Make sure you also check out all of the other stories through our YWAM Ministries.
A few weeks ago I shared the story of a family that we met in the colonias (neighborhoods) that was living in a shack made of tarps and cardboard. If you haven't had the chance yet, head on over & read Homes of Hope: True Transformation. While you are at it, go ahead & catch up with the update, Homes of Hope - True Transformation: Update, as well. We'll wait. The first weekend of August, we welcomed 55 families, around 200 people, to join us for our annual President's Gathering. These families were invited to come down & get a test of what partnering with us would be like. Besides the private concert with Michael W. Smith & the amazing talks by Mr. Tony Campolo, these families were able to build homes for 8 different families. That means 8 homes were built in 2 days. 8 families are now able to sleep with a door that not only closes but locks, in a bed that isn't on the floor, and under a roof that won't leak. One of the homes that they built was for the family mentioned above. Since words can't really describe the experience (not mine anyways), I'll let you flip through some pictures. Photo Credit: Lindsay Spang & Cinthya Clement (YWAM staff) Here is to a new home, a new hope & leaving a legacy!! If you liked this story, you will probably also like Casas de Esperanza: Giving Hope to Families.
Make sure you also check out all of the other stories through our YWAM Ministries.
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I've been trying to write this since it happened in May but life got away from me and here we are, three months later and I'm just now finishing it!! At the end of April/beginning of May I went to Florida for a Mission Adventures conference. I was able to see some friends and get to know some new people. For those of you who don't know, I'm on the leadership team for Mission Adventures North America. We are responsible for recruiting and mentoring the leaders that run Mission Adventures across Canada, United States and Mexico at the different YWAM bases. The conference was amazing! I was able to connect in person to several people that I have been chatting with and encouraging via social media for quite some time. We worshipped together, laughed together, drank coffee and even went on a late night Steak & Shake run where we led a young man to the Lord. We also gleaned from each other's successes and failures that come with leading short-term trips with high schoolers. Like I said, it was an amazing time!
We came back home crazy late on Wednesday night and I stayed home Thursday to catch up on sleep (since I was helping run the conference, I didn't get much sleep with meetings & connection with other leaders plus the tornadoes in Alabama didn't help any). Right before I left for the conference I had done my laundry and used up the last bit of the laundry detergent that I had. I was also down to my last roll of toilet paper and knew that when I returned I would need to buy more. Both of these things are way cheaper in the states but I rarely have time to go to the states. I was excited that since I was going to the conference I would be in the states & would hopefully be able to kill two birds with one stone. But since I didn't get back til really late I wasn't able to purchase things in the sates. I volunteered to do an airport run for that Saturday, which I rarely do because sometimes the border wait can be up to 3 hours. But I decided to go since I knew I needed to buy some toiletries, toilet paper and laundry detergent and really wanted to buy some food as well since I typically don't eat on campus during the weekends. I drove the team to the states, which took quite a while, like close to 5 hours in the border line. But we finally made it across and I dropped some off at the airport & the others off at the office as a few had left cars at the office. While at the office I picked up the mail, as usual, & checked my bank balance to see how much money I had. It was not what I was expecting, less than $50, definitely not enough to buy everything I needed and I knew I wouldn't get anymore until our support checks are deposited on the 20th. I mentally figured out how I was going to get what I desperately needed and what could wait. Now my birthday is May 12 and this was May 10 but I wasn't expecting anything because I normally don't get stuff in the mail for my birthday except a card from my dad & stepmom but that is usually a bit later. This time, however, I looked and saw a few cards in the mail with my name on them so I went ahead & opened them. So glad that I did because I had 2 gift cards from friends back home to Walmart & Target totaling $100. YAY!!!!!!!! I was so excited that God had provided exactly what I needed & at the exact moment I needed it. I was able to use the Walmart gift card to purchase my toiletries & laundry detergent and the Target gift card to get food & toilet paper and all I had to spend out of pocket was $7. GO GOD!!! While I was at Walmart, I received a notification on my phone that someone else (a friend that comes & builds houses here in Mexico) had sent me 2 more gift cards via Facebook for Panera Bread & Kohl's. I was able to buy some clothes for my birthday & treat myself to a yummy dinner as well!! This whole thing was such a HUGE blessing and reminder of how God truly takes care of me in the precise moment that I need it. It doesn't always look the same or even the way I expect but He ALWAYS has my back!! So here I am in August. I find myself with little more than $3 in my bank account (for the 2nd month in a row) after my support check is deposited and bills are paid (internet, staff room & board) and am wondering who God is going to use this time to meet my needs. Maybe it is you? Please pray and ask God if He would like to use you to meet the needs of a missionary living in Mexico, being obedient to His calling. As our leaders would say, don't ask your wallet, ask God. Your wallet will always say NO but God may say something different!! I currently have enough each month to pay for my room & board but that is about it. I need to raise another $300 each month to fully cover all of my expenses. I have been able to make a few special gifts stretch to cover many of these expenses throughout the year but I've run out. I am looking for: 30 people to commit to $10 a month OR 15 people to commit to $20 a month OR 10 people to commit to $30 a month OR 5 people at $60 a month OR 3 people at $100 a month. Please pray & ask God if you are one of the people He wants to use to cover these needs. If He says NO, please pray for me. If He says YES, please be obedient. How to donate online: Monthly Gift: Click HERE Special Gift: Click HERE For both options: Put "Sheril Brasher" in the box to designate your gift. As a full time missionary with YWAM, I am responsible for my own financial support. I would love for you to join me in ministry with a tax-deductible monthly gift or a special financial donation. Exercising faith in God's provision, Sheril I'm sure you've noticed some changes around my website recently. Things like a few new landing pages (YWAM Ministry Stories, All Things Preschool, Easy Recipes, etc) where you can quickly find related stories. I have also been adding some "you might like these also" links at the bottom of my posts as well to help you navigate through the site a bit easier. Something else you may have noticed, I am writing more and more about my preschoolers. As my jobs, ministries and responsibilities have changed I have noticed that it is reflected in my blog. And why wouldn't it be; these are stories of my life and the things that I'm thinking and doing so of course the blog would be a reflection of what is going on currently in my life. As you can see below, this quarter in preschool is all about the Solar System!! YAY!! This unit is by far our class's favoritest (yes, I'm aware this isn't an actual word) thing to study!! They are so very attentive in class and love to learn about each planet, our star the Sun, and how astronauts eat in space. Last year, I found a toddlerish song all about the planets called The Solar System Song, what else. This was a very calming video for our class and began their love of all things solar system! It taught us so much about each planet as well as their order from closest to farthest from the Sun. Well, this year we have found a NEW favorite song! It's NASA Johnson Style. Below, you can see the video but be forewarned: it is VERY addicting!! Like this? Check out these awesome Solar System Printables for PreK all about the Inner Planets. I really enjoyed creating these using some fun facts of the things we've been learning! I'm hoping to make some for the rest of the planets & space objects soon! Then my next project is to translate them all & then create some for older kids as well.
In the mean time, check out some other stories about our preschool! So, this week Youth With a Mission (YWAM) San Diego/Baja is hosting the President's Gathering. This is essentially a fundraising weekend. We have invited around 55 families totally almost 200 people to join us for a taste of our Homes of Hope ministry as well as catch the vision of what God has in store for us in the coming year. I've already shared about one of the families that are receiving a home this weekend but wanted to share a bit about the flip side. We don't often talk about the other half of our ministry. The emphasis is always on the Mexican families we are building for or the homeless downtown or the prostitutes in the Red Light District but our ministry is twofold. Yes, we bring hope to the hopeless by giving families a home, by feeding the homeless and by loving & praying for the prostitutes but we also show God's Love through who we already are to the teams that come to Mexico. In the coming weeks, I will be sharing a few stories about how God has transformed the lives of some of the teams and how some of them even left their jobs in corporate America to answer the call and GO. For now I wanted to just share quickly about one of the guest speakers for our gathering. We were privileged to have a private concert by the very talented Michael W. Smith. Yup, that Michael W. Smith. Admit it, you are singing "Friends" right now in your head! (Cause friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the lord of them & a friend will not say never, cause the welcome will not end. Oh it's hard to let you go, with the Father's hand we know, that a lifetime's not too long. To live as friends.) Now you are! As I said, we were very blessed to be able to have Michael W. Smith here at our San Antonio del Mar campus in Mexico. Not only did he sing a few classics like "Friends" he also led us in worship. Here are a few videos and pictures I was able to take. Hope you enjoy!
Check back later this week for a few more videos, including some corporate worship and an amazing word for our YWAM base and ministry here in Tijuana Mexico!!
So last week I told you about a family in Tijuana who recently left their nice home & life to escape potential violence & kidnapping because the cartel was trying to extort thousands of dollars from them. The dad is a musician and below you can see their makeshift home. Well, this weekend, starting tomorrow, this family along with 7 others will receive a new home through Homes of Hope, a ministry of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) San Diego/Baja. As my co-laborer, Trisha, wrote this morning" Imagine for just a minute what it would be like to live in a home like the one in this picture.....Saturday night this family will be sleeping in a new home.
The day is here....our team has put in endless hours preparing for the next 4 days. 190 people will cross the border today to join us in building 8 homes for families." To date, we have partnered with nearly 60,000 volunteers have served and helped over 190,000 people via community service projects within the Northern Baja region, including house building with the Homes of Hope program. Through these partnerships, we have also helped provide almost 5,000 families with a new home & even more than that given them HOPE for the future! The success of the program has been a partnership between YWAM San Diego/Baja and numerous groups that participate in order to benefit Mexico. Teams not only come from businesses and companies, but also from church groups, schools, and family teams. For many who participate, the desire to help is a reflection of their faith. For some, they are seeking an opportunity for community service. All who participate do so to serve the nation of Mexico by sharing what they have with others as they help them better provide for their families. And all who participate leave having encountered the Lord and experienced transformation in their own lives. I am so blessed to work with an organization that not only celebrates Jesus's life but also lives to guide others toward transformation through Jesus. If you liked this story, you will probably also like Casas de Esperanza: Giving Hope to Families. Make sure you also check out all of the other stories through our YWAM Ministries. Every week, our missionaries from Youth With A Mission head out to the local communities to find families in desperate need of a new home through our ministry called Homes of Hope. With The Lord leading, they seek out those that are in emergency situations. A few weeks ago, as the staff were out visiting families, they happened across a newly constructed "house" on the hill when they were about to head out. The Lord told them to visit that one. They hiked up the mountain and found one of the most joyful men they had ever encountered especially living in their present condition. Think Cutter's Gap, TN from the book/movie Christy. Here is an account of their conversation from one of our missionaries, Brock Mix.
Scripture says in Luke 10:2 "He {Jesus} told them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves'" Have you ever wanted to be a part of something bigger? Have you ever thought about giving back to those less fortunate than you? If you can answer yes to either of these questions, please prayerfully consider coming down and building house for one of these families. For more information, check out our website www.ywamsdb.org. I would LOVE to experience this life-giving opportunity with you! The need is great but God is greater!! Enjoy this story? Make sure you check out other stories of the transforming power of God through the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) ministry, Homes of Hope by clicking here.
A few weeks ago I was able to share in our morning community meeting about all the things God is doing in our Little Builder's Preschool & Foundation School. If you've been following along you know that this quarter was a big one for us. We added 7 kids from our Classic Discipleship Training School and 1 middle schooler from our Community Transformation & Development School, plus as I told you before we also had several toddlers waiting to join us as well. Needless to say, this quarter has been quite busy!! We opened our Toddler Class in May with 5 kids and on those days, we averaged 22 kids total in our classroom! On our non-toddler days we still had an average of 17 kids in one classroom! WHEW, no wonder I was exhausted most days!! As I prepared to share with our staff, students & guests, I decided to make a video showing what our normal day looks like. Many of our staff & students have never been inside the preschool as they don't have kids that attend and some think all we do is play. Plus I was only given like 15 minutes to talk and those who know me know this is NOT enough time, haha!! (and we HAD to be done early cause MEXICO was playing that morning at 9 in the WORLD CUP) This video allowed me to share what we do, the importance of what we do & show off the amazing skills of our students all at the same time & still have a few minutes to share some prayer requests at the end. Check out our awesome video below, bonus points as it is bilingual, just like our class!!! (ps, i translated it myself & only had a few mistakes, SCORE!)
Simple answer is because He loves us so much and to wash away our sins. Check out the video below of how we demonstrated that to our preschoolers at Little Builder's Preschool at YWAM San Diego/Baja this week as we prepare for Easter Celebrations. To recreate this experiment you will need the following:
2 clear cups water bleach food coloring (I found green & blue worked best with the bleach we had) To start, add a small amount of water in 1 clear cup (I filled mine about 1/4 of the way). In the other cup, fill almost to the top with bleach, leaving room for mixing the water & bleach together. (I filled mine about 3/4 full of bleach). Talk to your kids about how when we are born, our hearts are clean & clear like the water. But as we get older we sometimes make bad decisions (we call them sad face choices). We may hit a friend or family member, we may tell a lie, we may say something really mean, etc. (talk about some of the bad choices they may have made, let them voice some as well). With each bad choice you talk about, add a drop of food coloring. We alternated between green and blue. Then talk about how the Bible says that the wages of sin is death, which means that if we do something bad, we are supposed to die for that choice. But when Jesus died on the cross, He made a way for us to wash away that bad choice. (It's important to remind them that their actions still have consequences but we are forgiven). Now, the only way we can have those sins or bad choices washed away (cause we can't separate the dirty water from the clean anymore) is to invite Jesus into our hearts. We tell Him we are sorry and ask Him to forgive us. As you talk about forgiveness, pour the bleach into the "dirty" water and pour back & forth between the cups to mix up the solution. You will begin to see that the color will disappear. Talk about how just like the color disappeared, Jesus washes away all of the yucky dirty bad things in our hearts when we ask Him to forgive us. When we ask, He ALWAYS forgives us. Let me know if you have any questions and if you do this experiment, let me know how it turned out. What colors did you use? Last week I shared about all the drama going on at our Youth With a Mission (YWAM) Ensenada and San Antonio del Mar campuses. In case you missed that post feel free to check it out here. Well, I know you are all so very curious to SEE some of this drama that I've been talking about so without further ado, here are a few videos of just some of the awesome skits and songs that we learned. FYI, you may see a few that you recognize and if you look closely you may even see my awesome acting skills as well. Post by Julia Perona. Well in our case, just in with the new here in our transient community of Youth With a Mission (YWAM). This week we not only said "see you later" (cause it's never as absolute as goodbye) to our DTS (discipleship training school) students as they left for outreach but a few hours later we began welcoming our new students for the next DTS and our newest Community Transformation and Developement School (CTDS). With these two schools come several more families which means more kids on base. This is so very excited for all our base kids cause that means new friends. This is also very exciting to me but also means way more kiddos in preschool! Yikes, good thing God answered prayers before I knew I needed them! We have now officially gained 7 additional students for preschool (2 of which are Spanish speaking only) 2 foundation school students We add these to the 9 regular base kids in preschool 2 foundation school students We also have 4 that will join a few days a week 4 toddlers on a waiting list! That brings our total to 28 students ranging in ages of 1 all the way up to 14 under my direct care and supervision. Pray for us as we make this transition. Praise The Lord for the provision of 3 more bilingual teachers to join us for the this quarter. Ok, I'm going to take a nap now! My bilingual brain is fried. |
AuthorI am on an amazing adventure traveling the world with Jesus. Join me on my adventure and learn what I learn. *Add a note stating it is Staff Support for Sheril Brasher or Little Builder's Preschool
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