What's going on in:
San Diego
&
Aguascalientes
There is a lot going on and I want to keep you all informed with the highlights of each month. Thank you to all who pray for and support these ministries. We are able to bless so many people and we couldn't do it without you. To God be all the glory. Gracias amigos!
September was a great month. I moved at a slower pace and got to enjoy some time off. I had a 2 week break from work and got to visit with an old friend. It was also a blessing to see the beginning of a new ministry take place. I'm so grateful that God is still providing after all these years. He is so faithful!
Jan (pronounced John) started his first day of law school! This has been something that he has wanted to do for a long time and I'm glad that we could make it happen! Jan has been through a lot in his life and refuses to let his past hold him back. I am proud of him and his drive to excel in all that he does. It is such a blessing to see his desire to stay on the right path. May God bless you in your new chapter!
Back home, we took the youth ice skating. It felt so good on the rink with all of this recent heat in San Diego! For some of the kids it was their first time. They had to hang onto the wall for a while and after a couple of falls they started getting the hang of it. It was good to see them persevere and not give up. The ice rink had a pair of size 15 skates so I joined in on the fun. Afterwards we hung out and had pizza. It was a fun day.
The youth group is going well and we have been learning a lot. We are going through the gospel of Mark and chapter 13 talks about end times. Jesus warned us to beware of false Christs that will come. We went over a couple of religions that make claims about Jesus that the Bible does not support. One of them was Rastafarianism, so I dressed up like a Rasta for my intro. The kids laughed. Then we transitioned into Islam and learned about major differences between the Bible and the Quran.
We also started Mark 14 and looked at the same story that is recorded in the other gospels. On the surface it appears that there are contradictions, but as we studied each account, all of the differences could be reconciled. I had an activity where we wrapped up kids like a mummy. And later I recounted different details about the activity. It appeared that I was talking about two different events but as the kids witnessed, it was the same event. The different gospel writers saw the same events but wrote from different perspectives. Though there are differences in their accounts they don't contradict.
A friend that I hadn't seen in a while made a surprise visit. If you've kept up with the blog then maybe you remember Jesús. He was my helper when we built the church in Cañada Honda (a small town outside of Aguascalientes). He recently got his visa and wanted to see San Diego. I showed him around a couple of days and showed him some of the local spots. And I made sure he got a nice American breakfast at Denny's. It was a blessing to see him and I'm glad he was able to come. He was a great worker and helped out so much in the construction. It was good to reminisce about all of the work we did and I included one of my favorite photos of the whole process - both of us sitting on the scaffolding,
And we celebrated both of my parents' birthdays. My dad's is on September 17 and my mom's is on the 27th. We invited my aunt and went out for a nice dinner at Phil's BBQ (I got the full slab and left stuffed!). It is a blessing to be able to see my parents so often. For many years as a missionary I had to miss these special occasions but now I'm making up for lost time. I love them very much and am so grateful that they are both still in good health. May you guys both have many more birthdays to come!