We are following God’s leading to serve as full-time missionaries with Youth with a Mission/Homes of Hope, along with our children, Olivia and Reid. We have felt a desire to go into missions for quite some time but were unsure how God would use our skills in a hands-on type of ministry. We were excited to hear that Homes of Hope has been praying for God to send men to help with their construction ministry, as Nathan has been in the construction industry for 10 years.
We will be headed to YWAM’s San Antonio Del Mar campus, which sits just south of Tijuana in Baja California, Mexico. Tijuana is only 15 miles from San Diego, CA, and this area represents the largest disparity between wealth and poverty in the world. Around 3,000 people move to this area per month, seeking a better life. YWAM’s local staff of 200 missionaries works alongside area churches to share Christ with many who are searching for change. We are excited to help the Homes of Hope ministry meet the physical needs of those in poverty by building homes for them, which impacts these families in so many ways. We will also join other YWAM missionaries to work with these families and other area families and youth through discipleship programs, tutoring, apprenticeship programs, youth group events, etc., to change their futures and give them hope....to show them other ways of living than drug cartels or prostitution, as well as impacting them to become missionaries themselves to continue sharing the hope they’ve received with others who are living in the same types of hard situations that many of them came from.
Our family will be headed down to the base for Discipleship Training School in January, where we will spend three months of school and ministry on campus, followed by 2 months of outreach in another foreign country. After our training, we plan to make a trip back home to visit with family, friends, and our support team before moving long-term to Mexico to join the YWAM/Homes of Hope staff.
We are excited and humbled that God would invite us to join Him in this ministry, and we can’t wait to share His love with others in such practical ways!
A verse that has meant a lot to our family over the years is Joshua 1:9, “This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
We would be honored to have you partner with our team, either through prayer and/or through financial assistance, so that we can minister in Mexico! We are so blessed by those who are giving to expand Christ’s Kingdom work…. demonstrating how the body of Christ works together in different capacities, but as one body, according to 1 Corinthians 12. Through your giving, the poor are given homes, many are shown Christ’s love and hope for a different future, and many missionaries are being sent to others in need all over the world. Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done.”
Thank you so much for your prayers and support! May God bless you mightily!
Nathan and Wendy