Posts Tagged ‘Zach Lutz’

Emily Gryder, Our College Intern Arrives!

Posted: July 9, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, San Diego, Team Members, Tijuana
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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

Summer Interns – Energy, Curiosity, Learning & Ministry!

Posted: July 6, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members, Tijuana
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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

Taking Jesus to the Streets – Day 2

Posted: June 8, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members
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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

Blessed Kingdom Visits!

Posted: May 25, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, God's Leading, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members, Tijuana
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Ray, Zach and Gene

Ray, Zach and Gene

Over the last few days while I’ve been in San Diego we’ve had some wonderful people visiting us. Gene Bowman, BEAMM‘s coordinator is with us until Friday. Kelly and Kate Mulholland missionaries with Cru to Ireland were with us on Tuesday and Wednesday. Zach Lutz, our intern just arrived!

Ray Call and I have been able to introduce Gene, Kelly and Kate to a number of people we are working with. I love being able to connect people. Seeing them get excited as they learn what God is doing on the border.

It’s Gene’s first visit with us. Gene and LuAnn are beginning to make some transitions in ministry themselves, but even with that I’ve been overjoyed to have him meet our ministry partners. It’s been exciting for all of us to see the Lord at work. God is definitely on the move in this great bi-national city of San Diego – Tijuana. We long to see him do more, and touch this city socially, culturally and spiritually.

Dave with Kelly and Kate Mulholland

Dave with Kelly and Kate Mulholland

Dawn and I know Kelly and Kate from Village Seven Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs. It’s been a special treat to have them meet our friends and see what we are doing. They have faithfully served the Lord in Spain and are now serving in Ireland. I always enjoy connecting with friends and fellow missionaries. We love Kelly and Kate, and we pray the Lord’s rich and special blessing as they love and serve Him!

Who knows maybe someday the Lord will give us the privilege and opportunity to serve Him together on the border. We keep praying for the Lord to build our team, to bring workers. We trust that He will draw the right people at the right time!

Thank you Jesus for your holy and powerful work. Thank you for giving us such outstanding partners and friends. We couldn’t do this work without the encouragement of so many friends.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Zach Arrives!

Posted: May 23, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members, Tijuana
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Dave, Zach and Ray

Dave, Zach and Ray

Our first intern, Zach Lutz arrived tonight, Wednesday evening. He’s kicking off a three-month internship with us. We are thrilled to have him. We also look forward to meeting Emily Gryder later this summer. She will arrive on July 7th. Our son, David Diaso Jr. will work with us towards the end of the summer and through the school year.

I just met Zach for the first time, but from what I can tell of him he is a friendly and relational guy. He enjoys connecting with people. It will be exciting to see how the Lord works in and through Zach this summer.

Zach first started coming to the border on short-term projects when he was 12. God has used these trips to deeply impact his life, which is one of the reasons he chose to do this internship with us.

Pray with us that he has a great experience, and that the Lord uses his time with us this summer in a powerful way. He has an interest in ministry, and we know there is a huge need for workers!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

We Move Forward on Our Knees!

Posted: April 29, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Journey, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
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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

Interns, Video & Prayer

Posted: April 19, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members, Tijuana, Video
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One of our summer interns, Zach Lutz just posted a short video interview to help us to get to know him better. It also gives us a better idea of how to pray for him, and who we are praying for. We are enthusiastic about Zach joining us in a little over a month.

Here’s some of the ways you can pray for Zach’s experience. Zach mentions on the video that you can find more prayer requests and updates on his blog site: zalutz@blogspot.com. You can also pray for our other interns, Emily Gryder and David Diaso Jr. in the same way.

  1. Pray for Ray and Dave as we plan out Zach’s schedule.
  2. We are still working on finding the best housing situation for our interns.
  3. That they will raise up all their funds before they arrive on the field.
  4. That the Lord would help us to work together and be unified.
  5. That God would use us and the experience to build into the life of our interns.
  6. That the Lord will touch the lives of many through the ministry of our interns.

I’d like to ask prayer for some other needs we have that aren’t necessarily related to the interns.

  1. Ray and Dave at Border Crossing

    Ray and Dave at Border Crossing

    Ray Call had to go to the hospital in Mississippi Wednesday morning, because of the pain he was experiencing. They found out that he has kidney stones. He’s been having stomach problems for a couple of months, this is part of the reason. It maybe the main reason. Pray for his healing.

  2. The Call family has had nonstop problems with their van and car since October of 2011. I think this is an attack from the enemy, seeking to discourage them as they serve the Lord, and help us open a new ministry on the border.
  3. We’d appreciate continued prayer for our ESL classes. We began registration last week, but with all the rain the turn out was lower than we had hoped. It may take some time to build the attendance. Pray that more show up this week, and that the Lord uses this outreach for His glory.

Thanks for your faithful prayers!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Introducing Intern – Zach Lutz

Posted: April 2, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
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Zach Lutz with Margarita Diaz

Zach Lutz with Margarita Diaz

This summer we will have at least two interns and probably three. It thrills us that young people who love the Lord, and desire to grow are coming to minister with us. Our three interns are Zach Lutz, Emily Gryder and our son, David Diaso Jr.

Today I’d like to highlight Zach. He grew up in Spring Hill, Kansas near Kansas City. I guess that means he’ll be rooting for Kansas in the NCAA championship game tonight. He is the oldest of three brothers and one sister.

Zach is a student at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He is majoring in Historical Theology/Biblical Theology. God has given Zach a love for Spanish and the Hispanic culture. Further proof of that is that he’s in love with Margarita, a Puerto Rican young lady who is studying at Wheaton College which is near Moody. Actually, I had a hard time finding any pictures of Zach without Margarita on his Facebook page.

Zach hopes to minister through training and educating pastors when he graduates. By the way Zach, we have needs for someone to work with us to train and educate church leaders in San Diego – Tijuana!

He has gone on short-term missions projects before. He loves to help wherever he can. This includes construction, soccer and sports outreach, interacting with families and sharing his faith.

The colors of TJ in a market in Tijuana

The colors of TJ in a market in Tijuana

Our vision and prayer for our internship program is that we can build into the life of young people, who are preparing themselves to serve the Lord. We would like to see them grow in their ministry skills, but also in their spiritual maturity through their time with us. Our hope is that the Lord would use their experience with us to infect them forever with a love for missions and serving people. They will bring energy to our ministry on the border, which God can use to open up new doors. In God’s rich grace we pray that some of them will return to serve with us, or decide to serve in other mission fields.

We appreciate your prayers for our interns. Zach will be with us from May 23rd through August 18th. I will highlight Emily Gryder in my next post. Please pray that they will be able to raise all their funds as they prepare for the internship.

If you or someone you know is interested in a missions internship with BEAMM San Diego – Tijuana sent me a note. We’d love to see our internship program grow. God can use it to move  our work forward on the border, as well as to build into the lives of young people.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org