Back in January-March 2011 when Richard and I came for our first work project in Los Cabos, Pastor Carlos had just purchased a small, humble partially-built home. His plan was to “camp” on the property with his family of five (including his baby at the time, Joshua) and to build his first church building in front of the house. Having not much, if any, construction experience, he was crying out to the Lord for direction.           

Within a few days, Richard drove up with our trusty Blazer and covered trailer, along with his expertise and a plethora of tools. I arrived a little over a week later with my ability to shop for building products (and paint when the time came). When we left in mid-March of that year, there was a humble addition added to Pastor Carlos’ house, running water, wired electricity, and the foundation and beginning of the existing church. From that leap of faith at the Lomas del Sol property, Pastor Carlos and his wife, Janet, have realized they needed more space and a home not located in back of a church in a Mexican barrio, where the needy, the bored, and the lonely are often at the door day and night.

It was just a year ago, when we came back from our Christmas break in Michigan, that we found out Pastor Carlos had bought another “fixer-upper” in that short period of time. Since that time, Pastor Carlos−as he has been able to save a little money−has been hiring brothers from the church to work on the house. Then, the blessing from Shane Crowley’s diligence in Michigan surfaced just before it was time for Shane to come. One of his material suppliers in Michigan offered a generous donation for the mission work Shane would be helping with. A good part of that blessing was gladly budgeted for Pastor Carlos’ house.

With funding, Shane and Tracey, and the brothers from Pastor Carlos’ church, who we were able to hire with the donated funds, made great progress laying the blocks for the upstairs of the families’ new home. In addition to the construction, the donated funds were also used to purchase a stove and refrigerator for the home.  We were able to take Janet and her family shopping for appliances. 

It may seem like very slow progress to anyone not living in Mexico, but with all factors considered, this project is moving along quickly. Pastor Carlos and his family have now been living in the home for several weeks and there is an end in sight.

The labor pool necessary for all the finishing, electrical and plumbing virtually dried up this spring/summer. We have had so much new construction in the area over the last year and a half that anyone who wants to work can be working.  Pastor Carlos hired a couple of men who helped Shane and Tracey, but when Shane left, their work ethic left with him. With Pastor Carlos in such a desperate situation, Richard knew he might be the only one who could get Pastor Carlos and his family into the home. Consequently, Richard added countless hours of work on Pastor Carlos’ house to the work he was already doing, including the finishing of the latest phase of the church at Tierra y Libertad.
There are still some finishing touches that will have to wait for the workman who has committed to do the thin coat over the blocks; as well as the welder who still says he will make the front gate (which is badly needed to secure the home). However, even in this condition, Pastor Carlos, his wife Janet, and their three children Paola, Carlitos and Joshua, are thrilled to be in their new home!

We all send a huge thank you to the generous donor from West Michigan that made the majority of this project possible. Thank-you, Tom, and may God bless you and your business!

We were blessed to have the honor of hosting a crusade with Pastor and Healing Evangelist Gamaliel Sosa this last month.  The event was originally scheduled to be a three-day crusade held June 14, 15 & 16. This, however, is Mexico! Our warnings for Hurricane Bud started early the week before the crusade, when the storm was far away in the Pacific Ocean (and for the record, this isn’t really the time of year we expect hurricanes). The hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm by mid-week, but, by that time, its path had switched to a perfect beeline towards Los Cabos. We knew this was nothing to be concerned about and we do get most of our badly needed rains as a result of tropical storms, but we had a three day crusade starting on the day Tropical Storm Bud was scheduled to hit.

The winds were not bad and we received a manageable amount of rain, but obviously we had to cancel Thursday night’s crusade. The rain had slowed down by late evening on Thursday, but the sun didn’t come out until Friday afternoon. Since many of Pastor Carlos’ faithful workers live in housing that is not waterproof, they couldn’t be asked to be at the crusade site early Friday morning to begin preparing the property for a crusade. The property owner graciously agreed to allow us to use the property for Sunday as well as our previously reserved day of Saturday the 16th. This turned our three-day crusade into a two-day event. We did gather on Friday night, the 15th, to scout out what would be needed for additional power, as well as what was needed for the restrooms to function, since we were planning on using an abandoned restaurant building on the property.

It Was a Powerful Crusade

Pastor Carlos had put together seven teams of ten persons each.  The teams worked on evangelism and publicity a month ahead of the crusade (which is a long time in Mexico); and as usual, his people were trained, efficient and faithful. Gamaliel, who we call Gama, flew in from the mainland the Wednesday before the crusade was to start.
Richard estimated crusade attendance at close to four hundred people for each of the two days. The worship team and Gama’s preaching were both powerful. Several people came forward for salvation or to recommit their lives to Christ. Even more came forward for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit and many came forward for prayer for healing. As of this writing, we do not have a head count of first time commitments to Christ or any testimonies of physical healing, but we will definitely share those we might hear.

The reason we chose to have the crusade on the Quinta Real property was to ‘marinate’ the property in the Holy Spirit. We are still asking the Lord to make a way for Pastor Carlos’ main church to be able to have use of the property by the end of this year; at which time he must vacate the empty lot next to his church that he has been renting for several years. Whether we just receive permission to use the property, the funds to rent it for a year or the funds to purchase the entire two and a half acres, we still believe this is the direction the Lord has faithfully been leading us these last eleven months.

Again, events like this are made possible by the generosity of all of our ministry friends. Pastor Carlos’ church and his mission churches help as much as they can, but your faithfulness continually makes up the difference.

The photos definitely say more about this event than a blog can describe…

The Lord just gave us a major breakthrough by placing the Avanza sin Tranza program into all 90 of the elementary schools in the Municipality of Los Cabos; and it was made possible by each of you!

The Lord just opened a huge door—one we have been knocking on for a long time—this last Tuesday! Richard and I (and whoever we can bring with us) have been traveling to San Jose del Cabo (just northeast of Cabo San Lucas) for the governmental patriotic ceremony that is held each Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. for just over two years. We started attending on Mondays to fulfill a commitment to our precious Mayor, Arturo de la Rosa (Presidente). We had promised to pray for his administration and our municipality, and we still have not felt released.

In the last six months, we have been blessed by Mayor Arturo as he has publicly thanked “those who pray for him on Monday mornings” in a televised speech. We have been in one of the local newspapers, are graciously thanked by members of the government and press for praying, and, if the mayor is at the public ceremony, he always smiles and nods to us. In addition to praying for the administration, we have also been praying for the timing to approach Presidente Arturo with the offer to pay for Avanza sin Tranza for the heads of the municipality’s departments. The Lord, however, had a different idea—one involving doors only He can open!

Daniel Valles, the head of Avanza sin Tranza, had arranged to visit Los Cabos last week.  Since Daniel was going to be in town, Richard brought our last Avanza sin Tranza packet with him and asked God to have someone walk up to him. This was exceptionally interesting since the mayoral election is this Sunday and very few members of the administration were present this last Monday. Actually, Richard and I were standing out in the open by ourselves. All of a sudden, it was like a ‘spot light of favor’ came upon us. One brother in the Lord, who is high up in the government ranks, came right over to talk with us. Then another dear brother who we have often prayed for came up, and then−out of nowhere−a young man came up to see what we were showing them. At, just a glance of the program material, he told us he was a teacher and they needed this in the schools. Then he asked if we wanted an appointment with the Directora of Municipal Education, Marlen Carballo. We tried to tell him that Daniel wasn’t arriving until late afternoon the next day, but the appointment was made for 11:00 the next day at Municipal Education Office and we were not going to miss it.

We called our faithful friend Jonathan−who always helps us at a moment’s notice−to translate for us. Mrs. Carballo was excited to see us, since she has tried to get a program on values and basic life skills into her elementary schools for four years. But the funding had never been there—until we walked into her office. We left our ‘one last packet’ with her and she graciously gave us an appointment two days later when Daniel could be there.

On Thursday, when we arrived with Daniel, Pastor Pasalagua from La Paz (who is an old friend and also a lawyer), and another brother from La Paz (who has committed to being the Avanza sin Tranza liaison for their city), Senora Carballo and her team were ready and excited. Daniel explained the typical cost of the program, but then told Senora Carballo that our ministry had committed to pay for the program because of our love for the children and our burden for the reprogramming of the minds of the Mexican people. Neither she, nor us, could believe this was happening, as she expressed the joy of a new hope for the future she now has for the thousands of children in her care. None of this would be happening without us, and this would surely not be happening without all of your prayers and financial help.

Daniel will be back in mid-October to train 80 teachers from her administration, who will train the students in this powerful material containing biblically-based values and life skills (although not stated as such). Senora Carballo holds an appointed position in Mayor Arturo’s government and the news of this powerful program will spread quickly. As the students bring home the material and talk to their parents, these values will spread into their homes and touch countless families.

Please keep praying for the spread of Avanza sin Tranza in the Municipality of Los Cabos. Since we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, we have a vision of this program spreading to train law enforcement, government officials, the business community, and every sector of society—first with Los Cabos and then with all of Mexico!