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

Goodbye Tom & Patti - You Will Be Missed!

Tom & Patti Coles have served in Mexico with YUGO for just a couple of months shy of ten years.  Tom, a former general contractor, has been serving in construction ministry.  He has worked on numerous buildings, including Grace Children's & Babies' Homes, El Faro, homes for Mexican families, as well as numerous buildings & projects at The Ranch, and so much more.  Patti has served as the Camp Cook, as well as Intern Coordinator, working in Women's Ministry, and countless other areas.  We pray that God will continue to use them in amazing ways as they begin new ministry and a new chapter of their lives.



A Little More Color at the ROC

Last year a team from New Life Community Chruch in Clovis, CA blessed the YUGO Ranch (ROC) with some much needed paint.  Our classroom and kitchen buildings were painted.  (They also have a team ministering at Grace Children's Home while they are here.)

This year we were blessed by them once again, and we are really starting to blend into the Mexican culture a little better with our bright colors! We no longer need to describe the location of our bathroom buildings, as they will clearly be called the red and blue bathrooms now.

Easter Outreach Highlight Video

Easter Outreach - Mexicali, Mexico

The team from Maryland came to Mexicali and blessed the socks off of the local people! The majority of the team ministered at a church in Quintana Roo. They had a great turn out of children, youth and women. They also held evening services and paid a visit to the construction site one day. Here are some photos from their ministry:

 Sports Ministry

Children's Ministry

Women's Ministry

The construction team built a home in La Puerta. This is the fourth home teams with YUGO have built in this area, as it was among the most heavily damaged areas by last year's earthquake. This home was built for a couple, Ignacio & Leticia, and their three children. The first photo is of the construction crew, Leticia (holding the cross), their oldest son, Nacho (Ignacio Jr.), and their pastor (far right).

Photo (of a photo) of their home after the earthquake.

 

Hannah Ford sharing with Ignacio & Leticia's two youngest children using the Evangecube.

The family cooked for us a few different days. This photo on the right shows

Ignacio (left) and his friend preparing a meal:

The team handed out salvation bracelets to everyone, including family, friends & neighbors. Here is Laura McGrain, YUGO Missionary, translating for our speaker for the week, Richard Sharp, as he explained the symbols on the bracelets.

Praying for the family receiving the home:

Left: Cross presented to the family; Right: Construction Ministry Coordinators, Ron (Rosarito) & Jose (Mexcali)

Jose will be in charge of finishing the home with stucco for the exterior and painting the interior.

There was also a Mexican team that did ministry in La Puerta, at a church only a few minutes from our building site. This first picture is of this church's building after the earthquake (taken last week). The pastor of the church would like to see more people in the area receive homes before rebuilding the church.



 

Will spent four days on the construction site working alongside Ron, and one day in Quintana Roo with the team doing sports ministry (while Kristy took photos). He was also "Encouragement Lad" for the week.  He got to help hand out encouragement cards during chapel.

Brittany helped in the kitchen most of the week. She helped every day with breakfast and all the other days, except for two, that she spent at the construction site. She also had the privilege of helping to lead worship with one of her favorite singers, Hannah Ford, by playing keyboard and singing.