Hello from Canada!
We have all safely made it
back home to southern Alberta after a wonderful month in Mexico and smooth 30
some hour drive back up to Canada through the western States. If you have been
keeping up with our past updates from our trip to the Baja this year you know
that we have been serving at New Beginnings www.newbeginningsbaja.org for the majority of our
time this year. Here we have been working on preparing a place for our dear
missionary friends Dorothy and Eduardo to live, up at the new property, as this
was the most pressing need during our time there.
Our final week or so in
Mexico was fantastic and also incredibly busy as our final days ticked down and
our many projects were slowly checked off. Rachel and my Dad worked on putting in
some nice new laminate flooring and trim in the trailer that we were able to
clean up for Dorothy and Eduardo to live in. Mom and I worked on painting and finishing
the back room (the half of the storage building we converted into a living
space). A few Mexican women from the shelter and a friend joined us in
completing the final coat of stucco on the outside of the entire storage
building. The other big project that we wanted to finish before we left was to
make a roof to cover the trailer and concrete pad we poured last week. This would
create a nice breeze way between the trailer and back room for a nice living
space for Dorothy and Eduardo. Dad and Josh worked on getting the holes dug,
posts in, and all of that framed and ready to go. Of course the very hottest
days of our time in Mexico were the days that Dad, Josh and I were roofing. It
got up to 30°C those days, and we worked
very hard so that we could finish the entire roof early enough so that we could
all go out to the beach last Thursday and cool off in the massive crashing
waves of the Pacific Ocean. Once the roof was complete, Mom worked on painting
all of the boards and posts, Dad worked on putting in a large window to block
the wind, and Joshua worked on some rock work for the entrance. Rachel worked
on making some nice new curtains for in the trailer windows. I continued to
work on cleaning, organizing and labelling all of the tools and construction equipment
in the storage building. It was very satisfying to finally have it all completed
and ready for Dorothy and Eduardo on Monday! This was also the day that Dorothy
returned from her tour through Canada and the States and the day before we
needed to start our drive back to Canada. The shocked look and smile on her
face was well worth it all! Serving here has been such an incredible blessing
to us!
Apart from the work that we
did, we also were able to spend the weekend and a couple evenings reconnecting with
friends and other ministries in the Baja. Last weekend we were able to drive up
to Maneadero, which is just south of Ensenada; here our friends Wayne and
Claire have a Daycare and Orphanage called Safe Care Mission International www.safecaremissioninternational.org
which provides much needed care for children in very needy situations. It has
been so incredible to see what God has been doing there and how their ministry
is continuing to develop and grow. They are currently working on finishing up
their new orphanage building. It is so crazy to think that it was already back
in 2010 that we were helping them with the construction for the foundation of their
Daycare! On the weekend we were also able to briefly stop in at Rancho Santa
Marta www.ranchosantamarta.org,
a ministry that creates a home for at risk children and also has a school for
youth that also supports those who are mentally challenged. We had helped out there
a few years back and it was great to see how God is working there and to be
able to reconnect with some friends there; Dad and Josh even got to go for a short
ride with one of our friends in his dune buggy out into the mountains! Sunday evening many of our dear friends
from the Vicente Guerrero area had a wonderful farewell type dinner for us, and
it was so great to visit with them as so many of them are like family to us and
will be missed dearly.
Tuesday
mourning we began our northward journey just as God began painting the eastern
horizon with color. It is absolutely incredible how green everything is here,
all budding and springing to life, and it’s only February… spring certainly
comes earlier here than it does back home! Our drive for the first few hours was
mostly uneventful, however just north of Ensenada we came upon a rather unfortunate
accident. A semi truck and trailer had lost control on a corner and flipped on
its side blocking all lanes of traffic. Thankfully it didn’t appear that anyone
was seriously injured, but we were stuck in a long line of traffic and waited 2
hours out in the hot sun for it all to be cleared. It was all quite the
experience, Dad was helping the tow truck guys unload things from the trailer
and we made friends with the Federal police officer controlling traffic. Eventually
it was all clear and we headed to the Tecate where we were able to reconnect
with another good missionary friend Jeri Labell, before smoothly crossing over
into the States. The roads the entire way back were incredible and we had no
problems, which was such a blessing as one can never really know that to expect
from February weather. We enjoyed God creativity through the vast variety in
the scenery as we drove through California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and
Montana spending the nights in various rest areas, truck stops or pull outs along
the way. Every time we do this long drive we listen to different audiobooks;
this time we listed to some very impactful and eye opening biographies of
Believers in China, “The Heavenly Man” and “God’s Double Agent”. We finally crossed the over into Alberta, Canada
today and returned home. Though we were all a little surprised by the lack of
snow and unseasonably warm temperatures, it is good to be back. We are all so
grateful for the opportunity that God has given us to once again serve in Mexico
and be a light there; just as through God's strength we strive towards the same
back here. Now as we unpack and return to the routine of life here in Canada,
we reflect upon our time away and the blessing it has been to serve; keeping
the people and the things that God has taught us close to our hearts and minds
as we look forward to the opportunities that He will bring our way as we
continue to follow and serve Him here. The mission field does not just exist in
some far away country, it is at home too, in your community, right out your
front door and sometimes even under your own roof. Here is a question for us
all to ponder; how are you using the opportunities that God is giving you in
the Mission
Field He has placed you in right
now?
- Stephanie
(Click on the image below to view an album of pictures from our trip)
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