Celebrating 30 Years!
This month, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of Faith Ministry with a fiesta here in Mexico! It was truly an amazing day of celebration of what God has done along the border since 1994. We had past and present Board members present, plus two of our visiting mission work groups and lots of visitors who came down for the occasion!
It’s been amazing to see how the ministry has grown in the past three decades, especially with new programs that have blessed the community in unique ways. One of those is our music program, and the current students of the program were able to show off what they’ve learned during the fiesta, performing songs and worship alongside their instructor and a couple of our talented Board members. It was exciting to see their progress and the smiles of pride on their faces.
We cannot thank you enough for the ways that you have helped us reach this milestone, and we pray that you will stick around for many more years to come. Your support has made a difference and will continue to do so!
Inaugurating the Deantin Community Center
A special part of our 30th anniversary fiesta was cutting the ribbon and inaugurating the Deantin community center in Naranjito. This building sat as a cement slab with rusted rebar for years. When our founder Deantin Guerra passed away in 2018, we became determined to finish the building and make it a community center in his honor. Six years later, after many bumps in the road, we cut the ribbon on this beautiful building. To all those who laid a block here, mixed cement, donated to make it happen, or prayed over this project, we cannot say thank you enough.
We were honored to have Deantin’s daughter Annette and his sister Vickie here today to cut the ribbon on the community center. It meant so much to us. Stick around through the video below for a tour inside with David!
Mission Work Groups
This month, we hosted seven mission work groups with volunteers from Indiana, North Carolina, Alabama, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania! In all, these groups helped to build a whopping 11 houses and poured seven roofs in Reynosa. They, of course, also participated in our other programs and some special activities, helping at our children’s nutrition program, delivering grocery packages to families, working in our garden in Naranjito, and even hosting a special shoe giveaway to kids and youth.
We are currently scheduling teams for 2025! Check out our calendar online to find a week that works for your team and get in touch with Colleen to book.
Saying Goodbye to Omar
In 2008, Omar Saldaña started at Faith Ministry in Reynosa as administrator. The ministry was going full steam ahead, building over 100 houses a year, and Omar helped to oversee all of the activities. For the next 14 years, Omar continued in that role, ensuring the coordination among all of Faith Ministry’s different programs and the U.S. groups who came to visit.
Over the past two years, Omar has battled health struggles that kept him in his hometown of Monterrey to be treated and to heal. This month, he officially retired from Faith Ministry.
So many of you have known Omar for years, have loved seeing him during each trip, and have been praying for his health during this time. As we congratulate him for his years of service to Faith Ministry and the families here in Reynosa, join us in continuing to pray for him. We wish him the best in this next chapter!
Christmas Fiestas – How to Help!
This year’s Christmas fiestas will be here before we know it! As in years past, we will have a fiesta for all of the families that we’ve built homes for this year with songs, prayer, grocery packages, toys, and a good meal; fiestas for our children at our different nutrition programs; and a fiesta for our staff. In addition to these fiestas, we will also deliver grocery packages door-to-door. In total, we hope to be able to bless more than 1,000 people through our fiestas this year. And we need your help to do it!
The best way you can help to make these fiestas happen is to donate. You can donate at faithministry.org/give (select “Christmas Fiestas”) or mail a check payable to Faith Ministry to PO Box 756, McAllen, TX 78505.
We would also love to have you come down and participate! The fiestas will take Monday, December 16, through Wednesday, December 18. If you plan to attend all three fiestas, make plans to arrive to McAllen Sunday, December 15, and leave McAllen on Thursday, December 19. If you’d like to visit, please email Colleen at colleen@faithministry.org.
Prayer Requests
We believe in the power of prayer, so please join us in praying for:
- Don José, our gardener, woodworker, and nightguard in Naranjito, who is undergoing cancer treatment. Pray for strength for him and his family.
Omar, who officially retired from Faith Ministry this month. Pray for this new chapter in his life and for continued healing through his health struggles.
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
This month, our staff member Sergio celebrated his birthday! Sergio is one of our staff that makes everything run smoothly behind the scenes, running errands, purchasing food for groups and our programs, and so much more.
Thank You!
Thank you for everything you do to support Faith Ministry! We appreciate your donations, your prayers, and your dedication to the ministry.