Posts Tagged ‘Petri & Yudy Petrikowski’

Church Planting in Baja California
Dave & Dawn with Pastor Petri & Yudy Petrikowski (top), Pastor Federico & Blanca Muñoz with their family (bottom right), Pastor Davis & Luz Pardo with their family (bottom left)

Last week I wrote about the pastors and leaders that we work within Mexico and on the Big Island. Dawn and I are excited about the Lord’s amazing and marvelous work. We give thanks that we are a part of our friends, who have become like families’ ministries. It gives us great joy to hear their testimonies, and we are often blown away by what God is doing through them. We give thanks to the Lord for how He is so faithfully working in their lives and through their churches.

I made a video with the help of my colleague, fellow missionary, Jim DeWitt. In this video, I highlighted three church planting works (photo above): Pastor Davis & Luz in Tijuana; Pastor Petri & Yudy in Ensenada; Pastor Federico & Blanca in Mexicali.

My son, Jonathan encouraged me to put out more videos, so I hope that you like this one. It’s about 5 minutes long. Let me know if you’d like to see more short videos. I’m trying to decide whether I should make more of them.

Beyond Borders – Video
Join us in Prayer for:
  • Pastor Davis & Luz in Tijuana
  • Pastor Petri & Yudy in Ensenada
  • Pastor Federico & Blanca in Mexicali
  • Pastors on the Big Island
  • Revival
  • Encouragement
Join us in Supporting These Ministries

Prayerfully consider making a donation today. Give to support these church planting ministries and those on the Big Island. The Coronavirus has hurt the economy in the cities that these pastors are working in, and it’s especially difficult on the Big Island.

Click here to donate

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

The Outstanding Church Planters we Minister With

One of the highlights of our ministry is connecting with our church planters. It’s not easy to start something new. There are great opportunities, and many challenges along the way. The church planters become great friends. They are like family to us.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been able to meet with church planters from three different cities: Ensenada, Tijuana, Mexicali. Each of them is at different stages in the process of starting the church.

Pastor Federico & Blanca Muñoz
Dave & Dawn with Junior, David, Daniel, Blanca, Federico & Damaris

Last week Dawn and I spent time with Pastor Federico and Blanco Muñoz who are starting a new church in Mexicali. Dawn and I prayed with them and encouraged them as they love their neighbors and reach out to the community.

We see the Lord’s hand on Federico and Blanca as they have already made some good connections and they have some friends in the Mexicali area who are helping them to share the love of Christ. These friends are going out with Federico and Blanca to invite the neighbors to a fun event that they are holding this Friday.

They bought 500 hot dogs and they are praying for 200 people to come. I love their vision to reach out broadly. They would like to make a number of contacts that they can follow-up with through this outreach. 

Federico and Blanca have a lovely family with four children ranging from 12 – 19. It seems like every time we see them someone is about to have a birthday, so we enjoy some dessert with them. Their children, Junior, Daniel, David, and Damaris are all committed to helping their parents. They love to worship and to lead worship.

The first person I met in their family was Junior as he came to a worship workshop that we held a year and a half ago. The Lord used that event and a mutual friend to connect us with Federico and Blanca. God is so good. I love how he brings people together for His kingdom purposes.

Changed Lives in Ensenada
Our fun group in Ensenada this past Sunday

The church in Ensenada led by Pastor Petri has already launched. This past Sunday Dawn and I worshipped in Ensenada. After church, a big group of us went out for a meal.

Over the course of the meal, I enjoyed talking to Arturo, Irlanda and their daughter, Barbara. They are a sweet young couple. They came to Christ and were baptized in the church this last year. It was encouraging to talk to them along with Petri, Yudy and the others about their journey. So good to see the Lord change lives, and bring about life transformation.

More Advance – We Pray for More!
Pastor Davis & Luz Pardo with their three children

We also have two other new church plants. One in Tijuana led by Davis & Luz Pardo and one in La Paz led by Jose Luis & Ana. The Lord is on the move and we give thanks for all that he is doing as he works through these couples and their ministry teams.

Please continue to pray for the advance of the kingdom on the Border, the Baja and Beyond! The church is growing, but we’d like to see more. We are hungry for more! Thank you, Jesus.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org 

Renuevo – Renewal in Ensenada
Pastor Petri leading the church service

On Sunday Dawn and I went to Ensenada and worshipped with our church plant there, Renuevo. It’s a joy for us to connect with the people at the church. Pastor Petri and his wife, Yudy are doing a wonderful job of leading this church. Both of them work in the public school system in Mexico. Petri is the superintendent of the middle schools in Tecate, and Yudy teaches at one of the schools there.

It’s no easy task being a bivocational church planter. Petri and Yudy aren’t able to give as much time to the church plant as they would if they were full-time in the ministry. On the positive side though it does help them and the church in other ways. It helps them to not be dependent on the church for their income. Although we’d love to see the church get to the point where it can support them, we’ve found that few churches are able to pull this off in Mexico.

The other benefit we’ve seen is that Petri and Yudy have a lot of connections in Ensenada, because of all their years working in the school system. Before they began working in Tecate they spent a number of years in both public and private schools in Ensenada. I’ve noticed that those that know them respect them, because they work hard and they are good at what they do.

A Church for All People
Pastor Victor & Sol. Sol leads tutoring for children that come from poor and underprivileged families in the community surrounding their church

A number of the other churches that we are helping to plant are among the urban poor, which is also an important group to reach for the gospel. Petri and Yudy are able to reach professionals, because of their education and background. We love the variety of churches that we work with, and that we help plant. There is a need for all kinds of churches that have the ability to reach different people in order to make a difference in a community.

Of the eleven churches that we’ve helped start since we moved to the border seven years ago. Seven of them target urban poor and four of them target professionals. Each of these pastors and the churches are unique and we’ve grown to love the pastors and their leadership team. They are among are closest friends.

Praying for Multiplication

Our prayer is that this is only the beginning and that we will begin to see even more rapid multiplication of church growth on the Border, the Baja and Beyond. We’ve also helped plant two churches in Cuba and we’ve ministered to more than 60 pastors there. Part of what excites me about Cuba is that some of our Mexican partners have been involved in ministry there with us.

God is doing something special between the relationship of the pastors from these two countries! As one of my friends told me recently we believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg as we work towards multiplication! Hallelujah!

I enjoyed the opportunity to lead Eduardo & Norma with their son Ilai through baptism. They lost their first child soon after he was born. God is doing His healing work in them!

When Dawn and I were with Renuevo and Pastor Petri and Yudy on Sunday. I was able to lead the church in a baptism and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. It was a very special time, and I left feeling filled up as the Lord ministered to Dawn, me and all those in attendance.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Giving Thanks for our Wonderful Partners!

This morning I was reading Philippians 1, which is one of my favorite passages. Even though I’ve read it many times before today verses 4 and 5 jumped off the page, and especially the phrase, because of your partnership in the gospel.

Paul says he is thankful for the church and he is praying for them and then verse 5 says, “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Phil. 1:5

It is my custom to pray in the morning for our ministry partners, and often the Lord gives me a passage or a word, something encouraging to share with them as I pray. Then I send a message to them letting them know that we are praying for them, and that the Lord encouraged me with this passage or this word today.

Our Growing Family & Redemption!

Dawn and I have grown to have a deep love for these partners, and many of them have become like family to us. We have partners in various cities in Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador. It seems like the net, the family keeps growing as we are beginning to develop relationships with pastors and leaders in Honduras and Guatemala as well. Only the Lord truly knows where these gospel centered relationships will take us.

I often feel when the Lord extends our family through these deep relationships that it’s a way He is redeeming our pain and all that we’ve suffered through the loss of our beautiful and dear daughter, Hannah.

It’s interesting to me that the passage that struck me this morning includes Philippians 1:6, which is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Our family decided to put verse 6 on Hannah’s tombstone.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:6 ESV

Renuevo – New Life in Ensenada

Last Sunday, Dawn and I along with her mom, her brother and his family joined us in Ensenada. We joined our new church plant Renuevo for their service. I preached on God’s goodness and his desire to have an intimate relationship with us from John 10. At the end of the service I led them in prayer and we celebrated the Lord’s supper together. I guided the church through a time of confession and forgiveness during our time of prayer. I love the opportunity to see people break down walls through the gospel which leads to confession, repentance, forgiveness and freedom in Christ.

The Lord gave us a wonderful and special time of celebration together!

When the service was over I talked to a new family that recently started attending the church as a result of our summer VBS. I noticed that they didn’t take communion with us, so I asked them about their relationship with Christ. This gave me the opportunity to share the gospel with them, and to lead them in prayer to receive Christ and confess their need for the only living and true Savior, Jesus Christ.

I love seeing people come to faith, and start their journey with Jesus!

After everyone had left Dawn and I went out for a meal with the leadership team of Renuevo, which is led by Pastor Petri and his wife, Yudy. Such a great group! We always enjoy the opportunity to break bread with them.

Our experience with them, reminded me of all of our dear partners in the gospel. People that we’ve grown to love, and who we have a strong and growing relationship with!

Extend Our Borders!

Paul writes about his deep love and the importance of his partnership with the church in Philippi. I echo his sentiment when he says the following in Philippians 1:7.

It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace…”

Dawn and I are so blessed and grateful to have such wonderful partners and a growing family in Ensenada, Tijuana, Mexicali, Mexico City and Beyond! The Lord has answered our prayers to see our borders expanded. Now we have close and growing partners beyond Mexico’s borders throughout Latin America.

I’m flying to Cuba this week to encourage and minister with our partners there. We covet your prayers, as the Lord continues to open more doors!

Thank you, Jesus! Your love overwhelms us at times, and we experience it in tangible ways through these relationships, through these partners in the gospel!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Ministry & Family in Fresno & Bakersfield

My dad, Ron Diaso and I

I never grow tired of seeing the gospel bring about transformation, a changed life!

I’m writing this post just as I’m getting ready to leave Fresno and head back home to the Border lands.

This last weekend I had the opportunity to visit my parents in Fresno. While I was in Fresno my dad had a hernia surgery. Thanks for praying for him. It’s a relief to get him through that, and on the road to recovery. I also was able to visit two churches. One in Fresno and one in Bakersfield to promote our missions work and especially the work of church planting on the Border and Beyond.

I’m grateful for a fruitful trip. We wouldn’t see new churches planted without faithful partners who pray for us and give to the ministry.

God’s Grace Shines in Ensenada

The team from Skyview and from Renuevo for our summer VBS in Ensenada

Today I’d like to highlight an experience that I had while the group from Skyview Church in Colorado was with us while we were ministering in Ensenada. Skyview is a valuable partner that has grown close to Renuevo church and their leadership as they’ve come to aid in leading VBS over the last six years.

A couple of weeks ago on Monday while Skyview was in Ensenada, we went to the local hospital in the afternoon to do some outreach and community service. We handed out over 100 sandwiches and burritos and handed out toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap. This hospital services low-income families, so the people were grateful to receive this aid with along with a loving smile.

Jorge’s Open Heart

Jorge my new friend who found forgiveness in Christ

While our group ministered to the people in this way I took the opportunity to ask the people if they’d like prayer. The Lord gave me the opportunity to pray with a few of the people who came to visit and support their family in the hospital. One of the guys that I prayed for in particular stood out. His name is Jorge and I mentioned him in my last post.

There were a number of people waiting outside the hospital and at first I wasn’t sure if I should share with Jorge. I prayed and asked the Lord as I looked for someone to talk to. I approached Jorge, and he told me his sister was in the hospital and she had a problem with her kidneys. I told him that I’d like to pray for him and his sister, and as we talked he told me that he’s struggled with drugs and alcohol for a long time. He admitted that he was separated from his wife, and that he felt hurt and bitter in regards to his ex wife. He felt like his relationship with his wife, and his frustration with her pushed him towards the drugs and alcohol.

Jorge finds Forgiveness and New Life

I took the opportunity to let him know about the importance of forgiveness. I explained that when you don’t forgive and when you hold on to bitterness you are actually hurting yourself. It’s like drinking poison and expecting the other person to get sick. I asked him if he was familiar with the Lord’s Prayer, and he said, “yes”. I told him in the Lord’s Prayer part of the prayer is, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” In a sense when you are unwilling to forgive and we pray this prayer we are asking the Lord to do the same to us.

The light bulb came on for Jorge. It made sense to him.

I said “Jorge, I believe that God loves you. I could have talked to any number of other people here today, but he sent me to talk to you.” Then we prayed and I a gave him the opportunity to confess Christ as his Lord and Savior as well as confess his sins and to forgive those that had offended him. After we prayed I sought to encourage him more and remind him of God’s great love.

Jorge started to cry. Here was this big, tough looking guy and God broke through. The Lord touched his heart and Jorge found love in Christ that day.

Paul reminds us, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans‬ ‭10:9-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬ (Emphasis mine)

There were a number of highlights to our week in Ensenada as there always are, but this was definitely at the top of the list. I never tire of seeing the gospel touch someone’s life and bring about change that has eternal implications. Wow! God is so good! Thank you Jesus for leading me to Jorge and giving me the opportunity to share the good news, the love of Christ with him!

In His Loving Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

A Week In The Wild – VBS

A week of fun learning through In The Wild VBS

Our week in Ensenada with Renuevo church and Skyview is always one of the highlights of the year. This is the 6th summer in a row that Skyview has come from Denver, Colorado to help with VBS. One of the beautiful things that the Lord is doing through all the years is bringing maturity and depth to the relationships.

God continues to amaze as the gospel goes forth. We were able to minister to 55 children this year. At the end of the week, one of the teachers gave each of the children a questionnaire and asked them if they would like to have a relationship with Christ. All of them said yes and they expressed interest in continuing to grow in their faith.

The Gospel Touches Families

Petri sharing with the parents about the importance of helping their children to learn about Jesus and the Gospel

We received a number of positive comments from the parents. One parent, in particular, said that their son was coming home and he didn’t want to talk about the games and the crafts so much, but he wanted to talk to his parents about what he was learning about Jesus. Another mother whose son, Tomas is deaf, told us how one of her children kept encouraging the family to go to church. It sounded like more than anyone in the family he hoped that they might all attend church to learn more about Christ.

There were also two students who came with disabilities. Tomas who is deaf, and another girl who has cerebral palsy. It was heartwarming to see the love that these children received, and it was obvious that they enjoyed themselves.

Growing in and Through the Relationship

More VBS Fun!

One of the many benefits of VBS is it brings us all together for this one intense week. It gives Renuevo an opportunity to grow together as they spend extra time together in prep for the week. The Lord works through relationships, so it so good to see these dear friends come together and grow in their love for one another. This includes the relationships with those from Skyview. Each year they anxiously await the time they spend together. The week always ends with a tearful goodbye. Which is descriptive of the love that they share.

Petri is the pastor of Renuevo and his wife is Yudy. They have a wonderful team that works with them, and they are all gifted teachers. In fact, a number of them work in the school system in Mexico. They do an excellent job at organizing the week, and the VBS in particular.

A Week of Outreach and Impact

I had a chance to pray with Jorge and share the love of Christ with him!

Apart from the VBS, there were other opportunities to minister. On Monday afternoon we went to one of the local hospitals that serve many low-income families. The family members and friends waiting outside are needy. We gave out more than 100 sandwiches and burritos. We also gave them toothpaste, toothbrushes, and soap. I was surprised by how many people thanked us for the toothbrush and toothpaste! That seemed to be a real need that they had.

We were able to pray for some of the people that were at the hospital. The Lord gave me a wonderful experience sharing the gospel and praying for one particular man named Jorge (photo above). God did an amazing work in Jorge’s life as we shared and prayed together.

Healing Through Testimonies of God’s Grace

Hannah Berglund leading the children in one of the classes during VBS

One other activity that I’d like to mention before I end this post is that we had a number of young people from Ensenada as well as from Denver, Colorado. Most of them were girls this year ranging from around 15 – 22. On Wednesday night I asked two of them to share a brief testimony. Hannah Berglund and Monica Vasquez shared. They were vulnerable about their own struggles, and how Christ and the gospel have carried them through the difficulties they’ve faced.

After Hannah and Monica shared I asked the group if anyone else would like to share, and then a number of them expressed the challenges they have faced or are facing. Almost everyone got involved in loving and encouraging one another, and it ended up being a beautiful time of healing and redemption. God is so good.

The days were long during the week, but it’s surprising how the time flew by. I think we experienced almost all the emotions, much laughter, and joy, some sadness, and sorrow. Overall it was a time of experiencing God’s loving grace which brought us joy and contentment.

Join us in Prayer

On the final night, we celebrated our week together with some Mariachis!

Pray for Pastor Petri and Yudy and the Renuevo team as they follow up all the families that they were able to reach out to. Pray that these families will come to have a true and living relationship with the Savior.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

Renuevo Church

Dawn and I love to hear the testimonies of how God entered in and changed a life. This last Sunday the Lord gave me the privilege of baptizing 14 people in Ensenada at our Renuevo church plant. It’s so encouraging to see the fruit of Pastor Petri and Yudy’s ministry.

As a missionary I haven’t participated in very many baptisms, so it was a extra special time for me. My focus is more on coaching, training and facilitating ministry with our partners. This day was such a blessing, and it was wonderful to see these friends take the step of faith. I felt a sense of pride as I was able to minister and encourage the church. I could sense the Lord’s Spirit moving and working in the lives of His people.

God Works In & Through Families

A Day of Joyful Baptisms

It was special to see each person get baptized and confess their faith in Christ. Each family has a different story. One of the young couples, Eduardo and Norma lost their baby around the same time that Dawn and I lost our daughter, Hannah. Norma is pregnant, and she is due in July. It’s such a huge encouragement seeing the Lord bring healing to them. Dawn and I have enjoyed getting to know Arturo, Irlanda and Barbara over the last year. It’s been so good to see the Spirit working in their lives and their family as He gently draws them to himself. These are just two of the families that the Lord touched through the ministry of this church.

Another exciting thing about what the Lord is doing in Ensenada is he has used a church from Colorado and a church from San Diego to help start this church. These two churches especially have been key on coming alongside Petri and Yudy and their team. They’ve helped Dawn and me to build a stronger relationship with the church leadership. We give thanks for our partners.

Join Us in Prayer

Pastor Petri leading the church

Continue to pray with us for Petri and Yudy and their growing church. We are praying that this church will grow to be a strong and healthy church, to the point where they can multiply. We long to see a movement in Ensenada, Tijuana, Mexicali and the surrounding areas.

God is so good! Praise Him with us!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Renuevo – Bringing Renewal to the City
Renuevo church in Ensenada

This last week I was in the beautiful coastal port city of Ensenada, Mexico. I enjoyed spending some time getting to know the city better, and the opportunity to show some friends around. While there I met with Pastor Petri and some of the members from his team.

Petri is the pastor of Renuevo church, a new church plant in Ensenada. He is the supervisor of a school district by day and a pastor in the evenings and on the weekends. Renuevo just celebrated 2 years since they held their first service.

New births are exciting, although they can be messy at times. Things don’t always go as planned, but what encourages me about this new work is the people who are coming to Christ and growing in their faith. When the church celebrated their two year anniversary they took advantage to have a barbecue and to invite friends and family.

Celebrating Two Years
Petri enjoying a meal and a time to get to know the visitors after the church service

I enjoyed visiting with Petri as he excitedly showed me pictures of the visitors that came and how they were related to the people that invited them. Pray with us that these friends and families will come to know Jesus and that they will grow in their faith.

In May we will be baptizing at least 10 people from the church that want to make public their decision to follow Jesus. This is a big milestone for the church, and it’s also an opportunity for those that are making their profession of faith to invite their friends and family members so that they might give testimony. Hallelujah!

Testimonies are powerful as people share in a personal way how Jesus has changed their lives. It strengthens the faith of the believers, and it speaks to the heart of those who have not yet made the decision to follow Christ. Rejoice with us in God’s good work!

Join Us in Prayer!

Pray with us that Renuevo church will continue to give witness and see new people become Jesus followers. Pray for wisdom for Petri and his wife, Yudy as they lead the church.

Dave with Blanca & Federico

Dawn and I would also like to ask you to pray for a new church planting project we are working on in Mexicali. We have the church planter, Federico and his wife Blanca. I wrote about them recently. I’m working with the National Presbyterian Church to raise the necessary funds for this project. Fundraising is part of the task that goes into planting a church. We give thanks that the Lord promises to provide. He is our Jehovah Jireh! He is our provider!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Kingdom Growth along the Border and Beyond!
Petri preaching in Ensenada at Renuevo church
Petri preaching in Ensenada at Renuevo church

This weekend I had the opportunity to visit two or our church planters in two different cities. One in Ensenada, which is 1 1/2 hours from us. The other one is in Mexicali, which is about 2 1/2 hours from our home. So I had a lot of time in the car, but I also had a great time encouraging and connecting with our church planters and their team. God is on the move in these cities!

Renuevo in Ensenada – Pastor Petri & Yudy

On Sunday I was with Petri, his wife, Yudy and their church plant called Renuevo. They meet in Ensenada, which is a beautiful port city south of border. It is known as the Cinderella of the Pacific, because of its raw beauty and emerging potential. Yet, below the beauty, many people are huring and have deep spiritual needs.

Petri and his team are reaching out to professionals on the North side of the city. One of the things that excites me about their project is that there are literally no churches in the area of the city that they are planting in.

There’s a huge need, especially in the part of the city where the church plant is located. Petri is a bi-vocational church planter. He is the supervisor of the school district in Tecate, which is an hour north of Ensenada. Petri’s wife Yudy, is a teacher in this same school disctrict. It is not easy working a full time job in another city, and planting a church. Yet, the advantage is that Petri and Yudy have lived and worked in Ensenada for a number of years so they have deep roots in city. They still live in Ensenada even though they work in Tecate.

One of the things I enjoy about visiting the church is that Petri is an excellent teacher, and he does a great job of explaining and sharing the gospel each Sunday. There’s still much work to be done in Ensenada, but they are off to a good start. Pray that the Lord continues to open doors for them to share the gospel and that more and more people will come to Christ and become a part of the church.

A New Ministry in Mexicali

The other church planters that I visited are just beginning their work in Mexicali. Federico is a seminary student who will be graduating this May. He and his wife, Blanca went through our church planting discovery center in Mexico City in January. They were evaluated and approved as church planters.

Now comes the hard work. I’m partnering with them and the National Presbyterian Church in Mexico to raise the funds to start a new church planting project in Mexicali. Mexicali is the capital of Baja California and it is an important city for the State and for the country of Mexico.

You might remember that we started a new church that we built in memory of our daughter, Hannah in the outskirts of Mexicali. Now we would like to start another church towards the city’s center.

Join us in Prayer!

Since we are just beginning this project there are many things that still have to come togethter for this church plant to get moving forwar. We do have some traction. The wheels are starting to turn. We know that one of the most important needs that we have now is to bathe this project in prayer. Actually we need major prayer for both works. Please join us in lifting these needs before our Heavenly Father. Lift up Petri and Yudy and their team as well as Federico and Blanca.

Thanks so much dear friends for standing with us in prayer!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

A Fun-filled Week of VBS

Many smiles - a fun filled week on VBS in Ensenada

Many smiles – a fun-filled week on VBS in Ensenada

One of the favorite parts of our summer for the last 5 years in a row has been when the group from Skyview comes from Colorado to help us run VBS in Ensenada, Mexico. It’s a super busy week for us, but it’s a great time. The thing I most enjoy from the week are the stories. The stories of grace as I hear from the teachers and those leading the VBS how the Lord is working in the life of the children and their families.

A Changed Life!

Aideliz on the far right with her group of students

Aideliz on the far right with her group of students

One of our teacher’s this year, Aideliz shared with me what became my favorite story of grace from this year’s VBS. Aideliz told me that on the first day she asked the students to write down some words on a banner to describe who God is. One of the children, Adrian didn’t write anything. Aideliz asked Adrian why he hadn’t written anything down. He responded by saying, “I don’t believe in God, so there is nothing to write down.”

Aideliz prayed for Adrian and showed him and the other children in her class the love of Christ during the week. All of those involved, the group from Denver as well as those from the local church, are very loving.

The end of the week came and Aideliz asked Adrian what he thought about God. He said, “Now I believe.” Then Aideliz went on to tell Adrian how much God loved him, and how he gave his life for him. Adrian was just one of many children who were literally transformed by the gospel during the week.

The Love of Christ Taught and Lived Out

Our group of teachers and volunteers that ran the VBS

Our group of teachers and volunteers that ran the VBS

It’s not just the lessons that were taught about Jesus, but also the love that Aideliz and the other teachers and volunteers showed to Adrian and the rest of the children.

Since Renuevo is a new church plant they are reaching families that are unchurched, so many of the children that come to the VBS either don’t believe or they just haven’t had much of an opportunity to hear the good news.

On the final night of the VBS, we had a meeting with the parents, and a number of parents came. Petri, who is the pastor of the church explained to the parents what they were teaching during the week, as well as thanking the parents for entrusting their children to Petri and the team. After the meeting, some of the those that came expressed interest in attending the church the following Sunday. That’s part of our goal to show the love of Jesus to the people and to create a bridge for the gospel.

One of the many fun games that the children enjoyed!

One of the many fun games that the children enjoyed!

Continue to Pray for Bridges for the Gospel in Ensenada

Thank you for praying with us for Pastor Petri, his wife Yudy and his team from Renuevo. Pray that the Lord will continue to open doors and create bridges for the gospel in Ensenada. God is on the move!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org