Hello,

I have been thinking recently about our role working with La Fuente Riviera. There is so much happening around here with the construction, five ministry locations, and all of the people it takes to make those things happen. We are blessed to be a part of a thriving ministry. John and I can only do so much on our own, but working with La Fuente Riviera gives us the opportunity to be involved with so many events and ministry opportunities. We have learned a lot by working beside people who have done this much longer than we have. I guess what I am trying to say is that we are blessed.

Neighbors

Recently, the neighbors around the church have been expressing some frustration with La Fuente. One of them has been throwing glass bottles over the wall during youth group and there have been several others who have also been speaking badly about us. One thing they are complaining about is the noise, but the church has been in this location for 4 years, and we have been running the sound systems much lower the last couple months and that doesn’t seem to be helping. This discontent is fairly new, which is strange because not much has changed recently.  We have been praying for them. We would also appreciate it if you would pray for them and pray that our attempts at diplomacy would be effective. The congregation brought cookies to our neighbor’s houses during service one evening as an act of goodwill, and we are trying to compromise with them as much as possible.

Jesus Is My Friend

On Sunday, we had a special program for the kids for Valentines Day. It was called Jesus is my Friend. They had a special message, games and activities. I was in charge of coordinating the snacks and serving them. It was a great night. We had about 100 kids who seemed to have a great time.

Puppet Training

This weekend we also had a non-profit group from the states held a training seminar here. Kids Around The World focuses on training international Christen groups for kids’ ministry. They did a workshop on how to make and use puppets as part of our outreach program. We had 80 people from La Fuente and other local churches attend the two-day program. The training was really informative and fun. John and I made a couple puppets, and now we are thinking about how to incorporate them into what we do in San Ignacio.

Superhero Party

This weekend, the youth group dressed up for their service. The theme was “who are your heroes?” and everyone dressed up like a superhero, a character, or someone they know.  John and I were the official judges, so the kids had to present their costumes and try to convince us to pick them. It was both elaborate and hilarious.  Obviously, we chose Nacho Libre. John dressed up like a GoPro Hero 2 camera, and I was Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. 

Land Donation

Pastor Keith and Maya had a meeting with El Presidente (the mayor) about donating land to La Fuente this weekend. He showed them several pieces of land that the government would donate to us.  Some of the pieces of land were huge.  Of course, the land that is closest to the highway (which is great because of the advertising potential and is easier to get to) are the smallest and the ones farthest from the highway are the largest. Please pray that we get a piece of land that will fit all of our needs and that the donation will go through quickly. Kids Around The World wants to donate a playground to La Fuente, and we would like a place to put it and a church. That area where land is available has hundreds of homes and would be a wonderful place to minister.

There has been some complications to our construction due to a change in government. When the mayor changes, so does all of the building inspectors. The inspectors found several problems with our plans that the other inspectors did not mention. We have been assured that they will issue us a new building permit despite these problems, but we are still waiting. Please pray that we get the permits we need and that they happen quickly.

Teams
We have had several teams contact us in the past few weeks asking to come and serve here at the church. We have five teams scheduled in the next 6 months. John and I are basically responsible for coordinating with the teams, figuring out their schedule and coordinating where they are staying and eating, we have been busy with that. We had small construction team here last month, and are expecting two more small teams in the next two weeks.  We really like working with teams. It is interesting to meet people from all over the states and Canada. We feel like this job plays to our strengths since John Mark is a jack of all trades and I lend an administrative hand in coordinating their visits.

Our home church is also planning on sending a team this summer which we are excited about as well. It will be fun to have some people from home here with us.

John Mark has been struggling with his health some. He was stick again yesterday, for the third time since Christmas. Please pray with us against his allergies which weaken his immune system and make his more suitable to catching viruses. There is so much more dust, mold, and pollen here, and there is no way to keep it out of the house because the windows and doors do not seal.

Thank you for your prayer for us and the work we are doing here. We are so grateful to have a strong support group at home.

God bless you,
Moorea


Please pray:
Peace between La Fuente and its neighbors
John Mark's health
La Fuente will receive the right government land donation
Building permit for the sanctuary that the construction might continue

On the dock, ready to watch some whales

Hello,

It has been quiet a while since my last post. Things have been going really well. We keep pretty busy with services, teaching kids classes, and other special events. We both love what we are doing and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Whale Watching

For Christmas, my parents gave us the opportunity to go whale watching. I had never been before and it was amazing! Growing up going to the zoo, I am used to seeing animals in cages. You know what you are going to see before you get there, but this was totally different. We were speeding around, watching the horizon for a spout of water, a tail against the sky, or to snatch a sight of a long, round body under the water.  We saw a few from a distance. We even saw one dive down and fling his tail into the air. We thought that might be all for the morning, when we came up on a baby and, deep below the surface, the mama. They stayed within about thirty feet of us for a while. The baby even came close once. My friend jumped into the freezing water and got some under water footage. It was a pretty amazing morning.  

 Whale sighting

Learning to Listen

One Saturday, I really felt like we should do something a little different with the kids in San Ignacio. Through a translator, we talked about what it means to hear God.  We took some time just to listen. I separated the kids into corners and told them to close their eyes, and wait for God to speak to them. We got off to a bit of a rough start. This was totally new for them. Misha, my translator, talked to them a bit more, explaining exactly what we were doing, and then we separated again. This time it was totally different. The kids were  v e r y  still and quiet. I had never seen them like that before. I sat with the youngest ones in a group. They are about five year olds. I prayed very quietly, sometimes in English, sometimes in Spanish so they would understand what we were doing. I felt the presence of God come strongly into the room. One of the little girls with me knelt and put her face to the floor.  We stayed like that for maybe 15 minutes. For these kids, that is an eternity, and they were quiet the whole time. When we gathered back together, the kids were solemn in a way I had never seen them before. A couple of the girls looked like they were deeply moved; they looked like they might cry any moment.  Misha asked them if they had heard from God and several of them said that they had. We talked about how it is okay if they didn’t hear anything, but that God wants to speak to them and that with practice they will hear him more clearly. It was an amazing morning and I a so grateful that God touched all of us.

Since then, we have definitely been feeling the enemy push back. The kids have been even more distracted and other things have happened that make ministering in San Ignacio more difficult. Your prayers are vital. Please continue to pray for us and for these kids that they will love God passionately and change their community. 

Charla Pereau
In January, a lady named Charla Pereau came to visit. She was the one who started the orphanage on the Baja where John Mark lived as a little boy when his father was head of construction there. John's family met Pastor Keith when they were all living there and that is how we ended up here twenty years later. She has an amazing testimony about how God used her, a Christian house wife and a person with sever dyslexia and other learning difficulties, to start an orphanage that has grown to house many children. She has also founded a free clinic, many literacy programs and other services to the poor in Mexico. She is an inspiring lady.

Sewing Class

John Mark has started taking a sewing class they are offering at the church. He has been wanting to learn to sew so he can make his own backpacking stuff: tarps, tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, etc.  He has made himself a potholder and a nylon stuff sack for a sleeping bag so far to practice. He is getting a feel for how to use the machine so that he can move on to other projects on his own later. It has been difficult for him to find the types of materials he needs for backpacking gear like nylon straps, rip stop or waterproof nylon and plastic clasps, but he is happy practicing basic skills for now. 

Hiking

One of the things that John misses the most about being home is being able to go backpacking. There are not many trails around here. The jungle is too dangerous to hike through because a python can drop out of a tree, and there are also some panthers and crocodiles among other strange creatures out there.  The last few weeks, however, we have discovered a couple great places to go hiking. We spent one of our days off hiking along the beach in Sayulita. We covered sandy beaches, boulders, tide pools, and cliff faces. Some places the water came right up to the cliff, so we just free climbed right over the side. We covered about 7 miles that day and ended, as all hikes should, at a taco stand eating amazing food. It was super fun. We went with out fried, Zac, who is now hooked on hiking and has become our hiking buddy.

 Zac & John Mark

A beautiful hike

 Climbing

We went hiking again on our next day off. There is a river that flows out of the mountains, but it is really shallow right now since it is the dry season. We followed the river up about a mile or two, crossing it when the shore became impassable. We ended at a hot springs that is right next to the river. Some of our friends drove in and met us at the hot springs. We had a relaxing day sitting by the water and in the hot spring pools. We hear that there are even more hot springs hidden father up the river and there is also a great place to jump in the river. We definitely want to go back before the rainy season makes the river more dangerous and unpredictable (because of flash floods). That river might be our favorite place to go since it is so beautiful, quiet and the water is the perfect temperature: warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It was the only cool water I felt the whole summer. 
 

Thank you to everyone who is praying for us and who has give us support. We are continually in awe of how God has provided for us through you. We are so grateful for the sacrifices that you have made so that we can be here working with kids and supporting the local church.  We pray that God blesses each of you and gives you both a peace and a passion for his plan in your life. 

We love you,

Moorea (& John Mark) 

Please Pray:
That the kids in San Ignacio would hear God's voice in in their lives
That the kids in San Ignacio wouldn't be distracted during out teaching times