Legna gathered the parents of all the children in the Martial Arts classes at the little Lutheran mission in the community of Maclovio Rojas. It was a good opportunity to talk about the development of their children, their behavior, reinforcing the biblical values that are being taught and how parents can further develop and support that teaching at home and in school.

On Saturday, Pastor Nilo had an active day visiting Proyecto JOEL’s programs.  Here he is pictured in the sanctuary of Iglesia Luterana San Pablo with the children of the Maclovio Rojas community.  They have cleared out the pews in the church to make room for the Martial Arts Outreach which Legna leads.

Tere Montoya, CPTLN staff, Pastor Abdiel and Alicia Perez y Pastor Nilo Figur

We worshiped with the congregation of IELSGSF and met Pastor Manuel and his wife Marta.  The Bible class was led by Dr. Victoria.   Pastor Nilo addressed the congregation and encouraged them.

We headed off to the border after church and had a bit of a wait.  We drove by the new Concordia Lutheran Church in Chula Vista, CA on our way to the airport……….  We were talking about new ideas for supporting the growth of the church in Tijuana.  Pray for the Lord’s will and guidance as we dream the dreams God intends for us here in Tijuana!  I got Pastor Nilo to the airport after 3pm for a 4pm flight!  Just barely……..!  We are grateful for his leadership and pray God’s blessing on him in the work he does advocating for the ministries in Latin America!

Here Sr. Nilo meets with the staff and we talk about the many opportunities …. and challenges of ministry in Tijuana!

Sr. Nilo spends the day with Legna and  Pastor Abdiel looking at the Proyecto JOEL projects.  I was in Los Angeles meeting with women for an LWML planning meeting.  More photos of Sr. Nilo’s day to follow!

Here is Legna, Don Jorge and Sr. Nilo at the Proyecto JOEL youth field.

Pastor Figur visited one of the Lutheran churches in Tijuana. Here is saying: “This is going to end up on the blog, right?”  He knows me already!

The Pastor’s wife treated us to a delicious breakfast of “picadas” which are handmade corn tortillas with beans, salsa and mexican cheese on top.

From there we toured the CPTLN DayCare and Community Center. I hadn’t been there in a while to see it’s progress.  It is one its way to being done!  From there we went to one of the community elder groups.  In this particular group about 200 senior citizens gather to provide each other with mutual support.  We visit and take a topic, read from Scripture, pray with small groups from among them about 2 times a month.  This day, we greeted them and Pastor Figur had special words of comfort and encouragement to share with them. We shared a special word of comfort with the gentleman pictured in this photo as his grandson has been kidnapped for 2 months and they still don’t have word on him. Please join us in this prayer.

Another volunteer is busy taking blood pressure and checking blood sugar.  This equipment was donated by IOWAY in one of their prior visits.

Today is a holiday in Mexico, where the Mexican Revolution is celebrated.  These children were walking to school in the afternoon to participate in a special parade and are dressed up as “Adelitas” of the REvolution.

We made our way back to the office to meet with the staff and gather together for a devotional. It was a good time to look ahead to what God might want to accomplish through us in the CPTLN ministry in Tijuana as we journey into the future.  One final surprise.  Legna had requested some design software for the preparation of her Proyecto JOEL (youth) magazine.  One special, annonymous donor purchased the COREL design software for us and Legna was delighted!

We ate together at the Casa de Mole.  Mole is a national dish in Mexico made with 100 ingredients…..with the main ingredientes being chocolate, nuts and chili!  Pastor Figur has a missionary stomach too!  He had never tried this dish but enjoyed it very much.  It was a very long but very productive day to see the work we do in communities throughout Tijuana.  Tomorrow Legna will lead and show Pastor Figur the impact Proyecto JOEL has in Tijuana.  Stay tuned…..

Pastor Figur has enjoyed learning about the mission field in Tijuana.  There is so much going on here! We took him for a hearty lobster lunch by the ocean……then we drove to Poway, California to meet the LWML Pacific Southwest District President Linda Koch and finally give a presentation about the ministry in Tijuana to the LWML ladies of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Poway.  It was a long but very productive day!

Here is Pastor Figur working from the CPTLN Mexico office.

Talking about ministry opportunities at lunch time in Puerto Nuevo!

It is great to sing praises to God.  Then I gave a one hour presentation of our work in Tijuana. It was a great time with the sweet ladies of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Poway.

We have a new Area Director for Latin American offices of Lutheran Hour. Pastor Nilo is a native of Brasil, most recently serving as a professor in the Communications Department of Concordia University Austin, Texas.  We are delighted to have his wise counsel in ministry in Mexico.  Please pray for him as he walks alongside the many servants of the Lord throughout Latin America.

Welcome Pastor Figur!

Legna, director of Proyecto JOEL/CPTLN launched a new magazine for youth of Tijuana.  This magazine enters the world of the border youth and challenges youth to think “outside the box” and join the movement of caring for God’s world, living as God’s people, being a part of the healing that God desires for their generation and for all time!

I am grateful for the Sunshine Zone of the Lutheran Laymen’s League. I was invited to give a ministry update yesterday and they established an endowment fund for the purpose of advancing ministry.  Among those they will support is the work in Tijuana.  A camp property was sold and now those funds will go to work funding work throughout the region and beyond.

I was happy to give an update of our work south of the Border.  Thank you LLL leaders for caring about those things that God cares about!

Lay missionary, Francisco, began outreach to families of kidnapped victims in Tijuana. He also takes trips twice a year to visit the Yaqui tribe, an indigenous people in the interior of Mexico.  He takes them words of encouragement and hope from God’s word and also blesses them with providing some clothing, school supplies, basic food items …. and even some packaged underwear from the “Undie Sunday” effort!