How to sum up 6,000 miles on the road?

Great times with friends 

around the table.

First stop . . . In'n'Out Burger!

Soaking up every minute with 

Chuck's family.

How do you sum up over 6,000 miles of driving, fun visits with so many of you, and a feeling that there is never enough time to take care of things for family?

Well, it was BUSY and REWARDING. We were so thankful to be able to visit friends, new and old, and to be able to take care of a few things for family that were way overdue. There's never enough time to spend the kind of time we would like to, catching up with each of you, but we are thankful for so many of you who opened your homes and kitchens to us as we travelled all the way from Mexico, through Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, up to Washington visiting friends, families and churches sharing the ministry of the last year with so many of you.

"Beyond Limits" church service at
Mission Hills Church. A service
dedicated solely to special needs
adults. They donated funds to buy
wheelchairs for Mexicans in need.

Treasured memories with 

Colleen's family.

All packed & ready to head 

south of the border.

You know the commercial where they ask people who've just won a competition, the first thing they want to do, and they say go to "Disneyland" or "Hawaii"? Well, we had a few things on our list of "wants". Upon entering the U.S., our first want is to eat at In-N-Out Burgers. Check. Might sound weird, but Target is another desired stop and strangely therapeutic as you roam the aisles realizing that one store sells 90% of what you "need" at well over half the cost of what you are used to.

While the kids played with friends and family, Colleen and I met with a number of churches and organizations who serve in similar ways to Global Church Partners (GCP). We were thankful for the opportunity to learn, share each other's passions, and hope for future collaborators in our ministry to equip and animate churches in Mexico. We learned so much from meeting with folks doing huge things in education and non-profit leadership. We are praying for next steps in continuing to collaborate with these people. In all, we left with a greater vision for what could be and a better appreciation of who is already doing remarkable things in the U.S.

As you may recall from our spring newsletters, we had a large support-raising goal. This year's trip stateside seemed different from previous years, as we are probably more comfortable in telling our story and God opened up more opportunities to share with churches and individuals. We found these churches and individuals had a desire to help equip the Church outside of the U.S. We are so thankful for what you did to help us. Thank you for hosting events and inviting friends who might be interested to learn more about GCP. Incredible! And, just like every other step of faith we've taken, it wasn't until we were only 12 hours from home, here in Mexico, that we learned that just enough financial support had come in to almost cover what our current salary and payroll taxes are for the next year. Praise God! We still have many more ministry expenses to trust God for, but we are greatly encouraged by this "just enough" provision.

All in all, we were beyond grateful for the opportunity to have spent time in the U.S. this past summer. Being out of country gives you a greater appreciation for what we used to take for granted (i.e.: convenience, availability, resources, order, space, etc.). We value time spent with family and friends, as it is a rarity we soaked in every minute. We were overwhelmed by the doors God opened to be able to meet with so many of you. Sometimes spontaneity was the best method for reuniting with friends we haven't seen for decades. New partnerships began with churches and organizations that we would have never dreamed of on our own accord, which brings us back to our common theme of this year, "Just show up!" and God will take care of the rest. We are encouraged, energized, and looking forward with great expectation.

Transformed Lives!

What do you get when you have eager participants from 3 churches & 2 families, a town full of kids & youth, and non-stop energy & enthusiasm . . . TRANSFORMED LIVES! For a week in July, we had 10 people from Mission Hills church join us, along with 9 people from the church in Las Varas, the Hernandez family and ours join Pastor Oswaldo and his family in the town of Mazatan. 

Our purpose was to bring enthusiasm, encouragement, and ministry tools to Pastor Oswaldo and his church. The team from Las Varas led the GameLife Kids Camp, which we had every morning. This is so exciting because it was only last year that another Mission Hills team was here training the Las Varas crew in GameLife and now they are leading and training another church. Through games, crafts, snacks, bible stories, and songs the life of Jesus came to life for the 60-70 children that participated.

Each afternoon, the youth from our group and the youth of Mazatan joined together and played soccer, basketball, and volleyball. The Americans even taught the others to play football and ultimate frisbee. WOW, the competition was tough but also very amiable. It was a great time to get to know each other and sweat alot. Knowing our chances of losing the soccer match, we proposed that the loser provide dinner for the winners. So after the game, we brought hot dogs to the field, which were enjoyed by everyone. Amazing times spent building relationships, exerting alot of energy, and loving on each other.

One evening we showed the movie "God is Not Dead" in the plaza and invited the whole town. It was a good turn out and the kids went crazy when the bags of popcorn turned up.

As the youth gathered throughout the week, it was decided that on Thursday afternoon everyone would adventure on a hike to the local waterfall. Upon arrival at the waterfall, the attendance was quite low, but then a whole crowd showed up late after the local soccer team returned from an extra long tournament. What an encouragement! Here is where Pastor Oswaldo shared his story of how God transformed his life from when he was a youth in Mazatan until now. This was significant because many of the youth gathered didn't know this side of Oswaldo, only their parents were familiar with his story because they had lived it with him. So now a new generation was aware of how God changed the direction of his life. It was a powerful time!

Our last night was a family celebration held in the church. We had invited all of the children from the GameLife Kids Camp to invite their families to come to the church for dinner, slideshow, song presentation from the kids, and a message from Pastor Oswaldo. WOW, it was a packed house with overflow into the street. Oswaldo was moved to tears as this many people hadn't gathered in the church for many years.

The blessings of this trip were many. Most importantly, experiencing the joy and reward of working amongst an international team from 4 different churches. Although there are stumbling blocks and awkward moments to work through, the benefits are remarkable. Working, cooking, playing, worshipping, camping, learning, and understanding side by side compares to no other. Another blessing was seeing the transformation in Oswaldo's spirit, from discouraged and worn to renewed and exhilarated. His daughter now hopes to host weekly treks to the waterfall with other youth in town. Oswaldo is planning on hosting GameLife meetings for the children of Mazatan.

(These 3 amigos have been in ministry together now for 10 years).
Bottom row, left to right: Rebeca (Oswaldo's daughter), Nati (Oswaldo's wife), and Rafael (Rafael's son).

Top row, left to right: Pastor Oswaldo, Pastor Rafael (Las Varas), and Chuck