Eager Steps

Bits from the Baja: E-mail Update 11/14/2011

2011-11-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
Please forgive the delay in communication. We are working on our combined summer/fall newsletter which will be full of pictures and information on our new home and ministry. Lord willing, it will be in your inbox and on its way to the post office by the end of the week. Thank you so much for your patience and for your prayers during this time of transition.

As you may recall, we had a team come from Fresno, CA last month to help with building bunk beds for the dormitory at the ranch and to hold health workshops (see photos above and descriptions below). We are so grateful for all that the team was able to accomplish in the short time they were here. The workshops in the Marquéz de Leon (MDL) neighborhood where we are planning the new church plant went really well. We are praising God for the new contacts that were made and the relationships developed with the director of the DIF center. (DIF is the agency responsible for the development of the family in Mexico.) DIF is thrilled to have the support and assistance in helping this very needy community.

This past weekend, there was an evangelistic festival held in La Paz. The theme was Saving the Family. As you are aware, the family is under attack everywhere and especially in Mexico. There is a 70% divorce rate and a high abuse rate here. Only Christ can transform lives and families. The event was a combined effort by the evangelical churches in La Paz. It was beautiful to see so many brothers and sisters working together. We look forward to seeing how the Lord brings fruit from this special outreach.

Next weekend, we will be kicking off the Saturday horse ministry at the ranch for this fall/winter. Please pray for us as we help out our coworkers, Pete and Cher Gatto and for the Lord to use this in the lives of all the children, youth and families who participate. There are some pressing needs at the ranch including the need for more corrals to be built. Please pray with us for the Lord’s provision for this urgent need.

Phil has been developing a relationship with our neighbor “S”. He walks every morning and has invited Phil to join him whenever he is able. Phil has had the opportunity to get to know him better through their walks. Please pray that “S” will see his need for a personal relationship with Jesus and find freedom from the lie that he needs to do things to earn his salvation.

As Thanksgiving draws near, we cannot help but be reminded once again of all the blessings the Lord has poured out upon us. You are among His greatest blessings to our family as you pray, support and encourage us in His work here. We pray you have a very blessed time celebrating all He has done for you and your families.

By His Grace,

The Eager Family

Photo Descriptions:

First photo: during the workshop
Remaning photos: We were responsible for the children’s program. These are from that portion of our time with them-playing games and getting to know them.

Bits from the Baja: E-mail Update 10/14/2011

2011-10-14T18:09:00.000-06:00

Saludos! (Greetings!)

We trust you are enjoying the change of seasons in the states. We are grateful to feel some change in the weather here. The tempuratures have lowered below the 100's. It is amazing what a 10 degree difference can do!
We are also grateful for a short term missions team from Fresno, CA that arrived yesterday. They will be helping to build some much needed bunk beds for the dormitory at the ranch. Please pray for safety and energy for those who are part of the construction team. If you are on Facebook, be sure to check out the ranch's page-Rancho El Camino in La Paz, BCS. It has a lot of great pictures from a recent baptism service, a group of at risk kids who visited the ranch with several members of the local police and much more. The team will also be holding some health related workshops in Marquez de Leon (MDL), the neighborhood we hope to start the new church plant. There will be a total of four workshops held tomorrow-two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Personal testimonies and the Gospel will be shared along with the workshops. Phil will helping head up the children's activities while adults and youth attend the workshops. Please pray for a great turnout and that the Lord will use this opportunity mightily in the lives of all who attend to build His Kingdom in MDL.

On a personal note, we have moved in all our furniture and unpacked many of our boxes. Eager Academy (our home school) just completed its 3rd week for this school year. It is nice to be getting into a routine again. We hope to finish unpacking and getting the last pieces settled soon. We continue to be in awe of how the Lord moved and provided this house for us. The Lord has already provided some neat connections with our neighbors. Please be in prayer as we reach out to them, especially for "M" a grandmotherly lady who always stops to greet us when she walks by and for "S" with whom Phil was invited to walk with in the mornings.

We hope to get a summer and fall prayer letter out to you soon. We appreciate your patience during this time of transition to a new city and ministry. As always, we are so thankful for your partnership with us.

By His Grace,
The Eager Family

What's in your cup?

2011-10-01T22:10:00.002-06:00

"If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful of sweet water cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted." Amy Carmichael

I read the above quote several years ago and it had a pretty convicting impact on me at the time. We were undergoing the usual stresses involved with being in a different culture and balancing all the demands of family and ministry. The Lord has continued to bring this quote to mind on numerous occasions and I have often paused to think, "What is spilling out of my cup right now....is it bitter or sweet water?"

The path to becoming more like Christ is a journey....day by day, laying aside our selfishness and pride, allowing sweet water to flow from us even when we are suddenly jolted rather than bitter water, even when we can justify lashing out from a human stanpoint. Here's to the journey....may we all overflow with sweet water no matter what jolts we experience in this earthly life-kids misbehaving, being misunderstood, sickness or death of loved ones...whatever it might be.

Grateful for His grace,
Pattie

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update: September 15, 2011

2011-09-15T12:07:00.002-06:00

Greetings from La Paz!

We wanted to thank you all for praying for us as we searched for a house. If you keep up with us on Facebook or our blog then you already know that great news of God's provision of a rental house literally within the first few days of our arrival. If you want the full story with all the details, check out the post below titled "Why Am I Surprised?" Please, continue to pray for us as we unpack and get more settled in. We are anxious to be done with unpacking and begin to focus more on ministry.

We have already met several times as a team with our new co-workers, Pete and Cher Gatto as well as others who are involved with the ministry here. It has been a blessing to be filled in all that God is already doing through the ranch ministry and making connections in the Marquez de Leon (MDL) neighborhood. Please pray with us that relationships already begun with individuals and families in MDL through the ranch's horse ministry and special outreaches will bear much fruit for the Kingdom. A team from California will be coming next month. They will be working with the health center/clinic in MDL and also hope to share some health related workshops in the school. They also plan to construct 16 much needed bunk beds for the ranch's dormitory. It is a blessing to have teams come to serve the Lord and the community. Please pray for safety and more connections to be made for sharing the Gospel and making disciples. An urgent need at the ranch is the completion of a roof for the bunk house. Please pray with us for the Lord's provision for this special need. If you want to get a better picture of what the Lord is doing through the ranch ministry, check out the website (link below) and read the blog postings by the summer interns. It will excite you what the Lord is doing!

Until we are ready to begin a more formal work in MDL, we will be attending TEAM's church plant here called La Paz de Cristo. They are holding an annual outreach tonight for Mexico's Independence Day. Please pray that the Lord will use this event to bring people closer to him. Please also pray for wisdom as there are many opportunities for ministering but we want to be sensitive to exactly what the Lord has for us and want to keep ourselves free to minister with the ranch and church planting in MDL.

Thank you once again for faithfully praying for us. We felt your prayers as we travelled back down the Baja and as we searched for the house the Lord had for us here. We are blessed to have you as our team.

By His grace,
The Eager family

Why am I Surprised?

2011-08-26T12:17:00.000-06:00

I had promised on Facebook more details on our house hunt and the house the Lord has provided. I decided I should also share the story here as well for those who are not on Facebook. I think I will just copy from my journal entry last night below to make it easier for me.

Disclaimer: It is fairly long so if you don't have the time to read all the details, the "Reader's Digest" version is that the Lord led us to just the right people at the right timing to a house that is VERY close to the neighborhood we plan to be working in and the ranch where our coworkers live. The owner also attends TEAM's church plan here in La Paz as well which we did not know until she got out of her car to show the house to us. :)

Now for the LONG version with all the details....

Matthew 7: 9-11 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

As I reflect over the last few days since our arrival in La Paz, I can't help but be overwhelmed. Overwhelmed in the best possible way at the goodness of God and the way He has ordered each step! So much so that I would love to blast some worship music right now. Seeing as it is almost 11pm though, I better not!

Earlier this evening, the Lord brought the verses to mind from Matthew 7. The Lord has been teaching me so much about prayer this past year and once again, I see I have so much to learn. It should not have surprised me how quickly He moved on our behalf for a house when so many scattered around the world were praying for that very thing!

On Tuesday, when we started our hunt, it was frustrating for so many reasons. Even though we've been here many times for meetings and conferences, we still don't really "know" the city-its streets, its neighborhoods, etc. Just when Phil and I were feeling discouraged about driving around seeming aimlessly, our good friend Alejandra called my cel and asked what we were doing. (She is from La Paz and has been a good friend since we were in language school. She was attending the seminary part of the school while we were there. Our family loves her and she has been a tremendous blessing to us.) She offered to help us. She helped with looking in the paper with us, making calls on our behalf regarding potential houses, narrowing down what parts of the city would be most ideally located for our ministry, etc.

That afternoon, we decided to drop Phil and the kids off back where we were staying so that Alejandra and I could drive around some and go to an appointment to see a house later. While driving around a neighborhood she felt would be a good one for our family, we saw a couple of larger houses that appeared to be empty but with no for rent signs posted. She suggested we stop and ask some of the neighbors. We met a mother and her son who is in his late 20's. They were both very helpful and the son asked us many questions about what we needed, what part of the city, etc. He then told us he had a friend whose family had moved to other parts and had two houses and perhaps we might be able to rent one. He offered to call her for us and arranged for us to meet up the next day to meet his friend and see her house.

Fast forward to the next day...Alejandra and I had seen some pretty dismal houses and my expectations were decreasing rapidly. I had resigned myself to the fact that probably any house we rent will need a lot of work. So, when followed the young man to his friend's house, I was instantly struck by how nice and well-kept it was from the outside. I even loved the color of it-a nice shade of green! When the owner arrived and got out of her car, Alejandra says to me in surprise, "I know her! She attends my church, La Paz de Cristo." At that moment, my spirit felt in awe because it seemed way too much of a "coincidence". It sure seemed as if the Lord was confirming that this was the place. It is a beautiful house-not perfect-but really well cared for and with three large bedrooms and patios outside. Plenty of room for the kids to play and to have people over.

Of course, the more analytical side of me started to take over later and I started to doubt. Maybe this is too quick. Maybe we should look more. Are we rushing God?, etc. So, that night, we had a really good talk with the kids and a time of prayer about the houses we had seen. There were two others that were ok but one of them would need some work before we could move in and the other was farther away from the part of the city we wanted to be in. We all felt that the green house was the best option in spite of the fact that it had only 1 bathroom. :) Phil suggested that we pray very specifically about it and for the Lord's confirmation. We decided to do a Gideon type of thing. We prayed that if this was the right house, that when we got the day's paper again that there would be no new ads that would fit our needs and that a lady who was also trying to find a house for us would not have found any options. Yesterday morning, there were no new ads and the lady did not have any housing options for us. It felt like total confirmation-just like when Gideon put the fleece out.

We went and saw the house one more time last night and ask the owner some of the questions we had thought of since our initial meeting with her. At the end, we had decided to offer the young man who had helped arrange it all some money for his expenses for gas and his cel phone but her refused it. Alejandra pointed out that it was perhaps another confirmation from the Lord because he was sincerely just trying to help out without expectation of monetary reward-truly a gift sent to us from the Lord...just like the house!

One of the best parts for me is that our kids got to be such an integral part in the whole process. I pray this has been a tremendous faith building lesson in each of their lives as well.

Bits from the Baja: E-mail Update 8/23/11

2011-08-26T12:10:00.000-06:00

Greetings from a very hot La Paz! We were told that it started to really heat up here last week. What a thoughtful welcome!

"Lord, put your angels around our tires. Surround our van right now. Be with Phil as he drives," was a repeated prayer during our second day of driving. We hit a couple of nasty stretches of construction where the road was completely torn up and blowing out our tires a very real concern. Thank you so much for praying us down. We sensed your prayers throughout the drive and we have no doubts that they contributed greatly to our safe arrival here in La Paz yesterday evening.

We would greatly appreciate your continued prayers as we search for just the right house for our family. We were able to check out several houses today and already have several appointments lined up for tomorrow. We are trusting that the Lord has just the right one out there for our family and we want to be sensitive to His leading.

By His Grace,
The Eager Family

Home Assignment Happenings (E-mail update): FINAL Edition for this Home assignment 8/18/11

2011-08-26T12:07:00.000-06:00

Greetings from near the border!

We are excited to let you know that we are on our way back to Mexico! We plan to cross the border early tomorrow (Friday) morning. Our home assignment has been full of so many blessings. It has been wonderful visiting with many of you over the course of the year and share firsthand what the Lord has been doing in Mexico. We are so grateful for the wonderful support team God has provided for us. Your prayers and encouragement keep us going! God is faithful and has provided all we were lacking for our return to ministry in the Baja. We praise Him especially for our newest partners, Leona Valley Community Church. They provided a home church for us during the second half of our home assignment and have been His hands and feet to our family.

As we return to Baja, here are some specific prayer requests:

· Smooth and safe travel down the peninsula to La Paz. Lord willing, we should arrive there on Sunday or Monday.

· Dealing with the transition well. We all made some wonderful friends during home assignment and miss them yet are excited to be returning to our adopted home in Mexico. Living in close proximity to so much family the past several months has also been a HUGE blessing that we are now missing as well. Emotions for everyone are going up and down quite a bit. Just tonight, while getting the kids into bed, Luke (3 yrs.) kept saying over and over, “Me want go home, me want go home.” Even in his little heart and mind, he senses the changes coming and wants the security of the home he knows at the camp. Pray that we will have wisdom and sensitivity to help each of our children through the transition well.

· Housing. We will be in a temporary housing arrangement and hope to find a house for rent as quickly as possible. Please pray with us that we find a great fit for our family and ministry needs. Ideally, we would love to find something and get moved in before the first of September so we can avoid the monthly rental fee on the storage unit where our furniture has been while on home assignment.

· Open doors for ministry. God continues to confirm to us that La Paz is the place He has for us right now. We are excited for the many opportunities He will provide for ministry.

Thank you again for your partnership with our family.

By His Grace,

The Eager Family

May Baptism Pics-See details in post below

2011-06-10T22:18:00.001-06:00

Home Assignment Happenings E-mail Update: 5/12/2011

2011-06-10T22:04:00.002-06:00

Warm Greetings from California!

We are excited to share the news that 9 teens and adults from Iglesia Emanuel were baptized on May 1^st.
(Pictures posted above-courtsey of the Reyes')

Our co-workers from San Jose report -

Each person has a unique story of how he or she came to know Jesus:

Samuel from Russia was led to Christ by his Mexican stepfather. Ricardo, a former drug addict, learned about Christ from Amarildo who was baptized last year. (Ricardo is second-from-the-left in the third photo. Two of the men are from his cell group and two are former alcoholics who have faithfully encouraged him.)

Daniel and Sinthia's mother told me to tell Art that they were interested in becoming Christians-could I ask Art to talk with them? (That is a VERY Latin way to communicate!) Their older sister was baptized with them. She had received Christ in her cell group last year.

It never gets tiring to see people following Christ and making this public commitment! We are especially excited that many youth took the next step in obedience. It is also thrilling to witness more fruit from Amarildo’s life and testimony. The three siblings mentioned are from a family whose initial contact was made through an outreach using EvangeCubes, a special tool for sharing the Gospel.

Iglesia Emanuel continues to grow in number and spiritually. The congregation voted to approve hiring a young Mexican pastor to come and co-pastor alongside our co-worker, Art Reyes. They are awaiting his response. Please pray as the church continues to move towards a completely nationally led congregation. It is wonderful to see them growing in so many ways.

Next week (May 16-20) is our field’s annual conference for the missionaries. Since we are based in Southern California for the remainder of our home assignment, we have decided to attend the conference as well as make a short visit to San Jose afterwards. In light of the growth of Iglesia Emanuel and the reality that it is transitioning to national leadership, this places us in a position of asking the Lord, “What’s next?” We have been praying and have been dialoguing with those at TEAM’s headquarters but we look forward to the opportunity to discuss all of the potential opportunities with our fellow teammates at the conference. It will also be a great pleasure to hear reports from all of the various ministries TEAM has in Mexico of what God is doing. Please pray for all of us who will be participating in the conference and that we would receive clear direction for our future ministry. We would also greatly appreciate your prayers for safety and an uneventful drive down and back.

Our goal remains to finish up our home assignment and return to the field in late July or early August. We praise the Lord for increase in our support level and trusting Him for the remainder as we continue to visit with several more churches in Southern California.

Thank you for your prayers and partnering with us!

The Eager Family

Where Do You Live?

2011-03-17T23:16:00.002-06:00

For most people, this question doesn’t generate any anxiety, concern, confusion or related emotions. However, for our family right now, it is an especially hard question. With all the transitions we have faced and continue to face on the mission field, here on home assignment right now and as we plan and prepare for our return to Mexico, it becomes increasingly more difficult. Our seven year old, Micah, summed it up really well a few weeks ago when he cheerfully and matter of factly said, “We don’t live anywhere, we live everywhere!”

In all honesty, at the time, I did not know whether to laugh or cry. Laugh because it is comical in a sense all of the places we’ve been. Cry because I know he is lacking something I had growing up-the sense of security and permanence that living in one house for most of your growing up years can provide. It also reminded me of the Bible’s teaching about the reality that this world is NOT our home. But, oh, at times, it is still hard to not long for that sense of security and permanence that a fixed address seems to provide.

Recent events in our lives have had me pondering these issues once again…where do you live? At this point in our lives and ministry, there seem to be more questions than answers regarding our future. I confess that I am what I like to call a “recovering control freak” as step by shaky step, I am learning to yield control over to the Lord-it was really always His anyways, right?! So, you can imagine that unknowns tend to stress me out. Well, I have just been through several experiences that have filled me with such peace that I KNOW could ONLY come from Him. This recovering control freak could never have mustered this sense of deep, abiding peace on her own-that is for sure!

You see, as our world, some of our dreams were shaken the other day and we felt blind sided-He showed up in such a powerful and undeniable way for me. This experience with my Savior has been such a growing, testing one and at times painful but oh so worth it for the glimpses of Him and His enfolding embrace I felt and continue to feel.

As I sat contemplating where we will live, He brought me to a quote that I felt He placed for me to find at just the right moment to bear fruit in my life. For you see, the idea was not all that new or profound but it was for me at that moment. The quote is, “Make God your permanent residence. Everything else is just temporary.” I don’t even know who said it first but oh the profound truth for me in that moment. That longing for security and permanence-fulfilled when I chose to make Him my PERMANENT residence. My tears over what felt like a lost dream turned to peace and joy knowing that the dream lost wasn’t lost at all-for HE is my one hope and my dream-everything else truly is temporary.

Then we went to church in the morning and every song was like a resounding confirmation to TRUST completely in Him and to LIVE in Him. God knew I needed that extra reminder of what He’d shown me the night before. Those songs had been planned days, perhaps weeks, before but He knew exactly what I needed that morning.

Blessed Be Your Name reminded me that even though He gives and takes away, I still need to choose to praise Him and it reminded me of what a pastor once spoke about that song-how if we cling too tightly to something, then our hands cannot be open to receive what God wants to give us in its place. So, while that dream had looked so good, I am now expectant and excited for the new one He will give.

Another song spoke of how sweet it is to trust in Jesus and I think, in that moment, I finally understood completely what those lyrics meant even though I’d been singing that hymn practically since I learned to speak.

Finally, another old hymn held such power and meaning as never before-I Surrender All. O Father, I do surrender it all-our future, my control freak ways… EVERYTHING! Towards the end of the song, it actually says, “In His presence daily live.” I can’t say that the line ever held such meaning to me before.

So, back to the original question, where do you live?

Home Assignment Happenings (E-mail update): March 2, 2011

2011-03-02T17:24:00.002-07:00

Warm greetings from the Phoenix area!

We left California this past weekend just before the camp we are staying at was to be hit by a snow storm. The kids were a bit disappointed but we were grateful to have escaped. We realized after the first two snows there that we are no longer used to the cold and especially snow! However, we are thankful that our kids' prayers for snow to play in have been answered! (I will attach a picture of them.)

We are currently participating in a missions conference in Sun City, Arizona. It has been a wonderful time of teaching and encouragement. We love sharing what God is doing in Mexico and we absolutely love hearing what He is doing all over the world as well. We greatly appreciate your continued prayers for safety when we need to travel in order to visit churches and individuals.

We have not had a lot to report the past several months. Much of our time has been spent settling in to the trailer we are living in at the camp and connecting with people and churches. We are grateful for the continued opportunities the Lord has provided for us to share what the He is doing in Mexico. We feel especially blessed by the Lord's guidance to a nearby church for us to attend while living there. It reminds us a lot of our church in Mexico because of how warm and welcoming everyone is.

Before closing out, we want to share a bit from a report we received from our co-workers in San Jose del Cabo. We are praising the Lord that several newer youth have accepted Christ. Please pray with us that they will continue to grow spiritually and become leaders within the youth group and the church. They have also asked prayer for several who are struggling spiritually. Please pray particularly for one young lady who is choosing to marry later this month against the wishes of her family and for another young man who has decided he wants nothing more to do with his faith. We know that the prayers of God's people are powerful and effective. Thank you for rejoicing with us for those who have come to know Him and for standing with us in prayer for those in need.

By His Grace,
Phil and Pattie

Home Assignment Happenings (E-mail update): Nov. 8, 2010

2010-11-08T20:09:00.004-07:00

Greetings from Iowa!

No, we have not fallen off the face of the earth but have driven well over 3000 miles since our last update and over 7000 since the start of our Home Assignment in June. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers as we travel. We continue to praise the Lord for no major difficulties throughout the many miles. It has been a tremendous blessing to be able to reconnect with so many of you as we have visited in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York the past few months. What a joy to be able to share what God is doing in Mexico with so many people! We will be finishing up our time in the Midwest just after Thanksgiving. We will be heading for warmer climates to visit in Texas and ultimately finishing the final half of our home assignment in California. We look forward to continuing to speak in churches and share with many more people.

We would greatly appreciate your continued prayers for safety as we travel as well as for the challenges we face with home schooling in the midst of the many transitions. The kids have been wonderful troopers through it all and have really enjoyed being able to participate in Awana even while we are on the road. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm and excitement for committing the Word of God to memory. There have also been some great opportunities for field trips in many places including: Philadelphia, Washington DC and Chicago which have helped bring to life what they have been learning in their classes.

Meanwhile in Mexico...

· Several of our youth and their families have been going through some difficult times. Please pray that God would be honored and put first.

· Amarildo continues to share the gospel and has earned the nickname of the church evangelist. It is wonderful to hear that he is so passionate about following Christ and sharing Him with those the Lord brings across his path.

· Please pray for Phil's friend, Manuel, with whom he was meeting weekly with for Bible study. Phil has been unable to reach him by phone because his phone has been disconnected and it appears the restaurant where he was working is closed so no one is sure where he is right now. We know that the Lord knows where he is and are praying that he continues to study the Word and seek the Lord and fellowship with other believers.

· Praise God with us that Iglesia Emanuel continues to grow!

Thank you never seems enough to express how grateful we are for your partnership with us....God bless you for the sacrifices you make both in time (your prayers and encouraging notes) and financially.

By His Grace,

Phil and Pattie

Home Assignment Happenings (E-mail update): Aug. 13, 2010

2010-08-13T14:20:00.006-06:00

Greetings from Indiana!
We are about to embark on the next part of our Home Assignment Journey to the East. After leaving California, we headed to TEAM headquarters in the Chicago area in order to have a time of debrief in the office, medical checks and a special TEAM conference for missionaries who are on home assignment as well as visit friends and churches in the area. It was a very full, but wonderful month! We feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to reconnect with so many already and this is just the beginning. The Lord has provided some excellent friendships for our children along the way which is an added blessing for them. We are excited to continue reconnecting with many of you as we travel to various regions.

Many of you already have heard via Facebook: I (Pattie) took a nasty fall from the back of our van while we were loading up to leave California, requiring a visit to the ER, some stitches and quite a bit of pain. We just wanted to make sure you knew that I am doing really well now and pretty much all healed. Thank you for your prayers as we travel, we really appreciate them so much and know that this particular incident could have been much worse if not for many people praying. I have been joking that there seems to almost always be one ER visit during our trips so it is good we got it out of the way at the beginning this time!

We recently received an e-mail with excellent news from our coworkers, Art and Vicki Reyes. We have asked prayer for Amarildo in the past who we first got to know in our cell group. He had stopped by our home various times as well, asking for prayers and counsel about some difficult family situations andd his struggles with alcoholism. Phil had been able to encourage him and share with him the SALT discipleship materials we have found very helpful. Before our departure, we could see much growth and enthusiasm about his new and growing faith. I am going to share an excerpt (bolded) from our coworker's e-mail about Amarildo. We felt like dancing with joy when we read it and we hope it encourages you as well. It reminded us that often, God uses many people and circumstances in a person's life to bring them to faith and to help them grow just like is happening in Amarildo's life.

"Art, would you come over? I am trying to explain the Gospel to Ricardo, but I need some help!" Amarildo called at 10:30 pm last Friday night.

Amarildo has just recently understood that salvation is by faith, not by good works. He is very excited and is trying to evangelize his world! Ricardo did decide to follow Christ. Now, Amarildo wants to disciple him.

Yesterday, Amarildo knocked on our gate. He had two young women with him. They were looking for work. I gave them some breakfast and groceries and began to explain how the Lord uses hard times so that we seek Him.

"I was planning to talk to them about God," Amarildo pulled out a Bible. "Let them eat their breakfast, and I will tell them. You can go back to whatever you are doing."

I was a little shocked, but quite amused!

Please pray for Rosa and Angelica who heard the Gospel yesterday.

Amarildo plans to be baptized in two weeks.

Thank you again for your partnership with sharing the Good News in Mexico and being a part of the chain that helped bring Amarildo to faith and those he will in turn lead to the Lord. Please continue to pray for him and for healing in his family in the days ahead. Please also continue to keep our youth in your prayers. There are several who are really struggling with obedience to their parents. Please pray for wisdom for the parents and that the youth would seek to glorify God above ALL else in their lives.

By His Grace,
Phil and Pattie

Bits from the Border E-mail Update: June 22, 2010

2010-06-22T11:57:00.001-06:00

Greetings from Southern California!

After departing San Jose del Cabo a day and a half later than planned and some very long days driving, we crossed the border and arrived here late Saturday evening. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement as we finished up the difficult task of packing up our entire house for storage or to bring with us and the emotional process of saying goodbyes for the time being. We are extremely grateful for Phil's sister, Karen, who helped us so much in caring for our kids so we could complete packing and clearing out our house. Without her help, we would probably still be there working. Thank you as well for your prayers for safety in our travels. We are grateful to have had a fairly uneventful trip up the Baja.

We would appreciate your continued prayers for our children with the continuing transitions as we travel to many different places. It was esepcially difficult for Josh and Abby to say goodbye to their close friends in Mexico. We are also discovering that while Micah and Luke are not as verbal about their struggles, they are finding other ways to demonstrate the stress they are experiencing. Please pray that we would have wisdom in how best to support and help them through all fo these transitions and that we would maintain healthy, God honoring balances during our home assignment.

We are looking forward to seeing many of you while we travel. After visiting a supporting church in the LA area this coming Sunday, we will start the trip across the states that will have us ending up at TEAM's headquarters in the Chicago area around July 11th. From there, we will be making trips East, throughout the Midwest and finally through Texas before heading back to California to set up a home base for the remainder of our home assignment. We are so grateful for one of our supporting churches here in Southern California (FCC of El Centro) who gave our van a complete tune up for the next phase of our journey. What a HUGE blessing!

Please keep our youth leadership team and the adults who will be supervising them at Iglesia Emanuel in your prayers. We know that they are very capable of leading the group and are so proud of them though it was hard to say goodbye. Pray that they would continue to grow and flourish in their faith and reach out to their friends with Christ's love. Please also pray for Manuel who Phil has been meeting with weekly for Bible studies. He is so hungry to learn and filled with many questions. Pray that he will connect well with the man the church leadership decides to have continue meeting with him. The picture is of Phil with Manuel.

Thank you again for all of your love, prayers and encouragement. We could never say enough how much you all mean to us and express fully how your partnership has enabled us to serve in Mexico. Gracias!

By His Grace,

Phil and Pattie

Thoughts & Excerpts from today's My Utmost for His Highest reading by Oswald Chambers

2010-05-14T09:42:00.002-06:00

My sister gifted me with a copy of this little devotional booklet when I was a senior in high school(1992). I have red through it many times since then and it never ceases to amaze me the depth of insight God gave this godly man and how He continues to use these words to work in my life. I just wanted to share a little of what challenged me this morning.

"It is not a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved in order to manifest the life of the Son of God in our mortal flesh, and it is the disagreeable things which make us exhibit whether or not we are manifesting His life...You must keep yourself fit to let the life of the Son of God be manifested, and you cannot keep yourself fit if you give way to self-pity. Our circumstances are the means of manifesting how wonderfully perfect and extraordinarily pure the Son of God is...Keep your soul fit to manifest the life of the Son of Gd. Never live on memories; let the word of God be always living and active in you."

O Lord, it is so easy to give way to self pity, especially when we feel we are entitled to something we did not receive or something happens that we feel we did not deserve. Help us to always live in You and Your Word and not in experiences which can change so dramatically from one day to the next. O Lord, I thank you that even when everything might be changing around us, You and Your Word will NEVER change.

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update: May 12, 2010

2010-05-12T23:48:00.010-06:00

“It was ‘T’ that was pulling us and encouraging us to come to church,” explained a mother of one of our youth group members who began attending around the beginning of the year. They had invited us over for carne asada (steak) tacos about a week ago. She went on to explain to Pattie how much their daughter loved coming to youth group and how she never wanted to miss. She continued with sharing how most of their family enjoyed attending church when they could, however, asked us to pray for their son who is 10 years old does not like it and tries to make excuses not to go. Please pray for this family. While they are living as a family, the man and woman are not legally married and struggling in their relationship. Please pray that ‘B’ and ‘C’ would come to know the Lord in a personal way and then seek to obey Him in their relationship and as a family. From a human perspective, it is a very messy and complicated situation but isn’t it wonderful how our God delights in taking messes and making them beautiful for His glory?!

We are also thrilled to mention that we had six people desire to follow in obedience and be baptized last month (photos above). The mother, uncle and grandmother of one of our youth were part of the group as well as two of our youth. Both Josué and Arturo are part of our youth leadership team as well. We cannot even begin to describe the emotions we feel as we continue to see many of the youth growing and maturing in their faith. We will miss them dearly while away for our home assignment.

In a few hours Phil’s sister, Karen, will start her journey from Alaska arriving here tomorrow afternoon. She has graciously offered to come and help us out as we prepare for our upcoming home assignment. The days seem to be flying by and June 16th seems way too soon. We appreciate your prayers as we determine what to pack to take with us, what to leave behind, etc. We look forward to reconnecting with so many of you first hand while we will be back in the states. Please also continue to pray for our kids as the reality and emotions of leaving behind home continue to surface more and more as the date draws closer. Pray that we would have the wisdom and sensitivity they need right now as they process through this transition.

Delighting with you in the One who renews and restores!
Phil and Pattie

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update: April 9, 2010

2010-04-09T17:51:00.002-06:00

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you do not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2,3

As we prepared to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Savior, we could not help but be filled anew with the awe and wonder of His great sacrifice for us and be encouraged by these verses to follow his example in our lives. We pray that you had a meaningful weekend celebrating our risen Lord and his great sacrifice.

Phil had the privilege of leading a group of our youth to Rancho el Camino in La Paz where they participated in a special youth camp organized by the church there. The theme was related to Surviving and being Soldiers of Christ. We are so grateful for the clear Gospel presentation that was made as well as the challenges to believers to go deeper in their faith, living it out on a daily basis. Please pray with us that the seeds planted during the camp bear much fruit in the lives of our youth. (The picture is one taken of Phil with our youth who attended the camp.)

With the arrival of April, we also completed our first 4 years here full time. In so many ways, it seems the time has flown. We feel so blessed to be a small part of what the Lord is doing here in Mexico. With the completion of our first term, we will be making our preparations for our first home assignment beginning the middle of June. We greatly appreciate your prayers as we will need to pack up our entire house for storage while we are in the states in the midst of our normal activities and ministry. Please pray for wisdom as we decide what to take with us on our trip, what to leave behind and what we should give away. It is good to remember that this earth is not our home and an opportunity to get rid of some nonessentials and hopefully blessing others who may have need of them. We will also be driving many miles and are grateful for prayers for safety and sanity as we begin by driving up the Baja and then across the states to the Midwest, out East and eventually down South and back West again.

What a difference four years can make in the lives of our children as well. Four years ago, when we arrived, Abby insisted she would not learn Spanish and she wanted to go back to the states “to be by family and where they speak English” and she now has two especially dear friends, Regina and Elisa. Josh knew a few words of Spanish and now is quite fluent, sometimes even helping translate things. Micah wasn’t really even talking yet and is now about to finish Kindergarten. They are now experiencing the flip side as they anticipate a separation from many dear friends, their dog and the house they have come to call home. They are also excited to see family and friends so you can imagine some of the emotional roller coasters we are currently navigating. Please pray that we will be sensitive to their needs and that we would make these weeks before our departure ones filled with precious memories to carry with them while they are apart from their life here.

As always, we are incredibly humbled and grateful for your support for us in prayers, encouragement and giving. We look forward to seeing many of you in person while we are back in the states for our home assignment.

By His Grace,
Phil and Pattie

E-mail update: March 11, 2010

2010-03-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

"So you are the one doing a Bible study with Manuel! He is often sharing what he is studying and learning here with us," exclaimed our waitress to Phil on a recent lunch at the restaurant where Manuel works. It is so encouraging to hear that not only is he learning and growing but is also choosing to share it with those around him. This is how it should be! Please keep this Bible study in your prayers. Manuel also recently asked Phil for prayer because the restaurant has not been paying him for several months. He has been living on his tips. He has been looking for a new job but the economic situation is very difficult right now. Please pray that he would find another job, especially one that would free him up to attend church on Sundays and participate in a cell group. Please also continue to pray for Manuel's friend; that the door would open for a study with him as well. He's shown interest in spiritual things and is struggling in his marriage.

We have been blessed with an overflowing youth group the past several weeks. We have had numerous visitors. It is encouraging to have our youth inviting their friends. One of the new visitors who has been attending faithfully for over a month now also invited her parents to church. They not only have attended fairly consistently but also came to a special evening of celebration for Valentine's Day at the church. They are not believers and are also having marital problems. We are confident that it is no accident that their daughter was invited to our youth group and invited them to start attending church. Please pray with us that they would first of all come to know Jesus, the great healer of their souls and then find healing in their marriage.

Last week, we were blessed to be able to take a short vacation to the city of Guadalajara on the mainland. There are three couples with TEAM who have in recent years and months begun making contacts to begin sharing the gospel. It was marvelous to see what the Lord is doing there and visit another part of Mexico we have never seen before.

In a few weeks, we will be celebrating 4 years here in San Jose del Cabo full time. Our first term has truly flown by. This has caused us to do much reflection and praising the Lord for what He has been doing and will continue to do. We will be departing for our home assignment in June in order to make it to TEAM's headquarters in the Chicago area in time for our scheduled debrief and their annual conference held for missionaries returning on home assignment in July. We look forward to touching base with many of you personally and sharing first hand what the Lord has been doing. We are not so excited about all the details of home assignment which include packing up our entire house for storage while we are gone and trying to finish the home school materials before our departure amidst our regular ministry activities. We are trusting the Lord for strength, wisdom and provision for our home assignment. If you would specifically pray for inexpensive, secure storage here in San Jose and wisdom in how best to complete school or the majority of the materials before our June departure, we would greatly appreciate it.

Grateful for your prayers, encouragement and support,
Phil and Pattie

Quick Update

2010-02-02T11:28:00.002-07:00

Greetings from the Baja!

I (Pattie) arrived back home last Wednesday. We were all very happy to be together again. Thank you so much for your prayers and messages regarding the procedure. We are praising God that it was confirmed to be a non-cancerous cyst. My recovery from the anesthesia was also very quick and without a single negative side effect. I am convinced this was due to all the prayers being poured out on my behalf since I have never had such a good experience with anesthesia. Our return trip also went very smoothly thanks to your prayers. We were fortunate to once again have the entire aisle to ourselves during the flight as well as neighbors who didn't mind a little curly blond head peaking over the seat from time to time to say "Hola!" or "Hallo!" (his version of Hello). It was also a HUGE blessing to spend some time with my sister and her family and get to know my new little niece, Sophia Ann.

With a heart overflowing with gratefulness,

Pattie

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update Jan. 19, 2010

2010-01-19T22:32:00.002-07:00

"Would it be ok, if my friend came and studied the Bible with us? He has a lot of questions that I am not sure how to answer and has a lot of struggles right now in his personal life and marriage." Manuel asked Phil at their last study together. We are praising God for the desire he has to share what he is learning with those close to him. Please pray that M is able to meet more regularly now that the holidays are past and his work schedule should lighten up some. Pray that his friend is also able to attend and that the time in the Word would draw him to the Lord and bring healing to his soul and marriage.

We have also had quite a few visitors to youth group over the past several weeks. Please pray for these new contacts, many of whom probably do not have a personal relationship with Christ. This month, we are teaching the lessons on the Spiritual aspect of our lives, our relationship with God, from the discipleship materials we received training on this past fall. Please pray that the Lord would use the studies to work in their hearts and lives.

On a personal note, the Lord opened up the doors in a very speedy and remarkable way for me (Pattie) to come to the states to have the noncancerous cyst removed from my jawline. The procedure will be taking place tomorrow at 3:30 pm pacific time. I would greatly appreciate your prayers. Luke came with me to the and has had a very difficult time being in a new place and separated from most of his family. He has been very clingy. Please pray that he does fine while I am gone for about 3 hours tomorrow. I am sure that Phil also appreciates your prayers since he is doing a lot of extra work while I am away including, cooking and doing the kids' home school. It will be nice when we can all be together again next Wednesday. I will be flying out of LAX at 1pm. Please pray for an uneventful return trip and ease going through security at the airport with Luke.

Thank you again for your faithful prayers and support of our family and ministry here in Mexico. As we contemplate the start of a new year, we always like to go back to one of our favorite passages that we have claimed as a personal vision for our ministry from Isaiah 61:1-4

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Grateful to be serving with you, striving to see this vision a reality, one person at a time!
Phil and Pattie

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T14:57:00.003-07:00

Warm Christmas Greetings from the Baja!

We trust this finds you all doing well and enjoying this season of celebrating our Savior's birth. Our youth are participating in tonight's Christmas Eve celebrating with a dramatization of the story of the Three Trees and a special song. Please pray that their presentation goes smoothly and that above all Christ is glorified.

The most recent edition of our prayer letter is now posted. You can view it by clicking on the link to the left for our prayer letters and select the Fall/Winter 2009 letter. We hope this enables you to pray more effectively for the ministry here and are encouraged by what the Lord is doing.

¡Feliz Navidid!
The Eager Family

Shutting the Lions' Mouths

2009-12-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

You really think I would have learned by now that God answers prayer or not doubt that He will. Last night I had the opportunity to witness this in a very tangible way.

We had two visitors to our cell group last night who I immedeately felt the need to pray for since they had very obviously been drinking. One of them actually gave me the sense of having evil intensions. Maybe it was just me, I don't know. He just seemed very in your face at times. He gave me a very uneasy feeling and I discovered later that I was not the only one who sensed that after hearing comments made by some of the other ladies. While we were having our opening prayer time when Phil had opened for requests and praises, they jumped right in and often would interrupt when others were trying to share...it was interesting to say the least. I was very proud of Phil for the patience and grace he handled the situation. I was a little concerned about if they kept it up when Phil was to do the Bible study though since I knew it would be hard to try teaching with all the extra talking, interruptions, etc. and they really needed to hear the lesson. God put in my mind the story of Daniel and the lions and immediately I began to pray, "Lord, you shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel, please, shut the mouths of these men and open their ears and hearts to listen.Take away the effects of the alcohol and give them clarity of thought and understanding of Your Word." To be honest, I was not sure what would happen (o me of little faith) because I also know that God does not always answer our prayers as we see fit....He ALWAYS answers, just not always in the WAY we would expect or want. When Phil gave the lesson, neither one said a word, NOT A SINGLE WORD the ENTIRE time!!! They also appeared to be very attentive to the lesson on why Jesus came...to die for us which is the real meaning of Christmas.

God is so good, reminding me once again that all it takes is a little faith....because that is what I had. He is so much greater than my human mind can wrap itself around even though I often try to confine Him to the box of my reality or my understanding. Merry Christmas! I pray that we experience Him in new and exciting ways this year.

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update: Nov. 2009

2009-11-18T23:22:00.002-07:00

No power and mold infestation in our bedroom were part of the unpleasant welcome we received upon our return home after about a month of travel to the states and back. I (Pattie) remember reading something a while ago that said something to the effect that our reaction to difficulties will reveal instantly upon whom we rely. I wish I could say that I was totally at peace about things but I would be lying to you. It was really hard at first and many tears of frustration fell. However, in the midst of that, I also knew that God was using this to reaffirm things we had learned in the SALT workshops (discipleship materials) we had attended in Phoenix while in the states. Don't you love how God helps make what you are learning so practical?! He loves to provide us with opportunities to put into practice what He is teaching us. In the midst of the clean up and my tears, I could sense His still small voice saying, "it will be ok. This hurts so much because underneath it all, you were made for more. You were made with a longing for perfection and completeness that only I can give to you. You WILL experience it one day...in Heaven." So for now, I am so grateful for His loving reminder that it is ok to not be satisfied with this life and that He made us for something so much more...Heaven seems sweeter and sweeter all the time, doesn't it?

While in the states, we were blessed with the opportunity to not only attend the very helpful workshops already mentioned but to also spend some precious time with family, friends and several supporting churches. I was also able to see a Dermatologist about a cyst located on my jaw line which has been growing. We are very thankful that he confirmed that it is not cancerous. Unfortunately, he was not able to remove it but a plastic surgeon will need to perform the procedure. We did not have enough time left in the states to get it taken care of. Because we were cautioned that it was important to have it removed as soon as possible because as it grows, it will get more difficult to remove, we are investigating the possibility of a quick trip up for myself in January to have it taken care of. Please, pray that we will be able to locate a plastic surgeon in the Fresno area that will be able to perform the procedure and be sympathetic to my need to be in the states for as little time as possible. (We are hoping it will only be 7-10 days.)

As Thanksgiving approaches in a week, like probably many of you, we are focusing more and more of all we have to be thankful for. We are so grateful for you all. Your interest in what God is doing in the lives of the people here, your prayers, your notes, etc. are what help keep us going. Thank you for allowing God to use you in our lives and ministry. We are also thankful for...

Manuel who has such a deep desire to know and understand the Word who Phil has been studying the Bible with. We are trusting that He will choose to follow Christ.

We are thankful for the youth on our youth leadership team who are maturing and using their gifts and who helped run youth group smoothly while we were gone.

We are thankful for Karina, one of the older, college age youth who has an interest in going to Bible school to study music and youth ministry.

We are thankful for the ladies in the women's Bible study who are studying the Word, growing and starting to help lead as well.

We are thankful for the couples attending the monthly marriage seminars our coworkers are providing who want to improve and grow their marriage for His glory.

Most of all, we are thankful for Jesus. When all is said and done, it is ALL about Him and for Him anyways. Isn't it amazing to be a part of what He is doing?!

With Grateful Hearts,

The Eager Family

The picture above is one taken of our family in the mountains while we were visiting the states.

I love my kids...

2009-09-22T22:19:00.002-06:00

...Not that there was any doubt but I just had to share something that happened yesterday.

We started the One Verse Sonlight Project this week. It is a program to help build awareness for the need to translate the Bible into languages that do not have one and the many that do not have even one verse in their language. Part of the project is to save money to help translate at least one verse. They figure the cost of translating one verse is approximately $26. When I first mentioned it (before watching the videos, reading the story and seeing the slide show) both of our oldest were asking if we were going to make them give their own money. I told them no, only if they felt led to give but that as a family we could maybe make a special jar to save up money and see if we could at least raise enough for one or two verses. Well, after going through all the materials online, I simply told them to think and pray about two things: If they feel that God is leading them to give and if so, how much. I also reminded them that this was not required and that we were not forcing them to give anything.

A couple hours later, Josh comes up to me and says, "You know mom, I already have a leapster. I don't REALLY need the Nintendo DSI I have been saving for. I want to pay for a verse all on my own out of the money I have saved up." What you need to understand is that he has been saving up his Christmas money, birthday money and weekly allowances for literally months now with the hopes of saving enough by the time we go to the states next month so he can buy one there where it costs a lot less. He has talked a lot about this and was really excited about it. I know that for him this is a sacrifice but I am so proud of his decision. Shortly after this, Abby came to me and told me she wanted to pay for a verse out of the money she has been saving to buy a camera of her own. Once again, doubly proud momma here!

It also has gotten me thinking about those things that maybe I don't REALLY need and how I can be more giving and sacrifical. I love how our children can teach us so much sometimes.

Summer 2009 Edition of Eager Steps Now Available

2009-09-22T17:29:00.007-06:00

Hot and humid greetings from the Baja!

While many of you may be feeling the start of fall weather and possibly never felt like you had much of a summer, we are still in the midst of summer weather here. Today's temperature was 95 with 36% humidity and heat index of 98. It hardly feels like the Midwestern Fall weather I am used to growing up! I just keep reminding myself that come December and January, I will be happy for our weather here.

This is to let you know that our most recent edition of our prayer letter "Eager Steps" is ready. All you need to do is click on the link to the left for our prayer letters to read it. It is in PDF format. If you do not have Adobe Reader, you can download it for free at www.adobe.com.

We apologize for the delay in completing our summer letter. We had several weeks with one thing after the other happen, starting with Hurricane Jimena. Our most recent "adventure" was with van problems which left us stranded for a few days in the capital of La Paz over the weekend. We were dropping off items collected by our churches here for hurricane relief in one of the cities North of us. We hope that you enjoy reading about what God is doing in Southern Baja and are able to pray for the individuals mentioned in our letter.

Please, keep us updated on your lives and ministries when you are able. We count it a privilege to pray for you as well.

By His Grace,
Pattie

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update: Sept. 5, 2009

2009-09-05T10:02:00.001-06:00

Greetings once again!

Thank you so much for your prayers! We are happy to report that Hurricane Jimena did not hit us directly and did not cause the damage which a category 4 hurricane would typically do. We received quite a bit of rain, some wind, and a little loss of power (only about 5 hours) but nothing bad. Further up the coast, it was a different story. We would appreciate your prayers for these areas, especially Ciudad Constitución, which have quite a bit of rebuilding to do. Please pray for wisdom in how best we can serve and help with the needs they are experiencing.

We are praising God for quite a large number at our cell group last night, especially children (18!). There is a newer visitor who is bringing many from her neighborhood. Please pray with us that the parents would desire to come as well, to study the Bible and learn more about God. It was wonderful to see Jaime's friend "G" return. Please pray with us that he would continue to seek the truth and would find freedom from his alcoholism.

Tomorrow, Iglesia Emanuel will begin a series of monthly, workshops to help build marriages. Considering that the last statistics we read reported the divorce rate here as 70%, this is definitely a great need. Please pray that the couples attending would have their marriages strengthened and be shining testimonies of God's grace at work in their personal lives and as a couple.

Thank you once again for your prayers during the storm and your continued prayers, encouragement and support for our ministry.

By His Grace,
Phil and Pattie

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update: Hurricane Jimena Edition (August 31, 2009)

2009-08-31T08:07:00.002-06:00

Greetings from a cloudy Baja!

This will probably be short since it is starting to sprinkle and we have been having issues with losing our power when it rains. You may already be aware of Hurricane Jimena that is heading our way. Every other hurricane has turned back out to sea when it got close since we have been here, however, it does not appear that it will be happening this time around. We would especially like to ask prayer for those who are living in little more than shacks and the potentially devastating effects this could have here. The economy was already struggling greatly due to the economic crisis and the swine flu but this will add yet another blow to the people here who are already struggling. Please pray that these difficult times will not drive people to desperation but to seek the only true and lasting hope in Jesus. Please pray that Iglesia Emanuel will continue to be a light in the community in the midst of the darkness.

Quick update on Phil's study with "M"...he showed much interest in knowing more about the Bible and spiritual things. It is obvious he has some knowledge but also misinformation as well. It is very encouraging to see someone hunger and thirst to know more though and we are praising God for this opportunity. There are other stories we could tell about what the Lord is doing but you will have to wait for our prayer letter which will hopefully be completed and sent out soon.

On a personal note, we have had sickness hitting one family member or another almost the entire summer but this month it has been a flu bug that has been pretty nasty. Everyone has had it except for Pattie (because Mommas aren't allowed to get sick, right?). Unfortunately, it appears the Luke may be entering round 2 with it so we would also greatly appreciate your prayers for health right now. He was up early this morning with a fever and we hope to get him in to the Dr. this morning before the weather worsens because he may need an antibiotic.

As always, thank you for partnering with us and for your prayers.
By His Grace,
Phil and Pattie

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update: August 27, 2009

2009-08-27T11:45:00.002-06:00

“Jaime died! Jaime died last night!” was Lina and Irene’s greeting to us a couple weeks ago on Sunday morning at church. (Jaime is “J” who has been attending our cell group and for whom we have been asking prayer regarding his struggle with alcoholism.) Since he was alone and poor, there was no family to claim the body (this process includes paying the govt. a fairly large sum). As a church body, we felt it important to claim the body and hold a memorial service since he had been attending our cell group regularly in spite of his ongoing personal struggles. This provided an opportunity in the community and among his friends (many of whom are struggling alcoholics, including “G”) to share the Gospel as well as a powerful testimony. Please, continue to pray for his friend “G” as well as many others who attended the memorial service and have expressed interest in turning their lives around. A resulting blessing for us has been to see several in our cell group determine to reach out more to Jaime’s friends, visiting them and sharing with them. They have seen the need and are doing something about it.

Right on the heels of Jaime's death, our field was holding its annual conference of missionaries where the various ministry areas report on what the Lord is doing, discuss future plans as well as business matters and have a special time of encouragement through a special speaker. This year, we had the added blessing of one of our supporting churches, FCC of El Centro, California send a team who helped minister to all of the missionary families. They ministered to our children and youth as well as cooking our meals during the conference. We are so grateful for their willingness to come and serve our families.

We would like special prayer today for Phil as he will be meeting with a gentleman to begin a bible study this afternoon. “M” is a waiter at a local taco place. Over time, we have been able to develop a relationship with him and have invited him to our cell group and church. Unfortunately, his work schedule has made it difficult to attend either. However, the last time we were there, he told us that he has a bible someone gave him and has tried to read it but does not understand it and wants help. Phil will begin meeting with him today to do a series of studies. Please pray for Phil to be able to explain clearly and for “M” to understand.

Once again, we are overwhelmed with your love, concern and prayers for us. Your partnership with us is such a blessing. Thank you for your prayers and for being a part of our ministry team.

By His Grace,
Phil and Pattie

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update: July 31, 2009

2009-07-31T12:30:00.002-06:00

Greetings once again from hot and steamy Mexico!

This summer seems to be rushing by at the speed of light for us. There are so many things going on and lots of exciting stuff happening. We’ll try to highlight a few:

In our previous update, we mentioned “J” and “G” who have attended our cell group. Thank you for your prayers for them. They both returned the following week and once again, it was very apparent that they had been drinking. At the end “G”, in tears, asked what he could do because the alcohol was destroying him, hurting his family, etc. It is very hard when he receives such mixed messages from “J” who professes to follow Christ but sees nothing wrong with his drinking which is a very obvious stumbling block to his friend. Please pray for wisdom in how best to minister to them both. Please pray that they continue to reach out and in spite of the effects of the alcohol that God’s truth would penetrate to the very core of their beings. Pray that “G” will continue to want more and search for the truth and victory over his addiction in Christ. Please pray that “J” will acknowledge his problem with alcohol and how it is hurting his friend and that he will repent.

This evening, we will be showing the movie Fireproof at our cell group. We were able to stop by our landlords this week and talk with them for a while and invite them. There seems to be a continued interest in spiritual things. Please pray that this will be one more stepping stone to their faith in Christ. We would appreciate your prayers as well for all the people our group has invited to come and that seeds would be planted in many people’s hearts.

Several of our youth are struggling spiritually or going through some difficult times in their family or their family is struggling because of the economic crisis. Please, pray with us for them, that they would turn to the only place that offers true peace, comfort and direction.

Thank you so much for your partnership with us in spreading His good news!

Update on Enrique and Lesson in Getting "Dirty"

2009-07-02T22:41:00.010-06:00

Thank you so much for praying for Enrique. After several days in the hospital and shortly after taking some medicine prescribed by a specialist to help with breaking up the kidney stones, he felt much better and has had no problems since. He even attended cell group with his family the evening after being released from the hospital. Both he and his wife gave beautiful testimonies of how they sensed God's presence with them througout and the prayers of many. They also shared that his boss was not going to penalize him for missing work because of how hard a worker he is. With the economy the way it is here, this is a huge blessing for him and his family. We do feel very blessed to have Magy and Enrique as part of our cell group and church family. I am posting a picture from a recent visit with them at their home of our kids with their two daughters, Elisa & Karla.

There is a gentleman who has been attending our cell group fairly consistently for a couple of months. Apparently, he had attended a Bible study in the home where we meet for cell group several years ago. Unfortunately, "J" struggles with alcohol. He has attended AA here, he has made a profession of faith and knows much of the Bible. We were saddened when he did not show up to cell group for a few weeks in a row and heard that he had once again started drinking. He showed up last Friday and even brought a friend with him, "G". They had obviously been drinking and part of me at first felt frustrated that they had come in such a state but then I remembered Jesus' life. I am sure he had drunken people come to him many times and He always saw beyond the surface to the heart. In that moment, the Lord really spoke to my heart about judging and grace. If it weren't for His incredible grace poured out in my own life, I could be there too because at one time, I was just as lost. So, instead of spending time thinking about how they should not be there in such a state, I prayed. I prayed that the Bible study would penetrate through the effects of the alcohol. I prayed that His Word would take root in the soil of their hearts. I prayed that they would choose Christ over drinking. I prayed that we would always extend compassion and encouragement to follow Christ without condemnation and judgement.

One of the things I have loved most about the new "adventure" we have undertaken with the cell groups is that we are getting out of the four walls of the church property, the comfort zones of our own homes and the homes of "church folks". Sometimes we are confronted with the not so pretty aspects of life and that is ok because I am convinced that this is exactly what makes Jesus smile...He was not afraid to get a little "dirty" so why should we? Thank you Jesus for this amazing opportunity we have to get a little dirty so we can share the water of life with those who thirst.

The story is not over yet...On Tuesday, when we met as a core group for planning and prayer, guess who came by? While we were praying, we heard someone shout outside the gate, "Felipe!" It was actually interesting to see different people's reactions. Some implied that Phil should just ignore him because he had probably been drinking. Phil chose not to ignore J and G. When he went out to talk to them, J was asking for money to buy food. Since Phil was pretty sure that this was not really what he wanted the money for, he offered to take them to a nearby store and buy some food. As they walked, G began to ask questions about our faith and actually asked about J (who at the time was drunkenly talking about the Bible and singing hymns). He asked Phil why J drank like that if he was a Christian. Very good question and a good reminder to live what you speak. Phil was able to share that we cannot look at people since we all have the flesh in us that is drawn to sin but that we must always look at Jesus as our example. He told Phil he was planning on coming back again to our cell group on Friday. Please, pray that G will return, with or without J, and that he will continue to hunger for truth. While Phil was talking with G, J happened to disappear and then reappear with a sack containing bottles of beer. While this saddens us deeply, we also know that Jesus can give J victory and ask that you pray with us that J will choose the path of victory over his addiction.

We are convinced that the story is still not over....

Some Meandering Thoughts on Life Here & Prayer Request

2009-06-16T17:13:00.009-06:00

When we started this blog, I honestly thought that I would be posting at least weekly. Unfortunately, the reality of our busy schedule has made that difficult. I envisioned sharing cute stories about the kids, ministry news and other interesting experiences in our lives here in the southern Baja of Mexico. (In fact, I sometimes feel guilty for not posting more often.)

It has started to really warm up here and I must admit, this mom is no fan of the heat like my husband is. Today, when I walked into my kitchen to start getting our lunch ready, it was absolutely stifling and knowing this is just the beginning can be a pretty depressing thought to say the least. My wonderful husband did get me a new blender for Mother's Day so I can at least make fruit smoothies and frapacinos to help us get through the heat a little more comfortably. Doing school in the heat can also be challenging at times, but with a little grace and lots of patience with each other, we are doing it. I love to home school and the flexibilty really helps so much as missionaries but I do find myself envying those who have 3 months off from school right now. The up side is that my kids won't have much time off so they won't forget as much (at least that is my hope) and having a routine (as much as possible down here) really does help every one. We are all much happier and do so much better.

Something really cool has happened for our family esecially for our daughter, Abby. (I shared this in our most recent prayer letter...if you want to see the letter, follow the link to the left and select the Sping 2009 letter) Magy and her oldest daughter, Elisa, just "happened" to come by our church on the Sun. evening last month when we were celebrating Mother's Day. We do not normally have meetings at the church on Sunday evenings so we know this was not just a coincidence. Her family had moved here from Mex. City a while ago and they were trying to find a church that also had meetings in the evenings since her husband, Enrique, often has to work Sunday mornings. After talking some more, we discovered that Magy is home schooling their oldest daughter who also happens to be close in age to Abby. Their family has been faithfully attending our cell group as well as church services and Elisa and Abby have become good friends. In fact, we had been praying for more girl friends for Abby, especially in our cell group as she is surrounded my boys. Last week, Magy and Elisa also shared with us that they had been praying too. Elisa had been praying for another little girl like her who is home schooled. (Home schooling is not very popular here and this is the first Mexican family we have met here who home schools.) Enrique and Magy are having a difficult time right now and we would appreciate your prayers. On Thurs. Enrique began experiencing severe abdominal and back pain. After going to the ER in the middle of the night, he was sent home with pain meds to control the pain for suspected kidney stones. Yesterday morning, they called us around 5:30 to ask for a ride back to the ER because the pain had worsened in spite of the pain meds. After an entire day of waiting on lab results, it was confirmed last night that he has kidney stones in both kidneys. They are still waiting today to hear from a specialist regarding what course of treatment they can provide, if any, beyond pain meds. Please pray for strength and energy for Magy since someone has to stay with Enrique at the hospital all the time to care for his needs. (The socialized health care system here does not provide for full nursing care in the hospital.) Please also pray for special grace on behalf of Enrique's employers. With the economy the way it is here, many are losing their jobs. Missing work, even for a medical emergency, could cost him his job.

2009-06-02T22:30:00.009-06:00

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update: June 2, 2009

2009-06-02T22:30:00.008-06:00

The end of April and May were very eventful to say the least! We had a great turnout for the Children’s day Mini-Olympics event. On the heels of this came the influenza scare. Thankfully, there have not been any cases reported here in our area. As you already know, the economic crisis was taking a toll on many but with the influenza scare, the situation has worsened considerably with many more losing their jobs because of the further decline in tourism and halting of many construction projects. Please, pray for the Church to be a light amidst the financial crisis and for us to learn to depend more fully on Him as a result.

We had a few firsts this past month that we are excited about…On Sunday, May 24th we had almost 200 people attend. We also had our second baptism in the space of about a month- another incredible first! Lives are being changed and people are choosing to follow Christ and it is exciting to play a small part in it. Please, rejoice with us over these two couples who have committed to following Christ: Abel & Wendy and Yudith & Pedro. We also had our first division of cell groups, birthing two new cell groups. We are looking forward to having two more additional ones be birthed in a few months.

Keep an eye out for the Spring edition of our newsletter, “Eager Steps” which will be coming out soon, including more pictures. Thank you for your faithful prayers, encouragement and support. We pray you are able to rejoice with us in all the Lord is doing here in the Baja of Mexico!

By His Grace,
The Eager Family

I am having a hard time editing and arranging the photos and am too tired to figure it out right now-sorry.

Top Left: Entire group with church leadership at the baptism

Top Right: Phil congradulating Abel

Bottom Left: Phil had the blessing of assisting for the first time

Middle Right: Kids lining up to receive their medals after the competion

Bottom Right: One of the games during the mini-olympics

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update:April 25, 2009

2009-04-25T12:43:00.003-06:00

Greetings from the Baja!

Thank you so much for your prayers, especially regarding the youth retreat held during Easter week. The theme was Breaking the Silence, encouraging the youth to share the Gospel with their friends and to live out their faith. One of our youth made a profession of faith during the retreat and several made other commitments regarding being more faithful. Please continue to pray as we seek to disciple and equip our youth to be faithful servants.

Last Sunday, Iglesia Emanuel held another baptism service at the beach. 3 of the 5 were members of our youth group-Ximena, Sinai and Jason. Ximena serves on the activities team for the youth and is from the family we requested prayer for who lost their home to fire caused by an exploding gas tank two years ago. Both Sinai and Jason serve in the youth group on the worship team. Leti is our coworker’s landlady that we reported coming to Christ in December. She had been attending a cell group with her husband and has faced much resistance from other family members because of her commitment to Christ. It was wonderful to see her be baptized and proclaim publically that she is choosing to follow Christ. Enedina has also been attending Iglesia Emanuel for several months and accepted Christ in a cell group. We had the added joy of having friends, Peter and Kathie Woelper, from the states in attendance to witness the service. If you ever want to come down and see personally what the Lord is doing, we would love show you.

Día de Niños is just around the corner and once again we are holding a mini Olympics outreach activity at the church tomorrow afternoon. We would appreciate your prayers that the Lord would use this opportunity to build more relationships in which we can share Christ, especially to the community surrounding the church.

Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and support. We appreciate your willingness to be a part of our team! Phil & Pattie

The pictures are from the retreat and the baptism. The retreat picture is of a very tired group upon our return, outside the church. The baptism picture is of the 5 who were baptized with the church leadership. (L to R: Enedina, Felix, Ximena, Mauricio, Leti, Art, Sinai, Jason, Phil & Pedro.) As soon as time allows, there will be more pictures posted online.

Our Youth Playing Soccer

2009-04-06T22:49:00.003-06:00

These are pictures from a recent youth group meeting. The youth were playing soccer at the park across the street from the church.

E-mail Update from April 3, 2009

2009-04-06T22:46:00.003-06:00

As Easter draws near, we cannot help but reflect even more on the wonderful sacrifice of Christ and the privilege we have to follow Him. We are so grateful for the privilege to serve Him here and share the Good News of a Savior with those who are dying without Him. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support that make it possible for us to be here to share Christ.

Before beginning our ministry update, we have a personal request. About a week ago, Luke started to have more problems breathing. After visiting two doctors, he was diagnosed with having had a bad asthma attack. From what we understood, he most likely has reactive airway and should grow out of it. He is doing much better now, but we would appreciate your prayers for him to continue improving and that in spite of the dusty environment, he would not have any more major problems.

For this update, we want to focus on our youth since there are some exciting items to report as well as important requests.

SJC: Soldados de Jesucristo/Soldiers of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 6)
A short time ago, our youth chose this name for our youth group. It is a play on “words” since our city is abbreviated SJC as well. We felt the name they chose was a fitting description of our goal for them to become equipped and grounded firmly in their faith so that they will be reflections of Christ to all those with whom they come in contact.
Thank you for your prayers as we began a new “era” this year, encouraging them to be more involved with leading the group. This has been training and equipping them to serve. It continues to be thrilling to see several of them growing and maturing. As a step of maturity, two of our youth have decided to be baptized later this month.
Next week (April 9-12), we will be taking approximately 12 of our youth about 120 miles north to La Paz for a youth retreat. The theme is Breaking the Silence (Rom. 1:16), encouraging them to share their faith. The main speaker will be using the life of Daniel as an example which is the book of the Bible our youth have already been studying. We will both participate with several other adults by giving workshops to the youth on Thursday and Friday (using music-Phil & creatively sharing the gospel with children-Pattie). Please, pray for us to speak clearly and that the Lord would use the workshops for His glory in spite of our imperfect Spanish. Saturday the youth will be using the skills learned in the workshops by putting on an evangelistic outreach in a very needy neighborhood.

We pray you have a blessed time remembering and celebrating God’s greatest gift!
Phil, Pattie & Family

E-mail Update~16 January 2009

2009-01-19T17:23:00.013-07:00

Below you will find our most recent update. We apologize that is a bit longer than usual but hope it is a blessing to you and helps you as you pray for the work the Lord is doing in San Jose del Cabo.

CELL GROUPS & THE EVANGACUBE
As you may recall, we had a short term missions team come last fall to present workshops to our church on the evangelism tool, the Evangacube. We continue to see much fruit from this ministry. Moses and his wife were approached by one of the groups who went out to practice using the cubes. They were invited to one of our cell groups and have been attending since last fall. We rejoice in reporting that Friday night at the cell group, he accepted Christ. Please pray for his spiritual growth and for his wife’s salvation.

ENGLISH CLASS (Pictured above)
We had the pleasure of hosting a senior college student, Sarah Beimfohr, the past two weeks who came to provide an advanced English class to 14 youth and adults in our church. It was a very practical help to many who wanted to improve their English skills in order to find employment or better employment. We are grateful for her willingness to come and spend part of her winter break from college to minister in such a pracitcal way.

ECONOMIC SITUATION
Below is an excerpt from an e-mail we received Wednesday from Steve, our ministry area leader. We know that the economy is struggling in the states as well and would greatly appreciate your prayers as Mexico is facing some serious problems. (Note: I have italicized in parenthesis definitions of Spanish terms.)

The Peso hit 14.32 to the Dollar this morning before the government sold 400,000,000 dollars in an attempt to stabilize the peso. It helped a bit but the Peso is still at 14.11. Add to this the 74% drop in the price of a barrel of Mexican oil since July, the large percentage drop in remesas (money sent back to Mexico from family working in other countries), the drop in tourism and the slowdown in the maquiladoras (maquiladora refers to an American company located on the Mexican side of the US-Mexican border.They are usually assembly and manual labor factories. These companies go to Mexico to save on labor costs because wages in Mexico are so low. However, they provide much needed jobs in Mexico and tend to pay more than many other jobs in Mexico do), and we are facing what could be a critical situation for Mexico. All the major sources for foreign income into Mexico are being battered. This will most likely create more unemployment, more underemployment, higher inflation and less government spending on social programs and services. this is going to create a lot of difficulty for the people in our churches. People are afraid right now and may become desperate.

Steve also noted that the peso had resumed its slide by the time he had finished writing the message. With the economic situation, there have also been more problems with express kidnappings (these are non-politically motivated kidnappings where they grab a person and try to run their ATM dry or ask ransom from family, etc.). Americans or people with family in the states who are perceived as being rich are often prime targets. While we have never felt personally threatened, we do feel that we need to be more alert and wanted to ask specific prayer for our safety and especially our children’s safety.

Shortly after reading about the increasing security risk in Mexico, Pattie read the following which we found to not only be timely but very encouraging in light of the current situation. The author is writing about the passage in Luke where Jesus said he was sending the disciples out as “sheep in the midst of wolves”. We would like to share it with you as well:

Perspective, then, is what tells us we are secure despite the environment we are in. Perspective can see an ominous situation as a great opportunity. We all need reminding at times that we are no different from the lost sheep except that we now have a Shepherd— and what a difference He makes. We do not need to fear the pack of wolves because He is with us, carries a big stick, and has a quick swing. Wherever we go, the Shepherd goes...So why are we sent to the wolves? Though He is our protection, He is also on a mission to seek and save the lost sheep, and the wolves tend to gather where there is easy prey. Jesus was sent to seek. Those who follow Him are also sent to seek. As disciples of Christ we have gone from being vulnerable prey to becoming valued members of a search-and-rescue team. (Neil Cole)

We pray this is an encouragment to you as it was to us. Even though we may be living in uncertain times and surrounded by "wolves" right now, we have a wonderful opportunity to be seeking out His lost sheep.

Seeking the lost sheep with you,
Phil & Pattie

Bits from the Baja E-mail Update

2008-11-17T19:08:00.005-07:00

It is hard to believe we are half way through November! October seems to have just flown by on us. As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving in less than two weeks, we can’t help but reflect on all that we have to be thankful for and you are definitely at the top of the list. If you were not allowing God to use you to help pray, support, encourage, etc. we would not be here. You are an invaluable part of our team and we are so grateful for each of you. Our fall prayer letter will be completed soon, so I won’t go into too much detail and spoil it for you but here are a few updates and prayer requests:

SPECIAL VISITORS: In October, we were blessed to have several visitors. The Schwaabs, friends from our supporting church in Anchorage came down and braved the heat to help us paint most of our house. They were such a joy and encouragement to our family as they helped make our house seem much more like a home and were able to see firsthand what the Lord is doing here. The day after they headed back to Alaska, we had a group from another supporting church in Baltimore come and provide a wonderful evangelism and discipleship workshop using the evangacube. It’s thrilling to see people excited to have such a practical tool for sharing the Gospel with others and using them. A huge thank you to Warren, Jack, Ruth and Rich for their hard work and workshop presentations!(More stories about this and pictures will be in our prayer letter.)

CELL GROUP: In our last update, we were praising the Lord for Pedro’s willingness to start leading the Bible study portion of our time and asked prayer for him as he was going to be doing that for the first time. He did a wonderful job and continues to improve and grow in confidence as he shares the Word. Please, continue to pray for him and for our group. We recently had a meeting of all the core members from the 4 different groups and it was encouraging to see some of the wonderful results but there is still so much to do and so many who are still in darkness. Please pray for boldness and opportunities to invite unsaved friends, neighbors and co-workers as well as open hearts for those being invited.

YOUTH GROUP: Thank you so much for praying the Lord to provide co- leaders for the youth group. There is a newer couple in our church who is very willing to help. This is great news however; they may have no choice but to move at the end of the month back to the mainland. The economic situation in the states has affected many here. This couple was relocated here about a year ago for work but his job may have to move him elsewhere since the project he was brought over for has been put on hold due to funding problems. Please pray with them and us that if it is the Lord’s will that they would be able to stay.

FAMILY NEWS: The room is done…almost! J Thank you so much for your prayers. There are still a few things that need to be finished but we were able to move our furniture in this past weekend. (We ended up having to move in because the room is shorter than the others and the kids’ bunk beds would not fit very well.) Over the course of the next week or so, in our spare time we will be painting and moving the boys to their new room finishing up with painting their current room where Abby will be staying with a new roommate….Luke! (We think she is excited about this as she is always so eager to be mommy’s helper with him.) Thank you also for praying regarding the raising of our rent with the room’s completion…in answer to your prayers, our landlords graciously accepted only a $100 increase rather than the $250 increase they originally had mentioned. While the extra room helps in the short term towards our space problem, we appreciate your continued prayers for wisdom and guidance as to what the future might hold.

With overflowing and thankful hearts,
The Eager Family

Baja Update...what's happening

2008-10-03T15:06:00.005-06:00

CELL GROUP:
Pedro and Irene, a couple from our cell group, had been attending Iglesia Emanuel for several years but had never become members or involved beyond attending. Several months before initiating the new cell group outreach, they felt the Lord working in their hearts and approached our co-workers and essentially said that they knew they needed to stop being parasites…they needed to become members and more than that, to be involved in ministry and outreach. Since their commitment to be involved, it has been wonderful to watch them grow. Their excitement at inviting friends, neighbors and co-workers to cell group meetings and especially seeing their friends, Edgar and Lala, attending our cell group is great. Pedro has also committed to helping lead the studies for our group. Up until now, Phil has been leading the studies. While he does not mind leading the studies, we feel it is more beneficial if a national can lead them. Pedro is nervous as he has never done anything like this before, but we know that he is able and only lacks confidence. Please, pray with us for him as he will be giving his first study tonight.
One of the major benefits of the small group setting is that you have a chance to get to know people on a more personal level than at church on Sundays. You also are able to be more involved in each other’s lives in deeper ways. Last week, Irene shared with us that their visitors, Edgar and Lala, are not legally married even though they have been together for years and have two children aged 6 and 4. (This is very common here…people will be introduced as husband and wife when in reality they are not.) The wonderful thing is that they have decided to get married and asked Irene and Pedro to be their witnesses. While Edgar and Lala have not yet made any professions of faith, we are thrilled to see that they are being influenced to start making correct decisions in their personal lives. Please pray for their family to continue to make God honoring decisions and most importantly yield their hearts and lives to Him.

YOUTH GROUP:
We greatly appreciate your prayers for the youth group. Because of over-commitment, the couple who was helping to lead the youth has had to resign. Please pray for another couple to help lead the youth alongside us as well as determining a clear vision for the future. We are holding a meeting with the parents and helpers later this month to discuss this. Please pray that a clear vision and plan for the future to be developed that everyone can take ownership of.

WOMEN’S STUDY:
Pattie has helped take over leading the women’s study and has really enjoyed the times of study and fellowship with the women. There seems to be consistently 6 or 7 women although the exact women who attend often change. There would probably be 12-14 if everyone came at the same time. Our greatest desire is to instill a hunger and thirst for studying and applying the Word among the women which will be contagious. Thank you for your prayers!

We can never say enough how grateful we are for each of you who make up part of our team. Without you, we could not be doing what we are doing! God bless you this coming month as you continue to serve Him.

By His Grace,
The Eager Family

Abby's Song

2008-09-20T19:14:00.010-06:00

One of the things that I love most about being a parent is witnessing my kids' creative sides emerge more every day. I also love the simple faith and love that a child has. We adults so often complicate things. I think that sometimes, we need to be more like a child when it comes to faith and love.

Below is a song written by our daughter Abby. It did my heart good to hear her sing it to me and I wanted to share it with you.
(Note: It's typed exactly as written in her journal)

Abby's Song

I love you God.
I love you God.
Win I'm alon
and I love you in the rane
and I love you in the sun
and I love you God
becus you are so pawrful
and I love you Lord
and I love you God
the Eend

E-mail update~03 September 2008

2008-09-03T11:34:00.005-06:00

Please forgive us for not sending out an update sooner. We have been kept very busy these days. Below is a brief update on recent items we have requested prayer.

Thank you so much for praying for Cher! We are happy to report that the initial results of the cancer not having spread were confirmed. Please, continue to pray as she heals from the surgery and for wisdom as they will be meeting with several doctors in the coming weeks to determine the next steps of treatment.

Housing....Unfortunately, the house we mentioned in our last e-mail will not work so we continue the search. Thank you for praying for this as well. In the meanwhile, we are praying that our landlord will complete the addition to this house which began in May. Our landlord has also informed us that when the new room is completed, they would like an additional $250 in rent a month which is more than we had anticipated. According to them, it is open for discussion. Please pray for us as we try to negotiate with them regarding the increase. It is becoming clear that we need to move and possibly purchase as the cost of renting a larger house are astronomical here and purchasing seems a wiser investment.

Ministry...Please, pray for the people we have invited to our cell group. There were several weeks in a row without any visitors which has been discouraging, however, we knew that there would be ups and downs. We can definitely see how the Lord is using the cell group to mature the members of our group as one of the men has stepped forward to help lead the studies, alternating with Phil. It is exciting to see people taking more ownership of the ministry and using their gifts as never before. We were praising the Lord last week when one of the families returned to the cell group who had visited previously. The other groups have had some great turn outs which we are so thankful for. We are especially thrilled with several of our youth who have become more involved and interested in participating in the groups.

By His Grace,
The Eager Family

We are also posting the latest edition of our prayer letter, Eager Steps, at the link to the left.

Here, There and Back Again!

2008-08-10T16:45:00.006-06:00

*The following is an e-mail update sent out last Monday, Aug. 4th that we did not have time to post before our conference.*

SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST: Before we begin to update you on what has been happening with us the past month, we have a very important prayer request. Our good friend and fellow TEAM missionary in La Paz, Cher Gatto, needs your prayer. Without going into all the details, she was flown back to the states last week with some health issues and today it was discovered that she has a cancerous tumor. Surgery to remove the tumor is scheduled for this coming Thursday at which time they will know how far it has progressed. Please pray with us for Cher, her husband Pete and their five children as they go through this very difficult time.

HERE…
Before leaving for our trip to the states to visit with family as well as several supporting churches, we were beginning to see some of the first fruits of our new cell group outreach. Here is a brief summary of some of the exciting results from our first three months of meetings:
~We are seeing believers take more ownership of the ministry and maturing in their faith.
~We are seeing our members become more aware of the needs around them.
~We have had approximately 70 adults & 58 children visit the 4 different cell groups during the initial 3 months of meetings.
~We have had an increase of visitors to our Sunday service from the cell groups.
~We have had 3 professions of faith.

THERE…
While in the states, we had the privilege of travelling to Alaska to update supporters on our ministry as well as spend some wonderful time with Phil’s family. It had been almost four years since our last visit and it was a special blessing that all of Phil’s immediate family could be together, including his brother and family who are missionaries in Poland. We were able to make a lot of good memories with them as well as share with the church during a special fiesta night and in an adult Sunday school class. During our travels, we were also able to connect with Pattie’s family in Arizona and California and Phil’s aunts in southern California. As always, the time with family and good friends goes by fast. Our last Sunday in the states, we were sitting in a church before giving a report and Micah looked up at me and said, “Mommy, I want to go home. When can we go back to Mexico?” We were all ready to get back into our own home and routine.

AND BACK AGAIN…
Thank you so much for your prayers as we travelled the many miles in such a short time. God’s hand of protection was on us as we drove, especially on our travel down the Baja when a tractor trailer dumped half its over packed load of hay bales right in front of us. It was a very tense few minutes for all of us but we definitely knew that the Lord was with us and know He protected us from what could have been a very tragic accident.
We are happy to be back and look forward to getting back into the swing of things. It was great to be back in church on Sunday and greet all of our dear brothers and sisters here as well as worship with them again.
Please pray for the cell groups. Summer can be a hard time to get people to come, especially with the heat. Please be in prayer for two families in particular that have attended our cell group in the past: Edgar & LaLa and Juan & Judy.
We leave again today for our field’s annual conference of missionaries where we give our reports on various ministry areas throughout Mexico. TEAM’s director has also come to help us work through a field vision and purpose. We are excited to hear what the Lord has been doing the past year in other ministry areas as well as clarify the vision for our field so that we can more effectively minister and work better as a team.

As always, we are overflowing with gratitude for your faithfulness in praying for us and supporting the ministry here. We pray for you as well and enjoy hearing how things are going with you and how we can pray for you!

By His Grace,
Phil and Pattie

PS-We will send out some pictures soon!

Continue Praying for "M"

2008-06-19T20:02:00.006-06:00

The following is our most recent e-mail update sent out last week on June 12th. Sorry it is late in getting posted.

Greetings from a cooler Baja. We enjoyed an unexpected break from the heat yesterday with a fairly cloudy and cooler day which was a definite blessing for us. We hope that all is going well with you in whatever part of the world the Lord has placed you today!

A brief update on our friend "M"...we recently received the sad news that she attempted suicide and has been admitted to a facility by the govt. agency our people have already been in contact with. More information has come to light regarding her situation. The man who allegedly attacked her is claiming that those are lies and that she is a drug addict. It is really difficult to know who to believe. Regardless, we know that she is a very lost and hurting young woman and there is only one person who can truly heal the wounds she has. Please, pray with us for opportunities to reach out and help show Jesus to her. Pattie is hoping to visit her soon with at least one of the ladies from the cell group. Pray for wisdom and for her to see His love in them as well as her need for Him.

While our particular cell group has fluctuated in our attendance, we are seeing some maturity in our core group of believers. One of the results of the situation with "M" has been that they have acknowledged that they have become closed in with regards to only having friends in the church or what they said were "good folks". They are seeing that there is a lost and hurting world outside the walls of their homes and the church and are becoming motivated to do more to reach them. This is incredibly exciting for us and a huge answer to prayer as we had mentioned previously, the church having become so ingrown. Wonderful things are happening through the new cell group ministry and it is a great place to see the Lord working in the lives of our church people but also their friends, neighbors, co-workers and families as they reach out to invite them to the groups. This past Sunday we had 7 new visitors in church from the cell groups. We have also had three professions of faith. Tomorrow night, the leaders of the groups will be presenting the Gospel message and giving an invitation. We would appreciate your prayers especially that those we have invited will come and that their hearts will be open to the message.

Please, continue to pray as we seek to reach this city and surrounding area with the Light it so desperately needs.

By His Grace,
The Eager Family

Keep Praying

2008-05-19T19:18:00.003-06:00

Below you will find the most recent update we sent out via e-mail.

Thank you so much for the notes telling us you are praying for the situation with our new friend “M”. We appreciate all the prayers so much. We wanted to give you an update and ask for your continued prayers for this situation.

She is a very scared young lady right now and unfortunately is not thinking too straight as a result. She decided amidst their protest to leave the house of the family from our cell group because she knows that the man knows where they live and she is afraid because of that. She has chosen instead to spend some nights sleeping in one of the Catholic churches which really is like being on the street or has stayed with other friends from work. She has also made comments that lead us to believe that she is suicidal. The two sisters from our group, Lina and Irene, pleaded with her on Saturday to come back and stay with them when she returned for some clothes she had left behind but she would not. They are very torn for “M” as they really care for her, yet they cannot force her to stay with them either. So, this is where we are at with “M” right now. Please, pray for her safety and for more clarity in her thinking. Pray that she will realize most of all her need for the Lord and that we can continue to minister to her as she will allow.

The Lord has brought another sad situation into focus through our cell group. Lina had invited another woman from her work to our cell group this past Friday. When she went to pick up the woman and her children for the group, her abusive husband had returned to the home (he had left the family a few weeks ago) and asserted his control over the family, making many threats to his wife, children and Lina. Please, pray with us for Lina’s friend “I” and her children. That He would protect them and that she would have the strength and resolve to remove herself and her children from such a dangerous situation. Pray for Lina and our group to have wisdom in how best to reach out to this family.

Our hearts are so saddened by what we have been a witness to these past couple of weeks…the evil that people will do to others. It definitely gives us motivation to keep doing what we are doing yet is also frustrating because we wish we could do so much more. Would you please also pray with us that the Lord might bring more people to work in the harvest here? There is a great need, especially for a shelter ministering to abused women and children in this area like our co-workers in La Paz helped to begin there. It would be such a blessing if we could have that to offer to women like “M” and “I”….a safe place where they can be ministered to and experience Jesus’ love in tangible ways.

Thank you for your continued prayers….we firmly believe it is no accident that the Lord brought these ladies into our lives and we will seek to show them Jesus as much as we are able. By His Grace, Phil and Pattie

Urgent Prayer Need

2008-05-15T10:39:00.001-06:00

The following is an e-mail we just sent out this morning. We appreciate your prayers.

Dear Praying Friends,
We apologize for not getting an update out sooner. We are working on our Spring prayer letter which we hope to finish soon.

We have a more urgent prayer need right now that we want to share with you. We don’t want to go into all the details but we need prayer for a young single gal, “M”, who has visited our cell group and is a co-worker of one of our members. She was living on the mainland with her mother in a very sheltered existence (her mother had taken her out of grade school to have her help make and sell blankets). Her mother got cancer and died recently and “M” decided to come here to get work. Upon her arrival, she was not met at the airport by the people she was to work with and so took a taxi to a neighborhood where she was told that she could find a room to rent. After walking with her suitcase for much of that day, she found a house where the lady rented her a room. It turned out to be a very bad situation as the lady’s brother (whom she believed at the time was the lady’s husband) began to show inappropriate interest in her and became very possessive of “M”. We found out about this when she tried to come to cell group for the second time and he would not allow her. Our group immediately began praying for her and seeking how we could help her. The family, who had invited her, ended up taking her into their own home to help her escape such a potentially dangerous situation. (In reality, having been so sheltered, “M” probably did not really understand how dangerous it was.) Tuesday night, while we were meeting at the house to plan for the next cell group meeting, the lady from whom she had rented the room came by the house and asked for “M” to come out and talk with her in the car. “M” went to talk with the lady and she drove off with her. This poor girl was taken to the man and spent that evening being violated by him. Please, pray for her. This situation grieves us all so deeply and we fully believe that the Lord brought her into our paths so we can minister to her in such a horrible time in her life. Right now, all she wants to do is get her money from work and go back to her hometown which could be another dangerous situation as well since she has no family to be looking out for her. Please pray for wisdom as we minister to “M” and most importantly that she will accept Christ into her heart who is the only one who can truly begin to heal the wounds she has. Thank you so much for praying with us!
By His Grace,
Phil and Pattie

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
Isaiah 61:1-4

"Profound" Thoughts Inspired by Our 4 Year Old

2008-04-21T15:52:00.009-06:00

Yesterday, we took the youth group to the beach for an impromptu youth activity. As we were leaving, Micah was walking with me back to the car as he had on the way out. However, this time, I was carrying Luke so I could not hold his hand like when we came. He kept walking behind me instead of beside me like before when I we arrived. So I asked him to come up and walk beside me. He replied, "But I want to step in your prints." As we got to a stretch of sand where people often park their cars, the sand was more packed down and he was frustrated because he could no longer see my prints in order to follow and complained about it. When we got to deeper sand again, he was very happy to be able to walk in my prints again. This got me thinking about life and how often we follow where God is leading but sometimes, it is hard to see His "prints" but I can trust Him that He is there even when I can't see His "prints"! Micah's comment also made me stop and think about being a mom or dad and the huge responsibiltiy it is. My children are following in my steps and learning from me and will be shaped by me...the good and the bad. How important my example is to them and my need to live moment by moment for His glory so that my children have good footprints to follow!

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him." Psalm 127:3

New Family Picture

2008-04-18T14:24:00.004-06:00

Here is a new picture taken by our co-worker yesterday with the whole Eager family. Hope you enjoy!

Cell Group Commissioning & Family Fun

2008-04-14T11:26:00.009-06:00

Earlier this week, during our Sunday service, we had a commissioning for those involved in the new cell group outreach of Iglesia Emanuel. They will be starting up this week and all the groups will be meeting on Friday evenings. As mentioned previously, each person of the 7-8 member team for each cell group has a responsibilty within the group (ie: leader, assistant leader, worship, children, etc.). They will also be required to invite at least one non-Christian a week. Each team will be meeting on Tuesday evenings for a brief planning meeting for the cell group as well as to pray for those unbelievers who each member has or will be inviting to the Friday study. We covet your prayers as we initiate this new ministry in an effort to assist our members to be more active in using their gifts as well as evangelism.

Please pray for Pattie as she will be seeking out several of our youth girls in order to begin a new ministry of discipleship with them. With the addition of Luke and her other family and ministry responsibilities, she has had to step back from her regular involvement in Sat. evening youth group, however she will be able to spend some time with several of the girls throughout the week in order to disciple them. She is excited to be starting this new aspect of her ministry. Her main goal is to encrouage the girls to be in the Word and applying it to their lives. As this happens, her prayer is that their lives will be transformed for His glory.

On a family note....Luke continues to grow and is awake more often. We look forward to seeing how his personality develops. The others have adjusted very well to a new little brother and often want to be Mommy and Daddy's helpers which is a blessing. Sometimes our kids come up with some funny and interesting ideas and we thought we would share a few of their recent ones that made us laugh....The other morning in church as we were getting ready for the offering time, I was explaining again to Micah that the coins I was giving him were not for him but to put into the offering bag...that they were for God. He turned to me with a very serious look on his face and asked, "so, what do they do with it then....do they just throw it up there to Him?" Needless to say, we all had a good chuckle. We have been reading in Genesis for school these past few weeks and last week when we were reading about Jacob returning home after his exile, we asked the kids why Jacob was worried to be going home....why his brother Esau was mad at him. Well, Abby replied, "because he (Jacob) stole his (Esau's) beer-right." Now, what do you say to that?!

2008-04-04T17:59:00.016-06:00

Youth Retreat 2008

Top Left: Luis enjoying his ride on one of the horses.

Top Right: Meeting time for the youth.

Bottom: Some of our youth showing off their projects.

Bits from the Baja Email update 3/28/2008

2008-04-04T14:32:00.008-06:00

The following is a copy of our most recent email update.

WE'VE GOT OUR VISAS!!!
Thank you so much for praying for us as we traveled to Mexico City for our visa appointment. We were really blessed that a friend from Moody and her husband (Aubrey and Marco Murillo) were able to help us during our time there. They not only picked us up at the airport, they hosted us and drove us to the appointment. Considering the traffic there and trying to maneuver in an unfamiliar and HUGE city with 4 children, we are so grateful for their help. We will now be able to be more public than before without fear of problems with the immigration office here which tends to be a little more antagonistic than in other areas. We will also no longer need to leave the country every 6 months which was disruptive to our ministry as well as family. We will miss the extra opportunities we had to connect with our supporters and family in CA and AZ but welcome anyone who would like to come down and see first hand what the Lord is doing here.

SEMANA SANTA (HOLY/EASTER WEEK) YOUTH RETREAT
Phil had the privilege to take a group of 15 youth to a retreat organized by our friend in La Paz, Alejandra, who attended the seminary part of our language school in TX. It is wonderful to see the Lord using her in ministry and we look forward to watching her continue to grow and possibly one day be a missionary in a difficult access country somewhere in Asia or the Middle East. The theme for the retreat was Transformers and the youth were encouraged to "be transformed" (Romans 12:1-2). We are praising the Lord for 10 who made professions of faith (two of which were visitors with our group) as well as other commitments made to follow Christ more closely. Phil and our youth came back home tired but excited. We are also happy to report that one of the young men who came with our group as a visitor who accepted Christ (Luis) came to our Wed. evening Bible Study this past week and plans to start attending our youth group regularly.

IGLESIA EMANUEL to START CELL GROUPS
After much prayer, our missionary team as well as the church leadership feel that this is the direction God would have us take and will be starting this new ministry the week of April 14th. Our church plant has a problem many churches do, it has become ingrown with a few who are maturing and serving but many who are only attending. In an effort to encourage evangelism, involve more people in serving and see people put their faith into action, we are implementing a new cell group ministry. The model we will implementing is based on a model used in Korea that has proved very effective in other parts of Mexico. A main component of the group is evangelism and accountability as every member is asked to invite one new person every week and will be held accountable by the group. There will be 4 groups strategically located in different neighborhoods. Phil will be leading our group along with an assistant leader in whose home we will be meeting. I will be helping as well in the leadership of the group, possibly helping lead the worship time. We would appreciate your prayers as this new ministry begins, that the Lord would use it for His glory and to grow His kingdom.

SPECIAL REQUEST
A critical need on our hearts a lot right now involves one of our youth and her family. Please pray for this family as she is 14 and going through a period of rebellion against her parents and the Lord. There has been some indication that there may even be some involvement with the occult. We are reminded that this is not a physical but a very spiritual battle and are enlisting as many as possible to join in the battle through their prayers on her behalf as well as for her parents-that they would have wisdom to know what boundaries to put into place.

FAMILY NEWS
Several have asked us about our housing situation. Unfortunately, not much has changed. We have set up several meetings to discuss building on with our landlords but our landlord has yet to show up. In the meantime, we have decided to keep looking into other options but have not had much success. We try not to let it discourage us, but really feel the need for more space, especially with Luke sleeping in our living room and Abby really needing a separate room from her brothers. Thank you so much for your continued prayers for this need. It is not a dire situation by any stretch, but having a bit more space would eliminate some frustrations.
Luke is doing really well. He has been gaining weight and growing long. The other kids continue to be excited about their new baby brother and are great little helpers too which has been a blessing.
In order to be better connected with you and to keep you more informed, we have started a blog online we hope to update on a weekly basis with news and pictures of both our ministry and family. If you are interested, you can visit it at www.eagersteps.blogspot.com. It currently has more basic information, but as time goes on, we plan to add more.

Thank you for being a part of our team and what the Lord is doing in Mexico. If you are interested or a group in your church is interested in coming down to see the ministry and take part in a missions trip here, we would love to have you!
The Eager Family

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T17:43:00.002-06:00

We had a good Easter Service at church although Phil was a bit on the tired side after having taken our youth to a retreat from Wed. through Sat. and I was tired from being solo for the four days. Thankfully, we all survived and the youth retreat was awesome according to everyone you ask. The most wonderful fact being that 10 youth from the various churches made professions of faith and now understand more deeply the significance of why we commemorate this day. Two of these youth were visitors in our group and we look forward to following up with them. Please, pray for them. The theme for the retreat was Transformers and being transformed by Christ and they were all challenged to be transformed from the inside out. We are praising the Lord for all who made commitments to walk more deeply with the Lord as well.

Today we are giving thanks for Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for us!

[On a family note, you may notice that there is a person missing in our picture. Luke Darryl Eager was born on Jan. 15 a month and a half early. We were told that he would probably have to be in an incubator for at least a week or two. We praise the Lord that he was born healthy and fine and did not spend any time in an incubator. He weighed in around 6 pounds and was 20 inches long. He is growing longer and longer all the time. As soon as possible, we will get a family picture on here for you to see us all together.]