Mike Makes a Decision

One of the guys on our adventure to Tepehuaje was Mike. I had asked a friend who was a youth pastor if he knew of someone who was bilingual and could travel with our trailer of materials from Los Angeles to Tepehuaje. He said he had a guy named Mike and that he would be a great help, so I said okay. The first time I saw Mike he showed up with baggy jeans, a tank top, and a baseball cap on sideways. Not exactly your perfect picture of a missionary. The second time I saw him he was dressed the same way, and that was how he was dressed when he met Pastor Melesio. Melesio has a reputation of being pretty open and liberal about these types of things. But apparently even he has limits. He told me that Mike was not going to ride with him through Mexico because he was dressed like a thug. So Mike rode with another member of Melesio's church. During the time Mike was in Mexico, God began to work on his heart. Without being told, he started changing. As the time went on, his appearance was different and you could see a new spirit emerging. Mike was in the process of becoming a new creation. All as a result of his experiences with the committed people around him. The people of Tepehuaje just loved him...as Mike. Not as someone to be converted, because they assumed he already knew Jesus, but just as himself. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Mike could just be Mike, and enjoy life. This last Sunday, in his home church, where he had grown up, Mike gave his life to Jesus. He decided that he really needed to be in a relationship with God, not just know about him. This is what happens when people get outside of their comfort zones, serve, and are challenged by having to really live the Gospel. They are changed. Each person on that trip played a part in Mike's decision. The people from the U.S. and the people from Mexico. Even as we get further from that week, God continues to show us what happens when we follow Him. I praise God for Mike, his decision, his life, and I ask you to join us in praying for him as he moves on from here.

Mike in the middle helping Dan and Victor repair a door frame

Back from Portland

We made it. Many of you know that for the Tepehuaje church to be built, we had to get a trailer full of material from Portland, Oregon all the way to Tepehuaje, Mexico. Some of you had heard the stories of Pastor Melesio spending the night in jail on the leg from Mexicali to Guadalajara. Friday, May 13, we finished the journey. I returned home after spending four days driving from Los Angeles to Mexicali to Portland and back to Los Angeles, thus ending what were four of the most difficult weeks of work and ministry in which I have ever been involved. As I reflect back I have been trying to identify the lessons God has for me from this journey. Perhaps the biggest is that things are in God's hands. No matter how much I try, ultimately, I cannot change that fact. Being from the US, I value productivity, and being in charge, it frequently falls to me to make sure things are on track, people are busy and involved, and that materials for our ministry are on site when they need to be. For almost four weeks, God kept thwarting my plans. Most likely because they were not His plans. The trailer was late. Pastor Melesio spent time in jail. Our lumber provider stole our money for the materials, never providing what we needed and not telling us until hours before a team of men from Oregon arrived. When we found new materials, the cost was more than double our budget. The truck broke down on the return trip to Portland. It was incredible. And yet at every turn when I thought it was time to throw in the towel, God came through, like He always does. Because God is good! All the time. And He is in control, in spite of how it sometimes looks. I think I must not have been living that reality and God felt it was time for a little reeducation. Any ways, that's it. The family of God has a place where they can worship in Tepehuaje, Mexico. They are incredibly grateful and excited about what God is doing in their city. The trailer has been returned to our team in Portland, Oregon. I am now home for a few weeks to prepare for our next Adventure. Keep praying for us and check back often to see what's new with Adventures in Life Ministry.

The church is up!

There is now a church in Tepehuaje! After two weeks of struggle, prayer, worry, and hard work, Comunidad Cristiana Cristo Reino now has a place where they can worship. The tools arrived, the team got there safe, we were able to find the materials we needed, and it all seemed to come together as the week progressed. The pictures posted here show only a fraction of what was accomplished during our time there. Ignacio, one of the leaders of the congregation, said that our help had lifted a burden that would have taken fifteen years for their church to achieve alone. Our thanks to our ministry partners that week, Go the Distance Ministries from Portland and all of you who have prayed these last two weeks for all of the struggle related to this particular project.

About 150 people attended the first service, Friday May 6, 2005.

Kevin, Dan, Manuel, Mark, and Rod on our last full day of work.

We are getting close to being done.

Our first day on site in Tepehuaje, Mexico. All that was there when we arrived was a 28 x 50 foot concrete slab.