Our house has a small room below one of the bedrooms. It was originally a big water tank below the generator house before there was electricity at the bible institute. The room had been used for a division of Child Evangelism Fellowship. However, since the ministry has chosen new leadership who live in Tijuana, they have only needed to get into the room a little over the past year. Once or twice. It was full of materials for CEV, some dating as far back as 2010. So, with the help of our boys, we relocated the materials to a new location that was used for storage. Over the weekend, I redesigned a massive shelf built over 15 years ago. It was therapeutic to have a project that would be the new home of my tools. It is a small room with no windows but more than enough space to spread out from my current space. I made a shelf about four feet by six feet in our schoolroom office. My wife observed that this space was not adequate for all the tools I had been collecting. Ron has handed me a table saw and chop saw for free! 

So, as I was working last night on finishing up the shelf, a song came up on my Spotify that brought back a rush of memories.  You may remember Integrities worship tapes that came out in the early 90's called Hosanna Music. This one was called the Lord Reigns. What came to my mind were the days when my dad, Jay Clark, was a part of the worship team at church. My dad was a quiet man, but he enjoyed singing with the worship team. The worship team was involved in singing on one of those Hosanna tapes. I was pretty young at the time, maybe 13 or 14. I remember seeing my dad on stage doing something for the Lord like that. It made me proud to be his son, and I want to be like him. I had forgotten all about this until that song came on. All of a sudden, it was like I was right back there as a kid, thinking how cool it was that my dad was going to record singing worship music. I wonder what my dad would think about this now. I wonder if he felt he was blessing the Lord with his singing and being an example to his children to use the gifts and talents He has given each of us. The scripture that comes to mind is that Paul writes, 1 Corinthians 10:31: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 

​What am I doing to glorify God in my life? Do my kids see an example of someone who is willing to serve the Lord? Lord, give me the eyes to see how I can be a godly example to my kids and those around me.

When you live somewhere for a number of years, you get familiar and comfortable. When you move someplace else, you have to start over. Where do I go if I need something fixed? Where do I go to buy something specific, like an AC evaporator? Is there a mechanic that I can trust? How do I know if they’re giving me a good price? These are all questions that you have to face when you move somewhere new. You don’t know who’s reliable. For example, we had trouble with our Nissan versa Transmission in March. I found a transmission place. I thought it would be a good experience.  A job that would’ve taken only a week or two at most turned into 2 1/2 months, and I had to raise my voice and get upset. Ten weeks is a long time. I am still learning. The same car has a ac/heater switch that is broken. Where do I go to get this fixed? On Saturday, I drove to Tijuana to have them confirm what the problem is and not fix it. They could fix it but at what price? Do they think I am a gringo coming from San Diego to get my car worked on? 
These are normal struggles one faces in a new environment. It is moments like this. I miss the people I knew in Autlan who would lead me in the right direction if they couldn’t fix the problem. In 15 years, I may look back at this moment and say I’m glad I’m not there again. I am so happy I know people now. We need help. We need people to help lead us in the right direction. We need to ask those who we trust around us to give us insight. 

Isn’t this the way God works? He allows us to go through times of frustration and then we will appreciate having those people come alongside us helping us, guiding us, and giving us what we need. I reminded that this is a good place to be in, to remember this feeling and know what it feels like to have someone’s help. I need to be willing to help when I can. Another thought is, do I swallow my pride and ask for help? Do I just think I can figure this out on my own? How many struggles have I faced because I wasn't willing to ask for help?  Lord, help me lose my pride and ask for your help. 

I went to the grocery store yesterday to pick up a few things. When you have a large family like ours, this happens pretty often. I decided to take Gee and Erick with me. They love opening the car windows when we drive. Since the temperature is now between the 70-and 80's, I have been letting them. When it is 100 degrees is quite different. So, I made the rule that they can only roll their window down if they have their seat belt on first. Rolling down the window is the first thing they want to do when they get in the car. Now, to give you some context, when you drive a 15-passenger Ford Van, windows don't roll down. For two little boys to roll down their windows is very exciting. 

We went into the grocery store. Could you picture this in your mind? A 6-foot gringo (average-looking American), a 9-year-old who only speaks Spanish, and a soon to be 6 year old (in two weeks) who speaks English perfectly for a 6-year-old. So if you are someone who is shopping in the store, what do you think of this combination? Two little boys talking back and forth to each other, obviously brothers, but they don't look alike, let alone the one they call Dad. In moments like this, I cherish what God has blessed me with. I have the great privilege of raising these boys so they grow up knowing who Jesus is and how much he cares for each one of us. I am blessed. 

The men of the men's group decided to walk together in a suburb of Tecate. It is a newly developed area with more expensive houses. The roads are well maintained, so it was a good place to walk together. We walked for almost two and a half miles in an hour. Pretty slow but it gave us a chance to talk amongst each other. What do men talk about? Cars and houses. Carlos and I were out of our element when it came to these conversations. I have never bought a home or bought a new car. But this is the formation of friendship with men. You start with what you know. You begin with everyday conversations; as that builds, we can share more meaningful discussions. Over burritos, we all agreed to have at least a Psalm ready to share with the intent to memorize it. What a blessing to hear different Psalms and why they chose it. We are all at various places in our faith, yet we all need the encouragement of scripture to continue to walk out our faith. I believe this is the foundation for this local congregation to grow into a strong body of believers. The Lord is growing his body. 

I am co-pastor with Carlos Escobar at Truth and Life Church, which meets where we live in Tecate. It has been going well. We are enjoying new friendships in this local body of believers. I have the privilege to preach every other week in the Book of Acts. The men of the church have expressed wanting to meet together at least monthly. So last night was our second time meeting together after the summer months. 

Each time we meet, we are reading through a book about being the priest of the home. It has been very beneficial to have a place for men to meet together and openly discuss the difficulties we, as men, face. There is one gentleman named Fermin. He has been a part of the church for several years but has only recently desired to know scripture. He told his wife he wanted to start studying the scriptures together daily. I can only imagine his wife's thoughts on hearing her husband wanting to know the bible. He has come from a catholic background, so he has little to no knowledge of the bible for himself. He has said listening to sermons on Sunday morning, but much like he did when he was in the catholic mass, it didn't mean anything outside of the church building. How sweet it is to hear his heart in wanting to know more. It is such an excellent place to be because it says in Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." ESV 
What a blessing it is to be a witness, see someone grow in faith, and know who Jesus is. I am blessed to be a part of this group. May God continue to be glorified. 

Busy weekend.
Anna and Aletta are now working at a camp in California on Saturdays. They have to be there at 8:30 AM. So, part of life here is dealing with getting across the border. We get up at least by 6:30 to be out the door. The border for cars entering the US can be at least a 30-minute wait time of up to two or three hours on any Saturday. We get a taxi for about $5 to drop us off at the border crossing, where we cross on foot. This line during the weekend to walk across is 5-minute wait time. So we get across the border, then walk to where our car is parked. Anna has finally gotten her Mexican driver's license. She is the first of 5 at the right age to drive. (The driving age in Mexico is 18). So Anna is learning to drive the 45 minutes to the camp, which is all curves, uphill and downhill. It will be a few more tries before we let her drive without me. 

This time, we had to leave at 6:15 so I could make it to a men's breakfast at 8 AM. They asked me to share my testimony about what God is doing now with us. After breakfast, I spoke with a guy named Steve, who had only been a Christian for a year. He said he was really encouraged by what I shared and that he wanted to grow spiritually.  It was a blessing to hear about his life in Christ. After that, a few other men were talking to Rich. He is in his 70's. He had cancer but was in remission. Unfortunately, it had come back. It had shown up in three areas of his body. He was in a lot of pain, so much so that he went to the ER to help with the pain. We prayed for him. We prayed that God would heal his body and he would continue to know Jesus as his anchor in the darkness. What will be his story in the end? Will God heal him? Will God take him home for eternity? Either way, God is still sovereign. He is still victorious. He will still be king. 

It reminds me of when my dad passed away. His faith was so vital in those last 6 months. He talked more about God than he had in a long time. It was God preparing him to come home. My dad knew where he was going when he finally passed away. To be with Jesus in eternity. It is a privilege to know we will be with Jesus in paradise!

We are so blessed that Jessie's parents have come to stay with us for two months during winter. It is a big deal for your kids to grow up knowing their grandparents. This is especially true for our adopted kids who have never been to the United States. Their knowledge and understanding of our "American" culture is limited to what they have learned and experienced from us. Don't get me wrong, they have experienced some level of American culture being raised by gringos. But all around us, for many years, we were the only gringos. So, by having visitors in our home, our kids get different exposure to different cultures. All my kids will grow up with fond memories of their grandparents staying with us. I write this as an encouragement. We can all do better at giving family members attention. I know I can, especially to my nieces and nephews. What kind of impact will I have on them so they will want to know Jesus? What will they remember when they grow up? As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:20.    "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."  Is this something that I do? My hope and prayer is yes.​

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