Richard has had the privilege of ministering at a rehabilitation center in La Paz, a city approximately two hours north of Los Cabos, for the past several weeks. Dad, along with Marcos Vasquez, his wife Crystal, Escary, his wife Diana, and Pastor Abel and his wife, have been making the trip each Saturday to minister to the men. Escary and Pastor Abel minister in music, with the team taking turns preaching and praying for the men (as time allows).
Dad first made the trip to the rehabilitation center with Marcos’ brother Carlos. Carlos was connected to the rehabilitation center through a former employee of his who had been through the program and is currently running an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program in Los Cabos. When visiting the La Paz center, Carlos saw their need and was moved to purchase 90 bunk beds and mattresses, as well as an industrial stove for the center. Carlos, Marcos, and dad then began to put together a group to travel to the center to minister to the men. Afterall, there is one way to true freedom and that is through Jesus Christ!
Dad had the opportunity to preach once again to the men on Saturday, September 23. His message centered on the value of knowing Christ (Phillipians 3:7-9):
“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” – Philippians 3:7-9, NASB
While preparing the message, dad practiced the sermon in both Spanish and English so that he could preach bi-lingually, serving as his own translator. Several men have translated for dad through the years, but dad was eager to maintain the flow of the message by seamlessly transitioning between languages. It is still a work-in-progress, but one dad is eagerly embracing as he shares all God has laid on his heart.
Dad and the team are looking forward to traveling back to La Paz again this Saturday.
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