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Upcoming Dates
Next board meeting:
-April 8 (tentative) |
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Arrow Outreach News February, 2011 - Volume 2011-I |
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Happy New Year!
The "happy new year" greeting might be a bit belated, but as this is the first Arrow Outreach newsletter in 2011, I thought it still appropriate. I do hope this newsletter finds you in good health and in good spirits, but above all else, in His good graces!
The ministry of Arrow Outreach continues to abound in Ciudad Juarez. The articles below should give you a little flavor of this. The first article is authored by Celesta Weise and summarizes the many activities we have cooking across the border. The second article is authored by Pastor Felipe's wife, Vicky, and has been translated by Sarah Barger. Next is an article authored by Bernd Braun that will give you a sense of the great success of the scholarship program. Finally, you will find an article by Cheryl Mackey introducing a new concept for Arrow Outreach fundraising, which promises to be fun and rewarding for our outreach in Ciudad Juarez.
Later in March I will be interviewing Pastor Jesus for an article to appear in the next edition of the newsletter.
As always, I appreciate any and all feedback on the newsletter. I want this to be meaningful and useful to you.
Roger Dennison, Newsletter Editor (roger.c.dennison@gmail.com) |
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Juarez Ministry Programs Expand in Spite of Cultural Violence
The people of Juarez may be burdened with gang wars and recent sub-freezing weather, but that doesn't mean their ministries have gone on hold. If anything, they are more motivated, more empowered and more effective in what they are doing and how they are doing it.
It has been very gratifying to watch God's principles at work. Though our mission groups from the U.S. have not been able to travel to Juarez since 2008, our relationships continue, and the local people there have taken responsibilities for their ministries and programs, enabling them to accomplish more over time. And, God is blessing them in ways they would not have imagined.
At the Toribio Family Center, Sunday services have stayed strong in attendance and various midweek Bible studies and church programs have expanded over this past year. English classes, computer classes, adult education and nursery programs have all increased in 2010 over 2009. Though various youth sports programs have declined, major expansion has occurred in day care programs. The clinic also continues to operate regularly - providing support for both adults and children. These are some statistics showing activity in 2010 vs. 2009: (Person/days per year)
2010 2009
· Sunday Services & Sunday School 3928 3660
· Midweek Church Programs 3632 1756
· English Classes 1210 536
· Computer Classes 1210 788
· Adult Education Programs 2688 0
· Nursery/Bible Studies 3272 0
· Fiestas & Christmas Parties 235 85
· Day Care (2 age groups) 12625 11320
· Food Distribution 200 0
· Total - All Programs 31654 22875
At the Tocando Puertas Center, drug related impact has been so strong that center operations had to be curtailed mid-year in the interest of safety. However, In October, similar programs were begun in the nearby Sauzal community, where even more volunteers are available and interested in helping.
All programs are operating there, with special emphasis on community feeding programs and various education offerings. Here are some Tocando Puertas/Sauzal statistics for 2010 vs. 2009: (Person/days)
2010 2009
· Sunday Services & Sunday School 2267 5308
· Midweek Church Programs 416 2452
· English Classes 882 1136
· Computer Classes 894 852
· Music Classes 467 1124
· Sewing Classes 180 660
· Accelerated Education Classes 1720 3628
· Adult Education Programs 72 110
· Handicraft Classes 390 38
· Fiestas & Christmas Parties 705 628
· Feeding Program & Food Distribution 10127 658
· Theater Nights 1720 309
· Total - All Programs 21870 19002
The Redencion Y Verdad and Rey de Gloria church communities are also strong, and in some cases growing significantly, in spite of the decline of people living in the community. At the Socorro School, scholarship emphasis has been a major factor in families seeking to stay and participate in the community's opportunities. The nearby church has grown in spite of the decreasing population. Our scholarship programs are now reaching a total of 266 students, including the 181 students being served via the Arrow Starfish program. These students are pursuing education they would not have had without encouragement from the pastors and teachers in their community and the financial help Arrow Outreach and our partners have provided. The Socorro school is also benefitting from the computer lab, library, and teaching aids made possible through Arrow Outreach donations and staffing.
Considering all the programs we tracked, 61,161 "people/days" were delivered in 2010, which is a 32% increase over the 46,288 total recorded for 2009. One Juarez pastor volunteered the good news that the people there are taking personal responsibility for helping one another, rather than waiting for the U.S. mission teams to come and help them with construction and program projects. As it turns out, in spite of all the hardships, we've been teaching these folks "how to fish" rather than just providing them an occasional "meal of fish". Praise God for His faithfulness as we take this broad look at the progress He has enabled in that underprivileged community. |
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By the Grace of God
The following article was prepared by Vicky Barandiaran, wife of Pastor Felipe Barandiaran relating the events of the Christmas day accident their family suffered six hours south of Riudosa, Mexico. The family had spent the week before Christmas with the Mackeys in Van, Texas and were traveling to Vera Cruz, Mexico to be with their families. This story is illustrative of the general problems they face in living in Mexico and in the midst of a drug war.
After leaving the Mackeys' home Christmas morning we headed for Veracruz in southern Mexico crossing the bridge at the border at McAllen and then driving for seven more hours. We were happy to think that we would arrive ahead of our scheduled time. Then, for some reason the GPS showed that we had gone the wrong way. So, we turned around. We also realized that we didn't have enough gas to get to the next town so we had to refuel. For some reason we got off of our desired route at least 3 times. Finally we got back on track toward our destination, even though the GPS system said we were on the wrong road.
An hour later, at 3 AM in the night, the children and I were sleeping and my husband, Felipe, did not see the dead black cow in the middle of the road until it was too late. The road was only one lane going each direction and there was a large trailer truck coming toward us on our left. On our right was a drop off into a field. He didn't really have time to do anything else but to go straight ahead over the cow. Had Felipe veered to the left or right a very serious or fatal accident would have occurred. At that moment he yelled, "Vicky!" When I opened my eyes the airbag hit me in the face, as Felipe's airbag had done to him . He did all he could to keep the car on the road. He kept driving for another 10 minutes or so fighting the airbag and trying to control the car. At this point the car overheated. We were in a deserted area with no one around.
The first thing we did was thank God that we were still alive. Felipe and I had just a few scratches and bruises from the airbags; nothing at all was wrong with our children. We felt God had miraculously protected us.
We found out that the road in Tamaulipas where we had stopped was a very dangerous stretch of road controlled by drug gangs. Neither the police nor the insurance company would come to help us at night because it was too dangerous. The insurance man finally came at 8 AM in the morning to helps us. The pickup was taken to a shop to be repaired and we continued on to Vera Cruz by bus.
We feel strongly that God spared our lives. It appears he wants us here to continue our work in Juarez and we are thankful that God gave us a second opportunity to live for Him.
God bless you. Vicky Barandiaran |
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Starfish Scholarship Program Proud of Successes
The Starfish Scholarship Program is growing in leaps and bounds. Since its inception in 2005, enrollment in the scholarship program has increased from 19 students to 181 for the 2010-2011 school year.
In 2010, 40 students graduated from middle school and 63% of those decided to continue to high school.
Over the last 3 years, an average of 97% of the students graduating from sixth grade at the Socorro Rivera Elementary School wanted to continue their education and is receiving scholarships.
In 2010, our program graduated 6 students from high school, all of them went on, and we currently have 12 students enrolled in college program.
Although some students are lost each year to families moving away, and other unknown reasons, the scholarship program is enabling many students to continue their education - who six years ago - would have had little or no opportunity to do so.
The program is changing the lives of so many of our students by opening doors to many types of jobs and careers they could not have dreamed of before. It has the potential to change many more lives in the future. We are in the process of finding out what previous scholarship recipients are doing after their graduation. We look forward to continued expansion of our program and we thank you for your continuous support. |
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Let's Have a House Party!
As we plan for the year ahead, we are so grateful for the many folks who are already part of Arrow Outreach through your regular or one time gifts.
You are aware that the nature of Arrow Outreach has changed dramatically over the last 3 years due to the ongoing drug war in Ciudad Juarez. We are no longer able to bring groups from the U.S. to work with and visit with our partners and projects in Juarez. The twofold effect has been to curtail new projects while also impacting our ability to support ongoing projects. This is where you come in. As the lifeblood of Arrow Outreach, many of you have worked at the ministry sites, you know the people involved and you understand the need that exists. You have witnessed the impact that our ministry and outreach can make in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Ciudad Juarez.
As we have prayerfully considered new ways to increase fundraising, it has become apparent that Arrow Outreach's path forward is paved by those we already call friends. With this in mind, we are launching a new "house party" program. The idea is simple, and we want these TO BE FUN. Basically, we are looking for current Arrow Ministry supporters to host "house party" fundraisers where they recruit for and organize (with our help) an event with 5-20 of their friends, colleagues, or fellow church members attending. We're not looking for seasoned fundraising professionals (because God knows we don't qualify). Rather, we want you to tell your story of involvement with Arrow Ministries, making the case for impact and explaining the need in a very friendly, informal, and pressure free manner. If we cannot go to Ciudad Juarez, we can bring Juarez to our friends as we share our story and include in the program a visiting Pastor from Mexico, a board member, or Rich Mackey who continues to cross the border in support of our brethren in Ciudad Juarez. At the end of the event, the goal will be to ask for Arrow Outreach financial support.
Such small scale fundraising has proven to be effective, and we think this could be a great way for some of you to take an important new sort of leadership role with Arrow ministries. If interested, please contact Cheryl Mackey (cherylmmackey@gmail.com) for more information and questions. |
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