​Shane and Tracey Crowley, of Fremont, MI, once again blessed the people of Los Cabos, putting their building skills to good use. Shane is a cement contractor who can lay bricks like no other! For several years now, Shane and Tracey have ventured to Los Cabos, ministering to and serving the local people. This year was no exception! Our mutual friend, Randy Paulson, joined the Crowleys, as well. They brought Bibles to the people, ministered at the rehabilitation center, and worked through the intense Los Cabos heat. The people were blessed to have them!

​New Life Outreach was able to help sponsor a pastor’s conference led by Missionaries Randy & Luisina Mishler and Pastor Alejandro Gomez. Pastor Randy’s father first began the ministry several decades ago as a missionary in Mexico. The ministry strives to come alongside local pastors, providing resources, prayer and support for the often impoverished and isolated ministers. As an extension of that ministry, They, organized a 2-day pastor’s retreat. After the original location fell through, Chris Erickson generously offered to host the event at his hotel. In addition to the conference activities, Chris also arranged for the pastors and their wives to go out on the local ‘pirate ship.’ The event proved to be a blessing for them and the ship’s crew – with the pastors sharing the gospel with the entire crew! The entire event proved to be a time of ministry, fellowship, and a needed rest for these dear pastors. It was a great success, one Pastor Randy and dad hope to continue offering in the future. 

Pastor Louis reached out in January to see if I might be interested in pastoring an English service he was looking to start at his church in San Jose del Cabo. Rhonda and I always felt our call was not to pastor full-time, but to come alongside ministries and churches in order to bring together the Body of Christ and to bring transformation to the area. I shared this with Pastor Louis, agreeing to help with organizing the service and his volunteers, as well as helping to preach in the interim. Another missionary couple, Randy and Lulu have a similar calling and have also come alongside the ministry. Lulu is an incredible musician! I was sure the church was playing Hillsong the first time I heard her warming up.
 
The first couple weeks have been incredible. The church has a solid group of volunteers, many of which have attended the Spanish service for years. They have jumped into serving with their whole hearts and the fruits of their labor shows!
 
Please continue to pray as to what role God has for me in this service and in each ministry I am currently serving with. My heart’s desire is to always be at the center of His will.

We were once again blessed to have a missionary team visit the Los Cabos area. The team included four chiropractors and their wives, one of which is an optometrist. As an optometrist, she was able to give eye exams and hand out the prescription eye glasses and sun glasses the team had brought with them. The chiropractors were able to provide alignments and work on physical ailments, while three of us pastors prayed for spiritual ones! In total, the team held two events on Saturday at two different feeding stations and three events on Monday at three other feeding stations.

A women came for prayer at one of the feeding stations. She was 100% def. One of the pastors, his wife, and I prayed for her and she walked away a little despondent, but in about 10 minutes I heard a bunch of Hallelujahs and the group came back to tell me she could hear. I went and prayed for her again and celebrated with her. I talked with her and she could hear me! Praise God!

Another gentlemen was excitedly doing deep knee bends. He was almost crying as he explained he had not been able to do that is a very, very long time. He was so blessed by what the Chiropractors were able to do from just a single adjustment!

Those needing an eye exam were equally blessed. They were not only able to get their vision diagnosed, but many of them were able to walk away with glasses, helping them see clearly for the first time in a long time.
The team also handed out New Testaments, and I gave out Rhonda’s Spanish “He took me to the cross with Him” tracts. Between meeting their physical needs and sowing into their spiritual lives, both days offered powerful opportunities to present God.
​
Thank you to everyone who participated in this event, and thank you to those of you who continue to lift us up in prayer. 

For several years now, two of our daughters and their families have donated, in leu of presents, their Christmas dollars to a Mexican family in need. This year’s family was recommended by our friends Ascary and Diana. The family included the grandmother, Alejandra, and four of her grandchildren, whom she is raising; Shaiel Isacc, Camila Isabel, Kenia Tamae, and Alan Eduardo.
​
To celebrate, Ascary, Diana and I took the family to eat at Campestre and then took them shopping. The intent is always to purchase gifts, but it never ceases to amaze us the basics chosen because of the need. The family was greatly blessed, as were we.

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.

While in Michigan this summer, Gideon Wayne Kauffman of Newaygo blessed New Life Outreach with 60 bibles, along with a donation to support the ministry and the dispersal of the bibles.  The Gideons first donated bibles last spring, donating 100 small Spanish New Testaments.  These bibles were shipped to the Instituto Samarin Christian School, a small Christian school in Los Cabos. As we have found over the years, though, things don’t always go as planned in Mexico.

The Mexican Postal Service received the shipment of bibles and tried to deliver them to the school after it was closed for the day.  For some reason, a note was not left and the bibles went back to the post office—getting lost in the shuffle without anyone ever being contacted. So, after waiting an extended period of time for the bibles to arrive and after having checked with the school several times, Richard (dad) was finally able to track the shipment down with a tracking number and discovered they were at the Post Office. Unfortunately, the Post Office proceeded to require an import duty on the package, which to dad’s chagrin was around $40 U.S. dollars. He was glad to have the bibles in his hands, though—although only for a moment as the Post Office then explained he could not pay the import duty there, but would instead have to leave the bibles until the fee was paid at a bank down the street. After he returned with a receipt, he was finally able to take the bibles to the school. The founder and director of the school is Demos Samarin, who is also a Gideon. Demos was not there when dad arrived, but he was able to leave the package with the secretary. She was excited to receive the bibles!  After that adventure, though, dad returned to carrying the bibles to Mexico in suitcases, as they had done previously, rather than ship them.

With the current printing of the Gideon Bibles still in process, Wayne personally purchased the most recent donation of 60 Spanish New Testaments.  Dad filled a suitcase, maxing out the 50lb limit, and headed off to Los Cabos.  These bibles were brought to the Men’s rehabilitation center in La Paz, a city approximately two-hours north of Los Cabos.

​The rehabilitation center is an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) center ran by a Catholic couple—Rodrigo and Mama Rosita. The center focuses on rehabilitation from addictions and is similar to Teen Challenge.  The program itself, though, is a little different in that once a person is admitted, they remain in the program until their family or the center sees they are ready to move on to a halfway house or back into regular life. Rehabilitation centers are available for teens, men, and women.

Dad has been ministering with Marcos Vasquez, his wife Crystal, Escary, his wife Diana, and Pastor Abel and his wife at the rehabilitation center on Saturdays.  On Saturday, September 7, dad brought the bibles to the men, who were also thrilled to have a personal copy of God’s word!  They have been proudly bringing their bibles to the services since. Pictured here are the men proudly displaying their bibles.

Thank you to Wayne and to the Gideons for their support of the ministry and their continued efforts to made the Word of God available—until the whole world hears!

Thank you for the love and support you have poured out these past few weeks. While it is has most certainly been difficult, we are confident in God’s goodness and in His timing—even when we don’t fully understand. We continue to press in and ask for ears to hear and eyes to see, that we may see it as He sees it and that we may live and move as He moves.

With that in mind, one of the questions many have asked dad these past few weeks is what he will be doing next.  Dad is diligently seeking God for His vision and direction. He is not sure what the future holds, but he does know the last indication was that he was not released from Mexico yet, and so he will be heading back to Mexico at the end of this month. There are several projects there he needs to connect with, and he is resolved to take one day at a time—seeking God’s direction each step of the way.

Please be sure to pray for dad and continue to call, encourage, and support him as he continues on with all that God has called him to.

For those who were not able to attend mom’s funeral service, a recording is available on EverRest’s Facebook page. A link is shown below.
https://www.facebook.com/p/Ever-Rest-Funeral-Home-Chapel-100054510397382/

Thank you again for your love and support. The fruit of mom’s life has been evident these past several weeks, and has been such a blessing to see.

Amber Hogancamp
​(one of Richard & Rhonda Mead’s daughters)

I am reaching out today with difficult news. Rhonda (mom) has passed away due to lower GI tract complications. While in Mexico, Rhonda became weak and wasn’t feeling well. Upon return to the United States for their summer trip, her close friend noted her color was not good and recommended she go to urgent care to get checked out. Upon arrival, it was determined she was very low on blood. After admitting her to ICU and stabilizing her with several units of blood, the doctors performed a scope and determined Rhonda had a couple of small ulcers and one large one in the opening of the small intestine. The doctors provided several prescriptions and sent her home to rest and recuperate. During the night on Wednesday/early Thursday morning, Rhonda passed away. According to the medical examiner, it appears something in her GI tract ruptured.
 
This was all very unexpected. God had spoken to Richard and Rhonda regarding their ministry and the things He has planned for Mexico. We don’t understand all God has allowed, but we do know that He is sovereign, He is in control, and we trust Him beyond measure—even when it hurts as much as it does right now.

We will continue to provide ministry updates in the coming months as God provides direction for Richard (dad) and for the ministry. In the meanwhile, if you are local and would like to attend the services, they will be at:
EverRest Funeral Home and Chapel
1783 E Keating Avenue
Muskegon, MI 49442

Monday, July 24, 2023:  Showing 5-7 pm
Tuesday, July 25:  Viewing 1-2 pm, Funeral Service at 2:00 pm
 
Sincerely,
Amber Hogancamp
(One of Richard and Rhonda Mead’s daughters. I help mom and dad with the website and ministry publications.)

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!
​
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!