A team from our church traveled to the small fishing village of Boca del Rio, Sinaloa in Mexico for 10 days around Easter to support the local church with ministry and evangelism.  It was an amazing and blessed time- though busy! 

We participated in many aspects of local church ministry: Paco and another man on our team preached at the two local churches while I translated the sermon, Daniela and I led two children’s classes during services, a group from our team directed worship, our team witnessed a both a funeral and river baptisms led by the local pastor, and all participated in a fellowship Easter gathering between the two congregations. 

The highlights of the week were the hours of evangelism along the beaches, where hundreds of Mexicans flocked to spend their Easter holiday vacation time.  Our missions’ team performed skits of Jesus' crucifixion and preached the Gospel to the crowds upon crowds of tourists there.  I marveled to share with women so interested in the gospel, and watch Paco confront even the toughest-looking youth who actually became convinced of their sin. The Lord used the experience to convince me of the great need to evangelize, as well as disciple others, as I longed for more time to follow-up with so many women and youth who heard the message.  My heart broke when a few shared that their village did not even have a Christian church. 

 Obviously,the Holy Spirit was guiding us through this experience in evangelism, because after our hours of sharing on the beach I had the courage to preach to the whole bus on the way home! (I would never never have imagined that possible for me!- it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit through me!)

  We thank God for His work in the hearts of the people of Sinaloa, and for using us in His  ministry there!

 Valentine’s Day is a unique opportunity to celebrate God’s union of man with his helpmate…and to evangelize!!  Our church held a Valentine’s Day Couples Dinner for couples of the congregation to bring their non-Christian friends to hear gospel (the best love story ever- God’s love for mankind!).  I was impacted by Pastor John’s message from Proverbs 15:17 “A bowl of soup with someone you love is better than a steak with someone you hate”,explaining how a relationship with Jesus surpasses any other joy on earth. 

 God was further glorified during the evening with a time of testimonies, where different couples shared how the Lord had orquestrated their marriages, followed by a special time of worship music. 

With its Mexican theme, the evening was complete with a fajita dinner, flan dessert,and live mariachi band.  I actually won the contest for best female Mexican-  yell! (which made my Mexican husband very proud).  We also enjoyed having my sister, Catherine, and her husband, Brent, join us for the time of fun and fellowship.

Paco and I are thankful to experience the planning and execution of these evangelistic church events where the name of  God can be glorified!

       We are officially “Californians”!  We arrived in Orange County, CA to the city of Rancho Santa Margarita in mid-January for our new ADAPT discipleship program through Calvary Chapel Rancho Santa Margarita (CCRSM for short J ). 

        God has blessed us and taken care of us in abundance- as always!  Already, a special family from the congregation has offered to house us during our whole stay, and are treating us with love as if were truly family!  Plus, my sister and brother-in-law, who live in San Diego only 1.5 hours away, frequently pop in to bless and care for us as well.

        The church leadership team is awesome!  We are both challenged and encouraged by their examples of a strong relationship with the Lord, and their active faith through prayer, Bible study, discipleship, and evangelism.  Boy, do we have a lot to learn!  Already, our schedules have filled up between church services, home fellowships, discipleship classes, and outreach opportunities. 

Speaking of outreach, one evening, we even joined the young adult group to open-air evangelize in a local mall.  Though scary, these are the acts of obedience to the Lord that we want to experience and perfect in our time here.  May the Lord continue to train and sustain us!