Church build

This is one of the first views We had of the "open air church" we had heard about. My Spanish was very limited in the beginning- so it took me some time to realize that the pastor and severla of the leaders in that church were in my class! This is a pic of the start of a medical mission we did out there with Al and Barb Goldsworthy.






When the rains came in December, somehow this church in one of Tijuanas poorest areas found some wood to put up a roof. At night it can be quite cold here with temperatures hovering around 0C with plenty of humidity that makes you feel the cold in your bones... it was around this time we thought it might be a good idea to explore the options of putting a building up with them







They found some walls, finally, in the late winter to keep the rain out.













This was the picture in August when they tore down the building and started to clear the land to ready for the build











In the meantime- this is where they are meeting. With the low ceiling and no windows and only tarp roof, the building inside is unbelievably hot! It was about 25C outside the building this morning and probably 30+C inside! I don't know how they do it with the place filled on a hot Sunday afternoon!







The church guys formed the land and put in the rebar for the foundation and strength.













And this morning we put cement down for the floor. We had 18 guys out and a few ladies too. One lady was in the cement raking it about and others were making some lunch for the guys. We had a 10MX15M (32 feetX48feet) pad poured in about 2 hours. 3 trucks of cement.








We have a group coming from Alberta, Canada from Sept. 27 until October 11 to put up the framing and the roofing of the new building. We are looking for teams to come help these guys put together the inside as well- gyprock and framing the upstairs Sunday school rooms!

The church is a little over 1 year old and they are asking for 150 chairs to accomodate all the folks that they have- as well as another 70 to use for children upstairs! It is exciting to see what God is doing in the lives of the people in this community. It is rare to see a church with a strong presence of men, but in this one- they have a good core group of men who are leading, serving and doing well. After the meat of the pour was done, I noticed one fella in his 30's take off to an area to read his Bible in between work assignments.

God seems to be blessing this ministry and it is a privilege to represent you all in coming alongside of God and His work in Valle Redondo, Tijuana, Mexico!

Thanks for partnering with us!

Mike