Micah & Tianna Are now British...As we finish this Thanksgiving week, we have so much to give Thanks for. This week, we went to Mexico City for our Citizenship appointment and received the News that Micah & Tianna are now legally British Citizens. It’s taken 2 years of work and waiting but on Tuesday they received their registration certificates. There is a few more steps for them to receive their passports but the bulk of the work is done. For us this has been such an important step of the adoption process to be able to give Micah and Tianna the same opportunities as the other kids, opening the doors to many options that they may of never had. Thank you to everyone who walked with us, gave a donation to help or prayed for us. We appreciate and love all of you. Levi is American (Nearly)Another amazing thing to be thankful for is another Immigration process. Levi has finally been approved for his Green Card for the USA. This means he'll be able to Live, Work and set up home freely in the USA. This is a huge step forward for him and Jayne, and we are so grateful to everyone who has helped them in the process.
One of the positive side effects of the the shut down in 2020, was that it gave the staff more time to dream and spend more time in the community serving in areas, that they maybe don't normally have time for as they are busy building homes or serving teams. During this year we have seen many new ministry initiatives start all over the city. We estimated that between our campuses we engaging around 1000 people a week in community ministry outside of Homes Of Hope. RE-HOPE ministry is working in Juvenile Rehab Centers with young people struggling with Drugs and alcohol addiction. TAKE HEART - serving the women and homeless of the Red Light district. HOPE ZONE ENSENADA - Developing God Centered Families who are actively engaged in loving their neighbors. This is a group of ministries serving in some of the poorest areas of the city with with families in the area of Education and Training. We are continuing to grow Hope Zone, including the dream of a purpose built community / family education center in Maneadero, Ensenada, and growing our adult education program, offering computer skills training and other classes. Check out their Website hopezoneensenada.org The areas we currently work in are:
ENVIA (Spanish for SEND) - is a 12 week discipleship training program that we are holding in the community where we are building homes. We are actually holding this program at the home of a Homes of Hope recipient, and many of the participants are also Homes of Hope Recipients, which is so great as it means that we are able to stay in relationship with many families. So as you can see, despite building of homes being slower over the past year, our staff have not slowed down, and are excited to continue to see the rising level of Community engagement as we move forward.
As Homes of Hope celebrates 30 years, ive been asked the question; Does Homes of Hope still work, is it still relevant. We can look at the growing Homes of Hope Movement with the 7000+ homes built in 24 nations, engaging almost 140,000 volunteers and say yes. There is still a great need for homes and people to build. Why Homes of Hope Works By Sean Lambert
We are open for business and ready for you to come back to Mexico and build a home for a family in need. Book Your Next Trip Here 2020 was a hard year for everyone, with the Pandemic, Lockdowns, and so. much uncertainty. Its easy for so many of us to look back at and write it off as a disaster. BUT despite all the craziness, through your generosity, we were able to see many lives changed. Read the 2020 Annual Report Here
Through every book we were looking at the character & Nature of God, and how it fits into God's big redemptive plan for mankind.
We are still processing all we've learned, but i know it will help us understand our purpose more, and make us better parents, partners and leaders. It was a lot of work, but we both appreciate all we've learned though it. Many of you have been following Levi and Jayne's journey over the past 18 months. Moving to the USA for his Lyme disease treatment just as the pandemic hit. Being stuck in California. Eloping to Arizona to get married, spending the first year of married life living in a dorm room in a closed down college in Murrieta... And the adventure goes on...
During the last year, Levi has been working on the process of applying for his Green Card to enable them to live and work permanently in the USA. In the last few weeks he finally received his Work Permit, and hopefully his Green card will not be too far behind. We praise God for his provision for them over this past year as living in Southern California, and not being able to earn money has been a challenge. They have been spending their time playing Music and leading Worship in churches and events around Southern California. They are currently in Massachusetts leading Worship at a Christian Summer Camp. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue to figure out their plan and make home in California. Thanks you so much for your support towards our campaign for Micah & Tianna's British Application . After 10 months of paperwork, and translating documents, much longer than expected. We have finally entered all the papers to the British Home Office to await their decision. The application could take up to 6 months to process.
The next step will be to visit the British Consulate in Mexico City for and interview and biometrics. We will then be invited to the UK to finalize the process. Please keep us in your prayers, as decisions are made on the merit of the application and decided on a Case by Case basis. Prayer for favor as our application is processed. Again thank you for your support and prayers for our family. We couldn't do this without you. Much Love Tym & Sam This January marks 15 years in Mexico, and 20 years since we first went to Texas for our missions training. A small family of 4. Since coming to Mexico, we've gained 2 more children and 2 Daughters-In-Law. We've served 1000's of people, experienced some amazing things, met some amazing people and travelled to over 15 nations. It's been a privilege. Our Little family of 4, as we were back in Texas in 2001. (With Dr Laura our Nanny) After so many years of leading, we have decided to take a short break from leadership and become students again. So in April we will be handing over the leadership of the campus for a few months to go back to school. We'll be attending the 3 month Discipleship Bible School in Ensenada. We are excited for this time as a break, but also as a time of equipping us for the future. You can find out more about the school HERE. Please be praying for us as we are also a little nervous, Sam doesn't like the thought of all the homework, and i'm just nervous about how i will cope sitting in a classroom, as its been 20 years since the last time... We'll keep you updated with all our news as we progress through the school. Outreach trip to Uganda. Our last trip before Covid sent the world crazy
Imagine living in a home with no running water, sewage or electricity. Imagine living on a dirt floor, with a roof that leaks badly, so badly that whenever it rains, everything you own gets soaked, and the floor of your home turns into thick mud. For So many of the families we work with, this is a reality. When it rains, there is no protection. In our part of Mexico, we typically get heavy rains during the first months of the year. We already had some rain in early January, so over the past weeks, Sam and some of our staff have been out helping families by taking tarps out and covering their Leaky Roofs. It's amazing what a $10 tarp and a couple of hours of work can do. Now when it rains, the water stays on the outside. Thanks for being part of our lives and for help families stay dry this winter. This Thursday 19th, we have our second "Evening of Hope" webinar event. Please join us as we share reports and stories of hope from our ministry. The theme for the event is "WE SAY YES" - What happens when we say a small yes to a Big God. We'll be joined by leadership Guru and Author, Ken Blanchard. Music will be from Steven Curtis Chapman, and stories from best selling author of Love Does, Bob Goff. We start at 5pm (Pacific Time) and Registration is free. We'd love to see you there. If the times zones don't work for you, then the replay will be on facebook and Youtube after the event. First Homes of Hope Teams are backThis Week we welcomed our first Homes of Hope Team to Ensenada. The first team since March. We were very excited to welcome them and build a home for a beautiful family who have been waiting for a home for many months. It was great to be back at it and welcoming teams to our campus. We have a lot of safety protocols in place to protect everyone, and the whole weekend went without a problem.
If you are interested in returning to Mexico, please contact our registrar Here. You can also find all the information on our website. www.ywamsdb.org |
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January 2024
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