Wow, don't blog much these days... Steph and I finally busy again with TONS of work, leading youth group, and helping with our homeless outreach ministry (which is absolutely increadible!), so I really do have lots I COULD write about. But, I am taking this opp just to let you all know I went on a 3.5 day 44mile river fishing/rafting trip down the John Day river with my dad, Tim M, and my nephew Rob. It was stinkin awesome, though it turned out to mainly be a rowing marathon trip, with a little fishing thrown in. The wind blew us up stream pretty much the whole time so we had to crank pretty hard to make our 12 miles per day. There were a few blisters and a few sunburns, a torn raft pontoon, and a number of items fell in the drink, but overall it was REALLY cool. We're gonna take a few more days to do the same trip next time so we can actually do some fishing. Check out the pics from the trip in my John Day album.

Blessings to you all,

Paul

Hey all, I know it's been a while, sorry! I never even uploaded all
our past newsletters... I should probably still do that... But, I am
posting - right now - a recap of our experience in Mexico and how God
lead us all the way, so read on! As most of you probably know, Steph
and I are going to be heading up the HighSchool Youth Group at church.
We wanted to share our the testimony of our trip with them so we
decided to write it all out. I figured since we went through the
trouble to do that I should go ahead and post it here for everyone to
check out. Enjoy!

"Years ago, even before you guys knew us from Jr Hi, I had went on a
men's mission trip to Door of Faith. Immediately when I got there I
could feel the presence of God and his approval of what this place was
about – the redemption of these little one's lives. He just thinks
that sort of stuff is so cool and He constantly hangs out in places
like that, where people give their lives to help the others,
especially little kids who otherwise would have nothing. So, I said to
myself, "I really want to part of this someday!" and I felt like God
said, "You will be!"  So, I came home after that trip and told Steph
that we were gonna move to Mexico and live in an orphanage.

Steph: I thought he was crazy. But, then eventually I got a chance to
go down there too, and came back with an understanding of why he would
want to do something like that. But God really hadn't spoke it to my
heart that that's what I was to do, at least not yet or maybe just not
loud enough to be sure. But, God was moving and I couldn't stand in
his way, so I was basically swept of my feet into this wild journey,
but I was still a little scared.

Words of Confirmation:
Trip to Tacoma -
Even before we knew we were going, before we had decided we were going
to go, while it was still just a thought in the back of my head that
it was something we were supposed to do "someday," we received words
of confirmation. We had gone to visit my buddy Jay Chick, some of you
might remember him, he now lives in Tacoma. We went to his church up
there and received prayer. One of the words someone had for us in
prayer was that we were pioneers in a covered wagon, on a mission for
God. We didn't really know what that meant, but we accepted it. Then,
after we had left, Jay called us and said that some other people were
praying for us and two people received the another vision, which was
of Stephanie surrounded by a bunch of little kids. We thought that
might mean we were going to have kids soon, but now I believe it was a
picture of our lives down there, where Steph was constantly surrounded
by those little ones.

And the covered wagon? Well, I have a little red Toyota truck and
before we left I bought a canopy top for it, just for our trip. After
I put it on my truck someone said something to the effect of, "well
look at that, you have a little red covered wagon." Immediately the
words from that prayer over a year before popped into my head and I
knew that's what those words meant. God has quite a sense of humor.

Friends confirm it's from God -
We also had numerous friends tell us that it makes perfect sense that
we should be called down there, which didn't really make sense to us,
but it seemed to for God.

Burning Hearts Worship Conference -
Then, after we took the step of faith and decided we were going, even
though it seemed a little frightening, God spoke REALLY LOUD AND CLEAR
that this indeed was what he wanted us to do.  We went to this
conference where Rita Springer was leading worship, at this WORSHIP
conference, both Rita and the main speaker who is a prophetic lady
named Rachel Hickson, would not stop talking about going into the
mission field and caring for orphans. And then Rachel told this story
that very closely mirrored Steph's situation and then said, "If God is
calling you to go THEN GO!!!" It was pretty clear there were no more
questions, no more confirmation needed, just action and faith. Cuz
when the Ruler of the Universe clearly tells you to do something, it's
nearly impossible to say no.

Paul's Dream -
But, God wasn't finished with the confirmation and preparation. About
a week before we left God gave me this dream. In this dream he made it
clear I was supposed to listen to the words that a specific person in
our church had. That person was Tom Crow, whom hadn't been to church
in a few months because he felt out of place, so I wasn't even sure
I'd see him before we left. Well, the Sunday before we left, he showed
up and had a word during worship. That word had to do with being
willing to be God's "hands and feet". When we finally got the place
God lead us to down there the guy whom we'd be working with said he
and his wife had been praying for someone to come help and "be God's
hands and feet". We knew instantly what we were supposed to do. God is
good, huh?

God prepares us for the challenges:
Before we left God told me that I was going to be challenged or
attacked by the enemy in 2 main ways – financially and physically.  I
thought this meant we were not going to have enough money to go and
that the work would be really physically hard, which my body might not
be able to handle. So, I was totally prepared when we didn't have
enough money pledged to us to go, and though the work was really
physically hard I had no problem doing it. But it turns out that's not
what he meant. Before we left I was offered a really cool job that
paid a LOT of money. My challenge was to say no to that and yes to
what God had asked us to do, if God had not given me that word, I
might have thought it would be better to first take the job, save up
some money and then pay my own way… but I knew, because of that word,
I was just supposed to pass up this amazing opportunity for something
even more amazing. Then, physically… well, I got super sick, from the
first day I arrived in Mexico and for the next 3 months I got sick 4
times where I was barfing, had diarrhea, and couldn't eat anything for
about a week.  It was terrible. But, I didn't let it stop me cuz I
knew God was with me.

Steps of Faith we had to take:
We both had to leave our businesses behind and trust that God would
take care of us when we got back, which he is (he always does).

When we left we only had about half the money we needed for the year,
but we knew that was not supposed to stop us, so off we went. Enough
came in throughout the year that we were never lacking.

We needed to rent out our house before we left but we could not find
anyone we knew and trusted who could afford it. We needed to leave it
with most our stuff still in it, so it had to be someone we really
trusted. A week before we left some ladies, whom we really didn't
know, but immediately trusted, said they would like to rent it. They
were a huge blessing from God.

We also didn't have anyone to take care of our little bunny rabbit,
until about 3 days before we left, when my sister said she would take
him, even though they live in a tiny little house. She took really
good care of him while we were away.

So, yeah, we had to just say yes and then jump, over and over again…
and he of course caught us every time.

God's Provision:
He also provided for us with extravagance the whole time we were down
there. When we got there it turned out we had no place to live, the
place we thought we were going to live suddenly became unavailable. So
we ended up living in this cute little beach cabin for a while, which
was really cool. Then some people came from Legacy Vineyard in Las
Vegas and said they would like to build us a brand new house on the
orphanage property! Then all the stuff we needed for the house was
provided, furniture, fridge, microwave, desk, table and chairs, etc…!
Then we had to  move and leave all that stuff behind… the next place
we moved into was completely empty except for a TV stand, and we
didn't have a TV J. But within a couple weeks everything we needed was
provided for there as well, a nice leather couch and love seat, a
beautiful table and chairs, a nearly new desk, coffee table, rugs,
cabinets, etc… more than we needed really.

Then one month we got this crazy electricity bill for $600! An average
electricity bill down there  is about $15, so this was obviously a
mistake. But the electric company is owned by the government and you
can't fight them, so they turned off our electricity until we paid it,
which took about 2 weeks. But the day before we were going to go in
and pay some people from church gave us enough to cover it!

What's Next?
The whole thing was such an amazing experience, we really wanted to
stay longer, but God's timing brought us back here. We prayed that if
he wanted us to stay to just make it clear, instead he made it clear
it was time for us to come home.  Our renters moved out, our support
funds slowed way down, and the house we were renting down there sold –
and we just felt like we were supposed to come home.

Worship Conference -
But before we came home we went to this worship conference at the
Anaheim Vineyard, which was really cool. At this conference I was
prayed for by this guy John. John had some words from God for me. He
said that he saw me  "leading a small band of warriors, advancing the
Kingdom of God" and then he said he saw a picture of the youth I
worked with and asked me who they were. I said I worked at an
orphanage with a bunch of kids, but he said, "no, that's not it". I
said, "well, my wife and I used to teach Jr Hi once a month". He said,
"no, that's not it either, it's the other youth you work with." I said
I didn't work with any other youth. He said  he saw me talking to a
bunch of kids and while I was talking God removed their clothes of
shame and robed them in white clothes of righteousness – bringing them
true freedom. I thought that was pretty cool, but I still didn't know
what he was talking about.

Glenn asks us to work with the Youth-
Then, about a week later Pastor Glenn emailed us and asked us what we
saw ourselves doing when we returned. I told him I wasn't sure, but
obviously he had some idea… he said he wanted to know if we'd be
willing to work with the High School youth.  Immediately the words
John had for me came to mind and I knew that's what God intended for
us. So we said YES.

God bombards us with info -
After we got home God reminded us of all that he had been teaching us
about discovering our true identity in Christ, who we are in the
Kingdom and how important each of our roles is. He provided us with
new insight, through books and other resources about this subject and
started showing us what true repentance is, which is turning away from
anything that distracts us from God and running full speed into his
presence. He has also been bombarding us on all sides with information
and encouragement in the miraculous, like healings, multiplying food,
and seeing people come to God, which all goes hand in hand with
searching after his presence through worship and prayer.

We know he hasn't give us this revelation without purpose, so we are
super stoked about what he wants to do next and we are so excited we
get to go on this journey with you guys."

Anyway, thanks to all of you who prayed for us and supported us
financially while we were in Mexico. We ask that you continue to pray
for us because our journey has really just begun!

Blessings of Love, Peace and Joy,

Paul and Steph

Its hard to believe that a year has passed already…  As we are
beginning to pack our things and prepare for our move back home, we are
struck by the bittersweet knowledge that we will soon have to say
goodbye to those we love here and yet be welcomed home by others. It
has been a year full of adventures in the Kingdom, with both struggles and
incomprehensible joy. We have made lots of little friends, and have had
full opportunity to love them in practical ways: taking them on bike rides,
throwing movie nights, tucking them into bed at night, pushing them on the
swings, or just holding them and hugging them tight… And not one of these
moments was time wasted, because we know that we have made eternal
deposits into these children's lives, no matter how small.

We have been shown a glimpse of God's heart for the people of Mexico,
and are deeply moved by the desire of all the local ministries to reach
them for Jesus. Having the opportunity to work with many ministries,
including some community outreaches with visiting churches, we were able
to meet the needs of families in approximately eight towns in Baja.  We
have been able to feed the hungry, and pray for those in need. We have
seen children and adults come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  In
short, we have witnessed the advancement of the Kingdom of God in very
tangible ways.

And though we've had a few trials and unforeseen circumstances, through
it all God has been so faithful to us, leading, guiding, building our spirits
and providing in every way we could imagine. He has brought compassion
and mercy to the forefront of our lives and has taught us how to follow
when we have no idea where we are going. He has shown us the
immeasurable value of a single child and has touched our hearts with their
prayers. 

As we are writing this letter, a few days before our departure, God has sent us
a gentle rain to remind us of home and ease us back into life in the Northwest.
We are reminded that the holidays are right around the corner, and it is
comforting to know we will be spending them with our close friends and
families. Yet, we know that part of our hearts will always be here, with all of
these wide-eyed kids, expectant of Christmas wonders.

Saying goodbye to the kids and staff is one of the hardest things we've had to
do. They have become like our family,  welcoming us into their homes and into
their lives, loving and caring for us as much as we do for them.

So yes, we are sad to be leaving here, but we are also excited to see the things
that God has in store for us when we return home. We know that this last year
has changed us, and there is no way to know how our experiences here will
translate into our life in 'the real world'. We do know that our hearts have
been prepared to work more closely with the poor through our church's food
bank ministry and we know we will be involved with the youth. We hope that our
experiences will also encourage others to step out into the unknown with faith
and courage and possibly develop a passion for missions. Though the cost is
high, the rewards are immeasurable.

Our gratitude goes out to all of you who have so faithfully supported us in
prayer and finances. We sincerely hope that you all know you have been an
integral part of this ministry. Without your prayers and financial support we
would not have had the opportunity to serve here long-term and witness the
wonders of the Kingdom in such amazing ways. We ask that you make this month
your last contribution, but we would love for you to continue to pray for us. We
hope to see each of you soon and tell you all about our adventures face-to-
face.

With much love, blessings and hope,
Paul and Stephanie

Hey all, sorry it's been so long since we blogged... but we DID write a new newsletter! Check it out at:

www.freewebs.com/paulnstephanie

We actually have all sorts of exciting things happening very soon, so stay tuned for more updates.

Love ya all,

Paul and Steph

We are in full swing of "group season" when all the wonderful groups from
various churches come down to serve the Lord in nity-grity fashion. It's all very
cool, and I'll share more about that in another blog, or perhaps our next
newsletter (which are now all online, per a previous blog). But for now I wanted
to share with you something very awesome....

A group from Canada was down and we had just finished a community service
project where we re-painted the local Police station (Always good to have favor
with those guys...:). As we were cleaning up and getting ready to leave this beat-
up sedan pulls up and I see a local in the passenger seat that I recognize, I've
talked to him on occasion and found out he used to live in Hillsboro and speaks
very good English. He stops to say hi and has obviously been drinking quite a
bit. He asks for a couple bucks, says he needs something to eat. Well, I'm down
here to give so I figure what the heck, but before I do I ask him if he is just
gonna buy more beer... The driver, a big fellow with tattoos all over him, leans
over and says, (as the passenger interprets) "No, no more beer, I am tired of
this way of life, I want to change my life, can you tell me how to change it?"
Wow, ok, it doesn't get much easier than that. God is throwing me a softball
right down the middle! I tell him he can't change it, but Jesus Christ can. He
doesn't quite understand that, so I tell him to get out of the car, I'll get my Bible,
we'll sit here in the park and read some scriptures that will make it all clear how
Jesus can change his life.

By now all the other people in the group have left except for me and one guy
who is riding with me. So, here we are, the four of us, going down Roman's
Road and picking up a few other scriptures along the way as he has questions.

The guy's name is Jose and he's lead a pretty wild life, he tells me some of his
thoughts and actions about violence towards others and that he has big problem
with anger. He slowly starts to understand it can all be forgiven, and that it is a
free gift. I show him from the scriptures how he can be made new and the past
can die.

I tell him he's gotta cry out to God and confess his sins, say he is sorry, ask for
forgiveness and promise to learn and follow the ways of Christ. I pray for him,
that the Holy Spirit will come and minister to his heart. He is on his knees by
now and is sobbing and crying out in Spanish what I can only assume is his
confession and acceptance of Christ.

After a few moments he looks up at me with peace and joy and says he doesn't
care what anyone thinks about him sitting there in the park crying, that he now
has peace. He mentions that he knows a local pastor (whom we have a
relationship with as well). I tell him to go to him, tell him what Christ has done
for him and ask him for the next steps. I plan to talk to the pastor this Sunday
sometime to find out if Jose has come to him yet. If you feel led, please pray that
this man's heart is good soil as Jesus describes in his parable.

Glory to God!

Paul

I want to give a shout out to Steve at Muzik Muzik in El Cajon CA. I met Steve,
the new owner of Muzik Muzik, on the internet when I was looking for a new
guitar. He recently purchased the store and had an excellent deal on Craig's list.
So, we took a trip up to the states today to meet Steve in person and see what
he had at his store. When we told him about our ministry he was pretty stoked
and totally hooked us up with a bunch of sweet guitars and other gear today.
We are in the beginning stages of a music program here at CDP and the 5
guitars Steve sold us will really help get the ball rolling.

The store is in the middle of a remodle and he needed to unload some of his
stock, so he gave it to us at a fraction of the retail cost and threw in a bunch of
extras. I picked up a very nice Seagull for myself (sounds absolutely beautiful,
though I somehow put a small ding in it before I even bought it, meant to be a I
guess) and CDP got a some Johnsons, a Yamaha and a small child's classical
guitar. All very nice stuff, and all at his cost.  He has also shown interest in
helping with a training program for the kids.  

So, if you are from the SD area and need any music gear, or want to check out
some live shows (part his new stores venue), need lessons, or anything else
music related definately check out Muzik Muzik in El Cajon. (172 E. Main St.)

The kids went nuts when they were presented with the new guitars.They were
part of a gift from a group out of Michigan, along with some new bikes to
replace some of the stolen ones. So, yeah, we had some happy kids tonight.
(Thanks Sergio, John, Karen, Beth and all you Michigan folks!).

Blessings,

Paul and Steph

My mountain bike was stolen from our house last night.                       

Someone just came over here and took it! There were men's muddy footprints
outside, and a tire track leading into Never-Never Land. As in, I will never see
my bike again. Just when you feel safe and comfortable, reality hurls something
like this at you. How completely maddening.

Thank you for listening. I feel better now.

Stephanie

Theres more..................

Last night both of us were hanging out with the kids in their houses from 6:30-
8pm, and when we got home, someone had stolen Paul's bike too!!!!
Even though it had a heavy duty chain in the spokes. And even though it was
still waking hours, instead of in the middle of the night! I tell you, this guy's got
some serious stones to do it two days in a row. And I'm still angry!

Thank you for listening. Again.

An UPDATE......................

It was discovered yesterday afternoon that most of the kids' newer bikes are
also missing. We also found a spot in the back fence that had been cut wide
open. Two people in the girls' house announced, after hearing about the stolen
bikes, that they saw a man lurking in the orange grove on a couple of nights this
week. We are all more than a little bit frazzled at this point!

We pray that God will show him that the path he is on will only lead to
destruction, and that his heart will be convicted about stealing from orphans.
We ask that this situation will somehow be redeemed to reveal the glory of God,
and that we may be the tools and vessels that He uses!

Hey friends, just a quicky to let you know that February down here at
Casa de Paz has been very a good month. It's been extremely slow as far as
groups coming down, so we've had lots of time to hang with the kids,
rest-up and get some things done. The really cool part is that as of Feb
we've been able to help out financially here, which is very important as the
orphanage has been running in the red the last several months and is having
difficulty paying the electric bill... We've received extra gifts from some of our
supporters and are now pitching in for our own utilities (gas and electric are
actually quite spendy down here), as well as having funds to do things for the
kids, like buy all the cake fixings and supplies for the birthday parties and do a
monthly movie night where we buy candy, popcorn, drinks and stuff for the kids.
It's been a blast.

But now here comes March... the busiest month of the year. We have visiting
groups EVERY day of the month and on into April. We love the groups and get
energized by their love for the Lord and serving in this place, but it is exhuasting
at the same time. Kind of a paradox I guess. Anyway, please pray that we have
the strength, wisdom and grace to serve with all our heart, mind and body.

Blessings to you all!

Love,
Paul and Steph

Oh, hey,  and just for fun, go take the "How much do you know about
Paul" quiz on our site, you might learn something new. :)

Hey friends, I know it sometimes takes us a while to post a new blog about
what's happening down here in Mexico. So, I've gone a step further and posted
our official Newsletters online. So now you myspace folks get both the sporadic
blogs and our newsletters. Aint you lucky!
 

Check em out at  http://www.freewebs.com/paulnstephanie

For some reason when I view our blogs the text does not wrap around....
streatching the words and pics all across the screen. I am not sure why, but will
try to fix it. Sorry 'bout that.

Paul