Hola
Hello from Juarez. This week we had the opportunity to go down to the Sierra Mountains. It is in the southern part of the state. It is pretty much unsettled except by the Tarahumara Indians which is exactly who we were going to visit. God was incredibly evident throughout the whole trip even leaving Juarez. Because of all the drug violence they have been very picky about who they let past the 30 kilometer border, especially Americans. We were pulled over and searched but let through, then we also got pulled over at the military checkpoint and they let us pass no questions asked.

After about 7 hours of driving we pulled of the highway and onto a dirt road. It had rained heavily before we got there and about 30 minutes down the road we had to cross a flooded river. Some people passed by and said there was no way we could cross ahead or even the river without 4 wheel drive. But we braved the river anyways at one point the river was above our lights on the van but praise the Lord we made it across. We only blew one tire before we reached the valley where they lived.

When we got there they were overjoyed to see us, mostly because we brought 15 Tarahumaras with us. We got there and had a service with them, it was amazing to hear the persecution they go through for the Lord. Being dragged out of there homes in the middle of the night, having their land stolen, and their stuff broken and vandalized by there own people. It made me understand more how little we actually sacrifice for God and how blessed we are to live in the countries we live in. They still don’t have a bible translated in their language so we all shared verses the touched us somehow and then had it translated from English to Spanish to Tarahumara. It took a long time but they have no concept of time and were just overjoyed to hear more of what the bible says. The service lasted almost 5 hours but nobody noticed. I also noticed how blessed we are and how sad it is that we take the bible for granted and listening to its powerful and God inspired words has become a chore for some people.

We also helped with work. We helped them pull weeds in there corn fields and transport things from one side of the valley to the other which was so much easier with the vans. God also made himself evident on the way out because we couldnt leave the valley if it rained because the roads would have been way to muddy and impossible for anybody to drive on. That night the darkest clouds I’ve seen in a long time came and we prayed hard that they wouldnt rain and it rained everywhere around us but not where we were. On the way back we only got stuck once and had one more flat tire but we made it home alive. Our vans took a beating but God allowed us to get home.

In the end we were all touched and in awe of Gods amazing power. We also learned so much about where our relationships with God were lacking. We were humbled and amazed. Thank you for your prayer support we couldnt have done anything without prayer and your support
God Bless, Tim

Our son Tim is working with Life Challenge in Juarez, Mexico

Hola, just a quick update on how things are going down here in Juarez, Mexico.

These past 2 weeks have been interesting in dealing with a specific situation. I’ve had the opportunity to work with a married couple who are 18 and 19 years old, the girl Carolina already has 3 kids with 3 different men. They come here looking for food because neither can get work because their parents wont give them their papers. Right now we are dealing with how we can help them get on their feet but also not only give them the food that will make them hungry again but the spiritual food that will fill them for life.

We also just finished building a house for a family who’s mother has cancer and daughter has special needs. We took them out of a pallet house and built them a 24 by 24 house which for Mexico is a BIG house. Continue reading update from Tim

Hey everyone, thanks for checking in.
The last two days have been very busy, lots of walking, exploring and fun-having.
Sorry about not posting pictures these last few days, you will have to come on Sunday to see and hear more.
Today was a great day at the Six Flags America park.
We hope to leave at 7am tomorrow morning.
So off to bed I go, a good night sleep before the long and winding road.
Please pray – thanks for a great week, ongoing impact in the lives of all of us, especially the youth, and for safe travels home.

The last day of dcla.
We got an early start – 9am – for our last small groups and the last big session.
We talked about being, loving and serving – today was about serving.
Starfield led the worship session – it was loud and awesome, the floor was shaking.
You could sense the presence of God, and we didn’t want it to end.
After lunch, we practiced our drimes (drama + mime).
Then we broke into small groups to practice what we learned. Continue reading dcla day 5

Today was much like yesterday.
We started with the Labs (small groups) from 10-12, then did lunch on the lawn outside of the center.
While we did lunch, we practiced the street play (same one that Senior Wave did at church).
While we were doing do, it got a double ace approval from an observer with mental health issues, who excitedly recognized God as the helper, and wanted to take out the man (Jesse) who was chasing the lead person.
By the way, we are eating packed lunches, saving money!
Afternoon sessions followed, though we’re getting information overload. Continue reading dcla day 4

Starting to get tired, these are long days!!!
Back at 11:45, then sharing highs and lows.
We arrived at the center for 10am, where we broke up into Labs, our assigned small groups for the weekend.
They are led by student leaders, which is neat, though a number of our youth found their groups too quiet, not much personal sharing.
We ate lunch on the lawn of the Museum of American History (they took our picture for their newsletter, we’re now a part of American history!) Continue reading dcla day 3

The first day was great!
We started with continental breakfast.
A slow start to the day, a unexpected scenic tour of Washington.
We got there late for the 10:30 opening, only to discover that we were four hours early (they changed the time of registration).
So, we went on a walking tour to the White House.
We ate lunch there, and watched the protesters – for peace, banning bombs, baking bread, universal health care, Tamil refugees, and one man opposed to Tamil protesters.
We rang the doorbell, but Barack could not come out.
We went to the museum of natural history, part of the Smithsonian.
All museums are free here!
Then to registration.
They have a huge activity room with inflated slides and bungee jumping and ping pong and four square and basketball, as well as some displays and stuff to buy.
We first went for dinner, then the big session began.
They are going through the bible from Genesis to Revelation – really well done, short sections, a variety of mediums – speakers, bands, skits, media presentations.
Final concert was Family Force 5 – very loud and wild (moshing and body surfing).
(Instead, I went to a QA with Shane Claiborne (very quiet and inspiring).
Back at the residence at 11:45, a time of sharing the highs of the day, and then to sleep.

Our drive to DC went well, uneventful, which is how we like it.
We met the Belleville group at 8:30, and we followed them (they have GPS).
The van ride was pretty quiet, the group is still gelling, but by the end of the night it was better.
They are mixing with the Belleville group fine, though that group is younger.
We arrived at 7:30pm, traffic into DC was not as bad as feared (thanks for praying).
We found our rooms – the elevated plastic mattresses will take getting used to, but the rooms are air conditioned.
The lady who manages summer accomodations is also a tour guide for the Catholic University of America (which is where we are staying, in the residence), so she gave us a walking tour, nice.
We had pizza for supper, ironed on our logos onto our t-shirts, and played Jungle Speed in the lobby.

One of my God-moments was stopping at a gas station and filling up – on caffeine.
I made myself the biggest cappuchino I could get, but when I went to the counter the lady said, `have a good day, its on the house`.
She said they randomly do this for customers, to give them a good day!
I thanked her for giving me a God-moment, an experience of unexpected grace!

Church Cancelled!

Tomorrow our ‘service’ is being canceled, so that service can happen.
Crossroads people are spreading out in Durham region tomorrow morning to perform a variety of community service assignments.
These are not projects planned by the church, just individual and family initiated efforts.
Handing out flowers at the hospital, picking up garbage, planting trees collecting donations for the Oshawa animal shelter, car wash for Ajax-Pickering food bank, bike repair clinic at Falby Court… and more…
So cool, the creativity and enthusiasm are inspiring me!!!
Please pray for God encounters.
Please pray that we are impacted, as well as our community.
Please pray that this is just the beginning of an ongoing relationship with the community.
We are meeting tomorrow afternoon at Falby Court (Bolton C. Falby) for a BBQ, and to look at the facilities for a possible new location for our ministry efforts.
Check out www.crossroadsinajax.org for more information!

My wife’s cousin Ruth and her husband Nitin, who is from India, sent out this request for prayer in the volatile religious, political and cultural tensions in their area. Please pray for the whole community, as well as for our brothers and sisters in the Lord who face unbelievable conflict and threats for the name of Jesus. — Norm

Dear faithful friends and prayer partners,

Greetings to you in the name of the most High God.

On Sunday, 19th of April there was an attack on a church about 40kms away from Nagpur. The name of the village is Saoner. The church is in the center of the village. A fanatic Hindu organization first made a police complaint saying that forcible conversion is taking place. Ten minutes later they attack the church wielding swords and guns as well as knives, sticks and stones. They verbally and physically abused the women and children. They vandalized the churches instruments and a school bus. They pointed the gun towards the pastor and threatened that he would be killed if they continued having church. The attackers brought a TV camera and showed it on the news just to please their leaders and bring terror to the minorities. As elections are going on they want to use this to consolidate Hinduhood. They also aim to get political party ticket to contest election. This 150 year old church has only 60 members. There was no conversion going on at all. To get famous, to get Political ticket and to prove their patriotism and to satisfy their nationalistic pride they do these evil things. Continue reading pray for the church in India