"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation"

Once again, time has escaped me! I find myself running around everywhere like a crazy person and it is hard to sit down and write these updates sometimes! (Yes, Katie does run out of words or has a rough time putting them in order at times....hard to believe, hey?) The good news tho is that i have a friend that went along on the trip into the Copper Canyon and he wrote an AWESOME UPDATE and to be honest it says just what i wanted to write, but better than i could! So i requested that he "guest write" on my blog. :) His name is Ryan Thiessen and his blog is the one that i refered you to for our "tentative schedule" we had on the trip. ANYWAYS, without further ado......Ryan's words from our trip.

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news..." (Isa 52:7). Who ever knew that pedicures could be so enjoyable? I don't know that my feet are that much more beautiful than they were before but what a blessing it is to be a part of what God is doing, and to share this good news that we have!

As you can tell by reading this post, we made it back, safe and sound with many adventures and stories of how God was at work. We traveled in a caravan of 4 motorcycles, 2 quads, and a Tahoe loaded with equipment and about a 1,000 Bibles and covered about 700 miles altogether. God kept us safe, with no major mishaps or accidents...the odd bruise and a bike or two may have taken a spill but nothing major!

I hope to get some pics posted soon but in the mean time I just wanna share a couple of neat examples of how we saw God moving. Our second night we found ourselves in the town of Chinipas, where we have been in the past. It's a hard town with no evangelical church, just the local Catholic church. Though the people are warm and friendly, we have always felt that there is a different kind of feeling in this town, with many obvious affects of the drug trade. In the past it has been hard to set up a film, not getting the necessary permission to do it in a public place. But this year, God really opened the door. Within in minutes of talking with the Comisario, the town mayor, we had not only permission that evening and the evening later on in the week when we would be on the way back, but he said he would make arrangements with the Comisario of the next town we were going to as they were good friends. And so we were able to set up in the town square. I'll share a little later how God moved the second night we were there.

From Chinipas we set out to an neighboring town called Temoris to work again with a pastor we've gotten to know well over the past years and each year I've come to appreciate more and more. He's more of a quiet, almost timid pastor but the passion he has to reach out especially to the small villages around his town is very evident. Temoris itself is located high up in the mountains, at about a mile in elevation. The first night we were there the pastor took us deep into the valley on one side of the town, not very far away but it took us about an hour to make it down the road. With no electricity we were the only attraction in town that night! I have to say I haven't seen the stars like I did that night for a long time! The next night, the pastor took is in the opposite direction down another valley, even a little further away. This was an even more remote village, once again with no electricity. It was inhabited by local natives with whom the pastor had also been working with over the past years. This was a particularly chilly evening, probably somewhere between 10 to 15 degrees and these people where showing up in barefoot sandals! (the only footwear they had...) I was sitting there in many layers, a toque, socks, shoes, gloves, barely keeping warm myself!

From Temoris we went to a town called Urique in the Urique canyons, one of the deeper valleys in the Copper Canyon area. The road arrives literally at the canyon edge and the town is at the very bottom. It's about a vertical mile from top to bottom and it took about an hour of back and forth driving to make it from top to bottom...25 kilometers to travel that vertical mile! But we were once again able to work with another wonderful pastor who took us to several villages surrounding the town and share the Gospel with them as well as hand out Bibles.

From there we backtracked and made our way to Chinipas once again where the final showing took place. The mayor had made arrangements for another showing in the town square and had also spread the word. As we were setting up, though there were people around, there wasn't the usual crowd coming together as there often was. As we were setting up, for whatever reason God had put it in our hearts to pray specifically for the men, that the men would be drawn in and come. However, at the point we had decided we would start, there wasn't a single person in the benches. But as soon as we pressed the play button, the people started to trickle in to the point where the seats were close to full. And sure enough among the children, there were more men than usual who were intently listening, some inconspicuously on the edge, others right in the center of it all. At the end, one of our team members shared and invited those who wanted to respond and there was one man in particular praying to receive the Lord as his Savior. He came up in the end as we invited those who wanted a Bible or a pair of reading glasses. When asked he came up and was asked if he wanted a pair of of reading glasses he emphatically replied that no, he had come for a Bible! Praise God for these changed lives! And now we can only pray for these new believers and for a town like Chinipas in particular, that God would raise up a church in this town!

Though we didn't give out all the Bibles, there are many more who now have a copy in their hands. Pray that the truth would grab a hold of them and change their hearts! After sharing the Jesus film in eight different locations, pray that those who made a decision to follow Christ would be encouraged and built up in their faith. Pray also for those pastors that we worked with, that they too would be encouraged in their work!

I'm hoping to get some pics posted soon so there is a little bit of visual accompaniment to these stories. Also, thanks so much for your prayers along the way...the preparation of hearts through prayer is as important as sharing the truth of the Gospel! We could see God working in many ways, and we owe a lot of that to you!

-Ryan Thiessen

http://ryanthiessen.blogspot.com/

Thank you to those who have been staying in touch, and reading my blog and for everyone who prayed for us as we headed out into drug cartel areas....in all honesty I knew that God had us there for a reason and I never once felt unsafe! Crazy, hey? Goes to show that the safest place to be is in the Lord's will...

Ok, this is already kinda long so I will close for now....

Pondering...

Hmmn.....I'm sitting in bed, eyes a little weary, pondering the past couple of weeks and then thinking of the upcoming week to take place! Our first pastor's seminar ended yesterday, today we had a meeting as staff/directors to have a bit of an evaluation time on what we can improve, what we need to chance, and so on......all in all we had ALOT to be THANKFUL for and many things to PRAISE our heavenly Father for! After our meeting we prayed together, (Eric and Roxana Ericcson-our head teachers and many other things in between!-my mum and dad, and then myself) It has been so very cool to be apart of a team that just works together SO WELL! We all have very different gifts, but we just mesh and work so well together it's awesome! We are able to meet together in a place of love, openness, and honesty. We have been called together at this time, at this place, and at this ministry of GOD'S that he is orchestrating......sweet deal! I am extremely grateful on this Thanksgiving Day (American) for my family. It is a privilege to be on a team working along side my parents, something I never imagined would happen, but that is truly a blessing. Thank you Lord for family and for YOUR WORK going on here in Mexico!

One last thing as I sit here pondering.....my bag is packed and i am heading into the "unknown!" :) I am going on a trip with a group down into the Copper Canyon in the state over from us. Please pray for us as we head onto sketchy mountain roads and into drug cartel territory. We will be showing the "Jesus" film and passing out Bibles and making contacts with small local churches and helping other contacts they've met in previous years. There is more information on the itinerary of the trip on my friend Ryan Thiessen's blog, so check it out! http://ryanthiessen.blogspot.com/ And on this note I am getting quite tired thinking of the early morning i have coming! Thank you for your prayers.....we sure can feel the prayers of God's people helping us fight the Spiritual battle! Until next time! I will give you an update when I get back!

DAY 7

DAY 7

Yikes....my record of writing three days in a row isn't going any further at this point! But hey, i'm doing pretty good! :) (I have to stay positive so I keep writing!)

Ok, so I'm going to have to give a larger update because there are more days to fill you in on! The question is this.....do I remember? In a way this week has felt like a month.....amazing how much you can pack into a week's time! And then there's the language thing going on, I have been thinking in two languages all week, mostly Spanish though, so now writing in English is feeling a little weird! Thank goodness for spell check in both languages for those of us who just start typing and then realize we're in the wrong language! Oh man....

Right....update, I need to do that yet! Once again, positive, awesome, God-Inspired teaching has been going on here at CEC and everyone is being blessed. The teachers are being blessed not only by input from the Pastors/students, but also by each other as they sit in on other classes. There is openness among the pastors that we prayed for and that we can't help but praise God for. There has been sharing of some of the hardest, most painful things people have gone through, there have been tears, there has been affirmation of one another, and encouragement! There is a unity among our group that only comes from being in the same family of God, and sharing with one another! We have well educated pastors and we have pastors that come from very small villages that have no education by middle school! But they all have one thing in common....their love the the Lord, their dedication to the family of God, and their passion for ministry! WOW!

And so we have continued on after a couple day's break. It was decided that we needed some time of rest during the weekend, so Saturday after lunch was free until we started again this morning. And as many of the pastors are needing to get back to their homes, and they're getting overloaded with information, we have decided that our seminar will end on Wednesday instead of Friday! Our team of “directors” here is awesome and open to changes....as our family motto goes, “if you aren't flexible, you get bent out of shape!” And so with that in mind, we're always willing to change things here if it's for the best....we're learning so much! And with that I will leave you for today. I will however translate some comments by a couple of the pastors that had to leave already, but I will have that for you tomorrow. This is long as it is! Thank you for those of you who have been following along....and for all your prayers! We appreciate everyone who is apart of the work here in Mexico! God bless, until next time!

DAY 3

DAY 3: Wow it's already Wednesday, I can't believe how fast these days have been flying! But here we are in day 3, and we couldn't be happier! Our group here continues to be closer and discussions are getting better with more participation from everyone! Every evening there is an open discussion time where certain subjects are addressed and other questions are brought up....tonight the question to start us off is, “What comes first, your family or your ministry?” and another topic that will be brought up is “marriage -time with your mate and time in your ministry.” These are just a small idea of the discussions they're having.

I had the pleasure the past couple of days, along with my secretarial duties, to be in charge of childcare. Lucky for me the two children that have been here are seriously SO AWESOME and really well behaved! As I work at my desk they sit at a little table and read, color, and just chill! They belong to Pastor David who pastors the church behind our house here in San Carlos. They are a great family and set an awesome example here! ANYWAYS, a bit to my dismay but also good, we have some childcare help today and possibly the rest of the time.....it's good so that I can focus more on the work I have, but I kinda miss those two little ones!

Yikes, this is getting kind of long now, I suppose I'll close for the day. Hope you're have a wonderful Wednesday.....until next time! (tomorrow?)

DAY 2

DAY 2: And so it has officially begun! We are now in our second day of classes with 11 pastors, 3 pastor's wives, and another 2 pastors on the way! We are extremely grateful to the Lord for bringing these specific people here and they are already encouraged with the new information that they're receiving! As you can probably tell, we're pretty excited around here and just really enjoying this time. Please continue to pray for us here, we can't do this on our own and need your continual prayers against the forces of darkness!

Pray specifically for the teachers, that they will be Spirit led.

Pray for the pastors/pastor's wives as well, that they will be able to soak up this information, allow God to work and change them if necessary, and be able to apply it to their lives.

Pray for unity.....that there will be an openness among everyone here, a vulnerability and trustworthiness. We want to be able to lay everything out on the table and have a support group for all these pastors. THANK YOU for praying! If you ever have any questions about ANYTHING, please feel free to write me at cec_mexico@hotmail.com That's all for now folks!

DAY 1

Katie's Thoughts

First Pastor's Retreat

Day 1: Officially we were supposed to start class this morning at 9AM, but due to late arrivals we've postponed our first class until 3PM. It is 8:24 and we have three pastors with more on the way! These times always remind me to think about this being GOD'S plan and design, not mine in any way! HE is going to bring the right people here and there will be no stopping HIM. It is out of our control, but IN HIS. :) Good thing, hey? So as secretary I have everything ready, as cook, my mum has everything ready, as teachers, Pastor Rich, Eric, and Fred have everything ready, as director/organizer/everything, my dad, has everything ready......that's all we can do and let GOD do the rest! So here we are....waiting and resting IN HIM. May the fun begin! Stay tuned for more daily updates as CEC's first pastor's retreat continues!

Pastor's Retreat

It's been WAY TOO LONG since I created this blog and posted the first post! I will be honest, keeping in touch is not my strong point! (I LOVE catching up face to face, but once I can't see you anymore I tend to be really bad at writing....but I'm going to work on changing that!)

I am currently sitting at my desk in my office at CENTRO EDUCATIVO CRISTIANO, otherwise known as "CEC," preparing my registry of pastors that will be attending our FIRST EVER "Pastor's Retreat!" Oh, have i mentioned I'm full-time secretary now? Slash promo person....and a few other things....but I'm not putting on my apron anymore....kinda sad, but good because i have my hands super full with what I'm doing! Ok....back to the Pastor's Retreat. We've invited pastor's from all over Mexico to come and be "renewed, refreshed, and to get refocused." We know that so many time they GIVE AND GIVE AND GIVE and never really receive. We have awesome teachers that are coming out and we're going to teach, counsel, and encourage these pastors! We as a team are really excited and we hope that you'll keep us all in your prayers as we head into these unknown waters. I will try to post often about how things are going over here....keep in touch!

So, if you're ready, keep your hands, feet, and arms in and HOLD ON because it's going to be a crazy ride! I'll keep you posted!

Catch up from March 2010!

¡Hola desde Mexico!

Many have been awaiting an “update letter,” so here is just the beginning of what I’m calling “God’s Adventure for the Life of Katie.” This adventure begins up in the cold north, Canada! (Some would say that where we were living, Kelowna, isn’t cold, but I beg to differ! The coldest winter they’ve had in years just “happened” to be the winter Hannah and I were living there!) Yes, not a good time I say! I think that growing up in the tropics really hinders one’s tolerance for the cold of Canada, this is what I think. Anyways, that is beside the point. Hannah and I were living up in Kelowna, working and paying off school loans until one visit home to Mexico brought a BOY into Hannah’s life! Yes, Kyler Van Kirk made an impression on Hannah and though she was still living in Kelowna her heart was in Mexico......so when the idea of moving south to warmer weather and to live near a certain boy, it was a given to leave Canada and head for the desert!

Our plan was to visit some of our family on our way down to Mexico, travel to Costa Rica with KYLER and Ryan, then finally move to Tucson, Arizona. I would continue to work and save money, but at the I time be WAY closer to my family than I was in Canada. And here we see where my plan wasn’t what GOD had planned, wow is HIS plan better! The drive through the States was long, but it was good to spend some time with family......and then there’s the part where Kyler came to Tennessee and proposed to my lovely sister! Yes, EXCITING times they were! So then the planning began....i’m sure you’re thinking just wedding planning, but there was MUCH more planning then that going on! We were planning a wedding, the opening of a Mexican Bible school, AND a month trip traveling through Costa Rica, Panama, and Venezuela!

Within two weeks trip and wedding were somewhat planned and we were OFF to our traveling adventures! Landing in San Jose brought with it all of us, but not the majority of our suitcases......which always makes things a little more interesting, that’s for sure! Thankfully Ryan flew separately and he did get his luggage.....thanks Ryan for the use of your clothes! :) Three days later we all had our bags, and Ryan had only dirty clothes, but we made it through and learned how little you can actually survive on. Our travels took us many places and we encountered adventures such as kayaking through crocodile infested waters (and did I mention falling in? Yes, that did happen), finding ourselves on random little islands, driving through crazy cities such as Panama city, zip-lining through the forest, and finally eating LOTS AND LOTS of rice and beans! WARNING: Women it is best if you limit the men on your trip to less beans......we all know the reasons behind this warning. Then three of us, Hannah, Kyler, and myself headed to Venezuela where we met our Uncle Merrill, Aunt Teresa, and cousin Jodi, while Ryan continued back to Canada to spend Christmas with his family. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Venezuela, but were saddened to see the country has gone “downhill” since we last visited three years ago. We soon realized while we were there that it isn’t as safe as it used to be and the people are quite desperate. So we visited old friends and went to see our former dwellings and of course, ate as much Venezuelan food as we could manage in our time there! (NOT GOOD!) Luckily we came out of there still wearing our same clothing, so that was good......it still fit! Getting out of the country was a bit of a problem, we were detained for three days because we didn’t have our yellow fever paperwork, but eventually we did left our home country behind and flew on our way back to Mexico!

Wow, I shouldn’t wait so long next time to tell of my adventures.....this is taking quite a bit of writing. Please feel free to take a short intermission at this time, maybe get a coffee and come back for part two!

Upon our arrival in Mexico it was soon apparent that i could be used in not only helping Hannah plan her wedding, but that i was needed in helping get the Mexican Bible school started. My parents had asked me to think about staying in Mexico and helping with the school before we headed out on our trip, and along the way I felt a real peace on doing just that. So I jumped in with both feet and it has been craziness every since! I have taken on a few different roles with the school, the first being a cook. Mum and I do all the cooking for the students, which isn’t too much, but still three meals a day. And then secondly I am doing secretarial things for the school. I have done many different things which vary from designing brochures to checking/making documents that go out from the school to different pastors we’re working alongside and so on. I head up the work detail area with the students which includes not only organizing work detail schedules and teams, but also trying to teach the value of “servant leadership” and what it looks like to work as a team. The students have learned a great many things and I must admit that their cleaning skills have improved GREATLY since they began. And lastly I have done a woman’s session where we separate the men and women. I taught a session on etiquette, hostessing, and the gracefulness of a woman of God. We looked into the book of Esther, folded napkins, and then went over proper table etiquette before finishing with a meal we served for supper. You may be asking yourself what kind of school we have here, and that is a valid question! We are equipping men and woman who have already been involved in ministry to return to where they were and know how to teach, how to start a church, how to lead. We not only teach them their Biblical foundations and more, but we also teach them practical things such as the etiquette class I just explained. Our students have been learning so much and are so appreciative of their education it has been a blessing to be a part of this new work here in Mexico.

There have been many trials along the way, and I'll be honest, it has been BUSY over here, but so worth it! God is doing an awesome work here in San Carlos and I can’t wait to see what He has in store in the coming years for this school!

On that note, could you pray for our school, and for the work going on down here in Mexico? Please pray that God will lead and guide this school where He wants it to go, and that He will bring the right students for the next year and the years to come! As administrative staff we’re praying for wisdom as we set standards and work through the different issues we’ve run into and will continue to face along the way.

Commitment.......a hard word to deal with at times, but something God calls us to in different ways. God has called me to Mexico here and I have committed to staying here and continuing with the ministry here for two years. Some may think that isn’t long, but if you’re young and haven’t stayed anywhere longer than a year in the past eight years, this is a big deal! :) You may be asking yourself what this has to do with my update, but i would like to encourage you to pray about committing to the work here in Mexico alongside me. I need prayer warriors to pray for me because we are in a spiritual battle down here and I am feeling that more than ever right now! God has been doing as awesome work in the lives of HIS people here and we are under attack! I need you to stand beside me in prayer. If God is calling you to stand beside me in prayer, i would ask that you commit with me for two years. Where we go from here i do not know, but this is just what God has pressed upon my heart. As well as prayer I am raising funds to be able to live down here and serve full time in ministry. I need your help in order to be able to be here......if God is putting it on your heart to help financially, please pray about it and if possible, commit to it for the two years i’ve committed. I know this isn’t always possible, and I had no idea when i started this letter that i would even say this, but God has just placed it on my heart that it is SO important to have a team committed right alongside me for HIS ministry. God chooses different people for different roles in all aspects of ministry whether it’s living and working in Canada or cooking for ministry students in Mexico!

So here it ends.....one minute I'm living and working in Kelowna, the next I'm called as a missionary to San Carlos, Mexico! God sure has a way of working things out in our lives and it’s so awesome to see how He orchestrates everything! I can’t wait to see what He has in store for me tomorrow! So until next time....