Ioway’s experience in Mexico with CPTLN and Tijuana Lutheran Ministries

The IOWAY brothers and sisters have done a wonderful job on their informative newsletter about their experience in Tijuana.

http://www.idwlcms.org/ministry_areas/ioway/mexico_updates/update_3.pdf

Makes me smile…..

This photo of CPTLN volunteer and missionary Francisco and his wife just makes me smile.  It also reminds me of the joy that eminates from the lives of those who serve the Lord with everything they are and have.

Bible with Small Catechism

Thanks to the Lutheran Heritage Foundation a bible has been printed with Luther’s Small Catechism included.  What a perfect pairing for new believers.

As part of our self study program…..we are finishing Koehler’s Summary of Christian Doctrine (Compendio de la Doctrina Cristiana) and had an opportunity to read from this new bible.

Pray for Pastor David as he travels back to India

Pastor David and Jothi are traveling back to India today after receiving the news that Pastor David’s mother died yesterday.  See here for more and keep him and the entire family in your prayers.

Kentucky LHM Convention

I had the privilege of talking and praying with my district partners last night.  By then I had only a whisper of a voice.  Today Miriam and I went to urgent care to get a big shot of antibiotics.  I think it is doing its job.

I wrote a LONG post with photos and news of some of the happenings. Please go to www.melissasalomon.com  right now.  Don’t wait.

Thank you for your prayers for my healing.  My son called today to find out to tell me he had just arrived to his new stop on the tour. Some teenagers from Finland got one of FUSSE’s CD and will be making FUSSE fans in Finland now!!!!They play in Sparks Nevada I think tomorrow.  My daughter texted me to tell me she and Ashley and her mom had prayed for me last night. 

Love you…..

Thanks for your prayers…..

I am traveling.  We spent a few days in training with international directors from lutheran hour offices in st. louis.  Today we traveled by bus to Lexington, Kentucky and just arrived.  Please check out my www.melissasalomon.com blog for details and photos!  Tomorrow the activites begin!

Celebrating with the congregation of IELSGSF

God is so good! We celebrating with the congregation of Iglesia Evangelica Luterana de la Sola Gracia y la Sola Fe.  This congregation has been so faithful and worked arduously for the Lord for 15 years to see this day come true.  The dedication service was beautiful.  The sanctuary is beautiful.  Among the many workers that gave of their time, money and handiwork, the CPTLN partners from Nebraska with DIck Rockenbach funded the beautiful altar furnishings (as well as All Saints Lutheran CHurch) and talented carpenter and nephew Memo Paniagua built the furnishings with his attention to detail, the sancutary is beautiful.  The church had as many people inside as outside…..maybe some 250 persons in attendance.  Representatives from both La Frontera Ministries and Frontera Ministries were present.  Of course, representatives from LBCM and churches that have been partners in ministry with this church were also present as well as the local congregation, friends, neighbors and supporters coming from as far away as Nayarit and Mexico City.  Marta Garces’ dad was the proclaimer and preacher.  They had beautiful powerpoint presentations as they displayed the lyrics to the hymns on the wall. We sang wonderful and traditional hymns of the church including Oh Mighty Fortress (Castillo Fuerte)  It could not have been more perfect and wonderful.  We celebrating a lunch under a blue shade covering.  The partners from Iowa happened to be in town this weekend and were able to celebrate with the congregation and also provide a donation to finish things that always need to be done in a new church.  Then, at 5pm there were confirmations and baptisms.  Baptismal gowns sewn by our friends from All Saint Lutheran Church in Bellevue Washington were used.  I will post photos soon! Pastor Schmidt and the congregation of Concordia Lutheran Chula Vista sent their greetings. The women of Concordia provided pew bibles and although we didn’t move out of our Oxford site and send them our pews, we did provide folding chairs for the dedication.  They will still receive our pews when the move at Concordia eventually takes place. 

Ioway serving in Tijuana

Ellie Menz and our friends at IOWAY visited us again this weekend to assist the Lutheran Church of St. Paul and gathered funds to build an outdoor patio for outdoor worship and also an outdoor adobe oven.  The patio cover cement posts weren’t quite dry so we couldn’t work on the patio cover but we could visualize it.  The wonderful young visitors from Iowa put on a Christmas story, a dental clinic, a Gospel craft and a celebration!  What a wonderful day.  The Iowans were surprised that the 50 or so children were so attentive to all the goings on…… Even little Abner recited the 23rd Psalm, the entire Creed and the Lord’s Prayer.

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New Youth Program (Proyecto JOEL) Director

We are so excited to welcome new staff member, Legna Lanza to the CPTLN team.  She will be working in her area of greatest passion—-with youth!  Throughout the CPTLN offices, we call our youth outreach Proyecto JOEL. Legna has 10 years experience working in the Tijuana mission field while working with Lutheran Border Concerns Ministry.  (She is still working with LBCM half time)  She is the daughter of a pastor who began ministry in Tijuana and is already with the Lord.  Read Legna’s bio and her work plan.

If you feel called to support this new staff member, we need to raise $10,000 for the support of this staff position and the JOEL program.  I received a check yesterday for $1600 for this new ministry.  Only $8400 to go!  Any amount you can contribute toward this exciting new program, will be a blessing to the city and people of Tijuana.  Email me at mgsalomon@gmail.com for details on how to contribute to Proyecto JOEL.

The following was written by Legna.  Pray for her, for work of Proyecto JOEL in Tijuana, for the CPTLN staff and ministry.

Biography

 

I was born into a Christian family in Venezuela, and grew up not knowing any other world than that of the Lutheran faith and ministry.

 

My father was a Lutheran pastor in Venezuela and he always taught me the importance of making people feel that they are special, and mainly that they were important to God.

 

I was a teenager when I lost my mother in a tragic car accident and for the first time I saw and felt directly the pain of living in a world with sin.  Only four more years passed, and unexpectedly my father went to be with the Lord.  Through this time I never felt alone, even when I did feel a deep pain.  I somehow knew that God was with me.

 

Through those years of dealing with the loss and putting the pieces of my young adult life together, I completed a college education (Concordia University, Director of Christian Education, 2001) and later a master’s degree (IESDI, Psychology and Christian counseling, 2006).  I could not have accomplished this without the support and care of Christian people who continuously reminded me that God’s grace surpasses our understanding.

 

My hope is to continue to show and teach the great love with which He has embraced me through the years and to be able to bless others as I have been blessed. 

 

Vision/Mission

 

Living in the border city of Tijuana made me realize the power of establishing a bridge of relationships among people from both sides of the border.

 

God works in marvelous ways and is able to unify people who possess different languages and traditions to reach to people that are in need of hope for their lives.

This is a very important part of my life and ministry: to have the opportunity to testify that His love makes it possible to connect to people from different races without words, just by truly caring for a person.

 

This is something that I used everyday when working with at-risk adolescents in Tijuana.  Adolescents cannot embrace God if there is not someone that will truly show that they care for him or her.  In a city like Tijuana, the increasing violence and domestic and drug abuse makes it difficult for children and youth to understand that they are valuable and have a special purpose in life.

 

This is my passion: to connect teenagers to Christ and be able to offer opportunities where they can establish relationships with people (from Mexico and the United States) and situations where they can see and feel that God is the only way to a better life.

 

Proposed Work Plan 

Our world is changing rapidly and youth want to keep up with those changes. They don’t want to tune out of the world, they want to be able to identify with it and feel that they belong.  However, among all the change, they also desire stability and security and sometimes they don’t know where to find it.

 

How can we communicate to teens that there is stability in God, and still keep up with the radical changes in our world and growing city such as Tijuana?

 

This is one of the questions that I will address to establish an effective youth program with LHM and Proyecto Joel.

 

July / August 2008

 

Reality Day Retreat: How to tune into God?

Through research and effective communication with teens from diverse backgrounds, be able to start creating a curriculum/program that will have a strong foundation and will progressively and continuously motivate and change the way of thinking of the adolescents in the city of Tijuana.

 

Method —– Intense one-day retreat

 

The idea is to understand the preferences, opinions, feelings, happiness and fears of 10 adolescents from two different communities in Tijuana.  Through this activity, be able to gather some ideas on how to reach out to non -Christian teens in Tijuana and also to find new and improved ways to motivate teens to want to learn about God.

 

Sports Day Camp

Establish a connection with teens from four different Lutheran churches in the area of Tijuana by joining youth leaders from the CPTLN office and other youth to spend a day together sharing in Bible class and playing sports.

 

Activities will include:

Bible Class

Rally with Prizes

Team Sport (soccer/flag football)

 

Time: 8:30 AM to 4: 00 PM

 

Place: Parque Morelos

 

Date: To be announced

Training teachers in Tijuana

Through our connection with the social welfare agency in Tijuana known as DIF, we have organized a second teacher training for community day care workers.  Following in the able footsteps of our mission partner, psychologist Kathy from Washington state, Tere and new staff member Jhoselyn organized the day’s events.  There were 30 registered and 21 showed up for the Saturday training.  Pray that the Word they heard may fall on fertile ground.