February Update

From January 20-30 I was part of a team from Agua Viva on a mission in Southern Baja California, visiting a missionary working among isolated ranches in the San Francisco mountain range. Here are a few quick statistics from the trip:

10 days; 2 showers; 1 little mountain town; 5 ranches visited; 1 mule ridden; 3 meals of goat meat; 5 Christian outreach movies shown; 15 hours hiking; 3 nights in a tent; 1 flat tire; 2 little girls who accepted Jesus after hearing about how He is their Good Shepherd; 200 photos taken.

Things were different from what I was expecting in the sense that the people we visited hadn’t actually become Christians yet, so we did more chatting with and praying over people than teaching and ministering. Some of the places we visited were accessible by car, some were accessible only on foot or mule back. But in San Francisco (the ‘little mountain town’ mentioned above) and the different ranches there was no electricity or running water. At all of the ranches the buildings were made of wooden boards, even cardboard, with dirt floors. The men spent the day with the livestock, either cattle or goats, and the women took care of the house, cooking meals over firewood. Life revolves around the location and availability of water. I conversed mostly with the women and children, many of who were very glad of the company, since the closest neighbors are a few hours away. I felt that God was at work planting seeds and slowly revealing Himself through us to those who do not yet know Him. They know that we are hermanos (brothers) who come because we love God.

I am coming away from the experience with a renewed sense of the great spiritual need in Mexico and the challenge of missions among such isolated people, many of whom are illiterate. I’m thinking now about some of the people I got to know: Chachita, a ranchera who eagerly asked me when I was coming back; Carla and Caramela, two little girls who asked Jesus into their heart but might not hear anything more about Him for another year; Jorge, an adolescent ranchero who seems curious about a God who loves him but cautious about wandering away from 300 + years of tradition his family has maintained in the Sierra de San Francisco. They have become more of the many reasons I am serving at Agua Viva Ministries.

Prayer Requests:

Please pray continue to pray for my health. I was feeling well but in the last few days have felt the bacteria dancing in my guts again. I’m taking samples to the lab tomorrow...

Pray for the people I encountered on the mission trip, that God would continue to make Himself known to them and that they would come to know Him. Pray also for Jose and Lupita, the missionaries working there, that they would have courage and grace to share the Gospel.

Pray for my administrative work at Agua Viva as I continue to tackle my to-do list and administer funds in the off-season, when money is extremely tight.