New Ministry Location For Alternative Missions

Click here to check out a new location that Alternative Missions will be ministering. Be sure to check out the photo album of some great pics.

Love Waits Update

Youth from La Carpa church in Guadalajara came on Saturday to give a very good presentation of "Love Waits." It's an explaination of the consequences of sex before marriage. There were dramas, statistics, activities, and they closed with small groups in the end to debrief and get to know our youth a little better. I've had a chance to talk with just a few youth so far and they all enjoyed the conference. One young man said he thought it was interesting to know that Sexually Transmitted Diseases spread so quickly and to a variety of different people.

Thank you for your prayers for that evening. Keep them in your prayers when the Lord puts them on your heart to stay pure and keep themselves for their future spouse.

Great stuff!

"Love Waits" Purity Conference

Saturday night we have a guest youth group coming from Guadalajara to share with our youth group about some pretty important realities in life. Please be praying for our youth to be receptive and that they would comprehend why it is good to wait for the person God has for them.

Mazatlan With Friends

We had a WONDERFUL time with our friends, Roger and Hazel Reeh from Washington for a few days this week in Mazatlan. I met Hazel on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic in 2000 with some doctors. They are a very neat couple and great company. We had a great time with them talking about the Bible, life, and ministry. We had a chance to walk the beach and also sit at the pool. Rebecka played in it for a while and was so excited! She got up the next morning and the first thing she said was "let's go swimming!" Thank you Roger and Hazel for a great couple of relaxing, enjoyable days. You guys are great friends!

The Weather

The weather has been getting warmer lately. It's January 27 and summer is just around the corner :) . Last night's low was 61 degrees, just last week we had a low of 41! Yesterday it was 90 in the shade and 106 in the sun! I don't think it will snow here this year.

Worship Leaders Update

Thank you for your prayers this week. Chupa and Mili did excellent! I'm so proud of the both of them!

Chupa did a great job this morning in Cofradia, calling the congregation together to begin worship, leading in the songs, praying between a couple songs, and having the people be seated when finished. Great Job!! He's been battling a cold himself, so I was extra proud of him for sticking in out. If he looses his shyness, he could be one of the strongest leaders of the church. He's a very likable person, EVERY team that comes here falls in love with this guy. Please pray that the Lord would give him a boldness and that his leadership skills would develop even further.




Mili did a wonderful job this afternoon in Arrayanes. Very much the same as far as inviting the congregation to worship, praying, singing, and closing. She has a beautiful voice and has a lot of potential to leave me without a job! She's doing great leading the group, and also is teaching the children's sunday school. Please pray that she will be able to keep her focus on giving God the glory and continue to seek His desires for her life.

Sickness

I've been feeling pretty miserable the past few days. I could hardly do anything on Friday. The Short-Term Mission team that was here from Colorado went up to Agua Aceda. I was really looking forward to going with them. For my first three years here in Cofradia, I ministered there and saw a lot of neat things happen and made lots of friends. We only go every now-and-then so I don't get a chance to see them very often. I'm feeling a bit better this evening. I had some Advil that helped my headache. Keep praying for all of our health. Thanks.

Cold Weather

I couldn't believe the thermometer this morning when it read that last night's low was 41 degrees. It was a cold one. We had orientation for the team that arrived and stayed at the church until 10pm. It was freezing! This morning was cold as well, 45 degrees at 7am when we went to breakfast. I don't think I've experienced cold weather like this here before.

Worshp Leaders

Please pray for our two Worship Leaders in training. This Sunday they will lead worship themselves. We are providing them with opportunities to grow and take ownership. Mili, the Worship Leader in Arrayanes, has experience already. However, she will still be nervous. Chupa, the Worship Leader in Cofradia has yet to lead a service. Please pray that he will have the courage to follow through. Being shy is something that dominates people here and impedes them from growing in the Lord and in their ministry. Thank you for taking time this week to pray for them.

Sunday Speaker

It was a blessing to have my friend Hector here this weekend. He preached in Cofradia and in Arrayanes. It was a great message, encouraging us to continue to seek God and not be “comfortable” where we’re at. This is my heart for the youth here because many of them are doing so well with their instruments that they have become bored with them, wanting to learn a different one. I can only teach what I don’t know to a certain point, this was a great message for them to put more effort into being creative and learning new things with the instruments they play. Hector mentioned that sometimes there are things that hold us back for stretching ourselves for something bigger. It can be different for different individuals; for some it may be fear of the unknown, for others it may be unbelief, for others it may be the love of money, and for others it may be something else. Whatever it is, we will not grow until that “something” is given over to God.

The Front Porch

We have finally finished! What there is left to do now is some landscaping in front. It's becoming to feel more and more like home. We're focusing on some details inside and outside until we have enough money to continue with the back fence (wall), then a carport floor. We would also like to get some bedrooms upstairs someday. It all depends on money. Thank you for having helped us get this far!

January Newsletter

Our Latest newsletter has been posted online. You can read by clicking here. If you do not receive our newsletter and would like to, let us know here.

Christmas Tree Party

I got our camera back. So, here's some photos of our Christmas party. It was quick.

stuff

Saturday I spent the morning working on putting a roof on our front porch with the help of one of the men in the church. I'm so glad to have that done. Hugo (Gena's brother) is working on the steps today. I haven't taken any pictures yet, maybe when the steps are done. In the afternoon I was able to use the new miter saw a friend gave me while in Arizona. I put up the trip for the doors in our's and Rebecka's bedrooms. That evening we had a less than 5 minute Christmas burning party (the three of us) of which I took pictures, but on Sunday I forgot our camera in Arrayanes. Today I'll be going there, I hope it's still around.

I had the camera in Arrayanes to take a picture of the youth as we had a special recogniction with certificates for those who finished the Discipleship course. When I get back from Arrayanes, I'll have to post the pics.

We have a staff meeting in 1/2 hour. That's all for now.

Recent Memories of Rebecka

We've been looking back and printing some old photos...finally. Here's a few of them.

"I know I have a hole in my mouth for this thing somewhere!"

"Who said you could take my picture!?"

"That's funny, this doesn't feel or look like my normal bottle."

"How do I look?"

"Just the perfect fit!" (this is a toy swimming pool)

"Comments" Section

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Normal Life

Today was a pretty normal day, sitting at the computer trying to get my overdue tasks done. I finally got the newsletter done I wanted to finish last week, there's only one thing I'm waiting on and then it will be sent out by email and postage mail. If you do not receive our newsletter and wish to, please click here to let me know and I will get one to you.

This afternoon we had worship practice for the group in Arrayanes. Mili is coming down with a cold and kind of had an "off" day today. We still all had a lot of fun practicing and even goofing off...can you do that at worship practice? We do:).

Rebecka is at a birthday party right now. Luis, her 2 year old cousin, came walking up to the house all ready to go with his gift in hand and escorted Rebecka to the party. Actually, he took her to his house where his mom took them from there. It was pretty cute though.

I'm still battling a cough and stuff, Gena still has a slight sore throat, and Rebecka's cough isn't getting better either. She had a loooong nap this afternoon which she needed quite a bit.

Anyway, this is a normal day.

"Graduation" Party

Last night, the five youth who finished all four levels of the dicipleship program came over to our house for a get-together to talk about what's ahead for them. In truth, they have accomplished something that is very hard to do especially coming from their background. The first level is pretty easy, talking about the basics of what the Bible actually says on things like Baptism, Prayer, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, etc. Very good course that was passed on to us by Pastor Rafael Gradilla in Bellevue, WA who does this course for his congregation quite often. Thank you Pastor Rafael.

The next three levels are from the Navigator's 2:7 series. There are three books; the first helps us to grow in our personal relationship with God. The next one brings it to another level, challenging us to put together our personal testimony and share it with the church. The final book teaches us how to bear fruit in the Family of God. We have a challenge that we added of having them help out in one of the Sunday services, teaching a Sunday School class, helping out with communion, or welcoming the congregation, etc. There are lots of options for them, each one has done a great job!

Now, the next step is to choose a Mentor in their life. Last night we gave them options to choose who they feel most comfortable with amongst our missionary and pastoral staff. By Sunday, they will all have chosen someone. We will help them out a little so there will be a good match. They all seem real excited about it. Out of that relationship, with the help of the Mentor, they will be guided to work as an aprentice in a certain area of the church. I may be making it sound complicated, but I believe that this is something that we can be real effective in on training up leaders and disciples for Christ.

I shared a devotional that would pertain to their postion on persevering and keeping their eyes on Christ. As we wrapped up the devotional time, we talked about the mentorship, and then got ready for Hot Dogs.

While we were waiting for the food to be cooked...

Sandra, Mili, and Ruben hung out at the kitchen counter,


Julio was trying out the hot dogs to make sure they were done,


and Goyito played with Rebecka in the wheel chair.

After dinner, we played a challenging and competative game of Pictionary.

Back on the Blog

We've been pretty busy (as usual) with meetings, a lot of catching up, and a list of to do's that are overdue...still working on those. I've been battling a cold for a couple of weeks, Rebecka has a cough, and Gena mentioned her throat was a little sore this morning. We're ok though. Sometimes I get so busy that blogging has to take a seat on the back burner (ouch!) for a while. Yesterday Dave Elias' parents arrived here in Cofradia, Jack and Marianne Elias. They are such a joy to be around. Jack mentioned that he checks out our blog quite a bit and noticed we hadn't written in a while (a week). It was encouraging to know that there are people who are keeping up with us through the blog. Thank you to all of you who take the time to read about what we're up to. The main purpose for this is to help you pray for us and keep you updated on our lives and ministry. Thank you for your prayers!