Would you like milk and sugar with that?

If we could sit down for a cup of coffee (or tea if you'd like).

If the delicious smell of fresh baked bread could fill our living room for a while.

If we could pause the world for a few moments to sit and share.



We would ask you how your life is, and you'd ask us how is ours.




And we'd say something like this...


"Well, January February March, um, April has been great.  Busy, but great."

You might ask what exactly does "busy" mean.


And we'd share...

...about the NATIONS coming to Mexico - we've welcomed Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, and Nigeria to our team of full time staff.

 ....about this group of sold-out world-changers, who've spent the last three months learning about God's call on their lives in missions and who will be invading Panama and the Dominican Republic with God's love for the next two months.

...about the two teams of youth from Norway who built homes and served all over the city.

...about the families who come with so little, asking for so much, and give immensely more.  This house build thing never, never gets old.

...about the group from Canada who, despite a last minute crisis, drove three days to get here and spent a week blessing Tijuana.

...about this dude, who is ruining our lives for the better and making us fall in love with him more every day.

...about how we're scared out of our minds and insanely beyond excited to become parents.  Again.

We'd refill our cups, slice some more bread, and take a deep breath.

We'd say thanks for stopping by and watch out for the Tonka Truck/laundry basket/sleeping dog on your way out the door.

But we're in no rush.  Sit...stay awhile, why don'tcha?

In Other News...

So, what do you think?

47 YWAMers. 3 Homes. 1 Day.

This week we have the privilege of hosting YWAM's Global Leadership Form at our Tijuana campus.  This group of YWAMers from all over the world serve as the leadership team for this international ministry.  And, in true YWAM San Diego/Baja style, the first thing they did was build a house!


Well, make that three homes in one day, actually.

It began with the sound of power saws and hammers. Regional leaders and international coordinators were carrying sheets of plywood and dipping brushes into containers of paint. The 47 attendees, who had come from countries as far away as Zambia, South Korea and India, had dedicated their first day to building three homes for the poor in Tijuana, Mexico.

The night before, at an opening dinner, Sean Lambert, leader of YWAM’s Homes of Hope ministry, had explained how 3,800 people a month come to this border city looking for work. Many of them struggle to survive through the cold, rainy winter in shacks made of wooden pallets and bits of tin. In 21 years, YWAM’s Homes of Hope program has now built 3,500 homes for people like this.

At one building site, Alma shyly held her one-year-old baby and looked on with excitement as YWAMers clad in yellow tee shirts bustled around to build her new home. “I’m looking forward to having a safe place for my kids,” she said. “This is going to be my future.”

Why would YWAM’s senior leaders spend one whole day of their six-day annual meeting to pound nails together? Steve Goode, ambassador for YWAM mercy ministries, paused for a moment, hammer in hand, to answer this question. “Sometimes it’s easy to get overwhelmed by poverty, unless you just do one thing. Because when you do one thing together, I guarantee you that everybody who is doing this one thing is going to go do another thing. That’s multiplication.”

At the end of the day, as the sun set beyond the hills, Alma wiped a tear from her cheek as she received the keys to her new home. The paint was still wet on the red trim around her front door as she walked inside. She discovered a table set for four, a new stove, and a bed complete with a stuffed animal for her four-year-old son Angel.

To Alma and her family, Edwin Filles, from South Africa, said, “I think the blessing for me has been working together. What really touched me was how you got involved. And I think the most special was to share a meal with you. Muchas gracias!”

As the YWAM bus took the weary YWAM leaders up the hill, they passed two more homes standing where in the morning there had only been cement slabs.

Thanks to YWAM Life and David Donaldson for content and photos.

Zona Norte

Literally, it means 'The North Zone,' or the part of Tijuana right up next to the border.  What you'll find there - homeless, prostitutes, street kids, drug addicts...

...and YWAM.


For over a year YWAM has had a consistent presence in this area of Tijuana.  On Wednesdays, we set up a mobile soup kitchen at a city park where many homeless and drug addicts live.  We provide a meal, share the Gospel in creative ways, and always finish with a time of prayer.

Often we'll walk through the area, praying for the people we see and against the evil that has a hold in this area of town.

On Mondays, we go to a different park in the same neighborhood.  We play games with the kids, teach them Bible stories, and do arts and crafts.

Something we have been doing for the last few weeks is prophesying over one kid per week.  We ask God how He would like to encourage that child, and then share with them.  There have been some incredible talks with those kids as we speak God's truth over their lives.  There are visible changes in them when they come back the next week - they know we're on their side and care for them.  Some of these kids are children of the prostitutes or sex workers that we minister to on Wednesdays.  Our heart is to reach the whole family with the love of Christ.


Thanks to Giezi & Amanda Niño and Jodie MacLean for the inspiration and photos for this blog.

Cambodia

Finally!  Pictures from Scott's trip to Cambodia in August.  We are so thankful for the people who gave generously to make this trip possible.  Scott was able to meet with many organizations who minister to and provide rescue for victims of slave and sex trafficking.  It was an intense two weeks, full of emotional and physical challenges.  Enjoy these photos from his trip.

One of the many temples in Phnom Penh

Scott went to this market every morning to buy breakfast.

A Vacation Bible School that Scott and his team helped with one day.  These kids were jumping and singing and dancing, hence the fuzzy picture.

Read the first sentence of this sign carefully - it helps explain why sex trafficking is such a problem in Cambodia.

Yum - tarantulas!  And no, Scott did not eat it (he'd tried it last time he was in Cambodia).

Many of the team's meals were at restaurants like this one.  These businesses help rescue people out of the slave and sex trade by training them to work as chefs and waiter.

Downtown Phnom Penh - the view from the YWAM campus.

Scott was able to help build a home for a family living in extreme poverty.  It was not something his team had planned on doing.  Another group of missionaries were leaving just as Scott's team arrived, and they had wanted to build a home but couldn't.  Then, within a few days, the money was raised, a family selected, and Scott was able to help make this house a reality.

Everything was cut by hand tools the first day.  The team took an offering that night and were able to purchase a skill saw to help speed things up for the rest of the build.

Houses are built on a platform to help avoid flooding during the rainy season.

This rickshaw was the team's 'tool van' for the week.  Notice the building supplies balanced on top?

The floor is laid.

Walls going up.

Just as the house was being completed, it started to downpour.

The house dedication ceremony was held inside this small tarp structure.  It was so hot in there!

Sharing with the family who received the home.

Around the World and Back Again

Yes, Scott went to Cambodia.

Yes, Jamie and Hunter went to Washington State.

But for now, you get pictures of Kona, Hawaii.


It's tough to keep track of this family of world travelers!

gorgeous view from our hotel

it's a jungle out there!

'i wonder what's down there?'

these beauties were everywhere

surprisingly enough, we also saw license plates from oregon and washington.
that must have been a tough drive.

our reason for being here - a university of the nations conference
hosted by the ywam kona campus.

every morning began with a group bible study on the book of colossians.

each flag represents a nationality currently on staff at ywam kona.

there were over 30 flags!

hunter wants 'more' of something...

...maybe more of these cool dudes?

yes, they smelled amazing.

and yes, they tasted amazing.

digging for treasures.

it took awhile for him to figure out how to walk on the sand.
he got it eventually.

our little surfer dude.

headin' to the water.

a beautiful way to finish our time in hawaii

Over a month of traveling and we are so glad to be back home.  We plan on staying in Mexico for most of the rest of the year, doing what we love and loving what we do here on the YWAM Tijuana del Mar campus.