The Thiessen Talk'O - Winter 2019

The Thiessen Talk'O  Sharing The Love of God in La Paz, BCS, Mexico                      Missionaries To Mexico, Serving With TEAM & Associate Missionaries with EMC Mexico Here We Come!!! Well...our first home assignment has not gone like we planned but it has reminded us that, "we can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." Prov. 16:9 These past 6 months have stretched us in many ways. Our hope and desire was to be in Canada for only 3 - 4 months but medical concerns, having to raise more support and waiting for specialist appointments and test results have kept us here longer then expected. It's been a difficult chapter marked by waiting and living in limbo while our hearts have longed to return home to the Transformados ministry and all the youth we've come to know and love in Mexico. God's been teaching us patience in the waiting, trust amidst the unknowns, that He is in control and we are not, to be thankful for the gift of unexpected blessings, the importance of not being so focused on the destination that we miss the journey and the joy of making memories. Even though this season has been a whirlwind marked by the struggle to understand His purpose and plan, the thread of peace that comes from trusting God's sovereignty, has been woven throughout the journey. Now God's timing says we have the green light to return to Mexico and for this we are incredibly excited and thankful!!! We appreciate all the prayers and support that have got us to this point! Here's an update on things we've asked you to pray about and our next steps over the coming weeks. Since it didn't work for us to return in November, we set our sights on the beginning of January. Unfortunately, when collecting our medicals, the Doctor told us she had concerns about Anthony's latest blood test. His elevated bilirubin levels started us on another round of tests, exams, MRI's and appointments. We ended up being here to celebrate Christmas and New Years with family, an unexpected blessing, and then Anthony traveled to Edmonton for his specialist appointment on January 9th. He was given a list of diseases/syndromes he could have and was asked to do more tests and scans to enable the Doctor to give a final diagnosis. At the same time, we made the decision to re-apply for our Alberta Health Care. We've been without it for the past 2 years because they now consider us non-residents even though the Federal Government considers us residents and we pay our Canadian Taxes every year. ABHC rules state that you have to be in country for 6 months every year, to qualify. Not having it meant our TEAM medical insurance premiums were higher and we had to pay upfront for all medical stuff done here in Canada. With these unexpected medical concerns keeping us here for 6 months, we decided to re-apply and were very thankful when it was re-instated. We finally received a diagnosis the second week of February and we praise God that Anthony's condition is simply a hereditary, non-life threatening syndrome that does not require treatment! Thank you for praying for him and his health! Thank you for praying for our monthly support needs as well! With a couple little tweaks to the budget, the reinstatement of our ABHC, some increases in giving by present supporters, new monthly partners added and generous one-time gifts, God has answered!!! We are once again, fully funded for the coming year and have been given the financial green light to head back to Mexico! We are incredibly blessed to have such an amazing support network!!! Being the recipients of God's provision, through His people, is humbling, heartwarming and encouraging. It reminds us that we are not alone, that we could not be doing what God has called us to do if it wasn't for all the people and churches standing with us and fulfilling this important role in God's Kingdom work in Mexico! To everyone who prays for us, to everyone who encourages us through emails, notes, cards, care packages, to everyone who financially supports us, thank you, thank you, thank you. It doesn't seem enough to say and yet our hearts are forever grateful! Receiving the medical and financial green lights from TEAM, made it possible for us to look at purchasing tickets for our return. After much prayer and conversation, we came to a creative decision. Monday, Februrary 11th, Anthony flew back to La Paz in order to keep Transformados running while our teammates attend a missions conference in the US. Karlene remained behind to give Josiah and Keyana the opportunity to finish basketball with their school teams. Our children knew that, when they started playing, they would probably not be able to finish the season. Had we been able to leave in December or January, this would have been the case. But when looking to purchase tickets we realized they were only 2-3 weeks away from divisionals and zones. With it being this close, we felt it was important to give them the opportunity to finish so they don't leave feeling things are undone or wishing they could have stayed to the end of the basketball season. Our desire is to help our kids transition as well as possible and sometimes that means minimizing regrets by giving opportunity to say goodbyes and enabling our kids to finish well. If all goes as planned, Karlene, Josiah and Keyana look forward to joining Anthony in La Paz by the beginning of March. Urgent Prayer Request Update We've been asking you to pray that God would grant us access again to the Jr. High basketball court in our neighbourhood. As we've shared, in our previous newsletters, we've used this court for the past 3 years with the blessing and invitation of the community president and the directors of the school. Unfortunately, this past September, on the decision of one Official in the Education department, this privilege was taken away from us. We don't understand why but based on his demeanor and comments during a meeting with our teammate, we wonder if this isn't a case of religious persecution. After countless conversations, phone calls, office visits and jumping through every hoop Transformados was advised to jump through, our teammates submitted documents, 200 petitions from supporting parents and community members and a formal request asking for permission to once again use the court. Then we waited and prayed. Unfortunately, we have received word that our request was denied. We've been told to wait until this Official is out of office and then reapply. This news has been disheartening to say the least. We continue to be thankful and grateful for the invitation of the local elementary school director to use their court for all of our basketball clubs. He's told us we are welcome to stay as long as we want. This is a wonderful blessing and yet we struggle with the size of the court and hoops and the age of the backboards. While we can't do anything about the court, we are working with the director to make improvements in the other two areas but its slow going. We've put in an official request to have evening access to our local community basketball court, but it was recently renovated and now due to politics, is locked until further notice. It also doesn't have a roof which makes it virtually impossible to use on Saturday mornings or during the summer when we run morning camps. This has been a discouraging turn of events but we have been encouraged to see the level of parental and community support Transformados has. While we thank God for His present provision, we are praying for a better alternative. Whether it means speeding up the needed improvements at the elementary school, or gaining permission to use the community court or a change of heart granting us the return to our former place, we know that God will continue to provide. None of this has taken Him by surprise. We recognize that this might be His way of encouraging us to step out in faith and pursue the dream of having our own Transformados property with a youth centre and basketball courts. We don't know what God has planned but we know He has a plan and that it is a good plan. Please pray with us for wisdom, discernment, patience, trust and courage as we seek God's will for the future of Transformados! We want to be in step with His leading, not running ahead or lagging behind. This is His ministry and we don't want to get in the way of what He wants to accomplish. Our desire is to simply be vessels that He can use to fulfill His plan for Transformados. Thank you for your prayers thus far. We ask that you continue to lift up this request in prayer and together we will look forward to what God is going to do! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You... We have been so blessed and so loved during our home assignment. Thank you to everyone who has poured into our lives during this season. Thank you for the holiday trailer to live in before the snow flew, to both sets of our parents for putting us up in their homes, for the vehicle to drive and the fuel to operate it, groceries, childcare, numerous coffee visits, gift cards, invites to homes and fellowship over meals, listening ears, encouraging hugs, laughter and fun and even shared tears, invites for our children to be a part of your children's lives, rides to school, opportunities to share about Transformados, genuine interest and good questions, games nights, hosting us on overnight trips, prayers, prayer times and shared worship, continued support, increased support, new supporters, one time supporters, thoughtful gifts and discounts, shared family times, renewed friendships, new friendships and loving farewells. For all of this and more, we are incredibly grateful and eternally thankful! It is such a wonderful gift to be loved and cared for by an amazing network of people. To all of you who have blessed us so immensely, we say thank you. Our prayer is that God will in turn bless you for the help and encouragement you have been to us and may He continue to use you to touch the lives of countless others! PRAYER Although our request was denied, we know God is still at work. Please continue to pray that He will provide a better solution for our basketball court situation. We know He can open access to the court again if He so chooses. However, we also realize that He might be preparing and calling us to something even better! Please pray with us for wisdom, discernment, patience, trust and courage as we seek God's will for the future of Transformados. This season of waiting and living in limbo has been difficult for us. We are excited to get back to Transformados but we are also sad to leave and to say goodbyes again. Please continue to pray for strength, patience, faith and trust in God's timing. Pray especially for our children. Being here longer then expected increases those tug of war, torn between 2 places they love, feelings. Pray that they will feel they have finished their time here well so they are better able to handle another move. Pray that we will have the love, compassion, insight, patience and wisdom needed to help them navigate goodbyes, loss, change and transition. Pray for us as we are apart during this time. Pray for Anthony as he leads the Transformados ministries by himself and for Karlene as she is single parenting, packing and preparing their return. Pray for our adjustment back to life in Mexico and the busy schedule of ministry. Pray for our teammates who are in the US for 2 weeks attending a missions conference. Pray that they will find time to rest and relax and refresh after many months of leading Transformados without us and the heavy workload that was for them. Continue to pray for our Transformados youth who have given their lives to Christ. Pray that their spiritual hunger will grow and that their faith will deepen. Pray they will be wise and strong in the face of difficult family situations, temptations, peer pressure and more. The challenges and distractions they face are many. Pray for us as we try to effectively mentor, disciple and love these youth. Please pray for Octavio who is away attending University. Pray that he will find a Bible teaching church to attend and Christian friends to encourage him in his personal relationship with Jesus. Pray that we can find ways to disciple him from afar and when he is home during school breaks. Pray for the many Transformados youth who have heard the truth but still haven't realized their need for a Saviour and a personal relationship with Him. Pray for our new teammates coming to join Transformados. Pray for them in this season of planning and support raising. Pray that God will use this time to prepare their hearts for all that lies ahead, to ready them to handle the changes and transitions with His peace and strength. Please continue to pray for complete healing for Anthony's knee. It has still not fully recovered. This concerns and frustrates Anthony as the pain and diminished mobility prevents him from being as active as he would like to be. Please continue to pray for complete healing for Karlene's hip. Even though it has improved a bit with physio it is still giving her problems. Please continue to pray for our marriage, our children, our family, our health, our protection, our energy, our continued language growth and the relationships we are building. We cannot continue to serve in Mexico and serve well without your faithful prayers on our behalf. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads because He knows our needs, our weaknesses, our struggles and the challenges we face.  PRAISE ...that all our medical appointments are finished and we've received medical and financial clearance to return to Mexico! ...that Anthony was given a diagnosis that isn't life threatening and doesn't require treatment. ...for everyone whom God has used to help us get back to full support! We are humbled, blessed and thankful to have an amazing network of people and churches standing with us! ...for the many people who have loved and cared for us so well during our home assignment. ...for the new teammates who are on their way to join us in La Paz. We have a family and a single woman who are joining our team and another lady who is coming to serve short-term. ...for the amazing growth we have seen in our basketball clubs. More children and youth means more to reach with God's truth! We want to thank you for your continued support and prayers and trust that you have enjoyed reading our latest update! Until Our Next Talk'O Together, The Thiessens :)

The Thiessen Talk'O - Summer/Fall 2018

The Thiessen Talk'O 

                     
                              Sharing The Love of God in La Paz, BCS, Mexico

       Missionaries To Mexico, Serving With TEAM & Associate Missionaries with EMC

Summer Happenings Summer 2018 has come and gone, but what a great summer it was! This year, with the help of many, we were able to run three weeks of 5 day basketball camps for Elementary, Jr. High and High School. God provided financial support so our new teammates (who hope to join us in January) could come on a short-term trip as a family to assist us in putting on the first week of camp! It was great to have extra helping hands especially with 46 children in attendance! At our Jr. High camp we had 36 campers and 23 at our High School week! We were incredibly thankful to have another amazing short-term team from Cedarville University help us with these 2 weeks! Not only did they run and organize camp, but once again, they blessed Transformados through their servant hearts, Bibles and Basketballs for the youth and by raising extra money for more team uniforms! All our camps took place from 9am - 12noon every day. During water-break, we shared the gospel through bible stories, testimonies, object lessons and devotionals using "The Story" coloured basketball! In the evenings we had community outreach events in our Transformados Centre and invited the campers to bring their families to enjoy ice cream sundaes, crafts, games, snacks and fellowship. Each week ended with awards night where campers received certificates, basketballs for good attendance and medals for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place teams. One of the highlights this year was having many of our older Transformados youth help out by being leaders for the younger camps. What a joy it was to see the teens we've been working with for the past 3 years pour into the next generation of Transformados! Having them serve in this capacity gave us further opportunities to share the gospel because they were required to attend prayer and devotion time each morning before camp. Remember Octavio? We shared his story of how he came to faith in a previous newsletter. (If you didn't get to read his story check it out here: "How Basketball Reached a Teenage Atheist.") It was a huge highlight to have him come back as a leader this summer and share his testimony with the younger campers! How exciting to see this young man, who gave his life to Christ last summer during basketball camp, return and share his story with other Transformados youth! He spoke about recognizing his need, asking Jesus to be his Saviour and the difference this decision has made in his life! Seeing things come full circle was a tremendously beautiful moment for all of us! Fall Happenings Our first home assignment has been busy and blessed! As we shared in our last newsletter, June marked 5.5 years for us in Mexico! TEAM (our sending agency) requires that missionaries have home assignments throughout their years of service. There are specific objectives and hoops we have to jump through in order to return to Mexico, so unlike our previous short visits home, this time we have to be in Canada longer to complete all the necessary requirements. So far we've been able to gain some practical insight/professional development into effectively running large scale basketball camps from our 2 week observation of Clipper Camps at Briercrest College. Our children had the opportunity to attend the camps which they thoroughly enjoyed! It was neat to watch them play in the same gym where I (Karlene) played in College! We were able to take in a Thiessen family camp-out, enjoyed Thanksgiving with our families and are re-connecting with friends. We've also shared exciting updates at our supporting churches about what God is doing through Transformados! The warm and caring welcomes we continually receive, every time we visit, are always an encouragement. We are incredibly blessed to have such an amazing group of individuals and congregations standing with us in support and prayer! We've finished the majority of our TEAM interviews, have had extensive medicals and are waiting on a couple medical referrals. Josiah and Keyana are attending school which gives Anthony a break from home schooling and allows them to re-establish former friendships and make new ones. They both had the opportunity to be part of their Jr. High Volleyball teams and enjoyed learning a sport they hadn't played before. The rest and refreshing part of our home stay has been a bit harder to come by simply because our normal life routines have been disrupted. We don't really have a place to call our own so change, transition and living in limbo are exhausting and having the kids in school/sports/youth has added to the demands on our time. However, we are trying to find ways to fulfill this home assignment requirement. Our hope and prayer was to accomplish these objectives in 3 months. Unfortunately, because we are not yet up to full support and still waiting for aspects of our medicals to be completed, our return date of November 4th has now been pushed to sometime in December. This is not what we wanted because the longer we are away from the field the harder the transition and adjustment is for our family. Our absence puts a lot of extra work and stress on our teammates. Our leaving disrupts not only our children's schooling/activities but also the relationship building and spiritual mentoring we've been doing with our Transformados youth. However at this point, we are waiting, praying and trusting in God's timing and plan. We would welcome the opportunity to talk about Transformados with any of you who are interested to know more. Since we still have time here in Canada, we would love to share in your church or over a cup of coffee, about the ways God is using Transformados to bring about life Transformation in Mexico!!!! If you would like to partner with us financially: ONLINE TEAM Ways to Give - Canada (This link will take you directly to our Canadian donation page. Here you can make one time donations or ongoing contributions. Choose the options you want, click "Make Payment" and follow instructions.) TEAM Ways to Give - US (This link will take you directly to our US donation page. Here you can make one time donations or ongoing contributions. Choose the option you want, click next step and follow instructions.) CALL: TEAM Canada 1-800-295-4160 MAIL: TEAM - Canada #372-16 Midlake Blvd SE Calgary, AB T2X 2X7 Our country code is 2400 & our personal account is #110689. Thank you for considering this important role. PRAYER Please pray that Karlene will get a date for the last of her medical referral. Please pray that the results will be such that TEAM will pass our medicals. Please pray that God will raise up more financial supporters. TEAM requires us to be at full support before giving us clearance to return to ministry in Mexico. Pray that we can return to Mexico as soon as possible. We are excited to get back! Pray for strength and patience in the waiting and trust in God's timing. Please continue to pray that we will be given permission to once again use the basketball court at the Jr. High School. Our teammates are in the process of submitting documentation, letters and petitions to the governing authorities asking to be able to use the court again. Please pray for all of the children and youth who attended our 3 weeks of summer Basketball camps! Pray that God will continue to use what they saw, heard and learned, to transform their hearts and lives! Pray for our Transformados students, who helped as coaches during camp, that God will grow the faith of those who have made commitments and that He will draw those who haven't, to the place where they recognize their need for Him. Pray for us during our home assignment. Pray for strength and comfort in this time of uprooting and transitioning, saying goodbyes again, packing, traveling, trying to find a new normal. Please pray that our absence won't negatively affect the relationships we've been building or cause the youth to feel we are abandoning them. Pray for strength for our teammates as they carry the ministry on their own. Pray that we will be able to accomplish all that is required, during our home assignment, in a timely fashion, along with having some time to rest and refresh before returning to Mexico. Pray for our family, especially our children. Disruption, change and transition are difficult and the constant push pull of living between two worlds is a big struggle for them. Pray for peace as we trust God with the future and all the unknowns it holds. Pray for our 4 Transformados youth who gave their lives to Christ this past year. Pray that their spiritual hunger will grow and that their faith will deepen. Pray for them to be wise and strong in the face of difficult family situations, temptations, peer pressure and more. The challenges and distractions they face are many. Pray for us as we try to effectively mentor, disciple and engage with these young men. Please pray for our 2 youth who are away attending University and Flight School. Pray that they will find Bible teaching churches to attend and Christian friends to encourage them in their personal relationships with Jesus. Pray for the many Transformados youth who have heard the truth but still haven't realized their need for a Saviour and a personal relationship with Him. Pray for the family that is coming to join Transformados. Pray for them in this season of planning and support raising. Pray that God will use this time to prepare their hearts for all that lies ahead, to ready them to handle the changes and transitions with His peace and strength. Please pray for complete healing for Anthony's knee. Please pray for complete healing for Karlene's hip. She found out from her physio that the Dr. in Mexico should have ordered a dye MRI to detect the problem she has. After more tests, the physiotherapist determined that she does have the problem he suspected and it is taking time and patience to get it back to its proper function. Please continue to pray for our marriage, our children, our family, our health, our protection, our energy, our continued language growth and the relationships we are building. We cannot continue to serve in Mexico and serve well without your faithful prayers on our behalf. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads because He knows our needs, our weaknesses, our struggles and the challenges we face. PRAISE ...for the record attendance at our summer basketball camps, for every person who came and heard the gospel, for safety and protection, energy, patience and team unity! ...for the older Transformados youth who served as leaders and for the opportunity to share God's truth with them through morning devotions/prayer. ...for the opportunity to have our new teammates come and help and for another amazing short-term team from Cedarville University. ...for the amazing growth we have seen in our basketball clubs. More children and youth means more to reach with God's truth! ...for Octavio's life transformation story and willingness to share his testimony with other Transformados youth. ...that we found someone to care for our pets and live in our home while we are away. ...that we made it safely to Canada for our 1st home assignment. ...that Anthony's knee is healing from his surgery in June. It's slow going but he has been able to have some good physio care while here in Canada. ...for God's provision during our home assignment, the warm welcome we have been given at all our supporting churches, the unique experiences we've had, the memories we've made and the re-connecting we've been able to do. ...for our amazing family, friends and supporting churches. We are so incredibly blessed to have people standing with us in financial support and prayer! We want to thank you for your continued support and prayers and trust that you have enjoyed reading our latest update! Until Our Next Talk'O Together, The Thiessens :)

Urgent Prayer Request - September 2018

The Thiessen Talk'O 

                     
                              Sharing The Love of God in La Paz, BCS, Mexico

       Missionaries To Mexico, Serving With TEAM & Associate Missionaries with EMC

An Urgent Prayer Request Our summer letter is still in process but there is an urgent, prayer request that we need to share with you. As you know, we are presently in Canada on Home Assignment and are excitedly waiting to get the green light clearance to head back to Mexico. Our teammates are doing an amazing job of carrying on the ministry and we are grateful for their commitment, faithfulness and hard work! This past week, upon arrival at the court, they received some difficult news that has all of us wondering what the future holds for our Transformados ministry. In the words of our teammate, Pattie, here is what has transpired so far: "Last night when we came to practice at the middle school where we hold all of our basketball clubs and camps, the director pulled Phil into his office to speak with him. Apparently, his boss had informed him that he was concerned about liability issues and so he didn't want us to use the court any more. He gave us through Saturday (today) to use it. The director is supportive of what we are doing and suggested we go to the administrative offices and speak with them to see if we can work something out." For 3 years, we have been blessed to be able to use the court at this public middle school, free of charge. We have a good relationship with the Directors of the school, who have even given us keys for the gate and permission to use not only the court, but the common area on Saturday nights and even during our summer camps. We realized early on what a blessing this was when a local Pastor exclaimed, "How did you manage to get into a Public School? It's unheard of, it never happens." We are grateful for God's favour and making it possible for us to have access to this school from the time Transformados started until now! God's hand has been in this from the beginning and we know that He will continue to provide. At this moment, we are not sure what that provision will look like, so we ask you to join with us in prayer for the future of this ministry! Especially in light of the outcome of the meeting with the Director's Boss. This meeting took place on Friday and afterwards our teammates shared the following: "We wish we had better news for you. Unfortunately, the administrator that Phil met with appeared to have already made up his mind. Phil was told to submit a letter with an official request. However, Phil and the missionary who accompanied him both got the sense that it will likely get buried in piles of paperwork on the desk. We will proceed with the letter and are planning to ask the parents, kids and youth to write letters as well to accompany ours." This was not the news we were hoping to receive but we continue to pray and trust. Several of the Transformados youth are joining us in praying for this situation and we find this super encouraging and exciting because we know God will use this opportunity to show His power and grow their faith! We know that while this caught us by surprise, it did not catch Him by surprise so we wait expectantly to see what He will do. As of now, today is our last day to use the basketball court and have access to the school. Parents and members of the community have come forward to show their support and along with our youth, are talking of writing letters and creating a petition in favour of Transformados. Our teammates have been advised to meet with a different, higher level education official to discuss this issue and yesterday afternoon, a community member told Phil that this official is a close family friend. She stated that she is going to put in a good word for Transformados with him in hopes that He will grant us permission and continued access to the school. This is an unexpected turn of events but we echo the thoughts and words of our teammates when they say: "One of our dreams for Transformados is that we would eventually have a piece of land we could develop with a court and larger community center for outreach. This situation has made this need seem even more urgent. We have loved partnering with the school but would also love to have a court without restricted access. Perhaps this is the Lord's way of nudging us towards that even more quickly...[With this in mind we've decided as a team to] begin more proactively raising funds towards purchasing land to build our own court and community center. If you feel led to give towards this need, Transformados has an account at TEAM for receiving donations. This is a link for making donations directly to Transformados:   https://team.org/givenow/us/add-donation?v2glid=178703 Some great news is that our clubs have been growing to the point that we had been discussing needing to split the groups, to work more effectively with each one. We've recently had 29, 28 and 26 at different practices. The growth and need for more groups is a great problem to have." Physical growth is exciting but it's even more exciting to witness spiritual growth! This past year we've been praying that God would increase the spiritual interest of our youth and it's happening! 4 young men have given their lives to Christ this year and a 5th one made his decision this summer. We have struggled with discouragement over this most recent development with the school, but God is transforming lives through Transformados and we know He has something better in mind for the ministry. For the time being, please pray that we will be able to find another court within walking distance that has adequate lighting, equipment and availability. This is important since the majority of the youth, who participate, live in our neighbourhood. Please pray that the letters and petition will demonstrate the community's support of Transformados and that the good word a community member is willing to put in with the higher ranking official will be enough to change the minds of the powers-that-be to grant us continued access to the school. And if God chooses to use this situation as a springboard toward the purchase of property, then pray that He will bring in the funds necessary to buy and build our own court and community centre. Thank you for standing with us in prayer! We invite you to look forward with us, in anticipation of all God is going to do! With Grateful Hearts, Anthony, Karlene, Josiah and Keyana

The Thiessen Talk'O - Winter/Spring 2018

 The Thiessen Talk'O 

                     
                                                  Sharing The Love of God in La Paz, BCS, Mexico

                    Missionaries To Mexico, Serving With TEAM & Associate Missionaries with EMC

So Much To Catch Up On... Greetings from Mexico! It seems like not to long ago when we compiled a newsletter and yet, reality tells us this is not the case. How quickly time passes. Since delving into details would make this update far too long, we've condensed our past 6 months and are focusing on some of the many highlights we've experienced since our last Talk'O together! December 2017 - Saw us host our 2nd annual Transformados Christmas Posada. We had a great turnout of children, youth and their families. We sang Christmas Carols (with the help of some of our musically gifted youth), played table games, ate delicious pozole, had some friendly competitions, had a local church youth group present the 3 Trees Skit, gave a clear gospel presentation and ended the night with, you guessed it, a piñata. These posadas are one of the ways we are attempting to get to know the parents and families of our Transformados youth. It was encouraging to receive positive feedback from attendees who shared that they were touched by the message and appreciate Transformados and the work we are doing with their children. One mother told us that she was very impressed because "...that was how a real posada should be, with a family friendly atmosphere and good fellowship." We continue to pray that God will use the seeds planted during this night to draw these youth and their families to Him. During Christmas break we hosted a 3 day elementary basketball camp. We shared the story of Joseph during our water break devotionals. It's surprising, how few Bible Stories these children and youth know. For this reason, we made sure to leave them hanging and curious to hear what happened next. This kept them engaged in the story and we were able to talk about the truth that God has a good plan for our lives, even when things are difficult. We challenged them to live their lives for God, just like Joseph did. Anthony and Phil had the opportunity to take some of our Transformados youth on a hiking/camping trip to the top of Sierra de La Laguna (the highest peak in Baja Sur) during Christmas vacation. We hope to make this an annual trip because it provides opportunities to deepen relationships, have good spiritual conversations and enjoy the beauty of God's amazing creation. January 2018 - Every January, all of the TEAM missionaries in Mexico get together for our annual retreat. Conference is one of the highlights for us and this year was no exception as fun, fellowship, sharing, planning and relaxation were enjoyed by all. February 2018 - Was an exciting month for us because 2 of our Transformados youth shared that they had made decisions to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour! How exciting it has been to see God bring to life, the seeds that we've been planting over the past 4 years. Both of these young men have a lot of good questions and we are praying that their spiritual interest and hunger will continue to grow. They like to hang out at our house and this has enabled us to have good, spiritual conversations. They attend church with us when they can, one being quite regular and since both of them love playing guitar, it has been exciting to give them opportunities to use their gifts for God's glory. Both have played for the Christmas Posada, our youth Praise & Worship nights and twice now, one of them has helped Karlene lead music during Sunday morning worship at El Faro. March 2018 - The highlight of this month was the annual Easter Camp that our friends and teammates organize and host out at Rancho El Camino. Since we've been here, Anthony has been involved every year and Karlene has given some behind the scenes help when needed. Last year we took 9 Transformados youth to camp (including 4 MK's) and this year 21 attended (including 5 MK's & 3 El Faro youth who also take part in Transformados youth nights)!!! Seeing God move and work in their hearts was amazing! I (Karlene) remember, with fondness, serving at Riverside Bible Camp as a cabin leader from the time I was 14 until the age of 21. As I've gotten older, the idea of camping and roughing it has grown less and less appealing. So you can imagine the surprise (mine included) when I announced to my hubby and our teammates, that because we had such a large group of Transformados youth going, I had decided to listen to God's gentle nudging and say yes to roughing it at the ranch for a week to have the opportunity to further deepen relationships and pour into the lives of our youth. I am so thankful I did. God blessed me with the opportunity to invest in an amazing group of high school students who were incredibly patient with my Spanish and super excited to be at camp. I had some good spiritual conversations with the Transformados girls in my tent, which helped to build relationships and had a ton of fun hanging with my team and checking in on other Transformados youth throughout the week. The highlight for us was having 5 of our youth share at campfire about how thankful they are for Transformados and that God made it possible for them to attend camp. 3 of these youth have yet to make decisions to follow Christ, 1 had just shared with us in February that he had made this decision and the 5th, gave his life to Christ the second night of camp! We've shared about this young man in the past. Remember the youth we took to The Case For Christ movie, who said he was an atheist but after the movie, said he had a lot to think about? This is the same young man who showed up at our house some weeks later saying he now believed that God exists but when presented with the decision before him, said he needed more time to think. We asked you to pray for him and God has been at work! Also this month, we threw a good-bye party for one of our older youth. He has been with us since the beginning of Transformados but is now attending flight school in another state of Mexico. His dream of becoming a pilot is being realized and we are super excited for him but he is greatly missed! Please pray for him to find a Bible teaching church to attend and Christian friends to encourage him in his relationship with Jesus. April 2018 - I (Karlene) was incredibly blessed to attend a THRIVE ladies retreat for cross-cultural workers in Puerta Vallarta. THRIVE is an amazing ministry who's vision is: "to be global leaders, providing expertise and setting excellent standards of care for Global Women..." One of the ways they do this is by hosting 4 day retreats, around the world, at a fraction of the cost, making it possible and affordable for women to attend. Their "retreats allow women, serving cross-culturally, to get away from their demanding work for...rest, renewal and refreshment..." I went feeling exhausted and spiritually dry. I was incredibly encouraged by the spirit-led worship and messages! The love, acceptance and understanding I received from my small group leaders and members was amazing! God used scripture to powerfully speak truth into my mind and heart and the self-care options left me feeling wholly cared for. It was an amazing experience and I would love for every woman serving cross-culturally, to have the opportunity to attend one of these retreats! THRIVE is able to offer these retreats because of the generous donations they receive from their supporters who know the value and importance of rest, renewal and refreshment for cross-cultural workers. I would encourage you to check out the link below and consider supporting THRIVE in the awesome Kingdom work they are doing! https://thriveministry.org/ Also this month, we had a missionary family, who travels via catamaran offering member care to cross-cultural workers, anchor in La Paz to spend some time with us. They got involved with some of our Transformados activities, watched our kids for us, talked and listened and prayed with us and took us out on the ocean for a day of rest and relaxation. We appreciated their presence, help, encouragement and friendship. May 2018 - We managed to get away for a long weekend this month to have our annual Transformados Team Planning retreat. We took part in 2 evenings of team building exercises with our member care reps and new, future teammates, prayed, discerned, planned, worshiped and had fun together. We are blessed to serve alongside great teammates who've also become great friends. We continue to have our home open for youth to drop in and visit and a highlight this month was having Octavio, who was back in La Paz for a week, over for lunch and an afternoon of games. Octavio gave his life to Christ last summer and has spent this past year attending University in Guadalajara. We keep connected through Whatsapp and are trying to encourage him from afar in his relationship with Christ. He is doing well and we pray that he will find a group of believers with whom he can fellowship. TEAM recently featured his story online and we encourage you to read it! You can find it at the link below: How Basketball Reached a Teenage Atheist June/July 2018 - On June 26th, Anthony had knee surgery. The good news is that his ligaments and meniscus are okay. The bad news is the Doctor found that he is missing the cartilage on the back of his knee cap. He performed a procedure to help provide some cushion there but depending on how Anthony cares for his knee, will determine how many years this fix will last. 3 weeks later he is still on crutches and will be for at least another 2 weeks. It has been somewhat discouraging for him and means he needs to give up playing basketball at an intense level. We are continuing to pray for his healing and recovery and that somewhere down the road, he can still enjoy playing for fun with our Transformados youth. We are entering our busiest season of ministry as a team and are planning, prepping and gearing up for 3 weeks of basketball camp starting July 23rd. This year we have expanded from 4 day to 5 day camps. We don't have a team coming to help with the elementary week, however, we are super excited that God provided financial support so our new teammates (who will be joining us sometime in November) can come on a short-term trip as a family to assist us in putting on the first week of camp! We are also looking forward to having a short-term team from Cedarville University with us again for our Jr. and Sr. High weeks. It is always a tremendous joy and blessing to have them partner with us in this ministry! 5.5 Years in Mexico and Our First Home Assignment June marked 5.5 years for us in Mexico! We spent 1 year in Guadalajara attending language school and now we've been serving in La Paz for 4.5 years. 3 of these years have been spent starting and growing Transformados! The road has been difficult at times and the challenges many, but God continues to show His faithfulness at each step of the journey! TEAM (our sending agency) requires that missionaries have home assignments during their years of service. Their policy is fairly flexible and to date we have been able to travel back to Canada a few times to share in our supporting churches, to re-connect with family and friends as well as attend weddings, medical appointments and look after homeschooling needs. However, these times back in Canada have only ever been ministry leaves of not more than 4 or 5 weeks.  A home assignment is different because there are specific objectives and hoops we have to jump through in order to return to the field. This means that a longer period of time, to complete all the requirements, is usually needed. The Home Assignment Policy for TEAM is: 4.1 In order to engage God's provision for personal and professional health and ministry effectiveness, each missionary must take periods of home assignment for the following purposes: 4.1.1 To maintain an appropriate relationship with the sending church, the extended family and the wider community of believers among whom he or she is privileged to be a part. 4.1.2 To ensure adequate prayer and financial support for the next season of ministry 4.1.3 To engage in appropriate education and/or personal development for the purpose of enhancing effectiveness in ministry 4.1.4 To be renewed physically, emotionally, spiritually and relationally as well as to attend to any specific physical and/or emotional needs of the family We have some specific plans for all of the above and our hope and prayer is that we can accomplish these objectives in 3 months. The longer we are away from the field, the harder the transition and adjustment is for our family, our absence puts a lot of extra work and stress on our teammates and our leaving disrupts not only our children's schooling/activities but also the relationship building and spiritual mentoring we've been doing with our Transformados youth. However, we have talked with our Ministry Area leader, who is in agreement, that we should leave it open ended to make sure that we can finish all that is required and not return to the field exhausted. Some of the biggest hurdles we need to overcome are having and passing extensive medicals, completing numerous interviews with TEAM head office personale/member care and increasing our level of support. We plan to fly back to Canada, August 4th and are hoping we can return to Mexico in November. Please pray for us in this time of uprooting and transitioning, saying goodbyes again, packing, traveling, trying to find a new normal, living out of a suitcase for some months....and the list goes on. It's going to be a busy month of ministry leading up to our departure and we already feel overwhelmed with all that needs to be done before we can leave. Please pray that our absence won't negatively affect the relationships we've been building here or cause the youth to feel we are abandoning them. Pray for strength for our teammates as they carry the ministry of Transformados on their own for some months. Pray that we will be able to accomplish all that is required of us during our home assignment, along with having some time to rest and refresh before returning. Pray for our family, especially our children. Disruption, change and transition are difficult and the constant push-pull of living between two worlds is a big struggle for them. Pray for peace as we trust God with the future and all the unknowns it holds. One Final Note Of Thanks... We are so incredibly blessed to have you standing with us through financial and prayer support. We recognize that it would be impossible to continue serving here without this. Your prayers, your support, your sacrifices, your emails, your cards, your visits, your care packages, these are all blessings that we do not take lightly or for-granted. It is humbling to be on the receiving end of the outpouring of love from the Body of Christ. We pray and hope that we are found faithful in passing on this love to those we've been called to serve. When we first arrived in Mexico, we were fully supported. We have now been here for 5.5 years and with the addition of renting the Transformados Centre, the loss of our Alberta Health Care* which has caused our monthly health insurance premiums to increase substantially, a 20% government hike in gas/fuel prices and a rental increase for our house, we are facing the reality of being under supported. As we head back to Canada, on home assignment, we are presently at 91%. Since TEAM requires us to be 100% funded before we can return to Mexico, we are hoping and praying that God will help us raise the remaining 9% in a timely manner!!! Our desire is to keep serving here in Mexico with Transformados and we are trusting God to provide for us as He has in the past. We know His mercies are new every morning and great is His faithfulness! Please join us in prayer regarding this situation.  *(Alberta Health Care has a policy where they will only allow Missionaries to be gone a total of 4 years and will reinstate AHC only when we return to permanently live in Canada.) PRAYER Please pray for our 3 weeks of summer Basketball camps! Pray that God will impact the lives of those who attend. Pray that He will open the minds and hearts, of each camper, to hear His Truth. Pray for us as we clearly present the Gospel each day during water break. Pray for salvation and life transformation! Pray for safety and protection and a whole lot of fun! Pray for energy and patience for us as leaders and unity as a team. Pray for those who are coming to serve alongside us. Pray for our Transformados students, who will be helping as coaches during camp, that God will grow the faith of those who have made commitments and that He will draw those who haven't, to the place where they recognize their need for Him. Please pray for us as we leave August 4th to return to Canada on our first home assignment. Pray for us now as we are trying to prepare to leave during the busiest part of our year - basketball summer camps. The to-do lists are long, the stress is high and we are 1.5 weeks away from our first camp. Pray for strength in the preparation and for someone to live in our home and care for our pets while we are away. Pray for us during our home assignment. Pray for strength and comfort in this time of uprooting and transitioning, saying goodbyes again, packing, traveling, trying to find a new normal. Please pray that our absence won't negatively affect the relationships we've been building or cause the youth to feel we are abandoning them. Pray for strength for our teammates as they carry the ministry on their own. Pray that we will be able to accomplish all that is required, during our home assignment, in a timely fashion, along with having some time to rest and refresh before returning to Mexico. Pray for our family, especially our children. Disruption, change and transition are difficult and the constant push pull of living between two worlds is a big struggle for them. Pray for peace as we trust God with the future and all the unknowns it holds. Pray for our 4 Transformados youth who gave their lives to Christ this past year. Pray that their spiritual hunger will grow and that their faith will deepen. Pray for them to be wise and strong in the face of difficult family situations, temptations, peer pressure and more. The challenges and distractions they face are many. Pray for us as we try to effectively mentor, disciple and engage with these young men. Please pray for our 2 youth who are away attending University and Flight School. Pray that they will find Bible teaching churches to attend and Christian friends to encourage them in their personal relationships with Jesus. Pray for the many Transformados youth who have heard the truth but still haven't realized their need for a Saviour and a personal relationship with Him. Pray for the family that is coming to join Transformados. Pray for them in this season of planning and support raising. Pray that God will use this time to prepare their hearts for all that lies ahead, to ready them to handle the changes and transitions with His peace and strength. Pray for all the youth who attended Easter Camp. Pray that the truth they heard there will continue to impact and transform their lives. Please pray for healing for Anthony's knee. His recovery process seems slow (on crutches for almost 5 weeks). Pray for patience and comfort in the place of discouragement. Pray that the procedure the Doctor performed will last for many years, that physio will be helpful and that he can return to playing basketball, for fun, some day. Please continue to pray for our marriage, our children, our family, our health, our protection, our energy, our continued language growth and the relationships we are building. We cannot continue to serve here and serve well without your faithful prayers on our behalf. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads because He knows our needs, our weaknesses, our struggles and the challenges we face. Please pray for our dear friend who has been forced to leave the city because his life has been threatened. Please pray that he will be able to find a job so that he can move his family. Pray for protection, safety and God's provision.  PRAISE ...that Karlene's MRI came back clear, meaning her hip joint is okay! A huge answer to prayer! She is still having problems with her one leg but is hopefully that some physiotherapy can help resolve the problem. ...that our prayer for God to increase the spiritual interest of our Transformados youth is being answered. Since the summer, 3 more youth have given their lives to Christ! ...for a great Transformados team retreat where we reflected, prayed, discussed and planned for the next year. ...that Anthony's knee surgery went well and hasn't become infected. ...for the times family could visit us this year. ...that there is another family working their way to future full-time service with Transformados and that their supporters have made it possible for them to come and help us run our elementary basketball camp this summer! ...for the youth who are attending church with us and those who are searching and showing interest in spiritual things. ...for the opportunities Karlene has had to share her faith story with her choir mates. We want to thank you for your continued support and prayers and trust that you have enjoyed reading our latest update! Until Our Next Talk'O Together, The Thiessens :) If you would like to partner with us financially: ONLINE TEAM Ways to Give - Canada (This link will take you directly to our Canadian donation page. Here you can make one time donations or ongoing contributions. Choose the options you want, click "Make Payment" and follow instructions.) TEAM Ways to Give - US (This link will take you directly to our US donation page. Here you can make one time donations or ongoing contributions. Choose the option you want, click next step and follow instructions.) CALL: TEAM Canada 1-800-295-4160 MAIL: TEAM - Canada #372-16 Midlake Blvd SE Calgary, AB T2X 2X7 Our country code is 2400 & our personal account is #110689. Thank you for considering this important role.

Easter Camp 2018

Easter Camp is always a highlight. This year was different as I had very little involvement in the organization and preparation of the camp. I wasn't sure what to expect from myself, as I have been struggling to find energy for every day. As we left for camp, I prayed that God would do something special in spite of my lack of readiness mentally and emotionally.

We were going with 17 campers from our sports ministry, Transformados, which was a huge change from the 7 last year. We squeezed them into 4 vehicles and had to come back for some gear with one more vehicle.

God spoke to the youth through many different ways and activities, and the main speaker was great. He had them laughing, anticipating and learning every day. On the 2nd day, he already gave an invitation and I was over joyed that one of the youth we had brought accepted Jesus as Savior. He had been moving in that direction in the last 3 months, from atheism, to believing in God's existence, to adopted into God's family, but this was how God moved him to take that final step.

When camp was over, we had seen our youth singing, dancing, jumping, praying, reading their Bibles, encouraging one another, and very content with their experience. The weather could not have been much better, and the spiritual growth was tremendous, I believe. I saw Karlene, my wife, get back into camp ministry, which she had not done for a long time, and really have a wonderful time and great impact.

I praise God that I was also able to bring a friend I mentored a few years ago as a leader, and he had a great experience as well. He was put in a position as a group leader which was more than he expected, but did a great job. God is great, and showed once again how he is moving in La Paz, Mexico. 130 campers, 40 some staff, and 5 days of great camp ministry, and now it is time to follow it up as we continue to love on our youth! Please be encouraged, your prayers are moving mountains!

Catching Up

Jose* has been with Transformados for about 2 and a half years. When he first started to come to basketball, he came because a friend invited him. He was friendly, spoke English quite well, and was open to talk about everything. He came to Bible Study early on and I found out he was an atheist. He had done a lot of reading of different religions and with the evolution theory presented in science classes, he was cynical and skeptical. But he said he was open. Yet he didn't come back to the Bible Study.
He continued to come to basketball practices, games, and other fun activities we hosted. This last summer, he was a volunteer leader and was very involved. When it ended, he was interviewed by another missionary living in La Paz as part of an attempt to produce some videos about the Transformados ministry.  When I talked to the missionary later, he seemed to think that Jose was a Christian.
So the next time I talked to Jose, I started to ask some probing questions. He smiled and told me that he had become a Christian 2 weeks ago. He hadn't told anyone because he wanted to see if it was real first. He was certain now, was experiencing peace and joy that was from the Lord. What had made the difference was spending a lot of time with our ministry, playing games, hanging out and feeling loved and accepted. He also was reading a book by Lee Stroebel that was given to him by the Eagers, our missionary partners. It had helped him get past the scientific doubts he had.
Mateo* is a bit younger. He has been a part of Transformados through basketball , but would come for a few months, then disappear for almost a year other than saying hi here and there. This summer, he started coming very regularly, and dropping in at our house too. He showed up one day with a big grin, and told us that he was now a believer. He had been an atheist as well, due to science classes as well. What had made the difference for him was a dream that he had. We were so glad to hear his big turn around. We are hoping to disciple both these young men and have started to try to meet weekly, and keep them involved as much as possible. For Jose, this means connecting him with missionaries we know in his new city. For Matteo, it is finding time in our schedules to meet here.
In all this, we are blessed to see God moving and drawing youth to himself, and that in some way, we are able to be a part of this. Praise God! And in some way, you may be a part of this too, and for this we thank you! *Names have been changed to protect the privacy of each person.

The Thiessen Talk'O - Winter/Spring 2017

It's been a while since you've heard from us and for this we apologize. Life is full and busy and sometimes carving out the time required to put together a good newsletter is hard to do. A lot has happened in our lives since our summer update but time and space do not allow us to share it all, so here's a few highlights we hope you will enjoy.

This Is Our Rapid-fire, #TBT Attempt....

August – September 2016: We returned to Canada and were blessed to take in a family wedding (Keyana was the flowergirl) and to re-connect with loved ones. We managed to fit in some medical appointments, got our children registered to homeschool, collected Alberta curriculum and visited/shared with a few of our supporting churches. One of the highlights for Josiah and Keyana, while in Canada, was building a tree house with Grandpa Foster.

October 2016: Transformados 1^st intern, Ben, wrapped up his 7 months with us and headed back to the US. We were sad to see him go, but so very thankful for his sacrifice and service! The end of October brought us our 2^nd intern, Taylor, who was with us for 9 weeks. It was a blessing to have both of these young men pour their time and energy into the work of Transformados and the hearts of the youth in our community.

December 2016: We put on our 1^st Transformados Christmas Posada! We rented a local fiesta place, just 3 doors down from our home, decorated, prepped and cooked a meal of taco soup with cupcakes for dessert. We planned group games and competitions like the best slam dunk and a turkey shoot for the parents and even put together a little band, including some Transformados youth on guitar and drums, so we could provide our guests with Christmas dinner music. The turnout was great and the opportunity it gave us to meet some parents for the first time was prayer answered! Taylor shared his powerful testimony about the transforming work of Christ in his life and we know that hearts were touched and some amazing conversations have since followed. This excites us and shows us that God is moving and working in the lives of those with whom we are building relationships! God willing, we'd love to see this become an annual event!

We enjoyed having Karlene's parents visit us during December and January as well as Anthony's sister and her family. It's always a wonderful encouragement to have family and friends make the effort to come and visit us and experience the ministries we are involved in.

Between Christmas and New Years, Transformados hosted a 3 day basketball camp for our youngest age group. We were blessed to have the help of our older Transformados youth and our family visitors. Each day during water break, Phil, Taylor and Anthony took turns sharing about the Love, Joy and Peace found through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

January 2017: ESL classes are back up and running with a good size group and regular attendance. Anthony enjoys teaching this class and spends time hanging out with those who like to stay after and visit. Ideally, we'd love to have an ESL teacher join our team and expand this part of our ministry.

Remember the elementary school in our neighbourhood, who a year ago, allowed us to use their basketball court to hold a 3 day camp during Christmas holidays? After this camp, they gave us permission to use their court on Saturdays for our elementary basketball club. Part way through the year, they entrusted us with our own gate/bathroom key which is a testament to having earned their trust. Then in February, they allowed us to come and teach basketball during the afternoon recess on Mondays and Fridays! After just 1 week of teaching basketball during recess, the number of students who attend our Saturday club doubled!!! We now have on average of 28 elementary aged children each Saturday! Two weeks ago, Anthony had a meeting with another Principal of an elementary school in a neighbouring colonia who is inviting us to provide a morning recess intramural program for their students. This is an exciting opportunity!

February 2017: Anthony, Karlene and Phil had the opportunity to take an 18 month course from Global School of Sports Ministry and in February, the executive director and her husband traveled to La Paz to evaluate our ministry and to give us our exams. We all passed with flying colours and they were excited to see what God is doing in and through Transformados.

We were also blessed to have another of Anthony's sisters and her family come and spend a week with us. Doing life together, in La Paz, was great!

We made some changes in Transformados this month. We split our older age group into Sr. and Jr. high and added 2 extra nights of basketball club to accommodate this change. This was a stretch and it meant that we had to give up hosting our El Faro cell group which was a very difficult decision for us. But when Anthony met with the leader of the group to share what God has been doing in Transformados, he confirmed that expanding the ministry to better meet the needs of the youth and to give us more times of interaction with them, was the right decision. He assured us that we would always be a part of their group and welcome to attend when we can and then gave us his blessing to pursue the course that God was setting before us.

The second change we made was to our Saturday youth nights. Now the girls meet at our house for a fun activity and Bible study while the boys meet at the centre for the same. Then we all congregate together at the centre for group games, activities, snacks etc. It seems to be a good change and we look forward to being able to delve deeper into spiritual discussions and the Word as we continue to build relationships with these precious youth.

We are excited, that after a hiatus to organize documents and become a registered civil entity, the Christian life coach we partnered with last year has returned to renting our Transformados Centre 2 afternoons per week, to meet with, encourage and work with at risk youth. It's a blessing to be able to help him provide this much needed service to our community.

March 2017: Our third change took place this month as we held our first 3 on 3 basketball tournaments in all 3 categories of our club. The idea is that this tournament will happen every month (except during summer) and the teams will change each time to give more youth the chance to win the trophy for their category. Each individual, on the winning team, gets a framed picture of their team and themselves with the trophy, to take home. While we hope for increased numbers in our Jr. & Sr. High groups, we were blown away with the turnout in our elementary category! All the groups seemed to really enjoy the competition and are looking forward to the next tournament.

April 2017: Anthony had the privilege of helping out again this year with an inter-church Easter Bible Camp held at Rancho El Camino (another TEAM MI here in La Paz). Josiah was old enough to attend this year and he obviously enjoyed it so much that he's already talking about next year. It was a record attendance year with 141 campers and enough volunteers/staff to take the number over 180. We were super excited to be able to take 4 of our Transformados youth! Last year, when we offered, none of them showed any interest in attending camp. Praise God that this year, 4 of them went and all enjoyed the experience. We continue to pray for their hearts and know that God is working and drawing them to Himself.

We enjoyed having Karlene's parents here for 3 weeks over Easter. Their help, support and company lighten the daily load, which we truly appreciate! This past week, Anthony's parents were here for the first time! It was great to have them visit and to show them what life is like for us in La Paz! Hopefully they enjoyed their experience and will want to come back again someday.

Other Exciting Spiritual, Language Updates...

Anthony and Phil have been discipling one of our Transformados youth who recently shared that he gave his life to Christ a year ago at a youth event in another church. Their journey through the Gospel of John has resulted in great discussions and the realization that his salvation is not based on his good works has brought him further understanding and freedom in his growing relationship with Jesus Christ! It's exciting to see God at work in his life and heart!

I (Karlene) have had two exciting opportunities to share my faith, for the first time in Spanish! Those of you who know how difficult this language learning journey has been for me, will understand the significance of this! I've shared a sentence here and there before, I've been trying to live out God's love in the relationships we're building and the situations we find ourselves in, but actually having a deeper conversation about God and salvation has felt next to impossible for me. But God provided the opportunities, gave me the words (in Spanish), caused my speech to flow, albeit with mistakes and far from perfect and the courage to just do it! In both instances, I was so blessed in the process and am praying that the words He gave me to share will have encouraged and caused those with whom I shared, to think more about God. I pray that one day, His amazing love will draw them into relationship with Him!

El Faro Church Update...

The roof has been raised! Many of you will remember that 2 years ago, a work team from Nampa Gospel Fellowship came and served by helping to get the construction started on the new worship sanctuary at El Faro. Since those first great strides were made, the congregation has been working toward raising funds for a nursery and church office, which they have since built as well as funds for pouring the roof over the sanctuary. We are excited to report that just last month, they raised the roof! We thank God for His provision and we continue to trust Him to further provide the funds needed to put in the windows, doors, A/C and sound system! What a blessing this new space is going to be to the growing congregation of El Faro!

The Future....

In May we have our annual Transformados Team retreat and are helping to host a group on a TEAM vision trip by letting them experience the ministries of Transformados. Some of these people could possibly become future teammates!

In June, our next intern arrives. She will be with us for 8 weeks and we're excited to have her return. She first served here last year as part of the short term team from Cedarville University and loved her experience so much that she's coming back! In July, we will have a short term volunteer join us for 2 weeks helping us prep for and put on our first week of summer basketball camp. Following that, will be another 2 weeks of camp, put on with the help of a returning short term team from Cedarville University! It's going to be a crazy, busy summer and we ask you to cover us in prayer!

One Final Note Of Thanks...

We are so, so incredibly blessed to have you standing with us through financial and prayer support. We recognized that it would be impossible to continue serving here without this much needed and much appreciated help. Your prayers, your support, your sacrifices, your emails, your cards, your visits, these are all blessings that we do not take lightly or for-granted. It is humbling to be on the receiving end of the outpouring of love from the Body of Christ. We pray and hope that we are found faithful in passing on this love to those we've been called to serve.

When we first arrived on the field in Mexico, we were very close to being fully supported. We have now been here for 4 years and with the addition of renting the Transformados Centre, the loss of our Alberta Health Care* which has caused our monthly health insurance premiums to increase substantially, a 20% government hike in gas/fuel prices this January and a recent rental increase for our house, we are facing the present reality of being under supported.

Our desire is to keep on serving here in Mexico with Transformados and we are trusting God to continue to provide for us as He has in the past. We know His mercies are new every morning and great is His faithfulness! Please join us in prayer regarding this situation.

*(Alberta Health Care has a policy where they will only allow Missionaries to be gone a total of 4 years and will reinstate AHC only when we return to permanently live in Canada.)

 

We want to thank you for your continued support and prayers and trust that you have enjoyed reading our latest update!

Until Our Next Talk'O Together,

The Thiessens :)

 

PRAYER

• Our temporary resident visas expire this September which means we need to apply for permanent residency. Please cover this process in prayer as it involves a lot of time, energy, expense and trips to immigration.
• Please pray for our Transformados Team retreat. Pray that it will be a time of rest, regrouping and vision casting. Pray for discernment, the Holy Spirit's leading and unity as we look back on all that God has done and forward to all that He has planned.
• Pray for our new intern, our 2 week volunteer and our short term team from Cedarville. Pray that God will provide the support they need to be able to come. Pray for their travel, transition and time with Transformados. Pray for yielded hearts, willing to serve and glean all that God has for them during their time here in Mexico.
• Pray for the young man Anthony and Phil are discipling, for his growing relationship with Jesus and his less than supportive home environment.
• Pray for all who attended the Easter camp. Pray for the lives and hearts of all the teens, especially the Transformados youth who attended. Pray that God will continue to draw them to Himself and that they will recognize their need for Him to be their Saviour.
• Pray that more youth will come out for our bible study/devotional times on Saturday nights. Pray that God will get a hold of their hearts and that they will recognize their need for Him.
• Pray that God will continue to give Transformados favour in the eyes of our community and that He will continue to use us to help and encourage and share His love with the children, youth and families in our neighbourhood.
• Pray for our upcoming summer of basketball camps and community outreach activities. Pray that God will be honored and glorified in all we do and that hearts and lives will be transformed!
• Pray that God will bring us more long-term teammates. We would love to grow the ESL side of our program, have our centre open every day as a drop-in-place for youth as well as add more ministries in the area of music and creative arts. In order to do this, however, we need more personnel with a passion to reach children/youth and a desire to serve God.
• Pray for those coming on the TEAM vision trip in May. Pray that God will direct and give discernment as they seek Him about becoming involved in the work He is doing in Mexico.
• Please continue to pray for our marriage, our children, our family, our health, our protection, our energy, our continued language growth and the relationships we are building. We cannot continue to serve here and serve well without your faithful prayers on our behalf. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads because He knows our needs, our weaknesses, our struggles and the challenges we face.
• Pray for the children/youth who attend our basketball clubs and youth nights. Pray that God will impact their hearts through our love, our teaching, our friendship and time spent together. Pray for lives to be transformed!
• Please pray for the individuals with whom Karlene shared her faith. Pray that they will seek to know more and for further opportunities to talk with them. One of these individuals is a Grandmother of a child that attends basketball club. She has just endured her second battle with cancer. Pray for continued healing and that through this difficult journey she will witness God's faithfulness, provision and presence. Pray that she will experience the true peace and freedom that comes through a personal relationship with Him.

 

 PRAISE

...for our interns and the ways God worked in and through them during their times of service.
...for our successful Transformados Christmas Posada, for the opportunity to meet more parents and to share the love of God while having a ton of fun together!
...for a successful 3 day basketball camp over Christmas, being entrusted with keys to 2 public schools and the favour that God is giving Transformados in our community, among members, parents and school directors.
...for encouraging family visits.
...for the increase in students in the ESL class and our elementary basketball club.
...for finishing and passing our GSSM course and a positive evaluation of our Transformados ministries.
...for a successful Easter camp and great turnout of youth.
...for our Transformado's youth who has put his faith in Jesus Christ!
...for the roof being raised at El Faro Church.
...for the encouraging opportunities God has given Karlene to share her faith, in Spanish!
...for the re-connection with a young man who Anthony first discipled upon arrival to La paz, for the exciting report of God's work in his life and the encouragement we received through his thankfulness for the important part Anthony played in his spiritual journey.

GIVE

If you would like to partner with us financially:

ONLINE:
             TEAM Ways to Give - Canada

(Type in Thiessen in the "Select A Missionary or Project" line, click on "Thiessen, Anthony & Karlene, fill out "My Donation" Section and then click on "Make Payment" and follow instructions.)

             TEAM Ways to Give - US
(Type in Thiessen in the "Select A Missionary or Project" line, click on "Thiessen, Anthony & Karlene, fill out "My Donation" Section and then click on "Make Payment" and follow instructions.)

CALL: TEAM Canada 1-800-295-4160

MAIL:
TEAM - Canada
#372-16 Midlake Blvd SE
Calgary, AB T2X 2X7

 

Thank you for considering this important role.