Bienvenidos

We have mocha syrup!

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:43:17 -0600

Today Ricky and I(Dan) invented mocha syrup for our coffee shop! Being we don’t live next to a Walmart (the closest is 2 and a half hours away), it’s not easy to just go find some mocha powder and put together a drink. After much tasting and experimenting, we finally came up with a recipe for our Mocha syrup that will work! We tried it with both hot and frappe drinks. Looks like a go!

There is still so much more planning that needs to go into our coffee shop. From Smoothies to decorations to purchasing items, we’ve got our hands full between now and mid February when we’ll be opening. We’ll be taking a trip to the border in the beginning of February to purchase things for the shop. Many things are cheaper there, and when purchasing a lot at once it makes the trip worth while.

Please pray for us as we continue in the planning. None of us have every managed a coffee shop before, so our learning curve is steep. We’re stoked to get it up off the ground though and know God will fulfill his purposed in it.

All is well.

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:55:16 -0600

Great news! God is good!

After a long 2 days driving from Ohio, Wendy and I finally pulled into McAllen, Texas. We had a successful trip (no breakdowns, no falling asleep behind the wheel, etc) to the border.

Ricky and Tracy, or friends and now fellow co-workers, arrived into McAllen with their Jeep and U-haul. They made it by the grace of God. On their journey down their trailer went out of control once and spun their vehicle 180 degrees. Thankfully, they didn’t hit anything or roll. I really believe they had Angels protecting them on their journey.

Our trip from the border to Veracruz was one of the most smooth trips I’ve taken. We didn’t have any problems getting our visas and permits for the vehicles. Paying taxes on our items was problem free. We did get pulled over by a friendly Fed, but he was friendly and let us continue without any delay.

It’s great to be back. We’re excited to have a bigger team to be working alongside of. Kara, a friend from our church in Ohio, is here with us for a couple months, as well as a couple other short term volunteers.

Ricky and Tracy found a house to rent within a week of being here. That in itself was a miracle. There really aren’t many places to rent here in town. They found a nice 3 bedroom house in a good neighborhood. Thank you Jesus! Although we love them staying with us, I know they were really looking forward to getting settled in. Especially since Tracy is about 5 months pregnant.

The coffee shop we are planning to open has an opening date of February 17th. We have lots to do to get it ready. I(Dan) will be managing the business side of it, while Ricky will be heading the ministry side of it. We’re excited to work together and believe God has great things in store. Please continue to pray for us as we still need to raise just over half our our $10,000 one time fund raising for our first year expenses. God will supply all we need. Praise God for already raising nearly have of it!

Thank you for all your prayers! We really felt our trip was better expected, considering we had to drive 2000+ miles. We appreciate all of you.

We’re Opening a Coffee Shop!

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:24:08 -0600

Across from the high school sits a snugly little place to get a yummy drink and chat with friends. It’s a place to build relationships with people in the community and a place to bare openly the heart over a plate of blackberry cream cheese crepes. We’re opening a coffee shop!

This has been something we have talked and prayed about for quite a while and God has swung the doors wide open. Our desire is to create a healthy environment for youth who are surrounded by so many negative influences. We want to provide an atmosphere of hope and love to those who need it through purposeful relationship with those who come in. We want them to leave with much more than coffee, but we need your help.

We need to raise $10,000 to cover the first year’s rent and electrical expenses. This will enable the coffee shop to get started with the goal of being self-sufficient by the second year.

We can’t do this alone! If you would like to seed into this cause you can send any donations to:

CTEN P.O. Box 291307 Kerrville, TX. 78029-1307

Checks may be made payable to “CTEN” to the above address. (Our names must be on a separate note, as well as the words “Coffee Shop Fund)

**The coffee shop will be a base-wide ministry of YWAM Veracruz.

**Funds received for the coffee shop will be used exclusively for this cause. You will receive a tax-deductible receipt in the mail.

The Latest

Tue, 8 Sep 2009 12:47:11 -0500

Just like anywhere else in the world, Cerro Azul is filled with youth. Youth hungry from something more. Youth wanting to live life to its fullest. And there is virtually nothing here to offer them.

Wendy and I have been attending a small church since we moved here in January. We’ve become friends with the pastor and many of the people in the congregation. But also we’ve seen a need. The youth are hungry for something. Many are looking to fill that hunger outside the church as they feel they aren’t being filled within it. There really isn’t somebody that has taken ownership of the youth group. They have had somebody that leads them out of necessity, although it isn’t necessarily where his heart is. Wendy and I decided to take the challenge to occasionally lead the youth group. We spent the month of August leading them, and had a great time getting to know them. Throughout the month, we began to see them gaining trust in us and opening up to us more and more. It’s been encouraging to see them coming to us for counsel in their relationships, struggles in life, etc. We’ve been able to invite them over to our house to hang out, and sometimes they’ve even invited themselves over to hang out for the afternoon.

Our plans are to continue to work with the youth twice a month. Our hopes are that through spending time with them, investing in their lives, and being there when they need someone there we will see them make the right decisions in this very important transitioning period in their lives.

-Dan

Abide

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:11:45 -0500

We are all on a journey. It is a journey of life. One man’s journey may take him through a successful career as a doctor or a fire fighter. Another’s may lead take him through marriage, raising a family, and learning to live off the land. Each of us is on a different journey. Our decisions affect our journey, whether for better or for worse.

These past months, God has been challenging me in my journey. His challenge has been to abide in him first.

Abide- To observe, follow, keep to, hold to, stick to, stand by, act in accordance with, go along with, acknowledge, respect, remain, survive, last, persist, stay, live on, endure.

These are just a few of the definitions of the word abide. So what does this challenge mean to me? It means putting God first in everything I do. It means seeking him before acting on anything. It means listening and waiting for his guidance.

So often we can get caught up getting busy doing “good deeds”. They may be projects we have begun, serving in the church, volunteering in town, or whatever it might be. But lately I’m beginning to notice that God isn’t interested in me trying to get busy doing “good deeds” for him. What he’s interested in is me putting him first in everything in my life.

God isn’t interested in people getting busy for him. He’s interested in a relationship with us. And out of our relationship with God will automatically unfold an adventurous journey of serving him.

So here I am, on an adventurous journey with God. Instead of me trying to put God into my plans, I’m allowing him to speak to me and invite me into his plans. Instead of asking God to bless my plans, I’m learning to instead ask God to direct me in his plans. It’s exciting. It’s an adventure.

God wants a relationship with each of us. He also wants to show himself to others through us. As we abide in him, our desires become more like his desires. Our requests begin to come from his heartfelt desires. What we ask will come from what he wants from us.

I will close with this statement....... Now that I’ve seen the Light, I would never want to live for anything else.

-Dan

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:7-8