Happy Birthday, Faith Ministry!
On October 1, 1994, Deantin Guerra started Faith Ministry to meet the physical and spiritual needs of families living in poverty on the border in Mexico. In the past 23 years, we have seen the ministry and our community change and grow in many different ways, but our mission has never changed: create environments for people to know God by sharing and showing His love to the people around us. We look forward to what God has in store for our ministry next, and we cannot thank all of you enough for your support. Whether you have been with us since the beginning or you just got involved this year, we are so thankful to call you friends!
Mission Work Groups
We kicked off our fall season of teams this month with groups from Indiana, North Carolina and Alabama! And it’s been a busy month, to say the least. We built eight houses, three of which are under construction with teams this week, and we had tons of activities with the children in our nutrition program. During one week this month, we had two dentists, a dental hygienist and two dental assistants working in the clinic, seeing more than 200 patients combined. They were a huge blessing to our community, so if you or someone you know works in the dental field, please consider coming down to volunteer!
If you would like to bring a team down to Mexico, we are currently scheduling teams for 2018! Check out our mission work group schedule to find a week that works for your team, and email Colleen for more information or to reserve a week!
Christmas Fiestas
Every year, we host Christmas fiestas (parties) for the families in our communities. They are a time for us to gather with our brothers and sisters, eat tons of tamales, sing carols, pray, distribute meal packages to the families, give toys to the kids, and remember what the Christmas season is really about. It’s a wonderful time of fellowship and community, made possible by people like you!
Here’s how you can help:
1. Send us toys
We need tons of new or gently used toys to give away to the kids at our fiestas. Whether you and your family buy toys or organize a drive to collect them, they will be a blessing to the kids here in Mexico! Kids here love soccer balls, dolls, sets of toy trucks/cars, etc.
You can send the collection to our office at 510 N 21st Street, McAllen, TX, 78501. Please send all toys to us by November 1 – this allows us enough time to cross the toys to Mexico before the fiestas.
2. Donate
Last year, we were able to bless over 1,300 people through our fiestas, and as you can imagine, there are a lot of expenses that go along with providing meals, grocery packages, toys, and more for all of those people. Each donation helps us to make these Christmas fiestas a joyful time and a blessing to our community!
Head over to faithministry.org/give and on the form, select “Specific Ministry Need” and enter “Christmas Fiestas.”
3. Come to Mexico and participate!
We expect hundreds of kids and families to come to these Christmas fiestas, and we need all the help we can get! Come on down to the border and help us coordinate activities, serve meals, distribute toys and food packages, and more. Here is the 2017 schedule:
Thursday, December 14: Volunteer/Family Fiesta, Reynosa (for all families and volunteers that received homes in 2017)
Friday, December 15: Staff Fiesta, Reynosa
Saturday, December 16: Kids Fiesta at Church, Reynosa
Sunday, December 17: Kids/Family Fiesta at Church, Miguel Alemán
If you would like to come for all four fiestas, plan to arrive at any time on Wednesday, December 13 and depart in the afternoon of Sunday, December 17 or on Monday, December 18.
Let us know if you’d like to come by emailing Colleen. ¡Feliz Navidad!
Prayer Requests
We believe in the power of prayer, so please join us in praying for:
- Our garden caretaker and night guard José, who lost his dad this month. Pray for comfort and peace for him and his family.
- Our former foreman Ezequiel – we celebrated his retirement this month, but he and his wife are dealing with family issues. Pray for wisdom, guidance and peace for their family.
- The wife of our foreman Lupe (and mom of our construction supervisor Angel) is in the hospital, dealing with health issues related to diabetes. Pray for healing for her and comfort for Lupe, Angel and their family.
- The sister of Luz, our construction supervisor in Miguel Alemán, was recently diagnosed with cancer. Pray for her healing, as well as guidance and comfort for Luz and their family.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Romans 12:12
