Semana Santa

Semana Santa or Holy Week is a busy time in Mexico. School children get the week before and the week after Easter for vacation. Most factories give some time off during the week, and on Friday almost all stores are closed. On Good Friday there are processions with people carrying large crosses, and special services. In some places people are actually crucified on crosses for several hours.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church also has special services during this week. Several of our churches invited their communities to see an evangelistic movie during the week. On Friday the Prince of Peace church had a special service of "7 Palabras" or the 7 last sayings of Christ from the cross. Seven men from the church each took a turn giving a devotional about one of the phrases.

On Saturday we went to the beach halfway between Rosarito and Ensenada. Yes, it was great beach weather here, about 80 and sunny! We met at church at 6:30 am and returned at about 5:00 pm.

Sunday morning we had our traditional sunrise service at 6:00 am. Because the women were the first to hear of Jesus' resurrection, the ladies are in charge of this special service. They all come dressed in white and lead worship, participate with special music, recite memorized verses, and give the devotional. Marcia gave a children's message at the end of the service using resurrection eggs. Then the men serve breakfast! This year we enjoyed "flautas", (deep fried chicken tacitos) beans, and boiled eggs.

At 9:00 we had our regular worship service. The day was a blessing, and a celebration that Christ Lives!

Friday, and it is all done!

Friday the team worked on finishing up the shingling and the electrical. The roof crew finished first and took a trip to Downtown Tijuana for shopping. The electrical crew stayed behind to get the rest of the building wired. It is an impressive site, to see a church building go up in only five days! Pastor Armando Ponce, from Cristo Arca de Salvacion church came by to see the building, and was impressed with the work. He had to try out the view from the pulpit.

Saturday morning the whole crew made it across the border and to IHOP for breakfast. Pray for safe travels as there are predictions for snow in the mountains!

Thursday

Thursday was a busy day. The two main projects were the wiring and the roof.

A trench had to be dug from the electrical pole at the road to each of the buildings to lay the main cable. The new santuary as well had to be wired for lights, outlets, fans, and speaker wire.

The roof was another big job. The plywood had to be nailed on, then the tar paper and shingles. Bird block and facia boards had to be cut and nailed up as well. By the end of the day, one side was shingled and some of the plywood was up on the other side.

Everyone returned "home" to Pancho Villa tired. The pingpong table had only a few takers.

Wednesday, raising the roof

Wednesday morning dawned a bit cloudy, all the better to work on a roof. The first order of the day was to make the two gable ends. These trusses are special and it is always a challenge to get it exactly right. Then the truss crew loaded the 36 scissors trusses and two gables on to a flatbed truck for transport. The truck made it to Agua Viva in the same condition it left Pancho Villa.

The building crew had to unload the trusses and set them in place. It is a very impressive site to see the trusses go up. It is also a bit scary to see the guys up in the trusses and walking on the walls. By evening all the trusses were set in place, ready for the plywood sheeting on Thursday.

When they arrived for their Wednesday evening Bible study, the small congregation at Agua Viva was surprised to see how far the building has advanced. They are very excited to have a santuaty.

For lots more photos check out the Denver Adult 08 album.

day 2 working hard

Tuesday morning saw the two teams at work again. The construction crew at Agua Viva began by raising the two long walls. They then built the three shorter ones. By the end of the day all of the walls were up! They are ready for the trusses on Wednesday.

The truss crew finished all of the trusses except the two end gables. The time was 11 minutes per truss, until they ran out of glue and had to take a lunch break. By the end of the day all 36 trusses were done and ready for transport to Agua Viva.

During devotions two veteran team members were honored for 10 years of service. Mark Hinken and Mile Alsum (in ausentia) received their ten year jackets. Thanks for your commitment to building churches in Tijuana.

More pictures are available in the Denver Adult 08 album. Link on right hand side bar.

12th annual Denver Adult team

The adult team from 3rd CRC Denver arrived in Pancho Villa, Tijuana, Sunday evening. They came ready to build the new santuary in Ojo de Agua, for the "Agua Viva" church.

Monday morning the group divided into two teams, one team went to the site to begin framing the walls and begin electrical work, while the truss team stayed at Pancho Villa, at the "Cristo Arca de Salvacion" Church, to begin building the scissors trusses.

In the evening two veteran team members were "honored" by Dick Pastorkamp. Dan Tigar was honored for his service as a volunteer fireman. Pastor Dave DeRidder was honored for his plan to ride in the Sea to Sea cycling event this summer.

For more pictures click on the Denver Adult 08 album link to the right.

Puppet Miniatry at Prince of Peace

Yesterday a group of eight adults and youth from the Prince of Peace church began a new outreach program directed towards the children in Altiplano. Diamandy came up with the idea and is directing the project.

Before hand they passed out flyers in the community, then on Friday at 3:00 they had two short puppet shows with an evangelistic message, sang some songs, and had a snack. About 40 people, children and parents, came to the first event! They are planning a similar program every other week.

Please pray for the workers involved, and for the children and adults who attend and hear the Gospel message.

Friday, wrapping up

The men from Calvary CRC finished up in the morning, filling some more holes. They then attended a joint prayer service with the men from the Rehab center. It was a moving experience for everyone.

In the afternoon they went to down town Tijuana to do some tourist shopping. They returned for a pizza dinner, and a final time of sharing with ourselves and the Lees. They went to bed early to be up this morning for their 6:15 flight from San Diego.

Thanks again for all of your work, and the love you showed to the men at the rehab center.

Thursday, winding down

Today the guys from Calvary went to the 6:00 am devotions at the Rehab center. They enjoyed the experience, even though they did not understand much of anything! They finished up pouring the columns, and began pulling off the forms from some they had poured first. Then came the job of filling the holes back up. 12" at a time, and then compacting.

Check out more pictures by going to the Calvary album. Link is on the right side bar.

Fire!

On Monday we had Santa Ana winds, the dry winds from the east that fuel wild fires. In Terrazas, about half a mile from where the group was working there was a house fire that quickly spread and took three other houses as well. Neighbors were there with garden hoses, and buckets of water. The fire truck took a wrong turn and was late. Fortunately a water truck came by and helped to put out the fire. It was amazing it only took four houses. Yesterday the guys saw another fire up the hill a ways from them.

Fire is always a danger here, with the dry conditions, and poor wiring (many times using spliced or damaged wires) with the wind it just takes a spark for a fire to start. Many homes in Terrazas are still stealing electricity, hooking a bare end of a wire over the electrical wires and then stringing it to their homes. This is also dangerous in the winds, and rain.

Just last week a family from the Emanuel church, Julio Cesar and Geronima, and their 8 children were left homeless when one of the grandchildren started a fire playing with matches. This family is staying at the Emanuel church until Grupo Amor can build a house for them in two weeks.

Day 2, Calvary CRC

Tuesday morning the guys started out where they left off. They made forms (from used plywood complete with rusty nails), and rebar columns to put in the holes. They then had to reinforce the 16" forms, and fill them with cement. The goal was to pour seven more cement footings (bases) and six concrete columns today.

Check out the photo album link for Calvary CRC to see more pictures of the work. Pictures will be added daily.

Calvary CRC at the Rehab Center

Have you seen the movie "Holes"? If you have you can imagine the scene at the Forjando Nuevos Destinos Rehab center in Terrazas del Valle. But instead of holes six feet deep these holes are about twelve feet deep. What are they doing, digging for water? Buried treasure? New outhouses? No, these are footings for the new two story building for the Rehab Center. Because the lot where the center is located has tons (literally) of fill dirt, in order to build a strong foundation, the footings have to go down into hard ground. Eight men from Calvary CRC in Holland, Michigan, arrived Saturday night to help with the project. They are working along side of the guys from the rehab center, under the direction of Paulino Luna, an Elder at the Cristo, Arca de Salvacion (Christ the Ark of Salvation) Church, who is also a cement mason.

The group is staying at the Cristo, Arca de Salvacion church in near by Francisco Villa. On Sunday morning they worshiped with the Arca church. They ate a taco lunch at the church, took a tour of some of the other churches and missions in Tijuana, and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the Geurink's house. In the evening they worshiped with the men from the rehab center at the Dios Viviente (The Living God) church located on the other half of the same property.

Presently the rehab center has about 35 men, it has had more than 45. The new facilities are designed to hold 150 men. The construction will be done in stages, replacing the current temporary buildings, as it progresses.

For photos of the work in Terrazas, click on the link to Calvary CRC album at the right of the page.

Church Planting and Church Building

The month of February has been very busy, with activities at the new mission, and with preparing the foundation and floor for the new Santuary. Third CRC Denver will be here the 9th - 15th of March to frame the church building. The floor, however, had to be done early because of the activities on February 16th and 17th. Both outdoor activities took place on the new slab.

First we had to fill the area with fill dirt, and compact it. Then came the job of leveling the area. Finally the forms and rebar had to be put in place and tied in. The on Monday February 11th the pad was poured. About 40 men, and women, from several churches and the rehab center showed up to help with the work. This time we ordered the cement from cement trucks. The cement was supposed to arrive a 7:30 am, the first truck arrived at 10:45. So, we had breakfast before the work.

After all the trucks had delivered their cement we were still about 6 sacks short, so the men got to mix the last little bit by hand and deliver it by wheel barrel. Scott, Paulino Luna, and another cement mason stayed to finish troweling the cement.

We still have to lay two rows of bricks on the outside of the foundation, and then we are ready for the group from Denver!

For more pictures, lots more, check out the foundation for santuary photo album link on the right hand bar.

Evangelistic Campaign

The men from the Rehabilitation Center, Forjando Nuevos Destinos, hosted an Evangelistic Campaign on Sunday February 17th at the "Agua Viva" mission. They plan to have a campaign at each of the churches and missions in Tijuana during 2008. The praise band from "Cristo Arca de Salvacion" Church played, and their pastor, Armando gave the message. Several men from the rehab center gave their testimonies as well. There were several new families from the community that attended, and three families accepted home Bible Studies. They also sold food, Bibles, and plaques to raise funds for the rehab center.

Youth Outreach Event in Agua Viva

For several months the youth from the Reformed Presbyterian Churches in Tijuana have been planning an outreach event at the new mission "Agua Viva". The theme of their last camp was service and this event was a followup, allowing the youth to put in practice what they had learned. They organized three puppet shows, a clown show, a time of singing, a class for children and adults, and they collected toys and food to give out. Saturday, February 16th was the day of the event. The theme was God's Love. There were about 180 children who attended, and 80 families for a total of about 300 people. James Lee also took family pictures which will be available this Wednesday at the Bible Study. Twenty three people signed up to have someone visit them in their home for a Bible study. Pray for us as we begin the follow up with these families. We are thankful for all of the hours of planning and hard work the youth dedicated to this project. Melissa and her friend Lesly were in charge of the children's class and Karissa was in charge of the puppet shows. If you would like to see more pictures of this event click on the link to the Servicio Evangelismo Juvenil album.

It Could Have Been Worse

The saying "It could have been worse" is one my kids dislike. Sometimes we just want to feel bad and not see the good side. Tuesday, December 18th was one day when this statement was very true. We went shopping as a family to San Diego in two cars. We met for lunch and then separated, planning to meet up again in a few hours. Before the planned meeting time we got a call from Daniel, that someone had broken into the Mountaineer. They had tried to pry all four windows, breaking the molding and seals on each, before breaking the driver's side window. They ended up taking only one bag of gifts worth about $50.00, a pliers tool, and two cell phone chargers (the cell phone they left). The good news was that they did not break into the pickup where we had over $500.00 worth of sound equipment for the Prince of Peace church, and other gifts. It was a cold ride home, and cold ride back to San Diego the next day to replace the glass. It began to sprinkle, but never rained hard. The guy, who replaced the glass, also bent the moldings and seals back, so it is presentable until we get them replaced. He did not charge us extra.

That same night, the 18th, we were outside trying to cover the broken window with plastic, because there was a forecast of rain. How many days does it rain in Tijuana? I think Murphy's Law was in effect. While we were outside we smelled smoke, turned to look, and our neighbor's house was on fire. We went over to help, and Scott ended up helping them pull a burning king sized mattress out of the house. Everything left inside was covered with smoke and ash. Fortunately it was a cement brick house and the house itself was not very damaged. While they were fighting the fire they explained how it started.

The two girls, Rosario (9) and Giovanna (5) were inside the house alone when the fire started. Giovanna was asleep on the bed and Rosario was resting, when the father, Javier, decided to run to the corner store for milk. His wife, Claudia, was working that night. He shut the girls inside. His parents and three other married brothers live on the same lot so they sometimes leave the girls alone. While he was gone his youngest brother went outside and saw smoke coming from the windows. He called for help. Javier got there and broke down the door. The bed was on fire. With the smoke he could not see anything. He began to feel the burning mattress trying to find the girls. They were not on the bed. He soon found them on the floor of the bathroom where they were hiding. They were rushed to the hospital where they were treated for smoke inhalation. The doctors only said they were in grave shape and all they could do was wait. By the morning they were doing better. Rosario explained exactly how the fire started; she decided to light the stove to warm the milk her dad was bringing, but couldn't get the stove to light. She carried the burning match to the bedroom where it fell on the bed and began the fire. She pulled her sleeping sister into the bathroom and that is all she remembers.

Javier had burns on both hands and one foot, but neither girl was burned at all. The next day when Javier went in to work to explain why he did not show up on time, he was let go. So now the family was left with big medical bills, a burned house, and no job, as Claudia's job was seasonal and ended that Friday.

But there was a bright side. Javier and Claudia had studied the Bible with us for almost a year. They had both prayed to accept Christ. They loved studying but eventually their work schedules made weekly studies difficult. We encouraged them to attend church and they recognized the need to do so, but because of family pressure and their embarrassment over Rosario's behavior (she is epileptic and developmentally challenged) they only occasionally attended. Javier told us when he saw the flames coming out of the window his first thought was that the girls were dead, he prayed and felt the courage to enter the burning room. While at the hospital they spent lots of time praying, especially after the doctor told them they were both in grave condition. The next day the doctors were surprised at how well the girls responded to treatment. Javier is sure it was a miracle.

As a family, Daniel and Scott's folks included, we spent time helping them to scrub the walls, prime them with a special primer, and paint them. Their two room house looks bright and cheery with a new coat of light blue paint. We were able to provide a bed for them as well. It was not the way we had planned to spend Christmas break, but it was fun to help them and we were blessed as well. Javier, Claudia, and even Rosario wanted to help and work with us. We had lots of opportunity to listen to them tell their stories and encourage them to keep growing in their faith. They did attend church with us on Sunday at Emanuel, which is a block from their house. Pray that they will continue to attend and that their extended family will also show an interest in spiritual things.

Christmas in Mexico

“ The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

John 1:9

Greetings from sunny Tijuana. This Christmas as in years past, our neighborhood is brightly lit with Christmas lights, but unfortunately the true “Light of Lights”, Christ the Savior has no place in many Mexican homes. Starting with the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12^th and continuing until Christmas, many people in Mexico have “posadas”. They dress up as Biblical figures, with a Mary and a Joseph, and walk the dark streets holding candles, knocking on doors looking for someone to offer them a place to stay. Each night they find an open door with a party waiting, but the sad truth in their lives is that they themselves have never opened the door of their hearts to Christ. They are still wandering in spiritual darkness.

The celebrations continue until January 6^th, “Día de los Reyes” (Day of the Kings) When they celebrate the arrival of the Magi to present gifts to the Christ child. They gather with family and friends to eat a “Rosca” (Sweet bread in the shape of a crown) which has small plastic dolls baked inside. The person who finds the “baby” in his piece of bread gets to help host the next celebration, in February. In the past, families traditionally exchanged gifts on January 6th and not on Christmas. Children wait anxiously to see what the “kings” brought them. Like many homes in North America, the focus becomes the gifts and not Jesus. There are however, people in Tijuana who like the wise men of old are searching for a light to guide them to the true King of Kings.

In this past year we have had the privilege of seeing many step out of the darkness and into Christ’s light. It is exciting to see the men, women, and children from the “Agua Viva” Mission grow in their new faith. We had a special worship service on Sunday, December 23 to celebrate Christmas. There were special musical presentations from the children, the youth, and the ladies. The children also had a dramatic presentation of the Christmas Story in the form of a slide show with pictures of the children dressed in Biblical costumes acting out the story. It was put to music with narration from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Afterward, we had a pot luck dinner with lots of great food and fellowship.

We continue to reach out to the community with evangelistic films, the ladies Bible Study, children’s classes, and Wednesday night Bible study where we are studying the Gospel of John to help the people discover who Jesus really is. We are looking forward to holding regular Sunday services in the near future.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and we wish you a blessed new year. Our family is doing well and we are enjoying a visit from Daniel and Scott’s parents.

We thank you for your partnership with us as we reflect His light in Tijuana.

In His service,

Scott and Marcia Geurink

Maximina and Guillermina

For five months Maximina has been studying the Bible in her home. She is a 62 year old widow who lives with her widowed mother, Guillermina. They live two blocks from the new mission "Agua Viva". Maximina felt drawn to the mission since the inauguration. She knew about the eye clinic but decided not to go, that night she says that without knowing why, she just ended up at the puppet show, and was touched. When the story of the Philippian jailer came up in her Bible study this week, she shared that it was the first story she had heard at our church, the one that touched her heart (the story was one of the puppet skits).

Guillermina, her mother, does not read at all and has studied in the past with Jehovah's Witnesses. Maximina has a second grade education and sometimes she doesn't understand some words in the Bible studies and has a hard time memorizing, but she does it! This past week during the study at her home on Wednesday, we invited her to join the Monday morning Ladies group that is studying the same book. Maximina was a chapter behind them but we told her not to worry, just come and be part of the group. To our surprise, on Monday she arrived with both lessons done, and both verses memorized! We are hoping she will join the group, and find encouragement in studying with others. She sometimes comes to the Wednesday night study at Agua Viva but finds it hard to leave her mother alone at night, especially as it gets dark so early now.

Each Wednesday at 4:30 Diamandy and Marcia, and sometimes Jane Crum, arrive at their home to give the Bible Study. Guillermina is usually outside on the porch watching for us. Maximina has juice or coffee waiting. At first Guillermina would just listen, but for the past month she has been entering into the conversation and asking questions. It seems that during the week there are heated discussions between the two of them over differences in beliefs. We keep pointing to the Bible as the ultimate authority for what we should believe.

We are encouraged by the growth we have seen in Maximina. She truly wants to learn and grow. Even her mother admits that she has changed since becoming a believer. They both laughingly described times when she wanted to quit because she thought she couldn't answer the questions in the study or memorize a verse. Maximina has found that prayer works and the Holy Spirit is always there to help her. She even admitted that one other time she began studying the Bible but after a few studies she would purposely not be home or even hide when they knocked at her door.

Pray for Guillermina, that she will understand that salvation is only in Christ. Since she does not read, she has accepted what she has been taught by the Jehovah's Witnesses for years. She willingly admits she can not explain why she believes what she does, perhaps it is only tradition. Pray that the scriptures she is hearing in the studies will show her the truth.

James and Barbarita Lee

We are excited that the Lee family; James, Barbarita, and Joshua, will soon be joining us in Tijuana. James graduated this spring from Calvin Seminary with a MA in Missions and was later ordained as a Ministry Associate in the Christian Reformed Church. He did his undergraduate studies at Kuiper College (formerly Reformed Bible College). He has many talents including singing and playing guitar. Barbarita also graduated from Kuiper College and later earned a nursing degree. She continues to work towards her licensure as a RN. Barbarita also has many artistic talents including singing and scrap booking. Together they are excited about working with the people of Tijuana. Their son Joshua will have his first birthday the 21st of December. He is a precious boy, very friendly and happy. Joshua is already learning Korean and English and soon will add Spanish.

The Lees were able to visit Tijuana for a few days in November to get a first hand look at the work here, and to see the 'lay of the land.' While they were here we visited many of the churches and missions, and they were even able to find a house to rent, not too far from us! They plan to arrive in Tijuana on the 7th of January.

The Lees are replacing John and Jerre DeYoung who served with World Missions for 36 years. The first year, the Lees will be finding their niche in the work here: helping out at one or more of the new missions, and perhaps teaching a course at the Bible Institute. James lived for several years while growing up in Argentina and speaks very good Spanish (with a singing accent). Barbarita learned her Spanish on STS, at College, and on the job as a nurse. She will probably spend some time the first year fine tuning her Spanish. She also hopes to finish some classes for her RN degree. Joshua's job will be to charm the neighbors!

If you would like to learn more about the Lees, check out their blogsite; there is a link to their site on the right hand side bar.

"Forjando Nuevos Destinos" Rehab Center

One of the exciting new ministries of the Reformed Presbyterian Church here in Tijuana is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Terrazas del Valle. The center is called "Forjando Nuevos Destinos" (Forging New Destinies) and shares the property with the "Dios Viviente" (Living God) Church. The program started just over a year ago when several men in one of our churches, "Cristo Arca de Salvacion" (Christ the Ark of Salvacion) who themselves had been helped to break drug and alcohol problems through rehab centers had the desire to start a rehab program. They approached the pastor, Armando Ponce, with their burden to help others find freedom from drugs and alcohol by the power of God. The Director of the center is Carlos Vasquez.

They started with a small building and a handful of guys. The center quickly grew to ten, then more, and now they are ministering to over 40 men and boys. These men sign up for a 3 month program. The first step is the detoxification center where they are kept until their body completes the withdrawal stage and they are no longer violent. In stage two they stay in one of the dormitories, locked at night, and begin working on the compound. By stage three they are given more privileges, and some even go out of the center during the day to work. Many of the men decide to stay longer than the required three months, some do not feel strong enough to face the pressure on the outside, and others feel a desire to keep learning and growing in their faith and to help the new comers.

Their families are supposed to pay about $20 a week to cover food and other costs, but the reality is that many families do not have the money or no longer have any contact with the person in the center. The center is run on a very small budget.

The men attend two Bible Studies a day, sometimes in the mornings they attend a small group inductive Bible Study using the Bible League Project Phillip materials and other similar studies, and in the evenings they have a worship service. It is very impressive to hear these guys sing, and follow along (out loud) in their Bibles with the preacher. They are very enthusiastic!

There are also some young boys and teens at the rehab center. The government agency DIF (like Child Protection Services) has been to the center and has allowed them to stay. I would be great in the future to have a separate facility. So many children and young teens here have problems with sniffing glue, and then go on to use other drugs.

One of our work groups this past summer, Rusk CRC from Zeeland Michigan, helped to build bunk beds in one of the dormitories, and to put plywood on the walls. Another group from Hillcrest CRC in Hudsonville, Michigan held an eye clinic at the center during the day, seeing almost 150 people, and then the youth performed a great evangelistic puppet show at night for the guys at the center and the community in Terrazas. We were also at the center last week with a neighbor of ours, Chema, who makes plaster figures that are sold at the border to tourists. He went with us for a day to the center to teach some of the men how to make plaster wall placks with scripture verses on them, so that the men at the center can make, paint, and sell them to help with their operating costs.

If you would like to see more pictures from the Rehab center, click on the link to Forjando Nuevos Destinos on the right hand side of the page.