Special Days

This week was special for our family in many ways. On Tuesday, Melissa finished her last class in high school. We went out to eat and celebrate! We also went to Imperial Beach to take pictures, some serious and some crazy.

On Saturday, June 28th Daniel celebrated his 20th birthday. He spent the day with family in Michigan at the CRC Conference grounds on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Saturday, Scott and Marcia also celebrated 22 years of marriage. Scott had to teach his class at the Bible Institute, so we went out for a late dinner.

First Day of Summer

We woke up at six this morning to a temperature of 84 degrees! Hello summer! Yesterday our thermometer read 104, and today at about 1:00 it read 99 (in the shade). The news has the temps between 105 and 115 today. This is unusually warm for us in June; we usually enjoy "June Gloom" which follows "May Gray" where we have fog in the early morning which keeps the temperatures down. Residents of Southern California and Baja California love the May and June weather, but visitors looking for sunny days at the beach are sometimes disappointed. The closer you are to the beach the longer it takes for the fog to burn off. Some days the coast is fogged in all day. But this year we have had several days of over 100 degree weather in both May and June. We are begining to wonder what August and September will be like!

Scott is teaching a course on Evangelism and Discipleship at the Bible Institute this month. His class starts at 4:00 and ends at 8:00pm. I got a call today, just before 4:00 from Scott asking me to please bring a fan for his classroom. I loaded up our big "Hurricane Force" fan and drove the block to the Emanuel Church where the institute is located. Very excited students came to help me unload, but they quickly noticed there was only one fan. "You don't have any more fans you could lend us for the other class room?" they asked. So I made one more trip with two smaller fans.

Scott really loves teaching this particular class, discipleship and evangelism are two of his passions. He is excited to have a part in training men and women to be lay leaders. Giving them practical experiences; like writing and sharing their testimony, and begining evangelistic home Bible studies with their family or neighbors, is an important part of this course. Please pray for the pastors and missionaries with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Mexico as they teach at the Bible Institute. Pray also for the students, many wish to be lay leaders in their churches, or evangelists at new missions. The pastors and missionaries would like to set up a mentoring program to help the students get even more practical experience and hands on learning.

Two of the students will be attending the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary in Mexico City this fall, to further their studies and prepare for full time service. Pray especially for these two young people, Diamandy and Tito.

Thanksgiving Service

We had special front row seats in the service.

Pastor Isaac preached about the missionary work of Paul

A final song and prayer for our family and minsitry.

A group shot of Prince of Peace

Sunday night, June 8th, the congregation of Prince of Peace surprised us with a special service to thank us for our eight years of ministry with them. Several families prapaired a special song or reading, and Pastor Isaac preached a sermon about Paul and his missionary service. They sang a final song "Misionero Que Va" (Missionary that Goes) and prayed for our new work at Agua Viva. It was a very special service! Afterwards there was food; including Chiles Rellenos, Marcia's favorite Mexican dish! We have been blessed during our years at Prince of Peace and continue to have special friendships there. Remember Prince of Peace in your prayers as they are working toward the goal of officially organizing as a church in a year or so.

Dedication Service

A group picture of those attending the dedication service.

A special prayer for the family.

Last Saturday evening, we attended a house dedication with the Emanuel Church. A family that attends the church lost their house to a fire on the 26th of February. They and 6 of their children and two grandchildren have been staying in two classrooms at the Emanuel Church since the fire. Pastor Adolfo was able to coordinate with Amor Ministries to have a new house built for them. The house is only rough framed, but the family wanted to have their new home dedicated before they began moving back in.



We have known this family for years, since we started the Emanuel Church. They have passed through many trials before, with cancer, a daughter almost died of a ruptured appendix, and others have suffered illnesses. They would attend regularly for a while, and then drift away. The family began attending church again several months before the fire, and have continued to attend and become more involved in the life of the church.



Please pray for this family, that they will be faithful to their promises, and that in this new home they will reflect God's love in their neighborhood.