Houses & Visits
This month, we built our first house of 2023! It was built by our staff and volunteers and provided by a church in Alabama that was unable to make the visit to Reynosa last year. Plus, we also had our first of what will be monthly visits from our friends at a local Methodist church in McAllen! They participated in our nutrition programs and shared fellowship and a meal with our staff and volunteers, and we are so excited to be partnering with a church here in the Valley. We hope for more local partnerships this year!
We still have several weeks available for the spring and summer of 2023, so if you are interested in bringing a group, check out our schedule and email Colleen for more information!
Visiting Austin
This past weekend, David and Colleen visited friends up in Austin, Texas! They had the chance to reunite with friends, make new connections, and speak with folks at University Presbyterian and Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian. It was such a blast!
We are always so grateful for the opportunity to travel and share about what God is doing here on the border. If you’d like us to visit your community or church, get in touch! We would love to come see you.
Reflecting on 2022
2022 was a blessed and joyful year for Faith Ministry! We returned to our “normal” routine in our activities, welcoming groups all year and embracing once again. We have so much to be thankful for, including each and every one of you. Thanks for helping make a difference in 2022!
Click here to view, download, or print our 2022 Annual Report.
A Note from David
Our executive director David Rodriguez celebrated his 20th anniversary with Faith Ministry at the end of 2022. Here is a reflection from him:
Sitting here at my desk in our McAllen office trying to reflect on how fast twenty years have gone by… it is honestly overwhelming.
I have never forgotten the first steps of my walk to Faith Ministry. It was the middle of December of 2002, and I just resigned my position at my government job to move to McAllen, Texas, with no work visa or a firm idea of how to get it and with lots of unknowns in front of me. If I close my eyes, I can actually picture myself at my first event ever with Faith Ministry. It was a Christmas fiesta in Reynosa, and we were surrounded by hundreds of kids and adults making a line to get a toy and a meal. We served over 1,500 people in that single day; that was an amazing and scary experience at the same time.
During this 20-year experience and counting, did I ever panic? Yes, I did, and more than once.
Did I ever think about quitting? Yes, I did, and more than once.
Did I ever cry and ask God to help me out because I was over my head? Yes, I did and more than once.
Did God ever leave my side? No, never, and that is the reason that I am still here.
In these 20 years, we went from an economic boom to an economic crisis within the ministry. I had work visa issues, then violence in the area, economic recession, swine flu, bird flu, a period of stability, and then the coronavirus. This is how I know that God is in control and that He has watched over us every step of the way.
f I could go back in time to talk to my younger self, I would say, “Breathe in and breathe out, God is in control. This will pass, and everything is going to be okay.” And I am sure that if younger me could come to the present day to give me advice, it will be something like this: “Find another way to say ‘it’s complicated;’ you are going to have to use it often. Stop with the jacuzzi joke, and most importantly… breathe in and breathe out, God is in control, everything will be okay.”
My thanks and appreciation go to God, of course, because without Him, I am nothing, but also to all of you that I have meet in this ministry and that have offered your friendship to me. You are an important part of my journey. You are an encouraging force for me, and I think of you as my family.
My thanks go out to the directors of the ministry and my coworkers, present and past; they are the best!
My full appreciation to the Board of Directors, present and past, for their amazing support, guidance, love, and care because without them, I would have been long gone.
And last but not least, to my family, my dad David, Sr. who pushed me out so I could fly on my own; my mom Vicky who prays for me every day; Nancy, Luis, and Alan, who, with their love, care, and constant reality checks, keep me with my two feet on the ground. They are my inspiration to keep on going.
I am honored to be part of Faith Ministry, a ministry of values and vision that, in the next 20 years and more, will work to bless the community with new community centers, expand the services of the ministry beyond Reynosa and Miguel Alemán to other cities like Monterrey, and continue to provide strong programs to better serve the needs of the families and share God’s love with prayer and spiritual support.
I am simply blessed.
David
Prayer Requests
We believe in the power of prayer, so please join us in praying for:
- Omar, who is still dealing with a wide variety of health issues stemming from his fall and subsequent knee surgery last year, as well as a foot infection and subsequent surgery in December. He is currently in Monterrey with his family, and we ask for your continued prayers for his health, wellbeing, and recovery, as well as for his comfort and peace.
- Luz, our construction supervisor in Miguel Alemán, who is nearing the end of treatment for a difficult health diagnosis. We ask for your prayers as he finds out how the treatment worked and looks to transition back to his normal routine. Pray for good results and for peace and strength for him and his family.
- The health of our staff, volunteers, Board of Directors, and friends around the world
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Romans 12:12
In Case You Missed It
It’s a new year, and we have new members on our Board of Directors! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing you to each one of them over on our social media.
Visit our Facebook and Instagram to learn more about our new Board members!
Update on AmazonSmile
Amazon recently announced that they made the decision to end their program AmazonSmile by February 20, 2023. This means that organizations like ours will no longer receive 0.5% of your sale if you shop through AmazonSmile. So, if you shopping to do between now and February 20, be sure to use AmazonSmile to benefit Faith Ministry!
Thank You!
Thank you for everything you do to support Faith Ministry! We appreciate your donations, your prayers, and your dedication to the ministry.