Wednesday

Today was another great day. The work crew painted the sanctuary, poured another cement pad, continued work on the drywall, and almost finished laying tile, just the splashboard to go!

VBS also went well, we had about 94 kids again, a few of them new. We have also made friends with a sibling group that lives near the church. I am sure you will hear stories about them soon.

Agua Viva team, work, work, work

The work crew at Agua Viva poured two more cement slabs and have a third almost ready to pour. They also poured three footings six columns for the bathroom foundation.

The drywall crew finished the sanctuary and is moving along in the classroom and storage room.

After the drywall was done a coat of primer was put on the sanctuary walls by the paint crew.


The tile crew in the parsonage got half of the floor tiled!

Way to go guys!

Tuesday, another great day!

Tuesday we had another great day of work.

The VBS crew had things down smooth. All but five kids from Monday returned and 28 new children came for a total of 94 kids!

The story was about Moses and the bronze serpent, the kids loved snake craft. They also love playing with their new friends!

The painting is almost done, today they worked on the last few spots of the wall and the brown trim.

Great job guys! For more pictures watch the slide show on the top right hand corner. Click on the slide show to see the pictures larger.

Monday, another work day

Monday morning the group again divided up into two teams, a VBS team and a work team at Agua Viva.

The first day of VBS was a success. The day started out slowly with about thirty children at the opening. They kept trickling in all morning and by the end of the program we had 71 children. They enjoyed their class time, game time, sandwiches and lemonade, and their craft. Several of the kids stayed afterwards to play and help clean up. The group also enjoyed playing with them.

After lunch the VBS crew worked on painting the buildings again.

The Agua Viva team also worked hard. They formed and poured two slabs of concrete, dug a foundation for a new bathroom, worked on drywall, and began preparing the parsonage for a tile floor.

By evening all were tired, but shared "God moments" from the day. They were blessed while being a blessing to others.

Haven CRC, Zeeland

Friday morning a work team from Haven CRC arrived at the San Diego airport. We were excited to meet them, knowing that Scott's sister, Deb, her husband and son would be among the 42 people on the team. What we didn't know was that our son Daniel was also part of the group. What a surprise to see him jump out at us from the crowd! Thanks to all who made it possible for him to come and visit for a week.

We did some grocery shopping in San Diego and tourist shopping in downtown Tijuana before arriving at the Arca church to set up camp.

Saturday was a work day, half of the team went with Marcia to Terrazas to get ready for the VBS. They organized the crafts and games, and passed out fliers dressed as clowns. They got lots of attention from the kids and adults on the street. In the afternoon they began painting the church building and the classroom/parsonage.

The other half of the team went to Agua Viva where they built a stage in the sanctuary, poured a cement slab, and worked on drywall.

Sunday we worshipped at Agua Viva, and stayed afterwards for their monthly pot luck dinner and fellowship. Then we went to the beach where we enjoyed a fun afternoon of body surfing and games, a hot dog roast, and a worship service.

The Work Continues at the Rehab Center

This week, Dave Crum hosted Dave Nuewsma and his work team. They began the week on Monday, helping out at the rehab center pouring part of the cement roof (which will eventually also be the floor for the second floor of the building.) They worked together with the guys from the rehab to mix the cement, in four giant piles on the ground. They used 43 bags of cement in total, so each big pile had ten sacks of cement.

After mixing the cement, they moved it by bucket brigade to the roof.

The end result was this second floor/roof.

For more photos, click on the link to the Forjando Nuevos Destinos album in the right sidebar.

25th Anniversary of the Cristo Arca de Salvacion Church

Sunday, July 20th, the Cristo Arca de Salvacion church celebrated 25 years of service for the Lord in the community of Francisco Villa. The special service began at 9:00 in the morning, there was a meal afterwards, with activities and games, including a bonfire, until after midnight.

Abraham and Doris Marcus, missionaries who helped to begin the work, attended the service as well. There were stories and pictures with the history of the church. The work began with projecting Christan movies in an abandoned house in the community. Later they bought the property where the church is today, for a whopping $400! There were pictures of the quanson hut which served as a church and parsonage for many years.

Pastor Armando and Adriana have been working at the Arca church for 22 years now! They were also the ones who lived for many years in the quanson hut. There were pictures of the early services at the church, attended mostly by children, and even pictures of their own children as babies!

What a blessing it is to see God's faithfulness throughout the years. The Arca Church today is also in charge of three missions in neighboring communities, and the gospel continues to spread as Tijuana continues to grow!

Thanks 3rd CRC Denver!

We are thankful for the youth from 3rd CRC Denver who were here to help us last week. The VBS was a great success, with 1 70 kids on the last day. In all over 210 kids attended at some time during the week. We also had a great group of women, 32 in all, who had their own special class with Jane. They also had craft time.





The closing service was great, there were prizes for the top kids in each of the older grades who learned all of their verses. Eight of the women also learned their four verses and received a Bible.





The group also helped by finishing the drywall in the sancturay, applying an orange peel texture, priming and painting. Sheetrock was installed in the storage room which doubled as the adult classroom during VBS. The group also finished painting the outside of the church building. On Thursday after the VBS, they also poured a small slab of concrete on the side of the church.

A smaller group was working at the home of Ana Maria, mother of Pastor Armando, putting in insulation and sheetrock in her house. They also framed a bathroom and closet. She is so apreciative, her house is a lot cooler already!

The group also helped out with the rehab center, getting things ready for the cement roof of their new bathroom, dormitory, and detox center. As a group, we also worshiped with the guys at their Thursday night worship service. What a blessing.

Tuesday, Day two

Today we enjoyed another great day with the youth team from 3rd Denver CRC. At VBS we had 57 new children, for a total of about 145 for the day. We also had 26 women in the adult class. They are rapidly outgrowing their space in the storage room!

During VBS, there was a team working at Pastor Armando's mother's house, installing a bathroom and insulation. Another team was at the rehab center helping again with cement.

After lunch the church building got a second coat of paint outside, the drywall on the ceiling inside got another coat of mud, and more drywall was hung in the storage room.

If you would like to see more pictures, there is a slide show in the upper right hand side bar. Click on the slides enlarge them.

Monday, getting started

On Monday morning, the entire team went to "Agua Viva" to help set up for VBS. We had to unload and set up the craft room and jumping castle; set up the sanctuary, sound system, and instruments; set up the puppet stage; and make space in the storage room for the ladies to meet with their class. By 9:00 all was ready and the children began to arrive. The jumping castle and balloons were a great announcement!

The first day we had 97 kids enrolled in the VBS and 19 women in the adult class. With a few minor glitches it was a great first day!

The afternoon was spent painting the outside of the sanctuary the same bright peach and blue as the classroom, putting up drywall in the storage room, and working on "mudding" the sanctuary.

A seperate group of workers went to the rehab center to help put up supports for pouring a cement roof/second floor.

Everyone arrived back at the Pancho Villa church tired but with a feeling of accomplishment!

3rd CRC Denver Youth

This evening the work group from 3rd Denver CRC arrived safely at the "Cristo Arca de Salvacion" Church. They had two good (but long) days of travel, and a very easy border crossing. We were at the church to welcome them, meet several new members of the team, and give a short orientation to Tijuana. Tomorrow morning we will head out at 7:30 for the "Agua Viva" mission to begin VBS. Please pray for the group, the teachers, and the children who will be attending the program this week. We will be posting an update and pictures daily.

Home Invasion!

This morning we woke up to a surprise, toilet paper covered our cars, was hanging from our trees, and our roof! Evidently someone jumped the wall and entered our yard in the middle of the night. How they entered with our guard dogs (one mellow Lab and 2 Cocker Spaniels) on duty is one of our questions. We suspected that they were people known to us and our dogs! This was further confirmed when we found four peace offerings with names on them. How did they know that I like Reeses peanut butter cups? The culprits left further evidence in a text message sent at 2:20am. They are friends of the family who are also students at the Bible Institute. Could it be they were not completely happy with their grade for the course Scott taught last month? The next question is, what will happen to their homes?

On a serious note, we have lived in safety during our years in Tijuana, with very few things ever stolen from our yard and never has anyone broken into our home. With the rise of crime in Mexico and especially the big cities, we covet your prayers for continued safety for ourselves, fellow missionaries, and friends.