Missions trip to Baja California 2 & 6th Anniversary Conf.

All loaded up and ready to go!

With the money that came in for the trip Hno. Ruben (the pastor in Juarez) was also able to buy some furniture and a washer for Hno. Sergio and family.

We don't know why the Lord chose to allow it, but once again there was many mechanical problems on the way there and back.  There were also five flat tires, and an accident that they missed by about 10 minutes because they just 'happened' to stop for a few minutes.  A family that was walking out of the gas station as they were walking in was one of the ones involved in the accident!  Praise the Lord for his protection!

Putting up the beams.

The plywood

Some started on the windows while the others finished the roof.

This is William;  He and his family have been coming to church with us now for a couple of months.

Hno. Sergio

Even though they still have to run electricity to the building, it is all ready and hooked up inside the building.  Now they are just waiting on the funds to make the contract with the light company.

Installing the insulation.

Victor went on the last trip with them just because he was out of work and didn't have anything else to do.  He was influenced by the testimony of the men and couple of weeks  later (a few days after his wife) got saved.  Now him and his wife are faithful in church.

The drywall

Installing the doors.

The church with roof and windows and doors.

The work crew.

Iglesia Bautista Monte Zion

Praise the Lord for this work!

Zeidy

Zeidy just graduated last week from the Instituto Baustisa Horeb in Torrean.  They have three years of study and one year of internship.  She started this week doing her  year service here in Victoria, and will also be serving in the two missions that her dad, Hno. Fernando pastors.

This month we are celebrating six years here in Victoria.

We are right in the middle of our anniversary services this week.  They go from Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday we will be finishing with an outing to a lake with services there and a picnic.

Natanael Munoz is our preacher for the week.  He is a graduate from the Shields Bible Institute.

  

This was the main service last night.  We separated the services for the neighborhood kids that showed up for the Wednesday night club.

The 'club' last night

The two older sisters are the ones that we told you last month got saved.  Last night Raul, their dad got saved after the service!  We were never sure if he was or not; his testimony was never very clear.  We are continuing to pray for Silvia and the other two sisters, Jenifer and Josylin. They are from the church in Luis Moya.

Missions trip to Baja California

This is Valle de la Trinidad, Baja California, where Hno. Sergio Vargas and family have their main church. (There are two other towns where they are working as well.)  Matt and a group of 35 people went to help them build a building to serve as a church and house.

They left here Friday afternoon, and Friday night picked up more people.  Saturday they stopped in Ciudad Juarez to pick up more people, and went to church Sunday at Iglesia Bautista La Gracia where one of the men is pastor.  This is some of the group in church that morning.

It was a 3,726 mile round trip that took 95 hours to cover! There were many, many problems on the road, but the Lord was good in protecting them the whole trip and the whole time they were working.

This is the trailer they took...and the view the people in the van behind had the whole trip.  Thank the Lord it made it!

This is also the view that they had (down) for several hours of the trip!

This was also a common view (and an expensive part) on the trip.  (The other van is on the other side.)

Finally there!  The building site: The long room on the left will be for the church services, and the two small rooms are housing for Hno. Sergio and a class room.  Hno. Sergio had most of the foundations laid when they got there.

The present building they are renting for church and house.

Facing the other direction. Notice the bathing section in the back corner.

This is the main problem with their current building. Notice the holes in the roof.  The last day it rained, and the whole floor ended up wet.  They had to move everything to keep it from getting soaked.

They got there late in the afternoon on Monday and set everything up so it would be ready for night.  The ladies stayed in the house, and the men stayed in tents or in the vans.

They went ahead and made work preparations for the next day and even started working some that evening.

They got some block laid that evening.

6:30 a.m. 'First light' on Tuesday morning they were up getting ready to work.

This is where it was when they started on Tuesday morning.

Hno. Sergio finished the foundation while the others started on the walls.

Alot of concrete to be mixed!

10:00 a.m. Tuesday

2:00 p.m. Tuesday

9:00 p.m. Tueday: 1,000 block laid!

Wednesday morning: taking a break for breakfast.

Speaking of  food...The ladies did a wonderful job in using what they had to feed the group.

The men enjoying the food....and the break!

On Wednesday they were able to finish up the block.

And while some finished the block others started on floor preparations.

Leveling the floor.

Some of the men started on the floor and poured most of it on Wednesday afternoon.

While the floor was in process the pastors and assistant pastors met for the ordination of Hno. Sergio.

The ordination service Wednesday evening.

Matt preaching the ordination service.

The dedication prayer.

Hno. Sergio, Hna. Elena, and Sarai

Throughout the week and for the service Wednesday night Claudia and a couple of the ladies held a children's club.

  

Thursday morning there was still a little bit of the floor to finish pouring.

By mid-morning they had finished.

The group with what they accomplished in less than three days.       ...then came the long trip home....

We praise the Lord for the opportunity that we had to help out Hno. Sergio and Iglesia Bautista Monte Sion (Mount Zion Baptist Church).  So far all but $1,000 of the $8,000 that was spent on the building and travelling has been covered thanks to the Lord's provision and to many of you. We wish that we had been able to do the roof, doors, and window, but neither finances nor time permitted.  When they were still a few hours from home though, word came that a church in Canada had given an offering to cover those things!  

The week after next the plans are to head back and finish the roof, doors and windows.  This time it will be with only one van and about four men.  It looks like most of the expenses are already covered as well.

We thank each one of you for your participation through prayer in this project.  We are looking forward to reporting on the finished building!