Here we are at the end of July-- and I think I'm going to be able to find a couple minutes to update you well on whats been happening here since my last update...
Neighbour...
The Neighbour issue has calmed down somewhat. He has been keeping to himeself the last few weeks. I heard that his landlord is evicting him at the end of this month. This may be a messy affair as we're pretty sure he is not mentally stable and will likely resist eviction (happening this week). Please continue praying for a peaceful resolution to this situation.
Pastors Conference
Ivan ( my co-worker ) and I went to Queretaro in Central Mexico for a Pastors and Leaders conference. We had a good time down there and the highlight was meeting with Jose Luis Rangel- who is a church planter from our church in Rosarito.
Jose Luis and his family left our church almost a year ago to plant a church in his hometown of Irapuato, Guanajuato. It is in an under-reached part of Mexico. They have had a difficult time of things as discouragement had set in. He really had been second guessing his calling to plant a church there and took a break from things just to try to rethink through things and pray. Just a few days before the conference God dealt with him and some issues he was having and re-iterated his call to serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Jose Luis responded and decided at the last minute to go to the conference which was an hour away from his town.
He was shocked to see Ivan and I there as he hadn't expected anyone from our church to be there! We were able to be an encouragement to him and it confirmed to Jose Luis again God's goodness and calling... I've covenanted with him to keep in contact and help him through the church planting process- espescially in such a difficult, hard hearted area.The conference was good and the city it was in was beautiful! It was refreshing to be in "real Mexico"! The culture is quite different from the border areas and we enjoyed being there!
Bible College
I have been teaching at Calvary Chapel Rosarito's Bible College this summer in 1 Corinthians. It's been an adventure to explore through this book with these folks at our church.Pastors Training
We would appreciate your prayers for the pastors and leaders training ministry. We are just finished the 9th book of 10 and a large issue has come up that will keep several of the students from graduating. One of the main requirements to graduate is attendance. And each teacher needs to demonstrate that their students have attended at least 75% of the classes in order to graduate. We verify this every few weeks by checking attendance lists. Invariably some students leave due to the requirements. It is one of the ways that we are sure to keep faithful people in the program because ministry and leadership is difficult. If they have learned to persevere through the class, they are much better equipped to persevere in the midst of ministry difficulties.
To make a long story short, we found out a few days ago that attendance records had been falsified. It was a great disappointment to us, both in regards to the teacher and the students. The reality is we don't know who was ever in classes and so it is impossible for us to graduate the group.
I explained to the class that learning is never in vain and prayed that they would have changed lives as a result of the time they had invested in studying God's Word. For those who want to be pastors and NEED to graduate, we have offered to let them start again when the next generation begins in 2013.
Please pray for this situation. Relationships have been hurt as a result. There are many false accusations happening as well within the churches in that area. Please pray for peace and reconciliation.
Church Planting
We have 3 church planters I will be working with more and more in the next year. I will be team-teaching a course on church planting as well this fall.
I also have 3 churches / pastors/ church planters potentially interested in joining our movement. I love working with these guys and cannot wait to get more into it as summer turns to fall!
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| (This is a picture of Martin Garcia and youth from our Church-- Martin is planting a church in Tijuana ina new community of about 30,000 people with very little gospel witness in it....) |
Family
We are all doing well. Shar and the boys have had a Spanish class 5 mornings a week this summer. You would think that that wouldn't go over well with the boys (or their homeschool teacher/ mom), but they are enjoying the classes and can see improvements in the Spanish. That has been encouraging for all of us!
Caleb is going to have his best buddy / pseudo-cousin over for a couple weeks for the end of summer. We plan on taking a "staycation" during that time and wind down the summers ministries and get charged up for a busy fall. When I looked at the summer Schedule in May, I thought I was going to be bored looking for things to do this summer! But the Lord knew what the summer would hold and it has been an incredibly busy time for all of us. We're thankful for the strength to serve Him and for the family time we're going to be able to have in a few weeks!(to the Right a pic of our family with Emanuel- a church planter and ex-student of mine from Calvary Chapel bible College)
Future
None of us know what the future holds, but we make plans trustng that God will direct our paths! There may be some other changes in our ministry responsibilites in the near future. We will be still be involved in the same things, but as we train more people here to do the work of the ministry, our role may change a bit. YUGO has been growing and expanding in our outlook and vision and we're excited to be a part of that "Reaching Mexico- Impacting the World". I'll let you know more about it as it unfolds!
Vehicle
Most of you know about our past vehicle issues.... this spring we had another one with our van. While it has been an incredible blessing, the van now has over 250,000km on it ans it has had the engine almost totally redone twice in the last year. The types of driving and the roads we run it on here in Mexico are brutal on a vehicle! When people are looking to buy a car down here- the value drops considerably depending on how long its been in Tijuana! They call it "Tijuana-ed". In other words they will ask-- "has the car been tijuana-ed"? and, unfortunately, ours has been... This is the vehicle we use for daily running around, trips to the states and long ministry and personal trips. We have been thinking that we are going to need to replace it within the next year or so.
YUGO Canada Board has approved us for a "Vehicle Fund". So if God is so leading you to participate in this, please see the donation information at the end of this letter. Please send a note or a place a note in the "memo" part of the check saying it is for "McDonald Vehicle Fund"
Thanks!
Thanks to all of you who back us up in prayer and financial gifts. Both of those things keep us here serving God and these incredible people He loves so much. I am constantly amazed at how good a "fit" things seem to be for us down here. It seems as though God has been preparing us our whole lives for this season of service! Thank you so much, again, for allowing us to be here! I cannot wait until we get to glory and I can introduce you all to the people, the churches, the children, the pastors, the leaders whose lives you've had a part in!
God bless you and keep you!
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| Mike translating for Abelino on Thursdays at YUGO's Rosarito Outreach Center |
DONATION INFORMATION:
YUGO Ministries Canada
PO Box 231
St.Albert, AB T8N 1N3
yugoministries@cruzinternet.com
ph. 780-461-0891
