The Real Mission

It is good to be back! I left the US a little over three weeks ago to prepare for a week of ministry in Southern Mexico. There were 10 of us and our mission was to finish a church building in the village of San Baltazar Guelavila. We were also able to complete a planned expansion of the training center we built in 2005 for Zapotecan Leaders and Pastors who are unable to access traditional learning opportunities in Oaxaca. The first classes that we are helping coordinate will take place in late July/early August of this year. "Thanks for a great week of ministry. I can't think of anything that would have made the trip any better." Doug Fogg, Portland, Oregon This worship center was started in July of 2006. Our teams, along with our Mexican brothers began the first day last year by digging trenches for the footings and foundations. Once those were dug, we had to bring in and place in the trenches almost 4 tons of green cantara stone. Once that was done, we mixed and poured over seventy-five 110-pound bags of concrete, adding an equal amount of rock and sand to each bag. The next few months saw local builders putting the blocks up and getting the building ready for the roof and windows. Ebenezer Baptist Church, San Baltazar Guelevila, Oaxaca, Mexico In January, members of the sponsoring church from Mexico, First Baptist Oaxaca, oversaw the installation of the trusses for the final stages of the roof. On Friday, February 23 the roof was completed and on Saturday the 24th a celebration was held that was attended by over 200 people from the community and other nearby Zapotecan churches. "Thank you for helping make our dreams come true. God really answered our prayers." Americo and Norma Santana, Co-Pastors, Ebenezer Baptist Church, San Baltazar, Oaxaca For me, it is a real gift from God to be part of something like this. Rarely in our society do we get the chance to make a real impact on an individual’s life, and almost never can we impact an entire village or city. To the members of our most recent team, Brian Douglas, Mark and Susan Doverspike, Faith Baptist of Harney County, Oregon, Palos Verdes Baptist Church, Cornerstone Church of Ione, First Baptist Church of Oaxaca City, and our many supporters and staff of Adventures in Life Ministry, thank you for helping make a dream come true for the new Ebenezer Baptist of San Baltazar Guelavila. The February 2007 Adventures in Life Oaxaca Men's Ministry Team (for more infomation on how you can make a real kingdom difference, visit www.ailministry.org)