“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

Hi everyone,

We hope that you're all doing well! It's been so much fun for us these last few weeks getting settled in here in Mexico. We're learning a lot from James and Charmaine who are the other missionaries here at CTC. We've been learning about the different ministries held on our facility, like the after school program(Brennan even got the opportunity recently to teach one of the classes!) and bible studies. During the week, Brennan has been working with James in the maintenance department learning all kinds of things about plumbing, mechanics, carpentry, etc., and Angelina has been working with Charmaine learning the administration side of the base, as well as cooking for the after school program and when teams come(we had our first from Spring Valley a few weeks ago and have another from Las Vegas with us now! ). The four of us are really seeking the Lord about what He has next for ministry here and we're so excited. Stay tuned for more changes =).

In case you haven't had the chance to come see CTC yet, here are a few pictures:

Praise God that our after school program has grown so large that we had to move a couple of our classes into bigger classrooms! They were so happy to have more space, and to be located way up on the third story of our dormitory building. The kids and the teachers love their new classrooms; here are some pictures from our after school program.

 

We have to let you guys know that James and Charmaine (our fellow missionaries here at CTC) are such awesome people and have been so kind to us! God has really blessed us with such awesome brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope that you'll all come and meet them and stay with us sometime soon.

Last weekend, we got the opportunity to participate in an outreach with the church we have been attending- Calvary Chapel Rosarito. We all got together to paint the outer walls of one of the local schools that was heavily tagged with graffiti. There were a lot of children and even some teams from the US that helped, and in the end, it looked completely different! One car drove by and said, “Cristo Vive!”, and another one said, “The kids will hardly recognize it!” It was a blessing getting to meet new people and together make a difference in that community.

Mexico really feels like home to us! We're so grateful to God for  the blessing it is to be here. So far, our favorite days are Wednesdays when we get to attend the Bible study held on the facility and get to know our neighbors. A lot of the adjustments we've enjoyed so much, like hang drying our clothes, cooking by candlelight(when the power goes out :D only happened once so far), and eating delicious tacos(don't you want to come visit =) ?) We're excited to soon have a new family member here with us also, last month we found out that Angelina is pregnant(a little more than 10 weeks)! She doesn't want to put pictures of her tummy up, but we'll see! 

Thank you all so much for your prayers. Our biggest prayer requests this month would be for some of our children struggling in our after school program with reading and writing, and also for the possibility of beginning a church here, as there is a real need in the community. Please come and stay with us in La Gloria! We would love to introduce you to various ministry opportunities taking place here in Mexico, and we promise that you'll be blessed. We love you and look forward to talking to you all soon!

Love and God bless,

Brennan and Angelina

(This is Angelina cooking by candle light after the power went out... it was fun... we sat around and read The Prince and the Pauper by candlelight. Angelina thinks I'm a nerd for telling you that :) oh well..)

Mexico Missions Week

Hi Everyone,

We just wanted to share with you some of the pictures from Missions Week when we went to La Gloria, Mexico with the Calvary Chapel Christian School kids. We also would like to tell you a little bit about what the Lord did each day.

Day 1- The team worked on a tire wall to reinforce the hillside against landslides to protect the home and family of a local woman, named Carmen. While constructing the tire wall, some of the girls got the opportunity to play with Carmen's children and to learn to how to make a traditional Mexican Meal(yum! Homemade tortillas!).

Day 2- The team went on a scavenger hunt in a local Mexican Supermarket. They were given a list of items in Spanish and were only allowed to ask the locals for help to find the items. It was so much fun!

That night we all participated in a Bible study that takes place at the base weekly. The Calvary Chapel kids presented a drama and some puppet shows for the children and parents attending the study. Afterward, they were able to give the items they had collected on the scavenger hunt to a few local families while playing with the kids.

Day 3-The team set out early to serve at a bathing clinic held by Spectrum Ministries, in Tijuana. At the clinic, local boys were able to get baths and new clothes, and little girls were able to get their hair and feet washed, and new clothes as well. Parents were able to get fresh vegetables, and there were haircuts for all. We got to help with the bathing, as well as face painting and playing games with the kids (they are really good at soccer).

Day 4-In the morning we worked on the base, helping to construct the beginning phases of a basketball court, as well as planted flowers and weeded. In the afternoon, each team member was assigned a child from the after school program, and we all went to a museum and a 3D movie! For some of the children, it was their first movie theater experience ever! It was such a blessing to have one on one time with all the sweet kids.

The trip was such a blessing! It was awesome to see the high school kids minister and even see our new home-to-be. We look forward to sending you more pictures after we officially move on March 24th!

We can hardly believe we're moving in less than 2 weeks; praise God for His faithfulness!

We love you all, thank you so much for your prayer and support. Hopefully we'll get to see some of you tonight at our commissioning at Calvary Chapel Spring Valley.


Talk to you soon! Please email us with any questions or prayer requests.

Love and God Bless,
Brennan and Angelina

 

A Belated Update :)

Hello everyone!

We just wanted to update you all on what's been going on since our last blog post... a lot! The Lord has blessed us with an awesome Christmas, a beautiful wedding( yay, we love being married!), and the opportunity to serve at our home church here in Las Vegas while raising support for Mexico. We're praying that these first months of 2010 have been a blessing for you all as well :).

While here in Las Vegas, it has been such a blessing to serve at CC Spring Valley. The Lord has really been stretching us by giving us the opportunity to serve in different ministries at the church. Angelina has been helping wherever needed, whether it be in the childrens' ministry, accounting, or at the front desk, and Brennan has been serving on the facilities crew learning a lot of new things like patching roofs and fixing toilets. It has really been such an awesome experience for us both and we're excited to see how the Lord may use all the things He has been teaching us(maybe there will be roofs and toilets needing to be fixed in our near future? :D We can't wait to see!)

 

(Update: We did actually have to fix our toilet at home! Thanks Lord :D)

Praise God! We're still moving forward with the plans to move to La Gloria, Mexico in mid-March, and in the next few weeks we are so excited to get to be part of a trip there that the Calvary Chapel Christian School is taking for their missions week. We can't wait to update you all with pictures and stories of what the Lord is currently doing there. 

During this short trip we will actually be staying where we hope to be living soon- at the Calvary Chapel Training Center in La Gloria. If God wills, in mid-March we will moving there to serve as students, learning how to eventually direct the base ourselves. The current ministries at CCTC include housing and planning for the short-term teams, providing space for churches and Bible studies, and facilitating an after school program for children where they can get help with homework, have a small meal and, most importantly, learn about Jesus. We're so excited for the blessing it will be to be a part of what the Lord is doing there and to get to know the children and people of Mexico.

We are still praying, however, for those whom God has prepared to send us. While the most valuable support is prayer, there is a need for a certain number of people to give $10, $15, $20 or more a month to support us as we seek to do His work. This will fund our living on the base and ministering while in Mexico. Please pray for His guidance and our obedience to His will for which we know and trust that He is so faithful to provide.

Love you all and God Bless,

Brennan and Angelina

(this picture is at one of Spring Valley's awesome home fellowships :D)

1 Timothy 1:17, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

"Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle." - Bishop Phillips Brooks

Hi everyone,

We can hardly believe that it has already been four months since we began the Global Impact Program here in Montana, and already this Friday we'll be heading home to Las Vegas. We're so grateful for the amazing blessing from the Lord that our time here has been. This has been such a time of growth in Him. We're so excited to be a part of His plan!

This last month we focused on the historical perspective of missions work. It's so amazing to study the lives of the “great cloud of witnesses” that have gone before us. Men like David from the Bible or William Carey in India, Pioneers like Hudson Taylor or Cameron Townsend- these are men who have all seen the faithfulness of God and His love for His people.

Something so precious about our Heavenly Father is His care for each lost sheep. We want to have that same yearning in our own hearts to see every people group reconciled to Him, and we know that He can and will reach out to them. What an awesome thing it will be in Heaven to see every nation speaking in every language praising the Lord before His throne! Our prayer is that we would all live our lives helping to fulfill this beautiful picture.

Outside of the classroom this week, you'll never guess what we learned- electrical wiring! (That's what you were going to guess right?) One of the awesome staff members here- Billy Greel- taught us how to theoretically wire an entire house. Then we got to put it into practice by wiring our own power outlets, light switches, and light fixtures. We're excited to see how the Lord will use this in the future. If you would like us to wire your house, let us know (just kidding).

Saying goodbye here has been so difficult, especially leaving the children's ministry at CC Whitefish. It was a blessing this last month to be able to help them with their Christmas choir and to teach our little kindergarten Sunday school class. We're going to miss them SO much! The thing that makes it easier is to know that we leave them in the capable hands of Jesus who loves them so much more than anyone else ever could.

Yesterday, was our commissioning from Potter's Field Ranch. Every month God has been so faithful to provide for us to be here, and it's so incredible to see how He is using this program to send out so many missionaries. While it is so difficult for us to leave, it's funny to think that the whole purpose of this program is to teach interns to “GO!” We're excited to go on to what the Lord has next for us.

In Him,
Brennan and Angelina