Hello! We hope you all had a wonderful Easter and are enjoying the weather as it gets warmer and warmer! It’s been another wonderful couple months serving at CMTS! Wyatt and I just love the community and that we get to be a part of it!
Food Fest!
March 7th we had our Food Fest Fundraiser! The whole night was amazing! There was food from Canada, Mexico, Michigan, the Dominican Republic, India, Pennsylvania, and other places. We also had a featured drink from every country, a silent auction, and baskets that were being raffled off! It was a great night of fellowship, meeting new people, trying great food, and even getting to pray for people! There was a section of the evening where missionaries, and ministries shared of God’s goodness and love to them through CMTS! This was my favorite part, Wyatt and I were so encouraged! I don’t always get to meet or see the people and ministries that God is using CMTS to reach. So just getting to sit there and hear all these testimonies was such a huge blessing to me! I remember thinking “Who cares about the money, let’s just keep sharing testimonies of God’s love, and pray for each other because this isn’t just a fundraiser. God is using this to impact lives and display who He is!” It was such an awesome night! Oh and we had a goal to raise $24,000 dollars. So we left that evening having raised $22,000, but money kept coming in from the fundraiser which brought us to $31,000! God exceeded our expectations and our request of $24,000.
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV
Mexico!
The day after we got back from Mayreau EQUIP had their first meeting for Mexico. Mexico is a place the EQUIP students go every year. We love the connections that have been made with the people on the YWAM base and other local ministries in Monterey. The main focus of the Mexico trip is evangelism, but this year we felt a pull to raise money to build a house with Homes of Hope. So the trip had a lot of evangelism with three days of building a house for a family in need.
Homes of Hope is an organization whose focus is to raise money and build homes for families that need a home. This also provides ways for skilled laborers to serve! The family doesn’t have to be saved to receive a home. Throughout the entire process the people building the house will be witnessing to them, and then after they are given the keys the local YWAM base will continue to pray for them and talk with them about Jesus. It’s a really cool process and I love that the EQUIP guys this year got to build a home for a family in need.
Work Groups!
May 2nd Salem Christian school came for half a day and served with us! We sorted clothes while they were here. When it was all said and done we had 50-60 bags of sorted clothes to put in our clothing trailer! This was a huge blessing for us to have that kind of help! It’ll also help local ministries when they are looking for clothes to give away, and let’s not forget the containers we ship! Back in November we shipped two sea containers. Through those shipments, and a few local ministries we had completely cleaned out the clothing trailer! There wasn’t a single bag left! So we started asking for clothing donations and lots came in! So many came in that the “unsorted” section in the trailer was overflowing. Salem Christian school came, brought 10 of their students and helped us sort through so many bags!! It was a wonderful blessing to have them! They were a joy to serve with in their work ethic and attitudes!
For the rest of this summer we have two groups scheduled! Both of them will be overnight, and are small youth groups! We are looking forward to having them here to serve with us! Our goal in groups coming here is to encourage and inspire the body of Christ to serve. Service in our lives can look like a variety of things! It looks like serving in the church we go to, serving our families at home, or even serving a stranger by helping them carry their groceries! We try to show people the joy in serving Christ so that they would also be inspired to do the same in their own lives!
Coming Up!
- There will be a celebration of life for Johnny Debkowski May 17th at 1pm. It’s going to be in the open house field by the mechanic shop. We’d love to have you come and share a testimony of how God used Johnny in your life, and come for the fellowship!
- July 19th, 11am – 3pm we have the Fun Fest! We will have bounce houses, games, fun, food, and more! We would love for you to join us and to bring your family! For more information you can contact the front office or check our Facebook page for more updates!
Praises!
- The success of the food fest and all the good fellowship we had that evening!
- The Mexico team had safe travels there and back! And praise God for the work He did through them!
- Salem Christian school was a blessing to have again, and were wonderful to serve with it!
Prayer Requests!
- One of our staff members, John Debkowski went to be with the Lord on the morning of April 9th. It’s not sad anymore for him, but it is hard for those left behind. Pray for his family that they would be comforted and know God more through this. His celebration of life will be May 17th here at CMTS.
Thank you all so much for your support, both by prayers and financially! We appreciate It and wouldn’t be able to do this with you!
Would you join Sandra as a monthly supporter so she can continue the work God has started? She would be honored to be able to share the experience with you and make you part of the team. As she shares how God is working and the impact she is having on His Kingdom, please pray and ask God if you should partner with her as a monthly donor/supporter.
