Say Hello to our Associate Director!
This month, our Board President Nathan Arledge announced Colleen Cook Hernandez as Faith Ministry’s Associate Director!
From Nathan:
“Colleen has faithfully served as the Communications Coordinator since February 2015. Over her course of time in this role, she has grown our ministry presence, engagement, and storytelling. Within this role, she proved continuously that she strived and thrived for more. This ministry is her heart.
Upon observing and celebrating this as a Board of Directors, and with the awareness of our executive director David Rodriguez, we knew it was time to offer this new position. Within her new role, she’ll continue to help tell the story of the ministry, collaborate on strategic direction, and supervise and grow others within the ministry as well – all of this alongside her welcoming spirit with all teams and individuals who come to experience the gift of Faith Ministry.”
This was a big month for Colleen, as she also got married, hence her new last name!
Visits to Reynosa
This month, we had the joy of hosting Pablo, the director of Berea Bible Institute in Monterrey, and his wife Socorro for a chat with our staff focused on spiritual health. This is part of the ministry’s ongoing staff health initiative, in which we are working with our staff to focus on and improve all aspects of our health, including physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial. It was wonderful to have Pablo and Socorro here and to further strengthen our partnership with the Berea Bible Institute in Monterrey!
As we send out this newsletter, our Board of Directors is in town with us! They will be visiting for a few days to see projects that we are working on, to fellowship with the staff, and to help guide and encourage the ministry in the plans we have for 2022. Tune in to our April newsletter to hear more about their visit!
Houses and Roofs
This month, our staff and volunteers in Reynosa built two more houses and poured two roofs! The houses were funded by churches who were not able to come to Mexico this year, and we are thrilled to still be able to provide homes for two deserving families. We have a busy summer coming up, so expect many more updates about houses being built here in Mexico!
An Update from Miguel Alemán
The town of Miguel Alemán has been experiencing a spike in violence recently, and we ask for your prayers for the community there and our staff who works there every day. This has been an ongoing issue in the town for the past several years, which is one of the reasons we have not been able to send teams there for a long time.
Despite the lack of teams, our staff and local volunteers there have still been able to continually bless the community in so many ways – through the children’s nutrition program, grocery package delivery, outreach to rural areas, educational scholarships, a church community, and more.
We are committed to keep supporting the community of Miguel Alemán as much as we can in the midst of the ongoing challenges. All of your support particularly for our programs there has meant so much, and we thank you for your prayers!
Welcome Back!
We are so excited to share that the staff, together with the Board of Directors, has approved the final phase of our plan to welcome back groups to Mexico, and this means that our mission work group program is back to normal!
- Masks are no longer required outdoors or indoors! The only place they will still be required is at our medical clinic, particularly when helping with the children’s nutrition program.
- No limit to group size (but do keep in mind that the space for people to sleep caps out around 36-40 people)
- Lodging at both the complex and clinic is available, meaning that we can host two groups at the same time; this will be subject to how large group is and what are staff resources can handle.
There will still be measures in place to ensure that everyone stays as safe and healthy as possible:
- Everyone who comes to volunteer in Mexico must be fully vaccinated, and we strongly encourage everyone to be boostered in accordance with CDC guidelines.
- If you feel sick or have symptoms prior to your trip, stay home!
- Continue washing your hands and minimizing contact with others.
As always, stay flexible, as these policies could change should cases spike again or our advisors in the medical field deem it necessary.
Our schedule for the summer and fall is pretty full, but check out our calendar online (faithministry.org/mwg-schedule) to see if there’s a week that you’d like to bring a group or just come visit! If you have any questions, email Colleen at colleen@faithministry.org.
Thank you all for your patience as we have navigated how to adapt to the pandemic over the past two years. We know that by continuing to work together and be flexible, we can continue making a difference! We can’t wait to see you all!
Prayer Requests
We believe in the power of prayer, so please join us in praying for:
- Omar, our administrator in Reynosa, who will be having surgery soon on his knee. Pray for him, his medical team, and his family in Monterrey who is helping him during this time.
- The son of our cook and caretaker Marisela, who was recently hospitalized after a fall; while he is home and doing better now, he is requiring ongoing exams and supervision related to the health condition he has. Pray for his healing and for comfort and guidance for him and Marisela.
- Colleen, as she enters a new stage of life both professionally and personally; pray for her as she takes on a new leadership position and for her, her husband, and their family as they begin to build their life together
- Our staff and the families in Miguel Alemán, as they continue to deal with the spikes in violence; pray for their safety and for peace in Miguel Alemán
- 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
We are continuing to introduce you to all of our twelve Board members each week over on social media, and it especially relevant as they are in town visiting us as we speak. Our Board of Directors is dedicated to guiding and encouraging our staff, and we are so thankful for them. Head on over to Facebook and Instagram to check them out!
Thank You!
Thank you for everything you do to support Faith Ministry! We appreciate your donations, your prayers, and your dedication to the ministry.