El Pan De Vida Ministries

A Dream Come True by Daphne Alvarado

admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 20:20:07 +0000

Coming to Mexico was a dream come true and an answer to prayer!

It seemed like the funds were not coming at all and time kept passing. It had been two years since I had come with Tammey and the AFCOE group in 2011. I was so thankful in returning and it was a really great time! The first night we got there was a Youth Revival for the church. Valerie, Carsten, and I shared our personal testimonies. So many of the youth came up to me personally and told me how they were so blessed by my personal testimony and how it helped them in their walk with God. One girl said, “This is the best youth event I ever been to” I was so thrilled to hear good responses from the youth and adults as well.

The following day was Sabbath and we had planned for outreah that day. We were praying for the church members to receive a blessing as they came to help us. I saw a young girl named Caren, and asked her to join Tammey and I as we went out into the community. Before leaving the church for outreach we prayed God would give us divine appointments and that people from the community would come to the showing of Cosmic Conflict that night in the church. We went in faith visiting the people and made friends along the way. One family we met up with had two little ones playing outside and I asked the mother where she was from and she told me that she had lived in the United States for awhile in Indiana. I was thrilled because I lived in Indiana for 8 years and it was such a crazy coincidence, or should I say divine appointment. We also met another family whose father-in-law was excited about the invitation to the free movie night. At the end of the showing of Cosmic Conflict, we asked those who were visitors to stand up and they would receive a free copy of the DVD. As we looked around at who was standing we saw the father-in-law of the one family and we saw the woman who had lived in Indiana and her two children!!! Caren, Tammey, and I were so happy, but especially Caren, because she realized that God had used her to reach someone for Him and how faithful God is to answer our prayers. God really blessed and we were thankful. Because of that outreach, Caren is doing Bible studies with the lady who lived in Indiana and others from the church are doing Bible studies with those from the community who had come to see Cosmic Conflict.

The next day Caren asked us to give her lessons on how to do Bible studies so we decided to teach her and it was amazing. Caren is only 13 years old and has a desire to serve God by doing Bible Studies. I was so humbled and honored to teach her how to give Bible studies and to put into practice what I had learned in AFCOE and SOULS -West training. Caren was so excited to learn and I know that God sent us to Mazumiapan to help her to get more training so that she can more effectively reach out to her community.

It was a blessing staying in Mazumiapan. I didn’t know that I had a cousin that lived only 60 miles from Mazumiapan. I was able to meet her and her family. I got to share my testimony with them on Christmas Day. My cousin used to be Seventh-day Adventist, but had a bitter experience with her mom and her religious practices. Fortunately, God opened an opportunity to share with her my own testimony which prompted her to ask me to share my testimony to her children and her husband. She couldn’t understand why I traveled from place to place doing missionary work with hardly any clothes and money. I explained to her that the things of the world aren’t a priority for me and she could tell that I was happy even though I had very little. She comes from a very wealthy background and so I was thankful that I got to share where my true Peace came from. I was thankful that even though I couldn’t give them a physical gift on Christmas, I was able to share the peace and contentedness that only Jesus can give.

On New Years eve, we visited a lady to check her blood pressure and someone came to the house to tell her about an accident that had taken place on the main road. Someone had driven off the bridged and two people had died. She then asked who it was and they told her it was her nephew. She was in shock. We prayed with her and then went to see if the other family had found out about the news of their son dying in this accident. When we arrived we experienced first hand the emotions of a family receiving the news of their son dying on New Years Eve. It was an experience I will never forget. I have never experienced that before and we were so sad for the family. The next day we went to visit the family and sang songs for them. We gave them a book called, “God’s Answers” in Spanish. This was a blessing because we know that they will know the truth through this hard time as they search the Bible and find comfort in the truth of the state of the dead. I found out that God has so many methods of reaching people. Singing, health, literature, Bible studies and I am so thankful for these tools. I know that God will lead this family to the truth because of that book and the truth shall set them free to live in peace after this tragic experience in their life.

It was sobering attending the funeral on New Years Day and I experienced the reality of life and death.

” It is better to go to the house of morning, than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart” Ecclesiastes 7:2

“Take ye heed, watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is” Mark 13:33

Jesus is coming so soon and it was awesome for me to see this through my time in Mazumiapan because He is showing His people more and more that we can’t continue to sit on the pews and warm them. We need to be right with God and seek and save the lost with the help of Jesus. I was really thankful for my time in Mexico. God showed me a lot about my character and how He wants to finish the work in me as I let Him and how He has great plans for me. I am so thankful for this experience and I pray that God will continue to work through His people in Mazumiapan and that He will water the seeds that have been planted.

“And my souls shall be joyful in the Lord, It shall rejoice in his salvation” Psalms 35:9

Rocket Stoves & Patti

admin — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 19:12:18 +0000

My brother and I have been down here with Tammey and David almost three months now. One of the projects we did in our time being down here were rocket stoves. The people here call them fogons.
The rocket stoves are a project Tammey and David decided to start up to help the health of the women down here in Mazumiapan and neighboring villages. They all cook over open fires down here so they’re constantly breathing in the fumes and smoke. Doing this two to three times a day really starts to get detrimental to their health. So the idea of a rocket stove is to eliminate most of the smoke and give them a healthier environment to cook in. Plus it provides a hotter fire with a more concentrated heat. Their original stove are these big blocks in the shape of a horseshoe. The rocket stove is compilation of 17 bricks stacked onto of one another in a shape of a cube. It’s a very different design, but healthier.

Now onto Patti. Her and her husband Elias were two of the most inviting people upon coming down here. They have been for Tammey and David as well. We decided to do a project for her and her family. Being down here where it rains a lot, there’s tons of flooding. Every time it would rain, the area where Patti would cook would flood and get all muddy. It wasn’t an ideal area to be cooking in. So we went ahead and bought the materials needed to cement in the kitchen, plus a little walkway from the back door of their house to the kitchen. While working on the kitchen we noticed that the area they used to shower in was very public. Pretty much a little patch of rocks and some big flour bags strung up as curtains. So again we went ahead and bought the materials needed to give them a more private shower. We cemented in the floor and bought some building blocks built walls, and got some material for a nice shower curtain. Now she has a dry area to cook for her family, a healthier fogon and a private area for her and her family to shower in.

Kyle & Nik Martin

Journal Entries From The Mission Field; Far From Family & Friends

admin — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 03:23:36 +0000

August 30, 2013 – I was able to get a call through to my mom for her 70th birthday. My daughter and sister-in-law are driving down to my moms together to join her for her birthday. They are taking her out to her favorite restaurant. Although it was wonderful to speak to my mom and wish her a happy birthday I started thinking about how much I would have liked to be there with her celebrating and rejoicing together. I love my mom very much and we have drawn closer in our relationship with each other as we have gotten older. Being so far away from her is extremely difficult. I asked the Lord to give her a big hug and kiss for me.

September 10, 2013 – Kate called today. We talked just a week ago, yet I couldn’t help but smile when I heard her voice again. It has been quite an adjustment not having her here with us. At times, I half expect her to come out of her room and join us for morning worship. I miss singing hymns with her. It is a hard transition going from seeing someone every day to not knowing when you will get to see them again.

September 15, 2013 – Today is my father’s birthday. My daughter and son-in-law are at his home celebrating with him, his wife and my brother. It was wonderful to speak with my dad and wish him a happy birthday, but by the end of the phone call I couldn’t prevent breaking down into tears for I longed to be there celebrating with them all. Phone calls and even skyping can never take the place of leaning your head against your father’s chest and having his arm around you as you share time together. No. Although technology is a blessing it will never replace the physical presence of another person.

September 16, 2013 – My daughter called tonight. I am always excited to hear her voice over the phone. We got a chance to catch up on what has been going on in each others life lately. I love talking to my children. I was doing good with my emotions during our conversation together, but after hanging up I found myself tearing up once again. I love my children more than they will probably ever understand. A mom’s love for her children can never be understood until they have their own children. I have to say, having to depart from my children to enter the mission field is one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life. While my heart continues to hear God’s call to relieve the suffering of humanity here in Mexico, and to point the way to my loving Savior, Jesus Christ, and the eternal home He has prepared for us, where pain and suffering will be no more, being separated from loved ones has not become any less painful.

September 22, 2013 – We have been in the mission field for a year and a half now, and although we have many friends here, on occasion when taking my morning run, I find myself asking the Lord to comfort my heart as I miss many loved ones back in the states. Relationships are very important to me and are essential in my life. God created us this way. The essence of the Trinity shows us this. Creation reveals this to us. God is love and can only be defined as love through relationships. The heartache I experience my Lord knows all about. For being separated from loved ones is something the Lord is very familiar with. The reason He gave us Jesus, His Son, was to bridge the gap of separation, made as a result of sin, and is also one of the reasons He gave us the Holy Spirit as our comforter, until His Son can come take us back to our eternal home. There are hosts of angels in heaven, but God’s heart still aches to have us with Him one day. I have many people here who are dear to me, but my heart still aches to have my family and friends in the states near to me. If it were not for the Comforter I know I could not be so far away away from so many I love.

I have written these entries not because there are not many joyful and fulfilling times here in the mission field. There are numerous precious moments that remind me as to why I am here. Every day I am blessed as I encounter beautiful faces that God created beaming with thankfulness as Jesus connects our lives together and a relationship is birthed. A relationship where Jesus’ love is experienced through acts of compassion and responses of thankfulness. Wherever relationships are fostered out of care and concern for one another Jesus is at work. These countless, priceless moments are snapshots in the heavenly books forever and make me very thankful to the Lord for allowing me to be a part of the work He is doing here in Mexico. I am not sure the heart ache and yearning to be nearer to my loved ones will ever dissipate, but I do know that when my heart begins to ache Jesus will hold me in His arms and comfort me. I have written these things because they are real moments in the life of this missionary, and to encourage all who are reading this to know where we can receive our comfort from in our times of heartache. Nothing we go through, my friends, goes unnoticed by our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. He is aware of all you are going through…even now.

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8

Help Is On The Way

admin — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 03:08:03 +0000

There are many times in the mission field when the needs of the people you were sent to serve are far above and beyond what you are capable of meeting. The only place you can go for help is to God. This is when prayer is taken to another level. it goes from a heart to heart talk with the Lord to a heart cry. I am not sure of the exact day or hour this transition in my prayers began, I just know that I kept pressing in more and more as the needs of the people kept getting greater than we were able to handle. Finally, a break through occurred on Wednesday January 23, 2013. I received an email from Lyudmyla, a member of the Granite Bay Church, saying, “I would like to organize a medical-mission trip to Mexico. I’ve been working on this idea for a while, considered different countries and volunteer-organizations, but after lots of prayers God put on my heart your project.” This was the beginning of a series of emails, phone calls, and many hours of preparation work to get ready for a medical mission team that included nine medical professionals. The Lord had heard the prayers that had ascended from the very first one and in His perfect timing sent help.

What a blessing it was to see each member of the medical mission team come through those doors at the airport. We were all rejoicing to see each other. After arriving in Mazumiapan we unloaded all the luggage and settled in for the night. The next day we got right to work. The team was here for two weeks and by the grace of God we had seven health fairs in seven different villages, made a few house calls, and even had people showing up at our front door for medical assistance. By the end of the two weeks we had served over 800 people, free of charge. Freely we had been given and freely we gave. The naturalist on the medical team opened the mind of many to new ways of healing. The doctor provided health care for many who could not afford it. The dentist relieved those suffering with tooth decay and the nurses attended over and above the number of people who were able to be seen by the other medicals. The need was great, but God is greater and the help that was needed had arrived.

The blessing of God flowed from the moment that email arrived and continues on even after the teams departure. The team had left a good number of reading glasses and as soon as word got out that we had them in our possession people were coming at all hours of the day to try a pair on. Villagers and some of our own church members from other villages who had been impacted by the health fairs were asking to have follow-up health classes and cooking classes in their village. The level of trust and awareness of our presence had grown seven-fold. Well you may be saying, “Tammey that’s great, but it sounds like you have more work now then you had before the mission team arrived.” You are right, but once again God is amazing, for when the mission team was here we were able to train a few people from a nearby village and they have made a commitment to help us tackle the great need here. We are also praying that the Lord will provide a way for the medical mission team to make another visit here sometime this next year.

I thank God for all those who sacrifice their time and money to surrender their God given talents to help those of us here in the mission field. It brings great blessing, encouragement and hope to us and to the people here in Mexico. Blessings to you all!

Little Pedro

elpandevidasalud — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:39:58 +0000

Little Pedro is a five year old boy who wants to walk and go to school just like all the other children in his village, but his legs are not able to allow him to do this. He had a tumor in his spinal cord and has liquid on the brain that needs to be continually to be drained. We recently took him and his family to Veracruz, about three hours away, to have a doctor review his condition to see if his drainage tube needed to be changed. Every few years as grows the doctors have to change the tube that allows the fluid in his brain to drain properly. Pedro is a determined little boy who loves life and his family very much. He tries desperately to get around, but he has to be careful because he has no feeling below his knees and he can hurt himself without even knowing it. If he cuts himself he is susceptible to getting infections and is unable to alert his parents because he cannot feel any pain in his lower legs. We have been doing all we can to help Pedro and his family ever since we found out that they had neglected to go to the doctors to have his routine check- ups because they had no money to travel all the way to Veracruz. He has won our hearts with his sweet smile and determination and we are looking for a way to purchase him an all-terrain wheelchair to get around on the rugged dirt roads here. Specialized all-terrain wheelchairs are very costly, but we are claiming the promise found in Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Please pray this promise with us for little Pedro.

Is Anyone Listening?

elpandevidasalud — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:03:01 +0000

As a parent there are times that you wonder whether or not your children are paying attention to the things that you are trying to teach them as they grow up. As we teach here in the public school system of our village we wonder the same thing. Each Tuesday we teach English classes in the primary school here in Mazumiapan. Before starting each class we pray for the Lord’s blessing with the children and then we have a five minute health talk. We may talk to them about the importance of washing your hands, drinking enough water each day or why eating too many greasy, fatty foods is not healthy for our bodies. Sometimes we walk home asking ourselves, “are the children really paying attention, are they learning something or are we just spinning our wheels?” We have even asked the Lord, “do you want us to continue teaching these classes or is there something else You want us to do on Tuesdays?”

Well just recently we had our prayers answered. We were checking an older lady’s blood pressure and glucose level on our front porch one morning and we got to talking to her son who had brought her to our home. He shared a story with us about his son who had gotten sick one day. It sounded like just common cold or flu symptoms. His parents were going to give him some medication to take to get better, but the boy said, “no I just need to drink lots of water. The gringos taught us that medicine helps one part of our body, but hurts another part and that it is not always good to take medicine.” The boy was feeling better in just a few days. The boy’s dad told us, “you are helping us as parents learn through what you are teaching to our children.” Praise the Lord! This was just the good news we needed to hear!

There are times when we all get discouraged along the way. You may be giving a Bible study to someone, talking to a co-worker about Jesus, or maybe trying to teach your children about the Lord Jesus Christ, and you may think to yourself, “are they really paying attention to what I am saying; am I getting through to them at all?” Well, my friends many times you might just be surprised to find out that not only are they learning something from what you are trying to teach them, but they are also sharing what they are learning with someone else. Do not give up keeping fighting the good fight of faith! Believing that as you plant the seeds of truth God IS giving the increase and that a harvest will one day be reaped.

“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” Galatians 6:9

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man…

elpandevidasalud — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:58:07 +0000

It was a picturesque day in Mazumiapan. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and a breeze was gently blowing cleaning out the air in our little village. David was getting some clothes ready to launder when a familiar sound to his gardener ears started getting louder and louder near our home. All three of us ran out to the front patio of our home and could see a man in a yellow outfit, with a mask over his mouth and a machine strapped to him.

It was a fumigator pumping out clouds of pesticides into the air to kill off mosquitoes. He was walking down the dirt roads pointing the blower tube towards homes with open doors and windows. Large clouds of pesticides were lofting into the homes all around us as we ran around our home closing all the windows and doors. Small children and mothers with babies were walking right into the clouds of pesticide.

Young children were making a game out of the whole event as they ran in and out of the white billowy clouds of chemicals. There were several different men assigned to each area of the village to fumigate.

They went through the neighborhoods and around the schools as the children were outside in the courtyards for their morning break.

We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. As we were rapidly closing our doors and windows others were not concerned at all about letting the white clouds of chemicals come right into their homes.

Fumigation from Kate Velazquez on Vimeo.

When we were sharing this event to someone recently they said we should have kept our windows and doors open to kill the mosquitos inside our home. We understand that getting bit by mosquitos can become a problem as they carry disease, but we believe there are better ways to control the mosquitos then to pump massive amounts of harmful cancer causing chemicals into the air that we breath. There are measures that can be taken to limit their habitat. Making sure that there is no standing water on your property and near your home is one way to help keep the mosquito population down. There are times that I wonder whether there is a plan to control the population of mosquitos or control the population of people. The food that we eat, the lifestyles we live, and the environment that we create around us each have an impact upon the quality and quantity of years we live. From the beginning God always wanted us to enjoy a long life full of health and vitality. He wanted us to live in an environment that promoted optimal living conditions, but we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way and in many ways have become our own shepherd, god, and king. So we are left in a world that suffers from the consequences of our own choices, not a world that suffers from a faulty Creator.

Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

The good news is that the Bible also says that God provided a way that leads to life.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

God at Work

elpandevidasalud — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:06:00 +0000

Testimonies are faith boosters. Why? Because they share with us how God is working in the lives of people today in amazing ways. Santiago, a church attendee and our hairstylist, began to share his testimony while he was cutting Kate’s hair the other day. He told us how just a few years ago he was making a lot of money in a city called Juarez, but ended up spending it all on drugs and partying. This young man is very artistic and ended up eventually leaving Juarez and traveling to Cancun where he did the decorating for a party planning company. He made elaborate table centerpieces and other decorations for fancy upscale parties where families would spend enormous amounts of money to showcase their son or daughter for their fifteenth birthday. Here in Mexico turning fifteen is a big deal; initiating them into adulthood. These parties are huge and include lots of drinking and dancing.

This left Santiago to continue living in a downward spiral of drugs and partying. In his own words he told us, “I was wasting my life.” A turn of events brought him back home here to Mazumiapan where his mom, wife and children live. Shortly after coming back to Mazumiapan his sister died suddenly. It was a tragedy and a blessing in disguise as we were able to minister to Santiago and his family. Then one day Santiago’s mother woke up early one Sabbath morning and told Santiago, “We’re going to church. We need to start looking for God.” Santiago was apprehensive at first, but agreed. Jessica his youngest daughter also chimed in by saying to him, “Daddy you are suppose to be our leader, you should be taking us to church.” Now the whole family attends church each Sabbath. Praise the Lord! Santiago’s mother and wife were recently baptized and God is preparing Santiago to do the same. It is exciting to see how the Holy Spirit is working in Santiago’s life. He even shared with us how a pastor recently told him that he could continue decorating for parties as long as he did not attend or participate in them, but Santiago told us that he doesn’t think God wants him to do that kind of work anymore. Santiago believes that God has better plans for his time here.

My friends, don’t waist your life…..God has better plans for your life too Surrender your life into His loving hands and serve Him while you have time.

Pictures Paint a Thousand Words

elpandevidasalud — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:27:00 +0000

Many of you have been asking for more pictures of life here in Mazumiapan and the area of Mexico around where we are living. in response to your requests we will do our best to dedicate a blog post each month to sending out a picture story for all of you. They say pictures paint a thousand words, and we find that this is so true. We hope the pictures will help you to experience a bit of Mexico along with us. Please give us your feedback from time to time so we know how we can help make our blog more informative and enjoyable for you. Thank you for taking an interest in the people here and the ministry of El Pan de Vida!

Favor with God and Man

elpandevidasalud — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:47:00 +0000

In Luke 2:52 Bible says, Jesus had favor with man and with God. As we are here on behalf of Jesus, as His ambassadors in Mexico, we have seen His hand move by giving us favor with man. Both the conference here and the pastor are very supportive of the work we are doing here. The conference is helping us with our paperwork for our visas and allowed us to make a video presentation of the ministry in action to present at a big event they are having soon. At this event each conference gets eight minutes to share what is happening in there area. Our conference is giving us five minutes for the video presentation and only keeping three minutes to give their own talk.

We were very excited about this because of the number of people who will be attending the event and getting to see the video presentation of what The Lord is doing through El Pan de Vida Ministries. The pastor in our area is also thrilled with the ministry we are doing here and has even assisted us at our health fairs. We were sad to see him be moved to another area just recently. Although we are praying that this might be just another opportunity to branch out into other areas of Mexico. The place in which he has been moved to has a church whose members are very interested in the health message and we have been trying to figure out a way to get over there and do a one week long session of classes with them. We do not think it is a coincidence that the our pastor was moved in the area where this church is. The Lord is amazing!