McDonald's Mexico Mission Journal

2012-01-22T14:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of a church build that a team will be doing with Pastor Abelino Jacome!

Abelino is a graduate of the Pastors and Leaders Training program and is now a teacher!
Praise God for His faithfulness in Abelinos life!

Ivan Martinez Prayer Letter

2012-01-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

Many of you will remember hearing about Ivan Martinez and his ministry during our travels across the country this past summer / fall.

Some folks from Canada are supporting Ivan and his ministry financially so I thought I'd like to post his prayer letter for your encouragement~

Ivan is a YUGO Mexico missionary - living in Mexico and working in prison ministry as well as assisting me in our minstry to pastors and leaders in Mexico. If you'd like to partner with Ivan and his ministry, you can do so via YUGO Canada at:

YUGO Ministries Canada
PO Box 231
St.Albert, AB
T8N 1N3

yugoministries@cruzinternet.com
ph. 780-461-0891
fx. 780-961-7690

Dear Brothers,

I Would Like To Begin By Saying Praise God For A New Year.

Now I Would Like To Thank All Of You That Have Kept My Family And Myself Under Prayer,

Praise Report:

Ivan Preaching in the Ensenada prison prior to the Baptism

Prison Ministry Is Still Going Strong,Many New Believers Were Baptize Last Year,Many Of Them Are Growing In The Lord,Learning To Seek And Trust The Lord In Their Everyday Walk.

Its Not Easy To Walk With God In A Prison,Specially When You Know The Experience Of The Tough Challenges As I've Had.

But It's Not Impossible At All,As We Take The Word Of God That Is Living And Powerful,And Sharper Than Any Two Edged Sword To Them.

And You Prayers And Support Has Been Very Helpful.

I Also Want To Thank God For Brother Irvin And His Family,


Ivan and Pastor Rich Hay from Sequim Washington Baptising some of the inmates.

You See This Past Year,I Have Been Going To The Prison Alone,And It Can Get Tiring After Awhile,So I Prayed For Sometime, Asking God To Raise Up A Brother That Would Understand The Commitment That It Takes,Many Raised Their Hands, But After Saying Lets Pray About It,I Never Heard Anything Again...Many Are Led By Emotions,But We Know That We Walk By Faith And Not By Sight.

Ivan getting into his baptism clothes!

Anyways,Our Brother Irvin And His Family,Got Here To Mexico From Canada,After Being Here Only Two Weeks God Open The Door For Him To Enter Every Wednesday With Me At Ensenada Prison(Usually It Takes Longer To Get Approve).

My Wife Is Still Helping The Teenage Girls At The Children Home In Tijuana Dibujando Una Sonrisa,Teaching The Sowing And The Word Of God.

Prayer Request:

Pray For Our Brother Irvin And His Family,That God Will Bring Them Back Soon,As They Are Only Here For Two Or Three Months,There Is So Much Work To Be Done Here In Mexico,And This Family Have Impacted Many Lives In Such Little Time.

And Finely For Our Support Level Is No Near To Where It Needs To Be,Pray That God Will Lead Those Faithful Hearts To Get On Board.

Again Thank You Very Much For Your Prayers And Support,

May Our God Increase Your Blessings In Every Area Of Need In Your Lives,

YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN MEXICO,

Ivan,Alma,Aleyda And Gregorio Martinez.

Ministry Report

2011-11-23T20:54:00.001-08:00

This is for those of you who didn't get to hear a report of our last 5 years ministry in Mexico and our plans for the next 5! click at the bottom (MINISTRY REPORT) to see it our report given at our sending church- Martensville Baptist Church on Nov. 13th!!

It has been great visiting with many of you over these last several months! We have been blessed by countless great meals, scrumptious deserts and excellent company!

Thank you to all of you for your encouragement, your hospitality, your support, your partnership and your interest in what God has been doing in Mexico!

You are appreciated!!

MINISTRY REPORT

September Prayer Letter

2011-10-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you to those of you who have been faithfully standing behind us during our time on Home Assignment! We have been praying that we'll be a blessing wherever we go, and while you'll have to ask those we visited with about that.... we certainly have been blessed meeting with many of you during this time.

At the end of this letter, there is a bit of a serious prayer request, but first- let's talk about the last month!

This part of our journey was spent primarily in Ontario.

We started out speaking at 2 churches in Ottawa- Calvary Chapel Ottawa and it's church plant in a suburb called Orleans.

We loved sharing with both fellowships what God is doing in the World, specifically in our part of Mexico. Andy Falleur, originally from Florida, is doing a great job pastoring these people in Ottawa. It was encouraging to see God working powerfully in Canada's capital.

After a short detour to Quebec City we traveled to Hamilton Ontario, Sharlene's hometown, to visit with family and her original church. We spoke in 2 churches - 1 in Hamilton and the other in nearby Oakville. While there we stayed in a camper trailer that my sister and brother and law lent us. It was a blessing to have our own space. We started Homeschooling the kids again out there in the mornings and in the afternoons we either visited family or went to the Library to continue school.

In Oakville we spoke at the Calvary Chapel Sunday morning. They have a great little multi-cultural church where we were able to speak Spanish again! We loved being a part of their Missions focus Sunday! I'm looking forward to hearing how they do as they follow God's path for their fellowship.

After that we went to my hometown, Wasaga Beach Ontario to visit family and supporters. We had a very busy time there as we often had a lunch meeting and supper meetings in the same day. We were able to accomplish a bit of school and were incredibly blessed to reconnect with people who have been so faithful towards us over the years. Faith Evangelical Missionary Church has been a part of the McDonald family since its inception many moons ago and its where Sharlene and I first went to church as new believers 20 years ago. It's their fault we're in missions now :) !! This body of believers continues to live out the Great Commission locally and globally and we're glad to be partners with them!

After a month in the East, we headed West. We saw beautiful autumn displays of maple and oak trees. It has been one of the things we missed the most about Ontario since moving away 19 years ago! It was a stunning display!

We spent some time in Manitoba with friends who have come down to do missions with us as families in Mexico. The 2 families both live on farms off the beaten path and it was a great time for us to unwind. The boys particularly loved the animals and the freedom to play games on the huge lots at night in pitch black darkness. The highlight for the boys had to have been the night they spent in a log cabin in the woods about 1km away from the house with the Abrahamson boys. They all had a great time without the parents and noone was eaten by bears! It was great!

And now we find ourselves back in Saskatchewan, our Canadian Home. We have bookings for almost every Sunday from now until we go back to Mexico. If you are in the Saskatchewan area and would like to have us over for a visit, we will do all we can to make it work! Our October Sundays are booked as follows:

Oct 8- Northwest Community Church, Meadow Lake, SK
Oct. 16 visiting friends in Moose Jaw, SK
Oct 23 Bagley Baptist Church- evening
Oct. 24 NBC Chapel
Oct. 26-30 LaRonge, SK

November will bring us to Meadow Lake, Martensville and North Battleford, SK with one Sunday still open!

PRAYER REQUEST

It is normal over the years to gain some new supporters and lose others for one reason or another. But, mostly due to economic reasons of our partners, our monthly regular support has slipped about $900/month over the last few years. That is one of the reasons we are back: to reconnect with current partners and see if God is leading new people or churches to partner with us. God has been good and His people have been generous and through many larger one time gifts, our needs have been met. But now we find ourselves in a difficult situation. We have kept our support level low to reflect the area that we live and work in as well as the hard working people we partner with. But the last few months, we have used up any reserve fund we had.

Simply put, we're asking folks to pray with us that God will supply our needs here in Canada and when we return to Mexico. We are also asking that if you are not a regular financial supporter of ours- if you would pray and ask God if He would be leading you to become one. I get Facebook messages and emails regularly from our people in Mexico asking when we will return to the work there! Your prayer and financial support over these last 5 years have resulted in many people coming to Christ, in men and women being made disciples and planting churches, training others and glorifying God. I believe that the first 5 years were foundational but that in the next 5 we will see the investment of time, prayer and finances grow as the ministries we partner with grow exponentially!

Thanks again for all you mean to us, we love each of you and appreciate you very much!

May God bless you all!

If you would like to partner with us please contact our office at:

YUGO Canada
PO Box 231
St. Albert, AB
T8N 1N3
780-461-0891
yugoministries@cruzinternet.com

YUGO USA
PO Box 58
National City, CA
91951-0058
619-336-9003
outreach@yugo.org

July/ August Prayer / praise letter

2011-08-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

It's mid-summer already!

We are almost 2 months into our home assignment time here in Canada. We've had a great few weeks here speaking in camps, visiting friends and speaking in churches!

Camps

We had 5 weeks of Bible Camp service from Northern Manitoba to Southern Saskatchewan and almost everywhere in between! This year was different from years past, because the boys are getting bigger and more able to serve at camp themselves.

I spoke at 4 camps this summer and served as program director at one.

Sharlene spoke with me at 2 camps and worked as a counsellor and kitchen help in 2 others.

Elijah was a camper for 2 camps and a junior cabin leader for 2 weeks.

Caleb was a camper for 4 weeks and worked in the kitchen for 1- and Jacob was a semi-camper for 3 weeks, full camper for 1 and kitchen helper/ big brother to camp kids for another week.

All in all it was a great camp ministry experience. We started off in camping ministry and love coming back to it every so often to serve churches that support us and also to speak into the lives of young Canadians. It also helps me hone my speaking and preaching skills. I am of the opinion that if you cannot speak to kids and keep their attention, you may not be keeping the attention of the adults you are trying to speak to! So this is an incredible help in my preaching and teaching ministry as well!

We saw God do some amazing things those 5 weeks of camp- from providing vehicles and accomodations and finances to speaking into lives and turning hearts towards Him. We were not after many easy "converts" but were going about our Fathers business making "disciples", followers of Jesus who are willing to turn from their sin and follow and trust in Jesus. We sowed the seeds and will not really be able to see what grew- maybe ever in this lifetime! But God is in charge of the growing and many kids expressed a desire to follow Jesus! Praise God!

Churches

Almost every Sunday was spent speaking in churches as well. It's been good to reconnect with supporters this summer. For those of you in Eastern Canada- we plan on being out there for the month of September. We'll be in the Golden Horseshoe area in the first 2 weeks of September or so- and the Georgian Bay area for the second 2 weeks of September. We have some churches lined up to speak at during that time, but we would love to get together personally with all of you if you can make it work! This is what this time is about!

Vacation

We are currently on a short vacation to one of our old stomping grounds, Victoria, BC. Jacob was born here and has been praying for a long time that we could come back so he could see his "homeland". So we have been exploring the places that we often speak about, but he doesn't remember. He now has some pictures in his mind to put to those stories-and we have a few new stories to share with each other as well!

After this we travel to Alberta to officiate at the wedding of Rebecca Hoople an MK from Mexico who is getting married August 20th. She was our faithful and excellent babysitter in Mexico. Sharlene and I stodd up for Rebecca for her grad as "Padrinos" -kind of like "godparents" and we are all looking forward to being there for this next step in her life as well!

From there we head to Ontario to speak at a church in Ottawa and then a short stint to Quebec City before coming back to Southern Ontario to visit family and supporters and perhaps some potential supporters.

It is inevitable after being on the mission field for 5 years to need to re- establish full support. So we are again on the lookout for people whom God has chosen to partner with us financially in this ministry. If you are interested in investing in this ministry of training pastors and leaders and church planters for the unreached and needy parts of Mexico- please feel free to call or email us and we'd love to sit together with you over coffee or a meal and tell you the wonderful things God is doing!

If you are already a faithful supporter and won't be able to make it out to one of our church dates but would still like to get an update and visit with us-- please call or email us! We'd love to come see you!

Thanks again for your faithfulness in financial and prayer support. We could not do this without you!

Mike for the family.

5 weeks of Camp...

2011-08-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

Camp blog

Pre-Camp...

We started off with a new to us chevy Astro van from Turtleford , SK. We were headed to Swan River, MB to speak in a church and visit some friends/ supporters prior to going to our first week of camp.

Another friend lent us a tent trailer to help us make our trips a little less expensive and also to accommodate us should any camps not have enough room for a speaker family of 5...

The van-camper combination didn't last long as just a short time into the trip we realized that the camper was too heavy for the van. Every time we slowed down, we lost brakes and steering! So we CAREFULLY made our way as far as we could until the check engine light came on! We found a campground near saskatoon and bunked down there for the night. Our friend who had lent us the van brought us another vehicle ( chevy suburban) to help us out.

The suburban seemed to be doing well for a while. Then, in the last half of our trip for that day it just stopped for no apparent reason. It would eventually start again- it did this four times in the last 200 kms of our trip- meaning we arrived later into the evening. Thankfully the northern summer sun still shone nicely until almost 11:00pm and we had enough light and time to set up the camper.

It was a blessed week as we visited with friends and a brother in Christ/ mechanic gave the truck a look over to help us get on our way to our next destination.

Steeprock Bay Bible Camp...

It's always better coming back to somewhere than going there for the first time. I remember a couple years ago arriving at steeprock to the accomodations they had for us and being a little shocked! This time, we had our tent trailer--- but we were not prepared for the welcoming party.

It was the most insect-filled place i'd ever seen! There were bulldogs (large horseflies that take chunks out when they bite) millions of mosquitoes (more than i've ever seen anywhere) and other various bugs... when we finally got our trailer up (in the dark) we had to use some mosquito poison (coil) to kill the hundred or so that were planning on emptying us of our excess (and not so excess) blood...

It did a good job, but then the camper was filled with smoke we had to get rid of, so we opened the windows – only to find another problem. No-see-ums... a tiny little biting bug that is small enough to fit through the screen holes-- and soon we were filled with them-- so we closed up the windows and killed off whatever bugs we could see--- it was now 1am and time to maybe get some sleep.

After trying for an hour- we realized that somehow, more bugs were getting in-- we kiled another 50+ mosquitoes and duct taped any openings we could find-- then drifted off again to sleep- kinda- until about 4am- when the ubiquitous sounds of 50+ blood sucking mosquitoes filled our trailer again and I could no longer sleep... I killed what I could and took some of the boys with me to the truck where we tried to sleep-- but the sun was already up and it was difficult...

That day they put us in the same accomodations we had last time, but this time it was like a luxury palace compared to the insect infested tent trailer! We slept REALLY well the next night!

The camp itself went very well- there were about 40+ kids from the surrpunding area and moose lake, MB. We only had 1 chapel session at this camp, but I also had the opportunity to speak to the staff in the mornings about discerning God's will and following Him. God blessed the time we had there and the Good news was presented clearly! Seeds were sown and we'll find out in Heaven what took root! Elijah also had the chance to serve as a jr. counsellor that week- it was a growing- stretching experience for him too!

Big River Bible Camp

We were given a cabin to stay in in Big River- and our boys were not with us that week! They had been picked up and taken to Silver Birch Bible Camp for their own week of camping without mom and dad...

BRBC used to be a place we dreaded to go--- we had OUR camp (Pine Ridge) and used to dislike this camp a lot! But Jason and Anita Boucher have been used by God to develop an excellent discipleship center / camp and we saw their heart and dedication for the kids and for the staff... they have been raising up local First Nations and non-first nations staff for the last few years and have a great group of people there. There was an awesome feel to the camp as Jesus Christ was lifted up and it was obvious that He was first in that camp!

We heard testimony of many kids and staff saying that they were blessed by the messages- God had touched them and taught them about himself... Praise God!

Silver Birch Bible Camp.

Silver Birch is the camp our kids consider “their” camp. We pastored here for a few years and directed camp for 3 summers here. Our kids were “camp kids” their before becoming real campers themselves!

This week, I was the director and Shar was helping in the kitchen. Caleb and Elijah were both able to join a cabin and enjoyed their week of camp. Jacob helped out in the kitchen and was “big brother” to a few of the younger kids whose parents were working at camp that week. We were all blessed...

The Monday night we were about to have our campfire when we heard rain coming across the lake... we quickly decided to cancel the fire and send the kids to their cabins.

In the 4 minutes it took me to help clean up some stuff and take it to the kitchen, a fierce wind blew across the camp and blew the dining tarp (about 20x30 feet big) clear off its frame as soon as I was in front of it. We ran into the chapel and called for all the campers to come to there-- we watched as trees were bending in abnormal ways and rain pounded the building. The power went out and we sang and prayed for the hour and a half that the wind continued. After it abated, we all went back to our cabins and got to sleep.

The next day were were met with the aftermath of the storm. A tree had fallen on the path we all took from the campfire to the cabins / dining hall. Thankfully, noone was hurt! There were 5 trees down in camp in all and several that had the tops blown off. We spent the first part of the morning all helping to clean up the trees, branches and other stuff that had blown around.

About 100 Meters away there was a swath of land where probably 40-50% of the trees were either blown completely down or their tops were blown off-- it was not far from us and was far worse than what we experienced-- we only got the sides of that wind, praise God!

We survived for 44 hours of a power outage thanks to the hard work of the maintenance crew and the generous lending of a couple generators to keep our kitchen going well!

The chapel messages for the first few days had been about darkness- the darkness of sin within us. We were in the darkness during this time! As soon as the chapel messages changed to being about the Light, the lights came back on!

We saw God move mightily at this camp and we're thankful for his including us in this aspect of His work!

Island Lake Bible Camp

Island Lake is the camp run by another of our sister BGC churches in Turtleford, SK. It was a pleasure to serve with them again. It's the 3^rd time in the last 6 years we've been able to be speakers at this camp.

There were 43 teenagers and only about 11 staff- including cooks and speaker! Thankfully the campers never caught on as to how much they outnumbered us, or we may have been in trouble!

I was speaking on offering ourselves as living sacrifices and what that looks like- to not be conformed to the world, and to be transformed in Christ's likeness. The campers were challenged to Love Jesus with al their heart soul and strength and serve Him by loving everyone else like themselves. I think they really understood what that meant, because many were wrestling with what that realy meant, to give up even our own lives for Jesus- to make Him first. Seeds were sown, we'll see in the coming years if and how they grew...

Glad Tidings Bible Camp.

This was a VERY different camp then we were used to. We are northern- Saskatchewanians, for the most part. All of our camps have been on lakes in heavily treed areas-- This camp brought us down to the bald prairies of Southern Saskatchewan where trees are an oddity!

This camp was built on a man made "lake" (kinda more like a slough) that someone in the neighbourhood thinks is big enough for a motor boat and waterskis! They have a pool, but it is in need of repair and was unavailable for swimming. Some fo the brave kids would go into the slough to swim- and had a good time doing so!

The biggest attraction at this camp was the horse program! They have a bunch of horses (and donkeys) for the kids to use at this camp. They do a great job of teaching about following Christ through the horse program.

Caleb got to be a camper during this week- for the 3rd time this summer! He was in a cabin with his best friend Matthew (who used to live in the area). Their cabin was notorious for its "man-smell" that emenated from it at all times of the day. I think they'll have to burn it down to get rid of that awful stench.

Elijah was a jr. cabin leader this week and seemed to enjoy his time there. He got the opportunity to give a devotion, and like a good calvary chapel-er he did a verse by verse message for his campers. Elijah's sr. counsellor was impressed with his ability to communicate to the guys!

We spoke that week and it went well for the most part. It was the toughest group I've ever spoken too in my memory! They weren't as attentive as I'm accustomed to. I've spoken to this age group before- but usually to northern youth- primarily Native kids. This is the largest group of "church kids" I've spoken too before.

God was still working as 2 kids came to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. One was a recent immigrant from Zimbabwe, Africa. He was telling us in his testimony that he used to be a bully and would beat up on kids- even though he went to Church in Africa- he was a very bad boy. He repented of his sin and placed his faith in Jesus that week! During the last night, some of the kids started a pillow fight. He got excited and said " a fight o good, i must get my pillow... ahh wait, I cannot do that any longer, I am a man of God!"

All in all it was a great week and a great summer! Thank you for praying for us!

Mike for the family.

Home Assignment

2011-06-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

The other day I heard the term "Furlough" somewhere and was surprised. The usual context I hear that word is in relation to missionary topics. But this time it was in a different context. So I quickly looked up the word to see how they were using it...
To my surprise- here was the definition...

A furlough (pronounced /ˈfɜrloʊ/; from Dutch: "verlof") is a temporary leave of absence from employment, duty in the armed services, or from a prison term. It may be voluntary or involuntary.

Voluntary furloughs from employment or armed services are essentially a vacation (holiday).

Well, we're not leaving prison or the army... and looking at my schedule this is definitely not a vacation!

So we'll use the term "Home assignment" to describe what we are doing for the next 6 months!

On June 21 we head back to Canada for about 6 months or so. During that time we'll be basing ourselves out of Turtleford, SK. Friends of ours have offered us their basement suite for the time we are back in Canada to stay in.

For the first 3 months, though, we will be travelling across the country from BC to Quebec sharing in churches, homes, Camps and Bible Study groups. We have a van and a tent-trailer awaiting us to be our home on wheels for the next 3 months!

July and the first week of August will be spent speaking at Bible Camps and churches. We'll be in Swan River, MB (Steeprock Bay Bible Camp), Big River Bible Camp (SK), Silver Birch bible Camp (Loon Lake, SK) Island Lake Bible Camp (Turtleford, SK) and Glad Tidings Bible Camp (Mossbank, SK).

From there we head west. We'd like to be able to go to Vancouver Island. Jacob was born there and is the only one in the family who has no memories of the area. He's been praying that we could go back to see his "hometown" and then have pictures in his mind of the places we talk about! We'll see if we get a chance to do that. The main issue is taking a van and tent-trailer across on the ferry is crazy expensive- so it will depend on finances at the time.

On our way back East we will be attending and I'll be officiating at the wedding of a YUGO ministries MK- Rebekah Hoople!! after that we go WAY East to Ontario. We will be sharing with some Calvary Chapel Churches in Ottawa and Toronto as well as their men's retreat.

We are also planning on making a side-trip to Quebec City for a homeschool field trip! Living away from Canada our kids are woefully ignorant of Canadian History and geography. So we plan on spending some time teaching them about Canada in an interesting way- by visiting some of the countries most important early sites! While in Ottawa we'll take museum tours and parliament tours while I get to teach them about the early History of Canada. We'll be salting our entire trip with homeschool lessons on history, geography and Civics. Don't tell the kids though, if they find out they are in school they may not like it! :)

Most of September will be spent in Ontario with our families and our original home churches. We're looking forward to spending some good time there sharing with supporters and family what God has been doing through us in Mexico and what our vision is for our return to Mexico!

October-December I have almost all of our Sundays full. Daytime with Shar and the kids will be spent with regular Homeschool days during those months. We'll be in Turtleford and hope to get some normal-like family routine during that time!

We have not yet discussed with YUGO Canada what our new assignment will look like in it's totality. There have been some interesting possibilities come up in the last few months and we are seeking God's direction in those choices.

We appreciate your prayers for us during our time in Canada! We will continue to be supported by your faithful and generous gifts through YUGO ministries. We will still have our rent to pay here in Mexico as well as travel expenses and living expenses in Canada. God knows what we will need and when and we are excitied as always to see how He will provide for us during this time!

Prayer requests

that all of our needs would be met during Home assignment
that things will go well with the ministry here in Mexico while we are away.
that we will be a blessing where we are serving in Canada
that many young people at the camps would surrender their lives to Jesus.
that we will adjust well to the cultural differences in Canada that we are no longer accustomed to.
for safety as we travel 15,000KM (9500 miles) across Canada and back during our 3 month tent-trailer adventure!
for our relationships with each other during this time!! That we would behave in loving ways despite the close quarters!!
That God would be Glorified in all!

Praise Report!

We found someone to watch our house and animals for us while we are gone! Miguel and Gabby are a young couple who love Jesus from our church. Gabby works at YUGO's Grace Children's Home and Miguel is an intern at Calvary Chapel Rosarito. They are living in inadequate housing without even a bathroom! They had been praying for something they could afford. So we are going to pay the rent while they are here and they will pay for their utilities. They will care for our animals and stuff. This is a huge answer to prayer because most houses that are left here get so robbed that they will even steal the wiring and plumbing which would make the place unliveable when we return! Thanks for praying!

Thanks for partnering with us. We look forward to speaking with you all over the course of the next few months encouraging you with how God has been answering your prayers and how your financial investments are producing spiritual fruit!

See you soon!

Mike, Shar Elijah, Caleb, Jacob

Breaking the Silence in the Circle of Silence

2011-05-28T11:00:00.001-07:00

Mexico is a place of contrasts.

In the extreme north where we live there is extreme wealth with people who work in the US co-existing with extreme poverty as people come here hoping for a better living without finding it.
Here in the North there are neighbourhoods with an abundance of churches, most with untrained pastors and hurting sheep.

In the south- there seems to be less poverty in the cities, but a Spiritual dryness that permeates the land. The "Circle of Silence" is an area in Central Mexico where less than 2% of the population would consider themselves followers of Jesus Christ.

I was glad to get an opportunity to go south to one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen- Zacatecas, Zacatecas Mexico.

Jason and Rebecca Villalobos are Mexican- American Church planters who are planning on starting a church in the City Center of Zacatecas. It is a spiritually needy place whose need is only superseded by that of the countryside around it. We spent 4 days examining the city, walking its streets, praying on its mountains, speaking to it's people to see what God was wanting to do in this place.

We all became convinced that God is calling the Villalobos to plant a vibrant, loving, Jesus following church with a purpose. The purpose is to raise up leaders, train the called and send the willing to the spiritually neediest parts of Mexico- in this "Circle of Silence".

Pastor Mike and I both agreed that we'd love to participate in this ministry by equipping saints here in the north and sending down the called and the willing to this important work in the 10/40 window of Latin America!

Mexico's north is saturated with churches and Christians--- many from the south originally and we have been seeing God call them to Himself, equip them and give them a burden for the south. There really is no more need for church planting in the north- the focus here ought to be on strengthening the churches and equipping the called to fulfill their obligation to their own countrymen!

I am excited about what God will do through this family as they leave behind the comforts of home in southern California to one of the most hardened areas in the Americas. We believe God is going to do as much as we dare to ask Him and trust Him for in this area for His Honour and glory!

We will continue to work here in the North raising up saints and calling them to action and then assisting them in whatever way God directs in breaking the silence in the Circle of Silence!

Thank you so much for your partnership with us here in Mexico! Without you we could not do what we do and we are very thankful for your investments in eternity through this ministry!

Please continue to pray with us as we are heading back to Canada to report on the work here and serve in camps and churches over the next 6 months.

pray that our needs would be met
pray that our ministry here would continue to flourish in our absence
pray that we would have wisdom to know what do with our "stuff" while we are gone. We are most concerned with our 2 dogs and cat who as of yet do not have a home when we leave.

Praise Report

Praise God for the excellent vision tour to Zacatecas- we have seen a need so great it could keep us busy and fruitful for the next 20 years.
Praise God for His provision- we continue to be amazed at how He uses his loving, generous saints to care for our needs. We have had many extra needs such as flights, Visa renewals and up to know all have been met as we needed them to be!
Praise God for 4 new graduates from the Bible College in Ensenada.
Praise God our calendar is filling up for our home assignment!
Praise God for a vehicle to drive in Canada!

Thank you again, may God bless you all-- We hope to see as many of you as possible in the upcoming months- we will pass on our cell number as soon as we get a Canadian Cell phone!

Co-labourers with you in Mexico,

Mike, Shar, Elijah, Caleb, Jacob McDonald

March Prayer Letter

2011-03-05T07:18:00.000-08:00

McDonald's in Mexico

301 W. 28^th Street, Suite L

National City, CA

91950

Dear Partners in Ministry,

Thank you so much for your partnership with us in this ministry! It has been a blessed month as we continue the ministries that we are so fortunate to be a part of.

Bible College

I've been teaching twice down in Ensenada at the Calvary Chapel Bible College. I thoroughly enjoy this ministry and look forward to my twice weekly trips down there. I've been teaching Galatians on Wednesdays and James on Fridays. I'm also a part of the "Disciplemaking" course as a mentor to the student leaders. That ministry has been an incredible blessing for the school. Leaders are being trained and students are having a place to work through the inevitable issues that come up as the follow Christ. We are seeing much growth and good fruit in this ministry.

I also teach at the extension College here in Rosarito where we live. I've been teaching James there as well to 7 students. All the classes are either at night or saturday morning at the extension college. It is an interesting dynamic there with a good cross section of ages and length of Christian experience.

My other teaching assignment right now is doing the missionary training for 3 new YUGO Missionaries. We will be going over such topics as Cross Cultural Communication and Cross Cultural Servanthood. The hope is to prepare these new missionaries for a long term of fruitful service here in Mexico. One of the students, Kristy Struska, is also making a video of the training so that we can offer it to other incoming missionaries in a DVD format.

Home Assignment

Thank you for praying for our home assignment plans. We are continuing to fill the calendar with speaking opportunities. We have plenty of dates open as well! please let us know if you'd like to have us share in your church, youth group, home group or even just one on one over coffee! God has been doing some amazing things here in Mexico and we'd love to share some of those stories with you!

We are planning on Flying back to Canada around June 21. That gives us plenty of time to try to finish the Homeschool year here and get us back in time to start our camping ministry in July. Flight prices have gone down to a reasonable price for that time lately. Unfortunately our "reserve" account for such expenses as that has run dry! If you could be in prayer for these aspects of our finances, we'd be grateful! We need to buy tickets ($1000 for 5 one-way flights right now) as well as a good, reliable van for driving across the country pulling a borrowed tent trailer this summer. Thanks for your prayers!

Future Ministry Update

We are becoming more convinced that God is calling us to work with the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Ensenada in an almost full-time capacity. We would also still be working with the Pastor and Leader Training Ministry as well, but in more of a support / administrative role. I'd like to train one of my current teachers to take over my role in a full-time capacity as this ministry grows exponentially. Please pray for the finances to do that and the wisdom we need to pass off this aspect of the ministry so that it thrives.

Please also pray for the necessary steps that need to take place within YUGO to make this happen. Pray that we would have unity of vision and wisdom on how to administrate this change.

Prayer Updates

Prayer Requests
Please pray for our finances. Moving back to Canada will be a significant expense.
Please pray for our future ministry direction, that we would have the mind of Christ.
Please pray for the ministry, that it (esp. the pastors and leaders training) would thrive while we are on home assignment.
Safety- that God would continue to keep us safe as we serve in a dangerous area.
Adjustments- that we would adjust well to life back in Canada.
That God would be glorified in our lives and in our service to Him.

Praise

For a great bunch of students.
For the faithfulness of the students and teachers of the Pastors and Leaders Training ministry
For all of you and the important part you play in prayer and/ or financial support! We could not be here without either of those!

Thanks again for all you do! We are looking forward to reconnecting with as many of you as we can!
May God bless you!

In Jesus name,

Mike, Shar, Elijah Caleb and Jacob McDonald

301 W.. 28^th St. Suite L

National City, CA

91950

2011-02-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

McDonald's in Mexico

301 W. 28^th Street, Suite L

National City, CA

91950

February, 2011

Dear valued partners in Ministry!

Thanks so much for your partnership with us in this ministry, God has been blessing us and continues to take care of us in this place!

La Paz Vision Trip

We had our trip down to la Paz, and if you'd like more detailed information on how that went, you can follow our blog at http://mcmexicomission.blogspot.com/ .

Our basic conclusion has been that it is a place with a definite need for more churches. There is 1 church for every 10,000 people- which is considered underreached. The Christian population is about 3% of the whole. This is also considered underreached. But we still do not believe that God has called us to church plant, although we see the need and would like to help to fill that need, God seems to be keeping us from doing so and leading us still in the area of teaching and training pastors, leaders and future church planters and missionaries.

There is a missionary down there that has shown some interest in teaching and training the pastors and leaders. He is currently discussing things with his church leadership. The Alliance of Pastors in La Paz are meeting on Feb 14 to discuss the interest that churches, pastors and leaders may have in taking this type of training. It seems that God may be moving to provide training down there without us having to be physically present. Praise God!

The drive down and back was great and unenventful until the last 160 KM... We blew a headgasket and overheated the engine (heat gauge didn't work either, it seems). Thankfully we broke down in the daytime on an area where there was a shoulder to pull over onto safely. There are hundreds of kilometers on that trip where there is no shoulder- only mountain on the one side and 3 foot drop off (at best) or cliff (at worst) on the other side.

We broke down in a place where there was no cell service and only a couple people stopped. We eventually let the engine cool down enough to drive to a place where we could get cell service and call for help. That is usually a bad thing to do, but stuck on a highway all night in Mexico is worse! So off we went. A fellow YUGO Missionary (Ron Struska) came to pick us up with the car dolly and got us back home safely. I just got the van back this week after almost 2 weeks in the shop with a bill of $630! Not bad for a 3/4 rebuilt engine, but please pray that all of our other needs will be met this month as well!

Home Assignment

Things are starting to shape up for Home Assignment time. We have camp speaking engagements in Turtleford, SK, Swan River, MB, Big River, SK and Mossbank, SK for most of July until the first week of August. We will do some church speaking on weekends and I am hoping to be able to officiate at a wedding at an MK from down here in Alberta nearing the end of August. After that we will be going to Ontario for a month or so to connect with supporters and family back there and then back West to spend the fall connecting with supporters and serving in churches in whatever way is needed.

If you'd like to have us speak at your church or home group- we will be available in Ontario from around Aug. 25- Sept 25 (depending on engagements).

We will be free in Western Canada from Oct. 1- Dec 15 or so if you'd like to have us by to share about what God has been doing in Mexico.

Future Ministry Plans

We are still praying about what God would have for us when we return to Mexico. It seems likely that we will be staying in this area and working at least part-time with our current group of pastor's and leaders and their classes. I will probably shift down to an administrative and support role as they grow the ministry and serve other communities. I'm hoping to be able to train one of current graduates to take over the majority of my work and to raise sufficient support for him to dedicate himself fulltime to administrating, teaching and supporting the teachers.

The Calvary Chapel Bible Institute in Ensenada has asked me to consider coming on full or 3/4 time as a teacher, counselor and promoter of the school in Canada and Mexico. I have come to really appreciate the ministry at the college and the quality of students that come through there. We are praying about this opportunity and are open to God's guidance.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for our finances. Moving back to Canada will be a significant expense.
Please pray for our future ministry direction, that we would have the mind of Christ.
Please pray for the ministry, that it (esp. the pastors and leaders training) would thrive while we are on home assignment.
Safety- that God would continue to keep us safe as we serve in a dangerous area.
Adjustments- that we would adjust well to life back in Canada.
That God would be glorified in our lives and in our service to Him.

Praise

For safety on our vision trip to La Paz
That some have shown an interest in teaching and training there.
For the 26 students at the Bible Institute (in our 3rd year)
For the faithfulness of the students and teachers of the Pastors and Leaders Training ministry
For all of you and the important part you play in prayer and/ or financial support! We could not be here without either of those!

In Jesus name,

Mike, Shar, Elijah Caleb and Jacob McDonald

301 W.. 28^th St. Suite L

National City, CA

91950

619-400-3326 (US home number)

Send Canadian Donations to:

YUGO Canada

PO Box 231

St. Albert, AB

T8N 1N3

La Paz Trip day 7

2011-01-26T07:07:00.000-08:00

We had two meetings on this day, one with the local English church pastor and the other with the missionary who originally opened up the field here and in some other areas on the mainland in the 1950's. Both were interesting.

The English Pastor has been here for about 10 years and has a good handle on the ministries here in La Paz. The city is small enough that one can know all the churches, pastors and ministries pretty well. He also teaches at the Baptist Bible Institute here in town.

He had a few interesting things to say. He feels that there is a need for good solid biblical training of the leaders, but something that is interdenominational. It is difficult here in this small city to get the churches together on things. The baptists tend to stay to themselves and are not interested in gathering with other believers. He took a program summary manual and seems very interested in the pastor and leadership training materials.
I've been invited back in March for a quick trip to the Alliance of Pastors to give them an overview of the ministry and see who may be interested. I'd also like to talk some more to the English Pastor then to see how interested he is in possibly teaching.
He is also hoping to transition his way out of the job of pastoring the English speaking church- so if anyone knows a decent pastor who might be interested, there will be an opening here in the near future! It would have to be someone who does not mind being away from the snow and who enjoys living close to the water.

The second meeting was with the 80 year old pioneer missionary lady who opened up this field in the 1950's. She was a wealth of information with too many stories to tell at one sitting! We were very blessed by her counsel and wisdom.
She and her husband came to the southern Baja when it took 15 days to drive down the peninsula on trails. There were no believers or missionaries when they came. They not only worked here, but in many areas on the mainland- espescially in Nayarit.
AT 80 YEARs old, she still flies out to the Cora Indian people that they started serving 40+ years ago to encourage them. Her son flies there monthly to bring literature, or some training, or some other help to continue to build up the church.
Before she was a missionary, they had a farm with strawberry fields in Oregon. she told us the story of when she was picking the strawberries and noticed that each person had their own row of strawberries from which to pick- not everyone was concentrating on the same area- they were all spread out. and she sensed the Lord saying to her that that's the way it should be in ministry- not a bunch of people on the same row- but people going to rows or places where no one else was to pick there instead.
She knows very well the needs of the mainland and the abundance of work and missionaries here on the baja. she lovingly pleaded with us to consider the mainland rather than here. She then told a story about how they were teaching amongst a group of already evangelized people in the mountains. They had been very warmly welcomed and nicely received, but the people didn't seem to grow much under their ministry. The place where they saw the most growth in the lives of people were the ones they had reached themselves. She shared from her experience that it is much more productive to work in your own fields than in someone elses.
She spent an hour and a half with us and finished off praying for us. She prayed that God would give us the desires of our hearts- people saved and discipled to serve Jesus. It was then that I began to cry (just a little bit- and they were very manly tears, too...). God has been saying only one thing to us this week: i posted the verse on facebook a few days ago because it keeps coming and going in my conversations with Him:
Delight yourself in me, and I will give you the desires of your heart.
All week long i have been asking myself the question- what are the desires of my heart? This can be a tough question!
But when all is said and done-- there are many things that we like- that are nice, that are special and that make life nice and pleasant. But those are not the things that make my heart beat faster, or that get me excited as I contemplate them... i want to see Jesus glorified and lifted up by seeing the people He loves set free from their darkness and pain. I want to bring a smile to my saviour's face by investing our lives in those who carry the image of God- yet are lost and far away from Him.
This day was a tremendous blessing and a focussing moment. How this works out in real life remains to be seen. We will ask, seek, knock and follow and see where He leads.
Please pray for continued wisdom for all involved in a decision making process like this. Pray that we would have the mind of Christ.

Thanks for coming along with us on this journey. Please continue to pray for us!
I think the next day will have some math class in it for the boys and maybe some fun time for us.

God bless,

Mike

La Paz trip, day 6

2011-01-25T13:42:00.000-08:00

We took the day and got to know the city a bit today.

We drove around the cities different parts to see what we could see. I was particularly interested in the colonias of the city. It was very different from what we are used to seeing in tijuana. In stead of many houses crammed close together, these were little plots of land in the desert where people could raise some animals or food (if they have enough water). The houses were all quite humble and the area was generally very poor. We didn't see any churches in that area in particular, nor in the area around it.

I found out later that there are 3 works started in that area. That is something a little different than what we've found in Tijuana. In TJ there seems to be no knowledge or care of what someone else is doing in an area. willy nilly churches seem to go up overnight- some with the hope of US help- others with it already. One area in TJ where we have been helping along the railroad tracks had no churches anywhere near it when we got there. But it seems when one church goes up- a half dozen follow it. A short while later another church (both of a similar doctrinal persuasion) when up about 3 lots away. A couple years later and there is another large one and another small one, all of them with such small differences in doctrines they are indistinguishable.

Here there seems to be alot more influence from the individual churches and/ or denominations and/ or missionaries. So it is a little more organized here.

There are definitely some areas that look like they need churches, but it also seems that the churches and missionaries currently here are aware of the need and willing and able, with God's help and leading, to meet those needs.

On the way back from the journey around town are van sprung a leak in one if the hoses. The car was overheating so we stopped for a while, prayed, waited and then drove on. About 3km later it was again overheating and steam was escaping from somewhere under the hood. so we pulled over again and this time I could see clearly the hose that had burst. It's the one from the engine into the heater beyond the firewall.
We let it cool down and Shar spotted a hardware store where I purchased some duct tape to do a Mexican repair job! And we got it fixed! we were able to make it home safe and sound, praise God!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I have 2 more meetings- one with the pastor of the English church and the other with the lady missionary who opened up the field here in 1955. I'm looking forward to both of those!

Thanks for praying,

Mike

La Paz Day 5

2011-01-24T08:10:00.000-08:00

We had a good day of rest today.

We started out going to a local church plant of the missionary with whom I spoke. It was a nice service, though we didn't know any of the songs! They have a temporary structure up as they are in the process of building. Right now we met under a thatched roof ( palm leaves) connected to a handmade rock wall. They only had 2 walls and because it rarely rains here (except for tropical storms and hurricanes) they have only missed one Sunday under the roof in 2 years! It is warm enough year round to do this here-- much unlike Tijuana where it can get chilly and wet alot more often!

Afterwards we went out for "burros" which are like burritos, but bigger. These weren't just burros, though, they were SUPER Burros. They were HUGE steak burritos for about $4 each that could be shared.
Something they seem to do differently here is that they don't seem to put toppings on for you, like they do in rosarito-TJ, they give you everything on the side to put on yourself.

From there we went down to a beach, with our burros, to eat and wade in the water. It was very odd to be at a beach without waves. we are in a protected bay area here and there were no waves at all. The tide was going out and the kids could walk out abou 200 meters or more and still be only up to their knees in warm water. Along the edge of the water were lots of rocks. We found a starfish, some sea-snails, hermit crabs and some other creatures in our explorations.

From there we went to another beach about 20 minute drive away. It was one of the most amazing places I've ever seen! There are cactus on the hills right next to the ocean. It was like being in arizona only with a beach! The water was very shallow in this bay with about 5 beaches all around it. there were exposed sandbars in the middle of the cove where the kids went to play. We took a walk around the cove to the end of it and found La Paz' most famous landmark- a mushroom shaped balancing rock.
it was a nice day of rest, even though we weren't totally healthy. It was shar's turn to be really sick and she spent most of the time laying down on the beach trying to sleep.

Today we are going to go out to the colonias (neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the city- usually poorer neighbourhoods) and pray in the areas and see what God shows us. We've spoken a bit to the leaders, but I am interested in speaking to some of the pastors and I hope God leads us to some.

Thanks for praying!

La paz Day 4- the meetings!

2011-01-23T06:53:00.000-08:00

The family was pretty sick yesterday, although it doesn't seem to be something that is too bad for too long. So they stayed home and recovered while i went around and did some investigating and questioning.

I first spoke to the pastor who is the president of the local alliance of pastors. Afterwards i spoke with a missionary who has been here for 18 years. They were a wealth of information and help. here are a few of the things i learned:

there are 40 churches in town
20 of those are "pentecostal"
10 of those churches have trained pastors- about 10 don't.
Many of the pentecostal churches are influenced by the G12 movement- a discipleship movement which many believe have cultic-control issues.
about 5 churches are between 100-200- the rest are smaller- and he majority are very small- between 10-25 people.
of the 20 non-pentecostal churches in town, several are baptist.
they have their own training.
the rest are 7th Day Adventist or Apostolic. Apostolics are very legalistic and do not believe in the Trinity.
there are around 1% to 2% born again believers in La Paz.
It is a city of 300,000
There is somewhat of a need for training, but not sure about the desire for it.

So we were able to get some good information from a couple of perspectives yesterday. Today we are going to to to the missionary's church plant and worship together with them.

I'm hoping to be able to go to some of the poorer areas / colonias to look for some churches and maybe pastors and get their perspective. There is also a "retired missionary" here that started things in 1958, so we hope to get her perspective as well.

When we asked about the poorer areas, we got the same response- there is one here, but it is different than in tijuana or Ensenada. There has been little reason for people to migrate here to work in fields etc. so they do not have the same level of insufficient housing or unaffordable schooling that we see in Tijuana. I'm looking forward to speaking to some of those folks personally to see how they view that!
Both people said that the vast majority of the really needy in this area is in Cabo San Lucas area. Many people came over during the boom years to work in construction of hotels and businesses to serve tourists. But when the economic crisis hit, the employment bubble burst and left many thousands of already poor people without jobs. so apparantly there are many areas down there with migrant workers living in houses of cardboard and pallets and with very real and severe needs. We're hoping to get down there to talk to a Calvary Chapel pastor who is down there to get his perspective on things as well.

We appreciate your prayers for us!

May God bless you all!

Mike

La Paz Day 3

2011-01-22T07:13:00.000-08:00

We Arrived!!

It was a short, but interesting drive today- about 4 hours starting along the sea of Cortez and then into the interior flatland for a while and then back down to the sea of cortez at La Paz.

The day statred early as Caleb and Jacob ran down for a quick swim at the pool- it was a little chilly out so they did not last very long. Then we got all packed up and got ready to go on our excursion to the timeshare sales pitch.

We have had a little cold passing through our family (starting with Caleb) and he was not doing well on the twisty roads leading to the breakfast / timeshare place. Sharlene had the forethought to hand him a little emergency bag in case he felt sick... and he did. The poor fella had his little bag of fun with him when we got out of the car. We were looking for a garbage can and could not find one- so he held onto it until we forgot about it...

They took us about 25 minutes away (towards our destination, thankfully) past a humble little fishing village to the resort that was under construction. It was a beautiful area, but likely very much a disturbance to the local fisherman that lived there.

They fed us breakfast and it soon became obvious through the questions that we were not a good clientele for them. Carlos kept trying to pry and see if we would like this sort of thing and then took us in for a "presentation". We didn't ask many questions, and he finshed his presentation much earlier than he expected- so he took us to see the only suite they have finished at the resort.

Before we left over there I told Carlos that he had drawn the short straw today, that we were not buyers and we didn't have money for this type of thing- and even if we did- this was not really our style. He insisted we let him finishg his job- which we did- otherwise he would've gotten in trouble with his boss, for sure. So off we went to see the suite.

It was nice.

We went back to the sales building where he ran some numbers across us. It was pretty obvious quickly that it was well out of our price range. If we go on vacation, we stay with people or get hotels on hotwire for cheap-- so there was no way he could make this look better for us.

We asked no questions at all. We didn't really say anything, we just listened politely. He answered questions that people would normally ask while we listened quietly.

At the end he said-- would you like to pay the yearly fee for one week at the resort even if membership was $1.00. We said no, not really. It wasn't us, but thank you for your work!

The membership fee wasn't $1.00 it is $25,000!! The shock was probably evident on our faces! We were WAY over our heads...

He said we could do payments- we told him we don't borrow.

He was pretty dumbfounded at that point. As is normal, his boss came over to try to encourage us to rethink, but when he heard our situation- he let us out!

I'm not sure exazctly what it was all about- if God just provided us with a cheap room in exchange for our word. But Carlos told us that his mom and sisters were christians where he is from- Cancun. so maybe we were a little bit of light away from home- a part of an answer to his families prayers. We were very clear as to who we were in Christ and that because of that we weren't living for just the pleasure of this life- but living a simpler life for Jesus in service to Him and his people in Mexico.

We are hoping we were a bit of a witness to Carlos and that God will bring others in his path.

So we finally made it to La Paz, "the Peace". We are staying in a nice house of some missionary folks we don't know who have gone away for a while. It is on a campground with lots of room for the kids to run around and play- with a pool and a trampoline! All we need is a soccerball and everythign will be perfect!

Except that we're ALL sick now! Please pray that we would get better, quickly!

I have a meeting today with the president of the local ministerial to show him what we do and ask him for his insight as to the needs in the community. I'm also going to try to take a drive out to the poorer areas to see some of them for myself and see what the needs are out there.

Monday I have an appointment with another missionary to hear what he has to say- and a third person with whom I want to talk has not gotten back to me as of this morning. Hopefully with those 3 insights as well as some exploring of our own, we'll have a good idea as to what God is doing here!

Thanks for praying...

La Paz Trip, -day 2

2011-01-20T21:15:00.000-08:00

The good news is that noone got violently ill after last nights supper!

We even had 75% of a good trip today. I could not believe some of the scenery we were seeing! In the final part of Baja North we were climbing up some pretty tall mountains in the fog and by the time we got to the top- we were above the clouds! The desert flora was amazing too! Boojum trees were amongst the strangest things we've ever seen. It was on a very narrow road with few pull offs to take good pics, so we plan on doing that on the way back.
We also saw forests of Cardon Cactus which kind of remind me of Saguaros that you see in Arizona, but a bit different. There were several places where both grew together and some places where they grow together with a plethora of other cactus and succulunts in what can only be described as a lush desert!

We crossed into Baja Sur at about noon and went into Guerrero Negro for lunch. We settled on a little gordita place ( stuffed maiz pocket) and had a good meal there. We were thankful to get into baja sur with little problem, because we didn't have all our visa's with us. We prayed that it would go well and immigration didn't even come out to ask us any questions!

We stopped at a place in Baja Sur called San Ignacio-- A friend had recommended that we drop in- I'm glad we did! It was an amazing little oasis in the middle of the desert! After a very long time in coastal scrubbrush and then driving through desert, we run into this natural oasis where the jesuits had planted date palm trees in the 1700's when they first arrived. An entire little town had grown up around it and the downtown looked like an old Mexican town with a town square ( with HUGE old trees that covered the entire park).
We walked into the church ( built in the 1780's) and were amazed at the old spanish architecture... I had been told about how the Catholic church treats saints here and I was able to see it firsthand. The people will buy gold jewlelry of the body part that they want healed- and then hang it on the statue of the saint as they ask the saint to heal them. There was a statue of a saint, or at least early priest from there that they are hoping will become a saint- with gold jewlry on him as well as money tucked into his robes. They are hoping that but offering money or gold that the saint will more fervently pray for their needs.

From there we drove a little further into a town called Santa Rosalia, along the mar de Cortez. It was an amazing drive from where we were down to sea level down a steep, winding road. The Sea of Cortez there was an incredibly deep blue colour that we don't see on the pacific side of the peninsula. There were whitecaps out on the water and little waves like we see on the great lakes in Canada. Santa Rosalia is famous for it's French architecture that was built in the 1800's when a french company ran the town. The centerpiece is a church that was built buy gustav Eiffel, who also built the Eiffel tower, and was displayed at the world fair in the mid to late 1800's. The town had an entirely different feel to it than any other town we'd been in. The buildings were almost all made from wood with high peaked roofs and balconies-- kinda like pictures I've seen of New Orleans. The roads were very narrow and what I imagine some places in eurpoe would look like with a few taco and BBQ chicken stands thrown in!

We were planning on stopping in Mulege but when we got there, the motel I had booked did not live up to expectations. It looked more like a trailer park for those folks whose trailers aren't fancy enough for the regular red-neck trailer parks... we decided to check out some others and got lost in Mulege and still could not find a decent hotel- so we decided to come here to Loreto.

it was 100km about 1/3 of it in the dark- some of that behind a transport truck ( a cow pusher, I called it) in some of the windiest roads we've seen! It was a little stressful, but we made it here safe and sound.

We finally found a motel for the night after quite a while searching. The cost started out at 1400 pesos ($115) for the night. when i almost left they knocked it down to $95. I said I'd go discuss it with my wife when another lady came up to me offering the place for $50, I just had to agree to go to a sales meeting about a timeshare property they have about 25 minutes south of here. Again, I discussed it with my wife (and used the free hotel wifi to check out other hotel prices and reviews and decided we had the time to do this and we wouldn't get a better deal anywhere else. They sweetened the deal to $44 and gave us a nice room with a kitchen. It has worked out well so far, and the kids have the ok from us to "let loose" at the meeting tomorrow if it goes beyond the 90 minutes they said it would!

We'll let you know how that goes!

Tomorrow we get to la Paz, Lord willing. Caleb has come down with a fever and is not feeling very well at all. He is getting his sleep at night and resting in the car and we all hope and pray he gets better quickly.

hasta manana,

After that w

La Paz trip Day 1

2011-01-19T17:45:00.001-08:00

We had a good drive today- the baja peninsula roads so far don't deserve the reputation they've received. We left at about 11:30am, picked up some fish tacos in Ensenada and then headed south. We arrived at our first stop at about 5pm-- you shouldn't drive at night because of roaming cows and horses. we've seen some of those already by the side of the road, it's just that it is much more difficult to see them at night...
Our first stop is in El Rosario- we're staying at the BajaCactus motel- for about $38 we got a room with 4 beds on 2 floors! the beds, trim and stairs are all made out of old, weathered wood that reminds me of wood from a prairie grain elevator. It's the biggest room we've ever had in a motel and probably the nicest- and also one of the least expensive!

We're about to go eat out at the famous Mama Espinozas restaurant- a pit stop on the baja 1000 race (for you offroad race fans...)

tomorrow the plan is to go across the spine of Baja north and then back to the pacific ocaen at guerrero Negro where we cross into baja Sur-- from there we cross the peninsula again to the sea of cortez. I'm hoping we have enough time to slip into santa rosalia- a little town that was built during a brief french occupation-- the church in town was designed by some guy names eiffel (who apprantly built a tower of some type in europe) :) And we stop at Mulege for the night to rest...

Off to supper we go...

back from supper... ok-- that place is not famous for it's food... it was filled with gringos and the food tasted like it was for gringos and not mexicanos... it was ok- but was THE most expensive Mexican food I've ever had!

Caleb is feeling a little sick today- coughing and feeling cold... we're hoping that doesn't get worse or spread.

Project Joy ministry

2011-01-08T08:44:00.001-08:00

We handed out gifts and necessities in this poor colonia-- We took names and family information and figure that we served close to 700 people this day. Here is a picture of the line during part of the day...

These were some of the gifts we handed out to about 200 kids!

This is a picture of the neighbourhood. There is an arroyo (temporary river when it rains) running through the colonia. People have built their little houses of scrapwood along the side of the arroyo walls. They use old tires for stairs and retaining walls.

This is Hector. Hector is a student in one of my pastors and teachers training classes. His ministry focusses on giving practical life and skill training to people in the community, espescially people leaving orphanages and Drug and alcohol rehab centers. He came into contact with this neighourhood through Mario- a fellow from here who sells things in Hector's neighbourhood. Now Hector is teaching Mario and his family how to read and write as well as giving them the chronological teaching through the Bible. The hope is to see people come to Christ and plant a church in whatever way Jesus sees fit in this neighbourhood...

2011-01-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

McDonald's in Mexico

301 W. 28^th Street, Suite L

National City, CA

91950

Happy New Year!

2011 is now here and we are one year closer to the return of Jesus! We hope that this new year finds you healthy and blessed in your relationship with Our Lord. We truly appreciate all of you and your partnership with us over these last 5+ years of support-raising and on the field missionary work!

This year will be a year of transitions for us. We are required to take a furlough of a minimum of 6 months every 5 years, and our time is coming this year. So in June of 2011 we will be moving back to Canada until around January 2012. We will still need your prayers and financial support as furlough time is not about vacation and rest, but more about home-service time. We will be reacquainting ourselves with as many of our supporters and churches as we can during that time. We will be in Ontario for part of that and in the prairies for the majority of the time.

There is much uncertainty that comes with furlough--

where will we live?
Will we fly back and purchase a vehicle or drive back and import our vehicle to Canada and re-import it to Mexico upon returning?
How will we home school while traveling across the country?
Will we freeze to death in November after being away for 5 winters?!
When will we return to Mexico?
What do we do with our stuff in Mexico (including pets?)
Who will live in our house while we are gone? Or will we give it up and store everything?
Where will we live in Mexico when we return?
Is God calling us to a different location and/ or ministry here? (there are many different options and only 1 of our family!)
What will happen to the churches and ministries we support and serve here while we are gone?

And although we don't know the answers to any of those questions, we Know personally the One who does! So we ask you for your prayers for wisdom, as well as any ideas you may have esp. when it comes to living options in Canada! It is MUCH more expensive to live and travel in Canada than here, so we need prayers for God's provision as well during that time!

We will be available to speak in churches, camps, youth groups, colleges, home groups. We'd love the opportunity to share what God is doing here in Mexico as well as share some encouragement from His Word with you.

La Paz

As many of you may remember, I had planned on taking a vision trip to La Paz in the southern Baja last November, but was unable to due to the death of my brother. We are planning the trip as a family near the end of January. I still have la Paz on my heart and after re-reading an email sent to me by a person who lives down there, it seems there is a need for the type of pastor and leaders training we provide.

We will be going down as a family so that we can all have the opportunity to see the opportunities and hear from God. Please pray for safety on the drive (it is 22 hours in desolate desert country) and for God to clearly direct us while we are there. I am asking for His favour and obvious desire and need for the Pastor and Leader Training ministry we offer. Please also pray for the financial costs of this trip, that God would provide all that we need.

2011 Teaching and Training

The Pastors and Leaders Training continues to go well. We have almost 100 students studying in 5 classes. I have been hearing great testimonies from the students and teachers of what God is teaching them about Himself!

The Bible College ministry is always a blessing to me. The college in Ensenada graduated two students mid-year in December. We start up again in February till May for the spring semester. I will be teaching James (both in Ensenada and an extension campus here in Rosarito) and Galatians.

Thank you so much for your partnership with us in this service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We are touched that you feel it a valuable enough ministry to sacrifice your time in prayer and your finances in giving. May God bless you in this life and in the life to come! I truly believe that we are storing up treasures in heaven for ourselves when we do this type of thing together!

If you would like to arrange a time for us to meet or speak at a camp, church or small group while we are back in Canada, we would appreciate the opportunity to report on what God has been doing as well as offer others the opportunity to invest in this ministry as well. You can contact us at the information below! We are looking forward to serving you all during our home ministry assignment!

In Jesus name,

Mike, Shar, Elijah Caleb and Jacob McDonald

301 W.. 28^th St. Suite L

National City, CA

91950

619-400-3326 (US home number)

Send Canadian Donations to:

YUGO Canada

PO Box 231

St. Albert, AB

T8N 1N3

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

It has been a good year for us despite some of the challenges that have come our way. We are reminded of the hope that we find in the Scriptures that All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

I am blessed to say that we Love Jesus and still sense an overwhelming call to serve Him and his people, wherever He leads us.

After the death of my brother Donny, the YUGO board suggested we take a few days off to strengthen ourselves again and get some rest. We had obligations to fulfill up till the end of this week and so after that we are going to take the kids to the mountains in search of some snow for them to play in for a few days! Please pray for snow, as it's been a bit warm in the mountains the last few days and most of the snow has melted!

Ministry has been going well. I was at the graduation of the Men's School of Ministry at Calvary Chapel, Rosarito (where we attend.) It was a time of encouragement to see these fellas, most of whom have been rescued from some pretty horrible life situations, take more time to prepare themselves for whatever God has in store for them!

Family life is progressing as well!

Jacob is our soccer man. He seems to live and breathe "futbol". Jacob participates on a team here in Rosarito- "Club Atlas". They practice 3 days a week for 2 hours at a time. Mondays they get to practice on a real grass field, but the last half of the practice it gets dark. It becomes difficult to distinguish which shadows are your team!
Jacob struggles with asthma, but Praise God, we were able to see an asthma specialist in California last month and she is helping us to get control so he is able to play without incident!

Caleb is our resident music man. He and Sharlene have been taking guitar lessons for about 3 months for an hour a week. I'm amazed on how quickly he has picked up learning to read music and find the notes on the guitar. He practices willingly (and sometimes incessantly) and has learned 3 songs by heart ( jingle bells, Twinkle twinknle, ode to Joy) and has almost mastered "o come all ye faithful". He bought the guitar with his own money saved from Christmas and birthday and his weekly chores. I can see this being a passion for him for years to come.

Elijah loves to read. We had a time where we weren't to the library for a few months. Elijah refers to these as the "dark ages". He will regularly take out 10-15 books and finish them all before they are due again in 3 weeks. His other main activity, besides researching stuff he finds interested on the internet, is Tae Kwon Do. Elijah has his yellow-green belt and has been progressing well and rapidly over the last 8 months.

All of our boys are homeschooled which they alternatively like and dislike, depending on the day (and sometimes the hour). We are blessed that Sharlene is home to be able to school them and we see them regularly growing in stature and in wisdom and in favour with God and man. God has been actively working in their lives and we have been able to witness their growth in Christlikeness over the years.

We thank God for each of you and how you have supported us in prayer and finances over the years we have been here in Mexico! We believe that God is being glorified as we see Churches strengthened, people saved, Disciples being made and people sent out in ministry! May God bless each of you as you place treasures in heaven by faith!

We could not be here without you!

Merry Christmas,

Mike, Sharlene, Elijah, Caleb and Jacob McDonald

Testimony

2010-11-24T17:29:00.000-08:00

This is a brief testimony of one of our national pastors- Abellino Jacome. Abellino has started an open-air church (meaning no walls nor roof) in his neighbourhood on a borrowed piece of land. Each Sunday he preaches to a few people in the seats in front of him and (thanks to a donated sound system from a church in Swan River, MB) to a plethora of people in the hills around him as well! He seems to meet people all the time who say-- I know we don't come down to the church on Sundays, but we want to- for now we're listening every Sunday and God is speaking to us!

Please pray for Abellino and his family- espescially his wife Mirellya. She has been in poor health for 4 years.

Que dios les bendiga .

May God bless you.

Mi nombre es Abelino Jácome Ochoa.

My name is Abelino Jácome Ochoa

Mi esposa Mireya blanco de Jácome nuestros hijos son…

My wife is Mireya blanco de Jácome and our children are:

Kenia yareli Jácome blanco 16 años.

Abel de Jesús Jácome blanco 9 años.

Kevin Abel Jácome blanco 8 años.

Ángel de Jesús Jácome blanco 6 años.

Esta es mi familia que dios ha puesto en mis manos pero ahora dios ha puesto más familia de la cual yo tengo que guiar aconsejar instruir a través de la palabra de dios.

This is my family that God has placed in my hands. But God has given me more family than that! Those whom God has given me to guide, counsel and instruct through His Word.

Mi vida sin Cristo era un caos siempre con muchos problemas sin tener en quien confiar verdaderamente, hubo un momento que vivimos mi esposa y yo muy difícil en el cual ya no mirábamos otra solución y creíamos que separarnos seria lo mejor , sin importarnos que pasaría después pero gracias a dios que ella lucho contra todo cuando conoció a Cristo Jesús ……

My life without Christ was one of constant chaos, with many problems and without anyone to truly trust. There was one very difficult time that my wife and lived through. We didn't see any other solution except to get separated, regardless of the the consequences. But Thanks to God that Mirellya found Jesus Christ and began to fight against the idea of getting separated.

Y dios comenzó a enseñarnos que había esperanza si confiábamos en el ,ella comenzó primeramente a caminar en el camino de dios y luego dios me alcanzo a mi aunque me puse un poco difícil al principio, pero ahora la palabra de dios me ha enseñado que Satanás vino a robar a matar y a destruir pero Cristo vino a buscar y a salvar lo que se había perdido y darle vida, ahora se que Cristo es el camino es la verdad y es la vida ………

God begain to teach us that there was hope and we both put our trust in Him. My wife did first, and later God reached me. It was a difficult walk at first, but now the word of God has taught me that we have an enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy our lives and that Jesus has come to seek and save those who were lost and give them life! Now I know that Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life!

Gracias a dios que ahora puedo compartir este testimonio con ustedes . porque todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece……

I thank God that I can share this testimony with you today! Because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

Hace aproximadamente como 4 años que a mi esposa los médicos le dijeron que solo le quedaba una semana de vida, después de una cirugía en el corazón dieron ese diagnostico …. Pero ese dios que tu y yo servimos a tenido misericordia y hasta el momento la a dejado con nosotros ahora después de otra cirugía sigue la amenaza contra su vida ………

About 4 years ago, after my wife had had heart surgery, the doctors gave her one week to live. But this God that we serve had mercy upon her and she is still with us today even having come through another surgery (gallbladder) in these last few months! But her life today is still precarious.

Pero un día mi hermano Mike e Iván me dijeron si dios ya la ayudo otras veces puede volver a hacerlo, y nosotros seguimos adelante porque creemos que el es el que nos guía y nunca nos dejara solos. Y por encima de la tribulación y la prueba cuando nos damos cuenta que aun hay gente que les interesa saber de nosotros conocer de nuestra vida nos gozamos de poder compartir nuestras debilidades con ustedes , pero esta debilidad nos enseña y nos hace sentir fuertes en el señor para su honra y su gloria.

But one day, my brothers Mike and Ivan told me that God had healed her before and taken care of their financial needs, He can do it again. So we continued forward because we believe that He is the one who has been guiding and leading us and He will never leave us alone! Through all the tests and tribulations we relaize that there are even people who are interested in knowing about us and hearing about our lives it gave us joy to be able to share our weaknesses with you. But this weakness has taught us we can feel the strength of the Lord for His honour and His glory!

Por el momento es todo lo que puedo compartir de mi vida y mi familia les pido de su oración por el pueblo de dios y por todos los pastores.

For now this is all I have to share with you about my life and family. We ask for your prayers for God's people here and for all the pastors in the churches here.

Que el señor los bendiga.

September Prayer letter

2010-09-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Valued Prayer Partners!!

I received an email the other day asking about one of the previous prayer requests I had sent out and it dawned on me that I hadn't sent out a praise report lately! I'm going to give you an update on how things have gone this summer and also a small taste of what we think God might be leading us to be a part of in the future...

UPDATES

- Church Plant
We had a very good evangelism training week in August with the Penners down training 2 churches in evangelism. It was a good time and many people were blessed to receive the training. We followed it up with an open air evangelism meeting where we saw 6 people come to Christ. The church has been started and is going along week by week. Please pray for these new believers and the Abellino and Mirellya in their first pastorate.

- Mirellyas Health
Mirellya was able to have her gall bladder taken out the week after the tent meetings. They sent her home the same evening still woozy from the anaesthetic! She has been progressing well and their work health insurance was able to pay for the surgery, praise God. Her husband was scheduled to be laid off in the beginning of August, but God has provided him with work week by week in the same company!

- Provision for Abelino and Mirellya
We had asked for pray for their provision, and God has answered! Abelino has been kept on at his work on a week by week basis and is still there now, 6 weeks after he was supposed to lose his job! Not only that but God has provided about $180/ month for them to assist him in working in ministry part time. We are hoping to have enough ($400/ month) to allow him to serve his people and neighborhood full time in the near future! Praise God for His provision!

- Spanish Classes
We had Spanish classes for a good part of this summer with Joseph fruin and myself being the teachers. It went well and we've noticed a huge amount of improvement in every ones Spanish skills (even mine!) as a result of this extended time of study. The kids and Shar understand alot more and are much more confident to speak in Spanish now which helps them continue to grow!!

- Comedor Ministry
God provided enough for Dolores to continue to provide the kids in her neighbourhood with decent food 3 days a week for another year!! However, about a week ago their 25 year old panel van finally gave up the fight and died. It had been a blessing for them to have, but an expensive one in that the gasoline costs to run it were unsustainable. A few days after, as we were trying to figure out how we could get them a car, I received an email asking if they had received enough funding to continue. When I explained the vehicle issue, our friend offered to help buy another car! We are waiting for the money to be processed and sent to us and hope to have them a decent, reliable, rugged, affordable to run vehicle soon! Praise God!

- Pastors and Leaders Training
The training is finally underway and is growing rapidly. At this point in time we have 3 classes in Eastern Tijuana with a total of 72 students; 1 class in Mexicali with 7 students and 1 class about to start in La Mision (45km south of Rosarito) with 21 students for a total of about 100 students in 5 classes!! Not all are pastors, many are sunday school teachers, worship leaders, youth sponsors, deacons and elders of the churches. Several are young people who are interested in being missionaries or pastors in the future. I have another group interested in taking the training in Maneadero about 100km south of Rosarito. The potential teacher has been trained and is going to spend a couple months in one of the classes to get a feel for how to present the material. He says there could be as many as 50 interested students down there!

God seems to be growing this aspect of the ministry exponentially and we are glad to be along for the ride, following Him and joining Him in His desire to raise up Godly leaders in Mexico!

Some thoughts have come to me lately and it seems God may be moving the ministry in a further direction in the coming years. The issue I am seeing is that there are many churches here in the Northern Baja area, although quite a few are struggling and can use some assistance. The question I have is: what do we do with these students who will be graduating the classes in the upcoming years? We could have as many as 150 trained leaders--- and if even only 10% of them offer themselves up to be pastors/ missionaries/ church planters-- that is 15 people who will be willing to go, but few means to go anywhere.
Most of the churches we serve are amongst the poorest of the poor in our area and can not afford to pay their pastor, never mind send missionaries out. So what inevitably ends up happening is that the leaders go and plant another church down the road from the sending church. What that has caused is countless little struggling churches in an area that hardly needs any more!
In contrast, we keep hearing of areas in Mexico's south where there are no churches, missionaries or Christians at all! I have heard that one state alone has 1000 villages, towns and cities with no evangelical churches nor witnesses! The need in Mexico is still great, but the harvesters are all living in one small area hugging the US border- because that is where the work was.
I believe God is asking us to partner with local churches here to help finance the sending of missionaries to Mexico's unreached spiritual frontier. We certainly don't intend on anyone getting rich in this ministry, but would like to provide these folks with the freedom to do the ministry, that they will be doing anyway, in an area of great spiritual need where there are often no jobs, or the pay is so poor a person must work 12+ hours a day to feed their family. The average income a person would need to get by in most of those areas is about $500/ month. We would hope to be able to provide at least a portion of that to give the missionaries freedom to do the work that they will be doing anyway (because the called serve, regardless of compensation--we see that daily down here!!) only do it in an area of great need.

We'd appreciate you praying about this. I am still in the process of working out details of the proposal to give to the YUGO International Boards. I'd appreciate prayer for that as well, that God would give us vision and clarity of thought as I present what I believe God is leading us to do here.

Final thoughts,

I'd also appreciate prayer as we are contemplating taking a trip to the southern Baja Peninsula in November. One of my students at the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Ensenada is from there and we are going to scout out the potential for ministry there. I have heard that there are only a few churches there, but am more interested in seeing if God is opening a door of opportunity there to train pastors and leaders in the southern peninsula. It is a 22 hour drive over harsh, mountainous, hot, desert terrain. Please pray for safety, for the vehicle to work well and for God's favour as we meet with pastors and leaders to explore the possibility of equipping saints in the southern Baja.

Thanks again for all your prayers and sacrificial giving! There is a saying here when we give to people-- "May God return the blessing back to you multiplied!"

Partnering with you in this service to Christ and the Mexican Church,
Mike, Shar, Elijah, Caleb and Jacob McDonald

Romans 15:20
It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation.

Launching a new Church Plant!

2010-08-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

This next week is going to be an exciting one for us!

We are assiting Abellino and Mirellya in launching their new church plant!

Abellino was a student of mine these last 3 years and graduated as the "Standout Student" and so gave the message at our graduation last May. He will be planting a church in his neighbourhood starting next week and we have an Evangelistic Campaign planned out to help him in his launch.

A friend of our from Swan River Manitoba, Irv Penner, and his family (wife Mari and kids Leah (14) and Jaxson (1) ) are coming down to give some evangelism training to the church that is sending out Abellino and then conduct a "tent meeting" to share Jesus with the neighbourhood. We will also be having a local Christian rap artist to attract youth as well.

A few prayer requests during this time:

Safety
As in alot of the areas that we work, this is a concern for us. There are gangs working in the area and we're hoping to reach some of them for Christ, but please pray that the Spirit of God would place his very Hand around us to protect us as He speaks to the hearts of the gangsters who live each day knowing that it could be there last.

Power
Please Pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to Hearts and that people will be drawn to the Saviour and away from a life of hopelessness and dead religion. Pray that He would fill our speakers, translators and those who will be inviting people to attend. Pray that we will be willing to listen to His voice and follow Him where He leads us!

Health
Mirellya, Abellino's wife is in her mid 30's and has a pacemaker and other significant health problems. She is currently waiting for a hospital bed to have her gallbladder out, but please pray that her recent change in diet will alleviate the pain in the meantime. Please also pray for the health of those who are serving this week.

Provision
Abellino is one of many Tiajuenses who has lost a job recently due to the economic downturn. God has been gracious to Him and given him 2 extra weeks of work, but he faces a layoff every week. Please pray for provision for the church people, their new pastor and the neighbourhood they live in. I recently found out that the averae income in many of these families is about $200/ month or less, with many having no steady income at all. Abellino and Mirellya ( who are quite poor themselves) have been feeding kids int he neighbourhood with donated food from our YUGO missionary Cindy Pesina and when they do not have that, they sacrifice their own needs to feed others. Please pray for God to provide what the people need.

The current church building-- it is in front of their house and is about 200 Sq feet or so

The empty plot of land across from their house/ church where we will have the tent meetings.

Nice Blog update from a friend...

2010-08-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a link from the blog of our friend and pastor here in Rosarito- Mike Vincent. The Intern program he's describing is an incredible bit of ministry and I have the privilege of serving these guys and others by teaching at the Bible School and Men's School of Ministry at the church occasionally.

It is a privilege to work together with Mike and Sarah Vincent-- check their blog out HERE

July Update

2010-07-19T07:13:00.001-07:00

McDonald's in Mexico
July update and prayer letter
July 2010

In June this year we graduated our first generation of Graduates from the Pastors and Leaders Training! We had a great celebration at Rancho las Palomas in Tecate (East of Tijuana-) at a beautiful location! Praise God for all the graduates and their friends and family who came out to support them. In Typical Mexican fashion, our 90 minute celebration lasted for 3 hours! The students had a lot to say!!

2 weeks after that I trained almost all of these students pictured on the left along with another pastor from Mexicali ( a city 3 hours east of here in the desert) and a couple more from La Mission (town about 1 hour south of here) in how to be teachers so that they can take this training to pastors and leaders that they know. This summer I've been helping them with the paperwork necessary to enroll students for the fall. We have about 70 applicants as of today and I'm hoping to hear from some more-- we are probably looking at 80-100 students in total taking this training next year!! Praise God the the growth he is bringing and for the interest in the part of the potential students.

The main reason this is so popular is its affordability. I just receives some scholarship applications the other day and am continually amazed at how great the financial needs are in the area we work. Most of the people declare their income to be about $150 -$300/ month- which for an average family of 5 is $1-$2/ day / person. What they lack in finances, they make up for in zeal and desire to serve our Lord! There is a movement about that has people excited to go south and plant churches in areas where their currently are no or very few churches or Christians!

The cost to attend is US$150/ person over the course of 2 years-- but for many people struggling to feed their children on such little income-- this is 2 weeks or 1 months pay and is really undoable- even over the long term.

Praise God that this Spring we received donations to cover half the costs! Please pray for the remaining $6000 to be raised over the course of the 2 year program!

I'm looking forward to seeing How God multiplies the ministry in the coming years and sends workers to the unreached parts of Mexico and across the World!

SPANISH CLASS

This summer has been busy with Spanish class for Shar and the boys. I am teaching Sharlene and Elijah and they are having oodles of fun learning how to conjugate irregular Spanish verbs! A local MK, Joseph Fruin is teaching Caleb and Jacob, but they are not having nearly as much fun as their teacher teaches them spanish by making them play games and build puzzles and do stories. :)

We're hoping that this concentrated time in Spanish class will help them to become more confident in their language abilities and enable them to interact more in the community!

COMEDOR/ FEEDING KITCHEN MINISTRIES
This Spring Andrew Fruin- our local handyman/construction guy was very helpful in helping to finish off the feeding kitchen that a group of Canadians had come down to build this winter. With the extra money they had raised he was able to put in tile flooring, counters and shelves, build benches, buy tables and set them up with indoor plumbing (for a sink, anyway). He has been a great help and this ministry is now flourishing.

Dolores feeds about 50 kids a day/ 3 days a week in one of the poorest areas in Tijuana and she does it on $200/ month. That works out to be about 30 cents/ meal. But God has blessed her efforts and multiplies them as well and she is able to feed these poor children well for that little amount!

Please pray for the feeding kitchen, her 1 year of funding runs out in September and she needs that $200/ month to continue this ministry and would like to feed these kids 5 days/a week if the Lord provides.

CHILD TAX CREDIT

Thank you so much for praying! God has worked out our Child tax credit fiasco and we have been justly reinstated until June 2011!!

FURLOUGH

We will be taking a 6 month furlough from June 2011 until January 2012. We will use this time to reconnect with you folks, our supporters, and hope to spread the word of what we are doing with others as well.

We have been excited to see all that God has been doing through our ministry- yours and ours- together here in Mexico:
10 Grads from the pastors and Leaders Training.
70+ new students set to start in September.
10 grads from the Calvary Chapel Bible Institute where I teach.
1 church planted- and another one to be started this fall.
2 Feeding kitchens feeding 85+ needy kids a day.

Thank you for your faithfulness in praying and giving toward this ministry. I am certain you are storing up treasures for yourselves in Heaven that will never rust or rot away!

God bless you all!,

The McDonald Family

MT 6:19-20
¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

2010-07-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

For Caleb's birthday ( July 14th) his bestest buddy in the whole world, Matthew Sauers, came to visit us from Mossbank, SK Canada. It was a complete surprise-- as you will see on this video

Comedor ministry

2010-06-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

One of the ministries we have the pleasure of serving are the comedors in Eastern Tijuana. In these neighbourhoods poverty is rampant and because of unemployment, abandonment and addictions, many kids are lacking good nutritious meals.

Some of our local churches we work with have been working at feeding kids in these neighbourhoods. People from Alberta and Ontario have come alongside them and funded these worthy ministries.

Here are some pictures from Dolores' Feeding program in East Tijuana...

This is a typical house in the neighbourhood of squatter homes. Folks live in these dirt floor homes built from scrapwood along the railway tracks in East Tijuana.

This is the Kitchen part of the dining room--

Some of the 40+ kids who come for lunch 3 days a week. We are hoping to raise enough finances to offer food five days a week...

Dolores' Daughter making empanadas. Empanadas are like perogies made from Maseca (the flour you make corn tortillas from) and filled with meat and or cheese and deep fried. They put lettuce, sour cream and dry cheese on them. Today they ate these with macaroni and cheese and jamaica juice (juice made from Hibiscus flowers...)

If you are at all interested in helping out by partnering with these ministries please contact us!!

child tax benefit 4.0

2010-05-30T19:56:00.001-07:00

Hello!

We received an update (kind of) on our tax situation...

We only found out that I need to personally take up the case with Canada Revenue Agency Monday and negotiate another year in Mexico with them. It is possible, and probably likely that we will get it.

If so, the plan will be to stay around in Tijuana until spring 2011 and then take a 6 month furlough back to Canada. We will need to set up residence somewhere, reestablish healthcare and drivers licenses, register our kids with a homeschool group in Canada and establish other ties with Canada to enable us to be re-posted for an additional 4-5 years in Mexico.

We'd appreciate your prayers that we would find favour with the people we talk to in government and that we could get this extension. When my new teachers heard we may be going back, the one who I thought would be best prepared to give the classes with minimal help was very concerned that he would have no one to help him. I'm concerned that if we go back to Canada this year that the pastoral and leaders training will not continue on and that the momentum we've achieved will stall.

Thank you so much for praying! There are a lot of other people and situations we covet your prayers about for the people we work with- I'll get those to you separately soon!

God bless!!

Mike

Prayer Update-- Child Tax Credit!

2010-04-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hello from Mexico,

Just a short update to ask you to continue praying.

We heard from our MP's office last week that the government required 1 more piece of paper to determine if we are eligible for the Child Tax Credit. We provided it for them the next day and are still waiting to hear how things are going.

We have to renew our Mexican Visas for staying here by the beginning of June. In order to do that, it seems to us that we need to have this dealt with because of the Mex. governments insistence on a proof of a certain income level for them to allow us to stay here. We will not reach it without this issue settled!

Also- those Visas will be quite expensive- probably between $700-$1000. We don't know exactly how much now because our immigration lawyer in Mexico City tells us that everything changes May 1, 2010 and so there requirements, costs and her fees may all change at that time. We need to wait to see!

PRAISE: That God has been providing for all our needs and expenses during this time- sometimes in very unexpected ways! Praise Him for His daily bread (and gas, rent, utility bills!)

Thank you for praying!

God bless,

Mike, Shar and the boys.

PRAYER !!!

2010-03-22T08:34:00.001-07:00

Hello valued prayer partners!

We've run into a bit of a financial hitch here that we'd appreciate your prayer about.

As Canadian Citizens living abroad, we still file Canadian taxes and are responsible for paying our taxes and CPP and EI payments. We also are eligible to receive any tax credits that anyone else is eligible for.

The Child Tax Credit people asked us to fill out a questionairre to determine our residency status and continued eligibility for the Child tax credit and GST Credit. Through a miscommunication, I did not get all the information to them on time. They have cut off our Child Tax Credit which is 25% of our income!

I immediatley sent them the info they wanted and they received it. They accept the fact that we are factual residents (according to Canada Revenue Agency) but are now asking for more information.

Our contacts in the Canadian Government as well as Canadian Council for Christian Charities all agree that we are still eligible for this benefit- but the government can be fickle and it seems that they are intently looking for information to disqualify us permanently.

Please pray for this need-- for our current and future financial needs-- even if they reinstate us- it likely won't be until May or June! We've lost 25% of our income this month and perhaps for the next several months.

Please also pray that this may be handled correctly so that the government does not begin to target Canadian missionaries who are currently eligible for these benefits!

Thank you for praying!

Mike

expanding ministry!

2010-03-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

We're coming up to the graduation of the first class of our Pastors and Leaders training ministry! We're all pretty excited and proud of the accomplishments of these incredible students!

We have been meeting for 4 hours Saturdays and 2 hours Monday nights for more than 2 1/2 years. Many of the students have other secular jobs on top of ministry responsibilities. They have sacrificed alot of time to be at class and it is almost finished! We will have our graduation on Saturday June 5th for 10 students! And then we begin to look ahead to the next groups!

Thank you so much for your faithfulness in partnering with us! None of this could have been done without you! We are partnering together in the "Great Commission":

MT28:
¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The whole idea behind the classes is to train pastors and leaders and empower them to train others. It looks like this wil be happening and the amount of students will be multiplying next year!

I was talking to one of my current students about him starting classes in his church. He has 4 or 5 pastors interested already- and they are looking at bringing their leadership out to the training. He is hoping and praying for 20 faithful students! That's twice as many as I had!

I have 2 other students who are considering starting up classes in their neighbourhoods for pastors and leaders.

I am also praying about going to Nayarit ( southern Mexico-- 2-3 day drive away) for a few weeks to train a local pastor who has several mission churches started by Seve- one of my students (a 65 year old gramma!) as she traversed the villages sharing Jesus last summer. She saw 15 people come to Christ and last December went back and baptized the believers, saw a few more saved and found a pastor to disciple the new followers of Jesus! I'm hoping to help them train the lay leaders of these new groups of Christians! Please pray with us as we seek to make disciples of the disciple makers!

I was in Mexicali , Mexico today talking to a pastor who works closely with our YUGO missionaries in that city. He is looking for some training to give his church. So we drove for 3 1/2 hours through a driving rainstorm, snowy mountain passes and back down into the rainy desert to meet Pastor Loreto for an hour and a half to talk about the training ministry. He seems like a very humble servant leader who would be a good teacher. We think similarly on many points and both have a heart to see northern Mexicanos reach out to their southern neighbours where there are more witches and spiritists than followers of Jesus. I'm planning on returning in April after hes had a chance to look at the material to see if he is interested in starting a class in his area.

I am also praying about starting another class myself closer to where we live in Rosarito or on Tijuana's west side.

So, We could potentially have 50-80 people taking this incredible training over the next few years! Can you please pray with us for the needed finances to do this work?

It costs CDN$150 over 2 1/2 years to train each student. That includes an NIV Study Bible plus their 10 workbooks for each of their courses. So with CDN$7500 we can train 50 pastors and leaders! We will ask the students to pay a nominal fee to help with the gas of the local pastor-teacher, coffee and snacks and the use of the church. But what we found out is for people trying to feed families of 4 or 5 people on $15/ day (sometimes less) the $10/ course cost was enough to keep them out of the course.

If you would like to donate to this ministry Please send donations to:

YUGO Canada
Box 231
St. Albert, AB
T8N 1N3

Or, for more information contact Marylyn at:
(780) 461-0891
yugoministries@cruzinternet.com

Please send a small note designating the donation to: "Tijuana Colonias Pastoral Training (Mike McDonald)" and it will get to us to be able to help make disciples in Mexico!

In our other ministry at the Bible College, things are going very well! I am teaching 2 classes of about 11 students each- 1 Corinthians and Exodus. I once again have some excellent students and love going down each Wednesday and Friday to teach the classes. It seems to me to be a great investment in eternity to build into these young lives- most of whom are sensing God's call to pastoral, missionary or other church leadership callings.

New this semester is a Discipleship class I am also participating in. We are training 6 of the young people (3 guys- 4 ladies) to disciple up to 3 of the other students each. It has been an excellent opportunity to build into the lives of each other as we spend an hour a week, one on one, talking about our walk with Jesus as well as giving them counsel on their discipling ministry. All 3 of my guys are excellent servants of Jesus and I look forward to hearing from them in the future as God works through them!

Thank you so much for your partnership in prayer and finances with us! We appreciate each one of you and could not do this without you!

Partnering together with you to make disciples in Mexico,

Michael and Sharlene McDonald

Traffic jam on the way home from classes at Calvary Chapel Bible College- Ensenada

2010-02-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

Videos--- my drive to Calvary Chapel Bible College- Ensenada...

2010-02-25T13:18:00.000-08:00

January...

2010-01-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

Wow-- it's been a while since I've updated...

We had a good December and first half of January. The weather was unusually warm and dry which allowed us to have some very pleasant firework displays for both Christmas eve and new years eve. Usually it has been cold and windy which makes the fireworks a little more dangerous and neighbour disturbing.

A few years ago we had a bit of a wind and it was our first fireworks day. I sent up an explosive kind and the wind took it sideways at about 25 feet above the ground- right over to our neighbours house where it exploded near his roof. They were not impressed... so we adjusted the direction and sent another up- it too only went up 25 feet and then a downdraft took it down the canyon and onto a neighbours porch where it exploded... thankfully no one was hurt and we learned to send them up with a higher trajectory.

This year the only casualty was a tree. I lit an M-80 firecracker and threw it left-handed over our fence into one of our Spanish dagger trees... It exploded and took out the center part-- which means the tree will probably eventually die.

This new years was the first time we all stayed up past midnight. We launched fireworks- watched movies, played games and waited till midnight to wish each other a happy new year. Here in Tijuana the last hour or two till midnight is HUGE firework time. So at midnight it is nuts- and all over the city you can see and hear explosions. Because we are on a hill overlooking the city we get quite a show!

PROJECT JOY

We did project Joy again this year. We received lots of gifts to hand out in the poorer communities of Tijuana. One church I work closely with (5 of my students are from this church) had 500 kids show up. The partner church from California brought about 270 gifts and we had had several other things donated that we brought out. when all was said and done- everyone who attended the event went home with at least a small gift. There were about 50 kids who came up to receive Jesus as their Lord and saviour as well. Please pray for their follow-up that this church may be able to make disciples of these kids...

PASTOR'S TRAINING

We started classes back up after a brief Christmas break. We are studying church history. It has been good for me because I'd forgotten a good chunk of what I learned in Bible College. It has been eye opening for the students to see the churches history and how we got to where we are today. Espescially interesting to me has been to see that many of the church practices that were occurring prior to the reformation- are still alive and well here in Mexico.
The Dominant Mexican church still practices the selling of indulgences for the forgiveness of sins. You can still, today, buy forgiveness from the priest! You can also purchase your loved ones release from purgatory through a series of "Masses" that are said on their behalf. The more money you pay the priest, the more effective the mass- and the shorter time the loved one stays in Purgatory paying for their sins. Also, in order to expedite healing, the people will gold pieces to the church to buy healing from the saints. So, if your child broke a leg, you could break a piece of gold off of a piece of jewelry that looks like a leg- give it to your favourite statue while you ask the saint that it represents to ask God to heal you. The priests take the gold for their own purposes.

This group of 10 students will be graduating this spring (June 5)! It Will have been almost 3 years of intense study 6 hours a week- when many of them have full time jobs on top of ministries and other obligations. I'm looking forward to seeing them complete their studies!

TEAMS

We have a couple teams coming down this winter to assist us in ministry here in Tijuana. One team of 3 families from Saskatchewan and Manitoba are coming for 2 weeks in February to help out at a mission church along the railroad tracks. The first week they will be building a little portable building to be used as a "comedor" to feed kids in the neighbourhood breakfast. Many of the children in that neighbourhood are malnourished, hungry and very needy of physical and spiritual food. Dolores ensures that they get some of both, thanks to the generous donations of some Canadians. She feeds 35 kids 3 times a week. The need is so great that, if finances allowed, she could feed 100 kids a day. Please pray for these needs!
The second week they will be doing a Vacation Bible School in the same place and feeding the children over lunch. Here in Mexico the kids go to school in shifts-- a morning shift and an afternoon shift. So the families are going to be doing a VBS for each shift when they are not in school- and feeding the kids in between the shifts.

Our second team will be a regular group of folks from Langley BC who come down each year to help with ministry in orphanages and the colonias over the March Break. They are a fantastic group- one of the best- and we're looking forward to seeing what God will do in and through them!

BIBLE COLLEGE
The Bible College in Ensenada I've been teaching at has a long break over Christmas. classes don't start again until February 5. I'm teaching 2 classes this semester- Exodus and 1Corinthians. I've been doing some prestudying and am looking forward to teaching these books this Spring!

I'm also helping out once a month with the School of Ministry in the church that we congregate at- Calvary Chapel Rosarito. There are 25+ men who believe God may be calling them into ministry. Our job is to give them some frank ministry training and then evaluate their preaching and teaching progress. This is once a month for a year. We had our first session last week. Pastor Mike Vincent sprang a surprise on them when he gave them 10 minutes to study a passage and give a 10 minute message on it! Then we split into groups of 3+ a teacher and they gave their messages. Talk about deer in the headlights! One of my student's wife told him to come to church that day- he had NO IDEA what he was coming to. He is quite new to following Jesus and was shell shocked- to say the least! poor guy! Another one is also quite new and spoke all of two minutes. That was after I prodded him to give me more because 1 minute wasn't enough!

I'm looking forward to seeing their progress over the next 12 months and then to see what God will do with them afterwards.

Calvary Chapel Rosarito has been a tremendous blessing to us- it is a balanced, Biblical church with a grand worldview. At 6 years old- they have already sent out their first missionaries to Mexico's south. They also have a large leadership team that serves this growing bilingual church of 700+. When we started coming 2 years ago- there were about 200+ people coming. They baptise many people each month and almost every week sees people getting saved. We are very blessed to be a part of this movement of God in Rosarito.

I have started to take training in the sound booth at church and once I am trained I will bring Elijah in with me so we can serve together.

FUTURE MINISTRY

We appreciate your prayers for our ministry here in Mexico! After this spring when my pastor's training class graduates we need to be seeking God for his wisdom as to what to do next!
As of this time, I think I am going to team-teach a class in the colonias with one of my students. He has many contacts with pastors in that area and may be able to get a good group together. I just found out this month that the government of Mexico is contemplating requiring all pastors to have theological training or face being shut down. What we've found is that there are only a few current pastors who see a need to get training- and it is easy to get your pastor's card without having any training or evidence of a call to ministry even- as long as you are strong and charismatic. As a result their are many problems in the evangelical church with false doctrines, false practices and lack of humility in the pastorate. We see this government move as a blessing and hope to be able to continue to provide low-cost training to the many untrained pastors in our area.

I've also been approached to help do some training of potential leaders and pastors down south- in Nayarit, Mexico where one of my students takes evangelistic trips twice yearly to previously unreached areas. Please pray for wisdom, direction and finances, if this is God's direction. I would likely go down with one or 2 of my students for a week or 2 at a time and offer this to them- their is alot of desire for it down there, I am told!

Thank for partnering with us!

God bless,

Mike

Christmas Prayer Letter

2009-12-09T09:41:00.000-08:00

The tree is up (though the cats have been slowly dismantling it every night), the advent candles are burning low, the weather has turned wet and cool and our grass is starting to grow.

It must be Christmas!

My final exams are all marked, we're making plans to have a Christmas party for the pastors and leaders class and their family and they are getting a much needed small brain break from classes for a couple weeks.

As we head into this Christmas season, we change gears a little bit as we help out getting Christmas gifts down to kids in Tijuana's poor colonias. Shar and the boys are putting together 400 candy bags for kids, we're picking up boxes full of toys mailed to the US office to be handed out and helping organize a few parties. Our fellow Missionaries Jose Luis and Cindy Pesina are doing the lions share of the work this year as they have the contacts both in Mexico and the US to help connect gifts with kids! Their ministry is much more aimed at kids than is ours, so we've asked them to take it over next year entirely and we can come alongside and help them in whatever way is needed.

This has been a good semester of teaching. Our pastors and leaders training is coming to a conclusion this spring. We are working on the 2nd to last course now- "Church History Survey". It is quite information heavy, but has been helpful for them to see the progression of the church through the first 500 years of it's history- both good and bad. We're hoping to have a better understanding of today's modern church and also have a sensitivity to the things that have historically caused the church to slide away from God's Biblical Ideal!

At Calvary Chapel Bible College I taught Minor Prophets to 14 students. It was a good class which solidified our understanding of the message of God throughout the Scriptures- God hates sin and calls us to repent and trust Him. There is a coming "Day of the Lord" when all evil will be judged- and noone will be able to stand without someone to save them. Jesus is the one prophesied about long ago- the Messiah, Christ, Saviour of all who repent of their sin and trust Him.

I found out, though, that I am a tough exam-giver. The students had 2 hours to answer 60 short answer questions and noone finished! Most came nowhere close. I am mean! :) But, thankfully in Jesus there is grace and mercy- so I had both on them and they did well overall! I'm learning a bit about testing and hope to have it down pat some day.

Next semester I am going to be teaching two classes. I have no missionary training to do and so will have the time to prepare. I will be teaching "1 Corinthians" and "Exodus" in the Spring semester.

A few prayer requests concerning these ministries:
1. I graduate the first class of pastors and leaders this spring and am praying about direction for next year. I'm not sure if I should start another class, or help one or two of my current students to teach a class or two. The idea is to train them to be teachers, that way the ministry is not dependent upon a missionary to run it, it can multiply quickly and only needs me in an advisory and administrative role.
2. Calvary Chapel Bible College is needing someone to come on staff full time or 3/4 time to teach a few courses every semester an help out with the administration / discipiling of students aspect of the ministry. Currently they have 1 full time teacher/ administrator. He is swamped and the school is growing each year. I may be able to do the ministry 3 or 4 days a week and commute the 100 mile round trip and then work 1/4 time with the pastors in the colonias. Or we could move to Ensenada (50 miles south) and live in the community that the school is in.
There are plusses and minuses to both options. We would like to have Christ's mind on this!

Finally, Shar and the kids are doing well. We have decided not to put the kids in a private school. Financially and schedule wise it would not work for us. Also we don't think it's the best option for the boys. So we continue to homeschool each day. Sharlene has found a homeschool group meeting twice a month here in Rosarito that she is going out to with the guys. They are enjoying it. They get to meet other folks, practice Spanish and do some other schoolwork while getting input from some other teachers. So far it is working out well.

Thank you so much for your prayer and financial support this last year. It has been a blessing representing each and every one of you who invest in this ministry.

Remember that you have an open invitation to come down and minister alongside us anytime you would like!

Our house is your house!

God bless and Merry Christmas!

Mike, Shar, Elijah, Caleb and Jacob McDonald

cat blog...

2009-12-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

We have 3 cats...

Last spring, Elijah had been praying for a cat after our old cat decided to look for a new home. Along came this little, skinny, pregnant cat who also was looking for a new home. We took her in and she had 4 kittens.

We kept 2 of those cats and named them M&M and Tom.

We thought Tom was a boy. But she wasn't- she appeared to be a girl. Which is kinda funny because our old cat, Rosie, was once thought to be a girl. But that theory was proven incorrect when the time came to get her "fixed". Ken Weiers, the local animal fixer in Barthel, SK discovered the fact when he was about to sterilize Rosie. Rosie was actually a boy- or at least she was before Ken got a hold of him, rather- it.

So, we used to have "Rosie the boy cat" and now we have "Tom the Girl cat".

That was, until today...

Today we found Tom the Girl cat doing things that appeared quite "boyish". Sharlene took a bit of a shock, turned the cat over on it's back, and pronounced Tom a boy cat- again. Immediately she dispensed me to the vet before our newly discovered boy cat became a deadbeat dad cat...

So off we went, Jacob and I, to our favourite vet. I don't think he's the best vet, but he's good enough for us. Anyway, I went in, told them about our boy cat problems, and lack of desire for more kittens, and promptly gave the nice lady some money to surgically alter Tom the boy cat (macho in Spanish) into a lesser man- and more of an it. Across his cat carrier was masking tape with "Tom - Castracion". Something twinged deep inside me.

We were told to return at 4:00pm. But after living in Mexico for 3 years and watching the surprise on peoples faces when we actually show up on time- We decided not to go back till 5:00pm. Much to our surprise the first thing the new nice lady behind the counter said was "Tom was not a 'macho'- she is a girl". OH! I said semi-surprised. We thought so til today when she started doing boy cat things. She is one very confused cat (very likely to do with an absent father, a young mother and being named "Tom".)

This news was not utterly surprising, because up until noon today, we'd thought Tom was a girl, so now things were back to normal.

"Normal" will have to wait because "Tom the newly rediscovered girl cat" was still heavily under the influence of anesthesia. The "Doctor" assured me that she would come out of it in about an hour and a half- about 6:30pm.

She is on her way to recovery, but "out of it" is precisley what she is not. This poor cat is wobbling around the house, if she moves at all. Just before we were getting ready to go to bed Shar went looking for "Tom the gender confused cat" only to find the poor furball kind of lieing down with his head hovering over his food bowl, but without eating. As if to be saying "wow... look at all the pretty colours... and shapes... coooool..."

Now I don't know much about cat psychology, but I am certainly wondering if "Tomisita" asked for a couple extra hits of anesthesia when "he" found out she was a "she" again. I can imagine the confusion that must have been going through her poor mind at the moment of discovery... bad home life,given a boys name, discovered she was a girl a few months later, then declared a boy and sent to have her "de-machoed"and then redisovers her girlness just before the knife extracts her femininity once again.

It must be tough to be "Tom the sterilized, confused, heavily intoxicated girl cat..."

As I finish this, Tom has stumbled 5 feet into the dining room where he has passed out with is head in his hands.

Let's hope tomorrow is a better day for Tom.

Sleep well, my friend.

Feeding kitchen project pictures

2009-11-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

Click on this one to get a really rough- not to scale idea of the porperty and where the pics were taken from. It may help and it may not!!

this is a pic of the area from the back door looking down the descent of land. A small fence here-- about 5 feet long- to keep kids from going down this area would be good.

This is a pic from the top of the stairs looking down to the area where the building would be.

this is a pic from the stairs showing where the small fence is needed.

this is a pic from the "driveway" showing the bathroom and the area where the proposed building would go.

Thi si a pic from where the proposed building would be- showing the existing building and "porch".

this is the existing bathroom. If time and money permits, it would be nice to put something up here.

Pic Blog

2009-11-22T18:29:00.001-08:00

Jacob-- pretty intreagued with the starfish behind him...

Love this tree in Balboa park. The roots look like a waterfall!

kittens--s till nursing at 5 months old...

Cowboy Jake...

This is "Pozole". a traditional Mexican soup with pork or chicken, usually, hominy and peppers. After it's cooked and in your bowl- you add cabbage, raw onions, cilantro, lime and radishes.
it is VERRRY good!!

Friday night is family night at the McDonald's. We play games, watch a movie or go out and do something special together. Each kid gets a night to choose the activity and the meal. The parents get a night too! This night we played Jenga!

This is Shar hanging out at a friends b'day party. Volunteers at Grace Children's home have a beachfront condo with a pool and hottub-- so they let us use it for a birthday party! It was VERY nice!

This is Jacob's famous "Belly Move". He will show it to anyone he meets for the first time- It seems to freak some folks out-- with reason!!

This is the boys hanging out in a huge tree with a cool root system at Balboa Park in San Diego...

our crazy cat climbing the steel screen door-- going after moths on the outside...

Elijah's Birthday cake-- a "litterbox" cake- made in a new (to us) litterbox! complete with tootsie rolls for effect!

November Prayer letter

2009-11-11T13:24:00.001-08:00

Hello Valued Prayer partners!

We certainly do appreciate your partnership with us! Thank you so much for your prayers over the last month since our last update!

The last little while I have been marking my Pastoral and Leadership Training students on their teaching methods. The main idea of the class was to enable them to expositorily teach the Scriptures and get the meat out of them in order to grow their congregations spiritually. One of the main needs in churches here is for strong, deep Biblical teaching and this is what we are hoping to accomplish.

I've had 6 students teach so far, from real newbies to seasoned pastors. Overall they are doing pretty well, although it seems to me that for some, the more experience they have the more difficult it has been for them to learn something new. Please pray for our students that they will learn to take the meat of Scripture and feed their folks a steady diet that the people may grow up in Christ and not be tossed around by the mass of false teachers that we have here. (Eph 4:14-15) Read my blog for more details of this part of the ministry!!

The teaching at Calvary Chapel Bible College is continuing. They've asked me to teach another class next semester, I'm just in the process of praying about what book to teach on. Please pray with me on this!

NEW NEWS

I've been given an opportunity to go down to southern Mexico for a week or so in early December. One of our YUGO Missionaries, Efrain Torres, had started a ministry down in his hometown of Acatita, Sinaloa. He is leading a Canadian group down there to do some evangelism in December and invited me to come along to see what is up. I'm looking for a place to take my Pastor and Leaders Training grads to next spring. This area is ripe for the message of Jesus Christ with very little Christian witness. See this article (page 2) from a sister mission MGF who has assisted in some work there...

Please pray that God would supply the finances for this trip-- it is in less than a months time away!

Speaking of finances...

Our last month was quite low. For only the 3rd time since being here we failed to receive a full check. As a matter of fact, our take home amount was about half of what we usually get. So in November we have canceled all non-essential driving are cutting back on our groceries, have shelved a vehicle for the month and are spending as little as we can. God is good and is helping us to reevaluate our needs. Because of having to go out and mark students-- that travel has increased markedly these last few weeks, which means we can do little else! Praise God we had full support before this so our cupboards are doing OK, but we cannot go too many more months like this!!

Please pray that our regular support will be back up to normal this coming month and that God will also provide for the trip to Acatita to help spread the gospel and disciple brand new believers.

Language Acquisition

Finally we're asking pray for our language acquisition. We are finding that Shar and the boys are going through some pretty intense isolation as their limited skills in Spanish hamper their abilities to integrate with the people around them. We had been praying about sending the boys to a local private school-- so they could learn Spanish, make friends and give Shar more time to concentrate on Spanish. But that is not working out.

Our next thought is that maybe we need to take some more intense language studies. They say if you have about 6 months of intense, daily full time study you can become fluent in the language. We've had 1 month of study like that and the rest has been learn as you go. We've probably all met people in Canada from "the old country" who never really did learn English well enough to get by outside of the family- and that is not what we want to have happen with us!

So we are hoping to do 2 months of Spanish this summer in Ensenada, about 120km south of here. 5 days a week 6 hours a day. Please pray that God would give us wisdom and direction in that and that we'd get enough Spanish for me to be fluent and Shar and the kids to be conversant. We'd love for them to be able to get into the community with activities like soccer, swimming lessons, kids and ladies activities at church. We'd also like them to be able to make friends and share the gospel with our neighbours.

Thank you so much for your partnership with us! It is a privilege to represent you down here in Northern Mexico! We are laying up treasures for ourselves in heaven together! I pray that God will meet all your needs according to His Riches in Christ Jesus! (Php. 4:19)!

God bless!!

Mike, Sharlene and the boys

5 Services in a day...

2009-11-11T08:09:00.001-08:00

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to attend 5 services-- 1 of our church in Rosarito and the other 4 in the churches of my students.

We've been learning about teaching methods and principles. It has been a long time coming- almost 2 years- since we started the process- and this is really the proof as to whether or not they "got it" or not!

So we went to Church at Capilla Calvario Rosarito -- our church in Rosarito. We have 3 services each day to accommodate the growing church. 5 or 6 years ago they were 40 people meeting together starting a church in Northern Baja. Today it is a dynamic Bilingual church in a bicultural area. We live in a unique area in that 50% of Mexicans have their visas and can cross the US border-- and many do- for shopping, entertainment, work and to visit friends and family (many of whom cannot cross borders). We also receive the lions share of deported Mexicans from the US. Every night hundreds of Mexicans being deported are dropped off at the border and told "good luck" as they enter a country that has become foreign to them. A few of the folks in our church are in that category. They were brought over into the US as preschoolers, raised there, schooled there. It is home. They are culturally Americans. But upon getting in trouble with the law, they are dropped off in Tijuana with a few bucks and a set of clothes. We have many of these folks in our church who either found Jesus in Jail, or while they've been here in Mexico. They are bilingual, bicultural and are learning to fit in both cultures.

Then we have the missionaries who are from the US and Canada and other places. They are not fully North American anymore nor Mexican - but again are bicultural- many bilingual. We congregate here too.

The church is now over 400 strong and continuing to grow. This summer they baptised over 40 new believers. The church is growing numerically and spiritually. One new missionary said recently that she has grown more spiritually at our church in the last 4 months in Mexico than she ever has. We are very thankful for our church and their dedication to preach the Word of God, verse by verse, chapter by chapter no matter who it offends. Every Sunday People are offered the gift of Salvation in Jesus and almost every Sunday someone repents and places their faith in Jesus.

Well after being in the second service last Sunday (from 10-11:15am) We went home, had a quick lunch and Ivan and I went out to the Colonias to listen to my students teach.

It was a bit of a roller coaster day in that somethings went very well and others were quite disappointing.

We were late to the first church, but when we got there they were still singing (probably an hour or more after they started!) As we got there, they shuffled us up to the front seats (!!) in a church of about 50 people. They had an old Fender Monitor for their speaker in the front. All sound that came out of it was LOUD and SHRILL. And we were about 6 feet from the speaker.

Mexicans are generally pretty emotional, so this is shown in church as well. By the time the next round of singing was done, I could barely hear!

My student did her teaching and it was OK. I don't know how often she gets to teach or preach-- but I think it's fairly often. So I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't better, but it was pretty good. She had some good points and her interpretation was good, but she was missing a lot of application. Overall I was pretty pleased with the job she did.

We were late and so had to leave as people came up for "ministry time" ( to be prayed for) and so excused ourselves and rushed off to our next assignment.

We were 15 minutes late and at this church- they start on time. So the student there decided to pray lots and give lots of background information to stall until we got there!! It was Sunday school with about 20 adults.

She did a fantastic job and was passionate about what she was teaching. She did an excellent job of communicating it in an understandable way and we were all able to come out of it with some good points of application. I was VERY impressed with her work, but I was expecting it too. She is always asking Questions in class, participating, investigating-- asking about their own denominational teachings and where they are found in the Scriptures (sometimes they are not!!) and has had one of the most teachable spirits int he class.

Next was church service time at the same church-- we sang for an hour or so, had some time where people could come up and give testimony and then the teaching time. This is where the roller coaster went down again. The speaker there had not done the assignment as I had asked him. It even seemed as if he had completely ignored it and went back to the old way of doing things. The normal way of "preaching" in some of these churches is to read a passage of Scripture and start speaking about other things!! And that is what he did for about 30 minutes. No life application, no real meat. Just milk.
I came away from that place REALLY discouraged. But not surprised. He's been leading in churches for 11 years. And it is very difficult to teach someone new ways of doing things. Although he has been faithful at class, he hasn't always seem convinced of what I'm teaching.
I had the chance to talk to him the other day. I have been very gracious to them in the past, and patient ( they mention this all the time...) so I'd realized I'd earned the right to be hard for a few minutes. I called him out on his lack of preparation and his lack of study. I admonished him to start feeding the people meat or else they will always be babes in Christ. His response was that on Sunday and Wednesday evenings they don't want teaching-- they want music, prayer, testimonies and a little preaching. I've been down here long enough to know that that is not enough for these folks. What happens is they get that for a while, never grow and then leave the church-- either for good- or to search for another one. There are countless stories of churches growing and collapsing because no one ever grew and figured out how to live in community. So as soon as one little thing goes wrong- they bolt and take people with them.

I am going back in 2 weeks to re-test him. and I'm hoping it goes much better.

We had to leave there early too because the next church was a ways away (turned out to be an hour away) in the middle of Tijuana's hills and canyons in an area I'd never been to before.

It was surprisingly dark in the area-- I suppose that there is little electricity in the neighbourhoods and that that there is up there is stolen...

I parked beside someone Mustang ( the horse kind- not the Ford kind) and went into the little ramshackle church building. It was very small (probably seats for 45 folks) and again they shuffled us up to the front. We arrived at the last song of an hours worth of worship to hear the last message of the day at 7pm at night.

Their speaker system was incredible. They had 2 speakers outside so the entire canyon could here them- they were about 3 feet tall by 3 feet wide and really good quality. Inside they had 2 speakers that were about 5 feet tall. Again we got to sit in front of them! It is hard to believe the speaker systems that these churches have. Some have excellent sound systems and no roof even-- their priorities definitely lie in the ability to make the sound ring out in the church and the neighbourhood!!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this speaker. He is a quiet student, but always seems reflective in class. He is a student of God's Word, very humble, trusts Jesus for everything. When he does speak in class- it is always worth listening to. When he gave us an overview of his message, I thought I was maybe a bit hard on him as I asked him what the result he wanted out of his congregation who will hear it. How do you want them to change. Well he took that very well and ran with it. He is not a regular preacher. He is very new to leadership in the church, but his was the best message, by far, of the day. At the end of the message he asked people if God had been speaking to them to come up front for prayer. Usually this prayer time in these churches is reserved for prayer for healing, or release from addictions etc. But here he specifically asked if God was speaking to them and asking them to repent and become more Christlike to come up to the front for prayer. He did so in a humble way, but with authority. about 15-20 people of the 45 folks came up asking for prayer, indicating their need to change.

I stood there and reflected on my roller coaster day, some getting it and applying themselves, others not. And God seems to speak to my heart. He seemed to say that not everyone gets it-- not everyone wants to work at their relationship with Him- not everyone is teachable. But every once in a while you catch one or two or three that get it... that want to learn, want to grow and want to serve Him and see others become more like Him. And this guy-- He got it... I pray that he continues on!!

We have 2 more courses to take-- Church History and Missions / evangelism,/ Discipleship.

Please continue to pray that they "Get it" and become servants who lead.

God bless,

Mike

Homeschol and ministry update

2009-10-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Fall here looks an awful lot like Summer and late Spring, but it brings about a change of pace and direction that let you know the unofficial "New Year" has begun!

Homeschool
Shar started homeschool up a little more than a week after we returned to Mexico. Elijah is in Grade 7, Caleb in Grade 5 and Jacob in Grade 2. They are all doing well and enjoying school as much as the average kids!

This year for Spanish they are working on Rosetta Stone's homeschool Spanish program. In the 2 months that they have been at it- I would say it is the most effective program they've worked with yet. They work for 1/2 hour a day and the change in their ability and confidence in Spanish has been noticeable. The boys have 2 friends in our neighbourhood who speak only Spanish and their ability to communicate is improving as time goes on. We are thankful to see that!

Caleb's favourite homeschool class is science. He and Jacob are learning about Water Creatures this year and are enjoying learning about all God created that lives in water! It is pretty deep (pun intended :)) and we're looking forward to going to an aquarium in Long Beach, CA at the end of this month for a field trip and a low-tide tide pool excursion! Caleb loves to build things with his hands and tools. He has built a scratching post for the cats, and is currently working on a stool for outside. He can often be heard sawing, hammering or otherwise building stuff

Jacob's favourite homeschool class is Reading. He enjoys reading (especially Garfield books) and is getting better at it all the time. One of Jacobs favourite things to do is play with the dogs. He especially enjoys playing fetch with princess- our newest dog. He also still enjoys running and will run in circles, straight lines, on the ground, over top of things... even now as I write this he is walking on a table outside :).

Elijahs favourite class is reading as well. He will often be found reading one book or another and loves to go to the Library to get more books! Recently he has been working on making a wooden sword, whittling away little by little, sanding and soon to be lacquering it. He loves to research new things on the Internet and is a veritable fountain of knowledge.

Sharlene is a busy busy lady teaching these boys all they are willing to learn. Their school day starts at 8:30am with devotions and goes till about 3:00 with a half hour break in the morning and an hour for lunch. Much of her evening time is spent planning out the next day. We usually relax at night with a video. Recently we have been watching Star-Trek the Next Generation or some old spaghetti Western videos we picked up at Wal-mart (20 movies for $5.00!!). She has been missing her friend and fellow missionary Cheryl Hoople who is in Canada for medical reasons.

Leadership Training Ministry

This September I was teaching Cross-Cultural communication to some of YUGO's staff at Grace Children's Home. We had a very good time and they tell me that the information was very helpful in enabling them to serve the Mexican people in a culturally appropriate way, sharing Christ's love in a way that speaks to the hearts of our people here in Mexico!

I started up the teaching at Calvary Chapel Bible College Ensenada again. I have a class of 11 students and we are studying the Minor Prophets. There are 2 English students in the class, so I teach in English with a translator. I love teaching these guys and girls! They are interactive, dedicated to Jesus and His Word, they work hard and are a pleasure to teach! God has been teaching us all great things about His sovereignty, His grace and mercy, his heart for the World and his wrath against sin! I remember my own class on the minor prophets as a student about 11 or 12 years ago at Nipawin Bible College and hope that this class is as influential on them as mine was on me!

We continue to train pastors and leaders in Tijuana's Eastern Colonias 2 days a week. These students continue to be a blessing to me as I see them dedicate themselves first to the Lord and then to the work of the ministry and in growing in His Word. We are learning about teaching Principles and methods right now and they will be providing me with an outline of Ephesians and a lesson plan to be given in their church. I'm looking forward to seeing them at work in their setting over the next few weeks!

This first class of 10 will be graduating in April or May (depending on the weather-- how many days we get mud-stayed) and afterwards I would like to take them on a mission trip somewhere in Southern Mexico where there are no churches to give them an opportunity to use some of what they have learned in a needy area. Please pray with us about the needs associated with such a mission trip as well as the wisdom to know where to go- and how to make the connections necessary to have a meaningful ministry.

I would also appreciate prayer for the future of the pastoral training ministry. The idea is to train those folks who graduate to become teachers. I'm praying for one or two of them to have the desire to train others in their areas. I want to avoid making this a missionary-dependent ministry and so need wisdom and direction to do that. I have been asked by a couple people to consider doing a class here in Rosarito when we are done in the colonias. I've also been approached to do a class out in the colonias again-- but am hesitant to do so if we have some possible teachers out there already. We'd appreciate your prayers!

Church Assistance

We are praising God for His provision for His people here in Mexico. We have received money to sponsor 2 church's kids feeding programs in the colonias along the railroad track. For about $100.00/ week each they can feed about 30 kids / day 5 days a week. Most of these kids are lacking for food at a very basic level. Some only eat once a day- others not even that without these programs. We are praising God for those sponsors that allow us to do this much needed ministry. Each day these kids have a time of Bible teaching and then a breakfast before they go off to school!

We also have been receiving food donations every couple of weeks- about 2000lbs which is shared between 2 churches to hand out to their neighbourhoods. We hope it is an opportunity to soften hearts to the Gospel message in these poor communities!

Thank you so much for your prayers for us and your partnership in this ministry. You are truly laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven as you invest in eternity! It will be wonderful to see together the fruit that God brings about for Himself through the training of leaders and the care of the poor in Northern Baja Mexico! May God be praised and glorified in all that is done!!

Ministering together with you in Baja Mexico,

Summer Ministries

2009-08-31T14:46:00.000-07:00

Boy is summer almost done already!?

We got back a few days ago from our summer ministry tour of Canada and I figure it's about time I report on a bit of it!!

Week 1 of camp

Week 1 was spent in Timber Bay Saskatchewan- about 1.5 hours north of Prince Albert, SK. We have been to this camp several times before and their invitation to come speak was the genesis of our trip north for the summer.

It was an interesting week. Stanley Mission is a reserve north of la Ronge and that is where the kids came from that week. There are no missionaries there, no church and only a few genuine believers in Jesus.

The temperatures were pretty cold- it felt a bit like winter to us acclimated Mexicanos, but thankfully we had a warm place to sleep with a comfy bed! Our boys were at Silver Birch Bible Camp that week- the first time all 3 could be campers- and the first time any of them had been there without us! They had a great time and still talk about the fun they had!

That gave us the time we needed to prepare messages for the camps. We came with ideas and topics- but kind of unsure how we were going to flesh it out. So we spent a good deal of the time doing this and giving the messages in the chapels. Sharlene gave 5-10 minute sessions of "kids of courage"- kids in other countries who face persecution and possible death for their faith and yet continue to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. This was a great teaching tool- as many of these kids go back to hostile environments if they choose to follow Jesus!

The kids were quite hard at first. In my 15+ years of camping ministry- probably the hardest kids I've seen. There were a lot of hurts, much fear and an amount of spiritual warfare going on.
God is faithful though and in the process of presenting His Word to the kids- there were a few who responded with repentance and faith in Jesus. There were many others, we found out, who were being attacked spiritually- feeling things, seeing things and hearing things. Satan has quite a hold on these communities and was spending time reminding these kids of who he and his minions are.

Praise God- He gave me a message about the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Light that exposed the manifestations for what they were- attempts to keep the kids in bondage- to steal-kill and destroy them! But that the King of Light had come to give them life- and to the full! over the course of a few days- a few more kids responded to Jesus offer of reconciliation through faith in His sacrifice and repentance from sins! Praise God!

It turned out to be a good week, overall and was a learning experience for many of us!

Week 2- Timber Bay

Week 2 we had the boys with us (after going to Loon lake to get them- then to Martensville to share a bit- then back to camp). This week was unique as well because the local Montreal Lake Alliance Church was there to assist us. They will be running the camp next year as they take over the whole Timber Bay Bible Center this fall. They shared a few things with us on better reaching First Nations children- and it was a great week. What a difference it is with a strong functioning church and transformed believers in a community! These kids were eager and hungry for the Word and the church was ready to do follow-up and discipleship. There were many kids this week who surrendered their lives to Jesus and it is great to hear that the church will come alongside them and walk with them in the coming days and years!!

Week 3- Turtleford

Turtleford camp (Island Lake) was a teen camp- made up of mostly churched kids from the surrounding farming communities. This camp excels in music- so for a small camp- the music was incredible! I spoke on the book of James and Shar did a kind of kids of courage aimed more at teens. It was a very good camp as we challenged the kids to live a life worthy of the calling that they have received! There were many good responses to the offer of salvation and many of the other kids entered a deeper relationship with Jesus! Praise God!

Week 4- Steeprock Bay, MB

This was the first time we'd ever been here- though we'd heard about it before. We only had one short chapel session so it was a challenge to condense the messages down and still try to be effective! God is not limited by our planning or difficulty in preparing and He touched many kids lives with several responding to God's offer of salvation through Jesus Christ. The extra time gave us more opportunity to hang with the kids- and that was nice. These were a great group of kids from the pas- a small town in north Western Manitoba. The drugs and gangs there make it more like a little inner-city though and these kids were obviously more "urban" than the ones we'd worked with in northern Saskatchewan!

On the weekends between camp we spoke at Cornerstone community church in loon lake, Martensville Baptist Church, Turtleford Baptist and Swan River Pentecostal. We visited with old friends and met new ones. We visited and were encouraged by faithful supporters and we connected with many people. It was busy, but a blessing to be able to serve in this way!

Pre-Camp

2009-07-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Canada 4 days after our northern journey and stayed at Mossbank, SK for a few days at our friends the Sauers.

It was Matt Sauers 11th Birthday and he was almost jumping out of his skin to see his bestest buddy Caleb had come and brought his whole family too to celebrate his birthday!

Mossbank is a nice little town with an outdoor pool. we bought a week pass for the boys for $10.00 each and they swam every day- almost twice a day. They enjoyed themselves profusely and we did as well, visiting the adult Sauers.

Some of the big differences we notice are the security issues. They can leave the vehicle and the house unlocked, the kids are able to walk around the town without constant supervision, go to the store themselves etc. There are no fences/ gates/ barbed wire / razor wire/ block walls with broken glass on top around any of the houses. well, maybe the occasional fence- but it's usually for privacy more than protection.

It was a good few days to reconnect with friends, rest up from the long trip before a gruelling speaking schedule and reacquaint ourselves with Canada and the culture.

We had a bit of a passport ordeal in the midst of this time.

we were told several times that we could use the short passport form to apply for a passport from Canada. In Regina they made us wait in 2 lines. The first line was to check to see if your passport was filled out correctly. The second line was to see if the corrector corrected your passport correctly- then they plugged it into the computer. The average time we saw people actually processing the passport applications was probably 20 minutes- and that was AFTER their apps had been checked out for errors.

Our was rejected- and we needed a form with a guarantor. So after 1 hour, we left to figure out our next steps.

I was assured that I could use the long Canadian form and not the "living abroad" form- which was going to need a declaration in lieu of guarantor signed by a notary (cost $70.00 each). So we tried it- but in S'toon instead.

In S'toon there was only 1 line. The same person checked for errors and processed the application in usually less than 10 minutes. We were in and out and processed in 15 minutes- despite paying for 1 1/2 hours of parking meter time in the sweetest parking spot around. I almost wanted to wait it out to get what I paid for. I lost the vote though- and off we went to see our friends new baby at the university Hospital!

Irv and Mari have been married for 19 years and have adopted a wonderful girl Leah. Years ago Leah wanted a little brother or sister, but they just weren't able to have kids. Until now. Surprisingly, they got pregnant, and through a difficult pregnancy and 14+ hours of labour- had a baby boy almost 2 weeks ago. And Isaac was born! ( at least that's what I wanted them to call him- but they decided on Jaxson instead!) Everyone is healthy- and tired!

So then we went to Loon Lake to speak at church on the Sunday. we had a great time there and then scooted off to week 1 of 4 of camp!

Canada

2009-06-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

Boys by the river near "old faithful"

Old faithful- we picked a bad spot to watch - we saw mostly steam. but it was cool, nevertheless

Castle geyser steaming up a storm.

One of the cool coloured pools. more like a hot tub- a REALLY hot tub. 95C- almost boiling!

We made it safely a few days ago here to Saskatchewan!! Praise God!

Our drive up was incredible- as usual! I love the drive north through mountains, deserts and cities. I've been wanting to go to Yellowstone Park the last few times we've been driving through, but the timing never worked out. This time, we made it work. It was a really cool place! Lots of forests and mountains interspersed with out of this world-like bubbling, hissing and exploding cones of steam, hot water and mud! Probably the coolest part was the last part through the park where you come alongside of a hill that is just steaming at several spots- it looks like some sort of a moonscape or something. It was all pretty cool.

That night we showed up in Harlowton, MT a little town with 2 motels. the first was full and the guy said the other was full too. The problem was that it was 9pm at night, and the next town 1 hour north had all full motels as well. so if we didn't stay here, we were driving almost 3 hours to Malta, hoping that there were motels open there!

Shar suggested we try the 2nd motel in harlowton and it turned out they had 1 room left- single bed mthough- so the boys slept on the leaky air mattress we bought! It was tiny and kinda stinky- but better than sleeping in the car on the side of the road!

Supper that night was at a roadhouse kinda place. we got in 5 minutes before the kitchen closed at 9:30. It was the best meal we had on the trip- fresh salads, good grilled chicken sandwich and real- homemade burgers for the boys. Beats Wendy's by 1000 miles!

I've booked a few places to stay in the past on priceline or hotwire. They are my new favourite travel websites. Our first night we stayed in Vegas and we got a 4-Star hotel south of town with a HUGE pool and hottub and it was the cheapest accomodations we had! The room was huge with a massive flat screen TV, the pool was open all night and by the time we were done swimming and needed a snack- we went to a restaurant in the hotel that had $2.45 ham and eggs and pancakes. We paid $50.00 totla for the room.

The next night we were in Idaho falls and there were no priceline rooms available there. so we took a little motel room for $70.00. The hallways were filthy, the pool was old and the edges were falling apart-- the room was stinky- but it was our only option! We couldn't believe we paid $20.00 more for it than the fancy place we were in the night before!

So far things are going well here. We are visiting friend in Mossbank, SK. It is a nice break before we go full tilt for a month of camps! The town here has an outdoor pool- so we purchased a week pass for the boys and they'l be in it all afternoon- home for supper then back out till 9 every day we're here.

Today Shar has gone out with Tina and abigail to MooseJaw for a girls day out and I'm helping Michael put up a hanging ceiling in their basement.

Weather is nice- 33C yesterday ad sunny and at noon it is 26C today.

Gotta go hang a ceiling.,....

Grad. Mexi-style

2009-06-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

Shar and I went to the most unique- and by far most significant- high school grad type of occasion yesterday.

Rebekah Hoople is the daughter of fellow Canadian Missionaries- Rod and Cheryl Hoople. She has also been babysitter to our kids and they have fallen in love with her. Shar and I were asked to be her "Patrinos" which is kinda like god-parents. So we had an opportunity to say something to encourage her at the end of the program.

At this school she attends (Highland Prince Academy) in order to graduate she needs to write a thesis and a tesina. The tesina is basically a plan outlining your goals, vision and mission describing how you plan on getting there. She had to give the presentation in front of 4 Judges (teachers from the school) and about 20 family and friends watching.

With poise and youthful professionalism Rebekah outlined the final project that had taken her a semester to explore, pray about and Seek the Lord on. It has been a great excercise for her. They helped her to identify her strengths and weaknesses- and how to overcome the weaknesses and take advantage of her strengths- and what types of careers and post-secondary training would fit her desires, goals and values.

It isn't officially a "Christian school" ( don't think you can have such a thing in Mexico) but it was started by a church and the teachers are all believers and followers of Jesus. The judges asked some tough questions of her and encouraged her greatly. We had a chance to tell her how much she has meant to our family and encourage her to lay all of her plans before God allowing Him to guide and direct her steps.

This was one of the most impactful things I've ever seen! They helped Rebekah to look over her life and the people and events that helped influence her and she now has a very clear picture of who she is in Jesus and how He can use her to be His hands and feet in the world. She is returning to Canada to work for a year and upgrade English (Spanish English wasn't good enough, I guess!) and then is applying to Prairie Bible Institute's nursing program. We prayed for her and with her parents for God to guide and direct her and for her to make good decisions and this excersize was instrumental in doing that. She now knows her values, vision and mission and will weigh er decisions based upon those- rather than upon a whim, or the suggestions of a peer. I wish EVERY kid had the chance to do this!

We were blessed to be a part of it and are looking forward to seeing how God uses Rebekah in the future. She has a desire to go to Africa but it has not worked out as of yet. As she was checking out Prairie Bible Institute she found out that they offered a 1 month internship / mission to Africa as part of the program. She is a far cry from the old song please don't send me to Africa!

buen viaje (bon voyage)

2009-06-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

We're off to Canada for a couple months starting this afternoon.

This morning we're going to do all of our last-minute stuff- pay bills, finish packing- buy dogfood etc. and then head down to las pasaditas for our last tacos for two months.

From there we cross to the US- do some grocery shopping for trip food and then begin the trek through the Mojave desert. The original plan was to leave bright and early- and get to the California-Nevada state line- but that meant we'd be there at 1 or 2 in the aft- in 108F heat! I really don't know how long someone can be in 108F heat before getting heatstroke- but I'll bet you it's not long! So instead of going for a short swim and languishing in the room all day (want to avoid driving in 108F heat too) we've decided to leave this aft and arrive in the desert as the heat dissipates- thus pulling in at 9:00pm or so in Las Vegas- where it'll only be 95F instead. We'll go for a nice night swim and get rested for day two!

We'd appreciate your prayers-- it'll be a long drive! As well- I've been taking some antibiotics and they seem to have affected my normal flora and fauna and it's causing me to need to be close to a washroom. I'm hoping that it is passing this morning and we can do this voyage without the inconvenience of hourly emergency stops!

The kids are REALLY excited to go back- they will be spending a week at Silver Birch Bible Camp in Loon Lake-- it will be Jacobs first year in a cabin! Even before we knew we'd be coming back- he was talking about how it would have been his first year and how much he'd like to go. The other two as well were talking about Silver Birch lots. Last year was the first year we've not been at a camp- for at least 1 week- in almost all of their lives!

God bless and thanks for praying!

not so mini update...

2009-06-20T14:47:00.001-07:00

Happy Last Day of Spring!

On this last day of spring in Playa de Rosarito, Mexico, our grass is dead, it hasn't rained for 3 months and the daily weather is a steady 22C and "June Gloom" means we have overcast mornings almost every day here at the coast. But just as each spring turns into summer, God has continued to be faithful in our lives.

In May-June we were having some financial issues coming up- with getting our visas and some other things that were out of the ordinary costly. Thank you for Praying- all of our needs have been met!!!

Since last fall we were planning on going to Ontario to visit relatives and speak in some churches to raise support. Through God-ordained circumstances- we were not able to go this spring. It was somewhat saddening because my dad hasn't been in great health and our other parents are getting older and we realize that each time we get to see them- may be the last. It has been 3 years since we were back in Ontario- and we haven't all seen Shar's family since then. I've been back on deputation- and my dad's medical emergency- a few times, but they and the kids and Shar have not been reacquainted for too long.

A few weeks ago I was talking to a friend of mine in Saskatchewan and he asked if we could come speak at his camp for 2 weeks- kinda half-jokingly. I said we'd pray about it and see what happened. Well within a week or 2, I had 4 weeks of camp speaking engagements- some times to share in churches and a full July Schedule! You may remember my prayer request in our last letter for some wisdom on summer ministry opportunities- since they dried right up here till the end of August! So we became convinced that God was giving us the go ahead to go back to SK and MB for camp ministries this summer.

We are also planning on going back to Ontario before we head back to Mexico. It's not really a lot closer from MB to Ontario then from Mexico, but we asked for wisdom and believe it'd be the best, wisest thing to do while we have the opportunity and time this summer. All that to say that we will be in Ontario for 2 weeks in August. From Aug. 5th -12th in Wasaga Beach area and from Aug. 12-19 in Hamilton area. We have yet to secure any speaking engagements during that time- so if you are there and would like to have us come to your church , cell group, youth group or just over for supper to hear how things are going- we'd be more than willing to try to make it work in our schedule! After that it is a 4 day drive back to Mexico.

When we get back, we'll be jumping right back into ministry with some missionary training in September and my regular pastoral training and Bible College teaching in Ensenada.

Thank you again for your partnership with us in prayer-- a couple of prayer and praise items:

LAMBERTO: ( Neck Surgery this winter) just received a $1000 gift for his medical needs. They still owe the doctor this amount because one person who said he was going to pay this amount for his care- never did ( he owed them this money for a property the sold to him). However, the doctor has all but abandoned Lamberto in his "recovery"- so we are praying for wisdom as to what to do with this money- pay off the doctor or seek additional medical care to assist in Lamberto's recovery. His pastor, Ramiro- will be making this decision this summer.

Daniel and Dolores: Have started on their taco cart business this week- thanks to the gifts of friends from Canada! They are also praying about starting a feeding program in their impoverished neighbourhood that is in desperate need. There are at least 70 kids in need of daily food, if they had the finances to do so! Please pray for this need!

Severa Barboza (Student in pastors-leaders training) leaves June 28 for Nayarit, Mexico for 1 month. Seve is older than 60 and is married to Jose ( who is also in my class) She is going to this area in southern Mexico where some people travel up to 4 hours to find an Evangelical church to worship in. It is a desperately needy area for the gospel- many towns and villages have no Christian witness. Seve goes down- stays with the people and disciples the believers and shares the Good News with the others. It has been a fruitful ministry- but it is tough on her. She has few means and relies on the hospitality of the people to live there. Please pray for Seve's health and for her ministry there in the month of July- that the God of all the universe would be glorified!!

Our finances God has been generous to us supplying our needs for new visas and other spring needs that came up. We have received some other gifts and promises that will help pay for our way to Canada! PRAISE GOD! Please pray that all of our needs would be met in our voyage to Sask, Manitoba and Ontario and Back- and that our monthly support would be where Jesus wants it to be for the fall and winter!

Thanks again for your partnership in this ministry. We honestly feel as if we are an extension of your ministry and are humbled and honored that we can work together with you! ¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:10.

It is exciting to partner with you to do those works here in Mexico!

May God bless you!

McDonald family.

June Prayer letter

2009-06-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Thank you so much for your continued partnership with us. Together, during the first 6 months of 2009 we have served many in the name of Jesus- whether it was with a Christmas gift or rice and beans in Jesus name, some Biblical teaching and fellowship- (Iron sharpening Iron) or North Americans experiencing Missions- there have been hundreds touched though your partnership with us! Your ministry expands beyond the borders of Saskatchewan, Ontario, Manitoba or California and we are grateful to represent the Love of Christ that is in you, here in Tijuana Mexico!!

We've had a few good weeks here since I last wrote a big update and report!

So here are some updates on prayer requests and people- and after I'll let you know a bit of what's been happening lately...

Health Shar is doing much better. She had a flu, but slept it off for a few days and took some antibiotics and now she is back about 100% Praise God! The kids and I got it slightly as well, but it was pretty mild and we've all almost completely recovered.
Lamberto- Has not been doing well lately. Because none of us are doctors, we cannot adequately figure out why or why not. The doctor he went to for surgery is not being particularly helpful when it comes to follow up and recovery. He is still confined to a wheelchair and is in some discomfort. Please pray for wisdom to know what to do in his situation.
Our neighbour lady who was being threatened by cartel guys has been doing well. Her husband comes back and spends many nights of the week with her and commutes to his job in San Diego. They have not been contacted since. We wonder if it was a case of mistaken identity.
Leadership Training- I am done with out new missionary training for the summer. We had 7 people taking the class over the course of the school year. It seemed to be well received! My Bible College class ended in May. I taught James to 10 students at Calvary Chapel Bible College- Mexico in Ensenada- about 1 hour south of where we live. I loved this once/ week class and learned as much or more than the students did! The Pastoral Training that I do twice a week is going strong in Tijuana's poor Eastern Colonias. We have 10 students and they are faithful and love participating in the class. It is a stretching time as we challenge our perceptions and search the Scriptures together for Gods perspective. It continues to be a blessing to be involved in the lives of these servants of Jesus!

And now for recent happenings---

Food! We have been blessed by a contact with Club Dust ministries and Strong Tower ministries to provide food for two of the churches we work with in the poorest areas of Tijuana. Pastor Ramiro and Pastor Manuel cross over to the US once or twice a week to collect 1000lbs of food at a time to bring back to their areas to bless folks with some of the desperate needs that there are in that area. I went out with Pastor Ramiro the other day as he took bags of food out to 56 families along the railroad tracks. I was taken aback to see the multitudes come for food. The economic crisis has hit here with such force it is hard to put into words. Many 1 income families who used to make $200- $400 / month are now either out of work or the hours have been cut back so much that buying food is difficult, if not impossible. We are so thankful for the timing of this blessing, but also aware of the pressing need for an economic recovery here in Mexico. Please pray for the children and families in need here- and pray that they will not only seek out bread but also Jesus- the Bread of Life.

Homeschool The boys have been doing well in their studies. We did a wholesale change this year because it seemed as if the curriculum we were using was not being as effective as we would like. So it has added A LOT of work to Shar's preparation and delivery of the material, but the amount of learning that is going on is incredible! Our boys were struggling in the basics of math- so this year we tried a new math curriculum from scratch and where as Elijah was using his fingers and hands to add, subtract and multiply last year (which made all other math difficult, time consuming and, usually, wrong!) this year he has it all down pat and is flying through division this summer and will likely be up to his normal grade 7 level by around Christmas. Also- Caleb has continuously struggled with reading. With some concerted effort- and lots of help from mom, he is excelling in his reading and writing and will very likely be a very proficient- possibly above average reader some day soon! Jacob has just gotten started in his school career and so is excelling in his studies too! We are very thankful for God's grace and enabling! He has been good to us, indeed!

Other Stuff -- one of our dogs had 10 puppies this spring- we kept one and so now have 4 dogs again! We also found a cat (Elijah has been praying for a cat for months) that was pregnant and kicked out of her house. With Shar's approval, we brought her in, named her "Bengal" and she had 4 kittens last week. We've found that kittens are, so far, A LOT less work than dogs! With the puppies, we needed to construct a pen for them- and with kittens- a box with a towel is just fine! We will also be getting a turtle in the summer as a missionary kid will be moving back to Canada to go to College this fall. The farm just keeps growing!

Future Stuff This fall I will be continuing teaching the Pastors Training. We have about 6 months left on it- maybe 8- depending on the rain and other cancellations that sometimes happen. I also plan on teaching again at Calvary Chapel Bible College- Mexico. This fall semester I'll be teaching on Minor prophets- which was one of my favourite classes at Nipawin Bible College. I have also been asked to teach a class on Cross-Cultural Ministry here in our area, which I'll be doing a couple days a week for about a month. And I am looking at a possibility of teaching a class on Bible Study Methods and Rules of Interpretation for anyone who wants it in the area, but that will depend on interest!

Prayer Requests. --

Summer opportunities We are praying about what to do this summer. It is my slowest time of the year. Last year I was involved in an internship training program that is not happening this year- as well as speaking some of our outreaches. But this summer it will be different. I have been presented with an opportunity to speak at a camp in Canada for a week or two, but would need more opportunities to justify the trip! So please pray about this with us!
Finances- Our monthly giving amounts have been down this year. Praise God we have had enough when we needed it- He has been faithful to provide for our needs. Please pray that that would continue to happen the last 6 months of the year as well! Our expenses have increased substantially with having to cross the border 1-3 times a week for food donations and then go to classes in Ensenada (100 mile round trip) So please pray that God will work out those details!
Personal Spiritual Lives Please pray for our personal spiritual growth- that we as a family and individuals would be attentive to the Voice of God and be willing to walk in obedience and love for His glory! As with most Christian workers- it becomes easy to let the ministry supersede our own walk with God!
Safety As in most developing world countries, safety is a constant issue with us. We have complete trust in God, that He is our ever present help! We covet your prayers on our behalf for safety. Specific, regular times to pray for this are:

Each Monday from 6pm-10:30pm-
Friday from 10am-2:00pm and
Saturday from 4:00pm-10:30pm.

And especially the first and last hours of those times- as that is when I am driving- sometimes in some precarious situations!

God bless you and keep you!

Mike, Sharlene, Elijah, Caleb and Jacob

--
Michael McDonald
Missionary to Mexico
YUGO Canada
1-(619)400-3326 (North America)
661-100-3396 (Mexico)
msmcdonald@yugomail.org

come, pig.

2009-04-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Just a short note to give you some perspective on the swine flu- straight from the belly of the beast.

We are not terribly worried.

The vast majority of cases are happening in Mexico City and surrounding area. There are about 28milliion people living in that area. That is the equivalent of all the population of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and all the Maritimes. And these folks all live in one metropolitan area.

Within this conglomerate, there are 1300 cases of swine flu-- about .004% of the population of this petrie dish of a city. Of those, sadly, about 100 of those have died as a result.

One more thing to keep in mind is the health system in Mexico. Often there is a cost involved to go to a Doctor. When people do not have enough money for food (espescially in these tough economic times) hospital visits for a flu don't happen until it is absolutely necessary. So while we have found out that Tamiflu and Relezen (antiviral meds) work to combat this-- they will not work when it is too late.

Also remember the culture of Mexico-- while this is killing primarily young men, these are the ones who would be least likely to go to a hospital under any circumstances.

So while yes, this is a virulent strain of the flu that more easily leads to pneumonia than our "regular flu", so far it is not out of control (despite media reports) and it is not killing healthy people in developed countries.

We do not feel a tremendous amount of fear, but we will be dilligent over the next few weeks until we see how this pans out.

Please pray for our health and safety as we continue to go about our ministry here in Mexico, but please be in extra prayer for the poor in Mexico- those who have limited access to health care. That God would protect His people!!

The worst part from our point of view are the thousands of desperatly poor Mexicans in our border region who live in filthy squalor who will not be getting a house built this year, or who will not be getting a new roof on the old dirt floor shack, or who will not be receiving the needed food our groups bring because people are fearful.

Groups are cancelling trips to Mexico because of the violence-- (which is down 80% from last year!!) and it is the poor who will suffer most. Please pray that those who cancel will offer to donate the amount that they would have spent on a mission trip to go towards the incredible needs we are finding here!

While the Economic downturn is difficult in North America, here it is devastating! We are seeing more and more children suffering from malnutrition and starvation.

We also receive thousands of people who come to help the Mexican church reach their people in Evangelism ministries. Please pray that the Good News of Jesus love and salvation will continue to be spread in this time of Great harvest here in Northern Mexico!

Please pray that God will be glorified and His name will be lifted up in Mexico!

Thanks for praying!

Prayer request

2009-04-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

Hey folks!

Things have been going well this Spring. We had several groups and families coming down from Canada to spend a week or two with us in Ministry. It's been a blessing to watch God work in them and through them! The busy-ness, though, has brought with it quite a few extra expenses. That, coupled with lower than normal monthly support for the last 4 months, has depleted our "reserve account" which we use for ministry expenses and to fill in when monthly support is low.

So we need to ask you for prayer for our financial needs this spring!

Spring typically brings us some extra costs. We need to purchase our homeschool material for next fall (it's usually discounted in Spring!!) as well as renew our Mexican visas (We need to do this every year-- about US$400). This year we also need to renew our passports!

Would you please pray with us for these needs?

Thank you and God bless!!

Updates...

2009-04-13T11:44:00.001-07:00

Hey folks-- just 2 updates and 1 non-update...

First the non-update...

Many of you have asked how juanita is doing with the mafia blackmailing thing and the truth is we don't know. We did speak to her last week and she only said that her husband is staying in Mexico more often and commuting to the States to work. She feels better, but we did not find out if she is stil getting phone calls. Please keep praying for her and we'll get you fresh information when we have it!

Lamberto has not been doing well lately and is in need of some miraculous intervention. He began to feel some intense pain about amonth ago- and that set his progress back alot. When I last spoke with him he had started to feel the pain in his legs and arms again as well as the feeling of his legs being on fire. This is how he felt a few months before getting really bad last fall. He is also very discouraged and is in need of a spiritual breakthrough as well as a physical one.

Our Spring trip to Ontario for deputation and reporting has been cancelled. We were just not able to set things up to make it happen, so we are going to try again maybe next year. With that we are not going to be going to Acuna for the outreach there ( west of San Antonio Texas) as they already have enough help and it is a 2 day drive from here. It would have worked for on our way back from Canada, but not now.

Thanks for your prayers and partnership with us!

God bless,

Mike

April Prayer letter

2009-04-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

So here is our April Prayer Email-- I'm adding a little bit extra to those of you on the blogosphere...

This is Ivan and Sergio- two of our translators/ assistants when we had some families down from Alberta last week-- and a team of Youth down from Langley BC in March

This is a quincenera cake- to celebrate the 15th birthday of a girl in Mexico-- This one was for one of my students (Dolores) kids- Joana.

Here is Joana in her Quincenera dress. Here in Mexico, at least among some folks of modest income, they will share the costs of fiestas-- some pay for the dress, others for the cake, others for the hall, others for the plates etc.

Here is the Taco cart that we bought for Daniel and Dolores.

This is us on a brief vacation in Phoenix!

We had 2 families here last week working with our pastors and churches we serve in the Colonias (poor neighbourhoods). We were at one mission church on the side of the railroad tracks painting some walls. It almost seemed like a exercises in futility- painting the rotten old, used wood that had made up this shanty-shack of a church. But Daniel and Dolores (churches leaders) were tremendously blessed by our service to them. Daniel gave us a bit on the churches history and his testimony. The Canadian families were blessed by the story of Gods work in the former addicts life! Daniel had mentioned that they had an additional $150 to pay off the church property- and were praying to God that He would provide. And God spoke to one of the families... After taking a night to pray about and discuss how they could help- we decided to help them in a different way. Daniel works as a security guard and makes about $200/ month- barely enough to buy food to eat for his family of four. His dream was to buy a taco stand and cook tacos for a living- which has a much greater possibility of succeeding! I remembered another church leadership family (Severa) that had a taco cart (that needed a bit of work) that they wanted to sell- so we hooked the families up- and for $150 we bought a taco cart for Daniel and his family. With some more donations we were able to purchase all of the things needed to get started too ( pots, pans etc...)!! Dolores and Daniel were overwhelmed. They shared testimony that life had been incredibly difficult these past few months (probably more like years- but particularly hard recently). But just that morning God had impressed on Dolores' heart that they had been faithful during these difficult times and that He was going to bless them in a way that would amaze them! This was that blessing! They called it a "fountain of work"- they would never run out of work now and it could grow itself as they invest back into the work! It was an emotional moment for sure! But the blessings weren't done yet!! Severa- the lady who sold us the cart- is 65+ years old and is in my Bible Institute class with her husband. They serve a church in Tijuana well- Teaching the Teens and in the church generally. She has had a burden for an area in southern Mexico- Nayarit- that is very needy for the Gospel. She was down there last year to encourage a believer she knew that had turned back to the world. What she found when she got down there were 5 villages in close proximity with very few believers spread amongst the villages. Some had come to know Jesus through her ministry- and when she left- there were 8 believers in these 5 villages! She had been praying for $150.00 so she could take another mission trip down to Nayarit! She is hoping to take some time to disciple a leader in the area so they can start a church! The Canadian families were amazed that their small donations of $150 and $70 could be a fountain of work (and therefore- freedom to minister well too!) for one family and a mission trip to some unreached areas for another! Praise God for bringing this all together!!

Prayer Requests:
1. For Dolores and Daniel- that they would be diligent and God would double their efforts to provide for them and their mission church.
2. For Severa as she goes to southern Mexico- that God would open hearts and convince them of their need for a saviour. And that God would use Seve to strengthen the believers!
3. For us as we train leaders and pastors- that I would speak only truth from the Scriptures- that the students would be challenged to devote themselves fully to Jesus and His service.
4. For Shar as she homeschools. It has gotten a bit better lately with Elijahs attitude towards school- pray that that will continue- and that Caleb would succeed well in his studies- he is having particular difficulty with mathematics.
5. For all of our health- that we would continue to be healthy enough to serve well! Thanks for your partnership with us!!

God bless!!

Mike

Desert hiking...

2009-03-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

On our desert hike

Jacobo taking time to smell the flowers!

Cacti...

Desert flowers in Spring

more flowers....

A man-made lake in Arizona

Us at a hokey little "ghost-town"... but found some cool Saguaro Cacti

Big hill

Desert in Spring!

Apacheland-- desert movie studio

2009-03-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Old fashioned Yoke-- or YUGO in Spanish...

Us in front of the Chollas... VERY spikey...

Genuine replica stagecoach...

Genuine- non-replica old fashioned desert wagon...

The little house behind the big house...

Water park in Arizona...

2009-03-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

Waterslides!! We had been given some tickets to another park that we couldn't use- so we sold them and used the money to go here for a day in the sun in Arizona!!

Jakey and I on the bumper boats

Jakey hammin it up for the camera...

Go karting...

The park was in a castle type place-- this is probably why they have an oversized knight suit... I know what some of you are thinking--- "That suits not oversized-- it just looks like it compared to you , Mike". Ha ha.

Little Vacation in Arizona

2009-03-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

This is us going to the Canucks-Coyotes hockey game...

We went down to see the warm up-- the boys even got a couple of pucks given to them by Canuck- Darcy Hordichuck!!

More warm up pics...

Us in our nose bleed seats with our pucks!

A River runs through it...

2009-02-25T08:09:00.000-08:00

Life has become quite normal here with little new things to reflect on or share about... We have somewhat of a weekly routine that includes Studying for the classes mixed with running errands during most days, 1 day in the states to to grocery shopping / errands, the occasional trip over to pick up donations or do some business over there, Study for and teach Missionary training class, Study for and Teach pastors training class, study for and teach at the Bible college...

Oh yeah-- the Bible College-- that's a bit new!

I started teaching at a local Bible college in Ensenada, Mexico (1 hour south of us) in the beginning of February. I am teaching 1 class- James - one day a week- Fridays for 2 hours.

It is a really interesting place. Right now the whole college (only in it's second semester) has about 25 students. It is affiliated with Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrietta California and gives out degrees through this Bible College. The Calvary Chapel Bible College system works in such a way that you can take your courses at any of their affiliates around the world. So we have some English, American students along with the majority of Spanish, Mexican students.

The campus is situated in somewhat of a canyon floor beside a usually dry river bed. It is quite isolated-- off the grid as far as cell service, but it does have electricity...

The first couple times I went there I noticed that there was a little creek running across the road. It was about 15 feet across and only a few inches deep.

Then it rained.

Alot...

And now When I go to class, I cross a little river- about 15-20 meters across and a 1 1/2 feet deep!

If there is any more rain- I will definitely need to take my 4x4 truck down to make sure I can get in and out of the school ok!

I hope to get pics or a vid here soon-- if I can remember!!

December...

2009-01-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

We've had an interesting December!

Let's start off with the latest news and work backwards to the beginning of the month!

Jan 1 I left the house early to say good bye to our Canadian families who were here doing missions with us. I noticed that Junie, one of our dogs, didn't come out to greet me when I opened the door- which was highly unusual behaviour for her... I knew something was up, and I was pretty sure what it was. Under the house, behind the washing machine was little Junie- barely more than a year old- giving birth to some puppies!!

I called Sharlene to come out to help them, because I needed to go meet the teams right away! She rescued some wandering puppies and brought Junie and the pups up to a safe place to finish the birthing process. When all was said and done- there were 10 pups in all! Sadly, there are only 6 left, but those 6 seem to be doing well with a little supplemental "milk" we are feeding them every couple of hours... Because it is so cold outside (down to 4C-8C at night and only up to 14C in the day....) we are keeping them inside the house- right now in our bathroom so they stand a good chance of living! Feeding time is a little bit of a frenzy as there are 3 white pups (though both parents are black with brown spots....) who look very much alike. There are 2 almost identical black pups and one golden-brown one- like his grandmother... We need to juggle them around to make sure they all get fed...

New Years Eve was a typical Mexican celebration at our house with enchiladas, snacks and sodas along with the traditional new years eve bonfire and Fireworks show! Now the fireworks aren't like the safe-Canadian ones we have-- these are made in china with varied speeds of fuses that basically shoot single charges high up in the air and explode. Very cool! We had a couple of them (both lit by the Fehr family from Nipawin...) that were a little short fused. It's always a little more exciting when you don't know if it's gonna blow up in your face or not!!

Prior to New Years and the puppies we had angels hanging around with us. At least that's what Dolores and Daniel and their 2 kids called some of them. We had 3 families staying at a house close to us doing various ministry projects throughout the almost 2 weeks they were here. Daniel and Dolores did not have a bathroom. So Reg, Wes and Brent built them one. I think they were hoping for an indoor toilet, but these fellas had bigger plans and they put in a shower stall, sink/vanity, toilet and even an on-demand hot water heater! When they were all done (after 3 full days of work) Dolores had tears welling up as she told them they were like angels sent from God. She'd been praying for a small bathroom for 5 years since they had a house solid enough to put a bathroom in and now they had a big one, complete with hot water! They were very, very thankful!

The kids and moms worked doing some priming, painting, insulating and a bit of drywalling at Pastor Ramiro's new church. Ramiro is hoping to get the day care room and sewing shop finished soon so they can start these ministries in his desperately poor community. This team went a long way in helping them get that going!

A few of the teens learned how to put on rolled roofing- and completed 3 small roofs in 2 days- ensuring that the Leonardo family (brickmakers that got burned out- from Ramiro's church) would have something relatively solid and dry to live in for some time!

A couple days were spent putting together Christmas boxes for kids in a church and a small mission in the poor Colonias of East Tijuana. The two churches could not have been different from each other! The one place had mostly kids from an after school club who have learned how to behave well in circumstances like this. This church has 2 shifts of after and before school clubs where kids form the neighbourhood come and spend the half of the day they are not in school. They get fed, learn the Scriptures, get help with homework, have computer time and some phys-ed time as well. It is an incredible work run almost entirely by this Mexican church.

The second place is a small mission by the railroads. This community is primarily made up of single moms and their kids in extreme poverty. over 100 kids showed up- most of whom do not go to the missions Sunday school program or, likely, to school at all. So crowd control was a concern. It seemed like controlled chaos, without the control! When it was time to hand out the cake, we set up a line and passed the cake down the "stairs" to the 100+ awaiting children. Someone noticed that some of the kids were taking multiple pieces of cake and passing them out over the walls to the neighbourhood kids waiting outside!! There really was an element of control, but you'd need to see the area to know how difficult it is. It is a scrap-wood shack built on top of a hill-about 25 feet below, down a rustic pathway was a flatish type area that could maybe fit 30 kids or so well. We had 100 kids, and 30 adults or so in this place and we were shoulder to shoulder almost the entire time! It was balls of fun and the kids were very happy to receive their Christmas gifts and we got the opportunity to share the story of God's greatest gift of all- His Son Jesus Christ! Both ministries were exciting in their own ways!

The day before that we shopped for building supplies and packed 215 Christmas bags/ boxes. The folks we had down with us were exceptional workers and even the youngest kids were involved in doing something!

Christmas day we spent together for the afternoon- making a Turkey-feast and heading to the beach. It was a bit too cold to swim- but that didn't stop the Canadians!

Christmas Eve in Mexico is the real celebration day. So we called up Pastor Martin (YUGO Mexico head dude) and asked if there was something we could do that day. He hooked us up with a teen boy orphanage run by the social services and a home for abused women run by the same agency. It was a blessing to share Christmas dinner with these folks and to give them some gifts. The hopelessness was palpable in the boys home. What a huge difference between this place and even the most spartan of Christian run orphanages we've been in. We pray that we were light in those places that day.

The first full day we were all together we went to Vision B orphanage in Tijuana. We took all of them out to a McDonald's for lunch (What an ordeal to order and pay for 45+ people! We Canadians were somewhat shocked to see the kids sitting in the seats in the play area, quiet as mice waiting for their food. When it arrived they prayed a prayer that kinda sounded like an army drill and then dug in- and played quietly afterwards in the play area. This was one extremely well behaved group of kids.

After lunch we went to the park. There are really 2 big parks in Tijuana and this is the biggest one. It has a small zoo made up of the personal collection of animals of the former mayor of Tijuana. This was where the kids really blossomed- with the soccer balls, the Frisbees and rolling down the hills of grass. Grass is a rare commodity here and when they get the chance, kids revel in it! It was a real blessing to play with these kids! Later on in the Week the Rivetts from Swan River went grocery shopping and bought almost $500 worth of groceries for the kids from money raised in Swan River this past November for this purpose! Praise God!

Monday morning the 22nd of December we found 3 excited families doing their grocery shopping for the week in National City, CA. We had to cross over to the states the night before and so stayed in a local motel that night. We'd left with very little notice to get our van that's being imported over the border to go through the process. That meant we'd left the little walkie-talkie radios at home... oops. Trying to get 4 cars through the border and into a crazy traffic situation would prove to be difficult. Especially when the Karstads from LaRonge got "Red-lighted" at the border and had to go over for inspection. They had 1.3 tons of stuff in their car- It was loaded with donations, gifts, personal clothes, groceries, 6 people and things not yet found! When the border guy opened the door and saw this... he yelled out "Babies!?... go!!" and off they went! I'm sure none of the kids would have admitted to being the babies they were talking about, but nevertheless-- it got them through! Unfortunately the Karstads missed the turnoff and went to Downtown Tijuana. It's not as fun as it sounds, apparently, for first timers. We got a phone call on my cell saying they were lost. The cell phone immediately lost signal and we did the only thing we could do- kept driving! We found a place to pull over on the toll road and waited. and waited and waited until we got the second phone call... "We're on our way there!!" Now you've heard the song "it never rains in sunny southern California" ??? well, generally it's basically true for sunny Baja California too- but this December it rained! And rained and then rained again! We got4 or 5 inches of rain in about a week and a half- almost double what we got all year 2 years ago! So we waited in the rain. Eventually we were all reunited and off we went to lunch at a nice, dry, warmish sit down restaurant.

Welcome to Mexico!

Merry Christmas 2008

2008-12-18T21:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

We were back in Canada over November, as many of you know. While we were there the snow, the lights, the cold all reminded us of a Canadian Christmas. Even though we were a month away, we almost all got that tingly Christmassy feeling that you get around this time of year.

Then it dawned on me...

In the last several years, we've only had a few white Christmases...
We were in Victoria for 3 Christmases- no snow...
Loon Lake for 2 Christmasses- had snow (and cold!! not just regular cold, stupid cold...)
Mexico for a Christmas as we checked out YUGO Ministries.
Mexico for now our 3rd year- living here.

So in the last 9 years (any of our kids memory) we've only had 2 white Christmasses... the green, or "Brown" Christmas is more the norm for us- and yet even for our kids Christmas=snow.

This years Christmas will be quite different from others. We are hosting 3 families from Canada- from La Ronge, SK, Nipawin, SK and Swan River, MB. They are all coming down for almost 2 weeks to experience missions as a family. We're looking forward to the opportunity to serve the families!

We plan on putting some rolled roofing on houses, painting a church, maybe building a bathroom. Besides those things we will be visiting an orphanage, doing Christmas supper with some less fortunate folks, spending Christmas day together, serving pastors and their families a Christmas fiesta supper, handing out Christmas gifts and worshiping in a Mexican church. It will be a busy busy couple of weeks, but we are praying that as we live and work together in community, that God will use us to further His Kingdom and that we will be a blessing to each other and the Mexican people we will be serving.

A couple of Updates---

Pastor Ramiro's church in Valle Redondo (former open-air church) has the bottom floor almost finished now. Lake Morena Community church from just across the border in California have been coming down drywalling, and helping get it all done. They were finishing some of the painting today and it should be ready by this Saturday when we are doing a major Christmas box outreach. This little church of 100 is hosting over 300 kids and their parents to an outreach program where we hand out Christmas gifts to kids who likely would get nothing otherwise. Along with that they get a message about the Good News of Jesus Christ, some music and maybe even some games. Last year when we did this there were only 3 walls and a semi-roof like thing over top! This year we will be dry and warm! Please pray that many families respond to Jesus' gift of Salvation as this church reaches out to their community!

Misi had her surgery in November. She is doing well and will need some follow up work in the next year. I don't know how the family is doing, but will keep you updated as we learn more. please continue to pray for Misi and her family.

Iselda at the orphanage has not yet had her brain surgery to remove the 20+ tumours. They are waiting for the DIF (social services) to buy the materials to use in the surgery. The thoughts now are that she will need to wait until after Christmas. Please pray for Iselda.

Jose (had severe prostate problems) is doing better. He has had several visits to the specialist. These visits and the meds have been costly, please pray for their needs to be met. The medicine is working well and he needs to have more studies done to find out why his prostate is acting the way it is.

Sharlene found a good asthma specialist. For months we had searched in the phone book and Internet and at hospitals for specialists in respiratory illnesses. Respirar is Spanish for breathing and so we looked for a specialist that had that root in it's name. We could not find anything.
Finally I found a website partially in English and Spanish and it turns out a respiratory specialist is a neumologo-- using the Greek root for breath- pneuma... whoda thunk it?!? Anyway he seems to be very good, aks lots of questions and spends 30-45 minutes with you in a visit to make sure he has all the info and is diagnosing you well! She has been on some new meds this last 2 weeks and has improved immensely! She is stable and the doctor wants her to keep going for 2 more months the same way so we can see what she is supposed to be like when she is at top notch! Praise God for a good doctor- they are not easy to find down here!!

Classes are still continuing. We've changed locations so we can have classes even in the rain (this church is on pavement). We have 11 dedicated students who are enjoying their opportunity to delve into God's Word. This session we are taking Biblical Doctrine. God has been very gracious to me as I try to explain difficult concepts in my second language to students who, on average, have an elementary school education! I think my limited Spanish is an asset sometimes, because I need to use simple words and concepts- they are all I know!!

Future thoughts and plans:

I will be teaching a course this coming Semester (Feb-May) at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Ensenada, Mexico (1 hour south). I'm also continuing to train our new missionaries this winter. I'm hoping to get an opportunity to go a little further south into Mexico to scout out the land! I may have an opportunity to go in January, Lord willing!

Thanks for your partnership with us!! You are a blessing to us. It was good to see many of you over November- I think the next visit is yours though!! We have the room, if you need to break out of winter for a week or two- Be prepared to serve and to be blessed!

God bless,

Mike for the family!

Last legs of Canada Trip...

2008-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we updated and not much of great significance happened-- but here is a lowdown on some of the semi-interesting (to us) stuff that went on...

We went to Swan River, MB where we went to a fundraiser for the Families Mexico Mission. Leah Penner and some of her friends raised about $590 to go towards providing for the Vision B Orphanage in Tijuana this Christmas. Praise God!
We had lots of desserts, a music recital by the kids and I gave a short picture presentation of our ministry in Mexico. We had a good time!

Next we went to the Nipawin Bible College Alumni retreat for our final weekend in Canada. We enjoyed staying with Wes and diane Fehr and their kids while we were there. It was a little strange at first to stay with our old teacher (10-13 years ago) and not call him "sir" or "Mr. Fehr". After a few minutes of visiting it seemed more like dropping in on old friends and we had a great time.

Our kids got a chance to go snow-sliding as well on the little hill next to the Fehr's home. It's been more than 2 years since they were able to do that and boy were they happy!

Our final speaking engagement was in a small baptist church- Bagley Baptist- in Saskatchewan. We had supper at the parents of our friends in Tisdale, SK (home of Brent Butt!!) They thought they knew where the church was, but didn't really- so off we went with sketchy directions. We got to the grid road and went straight- for abouy 15 minutes, till we relaized we were lost. We asked for directions, which were wrong, and made our way to the Lutheran church!

We turned around, got to a cross roads and took a vote- left or right (kind of a modern Ummim and Thurim) and turned left. We were 10 minutes away from just keeping going on when we came upon the church! We were 15 minutes late so "snuck in" ( 5 people sneaking into the front-ish rows in a church of 20 people, isn't really sneaky). After some songs it was our turn. We couldn't get the video projector to work! So after 10 minutes of fussing with modern technology to no avail we were ready to give up and go with stories, when it started working!

Afterwards we had a lunch at one of the most elaboratly decorated houses (Christmas style) I've ever seen. It was incredible! The kids counted 30+ Christmas trees, dozens of angels and tons of other decorations! It was a good time to visit.

From there we left the snow jus tnorth east of Saskatoon and really didn't see it again! By the time we got to Swift current, we were peeling off our coats to bask in the +6 weather. By Great Falls, Montana, we were almost ready for shorts!

Traffic was good until Salt lake city- and Las vegas and Barstow, CA. The last day we drove was the day before Thanksgiving and traffic was a mess.

We arrived in Santa Clarita, CA to visit with the Sauers- very good friends of the family. They are RV'ing across the US and Canada for a year and are in California now. So we visited with them for US thanksgiving. Tina Sauers put on an increidble supper - unbelievable considering she did it in a camper trailer! We missed the Canadian Turkey day down here and we happy to be able to stuff ourselves to the gills on casseroles, turkey, cranberry sauce and desserts...

We alos went to Santa Monica Pier to see an interesting site- a small theme-park liek place on a pier. It was cool to see, thoigh Jacob was very sad that we were THAT close to a roller coaster, and he couldn't ride it!

We also swam lots in a heated outdoor pool! It likely would not have seemd warm enough to us to go swimming (66F 18C) had we not gone to Canada, but given our wide, climactic travels this month, it seemed very very nice to us!

We arrive back home last night after fighting LA traffic (1 1/2 hours for about 30 miles) and a flat tire! We blew a tire on the fast lane of the highway and had to pull over to the left- only to realize there was not enough room- so with a flat, smoking, tire we crossed 5 lanes of 75MPH traffic to the right shoulder, (Praise God for his protection!) where we found a safe place to change the tire...

We got home by 9pm and ur house was wonderful! one of the local missionary ladies had someone come in to clean it up nicely, so we had a pleasant arrival home. We're very thankful for Miguel, our housesitter, for caring for our animals and house! It is very nice to arrive home to a clean place with everythign still in it!!

The Trip continues

2008-11-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

We all had a great time in LaRonge. Shar and I lived there for a cup of coffee about 12 years ago and it was amazing how we could reconnect with a few folks almost like we hadn't been gone that long! It's a beautiful place that we are very fond of- it was a good visit!

The boys had their first Saskatchewan snowfall in 2 years in LaRonge and enjoyed immensly the snowball fights, rolling around in the snow and finding fallen trees in the bush to bring back home!

We spoke at the Lutheran church after a Mexican supper and got to share our ministry with a few folks there. I relearned how to drive in snow again- not a big fan of it- I'd rather do mud bogs on hillsides anyday!!

The drive down to Turtleford was through snow and on icey / slushy roads. We're thankful for God's provision of safety for us! We were almost half way between laRonge and Prince Albert (230km trip- without much in between for the first 150km!) when I realized I had not filled up with gas before leaving LaRonge! We turned on the laptop GPS and found a gas station in Weyakwin- not far from where we were. We were able to buy overpriced emergency gas- enough to get us to the city, Praise God!!

Today I slept in! I almost never do that but I slept so late, the sun was up! (which is pretty late in N. Sask in winter!) the folks here (Steins) fixed us an incredible canadian breakfast with bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes with blueberry and saskatoon berry preserves!
We went for a walk to the grocery store- downhill about 4 blocks away and I almost froze my face off! It's only hovering arounf 0C (32F) and most folks here aren't even wearing hats or mitts. Here we were bundled up against the freezing weather- looking like southerners! It took 10 minutes in the grocery store to thaw my cheeks out so I could talk again
Today we're going to go to the local nursing home and share some slides an Shar is going to sing in Spanish. Tonight is a potluck supper and we'll share with the local church what God has been doing in Mexico through us!

Please continue to pray for us- esp. road safety- the roads are slippery and snowy and I haven't got my "snow-wheels" quite back yet!

God bless,

MM

The Trip Continued

2008-11-11T12:19:00.000-08:00

Day 4

We made it through the border (Praise God!!)! We decided to take another route through Saskatchewan instead. While the highways were only 2 lane, there was almost noone on them so we could cruise along them at about 75mph the whole way. We made great time and crossed the border easily and made our way to Martensville early enough in the evening. We had a great visit with the Macoohs. Interestingly enough, our boys connected really well with the 10 and 8 year old Macooh girls (Courtney and Alex) and played and played and played all weekend long!

Day 5

Shar and I went to Saskatoon Saturday morning to speak with the the missions committee of Diefenbaker Drive Community Church. We had a great breakfast and visit and a good time to Share what God is doing in Mexico with us and through us.

We visited in the afternoon with friends of ours from Langham while watching the Saskatchewan Roughriders lay an egg in the CFL West Semi-final. I recovered from the pain soon after and we enoyed the rest of our visit with the Macoohs in Martensville again!

Day 6

We spoke at the Martensville Baptist Church and reconnected with lots of folks there. It is a growing church! When we left they were averaging around 150 folks and after a building program, they had 236 in church on Sunday! Lots of new believers and new attenders! It was a blessing to reconnect with them!

Day 7 was spent running errands in S'toon and then going to Timber Bay, SK. We visited with friends of ours- the Langendoens- for a few hours in Timber Bay. They have 6 kids from 2 1/2 -13 years old so our kids had a blast playing there.

Day 8-

We are in LaRonge, SK- about 400km north of Saskatoon in da bush. There was a mini-blizzard on the way up and it has been snowing today. The boys have been playing with the Karstad kids in the snow. Shar and Wendy have been preparing supper for tonight's Mexican Supper at the Lutheran Church. We're expecting maybe 60 folks from different churches to come by and see what God is doing in Mexico. We are also hoping to raise enough money to build a casita for a family in Tijuana who lost theirs to fire.

God bless, thanks for praying!

The Trip... so far...

2008-11-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

DAY 1

We left at 7:40am from our home and had to run a couple errands on the Mexican side before heading out and made it into the regular line where we waited an average wait time of about an hour. In the US, we had a few errands to run as well and needed to go to the US office near Los Angeles.

We had made it there early enough and it seemed to be too chilly to swim- so we skipped the wigwam hotel and went to Primm Valley Nevada which would have put us ahead of the driving game. This is a casino "town" with several hotels- we got a room for $19.95!! Very cool- The bigger price though was that you had to walk through a smokey casino to go to the room and out of the hotel. The pool was closed at 6pm (for some crazy reason) so we went to the outlet mall to get some food. It was big but not busy at all. Because it was midweek- everything else was closed- the arcades, the pool, the roller coaster, the drop of doom-- everything! It was a neat looking place, when things are open!

DAY 2
So the next day we got off late and made it to Pocatello, Idaho. The motel there had an open, warm pool.

On the way there, we went through the mountains and at 6500 feet ASL we ran into about 2 inches of snow and a mini-blizzard! The boys were so excited we pulled over in a safe spot and had a snowball fight! It was a lot of fun until the cold set in! I was in my shorts and Jacob in his sandals! It was then we realized that we hadn't brought any shoes for Jacob! He apparently doesn't have any shoes that fit him! Which sounds crazy, but he uses sandals for 8 months of the year, so we don't usually buy shoes until November-December and I guess that chore got lost in the preps!

We had a good night sleep and got on the road at about 9am this morning.

DAY 3
We made it through Idaho and into Montana and at the border, we got turned around! I could hardly believe it as is was happening. We cross the US Mexican border at least once a week and have crossed in Us vehicles, Canadian ones and Mexican ones with no issue. I've flown into Buffalo and crossed into Canada with a New York plated Rental vehicle with no problem because I am a Mexican resident. But today was trouble. The border official disputed our residential status in Mexico and sent us back into the states. It was 1 3/4 hours back to Great Falls, MT. Now we are praying about what to do- whether to rent a vehicle ($1600US + $400 insurance- and no where near that amount of money to do it!) or whether to try again to cross at the same crossing or go further east into a MT-Saskatchewan crossing.

I'm going to call the Border services in Montreal tomorrow at 6am our time to see what they say.

Please pray that the Lord would give us favour at the border and we would get a border guard that lets us through!

Thanks and God bless!!

Mike

Nos Vemos!

2008-11-03T22:07:00.000-08:00

We'll see you!!

We are on our way as of 8am Tuesday Nov 4 (Election Day in the US). We're going to get to San Bernardino CA tomorrow and stay at a WigWam Mote. You stay in concrete Teepees- kinda like the once motel on Cars. It's on the old Route 66 that runs through the area! Should be very cool, we're thinking!

Please pray as we put on the Kilometers in our new ot us Van. It's a huge blessing that we're able to use it and we are very thankful! Pray for safety for the almost 4 weeks of almost constant driving!! Please also pray fo rour relationships with each other- that we would have all of the pacience we need and that we would be looking out for the needs of each other.

Please pray also that our needs would be met as we travel and speak in churches and with individuals! The expenses often add up quickly on a trip like this one.

Please also pray that we would be a blessing and an encouragement to the churches and people we speak with and stay with- that God would be glorified!

Thanks for partnering with us! Looking forward to seeing many of you!

Mike

Army guys- Prayer request

2008-10-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

The violence between Drug Cartels has increased markedly in the last month. The Mexican Gov't has sent an additional 2000 army guys into Tijuana to patrol, weed out and either kill or arrest the Drug Cartel leaders.

Since we've been in Mexico there have always been Army guys doing "Random" searches of every 10-15 cars (usually new pick-ups and SUV's) and I've been stopped once and searched, but it was no big deal.

Yesterday I was on my way to classes in the Eastern Colonias of Tijuana when I was passed through an army checkpoint with hummers like these ones pictured here. As I turned off pavement onto dirt- there was another checkpoint- by 2 guys. There were several other soldiers in a nearby house and a hummer driving around. The soldiers asked me to get out of the truck and searched quite thoroughly my vehicle and questioned me about what I was out in this poor area if I lived so far away. after about 10-15 minutes they let me go.

And my 1991 Ford Explorer wouldn't start. It was dead. Nothing. I had forgotten to bring my cell phones ( a big no no here) and was stuck about 1km from the church in a not so safe to walk in area. The soldiers told me to open the hood, so I did (they had large sub-machine guns- I did whatever they asked) and one of them proceeded to hit my battery posts with his gun and then told me to try to start it. I did, and, praise God, it worked. so off I went and off the soldiers went to their next place.

Please continue to pray for our safety. There have been 100 murders in Tijuana in the last 3 weeks. The usual number for a year is about 300+ the same as cities like Washington Dc, New Orleans and many other US cities. But this year the battles between drug cartels and police and army has escalated the violence exponentially. Almost all of these murders are rival drug cartels battling each other or police.

Recently it's become a little closer to home with 2 people we know having had their cars stolen at gunpoint this last year and a teenage daughter of one of our pastors almost kidnapped. There was a police killed on the road in his own car only about 5 minutes drive from us and now- the army's heavy presence in the areas I work. It is fueling a bit of insecurity on our part and could use your prayers for wisdom, discernment, guidance and protection.

Thanks for standing with us in prayer!

McDonald's in Mexico

The new Church building

2008-10-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

I only have a few pictures to show right now- but here is a bit of the construction team we had here from Sept. 29-Oct 10...

They came from mostly Alberta Canada (one from Abbotsford, BC) to construct this church building in a very poor community of Valle Redondo in between Tijuana and Tecate. It seems a little (a lot!) out of place in the neighbourhood of shacks and squatter homes, but it will serve as a base for ministry to this entire area!

On one of my last blogs I showed the progression of the building from meeting without a roof and only 3 walls to the paving of the cement. These are the stages that we progressed through in the last couple of weeks, Praise God!!
The Canadians were joined by some of the guys form the church that didn't have other obligations. One family are "brickmakers". They rent some land and use the clay on it to make bricks. The landowner comes as the bricks are being baked and collects his 15% of the profits before they are sold. The family then needs to sell enough bricks to buy the other materials needed and pay the rental fee before they can start again. This family had not sold enough bricks to be working making more bricks so they came by to help in the construction. This picture was taken on Wednesday of the first day after 2.5 days of working!

The original goal was to try to get the roof on to keep out rain but the group worked so fast (and well!) that they went well beyond that and got the stairs up (front and back) and the upstairs walls in as well as electricity (with the help of Lake Morena Community Church in Campo, CA)!!
Right now the church in Campo is trying to raise enough money to finish off the insulation, electrical fixtures and drywall downstairs! Praise God!

Here is Ramiro collecting the keys to the church from Don and Judy Kropp- team leaders from Alberta! This is a huge blessing to this congregation and community!

Ramiro immediately plans on starting a daycare in one of the upstairs rooms. Many families work and the kids are left to fend for themselves for a good portion of the day. Often times single moms will put their kids in orphanages rather than let them run the streets.
He also plans on using one of the rooms upstairs to house a sewing shop for church ladies to sew goods to sell in the local markets to try to make a living for themselves as well as support the ministry of the church. They also have a children's feeding program to help feed the neighbourhood kids. This program (and the daycare and sewing shop) could use regular monthly support if you would be so inclined, get in touch with me and I'll help you make it work!

Thank you to the Kropp's group and Lake Morena Community Church in Campo, CA for blessing the Mexican church here in Tijuana. I am certain that this building will be an effective tool in the hands of the local church to spread the Good News of Jesus sacrificial death and resurrection on our behalf!

May God be Glorified!!

Fall in California

2008-10-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

We live close to the US-Mexican border so last week went up to Julian, CA to see some fall-like weather in the mountains...

The area is famous for apple orchards and apple pies. We bought a whole pie (cheaper than by the piece) and it was still ovenwarm. The guys were quiet... REALLY quiet while they were eating the pie so we thought we'd better catch the moment on "film".

Here we are at the Apple orchard. Elijah is pretending to pick an apple. It started off chilly that day- about 14C- quite cold for us! It was hard ot believe this place is only a couple hours away from the mild coast and the Hot desert.

We went down the mountain and found a pumpkin patch / petting zoo/ corn maze. Here are some Mexican cows. I assume they are documented...

We picked a pumpkin here and played with the corn cannon and even found popcorn on the cob. you put it in a paper bag for 3 days and pop it in the microwave. very cool.

We were missing fall and the things normally assosciated with Canadian Thnaksgiving. This was a nice blessing! We had thanksgiving chicken (couldn't find a good- whole chicken so bought parts and Shar skewered them together to look like a whole chicken- kinda like a bionic chicken...) and had pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and gravy. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

quick update

2008-10-08T22:53:00.001-07:00

I haven't blogged for a few weeks here- I've gotten busy with a church build- so I'll give you a quick update and come back later with pics and more details...

As for my dad.. we found him a place in a retirement home that is affordable, gives him lots of freedom and he gets the medical attention he needs. Praise God! Last I heard he is doing well, I hope to get an update soon, things will begin to slow down some here soon...

Church build-- We've had a group from Canada out building a 2 story church building for the formerly "open air church"! They finished today what they can do and tomorrow we have a church dedication. There is another group from just north of the border that is helping put in electrical and drywall. We are praying that God will supply the finances for them to finish the job!

I am having some families down over Christmas time and they may be doing some painting at the church. We hope to have it all finished by Early January, Lord Willing!

I'm off to Canada in a months time to speak in churches as well as speak at the Alumni retreat at Nipawin Bible Institute, my old school. Please pray for the extra needs that come about on a trip like this!

Praise! We are getting a new-to-us Car via donations! Someone has donated a 2003 Dodge Caravan! Praise God! Our vehicles have been in the shop ALOT lately, so hopefully this gives us a reliable vehicle! PRAY... for the extra $700 or so needed to import and license the van in Mexico!

MORE LATER!!!!

MM

Dad update

2008-09-19T20:36:00.001-07:00

I was just talking to my sister here and have some info on my dad and an updated prayer request / praise report.

My dad had a few days last week when his blood sugar was out of control. They took him to the Doctor and got his insulin regimen changed and he has been steady now for several days. He has been staying with my sister for the most part during this time and that is working out well. Coulten, my sisters youngest, espescialy loves having grampa around and goes out for walks with him and hangs around alot with him. They are enjoying each others company.

Even their little dog has found grampa a nice, warm, bed partner at night and friend through the day!

He is getting stable and showing fewer signs of the dementia now than he was before. The constant attention and care he is receiving at my sisters house is amazingly helpful. He eats regularly (and healthy!), is constantly reminded of the time of day and the actual day and month and year- which helps him keep on track, and has his medicines regularly as well.

Please continue to pray for long term options for care! We're not sure what will happen with that, but are now convinced more than ever that he needs 24 hour attention and care- please pray for God-given insight, wisdom and tactfulness as we deal with various levels of government as well as family!

Thanks for praying with us!

Mike for the family

Church build

2008-09-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is one of the first views We had of the "open air church" we had heard about. My Spanish was very limited in the beginning- so it took me some time to realize that the pastor and severla of the leaders in that church were in my class! This is a pic of the start of a medical mission we did out there with Al and Barb Goldsworthy.

When the rains came in December, somehow this church in one of Tijuanas poorest areas found some wood to put up a roof. At night it can be quite cold here with temperatures hovering around 0C with plenty of humidity that makes you feel the cold in your bones... it was around this time we thought it might be a good idea to explore the options of putting a building up with them

They found some walls, finally, in the late winter to keep the rain out.

This was the picture in August when they tore down the building and started to clear the land to ready for the build

In the meantime- this is where they are meeting. With the low ceiling and no windows and only tarp roof, the building inside is unbelievably hot! It was about 25C outside the building this morning and probably 30+C inside! I don't know how they do it with the place filled on a hot Sunday afternoon!

The church guys formed the land and put in the rebar for the foundation and strength.

And this morning we put cement down for the floor. We had 18 guys out and a few ladies too. One lady was in the cement raking it about and others were making some lunch for the guys. We had a 10MX15M (32 feetX48feet) pad poured in about 2 hours. 3 trucks of cement.

We have a group coming from Alberta, Canada from Sept. 27 until October 11 to put up the framing and the roofing of the new building. We are looking for teams to come help these guys put together the inside as well- gyprock and framing the upstairs Sunday school rooms!

The church is a little over 1 year old and they are asking for 150 chairs to accomodate all the folks that they have- as well as another 70 to use for children upstairs! It is exciting to see what God is doing in the lives of the people in this community. It is rare to see a church with a strong presence of men, but in this one- they have a good core group of men who are leading, serving and doing well. After the meat of the pour was done, I noticed one fella in his 30's take off to an area to read his Bible in between work assignments.

God seems to be blessing this ministry and it is a privilege to represent you all in coming alongside of God and His work in Valle Redondo, Tijuana, Mexico!

Thanks for partnering with us!

Mike

Bus trip in Winter

2008-09-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a video I found from last year...

When coffee isn't enough...

2008-08-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

So last night at about 1AM I awoke in excruciating pain with kidney stones. I wasn't sure what it was and after searching the internet for a few minutes we called friends to come over and stay here with the kids while we went into the hospital.

I got in almost right away, as it appeared I was the only one in the hospital doubling over in mind boggling pain. They searched for a vein with the delicacy of a farmer on a rare T-bone steak. Finally with a spurt of blood, they found a vein and put the medicated IV on me. Within 30 minutes I was no longer howling in agony. I was in there for another half hour before they let me go, relatively pain free.

By the time we actually got to sleep it was about 4AM. I got up several times in the night to rid myself of excess IV fluid so neither one of us got a great amount of sleep. I witnessed Shar's cure for the morning blues ( "Everything" bagel with cream cheese and jalapenos. "Electric Breakfast") and felt it was blogworthy. I've never seen her do this before, but apparantly it gave her the kick she needed when she had less than 5 hours sleep, and coffee just wasn't enough.

Piedricitas de Rinones.

2008-08-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

Kidney Stones.

I (Mike) was in the hospital last night from about 1:30am till 3:30AM getting flushed out after waking up in excruciating back pain.

I've heard it said that kidney stones are the closest a man ever gets to feeling the pain of childbirth- the major difference being that after all is said and done, all you have is a marble sized piece of calcium instead of a baby!

Sharlene was reading in one of our home medical books about a former marine officer who used to get his teeth drilled without anasthestic at all. Tough Marine type dude- and when he had kidney stones, he cried.

No crying for me last night (I'm tougher then a marine??) but there was pain, lemmee tell ya!

No marbles yet and the pain has subsided with meds... I go to the clinic tomorrow (Monday) for tests and we'll see what the doc says after that!

Appreciate your prayers!!

Mike

Tow Truck

2008-08-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

I wish I had a better shot of this, but I couldn't get a good one and drive safely at the same time. You can see a tow truck towing a van. The cool part (and you can kind of see it in the other pic) is that this tow truck is attached to another vehicle- in essence being towed by another vehicle- that is being towed by another tow truck!

So in a nut shell- there is a tow truck, towing a van- that is towing a tow truck- that is towing another van!

Here you can see the 2nd tow truck looking awfully close to the van in front- that is because they somehow connected him to the tow-hitch of the van in front of him.

You don't see that everyday!

Library Day

2008-08-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

There is a library we go to regularly in Chula Vista, California. We have a membership and borrow many pounds of books each time we go. This summer the kids participated in the summer reading program. For reading 10 books, each of the boys got a free ticket to the San Diego Zoo and free tickets to other attractions around town. They all completed their task- with Elijah finishing with 33 books, Caleb 13 and Jacob 11. We are going to the Zoo sometime soon! YEEHAW!

Last Saturday they had a rally thing with pizza, prizes and the reptile guy. They had 1100 kids participate in the sumer reading program- in that particular branch of the Library! So we sat for about an hour while they drew name after name after name. Most of the kids weren't there. 98% of the names were Hispanic! Caleb won a puzzle, Elijah won a T-shirt and Jacob did not win :(. But everyone went home with something-- a little beach ball, a spider ring- something that may last till we get home!

diversion

2008-08-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

This is a video of last winter when we shot off some fireworks. Some of it is pretty tough to see, but wait for the actual firing of the rocket. It's pretty cool.

Mexicans seem to love fireworks- they get set off for a few weeks around Christmas and new years- and also for any of the various Mexican holidays. Here in Tijuana area we have enough deportees from the US that they'll even celebrate US holidays like the 4th of July with fireworks. It's legal, inexpensive and slightly dangerous. I almost blew up a neighbours house in the bottom of the canyon last winter. I apologized and all was well. Then I changed the angle of the launcher.

lots of tears...

2008-08-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

I experienced my fair share of tears yesterday- not mine, but the tears of gratitude and the tears of a broken heart.

Yesterday I lead a women's soccer team from a Christian College in California to our Eastern Colonias to help a Christian family with a roof. They had received a tarp last year from us to keep the rain out and it was pretty helpful at least over a couple of beds, but not over the rest of the house.

They live in a 2 room modest home made of scrap wood at the side of the railroad track on squatters land. The husband has health problems and recently had surgery on his intestines. He has been unable to work so they survive on the equivalent of welfare which pays them about $100/ month to feed the couple and their 2 teenage daughters. The mom raises budgies to sell to veterinarians for some extra income. She sells 10 birds for $40 every few months to supplement their income.

One of their teen daughters is about 14 and was about to enter secondary school next week, but cannot because the cost is way too high for them. She is deaf and mute, but has been able to excel in school. Last year she received the equivalent of an A Average and was looking forward to going to high school. The cost for her to go- for books, shoes, uniform and tuition is about $200. About 2 months wages for the family. This is the ordinary cost for this!

Well the team finished putting rolled roofing down on the house and in the end prayed with the family and gave them some clothes and food. At which point in time the mother began to cry. She had tears of gratitude and thankfulness to God for sending this group to be a blessing to them! Their roof before this consisted of plain wood of different types shapes and quality, with huge gaps that allowed the rain to pour in in the winter. Praise God they will be dry this year!!

During this I went to visit a pastor I know in a nearby community. He had recently lost his paying job and has been struggling to make ends meet. He started a welding business out back of the church and he welds gates, doors and security windows out there. The problem he is finding is finding customers! His neighbourhood is quite poor and the material is pretty expensive. There are wealthier neighbourhoods, but people are generally not willing to give half down before the job to someone they do not know. So Pastor Julio is kind of relegated to people he knows who would have the money to pay him.

While we were visiting, Pastor Julio mentioned that school was starting soon and he had 10 kids in his church who can't go to school this year because they do not have the money for books, uniforms and tuition. Tears swelled up in his eyes as he thought of these kids being destined to desperate poverty for the remainder of their lives. But it wasn't so much the poverty he was worried about, it was the things that happen to kids in poverty.

Pastor Julio grew up in a rough family. He was getting beaten so much he left home at 8 years old to live on the streets. He almost immediately turned to drugs and alcohol to dullen the pain and struggled to survive on the streets. At 18 he was drunk, living on the streets and God spoke to a woman who was walking by him. "Tell this boy about me" she sensed God saying. But he's drunk and a mess, there is no way he wants to hear about Jesus! But God persisted and this frightened woman shared Jesus with a drunk 18 year old who had never known love. He believed her and placed his Trust in Jesus and began to follow Him. His life took a dramatic turnaround. He got training and a job as an iron worker and after some time went to a Bible Institute and became a pastor. He has a true pastors heart and loves the people God has given him, especially the vulnerable kids. He had tears in his eyes as he spoke about their potential and their vulnerability.

YUGO's back to school has had to be scaled back this year because of lack of donations. Last summer I went to Canada and shared the need and we had over 20 kids sponsored, but this year we only have received 2 donations from Canada!

If you are willing and able to help there is much need here! We are only able to work with a few of our poorest churches to help at least get the church kids in school as a blessing to our brothers and sisters in Jesus.

The costs are as follows:

High School - $550
Jr High - $300
Elementary - $150
Kindergarten - $120

If your heart moves you and you are willing, you can send a check made out to YUGO Canada to :

YUGO Canada
Box 231
St. Albert, AB
T8N 1N3

Please send a note saying it is for the Backpack program!

Thank you for your love! We appreciate you folks and your partnership with us! I'm hoping to be able to see a bunch of you when I'm back in Saskatchewan and Manitoba in November!

God bless,

Mike

Multa...

2008-08-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

I learned a new Spanish word today. Multa. I learned this when a car with flashing lights (not a police car!) signaled for me to pull over.

It turns out that when you register your vehicle here in Baja California, it is only good until Dec. 31 of that year. I was unaware of this. When the government of BC vehicle pulled me over he asked for my license and wrote me up a "Multa" - a Fine for not re-registering my vehicle. I confessed ignorance because I didn't expect that everyone's registrations would be finished the same day. He said I wasn't that far out from the real re-registration date, because although it says Dec. 31 is the expiration date, they give 6 MONTHs grace for everyone- so it is actually June 31 that it is really due-- without fine.

Better than that, he said that I have today and tomorrow to register the truck and if I did- I could get it done without a fine. So the REALITY is that the REAL expiration date is the day AFTER you get stopped.

So I went and re-registered my vehicle. I went to an information booth that was unmanned and waited. Then I decided to ask another government worker who was engrossed in a magazine where I go to pay fr this and she sent me to cashier #9. Cashier #9 was very pleasant. She took my information and sent me to Cashiers 7 and 5. Cashier 7 was not available so I went to cashier 1 who called cashier 7 over the intercom (READ: She yelled out "MARIO!!!!) Mario promptly came to his desk and took about 12 of my dollars. $8.00 was actual fees of some type. $2.60 was for a certificate that states I don't owe any debts to the government. 25% was taxes to support the ministry of families and Sports and Education. $5.20 was for something I will never understand because it is written with short forms- no real words. and finally there is a $2.00 "Voluntary" donation to the red Cross.

After that I was sent to cashier 5 who wasn't there. Cashier 1 again utilized the intercom system (READ: Yelled out "JOSE!!") who promptly came to help me. There I paid about $90. ($5.00 of which was another voluntary donation. The rest was for various fees that make no sense to me.

So now I know that every year, precisely 1 day after I get pulled over, I need to re-register my vehicle and donate to various government organizations!

UPDATE:

Seve Barboza had her studies done finally and got her results. She does NOT have cancer or anything else grave! (Praise God!) This doctor (the specialist) is asking her to cut back on the medications and see if that helps. He feels that the medications are causing havoc on her system and she needs to rest her stomach and bowels for a few weeks. She has another appointment in 2 weeks to see if she has made any advancement.

Jose is suffering from problems with his prostate. He did get an appointment last week. The doctor ordered him a study- which he can get in a month or so. And another appointment a month after that. He is looking at getting into a private clinic to for the study and result- he could have both of those done by the end of next week, Lord willing. Praise God for His provision for this couple!

OTHER MEDICAL NEWS

A little girl we'd been helping out, Misi, has a cleft palette. She had it fixed last winter by an American doctor at a clinic here, but it did not take well. She needs more work done and one of our missionaries has found an opportunity for her to get a repair done as well as speech therapy to help her make a full, excellent recovery. Please pray that Misi can get the paperwork needed to get this done- they need passports and medical visas which can be difficult to get. Please pray for God to provide them with the needed finances to get the paperwork down. This family are not believers and the father is quite antagonistic to Jesus and his Good News. Please pray that they would experience the love of Christ and respond to Him in repentance and faith!

OTHER NEWS

Our vehicles...
Today I took my truck in to the shop for transmission problems, which turned out not to be too bad. However, I am losing engine coolant- about 2 liters in 2 or 3 weeks. There is no noticeable leak anywhere, which apparently usually means that it is leaking into the engine via a bad gasket. This is a huge expense in Canada/US but here it is not so bad, about $350 and 2 days work. I've been putting in a couple hundred dollars a month into these vehicles for repairs for the last 4 months or so and it is taking quite a toll!

The other day I was driving the van (1994 Grand Voyageur) on errands in the states when I noticed the engine temperature light was going crazy. I pulled over at a gas station and found out that I had very little water left in the rad. I filled it with a gallon of coolant and 1-1.5 gallons of water. It was almost empty! Again- it looks to be a major leak into the engine. This one needs to be done right away or it could seize the engine...

We appreciate your prayers for these vehicles! At YUGO we often have vehicles donated and rarely we have good vehicles donated so we are praying that one comes in that would suit our needs for the type of driving we do.

SUMMER

Summer is going well. Shar is spending lots of time getting ready for the homeschool year starting in September. Class is going well for me. It's been good to be a blessing to the students and see them growing in their knowledge of God's Word. I've been learning a ton as well as we talk about culture and our own ways of serving and loving Jesus! I've also been teaching some medical mission interns and have been enjoying that tremendously.

FALL

Fall is coming up quickly! We have a few plans in the wings.

Construction
We have a team coming down from Alberta to help build a church in Valle Redondo, a squatter village in the far Eastern outskirts of Tijuana. They are building a 10 meter X 15 meter 2 story church building for this church of 75 adults and 35+ kids. It is a growing church plant of almost 1 year. Pastor Ramiro and his wife Katy and 2 other members are in my class and have been a great, faithful addition. They have a great vision for reaching their neighbourhood with the Good News of Jesus and helping with the desperate poverty in their community by providing meals for kids, a day care so single moms can go to work without putting kids in an orphanage ( a common practice here) and a medical clinic to assist with the huge, ongoing medical needs of this area. I'm glad t be able to partner with Ramiro and Katy in their ministry!

Canada
I have been invited to speak in Nipawin, Saskatchewan for their alumni retreat this November 21-23. I'm taking the opportunity to be back to connect with churches and supporters so I'll be back from Nov 5-24 or so, depending on travel costs! At this time the cost to fly and rent a car is pretty high, it's almost the same as driving from here with the whole family! So we are looking for places to stay and people to connect with. If you'd like us at your church, small group, youth group just with your family during that time- please email and let me know if we can work something out!

msmcdonald@yugomail.org

Semi-confirmed Schedule:
Nov 5- arrive in S'toon
Nov 6-15 open (I'm waiting for a response from a church on the 9th)
Nov 16th- North Battleford, SK
Nov 17-21- Swan River, MB
Nov 21-23- Nipawin, SK
Nov 24- Depart for Mexico.

Please let me know if you can give me an opportunity to share a report on the ministry here while I'm back!

God bless!!

Until Next time,

Mike for the family.

Jose and Seve

2008-07-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

Praise God!

A couple people have given towards Jose and Seves medical cost!

Since I last blogged, Jose was called into the Dr.'s office and given an appointment for next week with the specialist-- Praise God! He is feeling a bit better lately and is looking forward to seeing what the specialist has to say. Please keep him in your prayers as they do their investigative work with him this upcoming week.

Seve had her colonoscopy and assosciated tests on Friday. She is feeling a little rough after the tests- as she couldn't eat almost 2 days before the test and needed to take something to purge her before the test-- she said it was incredibly disgusting stuff and the purging process was suprisingly less joyful and comfortable than one would think. They gave her a general aneasthetic during the test and afterwards they sent her home while still groggy! She was in, out and home within 4 hours but quite tired and in some pain afterwards. She had one other test afterwards, has one more this coming week and then a consultation with the Doctor to let them know the results of the tests.

We appreciate your prayers on their behalf- they are a great couple whom we've come to admire greatly!

On another note- we had a birthday celebration with Caleb at the drive-in theatre! A fine time was had by all as we watched "Wall-E". We were all a bit disappointed- not that there was anything bad about it, but I suppose we've come to expect a more entertaining film from Pixar. This was ok- but very forgetable.

Thanks to someone's generosity, we'll be taking the boys to the waterpark in August! Thank You and Praise God. It has been a great learning experience for our boys to see the benefits of sacrifice!

Thanks for praying and Partnering!

Until Next Time,

Mike for the family.

Php. 4
I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

20To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.