Greetings, April, 2008

In a month I'll be seventy-nine. That will be a first for me. During that time I've been able to speak to thousands of teenagers all over the world who've gathered together in conferences, camps, retreats, schools, churches... you name it, I've "been there and done that". My message to these kids has been pretty much the same year after year; a challenge to each kid to give his life back to God so he can be used by The Lord to make a difference in this world. Fact: God can make better use of our lives than we can. After all didn't He create us for His purpose and use?

I count it a privilege every week to interact with groups of U.S. teens, not only sharing the same challenge but by taking these kids with us across the international border into Mexico where the culture and environment of third-world poverty can further impact them and "set" the challenge they have heard.

Each missionary that forms our ministry is dedicated to that same challenge. U.S. teen or Mexican teen, all get the challenge and hopefully see it worked out in our lives.

Thursday mornings different American groups of teens come down to our location in San Diego to work for the day with us in Mexico.

To help jump-start an early morning interest in missions and missionaries, I've had a large cabinet made to house a load of exotic, "Indiana Jones" type artifacts that I've collected in my travels. The weird, the gross and the interesting! This cabinet is located in our San Diego Spectrum shed and hidden in plain sight among arrows, blow-guns, and spears.

Even the most jaded and "coolest" California kid can't help being impacted by huge spiders, weird bugs, vampire bats, shrunken heads and piranha fish.

Boy, what a natural set-up for a missions adventure across the border. In that cabinet is the crowning jewel of tribal missions, a copy of a tribal bible. A people who have never heard, now have, and can read, the Word of God in their own language because a missionary left his home and came to them with the Gospel. Wow!

We're serious about our mandate and take as many creative opportunities as we can to challenge a young person into considering dedicating his or her life to world ministry and missions.

Thanks for your part in helping us challenge both Mexican and American kids to make a difference in their world. Keep us in your prayers. Your prayers help drive the impact home.

Von, for all of us working in Mexico.