A part of God's story
These are the stories we are writing together...
ENSENADA
This is one of the sweetest and touching stories that we have been part of. Imagine this; you are kid that is being raised by a single mom, you have multiple siblings that you have to take care of because mom is always working late and you are the oldest. You live in a small house made out of plywood and on top of that, your house is located in the toughest, most dangerous neighborhood where drugs, violence and bad decisions are the daily bread. Your teenage friends are all drinking and doing drugs at a very young age.
Your only scape is soccer (futbol), everyday you go down to play with your friends. You are so good that you are in multiple teams and even make it to the state team. You become the so popular, everyone knows you. The gangs and cartels in town have heard of your talents and they give you a nickname "Magia" which translate to 'Magic' or the 'magician' because when you play it's like your doing magic tricks with the ball. You can walk safely in the most dangerous streets because the people respect you even though you are only 17 years old.
This was the life of Alexandro "Magia". He thought he had it made, he was popular, he was traveling the country to play soccer, he was respected and admired but something was missing... Nothing could solve the problems in his house, the poverty he was living in and the loneliness. Through soccer he encountered God and was invited to church and joined the church youth soccer team and his life forever changed.
When I met "Magia" I was 18 years old and he was 20. And he always told me that he was going to change his neighborhood. He had plans to fix the local park and fix the soccer court and create activities for the kids to stay our of trouble and focus in soccer.
And he did! He met with the local government, mayor and senators and bugged them for years and he got them to invest millions of pesos to fix and expand the local park in his neighborhood. He started free physical activities like Zumba and Pilates in the park for people to exercise. He got control over the soccer court and he organizes soccer tournaments each month but the most AMAZING thing is that all the money that he gets from the tournament he takes it and puts it into the kiddos.
He uses the money to pay for people to come and coach the kids and teach them soccer. He often buys them soccer balls and gear. He even buys the kids clothes if they don't have any because in his own words 'I was there once. I did not have shoes or food to eat and I don't want them to go through that'. This keeps the kids off the streets and away from trouble.
We went to Ensenada to surprise Magia. We bought hade custom uniforms made for the kids, brought soccer balls, cleats and gave them food.
It was a beautiful experience! Thank you Jesus!
But don't take our word for it. Watch the video we made about this trip. It will surely make you smile and touch your heart.
Please keep praying for us and for Magia and the kiddos down in Ensenada, Mexico.
Thank you!
Ensenada, Mexico
CABO
Building a church in Cabo
San Jose del Cabo, Mexico
Imagine meeting every Sunday for church in an empty lot with no walls, no A/C and nothing but a metal sheet as a roof in the humid and hot weather of Cabo, Baja California for 14 years. Yet, you remain faithful and believe God that he will provide the church building that you have been praying for. That is the story of this congregation in San Jose del Cabo, Baja California.
Our hearts' desire has always been to help those who really need it but also be a blessings for those who love God with all their hearts and show it. It was evident that this congregation in Cabo loves the Lord. When we heard their story, it was clear for us that God wanted us to go there and be part of what he is doing in San Jose del Cabo
This trip was very special for a lot of us that were part of the team that went down to Cabo. For some, was their first missions trip out of the country, for others it was the first time to bring their kids to a mission trip, it was also the first church built that we had done in over 10 years. We went to Cabo bless this people with a new building but at the end of the trip we were the ones coming back home with out hearts full and touched by the people's love, passion and generosity.
It was beautiful to see the kids playing and helping throughout the week. The people from the church surprised us by making lunch for us every single day of the week.
There are not enough paragraphs and words to describe what this mission trip meant for us and what it did for the congregation in Cabo. We saw God touch hearts, we saw the Lord answer prayers and heal people as we pray for them and we made friendships that will last forever. It is amazing to see what happens when the body of Christ comes together to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a community in need.
The frame of the building is done, the walls are up and roof has been sealed. There is still work to do, and we for sure will return back to Cabo to do more work.
We would love for you to come and join us. Let's be the hands and feet of Jesus together!
Blessings!
ENSENADA
“Love thy neighbor”
Ensenada, Baja California
We went back to Ensenada to work with Magia and the kids once again but also partnered with a local church to feed the homeless. This trip looked a little different but, with the same goal in mind. To love on this community and the kids.
Our first day we partnered with my former church in Ensenada and made more than 60 meals. We went to a place where they meet and had the opportunity to pray for them, listen to their stories and share some food. Kelsey shared the gospel with them and it was so amazing to see her step up with confidence and share the love of Jesus with them.
Something that really touched our hearts was seeing the little kids of our team Luke (Alex and Kelsey’s son) and Azul and Ezra (our kids) get involved and give the food to these people. We believe that everyone no matter their age, can be the hands and feet of Jesus.
“Love thy neighbor”
We talked to Magia and asked him what is something that he needed help with and he said “I do not need anything, I just want you to do something that will leave a mark in this community”. So we thought about it and we came up with 3 ideas and things that we could do.
Magia has continued to help this kids and provided free soccer and basketball coaching so this kids stay out of the streets. Recently they introduced pickleball and the kids love it. Someone has been volunteering to teach the kids how to play this new sport but they only had one net and 4 pallets. We decided to surprise them and donate 3 more pickable nets and over 15 pallets!
The main thing that they have been needing is a storage unit for the coaches to keep the balls and all the sporting gear safe. Lately they have been using one of the bathrooms but that has left them with only one functional bathroom for the whole park. We were able to donate money to build a storage unit under the bleachers. But the main thing we were able to do was to build a broadcasting room for the community to stream the local games and tournaments. That is something that Magias has been wanting to do for a long time. He said:
“When you come and work here I always to do something that will cause a long lasting impact. If you plant a tree and you come back in 5 years, you will see that tree and say ‘I planted that and is still here’. That is what I want something that will help this community but also will give you a sense of being part of this community. I want to help my community but I want you to see the fruit of your work many years from now”
So we got work and for 4 day we work on making this broadcasting room. It was such a rewarding experience because it was not only us working on it. Some of the community came and helped us put this building together. We worked under the sun and whenever we needed extra hands all the local people jumped right in to support us.
The broadcasting room is an answer prayer, now they will be able to stream all the soccer or pickleball games. So the families that cannot attend the games and at least be part of it from afar.
On the last day, we surprised the kids and showed them the pickleball and the sports gear. Also we made some backpacks with candy and toys inside. The kids lined up and received their bags, they were so thankful for it. Then we set up all the pickleball nets and the kids were all excited playing with the new pallets and balls.
We joined them and it was such a beautiful and heartwarming moment.
We are so thankful that God opened up the doors for us to go back and be part of what is happening in Ensenada, Mexico.
Blessings!
SAN LUIS
New sounds system and HVAC system for a church
This is one of those amazing stories when you think you are doing something but then God shows up and changes your plans and they end up being better than you expected. You will see what I mean as you read...
San Luis Rio Colorado has a special place in our hearts. That is the place where we met over 15 years ago and we love going back to what we call our second home.
Some of you know that I (Pablo) am a worship leader and that I am involved often in several worship ministries. One of the goals from the beginning was to use my gifting to be a blessing in this specific field.
I prayed for God to show us a church or ministry that was in need of help in their worship ministry. Whether they needed a new microphone or a sound board, I really wanted to help.
This is something that a lot of people DO NOT know. There are many small churches in Mexico or South America that can barely cover their operating cost. A majority of pastors have regular jobs to support themselves and they preach during the weekend because they love serving the Lord.
Most of the churches have the same instruments a church equipment since they open their church. It is not uncommon to find folding chairs, microphones, guitars, ceiling fans that are over 25 years old. Because it is expensive and almost impossible for small churches to afford getting new things. They have to choose to either pay the bills or renovate the church.
I know this because as a son of missionary pastor we experienced this many times at our local church.
We found a church in San Luis that was in serious need of a sound equipment. The sounds board was tiny and outdated.
Some of the cables were literally taped together because they came undone or they broke a long time ago and could not afford to buy new ones. We discovered that they had a small projector that was very old and not reliable and some of their microphones were barely working. We got to work and by the grade of God we were able to get them a new:
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Digital Mixer: A Digital sound board that will cover all of their needs, now they can have up to 18 channels for instruments or mics if needed. Instead of only 2 like their previous one.
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New TV: We replaced their old projector with a big tv that will be easier to see and they will not have to worry about replacing a bulb in it.
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New microphones: That will perform and sound better than their previous ones
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New mic stands: They have no mic stands before.
Bob and Randa were so kind to drive down to Mexico and take all these items to the local church. They arrived on a Thursday when the local women's ministry was gathering to have their prayer meeting. The pastor and women were so happy and so welcoming.
But the story does not end there...
While Bob and Randa were there, they saw that the church had really old A/C windows units. To put into perspective San Luis was the hottest (habitable) city in the world in 2024 reaching temperatures of over 115F in the summer.
Those old units were definitely not keeping up with the heat. We also found out that the community hall had a huge hole in the wall where water was coming in every time it rained.
Thanks to you and your generosity we were able to buy the church 3 new mini-splits units that not only do A/C but also provide heat in the winter.
We replaced the old window units and put in new high efficiency mini-split units in the sanctuary that way the church can be cool in the summer without skyrocketing their electric bill.
Damaged wall in community hall
A few weeks after the mini-splits were installed Sabrina and I went to San Luis to follow up with the pastor and see how everything was going. The pastor, Mari Calixto, is one of the kindest and hardest working pastors I've met. She was so thankful and showed us everything that was done. From every single instrument that we got them, to the new units and how the community hall was fixed. She shared something with us that really touched out hearts
"We (the church)cried when we received all of these donations. Because we had been praying to God for 3 years for this"
She said that for the past three years they have been selling food whenever they can, or making different activities in order to save up to fix the church. The pastor said that some people told her "Pastor, it has been 3 years but we do not see anything yet" but she would remind her congregation to trust in the Lord and the He will provide.
So, at the end of the day we both learned that we may have a plan like giving a small church a new sound system but Lord can take a small plan and make it HUGE.
We love this kind of stories when things take a different turn and God ends up writing a better narrative than we could have.
Once again, thank you for your prayers and your support. All of this is possible because of you!
And as we always say, our main goal is not that you only read this amazing stories, but that you come and join us so you can be part of it too.
Muchas gracias!
Blessings,
Pablo & Sabrina Uranga.
SAN LUIS, R.C. , Sonora