Celebrating 25 Years!
On Saturday, October 19, we celebrated our 25th anniversary of making a difference on the border in Mexico with a total of around 350 attendees, including 60 visitors from the U.S.! We set up a “festival” in Naranjito, with stands for quesadillas, elotes, loaded chips, burritos, aguas frescas, and more; each person who came got a punch ticket and could visit each stall for something to eat or drink. We also had face painting and games for the kids, including bowling and jumbo Jenga. We set up the inside of the church with a Faith Ministry “museum,” full of old photos and documents, a T-shirt quilt made for Deantin’s daughter out of all of his old t-shirts, and more. We set up the future Deantin community center with photo boards indicating the future use of each room and a special Mexican-decorated photo booth. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement and celebration, and everyone had a blast!
We paused in the middle of the fiesta to have a short service to honor the anniversary. We sang some of our favorite songs with help from the church’s youth band, heard speeches from the local community and U.S. volunteers about the impact of Faith Ministry in the past, present, and future, prayed over the ministry and the next 25 (and more!) years, and ended with, of course, “Unidos, Unidos.”
It was an incredibly special day, and it would not have been possible without all of you who supported the fiesta through donations and prayers. We were touched that so many people traveled down from across the U.S. to be a part of that special day, including many of our current and former members of the Board of Directors. And finally, we have to thank our staff – especially our logistics team – for their hard work and effort to pull off such a fantastic celebration.
Here’s to the next 25 years… and more! ?
Check out live footage from the fiesta here:
Click to watch David’s tour of the “festival” at the 25th anniversary fiesta!
Click to watch the full service at the 25th anniversary fiesta!
Visiting Friends in North Carolina
At the beginning of this month, David and Colleen took a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina! They had the chance to reunite with old friends from Myers Park United Methodist Church, Covenant Presbyterian Church, and others in the area, as well as make connections with new friends. David co-preached on Sunday at Myers Park UMC with our Board member and the church’s Minister of Missions Nathan Arledge, and David and Colleen had the chance to share a special presentation about the ministry during the Sunday school hour. A special thanks to Nathan, Darren Ash, and Keith Weddington, Faith Ministry’s three Charlotte Board members, for making this trip a success.
If you’d like us to come to your church, please let us know, and we’d love to make it happen!
Click to watch the service that David and Nathan co-preached at Myers Park United Methodist Church.
Betty’s Retirement
Nurse Betty Carrillo has devoted the past 25 years of her life to Faith Ministry, and through her work, she has touched the lives of countless men, women, children, and babies in Reynosa. She has cared generously for each patient that has walked through the doors of the medical clinic, and she has given her heart to each baby that comes weekly for infant formula. She has seen young toddlers take their first steps in her office, and she has seen babies overcome malnutrition as a result of the infant feeding program to survive and thrive as happy and healthy children.
Not only as she had made her community in Reynosa a better place, but she has also impacted the lives of hundreds of U.S. volunteers that have worked by her side. Her dedication to her work and to the people of Reynosa has inspired many, even those who only worked with her for a short time. It doesn’t take long after meeting Betty to see that she exemplifies being a servant of Christ every single day.
After much prayer and consideration, Betty has decided to close this chapter of her life and has officially retired from Faith Ministry. We are immensely grateful to her for her 25 years of service and for the faith that it took for her to partner with Deantin and start Faith Ministry. She is an important part of the backbone of the ministry, and her shoes will be impossible to fill.
Save the Dates for Christmas Fiestas!
The 2019 Christmas fiestas will be December 12-15 in Reynosa and Miguel Alemán, Mexico. We would love to have you join us for the festivities! Stay tuned for an email next week with more details and how you can help us with the fiestas this year (hint: we need soccer balls again! ⚽️).
In Case You Missed It
We recently sent out a special 25th anniversary newsletter via snail mail, and if you didn’t get a copy to your mailbox, click the link below to download, view, or print it!
If you’d like to receive snail mail from us in the future, email your full name and preferred mailing address to usoffice@faithministry.org. Don’t worry, we rarely send out snail mail more than three or four times a year, so we won’t spam you!
Prayer Requests
We believe in the power of prayer, so please join us in praying for:
- One of our staff foremen, Julio (Chuky), Norma, their son Angel, and Norma’s parents, who lost their home and most of their belongings over the weekend in a house fire. Continue to pray for their safety and well-being, and we will continue to keep you posted about how you can help.
- Betty, as she enters a new chapter of her life after retiring from Faith Ministry. We praise God for her life and her service to the ministry and ask for blessing over what’s to come.
- The next 25 years (and more!) of Faith Ministry, that we may be able to continue making a difference and showing the love of God here on the border.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Romans 12:12
25 Years in Photos & Videos
To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’ll be sharing “throwback” photos and videos throughout the year. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more!
On October 1, 1994, Deantin Guerra officially started Faith Ministry/Ministerio de Fe. What he lacked in funds and resources he made up for with faith and hope in God’s plan, and 25 years later, here we still are!
This is an excerpt of Deantin’s original plan for the ministry, written out in the months leading up to October 1994. He shared the plan with friends and supporters, many of whom are still active with the ministry today.
A lot has changed since that day 25 years ago, but the words Deantin wrote are still at the heart of Faith Ministry: “We are starting a ministry based on God’s love – based on caring for others, but mostly a ministry that can show the love of our Lord Jesus Christ in all we do – in His name & for His glory.”
Happy 25th birthday, Faith Ministry! ?
