Jerry and his girlfriends

The first night we were here the temperature dipped into the low 20′s and it snowed and sleeted, which is very unusual for Mexico! The next morning there was ice everywhere and many roads and bridges were closed. But, the worst part was the lack of heat. Since it rarely gets cold here, there is no heat in any of the buildings, and the kids missed 3 days of school due to “cold” days. They don’t have heat in their schools either! I’ve literally worn almost every article of clothing I brought with me every day! It’s finally warming back up, but it’s been unusual to say the least.

Fiesta Night

Four of the six people on this trip have never been to Casa Hogar Elim. I love watching people fall in love with these kids! They are some of the most beautiful, smart, amazing kids I’ve ever known. They are so full of laughter and enthusiasm even in the midst of extreme poverty. They are well taken care of and well loved. However, the reason for our trip was to help these kids have opportunity and life after Casa Hogar Elim.

One of the best ways we know how to do this is to help them get a solid education while challenging them with the idea that God has big plans for them. I’ve been told that poverty is a cycle that is very difficult to break. Once in it, it’s hard to realize there is something outside it. I believe God doesn’t just want to make sure these kids have food, shelter, and love while here, but that he desires to use them as change agents- leaders that will provide hope and opportunity to others in Nuevo Laredo and all of Mexico for future generations. They have the aptitude, courage, and discipline. They just need the opportunity to learn and someone to give them permission- to challenge them to succeed.

There are currently about 6 of these kids in college and several have already completed some type of college or vocational training. The cost for attendance at one university is only about $600-$700 per year! There is also a cost to attend high school here, but it’s even less. Our goal is to see that each of these kids have a sponsor, even a mentor, to help them with their education, to pray for them, and to challenge them. What an amazing opportunity for you!

Jesica and her sponsor Manny at the school she will attend in May

If you think you might be interested in making a small sacrifice to provide such a life-changing opportunity call the Beachside Church office for more information.

It’s hard to write with a 5 year old in my lap, and I think I’d rather give her my undivided attention right now. So, hasta luego!

Shaun

Shaun

Daniel, Leonardo, and Noel

Well, the week is almost over, and it has been amazing! I wish I could have posted

Italia

more pictures, but I have to sneak off to Burger King to use WiFi, and there hasn’t been much time (and their ice cream machine has been down).

As Juan has said, “we work hard… and play hard…”. We’ve definitely done both! I’ve watched these kids work hard for years, so that’s no surprise, but yes, they really know how to have fun too! Juan has surprised me the most. I’ve known Juan for many years, and I didn’t know he was so funny. I  think he usually has so much responsibility that he doesn’t have much of a chance to let his guard down and just have fun. He’s filled up a 1GB memory stick in his camera, has taught me how to pronounce “Burrow” in Spanish, and is a constant encourager as well.

I’ve also been practicing my Spanish colors by playing Punch Buggy with Liliana. I have to call the color in Spanish and she in English. I’ve learned 2 things: Lilly is much better with English than I am with Spanish, and there are a lot of VW Bugs in Mexico!

The ladies from Calvary Chapel Puerto Vallarta cooked dinner last night, and it was fantastic. However, not to be out done, Diana and Cynthia cooked lunch today: Green spaghetti and chicken wings. We need to keep a little healthy competition going!

Angela

I think the kids are really understanding their role as missionaries and that God

Paloma, Lilliana, and Yolanda

desires to use them to make a difference in this world. They’ve certainly had a huge impact on me. Thanks to all the kids of Casa Hogar Elim for helping me see life a whole lot clearer. Also thanks to Brice and Manny of Niceville UMC, Kenny of GiveMeShelterMinistries, and Ray White. You guys are awesome for all you’re doing this week!

Shaun

Dinner at Los Carmallita's

The kids from Casa Hogar Elim are having a blast. Honestly, I thought this would be a great trip, but it is so much more fun than anything I had imagined. They are so excited! I thought us Gringos were supposed to look like tourists, but they are taking pictures of anything and EVERYTHING!

They were anxious to see the beach yesterday, so after church and lunch, we went to la playa. They rounded the corner, took off running, and didn’t stop till they were waist deep, which quickly turned into neck deep, and they were still wearing their church clothes! It was the first time any of them had ever seen the beach or ocean.

Today we went to the mission site which is located at the dump community, and the kids worked so hard! They all worked hard, but Iracema and Juan get the “hardest worker of the day” award. They are all having so much fun helping others.

I so wish everyone who helped sponsor these kids, provided clothing, or committed to pray for us could be here with us. I don’t deserve to be enjoying this as much as I am. I wish I could share it with all of you. I know this short snippet won’t do it justice, but just know that you are providing a life-time opportunity for these children. Keep praying that the Lord would use this to grab their hearts, help them see beyond their circumstances, and help them see that He desires to use them in a powerful way for a lifetime.

Shaun

This is a trip we have been working on for almost 2 years. These kids are incredibly excited and so are we. I have been working at this orphanage for about 14 years and I’ve watched many of these kids grow up in this home. It’s an amazing place, but if you read about poverty, you’ll learn that it’s a cyclical pattern that is very difficult to break. This trip is a small part of our attempt to begin investing in these kids in ways that will help them see beyond what is right in front of them and provide opportunities for them to become more and do more than they ever imagined.

For many years we’ve worked to help provide basic needs: Food, shelter, medical care, clothing, school supplies, etc…. for the kids at Casa Hogar Elim. Those things are urgent and must continue, but we believe we can’t stop there. It’s not enough to just provide them with essentials for survival. We must do more to provide them with essentials for living a purpose filled life. These kids are incredibly smart, funny, and caring. They have amazing opportunity. Getting to know them caused us to ask these questions: “What if they had the same opportunities as we have had? What does God really want to do with this incredible group of kids?”

I believe God wants to do a LOT with them, and I believe He wants to do a LOT through you in that process. You and I don’t have all that we have because we are smarter, work harder, are more deserving, or are better looking! We have been entrusted with so much in order to be a blessing to others, and these kids and this children’s home is a great opportunity to do just that. I can’t imagine what all God can do through these kids as they are challenged, encouraged, and equipped, to do more and use their gifts for His purposes.

So, back to the email. Diana was basically informing me that Mexicana Airlines had ceased operations the night before, and we had 18 plane tickets reserved on that airline. After a full day of looking for solutions and talking with numerous people we had a plan. First, we decided that the whole basis for the trip was to help these kids overcome their current circumstances that are mostly a result of the decisions of others around them. If we canceled the trip at this point we would be reinforcing the very thing we were trying to help them overcome. That wasn’t an option. Traveling by land had never been an option because of the distance and difficulty of the trip. So, we booked new flights on another airline.

At this point we are almost certain the cost of the original tickets will be refunded. However, the new tickets cost an additional $5000, and we are looking for sponsors who would like to invest in these kids and help cover this expense. We believe this trip is the beginning of (and a huge part) of an incredible opportunity to help these kids break the cycle of poverty (spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical poverty). We are so grateful to all of you who have already sponsored one of these kids or have provided clothes, shoes, or other items for the trip. We’re also grateful to all of you who have invested in Casa Hogar Elim over the years by doing construction work, painting rooms, providing Christmas presents, cooking meals, playing games, leading Bible school, cleaning and fixing teeth, and just loving on kids. You are all awesome! You are also what I would call a  Multiplier.

A Multiplier is just a leader of leaders, and by investing in these kids you are multiplying your resources and influence to help these kids learn how to do the same. Jesus didn’t just lead a small group of followers. He entrusted the future of the Church to a small group of leaders who multiplied their limited influence and resources to change the world. We believe these kids can do just that, and you are doing that as well by investing in them. Please join us by praying for the children of Casa Hogar Elim and the opportunities we have with them this fall. If you would like to help financially you can make checks payable to Beachside Community Church: Mexico Missions. P.O. Box 445 Fort Walton Beach, Fl. 32549. Or, you can donate online here. All donations are tax deductible.

Check back in October for pictures and stories of an amazing journey!

Shaun

Update (11/15/2010): Here is a great highlight video of our trip!

Shaun

Love for Orphans Transforms

Unwanted infants in ancient Rome were often disposed of via the practice of “exposing.”  Whether undesirable because it was malformed, female or simply inconvenient, the child would be left alone, outside the city walls, without defense before glaring sun, icy winds or roving animals.

In 374 AD, the Christian emperor Valentinian banned the practice.  But for centuries prior, a marginalized group gained a reputation for rescuing these children:  Christians.  The early church was known, even among many who despised it, as a people who defended the orphan.  Believers went outside the city to find infants abandoned there, taking them in, and often raising them as their own.  This witness was one powerful factor in the vibrant life and growth of Christianity in its first 300 years, and at other high points in history as well.  It can be that way again.

Last month, 1,200 Christian orphan advocates from across America and beyond gathered in Minneapolis.  At moments, the ethos and interactions felt almost electric.  As one band leader expressed, “It felt like that was the first time I’d been worshipping and every person in the room was really a Christian.”   I understood what he meant.  From families with adopted HIV+ children, to foster parents, to individuals serving the fatherless around the globe, the spirit of that community carried the feel of the early days after Pentecost.  As best I can discern, here are four key reasons why:

Caring for orphans reflects the heart of God. From Isaiah’s call to “defend the cause of the fatherless” (1:17) to James’ placement of orphan care at the heart of “pure and undefiled religion” (1:27), the biblical mandate is clear.   But this is not merely God’s expectation of us; it is a mirroring of His own character.  “He defends the fatherless,” declares Deuteronomy 10:18.  Describes the Psalmist, “He places the lonely in families.”  To be like our heavenly Father, we’re invited to do the same.

Caring for orphans makes the Gospel visible. At the heart of the Christian story is the God who pursued us when we were destitute and alone.  He adopted us as His children, and invites us to live as His sons and daughters.  Perhaps nothing makes this truth more tangible than when Christians follow in their Father’s footsteps, opening heart and home in unconditional affection to the child that has no claim upon them but love.

Caring for orphans defies the gods of our age. Darwinism’s sole ethical imperative is to ensure one’s own genetic material carries forward.  So like Gideon tearing down his father’s idols (Judges 6), we assault this dictate when we seek to ensure the survival, and thriving, of a child that does not share our genes.  Meanwhile, the purposeful sacrifices required to love this child flout the demands of other gods also, from materialism to self-actualization to comfort.  The cost must be counted.  But—compared to the depth and richness found along the path of caring for orphans—these false gods are shown to be as lifeless and unsatisfying as statues of bronze or wood.

Caring for orphans invites a journey of discipleship. “I see these kids changed,” explained a woman who helps Christians get involved with foster care, “But I think the parents are changed even more.”  It’s true.  Every family I know that’s opened themselves to parentless children has not gone unaltered.  And though the road can be hard, even painful, virtually always it leads closer to Jesus.  Expressed one adoptive mom recently, “People have said, ‘Oh, aren’t they lucky, you rescued them from whatever.’  And I think, Are you kidding?  I’m the lucky one.  I get to be their mom.  And I get to be daily rescued from my selfishness, and my impatience, and things that are just as disease-ridden in my soul.”

Ultimately, here’s the result I see again and again:  love for orphans transforms.   It transforms children as they experience love and nurture they’ve come to live without.  It transforms individual Christians, as we encounter Jesus deeply and personally in a destitute child.  It transforms the broader community of believers as well, pulling us corporately beyond a religion of self-development to a costly-but-muscular faith.  Finally, love for orphans transforms a watching world, as it sees—perhaps for the first time—the Gospel embodied.

Close friends from Washington, DC, Tom and Leah, adopted a little boy from an African nation two years ago.  He’d been found, abandoned, at the edge of a forest, umbilical cord still attached.  “He was left for the hyena,” described the old woman who discovered him when the newborn’s cry startled her milk cow.

When I heard that story, I couldn’t help thinking of the early Christians, going outside the city walls to take in abandoned infants.  I feel the same about what’s going on in Colorado, where so many Christians have adopted from the foster system that the number of children waiting for adoption has been cut from nearly 800 in 2008 to just 365 today.  The same goes for countless partnerships between U.S. Christians and churches abroad to care for orphans within their home countries as well.

Christians are again becoming known as a people who defend the cause of the fatherless.  As we do, the world won’t be left unchanged.  Neither will we.

I think it was actually the first time I’ve been on the receiving end of a mission trip. Well, I always receive more than I give when I go, but you know what I mean. The Sunday service was amazing, but I think the best part was spending time with Betty, Grace, and Hannah (and Collett, their leader), who stayed in our home for the weekend. My girls and I learned so much from them. I don’t think we ever imagined hosting them would be so special. We had so much fun going swimming, tubing, watching them dance and sing, and just having great conversations with them (did I mention they’ve only been in the US for about 3 weeks!), but I really enjoyed looking at their pictures of home. It was humbling to see what an incredibly simple life they live: Dirt floors, no electricity, cars, or running water. Yet they are genuinely excited about life. I think the simplicity helps them see life for what it really is.

I have actually been trying to work out a trip to Kenya for about a year. Now, I’m more determined than ever to go see what God is doing over there. We’ve always said we didn’t start a new church so church people would have another option on Sunday. We have a mission and a purpose, and when we work TOGETHER we can help others connect to a God that loves them, both here, in Kenya, and who knows where else. Thanks Daraja Choir for raising the bar for us. I hope we can do for others what you have done for us!

So, instead of an official Beachside beach day, let’s Rock the Beach!

And don’t forget about part 2 of Everybody. Everybody’s Included Sunday at 10:30am.

Because of the strategy we have here at Beachside, there are some things we don’t get to do in our weekly Sunday worship service. Our Sunday service is what we call a Foyer environment, and foyer environments are made with our guests in mind. So, a few times a year we schedule a Night of Worship. This is a time for us to have an extended time of worship through songs and communion together. We had one last year and another back in January. Now our next Night of Worship is this Saturday!

So, join us this Saturday for a Night of Worship. This is an opportunity to celebrate our Savior as we sing songs and share in communion together. We have an incredible night planned with Casey Darnell and the Bigstuf Band leading our worship. This is a family event. No childcare will be provided.

And if you are on Facebook, don’t forget to check out (and ‘Like’) our Beachside page and use our Night of Worship event page to invite your friends.

Q: Tell us a little about Sarah Canterbury. Where are you from, where have you been living, are you married, kids, etc…?
Sarah: I am from Canton, Mississippi. Bring on the jokes, I can take them. For the past 3 years my husband, Ryan and I have been living in Greenville, South Carolina. We don’t have any kids. We do have a dog, Baxter (yes, his name is from Anchorman).

Q: What do you like to do for fun?
Sarah: I like to jog, hike, read, bake, play games and eat meals with friends.

Q: Do you like the beach?
Sarah: In general I love being outside, mountains or beach I am happy. I can spend all day reading on the beach!

Q: What is your favorite food?
Sarah: I don’t think it is fair to pick one specific favorite food. I could always eat dessert instead of a meal, and Sushi, Indian and Mexican food can make any day a better day.

Q: What really gets on your nerves?
Sarah: Hair! I hate hair. I married someone who could pass as Chubacka and I have an inside dog.

Q: What brings you to Fort Walton Beach?
Sarah: About 6 months ago, a friend told Ryan and I about Beachside and we began to pray about it. God was using us in some amazing ways through our community in Greenville. We spent the next few months praying for God to lead us in our marriage and show us what He wanted us to do for His Kingdom. We knew that He was preparing for us to leave, so we just began looking into cities and communities to see if that is where God was moving. After that, everything fell into place for us. Ryan got a job with a company, Innovative Sight and Sound, and I was offered the opportunity to do Family Ministry at Beachside. We are thrilled to be moving to Fort Walton and start this next chapter of our lives.

Q: So, why do you like NPM Strategic Partner churches?
Sarah: I love the NPM strategic partners for so many reasons. I love living in community with people who are seeking God, and that together we can work to create a place to invite our friends to meet God that is comfortable and relatable to them. I also love the family ministry model, and by that I mean the intentionality behind each environment that is created for each phase of a child’s life. Also I love that this model is committed to partnering with parents to truly equip parents with tools to be spiritual leaders.

Q: What do you hope to see happen with Beachside Community Church?
Sarah: I hope to see families’ lives changed, whether they have never experienced God or have been burnt by religion before. I want to see Beachside volunteers grow, because people are finding fulfillment in serving God. I hope to see and be a part of a community within Beachside that loves each other well and serves others well. I would love to see parents filled with joy that their preschooler knows “God made me and God loves me!” I would love to see some boys and girls so excited about what God is doing in their lives that they can’t wait to tell their small group leaders.

Q: What about this idea of partnering with parents? Why is that important?
Sarah: Partnering with parents, I could talk for several hours on this topic. Basically, God created the family and placed parents as the spiritual leaders, and then He gave us the church. It only makes sense that the two should work together to grow a child spiritually. Reggie Joiner says, “Two combined influences make a greater impact than just two influences.” I am passionate about making this happen. I want to help equip parents with tools to be leaders at home, and I want to work hard to ensure that our environments on Sunday morning for children are excellent in every way.

Q: What is your favorite verse in the Bible?
Sarah: Favorite verse right now in the Bible: “He died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.” 1 Thessalonians 5:10. It is a great reminder to me that God sacrificed His Son so that we can live together. I want to live with God in every moment and every decision of my day.

Thanks Sarah! We are glad you are here and are excited to see how God uses you at Beachside as we continue to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. If you want to connect more with Sarah, feel free to leave comments below or connect with Sarah on Facebook.