It was a crisp cool Saturday morning, beginning not much different then most trips. It began with warm greetings and hugs of Brothers and Sisters coming together again to be used by God for His glory, as they made their way to the check-in table to sign in, to make last minute payments and pickup a name tag. In the kitchen missionaries were preparing several Igloos filled with lemonade and water for the day's event.

The final packing of the vehicles was under way and as in most trips, the concerns for success passed through my mind (no doubt placed there by the enemy to challenge our authority to represent God). It was apparent that we would be short handed in some areas. We did not have a worship group coming with us this time and some of our gifted evangelists and servants were also unable to make this mission trip. Half of the missionaries were to consist of the youth group of our church. Were the adults going to have to spend time monitoring their whereabouts and taking care of them while we tried to serve? It looked like we were going to be a skeleton crew and we were going to experience an ordinary and/or less than powerful outreach. Later we discovered that one of the vehicles had a flat tire. What else could go wrong? What was the enemy going to do to thwart and discourage us throughout the mission trip? Where was God in this?

Shortly after, I was sent to pickup a family awaiting us along the way. After passing two accidents along the way, I finally arrived. One of the daughters was not feeling well, and so father and daughter were going to have to stay home. That meant only a mother and daughter was going to join us. I called our leader and told him of the situation and plans were made to pick us up. We were running much later than usual.

The trip down to Mexico was one of hopeful anticipation that somehow God could perform the miracles he has always performed for us. But how? Needless to say, we had good fellowship time in the van. We read scripture and practiced our Spanish as our administrator and teacher of the girls’ class reviewed her notes for the class as final preparation. We folded cards with a heart cut out. These cards had a special message for the moms and space for the toddlers to put there hand prints on.

Before we knew it, we had arrived at our first stop at "H Street" in Chula Vista, CA. for a short breakfast meal and continued on our way for the boarder. To our surprise, the border crossing was crowded with cars, which was very unusual. Why was everyone trying to get into Mexico? Usually the traffic jam is due to people trying to leave Mexico? This apparently was going to be a long mission trip and we weren't going to be home until after midnight, I thought to myself.

Upon arriving into the community of Plan Libertador, in which was approximately noon time, and about two hours later than planned, our leader felt led to stop his van and lift up two young Mormon missionaries who were hitch-hiking to the top of the hill. Hopefully these missionaries had the opportunity to see God's true love for them and that it also reminds us that everyone needs to know of God's truth even though they are of a different faith.

Well, we finally arrived at our destination, the basketball court at the community center, only to find a lone elderly man sweeping the court. Because of the dirt surrounding the cemented court, it often gets filled with dirt. Why was he sweeping the court? We've never seen any local sweep up the court. Was there some other event planned for the court that day? We were two hours late, was he expecting us to still show up? I came to find out later that the man knew it was the second Saturday of the month and he was expecting us come. Actually he was preparing the court for God and our hearts were warmed by this simple act of servanthood. What else did God want to show us today?

Well, the vehicles were quickly unloaded. Chairs, canopies, tarps and tables were setup. We had another group prayer, asking God to somehow use us for His glory. We took a few group pictures and divided up into small teams. The high-school youth were separated into different teams and we tried to make sure that we had a good balance of Spanish speaking men and women in each team. We only had one hour to do our route and return. How were we going to be able to meet with everyone on our route and still be able to spend those critical moments needed for encouragement and prayer? Before moving out I felt led to pray for my team again, praying for safety and to be used by Him. At that moment God taught me how important it was to pray at every opportunity and before the beginning of any task. You can never call out to Him enough.

We were about to experience another dose of God's grace. Something was preparing us and stirring in our hearts. One of the first home's we visited with, was that of a woman in her late 30s or early 40s. It had been over six months since she answered her door. I came to find out that she was gone for several months, due to family problems. She invited us into her home and she showed us that she remembers us because she had a framed picture we gave her of her and her son with a few of us missionaries. The picture was taken two years ago and was sitting on the living room table. Soon we learned that her life is one of turmoil, anguish and loneliness. Her older kids are gone and she has no steady employment. She is the mother of five children, one of which was taken from her by the baby's father when the baby was only 3 months old. We prayed for her and to my surprise, she came to our service for the first time. Though I don't think she is ready to accept Christ, I did feel we demonstrated to her that there is a better life awaiting her.

The next house we visited, there was no one home. We were about to leave a small gift for her when she came up the hill asking us to wait. She opened her home and welcomed us in. She showed us some of the small pouches she makes with her hands. Some of the ladies in our group were moved by her hospitality and the quality of the pouches. So they purchased a few and asked her if she could make a few more for the next trip. The woman was so moved and kept telling us how blessed she felt and how much she values our friendship. After praying and some warm good-byes we headed off to the next home as we continued to pray and share God's love with each family. Mindful of the passing time, I tried to encourage our small flock of sheep from CCLH to continue forward for we were already late and we still had many more homes to visit.

Upon arrival back at the basketball court with my team, we were just in time to join the men in prayer. Also joining us this time was a local man with a guitar. And I didn't find out until later that he was invited by another one of our teams to lead us in worship. After already blessing our home visits, God was blessing us again by bringing us someone to do live worship. For our current worship team was not available for this trip. Although his performance sounded a bit different and less refined than what we were use to, it was still music to our ears and it was later that I realized it was God's plan all along to further develop the body in Plan Libertador and realizing the significance that we might be the first to witnesses what may some day be a flourishing local worship team.

Well, the teachers quickly organized into three classes. One for toddlers, one for girls 7 to 15 and one for boys 7 to 15. Each child was given a paper bracelet to keep track of who attended the classes for we planned on serving them hot dogs after their studies. It was not obvious to me that this was necessary until we started to see the numbers we needed to feed. We needed to place the bracelets on the boys. There were so many kids and their lessons were about to start. So I asked the youth in our group to help. They were like a gift from heaven. They didn't miss a beat and we got all of the bracelets on them in just a few minutes.

After a special Mother's Day message, we blessed all the mothers and people in attendance with a meal. The meal included two tostadas (one chicken salad and one ceviche-imitation crab meat) and a small drink. In honor of Mother's Day, we served the mothers first, the single women second and the men last. This was the largest gathering of mothers thus far. All of the seating area was filled and many had to stand. Praise the Lord! We also took the time to recognize the "Oldest Mother" of over 80 years at our bible study by having her stand up. We also presented her with a small gift basket and a round of applause. Again, we did the same for the "Newest Mother" of a 3 month old baby girl. Soon after we presented all of the mothers with a small gift bag comprised of some personal toiletries. All in the name of our gracious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We seemed to have a problem of not having enough hot dogs for all the kids. We planned for just over 100 hot dogs but that didn't seem adequate. So we decided (with God's wisdom) to divide the hot dogs in half that were reserved for the toddlers. We also needed help distributing food and drinks, and marking of the tags to show who received a meal. Again our youth stepped up and performed with great servant's hearts. Some wanted seconds, but we knew they had some already by their wristband marking. Needless to say, we didn't have enough for seconds, but we did have enough to feed all of the kids that attend each class at least one hot dog and a drink. We fed the toddlers first, the boys second and then the girls last. The girls were last for many of them were diligently working overtime on their Mother's Day crafts. We waited until they finished so that we could serve them. After serving the kids we served the adults their meal. This time we had enough food left over to serve the missionaries after we were done.

I spoke to several of the local men about God's love and the blessings of having a servant's heart. I told them of how good God is and how all of the answers to life are in His book. I encourage them begin missionary work on there own and to reach out to their neighbors just as we came to serve them. Although I don't seek or expect His blessings, I told them that I know that He will and has been blessing me for faithful service. It's been my experience, even after three years in this ministry, that after a mission trip He finds ways to confirm my involvement in the ministry. He confirms my involvement by increasing His blessings on me, even though it seems that this sinner doesn't deserve such blessings and that it is others servants and the people of Plan Libertador who need those blessings more. When it was time to pack up the vehicles, again the youth stepped up with servant’s hearts. The older missionaries seemed visibly tired from a long day of visiting homes and of serving. But our youth were still on fire for the Lord and the vehicles were packed in no time.

On the way home we stopped and checked out a home in Plan Libertador that was for rent. We didn't get to look inside or meet with the landlord but we are hopeful that the Lord would continue to direct our paths and show us how we can continue to serve Him and better glorify Him in Plan Libertador in the future.

All in all, this was one of the most powerful outreaches ever. It appeared like we were not going to have enough servants, but instead found that we had more than enough. God is working in the hearts of the people of Plan Libertador. And whether they eventually stay and form a church or leave and set roots somewhere else, we know that we've planted and watered the seeds. We've shown them God's great love for them.

As we concluded with our thanks and prayers, we separated into small groups, bottled water for each member and headed for our normal house visits. We later learned that between our monthly visits, that our 90+ yr old brother Victoriano had passed away and had gone to reside with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We prayed with his family and acknowledged with them that he was a faithful follower, a good father and family man and he is now with the Lord in a much better place. We continued our visits and as always, we were all blessed to re-unite with the locals and get all caught up on things there.

Just over the hill in the small but growing community of Los Ramos, we visited with and invited many to our studies. We also visited with a family who have been experiencing marital problems and separation. We shared God's word and were used by the Lord to restore their marriage after a long month of marital struggles (please keep Martin, Marbella and the kids in your thoughts and prayers).

Meanwhile, a small group drove up to visit our property up on the hill top, just to check things out for it had been some time since we had done so. This was the first time for some and always a great encouragement for all. We're always blessed by visiting the place; a quiet and empty grassy lot surrounded by grassy rolling hills and the view of newly constructed homes in the far distance. But this time around and to our surprise we noticed that they were building "cookie-cutter" homes just on the opposite side (or northern side) of the hill from our property. These were hills that have been bare for many years that now are taking on new homes as the two cities, Tijuana and Rosarito slowly but surely merge. ("Lord send more servants! ! !") Well, after taking a few snapshots we headed down the hill to meet up with the rest of the team for our time of study was about to begin.

As we regrouped at la cancha (the basketball court), we thanked our gracious God for the awesome time we had with the folks and soon we took our positions as greeters, teachers and worship leaders. Our studies went very well and many were in attendance, old and young alike. Again, the purpose of this outreach is to reach those who are lost, those who normally do not show up to our studies or feel threatened by going to church. Well, that day they were exposed to the Good News as we faithfully planted more seeds. Shortly after our time in the Word of God, we prepared for the clothing distribution. The clothing distribution outreaches are probably the hardest type of outreach we prepare for and this time it went rather well! We were much better prepared for many of us had gotten together, separated and bagged the clothing a week in advance. This along with setting aside three tables with various sized clothing really helped us with the distribution. It kept things calm and under control for we could direct the good folks to the proper areas without the hassle of having to ask them to stay in control and/or to take turns in line. We gave the kids that came to the studies paper bracelets so to better identify those who attended and who would get a prize pen and folder awaiting them at the end. This always encourages those who choose not to attend and yet would like a reward.

I must say that by the end of our study and clothing distribution, there were some of us who were feeling the effects of early morning rising combined with the heat of the day along with the busyness of facilitating." So many of us took refuge alongside the only shaded area, that is a short retaining wall alongside the "cancha." Soon we all recapped as a group and gave Him thanks and all of the glory as we always do. We also did something that we hadn't done in a while due to safety concerns and that was going into town for tacos. Yes, tacos at "Tacos Manuel" in the city of Rosarito. Tacos we can get just about anywhere in the states but not like those of Tacos Manuel. Mmmm- mmm! It wasn't all about the tacos, it was also about that sweet sense of accomplishing another awesome day at "Plan Libertador". It was a time for us to unwind, laugh out loud, recap and share of what God just did with and through us. It's just awesome and I strongly believe that it makes the tacos taste much better than they really are. Can't wait to get back!

There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21)

In September we were able to visit Plan Libertador where we shared God’s love and invited the community to the las canchas (the basketball courts) for food, song and message from the Word. We began by spreading out into the community letting them know about the days events. Joining us was Kapi'olani who had framed photographs from our July mission trip that she gave to the families that we visited. Many were blessed by the photo gifts. It was blessing to see their surprised faces.

When we arrived at las canchas we began to setup our chairs and tables. La Posada setup sound and more chairs. The Vargas family play all the worship for the event. God sent Thousand Oaks Calvary Chapel to lend a hand. These guys were incredible to watch. They drove up with a van and trailer. Five new white canopies were instantly up and carnival games were setup under each canopy. They had the kids lined up. Thousand Oaks also brought more chairs. As each church brought more chairs they would get filled up. All together we served up to 100 adults and children this day.

We had a chance to fellowship with several local men on this trip. It is always a blessing when we see a few men join us, as it’s usually women and children. La Semilla provided the message, 'the parable of the prodigal son'.

It was awesome to see God’s grace. Missionaries from 5 Calvary Chapels served that day. Each brought unique God given gifts.

Thank you Lord for this great event! As usual you have been faithful in blessing the people of Plan Libertador and the missionaries that served you that day.