February 2023

Newsletter

On Mission: Capilla Calvario Santa Fe
 

It was an informal checkpoint with just a couple of men in the road at the entrance to the small town, stopping the group from Capilla Calvario Santa Fe, being led by Pastor Jorge, after they had travelled eight hours on a mountain road. “Where are you going”, one of the men asked. Pastor Jorge responded, “To visit Guillermo.” “Which Guillermo?” was the response and the man listed the different options. With the questioning finished, the group was allowed to pass. They found someone that allowed them to park on their property, gathered their belongings, and began the hour and a half hike further up into the mountains to the church where they would be ministering.

The area the group was there to minister within, Oaxaca, is an autonomous indigenous region ruled by elders where the people do not have the protections of the Mexican constitution. In the particular village they were to minister in, Hidalgo Yalalag, one protestant church has been allowed to open making it unique. Many towns do not allow non-Catholic churches to start within their borders and it is not uncommon for the homes of Christians to be burned down with the families being driven out of the community. Each town has yearly festivals usually celebrating a Catholic Saint and these celebrations often predate the arrival of Europeans. The saint being celebrated actually represents an ancient deity and the festivals are very raucous involving large amounts of alcohol , with all the families expected to contribute financially. The Christians refuse to pay and participate in the festival threatening the success of the event as the church grows and increasing the likelihood of persecution arising.

The church where the group ministered within, situated in Hidalgo Yalalag, reaches families in the mountains above the town and, being far enough away from the town, they were able to open without permission but that does not mean they are free from persecution. Recently the local shaman, or witch doctor, made it public that he would be performing powerful curses against the members of the church. This church had ten families regularly worshipping together but, due to the shaman’s threat, six families left the church. The shaman and catholic priests usually work closely together and it was probably the local priest that instigated the problem. To note: The practice of witchcraft is very common in Mexico even in the large cities like Tijuana, where it often is a source of problems in our churches. It is especially an issue in indigenous areas, where shamans are considered to be very powerful and greatly feared.

The primary language in the church’s community is Zapoteco and very few can speak Spanish and, since no one has attended school, there is no one who can read or write Spanish in the community. The Pastor of the church, Guillermo, is 85 years old and the plan is for his 50 year-old son, Isaias, to become the next pastor. Pastor Jorge worked with Isaias to teach him to read Spanish and left books for him to continue studying until another group returns.

Having spent two days ministering, where the group was able to encourage the people of the church, install electricity in their dirt-floored, adobe-walled church, and hold a worship service, they all headed home. The hike back to the vehicle was much easier, the group then returning to Oaxaca City. In Oaxaca City, they ministered for a week in a church which included putting on a conference for married couples and a youth conference.

Evangelism and discipleship are central to Touch Baja’s church planting work. The biblical basis for discipleship can be found in the great commission as found in Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” It is clear from this scripture that it is not enough for a church to have a discipleship emphasis within its own community but we are also called to make disciples of all nations – to the ends of the earth.

It is such a blessing to see Pastor Jorge and Capilla Calvario Santa Fe fulfilling the Great Commission so beautifully. Mission accomplished but more work still to do! <top>

Update: Vencedores Youth Rehab

Several years ago six armed individuals entered a rehab center for youth that Capilla Calvario Xochimilco was working with and gave them three days to vacate the property they were renting. There was a dispute over ownership of the property occupied by the rehab center and, the rehab having nowhere to go, it ended up being moved into Calvary Chapel Xochimilco. About a year later, the rehab moved across town, most of the boys having become Christians along with some of their parents. Seeing the fruit of the ministry, Touch Baja and Capilla Calvario Xochimilco joined forces to open the only Christian rehab for youth that we know of in Tijuana. We continue to see an abundance of fruit from this ministry but it is difficult having the rehab and the church in the same facility. Churches are usually very open, welcoming places while rehab centers, due to the type of ministry that is needed, are very restrictive places with few allowed to enter. From the beginning we were praying to be able to separate the two ministries – the church and the rehab center – and while the Xochimilco property is large enough to accommodate a separate facility building a facility from scratch would be costly in both money and time.

What a blessing it was when an individual approached us offering a property that has an existing four-story building with two of the floors completed along with the roof and the other two floors about half finished. Some of the building materials needed to help finish those two unfinished floors were also provided. This donation will allow the rehab to move within the next few months and have a facility that can be configured in a way more conducive to ministering to the boys who are in the program. Another benefit Is that with the rehab program being relocated to its new facility the church will have room to grow and expand its other ministries.

Please be praying for the work to be accomplished that is needed to relocate the rehab program, for the ministry itself, and for the boys in the program.  <top>

Meet The Staff

Ramon is Pastor Ron Brink’s assistant and the Director of Leon de Judah, the school at Capilla Calvario Xochimilco. His wife of 18 years, Sara, has been ministering to the children of Capilla Calvario Xochimilco since 2001 and is presently the Director of the Children’s Ministry and a teacher in the school. Their daughter ministers in the Worship Ministry, is a student in the high school and works in the school.

Ramon became a follower of Jesus at the age of 6 in his Sunday School class back in 1989. He began attending Capilla Calvario Xochimilco in 1996 with his family. His father, Humberto, was an incredible example to his family and the church, memorizing entire books of the Bible, evangelizing at every opportunity and, when near the end of his life, asking for a hospital bed to be placed in the church so he could attend services. Ramon has served the church in a number of different areas from worship to youth, children’s ministry, men’s ministry, and much more. Presently, he serves as Pastor Ron’s assistant and is an excellent administrator. Pastor Ron would be the first to say that he is the glue that holds everything together, not only doing administration for the church but also for our association of churches all while directing the school at Xochimilco. Being Director of the school is a big job by itself since it includes elementary, jr. high and high school.

When Sara left the Catholic church and began her search for truth she found Jesus working through a discipleship book at the age of 22 in 1996 . The following year she began attending Capilla Calvario Xochimilco. Sara’s mother, after her three daughters received Jesus, declared that she was disowning them because they had rejected her religion but, not long after, she followed her daughters in trusting Jesus for salvation. Sister Lucy, as she was known, became a much loved member of the church until she met her Savior face to face a few years ago. Sara was soon involved in ministry and the church sent her to a one-year discipleship school in Southern Mexico. She also has served in a number of areas including prison ministry.

Please pray for Ramon, Sara and Evelin, that the Lord would continue to use them to build our Lord’s kingdom, blessing others and the church. <top>

Praises

• The Lord has opened the door to minister to two more indigenous groups, the Mijas and Mixtecos.
• Our mission to Morocco has been on hold since the pandemic but we finally have a start date.  We will send our next team in May of 2024.  It’s a ways off but what a blessing to finally have a date.
• The church in Granjas was at ground zero for the violence in Tijuana with several members murdered.  Coupled with COVID they have had a difficult time.  They are finally growing and expanding their ministry.
• The paperwork has been signed and the property for the youth rehab ministry, Vencedores, is officially owned by Touch Baja. We have the keys to the donated building and now the work begins that is needed for occupying it. This new building and location promises to be an incredible blessing for both the youth rehab and the church.
• The mission team from Capilla Calvario Santa Fe was a great blessing to the church in Hidalgo Yalalag and Oaxaca City. What a blessing it is to see this church plant fulfilling the Great Commission in the heart of the Great Commandment! <top>

Prayer Requests

• Pray for the Director of the home for the elderly, Ana, who has been diagnosed with cancer.
• We will be returning to Oaxaca in July to teach individuals of the Zapateco indigenous group to read and write in Spanish, including the pastor and his son. This is very important because there is not a translation of the Bible in their language.
• Pray for Maru, the Director of Compassion, who has had two surgeries to remove a tumor at the base of her skull. The tumor continues to grow and she might need a third surgery.
• We are in need of more school teachers as our schools grow rapidly. This is both a prayer request and a praise.
• Pray for the work needed to occupy the new building for Vencedores Youth Rehab.
• Pray for the curriculum development of the discipleship school in Carmen Serdan and for God to build and equip the staff of that school.
• Pray for the new church plant in Rosarito. <top>