Saturday, March 22, 2008

Youth Outreach, Reaching The Lost In Chavira

In the desert area called Chavira in Juarez, Mexico, on the land of the future LCI Missionary Training Campus, more than three hundred people gathered yesterday evening and last night for a rally, a “Reunion de Jovenes”. This is just one more of many events that this property will facilitate.




Different people groups were represented in the gathering. Including the local Churches and ministries in Mexico who coordinated the event, North American mission teams working in that area who were invited and local community members also participated, creating an evening of fun and fellowship. There were Local rap groups performing, dramas and special music from the local Churches.













LCI was also able to present a short video on the Vision of the campus, the future development and projections of the facilities and the challenge towards unity in Spirit and in purpose. Our God is a God of unity and when we, as his people are unified in the common goal of honoring Him, we will see His transforming power manifested. You are invited to be part of this community and share in the vision of the LCI Missionary in Training Campus.

Friday, March 21, 2008

The Kitchen Is Being Built, along with some lives!


In Juarez last Sunday, there were gusts of winds estimated over 60 mph, sand blowing practically everywhere the wind could go, and a dedicated group of about 30 young adults unloading brick at a worksite, because they were on a mission: to build the walls of the kitchen. Since they only had a week, it was said that in those conditions, they were seen on Sunday to be unloading and readying the site for an early start the next day. The team came to work all week, laying brick walls for the main kitchen/dorm building out at the MIT Campus in Chavira. The Team was very dedicated, as you can see. They finished all this in just one week. This group’s trip was organized by LCI’s partnering ministry, People Building People. Please pray for the continued work of this ministry and for the team members as they go back to their homes.

Remember the post on the Cholos of Chavira and the hope that God offers. Well guess who was helping build the kitchen this week with PBP? That’s right the Cholos, it’s true they may have lacked a little experience in block laying, but they were out there. They worked and they were proud of their participation. Cudos to the People Building People team that worked along side them, but that is what it is all about. People Building People through the power of God, is one of the Challenges of Life.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Finding Value

It’s easy to be frustrated and angry with those who paint graffiti on your wall.
It’s easy to be disgusted with the drug addicts who hang in your hood.
It'd harder

to be proud of those same worthless souls, when you have helped them find value in themselves.

Was it worth the life of Christ to die for these souls? Their value was determined by their creator. Valuing them with a few words of encouragement and the respect for who God created them to be has created a reverse attitude in these young men. On their own they bought the paint to clean up their mess. With pride they want to paint a mural that will reflect the beauty of their people. Is there hope? Of course God can reach them.



the young men of Carlos Chavira

Praise The Lord for SERVE

This last week, we had a Serve group from three different churches in Canada come to provide great help with the beginning of some much needed service projects. These are a few photos of some of the major projects they helped with.



A much needed tile job was completed by a couple of master "tilers".










This house, when finished, will be for Ana Lilly. She, her
husband, and her four children are all saved and desire to live
for the Lord. Ana Lilly has cancer, and she is expected to die
very soon. Her desire is to have a house for her children to
live in when she is gone. Please help us pray that she healed.















This (top right) is the ground work for a retaining wall that will protect a playground area where the children of the day care can play safely, without losing a playground every rainy season.

I had the pleasure of spending a fair amount of time with them, and they were all a great blessing and a blast to be with. We, at the Tapias, are praying they'll continue their growth that was evident during the trip, serving others.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

WELCOME EVERYONE!!!

Good morning, friends!

Yes, it is the morning, and this is the dawn of the new Life Challenge International blog site. It is going to be a beautiful, exciting day!

This blog is dedicated to the unity of the body of Christ and the service of our Lord and Savior as we serve and love others. Its purpose is to keep all those who support the ministry projects of Life Challenge in any way, from prayer to missions trips, up-to-date on what the Lord is doing here.

For the most part, we will have the current project updates along with the teams that may be working on them. While teams are here, this blog will updated with pictures as much as possible, so that those back home are able to see the work being done.