I know it's been a while since we've posted so I'll do my best to get you caught up on life. Renae and I left the orphanage on the 30th of July. It was a very tough day. Renae was crying days before and even more so the day of but for the most part I thought I'd keep my composure. That was until... Crisantos. Crisantos is a little 5 year old boy that Renae and I fell in love with! We always joked about taking a kid home with us but knew it wasn't really possible or probably. But with Crisantos we would have taken him in a heartbeat. I was holding Crisantos while Renae was crying and alot of people were crying right before we left. He asked me "why is everyone so sad?" I told him "we have to leave, we're going back to the otro lado." He said to me "but you guys always go to the otro lado and come back the same day, why is everyone so sad if you're coming right back?" I had to choke back tears and tell him "we can't come back this time buddy, we're moving away for good." That's when he lost it. He was screaming, crying, telling me not to go. which then is when I lost it. Eventually he settled down, laid his head on my shoulder and we just sat there surrounded by tears, crying together. I hadn't cried in front of the orphanage kids before and I think that our tears led to more tears which led all the way to teen boys crying, which made us cry even more!!! The whole morning was definitely the "water works" as they say. But finally we left and made our way to Canoga Park, CA to be a part of our new church family at Living Stones.
We were greeted with more than hospitality. When we arrived an hour later pretty much the entire church was there (it's still a really small church, but still). They must have know we liked food so much because there was super good salads, pasta, BBQ'd ribs, and rotisserie chicken. Not to mention really friendly, loving people who made us feel immediately part of their family. The next day was our first day at church and... we love it. It's small, only about 30 people, 20 of them being kids under the age of 10. Worship is acoustic and we meet in people's houses. We love it!
Thursday I signed papers at Olive Garden and will be starting officially on Monday. Renae is still on the job hunt. She's applied at everywhere within a 10 mile radius and now it's just time for us to sit back and watch God find her a job!
School has been an issue for both of us. I am 100% accepted and ready to go to EBC we just haven't figured out how we're going to pay for things since the 1st installment is due on the 12th of this month. Renae's story is a bit different. Unfortunately we found out a couple days ago that all of her GE did not transfer from Portland State. Which means in order to be accepted as a Junior at CSUN she has to take 4 GE classes at the local JC. Unfortunately when she tried to apply there, they told her that her California DL and voter registration didn't prove California residency and that she'd have to pay out of state tuition which is $180 per credit, compared to the $25 per credit as a California resident. We still don't know what we're going to do. We're going to see if there isn't some red tape we can cross to get her the in sate tuition but, we'll see.
That's that!!! I know it's alot and believe it or not it didn't even begin to scratch the surface of the amazing things God's doing in our life! God is good, we are His, we need nothing more.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
By: Ernesto... it's a long one ;)
So.... As all of you know we are moving on July 30th up to Southern California. The cool thing is that even though it it bitter sweet, God is already opening a very exciting ministry opportunity before we've even arrived! Here's the story which you will see is seeping with God's sovereignty and divine will!!!
Renae and I have been thinking about where we'd attend church, what sort of ministry we'd be in and those kinds of things a lot lately. We had thought about attending the church that I used to go to in Santa Clarita and assumed that's where we'd go. That's where we knew people, that was a familiar and comfortable place for us to be and along with all the other “new” things, this would be one of the only things that was familiar. We were pretty sure that's where we'd attend but were still open to anything God might bring our way.
So at the end of May we sent an email out to all of our supporters giving an update on finances and letting them know we'd be moving to So-cal. I would be going to Eternity Bible College and Renae would be attending CSUN. I was putting the contacts in the "to" section of the email and inserted the name "Matt Moore." For those of you who don't know Matt is Renae's cousin and so, naturally he would receive our updates. However for some reason the Matt Moore that we emailed was not Matt Moore of Oregon, but rather Matt Moore, Elder at Cornerstone Simi Valley and professor at Eternity Bible College. Needless to say I was pretty embarrassed that I'd emailed one of my future professors by accident and even more embarrassed when his response was "give me a call, I'd like to talk to you sometime." "Great" I thought, “already in trouble before my first day of school.” However, like He always does God had a plan. When we called Matt he told us about a church that Cornerstone was planting in Canoga Park, CA that was multi-ethnic, multi-class and multi-lingual the kind of church that outsiders from that community would look at and say "the only reason those people would get together regularly and be friends, has to be supernatural." Matt told us about the church and gave me the pastor, Britt Fuller's email and the emails started flying!!!
Last weekend I visited the Canoga Park area with the main goal to find housing for the move. We had been praying that when I went on this trip that God would make it very clear where He wanted us to live. We didn't just want our home to be a place that we lived, nor did we really care about the amenities of the apartment or the security of the neighborhood but that God would surround us with neighbors that we could witness and minister to. All day long I searched and searched saw about 15 apartments and yes some of them were nice and in our price range but none of them really felt like “home” I didn't feel like God was really confirming any of the places. Which was getting even more frustrating as the day went along and I checked off one by one the places I was going to see. I had arranged to meet with Pastor Britt and his family at the end of my day. They were going to show me some units that were available in their complex and talk to me about the church. They live in a low income Mexican American apartments. They moved from Chicago out there to live in the community, become part of the community and minister to them. As I opened the door to the complex there were kids EVERYWHERE. My first thought, Renae will love this! I met Pastor Britt and his wife and the apartment manager showed us around. I loved it. It wasn't too clean, the pool was small, the complex was small and squished together, but I loved it. Why? Honestly I don't know. It wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes. It was more the kind of place that most people would be forced to live in not where they would choose to live. I sat down and talked with Britt and his family and through our conversation God really confirmed this is where He wanted us to be. Britt didn't force me or say “you should really move here.” He was just honest and upfront about the ministry they were doing and asked me to pray about it. They were some of the most genuine, loving people I'd ever met. I had never really seen Matthew 25:40 lived out. Here I was, a stranger to them. All they knew about me was that I was a believer and because we were their brother and sister in Christ, they were willing to do anything to help us. They offered to sleep on their own couch so we could have their room for a while, they offered to sign our lease as co-signers if we couldn't prove income, they offered to talk to friends to find us an extra bedroom if we needed somewhere to stay for a while. I was blown away by their love, compassion and kindness. I didn't tell Britt when I left how excited I was or how I felt God was confirming this place to me, naturally I wanted to talk to Renae first.
I rode the train home and had a lot of time to pray and think. It was pretty clear, this is where God wanted us.
So, that's the plan! As of right now an apartment won't be available until September 1st. However because God always provides there just happened to be a member of this church plant that was opening a room in their house to help people transition from wherever they were to this new area. So that's where we'll be living for our 1st month, in this guys' spare bedroom.
This is our first public announcement that we will be living in this area and being a part of this new body, but it's sad the response and feedback I got from many believers when I was talking about this being a possibility. Their responses were “well, is it a safe neighborhood?” or “will you try and move somewhere nicer when you have the money?” or “why would you live there? There are so many more places you could live that are much nicer.” Honestly, when did Jesus call us to live in the safe and comfortable? How much faith does it take to do what is familiar and comfortable to us? We're moving there because we know God is calling us to move there. We're not moving for us, for our comfort, for our safety but rather we're moving their for Him because He's called us.
Things to pray about:
-Jobs: I have a job set up at Olive Garden serving tables again, but Renae still needs to find something. We're really hoping that she'll be able to find a nannying job. Some leads so far but still nothing solid.
-Living stones Church: They just had their 4th meeting last Sunday. Currently they're meeting in homes but are trying to get access to a rec center right in town to meet there. Currently the congregation consists of about 25 people. Some middle to upper class Anglo Americans and some middle to lower class Mexican Americans. Very diverse, exactly what they want! Check it out!!! at www.livingstonesla.org
-Our last 2 weeks at DOFO: Last night was our first of what we believe will be many “tear nights.” When kids are telling us “don't go, we like you! You guys are so cool!” or “who will teach us bible study?” After hearing that all day long our emotional dams usually overflow at the end of the day. We know this is where God has called us and there's hope and joy in that, but still it's hard.
So.... As all of you know we are moving on July 30th up to Southern California. The cool thing is that even though it it bitter sweet, God is already opening a very exciting ministry opportunity before we've even arrived! Here's the story which you will see is seeping with God's sovereignty and divine will!!!
Renae and I have been thinking about where we'd attend church, what sort of ministry we'd be in and those kinds of things a lot lately. We had thought about attending the church that I used to go to in Santa Clarita and assumed that's where we'd go. That's where we knew people, that was a familiar and comfortable place for us to be and along with all the other “new” things, this would be one of the only things that was familiar. We were pretty sure that's where we'd attend but were still open to anything God might bring our way.
So at the end of May we sent an email out to all of our supporters giving an update on finances and letting them know we'd be moving to So-cal. I would be going to Eternity Bible College and Renae would be attending CSUN. I was putting the contacts in the "to" section of the email and inserted the name "Matt Moore." For those of you who don't know Matt is Renae's cousin and so, naturally he would receive our updates. However for some reason the Matt Moore that we emailed was not Matt Moore of Oregon, but rather Matt Moore, Elder at Cornerstone Simi Valley and professor at Eternity Bible College. Needless to say I was pretty embarrassed that I'd emailed one of my future professors by accident and even more embarrassed when his response was "give me a call, I'd like to talk to you sometime." "Great" I thought, “already in trouble before my first day of school.” However, like He always does God had a plan. When we called Matt he told us about a church that Cornerstone was planting in Canoga Park, CA that was multi-ethnic, multi-class and multi-lingual the kind of church that outsiders from that community would look at and say "the only reason those people would get together regularly and be friends, has to be supernatural." Matt told us about the church and gave me the pastor, Britt Fuller's email and the emails started flying!!!
Last weekend I visited the Canoga Park area with the main goal to find housing for the move. We had been praying that when I went on this trip that God would make it very clear where He wanted us to live. We didn't just want our home to be a place that we lived, nor did we really care about the amenities of the apartment or the security of the neighborhood but that God would surround us with neighbors that we could witness and minister to. All day long I searched and searched saw about 15 apartments and yes some of them were nice and in our price range but none of them really felt like “home” I didn't feel like God was really confirming any of the places. Which was getting even more frustrating as the day went along and I checked off one by one the places I was going to see. I had arranged to meet with Pastor Britt and his family at the end of my day. They were going to show me some units that were available in their complex and talk to me about the church. They live in a low income Mexican American apartments. They moved from Chicago out there to live in the community, become part of the community and minister to them. As I opened the door to the complex there were kids EVERYWHERE. My first thought, Renae will love this! I met Pastor Britt and his wife and the apartment manager showed us around. I loved it. It wasn't too clean, the pool was small, the complex was small and squished together, but I loved it. Why? Honestly I don't know. It wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes. It was more the kind of place that most people would be forced to live in not where they would choose to live. I sat down and talked with Britt and his family and through our conversation God really confirmed this is where He wanted us to be. Britt didn't force me or say “you should really move here.” He was just honest and upfront about the ministry they were doing and asked me to pray about it. They were some of the most genuine, loving people I'd ever met. I had never really seen Matthew 25:40 lived out. Here I was, a stranger to them. All they knew about me was that I was a believer and because we were their brother and sister in Christ, they were willing to do anything to help us. They offered to sleep on their own couch so we could have their room for a while, they offered to sign our lease as co-signers if we couldn't prove income, they offered to talk to friends to find us an extra bedroom if we needed somewhere to stay for a while. I was blown away by their love, compassion and kindness. I didn't tell Britt when I left how excited I was or how I felt God was confirming this place to me, naturally I wanted to talk to Renae first.
I rode the train home and had a lot of time to pray and think. It was pretty clear, this is where God wanted us.
So, that's the plan! As of right now an apartment won't be available until September 1st. However because God always provides there just happened to be a member of this church plant that was opening a room in their house to help people transition from wherever they were to this new area. So that's where we'll be living for our 1st month, in this guys' spare bedroom.
This is our first public announcement that we will be living in this area and being a part of this new body, but it's sad the response and feedback I got from many believers when I was talking about this being a possibility. Their responses were “well, is it a safe neighborhood?” or “will you try and move somewhere nicer when you have the money?” or “why would you live there? There are so many more places you could live that are much nicer.” Honestly, when did Jesus call us to live in the safe and comfortable? How much faith does it take to do what is familiar and comfortable to us? We're moving there because we know God is calling us to move there. We're not moving for us, for our comfort, for our safety but rather we're moving their for Him because He's called us.
Things to pray about:
-Jobs: I have a job set up at Olive Garden serving tables again, but Renae still needs to find something. We're really hoping that she'll be able to find a nannying job. Some leads so far but still nothing solid.
-Living stones Church: They just had their 4th meeting last Sunday. Currently they're meeting in homes but are trying to get access to a rec center right in town to meet there. Currently the congregation consists of about 25 people. Some middle to upper class Anglo Americans and some middle to lower class Mexican Americans. Very diverse, exactly what they want! Check it out!!! at www.livingstonesla.org
-Our last 2 weeks at DOFO: Last night was our first of what we believe will be many “tear nights.” When kids are telling us “don't go, we like you! You guys are so cool!” or “who will teach us bible study?” After hearing that all day long our emotional dams usually overflow at the end of the day. We know this is where God has called us and there's hope and joy in that, but still it's hard.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Girls night in...
Last night we held bible study again for the oldest kids. So at 6pm we started getting the house ready, chairs set up, Renae was baking cookies and Ernesto was getting ready and preparing when all of a sudden... 7 o'clock came and no kids. Hmmm.... looks like 3 weeks in a row now that they just haven't come for one reason or another. Come to find out that all the kid decided to go to a local carnival instead of come to bible study. So as we sat in our living room a bit discouraged there was a knock at the door. 3 teenage girls. Lulu, 19 Miriam, 19 and Angela 16. They were the 3 who decided to stay back for bible study rather than go to the carnival. We were very humbled to see that these girls were more interested in learning the bible than going out with their friends. At first, we didn't think they were actually coming for bible study. We assumed they came for money or something to go the carnival but sure enough they sat down, bibles in hand and said "come on, let's start!" "Ok!!!"
For the last 3 weeks we've been trying to start a series that we're calling "Los Juanes" which is a study of 1st, 2nd and 3rd John. Last night we read through the "Juanes" and discussed the major themes and things that popped out to them. The purpose of our "Juanes" study with the older teens is to...
1. Teach them how to study the bible, rather than just reading it. Something that seems a bit foreign where we are here in Mexico.
2. Get them in a habit of being in the word daily through the "homework" assigned to them. And not just occasionally bringing their bible to church on Sunday.
3. Performing a "self-check" of where you are in your personal walk with the Lord and using the convicting words of 1st, 2nd and 3rd John to do so.
Afterward bible study we sat back, enjoyed some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, coffee and tea and laughed our heads off! It was a very very very... fun night.
For the last 3 weeks we've been trying to start a series that we're calling "Los Juanes" which is a study of 1st, 2nd and 3rd John. Last night we read through the "Juanes" and discussed the major themes and things that popped out to them. The purpose of our "Juanes" study with the older teens is to...
1. Teach them how to study the bible, rather than just reading it. Something that seems a bit foreign where we are here in Mexico.
2. Get them in a habit of being in the word daily through the "homework" assigned to them. And not just occasionally bringing their bible to church on Sunday.
3. Performing a "self-check" of where you are in your personal walk with the Lord and using the convicting words of 1st, 2nd and 3rd John to do so.
Afterward bible study we sat back, enjoyed some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, coffee and tea and laughed our heads off! It was a very very very... fun night.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Living la vida bendecida
Hey there everyone!!!! Sooo sorry that it's been so long since we've updated anything, life has been very busy and well, we don't really like sitting down and just writing something out for the sake of writing but we only like writing when we feel that God has given us something to share. Honestly, if you care so much that you want an monthly update, you've probably called us by now... (Moms...) haha
Anyways life has been crazy!!! We've started a new bible study here at the orphanage on Sunday night for the high school/college aged kids. They used to come to the Monday night groups and then all of a sudden stopped coming. I thought it was because they didn't like it or something but then one of them told us it was because their school schedule got changed and now they don't get back from class until about 8pm and bible study is at 7pm. So we met the need and started a Sunday night study going through the "Johns" 1st, 2nd and 3rd John... so far, not going to well.... haha. Things keep coming up. Either they've got some soccer game, waltz rehearsal for an upcoming quince etc. the time just isn't happening. But as we did last week we'll sit here in our house every Sunday night and wait for them to show up, if not we enjoy a nice quiet evening alone if they do... PRAISE GOD time to open His word. Please pray for this age group. They tend to get neglected in a sense. American missionary groups come down and love doing projects and games with the little kids but it's so much harder with the 16+ ones. They're lost, searching and need the word of God in their life, ESPECIALLY since in the next few years most of them will be getting jobs and moving away from home. And if any of you know Ernesto you know that this age is his passion and he desires to see a youthful nation on fire for God!!!
Secondly there's our life changing adventure with Paul-a.... well her name is actually Lupita but you'll understand in a bit why I call her Paul-a. About 5 days ago Renae received a text from this lady named Lupita saying that there was an 18 year old girl with 2 kids who really needed some help and asked if Renae would be willing to bring her some groceries and spending some time praying with/for her. And on top of that this poor girl has a physically abusive husband that doesn't feed her or the kids but spends all his money on drugs and whores. So... 2 days ago we went up to her house with Lupita. When we drove into this very poor neighborhood I noticed that everyone was staring at us and in particular, glaring at Lupita. Lupita went on to explain to us that she's been evangelizing to this particular neighborhood for the last couple years. She first found this area when her daughter moved their not knowing the darkness she was moving into. (she's since moved back with her mom) The people here hate Lupita because Satan hates her. She has had her bible ripped out of her hand and thrown down a cliff, she's been jumped and beaten up, she's had bricks and rocks thrown at her, she's had threats on her life and that's just what causally spoke about while driving in. And still this woman of ~45 years old returns to the place where her and the gospel have been physically thrown out. So... that's why I call her Paul-a because she is in a sense, a modern day Paul-like evangelist. Anyways... we get to the girl's house and knock on the door and she comes out. Lupita asks "can we come in?" and the girl tells us that it's probably better that we didn't because he husband is home. So we started talking to her and sharing the gospel with her but it was FREEZING so we suggested that we sat in the car where it was nice and warm. When we were all getting in the car her husband came out yelling and cursing at his wife telling her that if she didn't come in the house right now there were going to be problems which in the abusive situation she's in, is never a good thing. He walks up to Ernesto, stares at him and says "if you don't want problems, leave now." He then grabbed his wife by the arm, ripped her away from the car and dragged her back to the house.... After sitting outside and praying for them for a while we decided to write them some notes sharing the gospel through words. Ernesto wrote to the husband and Renae and Lupita wrote to the wife. We bought them about $50 of groceries and hid the notes in the grocery bags for them to find later. When we brought the groceries to their door the husband said "What do you want?" Ernesto simply responded "to bless you, that's it. Please take this food as a provision from God and know that we're praying for you" They did and that was that.
Part of us wishes that we could just simply say "that was that" but we can't. Every night since then and we lay our heads down thinking about that girl. On the one hand we feel so blessed that neither of us are scared that somebody may beat or abuse us soon but on the other hand we can't stop thinking about this girl and her kids. Honestly, we don't know what to do. The way the justice system works here in Mexico is that we can't report this abuse to the authorities, the wife has to. Lupita and her daughter have urged this girl to do so but in all honesty, she's scared. She's afraid that if she reports this man, when he gets out of jail he'll find her and do much worse than just beat her up. We've got no idea what to do and at this point all we can do is pray. We're actively looking for a place to move her but there isn't really such a thing as woman's shelters or rehabs here in Mexico so as of now, we're stuck in between a rock and a hard spot. Please be praying. Remember how blessed you. Not in the cheesy sort of way but actually take time to pray and reflect on how blessed you are. I thought living as a missionary in Mexico was kind of hard, I've got it good.
Lastly. We will be leaving Door of Faith in Aug. of this year. Ernesto will be attending Eternity Bible college for a bible degree. http://www.eternitybiblecollege.com/ and Renae Cal State Northridge for her Spanish degree. Another quick thing we've started that we'd like to make available to all of you is our "monthly financial update." Every month we show our supporters exactly where the money they send goes in order to be 100% transparent. If you have any questions about this entry or would like to receive our financial updates please email Ernesto at "ernesto42189@yahoo.com"
Gracias y Dios les bendiga,
Ranesto
Anyways life has been crazy!!! We've started a new bible study here at the orphanage on Sunday night for the high school/college aged kids. They used to come to the Monday night groups and then all of a sudden stopped coming. I thought it was because they didn't like it or something but then one of them told us it was because their school schedule got changed and now they don't get back from class until about 8pm and bible study is at 7pm. So we met the need and started a Sunday night study going through the "Johns" 1st, 2nd and 3rd John... so far, not going to well.... haha. Things keep coming up. Either they've got some soccer game, waltz rehearsal for an upcoming quince etc. the time just isn't happening. But as we did last week we'll sit here in our house every Sunday night and wait for them to show up, if not we enjoy a nice quiet evening alone if they do... PRAISE GOD time to open His word. Please pray for this age group. They tend to get neglected in a sense. American missionary groups come down and love doing projects and games with the little kids but it's so much harder with the 16+ ones. They're lost, searching and need the word of God in their life, ESPECIALLY since in the next few years most of them will be getting jobs and moving away from home. And if any of you know Ernesto you know that this age is his passion and he desires to see a youthful nation on fire for God!!!
Secondly there's our life changing adventure with Paul-a.... well her name is actually Lupita but you'll understand in a bit why I call her Paul-a. About 5 days ago Renae received a text from this lady named Lupita saying that there was an 18 year old girl with 2 kids who really needed some help and asked if Renae would be willing to bring her some groceries and spending some time praying with/for her. And on top of that this poor girl has a physically abusive husband that doesn't feed her or the kids but spends all his money on drugs and whores. So... 2 days ago we went up to her house with Lupita. When we drove into this very poor neighborhood I noticed that everyone was staring at us and in particular, glaring at Lupita. Lupita went on to explain to us that she's been evangelizing to this particular neighborhood for the last couple years. She first found this area when her daughter moved their not knowing the darkness she was moving into. (she's since moved back with her mom) The people here hate Lupita because Satan hates her. She has had her bible ripped out of her hand and thrown down a cliff, she's been jumped and beaten up, she's had bricks and rocks thrown at her, she's had threats on her life and that's just what causally spoke about while driving in. And still this woman of ~45 years old returns to the place where her and the gospel have been physically thrown out. So... that's why I call her Paul-a because she is in a sense, a modern day Paul-like evangelist. Anyways... we get to the girl's house and knock on the door and she comes out. Lupita asks "can we come in?" and the girl tells us that it's probably better that we didn't because he husband is home. So we started talking to her and sharing the gospel with her but it was FREEZING so we suggested that we sat in the car where it was nice and warm. When we were all getting in the car her husband came out yelling and cursing at his wife telling her that if she didn't come in the house right now there were going to be problems which in the abusive situation she's in, is never a good thing. He walks up to Ernesto, stares at him and says "if you don't want problems, leave now." He then grabbed his wife by the arm, ripped her away from the car and dragged her back to the house.... After sitting outside and praying for them for a while we decided to write them some notes sharing the gospel through words. Ernesto wrote to the husband and Renae and Lupita wrote to the wife. We bought them about $50 of groceries and hid the notes in the grocery bags for them to find later. When we brought the groceries to their door the husband said "What do you want?" Ernesto simply responded "to bless you, that's it. Please take this food as a provision from God and know that we're praying for you" They did and that was that.
Part of us wishes that we could just simply say "that was that" but we can't. Every night since then and we lay our heads down thinking about that girl. On the one hand we feel so blessed that neither of us are scared that somebody may beat or abuse us soon but on the other hand we can't stop thinking about this girl and her kids. Honestly, we don't know what to do. The way the justice system works here in Mexico is that we can't report this abuse to the authorities, the wife has to. Lupita and her daughter have urged this girl to do so but in all honesty, she's scared. She's afraid that if she reports this man, when he gets out of jail he'll find her and do much worse than just beat her up. We've got no idea what to do and at this point all we can do is pray. We're actively looking for a place to move her but there isn't really such a thing as woman's shelters or rehabs here in Mexico so as of now, we're stuck in between a rock and a hard spot. Please be praying. Remember how blessed you. Not in the cheesy sort of way but actually take time to pray and reflect on how blessed you are. I thought living as a missionary in Mexico was kind of hard, I've got it good.
Lastly. We will be leaving Door of Faith in Aug. of this year. Ernesto will be attending Eternity Bible college for a bible degree. http://www.eternitybiblecollege.com/ and Renae Cal State Northridge for her Spanish degree. Another quick thing we've started that we'd like to make available to all of you is our "monthly financial update." Every month we show our supporters exactly where the money they send goes in order to be 100% transparent. If you have any questions about this entry or would like to receive our financial updates please email Ernesto at "ernesto42189@yahoo.com"
Gracias y Dios les bendiga,
Ranesto
Monday, February 7, 2011
Pizarrón
So tonight we had bible study with the teens like we do every Monday. For the last few weeks or so we've been writing prayer requests on a chalk board or "pizarrón" in Spanish (hence the name of this entry.) This is a place where kids get the chance to come any time during the week and write a prayer request they might have so that both Renae and I can be praying for it but ALSO so that to end bible study every Monday we can pray through each and every request. SOOO I figure since we are the body of Christ and all, meant to live as ONE, why not have you guys praying for them too! So here they are as of today, when the requests change or things get added I'll do my best to keep it updated!!!
**I'm just going to type 'em out here and try to give you as much background as possible.... Some kids have asked to remain anonymous. We're working on openness and transparency but as for now the requests that don't have names are nameless because the kids have asked not to be named.**
-A lady we know has a family member who just lost a newborn baby.
-A friend (girl who goes to school with our kids and comes to youth group) has just gotten pregnant. She's 15 and her boyfriend is 16. Right now the mom is unsure how she's going to pay for a baby and allow her daughter to finish school.
-One of our workers here at Door of Faith named Benito Montiel just lost his mother. Pray for Benito, his wife Olga, their kids Susie, Benito and Luis and for the entire Montiel family.
-Our brothers and sisters who are persecuted for their faith in other countries. And thankfulness that we live in a country where we can freely worship our Lord.
-For my family...**I don't know who wrote this, because it's anonymous but there's a kid here who obviously knows something about their family (not too common of an orphan) and would like us to be praying for them**
-For my Mom. That she would stop doing drugs. **again don't know the kid, but obviously this kid knows that the reason he/she isn't home with mom is because mom is an addict and they have asked that we pray for their mom**
-Ariel: that he would continue to be an example to the police force. **Recently a man who worked at the orphanage here got a job as the police chief in town. He is a believer and we would like to pray that he'd be a light to everyone who walks into that police station**
-That Antoño and Gilberto would better their friendship (two kids who go to school together who, for whatever reason are fighting)
-A girl here at the orphanage has a serious eye condition. She is constantly in pain, has very bad vision and needs surgery very badly. Right now we're praying that she would be able to bare the pain and that God would take it away and that she'd be able to have the surgery.
-Another girl at the orphanage has asked us to specifically pray for a certain situation, that God would reveal His exact will to her so that (her words) "he would be the most glorified."
Well there it is... keep a praying!!!
**I'm just going to type 'em out here and try to give you as much background as possible.... Some kids have asked to remain anonymous. We're working on openness and transparency but as for now the requests that don't have names are nameless because the kids have asked not to be named.**
-A lady we know has a family member who just lost a newborn baby.
-A friend (girl who goes to school with our kids and comes to youth group) has just gotten pregnant. She's 15 and her boyfriend is 16. Right now the mom is unsure how she's going to pay for a baby and allow her daughter to finish school.
-One of our workers here at Door of Faith named Benito Montiel just lost his mother. Pray for Benito, his wife Olga, their kids Susie, Benito and Luis and for the entire Montiel family.
-Our brothers and sisters who are persecuted for their faith in other countries. And thankfulness that we live in a country where we can freely worship our Lord.
-For my family...**I don't know who wrote this, because it's anonymous but there's a kid here who obviously knows something about their family (not too common of an orphan) and would like us to be praying for them**
-For my Mom. That she would stop doing drugs. **again don't know the kid, but obviously this kid knows that the reason he/she isn't home with mom is because mom is an addict and they have asked that we pray for their mom**
-Ariel: that he would continue to be an example to the police force. **Recently a man who worked at the orphanage here got a job as the police chief in town. He is a believer and we would like to pray that he'd be a light to everyone who walks into that police station**
-That Antoño and Gilberto would better their friendship (two kids who go to school together who, for whatever reason are fighting)
-A girl here at the orphanage has a serious eye condition. She is constantly in pain, has very bad vision and needs surgery very badly. Right now we're praying that she would be able to bare the pain and that God would take it away and that she'd be able to have the surgery.
-Another girl at the orphanage has asked us to specifically pray for a certain situation, that God would reveal His exact will to her so that (her words) "he would be the most glorified."
Well there it is... keep a praying!!!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Our focus
Hola to my brothers and sisters in Christ,
I have a request I'd like to bring before you. As I've mentioned in previous blogs Renae and I started a bible study here onsite at the orphanage for the junior high and high school students. Things started really well, we had very good participation averaging about 20 kids (boys and girls) per bible study! But things have started to diminish... so much so that last week only 4 kids came. Now don't get me wrong I understand that bible study is not a numbers game and the success of the study is not based on the amount of kids that come. However the hard part is the reason they're not coming. Allow me to explain.
These kids are not just "kids" to me, they are more like my little brothers and sisters. These are the people I eat my meals with, hang out with, go to church with, do "family" things with. Imagine (some of you won't have to) but imagine that you are on fire for the Lord, passionate for the things of God and desiring to live a Spirit led life but someone you're very close to completely rejects this Jesus Christ that you've devoted your entire life to. Pretty painful huh? Well that is what's happening here. Now if the case were that the kids loved going to church, loved going to youth group, loved the small services we do here at the orphanage, loved the Lord but simply just didn't want to or couldn't come to bible study, then things would be different, but unfortunately that is not the case. Yesterday Renae and I went walking around the orphanage reminding the kids of bible study that was going to happen that night and when we asked one kid their response was "no, I don't think I'll come." When we asked why, we were expecting the typical answer of "I've got homework or chores to do" but instead the teen told us that they hated bible study, that they don't believe that God or the Devil even exist. Now this isn't a kid that just came to the orphanage yesterday, they've been here for a while. Now if one kid had the guts to tell us to our face what they were thinking, there are bound to be far more who are thinking the same but just didn't open their mouths. Like I said before if I saw the kids here at Door of Faith Orphanage living Spirit filled lives and they simply just didn't want to come to our bible study, things would be different.
So please be praying for the kids here at Door of Faith. I encourage you to look at and imitate the way Paul prayed for the churches like in Philippians 1:9-11 " And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." also look at Romans 1:8-12, 1 Corinthians 1:4, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.
There are also some specific kids who I'd like you to pray for. There names are...
-Kevin
-Lulu
-Tyler
-Alexia
-Luisito
These are the kids who get criticized by others for their love and devotion to Christ. When one of these kids choses not to speak profanity they are criticized, when their answer to everything is "God is in control," they are criticized, when they're not looking for a boyfriend or girlfriend but rather serving God, they are criticized, when they volunteer to pray aloud before bible study, they are laughed at. For these kids I encourage you to pray as Paul did for the believers in Ephesians 1:15-19a "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe...." I know that's already alot to chew on so I'll stop there.
I'm sure by now some of you are wondering why I haven't talked about my engagement. Yes! Renae and I will be getting married March 12th, 2011 in Placerville and if you can email me your address, you're invited. But the reason why this is but a small paragraph in this long entry is because our engagement and marriage although it means alot and the both of us are very excited there are still things that are more important than our wedding day. If Christ were to return in this instant we know our place, we know we'd be taken up with Him and we know we'd be at the good feast, the marriage supper of the Lamb. But we're working with lost souls, teens, friends who we love who don't know the Lord. Everyone one of the kids here at Door of Faith coming to know the Lord is our focus, our passion and our desire as a couple.
Thank you all for your prayers!!!
I have a request I'd like to bring before you. As I've mentioned in previous blogs Renae and I started a bible study here onsite at the orphanage for the junior high and high school students. Things started really well, we had very good participation averaging about 20 kids (boys and girls) per bible study! But things have started to diminish... so much so that last week only 4 kids came. Now don't get me wrong I understand that bible study is not a numbers game and the success of the study is not based on the amount of kids that come. However the hard part is the reason they're not coming. Allow me to explain.
These kids are not just "kids" to me, they are more like my little brothers and sisters. These are the people I eat my meals with, hang out with, go to church with, do "family" things with. Imagine (some of you won't have to) but imagine that you are on fire for the Lord, passionate for the things of God and desiring to live a Spirit led life but someone you're very close to completely rejects this Jesus Christ that you've devoted your entire life to. Pretty painful huh? Well that is what's happening here. Now if the case were that the kids loved going to church, loved going to youth group, loved the small services we do here at the orphanage, loved the Lord but simply just didn't want to or couldn't come to bible study, then things would be different, but unfortunately that is not the case. Yesterday Renae and I went walking around the orphanage reminding the kids of bible study that was going to happen that night and when we asked one kid their response was "no, I don't think I'll come." When we asked why, we were expecting the typical answer of "I've got homework or chores to do" but instead the teen told us that they hated bible study, that they don't believe that God or the Devil even exist. Now this isn't a kid that just came to the orphanage yesterday, they've been here for a while. Now if one kid had the guts to tell us to our face what they were thinking, there are bound to be far more who are thinking the same but just didn't open their mouths. Like I said before if I saw the kids here at Door of Faith Orphanage living Spirit filled lives and they simply just didn't want to come to our bible study, things would be different.
So please be praying for the kids here at Door of Faith. I encourage you to look at and imitate the way Paul prayed for the churches like in Philippians 1:9-11 " And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." also look at Romans 1:8-12, 1 Corinthians 1:4, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.
There are also some specific kids who I'd like you to pray for. There names are...
-Kevin
-Lulu
-Tyler
-Alexia
-Luisito
These are the kids who get criticized by others for their love and devotion to Christ. When one of these kids choses not to speak profanity they are criticized, when their answer to everything is "God is in control," they are criticized, when they're not looking for a boyfriend or girlfriend but rather serving God, they are criticized, when they volunteer to pray aloud before bible study, they are laughed at. For these kids I encourage you to pray as Paul did for the believers in Ephesians 1:15-19a "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe...." I know that's already alot to chew on so I'll stop there.
I'm sure by now some of you are wondering why I haven't talked about my engagement. Yes! Renae and I will be getting married March 12th, 2011 in Placerville and if you can email me your address, you're invited. But the reason why this is but a small paragraph in this long entry is because our engagement and marriage although it means alot and the both of us are very excited there are still things that are more important than our wedding day. If Christ were to return in this instant we know our place, we know we'd be taken up with Him and we know we'd be at the good feast, the marriage supper of the Lamb. But we're working with lost souls, teens, friends who we love who don't know the Lord. Everyone one of the kids here at Door of Faith coming to know the Lord is our focus, our passion and our desire as a couple.
Thank you all for your prayers!!!
Monday, September 13, 2010
The element of change
Over this last month I have found myself asking, "what really matters?" (Sounds depressing I know but keep reading, hopefully you'll be encouraged.) Even though I don't live in the poorest area of the world I still can look out my window and see the effects of poverty right in front of my face. When you walk through the streets of a retired Tijuana garbage dump, the pueblos outside of Ensenada, or parts of the La Mision valley inevitably you're going to be surrounded by poverty, sickness and need. Our natural "Christian" instinct is to do something, to raise funds, to pass out food, to distribute clothing SOMETHING but Jesus says something very interesting in Mark 14:7 he says "For you will always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you will not always have me." The words "you will always have the poor with you" rung very loudly in my ear. ALWAYS? Really Jesus? Always? So you're saying that no matter how big my food and clothing ministry grows to be; no matter how many orphans and widows I take in and provide shelter for there will always be the poor? Discouraging? Is it not? That no matter how hard and diligently we work, we will NEVER "fix" the problem of poverty. Now don't get me wrong, I know that the second part of that verse says, "Whenever you wish you can do good to them." I also understand the Matthew 25:40 verse that says "...to whatever extent you did to these brothers of Mine, even to the least of them, you did it to Me." I am in NO WAY discrediting the feeding, clothing or caring for the poor. It is a vital part of our Christian walk and was definitely a significant part of Jesus' ministry here on earth, but was it His main focus? Are clothing, feeding and educating the poor what our main focus should be? If we feed, clothe and educate a million poor people WITHOUT the gospel being shared, without Christ's name at the forefront of our efforts isn't everything we're doing pointless? If Oprah were to say... "Look, I've fed millions, look I've clothed and educated 10,000 African children this year," wouldn't we as bible believing Christians say "good job Oprah, where's the Jesus?" Point is, it is your job to allow the Holy Spirit to make you the element of change WHEREVER God has placed you; but not worldly change, gospel change. The change that that caused thousands to come to Christ on the day of Pentecost, the change that Paul encouraged Titus to bring about on the island of Crete, the change that is currently taking place all over the world. That is WHAT we're supposed to do! A while back I heard a sermon entitled "Jesus' favorite phrase" the point the pastor was making was that we constantly see Jesus saying the phrase "the kingdom of God is here!" We're in it, SHARE IT! Share by whatever means God gives you. If that's feeding the poor, do it! If it's clothing and educating underprivileged children, do it! If that's working at a desk pushing papers, do it! Wherever God has placed you, serve Him but MAKE HIS NAME FIRST. Glorifying Him MUST be our priority in everything we do... the praise of man is worthless compared to hearing the words "well done my good and faithful servant."
That's that guys!!!
How can you be praying:
-bible study is going wonderfully! I've got about 8-10 boys showing up weekly and Renae has 4-8 girls coming weekly to her place. Pray that the Holy Spirit would take over each and every meeting we have. Pray that the words flowing from our mouths would penetrate the hearts of each and ever kid. God's brought them here for a reason, there's no doubt of that.
-Oct. 2nd there is a large youth conference happening in Ensenada. We'll be taking our youth group there and are expecting a turn out of 200+ kids. I'll be teaching a class entitled "healthy relationships." Please pray that God would be preparing the kids hearts even now and ever one of us teachers to teach His truth and His word.
-Being that "element of change" I just talked about. It's still something I'm working on and will continue to strive towards. Pray that there would never be any timidity, or hesitation in sharing and speaking truth in EVERY opportunity given to me.
That's that guys!!!
How can you be praying:
-bible study is going wonderfully! I've got about 8-10 boys showing up weekly and Renae has 4-8 girls coming weekly to her place. Pray that the Holy Spirit would take over each and every meeting we have. Pray that the words flowing from our mouths would penetrate the hearts of each and ever kid. God's brought them here for a reason, there's no doubt of that.
-Oct. 2nd there is a large youth conference happening in Ensenada. We'll be taking our youth group there and are expecting a turn out of 200+ kids. I'll be teaching a class entitled "healthy relationships." Please pray that God would be preparing the kids hearts even now and ever one of us teachers to teach His truth and His word.
-Being that "element of change" I just talked about. It's still something I'm working on and will continue to strive towards. Pray that there would never be any timidity, or hesitation in sharing and speaking truth in EVERY opportunity given to me.
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