Easter Report

Dear Friends,

It has been an adventurous time this past while. Earthquake, accident and even a short stint in a Mexican jail. Read the attched to find out the rest of the story. Below is a detailed explanation from Leonard Janssen, YUGO's Executive Director of the accident.

In His Service,

Rod & Cheryl

Hello All,

We have a new driving rule for all YUGO drivers in Mexico: Never follow another driver who stops immediately on the highway to avoid hitting a chihuahua! On Saturday at about 4pm we were hauling some of our materials back to Tijuana from our Mexicali outreach conferences. I was following Rod in our "new" 1977 GMC motorhome. Rod was driving our 1992 Ford van loaded with a big grill and several ice chests full of left over food, etc. We were going between 50 and 60 mph on the four lane Boulevard 2000. All of a sudden I saw Rod sliding to a stop and the pickup rolling over in the dirt in the median. When the other driver slammed on his brakes, there was nothing Rod could do except lock up his van and trailer brakes. The collision crushed the front of our van, but neither Rod nor volunteer Joyce Friesen was hurt. There was no one else in the van.

There were about 8 Mexicans in the later model Ford Explorer Sport pickup. It rolled over twice and landed on its wheels. The pickup bed and front end were thoroughly thrashed, but the passenger compartment did not collapse, protecting the passengers really well. The three children were pretty banged up and traumatized and one lady looked like she was in shock. (The paramedics later took her to the hospital on a body board.) We provided water and paper towels so they could clean themselves up. Then, when a couple of the children started feeling cold we got some blankets to give to them.

One of the frustrating things about the location was the lack of cell phone service. I was able to make contact with my wife, Pati, only to tell her that Rod had been in an accident, but was okay, and then the service cut off! Joseph Fruin, another volunteer, was able to get through to his parents but then was cut off.

They don't do things in Mexico as they do in the states. When I told the police that I had frozen food in the van, they let me take anything out that we needed. In fact, one police woman said that we'd better remove anything we really wanted to keep! They didn't do any measurements of skid marks or relative distances of vehicles. They didn't even take any pictures. I agreed with Rod that he might as well get some shots on his own camera. We then asked if they would leave the trailer for us to take back to our Tijuana center. They complied.

When I asked about Rod, the accident investigator said that he would be going with him - to his "office". When they all left, I took off the find a better cell site, leaving Joyce, Joseph and Claudia (a Mexican volunteer) with the trailer. I had to drive 11 miles west to the coast road to find service. I got hold of Chuck Motz to find someone to bring
a vehicle out to tow the trailer back to the center. I also needed to communicate what they had done with Rod. We also needed to get Martin Castro to go with Chuck and Cheryl to Rod's destination to help with all the details. I also made a preliminary report to our accident insurance company.

We were happy when Joseph's father, Andrew, showed up with another van to tow the trailer. He even brought us some pizza. While we were getting the trailer and supplies to Rancho YUGO, Rod was learning about the investigator's office. After seeing it briefly, they put him in a jail cell! They took his clipboard with ID, insurance papers, money, etc., but let him keep his phone(?). Since there was no cell service, he took pictures. He actually got to experience two jail cells in different locations. They gave him the privilege of traveling between the two locations without "esposas" (Spanish for Wives and Mexican for Handcuffs). When Martin Castro finally was able to make contact with the insurance company and they finally made all the determinations, Rod was allowed to come home at about 1:30am. Our Lewis and Lewis insurance, which we have paid for for many years, came through with flying colors, paying 400,000 pesos for all liability (over $33,000!).

Things could have been a lot worse. Praise God they weren't. One of the Mexican officials said that if one of the truck passengers had died, Rod could have gone to prison. We wish he would not have even brought up the subject. It caused some unneeded worry. But, the realization of how the laws are so different across the border shows us how gracious our God is. Praise God that no one was more seriously injured, and that Rod is now able to get "right back in the saddle" to do what he was called to Mexico to do.

Make sure that you always have your paperwork with you while driving in Mexico. Don't follow people who stop for dogs, or make sure they are far ahead of you.

Praise God for His Great Grace,
Leonard

What a privilege it is to continue being used by God to influence the lives of young people. We had a small group from Michigan with us in Mexicali earlier this month. They worked with a country church close to our Bible institute there, sharing the gospel and encouraging the people. One day during the students’ devotional time the area was hit with a 5.8 earthquake! Imagine asking God to reveal Himself and feeling the ground shake!

We think you will be encouraged by the testimony of one of the teenage girls:

Through this week I have received an opportunity to understand what it truly means to fear God, to feel His power and have Him literally shake my world. God changed my heart and soul so much, there really isn’t enough space to write it all. This week has taught me what it means to surrender all I am truly to Christ. God’s power cannot be contained, and His love needs to be shown to all. Thank you so much for this week.

We also want to say thank you to our financial partners for the part you play in making all of our ministries possible. Your generous support makes it possible for our staff to be a blessing to so many Mexican people who desperately need to see the love of Christ.

May God continue to bless you abundantly.

Check out the slide show/video made during our week in Mexicali. Go to www.youtube.com and “search” for yugo ministries. Scroll down the to New Year’s week for 2009-2010. Take a look at some of the others listed there, too.

Something on My Mind

I'd like to give you a glance into the mind of a missions fanatic - mine. Once you've been bitten by the missions "bug", you see everything differently - even Christmas! I was so excited to see the song below again, but in a way, for the first time. One of my favorite old albums is Ray Connif's "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". I used to love the hear the crazy harmonies and the ways he used bells in the song I've quoted below. Then I finally listened, really listened, to the words.

There are certain phrases that really mean a lot to a "fan" of world missions. I had to listen over and over to be certain of what I was hearing - Tell all the world, Jesus is King; Tell it to all in every tongue; throughout the earth tell the glad news of Jesus' birth. These words were almost lost to me in the music. I wonder if the singers realized what they were singing.

Christmas is a wonderful time to hear again all the wonderful truths that are proclaimed in the music of the season - so much amazing doctrine that we get to hear and sing and proclaim again. The fact is that our missions-minded God SENT His Son to reach our lost world. We are seeking to be like-minded in convincing many more to follow Jesus into the world of the lost sharing the GOOD NEWS of His birth and death and resurrection. It's great to be a fan.

Leonard Janssen
Executive Director


RING CHRISTMAS BELLS

Ring Christmas bells, merrily ring
Tell all the world, Jesus is King
Loudly proclaim with one accord
The happy tale, Welcome the Lord

Ring Christmas bells, sound far and near
The birth-day of Jesus is here
Herald the news to old and young
Tell it to all in every tongue

Ring Christmas bells, merrily ring
Tell all the world, Jesus is King
Ring Christmas bells, toll loud and long
Your message sweet, peel and prolong

Come all you people, join in the singing
Repeat the story told in the ringing

Ring Christmas bells throughout the earth
Tell the glad news of Jesus’ birth
Loudly proclaim with one accord
The happy tale, Welcome the Lord

Ring Christmas bells, sound far and near
The birth-day of Jesus is here
Herald the news to old and young
Tell it to all in every tongue

In case you are not aware of YUGO's ministry to orphans, here's our Grace Childrens Home E-News:

Christmas greetings from Grace Children's Home! Please take a few moments to read some of the highlights from the last few months at GCH. We hope that you will be blessed to see some of the fruits of your continued prayer and financial support.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT- ISAAC
Isaac joined our GCH family two and a half years ago with his older sister, Francis, and younger brother, Jacobo. He is in third grade and currently attends a private school. Isaac is bright and speaks very good English. This semester he received excellent grades. He plays on our GCH soccer team and enjoys playing tazos and marbles in his spare time. Isaac is always looking for ways to be helpful and can be depended on to see a task through to completion. Within his world of responsibility he is meticulous and neat. Isaac is affectionate and never short on hugs. Above all, the love of Jesus is evident in his kind, gentle, and caring ways. We are thankful that God brought this wonderful boy to be a part of our family.

BAPTISMS
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." Matthew 28:19

Our vision for Grace Children's Home is to make disciples. For this reason, when three of our older girls expressed a desire to be baptized, we were thrilled to encourage them in this step of faith and obedience to God's Word. On Sunday, September 27th, Flor, Jennifer and Valeria were baptized at Rosarito Beach. One day, all of our disciples will therefore go. As pastors, evangelists, doctors, missionaries, lawyers, and teachers, they will make disciples of this nation, México. Many of them are already doing so. They are sharing the gospel with their friends and teachers. As we continue to disciple and equip the saints, we rejoice when we see them taking steps of faith and obedience.

GCH SOCCER
Many of our kids expressed an interest in playing soccer in their after-school sports programs. In light of the cost and the complex logistics of getting everyone to different practices and games, we decided to form our own GCH soccer team. We practice two times a week and schedule games on the weekends with other local teams. A group of families from the States got together and donated new turf shoes for all of our players. Others donated jerseys, socks, shin guards and goalie gloves. A local soccer field donates practice and game time. Good sportsmanship, commitment, teamwork, respect for authority, physical exercise, and having FUN are just a few of the themes we are able to encourage on the soccer field.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE BABY HOME?
After finishing the foundation of the Baby Home, we waited on the Lord for almost a year before moving forward with construction. While in our finite minds we cannot completely understand the Lord's ways and His timing, we trust Him nonetheless. It seems fitting that God opened the doors to continue construction on Thanksgiving Day. A team from Westgate Church rolled up their sleeves, picked up their hammers and framed most of the first floor in one weekend. As we walk through the skeleton of what will one-day be a home to orphaned babies, we are humbled by the awesome responsibility of caring for 20 more of God's children at GCH. We rest in this promise from God's Word, "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8

GCH CELEBRATES THE HARVEST
As an alternative to Halloween and Día de Los Muertos, we hosted our 3rd annual fall outreach to our community. On October 30th over 100 neighbors walked through our gate. The evening included games and crafts for the children, dinner, live Christian worship, and a presentation of the gospel message. As we were intentional to put our focus on abundant life rather than death and evil; the Lord of the Harvest was faithful to increase His kingdom. Fifteen adults made first time decisions to follow Jesus Christ.

HELP US SHOP FOR OUR KIDS FOR CHRISTMAS
This Christmas, we've asked each of our children to choose two gifts from Wal-Mart. They each chose one large $30 gift and one small $15 gift. You can shop for our children and purchase gifts from our wish list at walmart.com. We included the 29 children that live in our home as well as our 10 staff children. Thank you for helping us make this Christmas special for our children.

"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:22

The greatest contributions you can make to Grace Children's Home are your prayers. Please remember to make GCH a priority in your daily prayers. Here are some ways you can be praying for us:

Pray for healing. Pray that The Great Physician would heal the wounds that are deep and hidden in so many of our children.
Pray for spiritual growth. Pray that our children and staff would continue to grow spiritually in their relationship with God, in their understanding of His love for them, and in the wisdom of His Word.
Pray for unity. Pray that our GCH family would be bound by God's love for one another and fortified by His order.

My Kingdom Go

Some of us in YUGO Ministries are enjoying a daily devotional that quotes from A.W. Tozer. We thought you would especially appreciate this one from November 25. It is hosted by Literature Ministries International - www.litmin.org. You might want to consider subscribing.

November: Spiritual Warfare and Sin

To be entirely safe from the devil's snares the man of God must be completely obedient to the Word of the Lord. The driver on the highway is safe, not when he reads the signs but when he obeys them.

That Incredible Christian, 51.

November 25

Spiritual Warfare and Sin: My Kingdom Go

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
--Matthew 6:10

It may surprise you that Aldous Huxley, often a critic of orthodox and evangelical Christianity, has been quoted as saying: "My kingdom go is the necessary correlary to Thy kingdom come."...

Certainly His kingdom can never be realized in my life until my own selfish kingdom is deposed. It is when I resign, when I am no longer king of my domain that Jesus Christ will become king of my life.

Now, brethren, in confession, may I assure you that a Christian clergyman cannot follow any other route to spiritual victory and daily blessing than that which is prescribed so plainly in the Word of God. It is one thing for a minister to choose a powerful text, expound it and preach from it-it is quite something else for the minister to honestly and genuinely live forth the meaning of the Word from day to day. A clergyman is a man-and often he has a proud little kingdom of his own, a kingdom of position and often of pride and sometimes with power. Clergymen must wrestle with the spiritual implications of the crucified life just like everyone
else, and to be thoroughgoing men of God and spiritual examples to the flock of God, they must die daily to the allurements of their own little kingdoms of position and prestige. Who Put Jesus on the Cross?, 173-174.

"Lord, I quit, I resign, I'm no longer 'king of my domain.' I die this morning to 'my own little kingdom of position and prestige.' Rule in my life today. Amen."