Posts Tagged ‘World Impact’

Worship at the Men's Retreat

Worship at the Men’s Retreat

Enjoyed a great time at The Oaks Camp in Lake Hughes, CA this weekend. A group of men from Harbor Mid-City attended the men’s retreat hosted by World Impact.

World Impact’s mission is to evangelize and disciple the urban poor. It was quite an experience being with men, many of whom had come from some very difficult backgrounds. Yet Christ reached in and saved them. We are all on a journey with Jesus, just at different places on the journey.

I loved seeing the grace given, and seeing some tough dudes who are now sold out for the savior.

Stephen Phelan, pastor of Harbor Mid-City thought this would be a great opportunity for the men of Harbor from both the Spanish and English church to come together for this retreat. These men are in training to be leaders at the church. The church will not grow if it doesn’t have strong, godly men to lead it.

We sang in Spanish and English, as it was a bilingual conference. The main speaker, Don Davis spoke about the warfare we are in from Ephesians 6:10-20. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. Therefore our armor must be different. God does protect us. He does gives us armor. We would be hopeless without it. We march forward in God’s armor.

Pray that the men of Harbor would grow in faith and practice. That daily they would put on the armor of the Lord, and be true warriors for Christ.

I’d also appreciate your prayer as we go out to share the love of Christ with Pastor Leo and his team in Rosarito, Mexico today. We are going to share in the neighborhood where the church is located.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Our neighborhood evangelistic team - Dave, Jim, Zach and Ray

Our neighborhood evangelistic team – Dave, Jim DeWitt, Zach Lutz and Ray Call

We enjoyed another great day in City Heights. It is invigorating to interact with people in the community as we walked the streets and shared the love of Christ.

Many shared their fear of crime and violence in the city. They lacked trust, and they didn’t know their neighbors well. The people are concerned for their family and for their well-being.

It was a real joy to talk to them. The Lord taught us some good things as we listened to them, and attempted to learn from them. Jesus opened our eyes and hearts as we were in the community .

Crime and security are big concerns in the neighborhood of City Heights. Doors and windows usually have protective bars covering them. Some said there was a big need to help families with children. They felt this was a way that the church could help.

Jose selling Candy in City HeightsJose selling Candy in City Heights

Jose selling Candy in City Heights

Continue to pray with us that the Lord’s Spirit breaks forth, and transforms the community. O God, touch their hearts, and change their lives.

Our next stop for prayer is on Monday we will go into Tijuana, and hopefully in the surrounding community. Plans for that are still coming together, so we appreciate your prayers as the Lord brings all the loose ends together.

In His Grip, Dave

P.S. Pray for us as we go on a men’s retreat this weekend with the men from Harbor Mid-City, and World Impact.

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Stephen Phelan (center) leading our meeting

I enjoyed my time with friends from Harbor Mid-City, Urban Life, World Impact and BEAMM this past week. We all met together to pray and talk about strategy for 2012. Stephen Phelan did a wonderful job leading such a large and varied group of people.

One of the many moments that I enjoy about these meetings is the stories about how God is working and blessing. Grace renewal stories. God is moving and changing lives among the people. They shared about Rafael, who I wrote about earlier. Rafael gave his testimony, and it spoke to the kids who come from broken homes. It was a great example and encouragement to the teenagers and adults alike. As the Lord restores lives, it gives witness of His glory. These changed lives speak loudly to those that are seeking. To those that are making important decisions in their lives.

BEAMM teammate Ray Call with some of the other guys

We also talked about the process of starting a new Hispanic work. There are some challenges that we will face in having a strong enough mother church to birth a new work. Pray with us for wisdom, and for many new followers of Christ among the Hispanic work. There was talk of launching the new work in the summer of 2013, which seems ambitious. We do serve a God of the impossible, so we can believe Him for these ambitious goals. Thank you for faith, Lord!

Every time I’m with these friends on the border I see the Lord opening up new doors. There are many wonderful opportunities!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org