volunteer someday at one of the foundation’s initiatives, and we can assure all of our faithful supporters that we will be “salt” and “light” wherever we go!