Posts Tagged ‘college interns’

Dawn and Dave at our booth at the Biola global missions conference

Dawn and Dave at our booth at the Biola global missions conference

Last week was a very productive week of mobilizing for our work on the San Diego – Tijuana border. We started the week in Atlanta at Mission to the World’s vision retreat. We met a number of people there who are asking the question, where might God want me to serve? Then we headed up to Lookout Mountain, Georgia where we met with students and faculty at Covenant College. We ended the week at Biola’s global missions conference.

Biola and Global Missions

Biola University held their missions conference this last week. They called the conference Outpouring. Since Dawn and I were out-of-town earlier in the week we were only able to attend on Friday.

Unfortunately, on our way up to Biola, which is in Southern Los Angeles we encountered a huge traffic jam leaving San Diego. Even though we left at 6:00 AM there was an early morning traffic accident that closed down the 805 freeway.

I must say that I did get a little impatient. Believe it or not I have not yet mastered patiently waiting in traffic when I feel that we need to be somewhere! 😉 I’m hoping it’s not something I get too much experience in.

Despite the slow down we did make it to the conference, just a little later than we hoped we would.

Dawn with a new friend at the missions conference, Biola University

Dawn with a new friend at Biola’s missions conference

Dawn and I had a good day at Biola. Even though we were only participated on the last day of the conference, it was a fruitful time. We connected with some students that are exploring opportunities to go on mission with God. The students are especially interested in summer internships.

We love the opportunity to invest in the lives of young people. Who knows what the Lord will do when we plant and water for his kingdom?

Biola put on a big conference which attracted a number of students and other missions organizations. It was enjoyable to connect with new and old friends from the other missions organizations. They have some great ideas, so we can learn from them.

Praise to God for a Fruitful Week

In all, it was a very fruitful week. Dawn and I love connecting with people, especially those that have a heart for the world. There are already some students that have talked to us about a summer internship. We are also following up with a few young families that are interested in pursuing a longer term of service on the mission field.

Pray for Workers

God is moving on the border, and he is opening doors for us to walk through. Thank you Jesus, continue to guide and lead. Bring us those workers that you want to serve with us!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Dawn with Emily Gryder

Dawn with Emily Gryder

Emily Gryder arrived from North Carolina this past Saturday! We are thrilled to have her. She has a sweet disposition.

She is majoring in Spanish at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hills. While she is on the border she will have the plenty of opportunities to practice her Spanish.

This first month she will be staying with our good friends, Tom and Debbie Steller. On Sunday we celebrated Tom’s birthday. It was a fun time, and it gave Emily an opportunity to get to know the Steller family.

This is a new endeavor for Emily. It’s the first time she’s traveled west of Michigan, although she has been on missions trips out of the United States before. If I’m remembering correctly, she’s been to the Dominican Republic.

Dave with Zach Lutz

Dave with Zach Lutz

Our other intern, Zach Lutz has been with us for over a month, and he’s been a great help. He told me the other day that one of the most challenging things for him was leading a Bible study in Spanish. I applaud him for attempting this feat, because he’s still learning Spanish. It reminds me of when I first tried to lead Bible studies in Mexico City in the summer of 1987. The Lord used that summer in a powerful way in my life. My prayer is that Emily and Zach will also have an experience that will impact their lives in a profound way for His glory.

I pray they will be infected, in a positive way, with a heart and passion for missions for the rest of their lives.

One of the things that has been encouraging, apart from the ministry experience that our interns are getting, is that it has allowed us to do more. They bring with them youthful energy and more manpower. We are thankful to have them.

We continue to pray that the Lord will raise up workers to serve with us here on the border! Our interns may end up being some of those that answer the call. That is more of a long-term goal, but we also pray that God will bring some people to us quickly. We look to you, Lord Jesus. Hear our prayer!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Dave, Zach and Ray

Dave, Zach and Ray

Dawn and I have enjoyed getting to know two of our interns over the last week. Zach Lutz, a student from Moody in Chicago, and Lindsay Anne Dransfield a student from the University of Maryland in Baltimore are with us.

Zach has done a great job plugging in, and helping where needed. One of the major ministries he’s involved in is leading a Bible Study with a Hispanic small group in Escondido. This is quite an accomplishment, since Zach is still learning Spanish. Today is Zach’s birthday! He’s the big 21! Happy Birthday, Zach.

We are going into Mexico today, and we will be with the Spanish church tonight, so we celebrated Zach’s big day on July 4th. The Call family made a cake, and we had a wonderful time celebrating independence day and Zach’s birthday on the same day!

Dawn with Lindsay Anne

Dawn with Lindsay Anne

Lindsay Anne is only with us for a few days. She is a photo journalist. While she is with us we have her taking a lot of pictures and video of the city, and people.

As an added bonus, a friend from Colorado Springs, Scott Kracht has been visiting us.

On Saturday Lindsay Anne leaves and Emily Gryder joins us. Emily is coming out from North Carolina.

I love the youth, energy and curiosity these young adults bring with them. It’s unbelievable that our interns are all about the same age as our kids. Actually, David, our oldest is a little older than all of them. But of course, we aren’t getting older just our kids are! 😉

Today we will go into Tijuana and Rosarito to meet with pastor Leo Nevarez. My prayer is that we can encourage him and his wife, Gloria. I’m also hoping to introduce him to a ministry that builds houses for impoverished people. This ministry isn’t too far from his church, so it could be a great opportunity for the church to reach out in love to the people in this community. I believe by bringing these two ministries together that the Lord could greatly bless each of them. I pray they will also be a blessing to the community!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

God Uses Prayer

One of the core values for our team is to be people of prayer. We recognize that we are dependent on God. We depend on the Lord and His grace to see fruit in our lives and ministry (John 15:5). It’s equally true that we need a team of people committed to prayer standing with us.

The church marches forward on her knees.

Prayer is of transcendent importance. Prayer is the mightiest agent to advance God’s work. Praying hearts and hands only can do God’s work. Prayer succeeds when all else fails.  — E.M. Bounds

Join us in prayer for the following requests:

  1. David Jr. is in the middle with the blue shirt

    This Sunday, April 29th Cuco Moya will make an announcement to the Spanish-speaking congregation at Harbor Mid-City about the plans to launch of a new Spanish church in the next year.

    • This is a big step for the church. The mother church is still growing itself, so although it’s exciting on the one hand, there are also some huge challenges in getting this work off the ground.
    • Pray that those in the congregation understand, and get behind the new work.
    • Pray for wisdom for the leadership of the mother church as well as the new outreach.
    • This is a very ambitious advance, so we definitely need God to be at the center of it.
  2. Continue to pray for the sale of our house.
    • We are having an open house this weekend.
    • We trust the Lord for His timing with our move.
    • Pray for our family in this move. We are excited, but there are some big changes ahead for all of us.
  3. Pray for our college interns that will be working with us over the next few months.
    • Zach Lutz will be with us from May 23 – August 18.
    • Emily Gryder will be working with us from July 7 – November 30.
    • David Diaso Jr. will also be working with us; his dates are partly dependent on our move.
    • We are praying that our internship ministry will grow, and that it gets off to a great start.
  4. We are getting very close to being fully funded. Pray that the Lord will provide and direct us to the individuals and churches that He is calling to join our team. You can give to our work here…
  5. I am recruiting new people to join our BEAMM ministry team. Pray with us that the Lord draws godly and gifted people to join us.
  6. God’s healing touch:
    • Ray Call has kidney stones and Colitis.
    • Mario & Silva’s baby boy, Daniel has some health concerns they are having tested.
    • David Diaso Jr. has a torn meniscus.
  7. The Diaso Family

    Family needs:

    • Hannah is graduating from high school on May 12th.
    • David and Jonathan are in finals this week.
    • David will be driving back to Colorado from San Diego in about a week.
  8. I will be in San Diego for our work from May 2 – 8, and then from the 19th – 25th.
  9. I will be in El Paso and Juarez from May 14 – 17 for BEAMM leadership meetings.
  10. It is an exciting time. It’s a busy time. We need wisdom, direction, and strength from the Lord.

Thanks for joining us on this journey!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org