Catchin' Up

Wow, it's already October! Here are a couple of updates to get you caught up on what's been happening here in Mexico:

AUGUST - WEEK II

This was our last official week of outreach for the summer. There were two teams scheduled to come to the ranch this week, but God had other plans. After both teams cancelled, new plans fell into place. Ron and I had the opportunity to work with the interns for the week, as the Intern Coordinators had other obligations to fill during that time. Monday and Tuesday we painted buildings at a local school.

Wednesday through Friday we did children's ministry at a new church plant in East Tijuana. This was very special for us, as the church we ministered to was Calvary Chapel Vista del Valle, which was started in January 2011 by fellow YUGO missionaries Jose Luis and Cindy Pesina. Brittany shared the plan of salvation using the Evangi-cube and William did a great job getting to know the children and keeping them involved in games and craft time. Both of them helped wherever needed, including helping to lead songs and taking part in the dramas that illustrated the days' Bible lessons.

Calvary Chapel Vista del Valle

Games



Snack

Leading Children to Christ

Puppet Show Reinforcing Bible Lesson

Craft Time

Drama

Bible Memorization

August - Week I

The first week of August was our largest week of the summer. We had teams here from California, New York, Massachussets and Alberta, Canada. Here is the highlight video from the week:

July - Week IV - "Mexicano a Mexicano" Week

This was our third year having a week designed for the Mexican youth to come and do ministry in the local churches. They came to do exactly what the American & Canadian teams do, only without interpreters. Multiple youth groups came together and formed five teams to minister to five different churches.

Inviting local children & youth to the church and to play soccer.

Children's Ministry: Which for this team
included leading this child to Christ on Day 5.

Sports Ministry

Women's Ministry

Our two Mexican interns, Claudia & Rossy, were given a lot of leadership responsibility with the children's ministry. They led the ministry training meetings each morning and were in charge of their team's children's ministry on the field. God is using them in tremendous ways this summer.

Claudia (2nd from the left) explaining this day's drama for Children's Ministry.

Rossy (middle), also explaining this day's Children's Ministry drama.

 Here is the highlight video from the week:

July - Week II - Home of Christ & Together Community Churches

We were so blessed by these two churches this week. It was great to renew friendships with Home of Christ Church. They are such a great team! It is a joy for the staff to be here and do everything we can to enable them to minister through the local Mexican church.

We also had the honor of hosting Together Community Church for the first time. What a priveledge it was to serve alongsiide them this week and build a home for a family in need.

This family of six had been living in one bedroom of a friend's home for about four years. They overstayed their welcome and needed a place to live. Just over a year ago, this woman's husband left to go find work and never returned. She has been working hard to put food on the table ever since. Praise God that they now have a home of their own and are not living on the street. We continue to pray for the salvation of this family and the seeds that were planted during this week.

Here is the highlight video from the week:

June - Week IV -- Hilmar Covenant Church & Individual's Week

This week was an amazing beginning to the summer ministry here in Mexico. Hilmar Covenant Church came and blessed a Mexican church and neighborhood in colonia Francisco Villa in Tijuana. They are always a great team to serve alongside and just fun to be around!

June IV was also our Individual's Week Home Build. Even though there were a couple of cancellations, it was amazing to see the group of people God put together for this build. We grouped this build with a project through another missionary from our church, Calvary Chapel Rosarito. He knew of a family in the church that was about to lose their home. There were so many ways God moved - from providing them with a piece of land donated by a non-believer, to temporary housing in a trailer, and then the many who donated the funds and materials to give this family of four a home. It was to be larger than the usual homes we build and include a bathroom and kitchen.

God used a missionary, his son, two people new to Tijuana interested in missions, the six YUGO interns, some staff, and a few individuals (along with our family). He also sent a group of people the Saturday before the build who helped frame the house. (Due to some other construction work, the house will be completed next week, so stay tuned for more photos.)

Here is the highlight video Kristy put together for the week.

Easter Sunday Celebration

For Easter Sunday at Calvary Chapel Rosarito, we had a combined outdoor service with over 1000 people in attendance. What an awesome way to celebration the resurrection of our Lord and Savior! Ron ran sound and Kristy sang with the worship team.

We also had some worship time with our church's mariachi band.

The sanctuary was packed with children for worship, a puppet show & more. After the service they also had a resurrection egg hunt with tons of candy for all the children.

It was an awesome day of fellowship and worshiping the Lord! Although there was comida gratis (free food) after the service, we went out for chicken with our friends Pam & Jess, so they could eat at their favorite place before returning home.

May Prayer Letter

Our family was incredibly blessed to help serve in Mexicali the third week of April with a team from Maryland. Some of our jobs during the week included sandwich crew (making picnic lunches for the teams) and grocery shopping. Brittany was on the KP team in the kitchen, Kristy shot photos, as well as made a highlight video for the week, and all of us are helped out on the home build Ron helped lead in a nearby community. The home was for a family of five, left homeless by last year’s earthquake. The house is 16x24, a little larger than we usually build in Rosarito. José, the person in charge of the construction ministry in Mexicali, will be finishing the house by painting the interior and stuccoing the exterior. (For more details and photos click here.)

We’d like to remind everyone about the Individual’s Week Home Build this June. The dates are June 26th – July 2nd and the cost is only $850 (including transportation to and from San Diego). There is still room for a few more people. Remember that this is a great way to participate in a mission trip this summer if you do not have a team of your own. This week is designed for individuals to come and join others from the U.S. and Canada to form a team together and bless a Mexican family in need. The week is open for you to bring your spouse, child(ren), friends, or just come on your own. Construction experience is not needed. If you can swing a hammer or use a paintbrush, there’s a spot for you! This week is perfect for anyone that is interested in learning more about this ministry or bringing a team to minister in Mexico. Please contact us today. We are asking for registration forms by May 15th to help with the planning and logistics of this week.

In March, Ron led a Canadian team in the building of a comedor (feeding kitchen) in East Tijuana. This comedor will be used for a breakfast feeding program for children in a very poor area of Tijuana.  Often times, children are sent home from school for their inability to focus and pay attention. These feeding programs give the children a much needed, healthy meal to help them get through their day. This feeding program is run out of a local church. The comedor was actually built as an addition onto the church, in order for it to be used for other church events when not in use for the feeding program.

We want to thank each and every one of you for your faithful support of our family. By supporting us through your prayers and finances, you are partners with us in this ministry. We truly value your partnership more than words can ever express. In our last prayer letter, we asked for prayer concerning our finances. Almost exactly one year ago, we took a leap of faith when we moved to Mexico with less than 50% of the financial support we needed. Due to the generosity and faithfulness of many, previous financial gifts had accrued in our account and we were able to supplement our income. These gifts were able to carry us through our first ten months on the field, but we have now had to make serious adjustments to our budget to only allow for the bare essentials. Our current incoming monthly support has also dropped 20% since we arrived in Mexico. In light of this, we would like to introduce a campaign to help continue this ministry God has begun and used to bless so many lives. This campaign is to find 40 families and individuals that are able to partner with us at $20/month for two years. We are asking all of you, our family, friends and co-workers in Christ, to prayerfully consider joining us in this ministry. Simply fill out the enclosed card and send it to the address above. There are many ways to give, including check, electronic funds transfer, or even online through PayPal. Thank you in advance for your support of this ministry. It is our prayer that God will bless this ministry, that Jesus will be revealed to those that do not know Him, and that all the glory will go to our Lord and Savior.

With Hearts for Mexico,
The Struska Family

Ron, Kristy, Brittany & Will