Many Days of Celebrations!-July 2010

“If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.” II Timothy 2:21 (NLT)

July 5- Peering around the corner of the dirt floored courtyard, smiling faces were awaiting our arrival. “What you do today will affect generations to come” was the message delivered by Silvia Campillo (Prison Ministry team member) to 20 women that completed the Celebrate Recovery (CR) 12 step program. It was evident that each woman treasured the memory of being commended for their part in making positive changes within their lives as they received their diplomas for completing the 12 steps of the CR program. The celebration ended with a hotdogs and gifts (personal items).

July 12- Today 15 women were baptized in the beautiful chapel of the Ensenada Prison. Six of the women were from our CR group. Tears of joy ran down the faces of many of the women as they passed through the waters of baptism. By being baptized, each woman made a public declaration that they would no longer follow their old destructive ways and habits and openly displayed they were followers of Jesus Christ. I wish we could have taken pictures so you too could have seen the joy on their faces. It was a day to rejoice and celebrate!

July 19- Today 18 new women signed up to take the CR program in the prison as we offered it for the second time. What a beautiful site to see new faces desiring to be set free from their hurts, habits and hang ups. We are thankful for the 2 new leaders joining us in ministry from within the prison!!!! Both have completed their 12 steps and are ready to serve. But that’s not all! Today two of the women prisoners that came to join the new groups gave their hearts to Jesus. What an amazing way to kick off the new groups!

Rod and I were invited to the wedding of Heidi (intern from YUGO) & Justino in Sacramento. It was a beautiful wedding! We took advantage of the time to stop along the way and meet up with others that had served with YUGO Ministries in days gone by. Our time together was filled with great fellowship, fine food and reminiscing about old times. Thanks to the Ferguson’s and Pepito’s for opening their homes for us. We felt warmly welcomed!


Heidi & Justino


Stacy, Julie, Cheryl & Jenni-What a beautiful time we had reconnecting


Rod & Darin at the BBQ

God has been very faithful in sending us more women to join in the Prison Ministry. Each completed their leadership training and recently joined us leading the CR program in the Ensenada Prison. We are in awe as we watch this ministry blossom. Some of the men that have gone through CR training are now teaching in two different rehab centers. We are not sure where God is taking this. As Rick Warren says, “Start with a small group of people and watch it grow by word of mouth. You won’t be able to keep it a secret for long.” Rod and I had not planned to keep CR a secret, but never imagined it would grow as quickly as it has.

Elvia, Cheryl T, Pati, Lupita, Silvia, Cheryl H, Seve

Each of you holds a very important place within our hearts. Thank you to those that pray for us (your prayers are making a difference for eternity), those that encourage us and those that give sacrificially. Your partnering with us enables us to continue doing the work we have been called to do here in Mexico.

Prison Ministry Wish List

Prison Ministry Wish List

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring Good News to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.” Isaiah 61:1 (NAS)

Thank you to the many that have joined us in ministry through prayer for those that are incarcerated. Your prayers for the women within the prison and our Prison Ministry team are very important to us. It has been an honor to take part in this ministry and watch the women change before our very eyes as we enter into the prison and share the materials from the Celebrate Recovery Program instructing the inmates how to find freedom from their addictions and compulsive behaviors.

One woman that never ceases to amaze us is Belen. When she entered the prison, she was hard. She did not participate when others were sharing. Her hurt from her past and the consequences of her sins could be seen on her face and in her body movements. Each week as we continued to share the materials and pray we could see how God is changing Belen. Within a few short weeks Belen began to participate in the dialogue between the women and ourselves. After a couple months Belen shared with us that her mother (out side the prison) had also become a Christian. The Lord works in mysterious ways. I am sure that Belen was greatly encouraged to hear how God was not only working in her life but in the life of her family. She will need much prayer as she grows in her walk with Christ as her personal Savior.

The women are growing spiritually and finding freedom. They are always filled with joy, hugs and a kiss on the cheek (Mexican tradition) when we enter or leave the prison. I always walk out of the prison knowing I have had the privilege of sharing the love of Our Father with someone in great need. What an honor to have been chosen to minister to these women.

We are allowed to enter into the prison to encourage the women and meet their spiritual needs weekly. On occasion we are allowed to meet their physical needs also by supplying some of their basic needs. The prison in Mexico is NOT like the prisons in Canada or the US. The basic needs of the prisoners are not met. The simple things we take for granted such as soap to wash our bodies, toothpaste to brush our teeth, toilet paper or sanitary supplies are not supplied by the prison. This is where you come in. In the past we have brought many donated clothing articles and school supplies to Mexico when we drove to and from. This year we would like to focus on the needs of the prisoners. The needs around us are oftentimes overwhelming. Each missionary is called meet the needs of the people in different areas. This need is very real for us as we enter the prison week after week. If you are interested in taking part in the Prison Ministry please begin to start collecting these articles:

-toothpaste
-toothbrushes
-deodorant (no roll on or spray)
-hand soap (no body wash)
-rolls of toilet paper
-shampoo (NO conditioner as it is not considered a basic need)
-sanitary napkins (not tampons)
-white socks
-heavy gray sweatpants (no other colors are allowed)
-heavy gray sweatshirts
-white tee shirts (no color whatsoever on them
-blankets

As you can see the codes are very strict within the prison. It would be a tremendous blessing to have you join us in this ministry.

Possibly you do not feel led to start collecting items and you would prefer to just send a financial donation towards the prison ministry for events, medical needs, or gas and tolls to get to or from the prison, please contact the YUGO Canada office at 780-461-0891 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              780-461-0891      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or send your donation to YUGO Ministries Canada, Box 231, St. Albert, AB, T8N 1N3 to receive your charitable receipt. Be sure to mark your donation PRISON MINISTRY.

If you know of a church body that would like to partake in this collection, please contact us at hoopleshideaway@gmail.com so we can get back to you and talk about the details and plan dates for a pickup date. NOTE: Every box must be itemized before placing in the trailer. With this system we will hopefully not have problems when we get to the US boarder.

Men in Training-Jun 2010

“Remember those who are in prison as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering as if you were suffering with them” Hebrews 13:3

Tears gathered in the brim of Luisa’s eyes as she shared with me that when she prayed she felt Jesus only saw her as being bad and needing a good whopping. I had just shared (through a translator) with the women in the prison the importance of step 11 in the Celebrate Recovery Program.

Step 11: We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will; for us and the power to carry that out.

Others have a choice to read God’s word, Luisa does not! Luisa, like many here in Mexico, has never learned to read or write. Her warped view of Jesus comes from religious traditions that bring guilt and condemnation from not knowing the true character of God. We tried to bring Talking Bibles into the prison for Luisa and others that can not read or write so they too can hear for themselves about this amazing God that loves us. Due to strict regulations, the Talking Bibles did not pass inspection. Please join us in prayer that we will be able to find another way to bring God’s word to those in need of hearing about this loving God we serve within the prison walls.

This has been a month with incredible blessings. For quite some time we have had men approach us about wanting to get involved with Prison Ministry. We started the men’s side of Prison/Rehab Ministry with a kick off dinner. Five men attended eagerly wanting to know more about the Celebrate Recovery Program. Within weeks other women expressed their desire to be taught the program so they too could teach it to others. Rod is presently training up six men and six women with the Celebrate Recovery materials, preparing them for leadership. It is a beautiful to see how others have caught the vision to partake in the ministry.


Rod, Luis, Nate, Ivan, Juan, Sergio

The summer Evangelistic Outreaches have begun! Our new interns have arrived and have been trained up for summer service. Staff members, new and old are in place and the first group arrived this past Sunday. YUGO is very excited to have their newest set of staff members joining in on the Evangelistic Outreaches and heading up the Construction Ministry in the Rosarito/Tijuana area. We welcome Ron & Kristy Struska and their children Will & Brittany with open arms. God is answering prayer and sending missionaries.


YUGO's Newest Missionaries Ron & Kristy

While Rod was busy with preparing for the summer outreaches I took a quick trip to Canada. It was good to spend time with my brother Jack and other family members. My daughter Jessica joined me for a couple weeks camping out at my parents. Spending two glories weeks with my grandchildren Maddy and Aly captured my heart and left lasting memories. I was even able to see Rebekah for a few days during the visit.

Rod and I will return to Canada in August for three weeks as Rod will need to see a heart specialist after his heart surgery last fall. We are praising God that Rod was able to find an older cargo trailer at a steal of a deal. We will drive to Canada with the cargo trailer in hopes of filling it to the brim with needs for the prison ministry. If you are interested in taking part in this collection, please check out the Prison Ministry Wish List if you would like to be involved.

PRAISE: -For being able to spend quality time with family. -For the amazing staff that have come forth for the outreaches. -For a dear friend that has taken over the sending out our snail mail prayers letters. Thank you Donna!
PRAYER: -For my brother Jack as he has continues to lose weight. -For more groups to join YUGO in ministry. -For strength and stamina for the summer staff.

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