October 2017 Newsletter
Greeting to all our brothers and sisters in the Lord,
I can’t believe that Christmas is just around the corner; and all the decorations are out along side Halloween! All I can say, is that time is going by fast; especially with days getting shorter! When you are staying busy you ask yourself, “where did the day go!?”
La Roca keeps very busy doing four major ministries and many outreaches! I am only going to share about two of our ministries, because I want to share a deep concern with you all at the end of the letter!
The Ranch is our recovery discipleship training program where we have anywhere from 20 to 30 men! It’s a 12 month program and just to let you know, 95% of our staff come from this program, now that is a praise report!
Let me share one of many examples, Philip.
Like most, he was deported and wandering the streets of Tijuana. One day as he was in the park, four blocks away from the church, searching for where he could get help, there were two men sitting nearby and they told him to go to La Roca, where he could receive the help he needed.
He was well received and while staying at the shelter for server weeks, he got invited to the men’s retreat which was held at La Roca Ranch! He felt convicted after the retreat was over, so he ask Rafael if he could stay and join the program!
He stayed for many months and was moved to the shelter again, but this time as a staff volunteer.
About two weeks ago, he was praying to God to allow him to see or hear from his family. He had lost all contact information and was desperately wanting to find his loved ones! One week later, his brother in law was deported and was living one and half blocks from the church. Philip ran into him while going to the store; what a small world!
He was very excited and through his brother in law, Philip was able to get in contact with his mother and family which he had not heard from after 6 long years! What a praise report! So please keep Philip in your prayers as he continues to serve with us. Philip has been with us two years and will turn 49 years old this December!
Our Orphanage is where we house and educate 33 children and teens, for a better future. Believe it or not, our staff makes 23,600 meals per year, on top of washing the children’s clothes, cleaning and helping with homework, now that is no laughing matter!
But here is where I want to share my deep concern and worry! We have done a great job, taking care of these children, but some of our teens are struggling to finish high school. They will not be going to college because they have learning disabilities.
When they leave home, I fear that many will not make it out there. As their spiritual father, it’s our desire to prepare them as much as possible. Question, who would send their own children into the world, without being prepared? Nobody, in the same manner we must do the same for those who have grown up with us! Not all are going to be pastors, teachers or evangelists even though that is our deepest desire!
To make this happen we want to invest on two projects that will teach these teens and men a skill.
One is buying a machine that will make concrete blocks, which will cost us $12,000. The investment of the cement, sand and a roof structure to protect the machine, plus a storage place for the working area are additional costs. All this will be done at the ranch, where we have 33 Acres, which is plenty of land for this and much, much more. It’s time to start developing this land for the growth of our people as well as establishing a church for this growing community!
A total of twenty thousand dollars will be needed. Would you deeply consider helping us teach these teens and men a skill? At the same time, it will be helping us make our own materials for the construction of our new church, dining room, bathrooms and medical clinic.
As the community is growing quickly around us, they will become our first customers and this is where we can train these young men in the business of block making and work in the construction field. We also have an engineer named Vicente, who helped us build the boys’ dorm, and is more than willing to help our youth and men to learn these trades!
It time to take this to a whole new level and without losing focus of making disciples in Christ! So thanks for your prayers and your support, for we realize that we could not do what we do, without the whole body of Christ working together!
May you and your family have a wonderful and Thankful Thanksgiving!
Your friends and missionaries, Carlos – Rossy and the rest of La Roca team!