January Fishers of Men Photo Album

January Fishers of Men
Photo Album

The year started out with a wonderful work team, like nearly every year, from Blooming Glenn Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania.  Fishers of Men Board Member and dear friend of the family, Jen, organizes the team each year and Dave Moyer, with his incredible earth moving equipment, transforms the place!  This team does more in one week than what we could do in 6 months on our own!

The team poured the entire first floor of the main house!

A view of the entire work site.

The entire floor was poured using two hand-fed gas powered mixers.

Bucket after bucket after bucket after bucket...(you get the idea)
of gravel!

Adrian and Joseline

Cement bags, cement bags and more cement bags!

Our Fidel, Leo and Joseline with Beth, one of the team leaders

Leveling the cement

The view of the new house with the floor partially poured and
the excavating equipment working on the drain system.

David and Dave...a blessing each January with his giant earth moving equipment!

Hammering away!  If there is something we've got at the ranch....it's rock!

And then to move the dirt and rocks!

Working on the drain system.

The relationships developed, around a gravel pile or a card game,
are what makes these times so rich!

Jen, work team leader, Fishers of Men Board Member,
and dearly beloved friend of our family, with our eldest, Angie

Our son, Miguel, with Josh...friends are the best!

Carolina having fun with Josh!

Jen always lovingly purchases flowers for Danny's grave
and accompanies us there to remember.

 On January 21, Fishers of Men held the first Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade of the year, a local one day crusade at our church, Peace Christian Church.  During the day of work, 213 attentions were given and 22 individuals prayed to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The crusade team

Adrian, our crusade coordinator, leading morning devotions.

Vero leading worship during devotions with Joel and our son, Leo.

The registration area.

Nursing

General Medicine

Dentistry

Dentistry

Cleaning dental instruments

Massage therapy

Our daughter, Ana, sorting medicine.

Hair cuts with evangelism

Evangelism

An aerial view of the sanctuary doubling as the crusade site.

I, Julie, had the privilege of working in children's ministry.

These kids LOVED playing with the flannel board after we were done with the lesson.

Working the puppets.

 

Clowning

Handing out Operation Christmas Child Boxes from Samaritan's Purse

Then, on January 28th, we had the enormous joy and privilege of celebrating the 15th birthday of our daughter, Joseline.  While she has chosen to take a trip with me as her gift, which we will go on later this spring, we had a special gathering of friends and family at the Ranch to celebrate her life on her birthday!  And quite the celebration it was!  Thank you, Jesus!

Joseline and Adrian

The worship service 

Our beautiful daughter, Joseline

Vero sharing a wonderful message from God's Word!

The fifteenth birthday celebration at Refuge Ranch.

The most important people in Joseline's life praying a blessing over here:
Myself (Julie);  Mireya (her teacher) and her husband, Jorge; Pastor Ruben and Ely;
Vero and Adrian; Isma and Mari (her youth leaders)

My precious, precious daughter!

Leading worship

Joseline and her candy bar

Me and (most) of my kids!

Adrian, Joseline, Isaac and Vero

Cake!!!!

2017...(dot, dot, dot)

2017...(dot, dot, dot)

Those three little dots after a date, or after a phrase, hold so much unknown!  What do they hold for 2017?  How much living, dying, joy, pain, success, failure, tears and laughter are hidden in those three little ink spots?

We may not know what those ink spots hold for this coming year, but we can know who holds each of the more than 31 million upcoming seconds contained in the dates whose commas will be followed by 2017.

"But I trust in you, Lord;

I say, "You are my God."

My times are in your hands."  

Psalm 31:14-15a

The anticipation that comes with following Christ can nearly take your breath away!  Not knowing what the future holds, yet having the privilege of personally knowing the One for whom the future has already passed, creates a security beyond human comprehension and provides the freedom to move fully into a future fully safe in His hands!

Those of us entrusted with the leadership of Fishers of Men Ministries feel this sense of anticipation as we begin to get glimpses of what the Lord may desire to do in this year!  In upcoming blogs, I will share more about His moving here at Refuge Ranch, but today I want to share with you what we trust the Lord has prepared for the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades!

2017 Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade Calendar

(Local one or two day crusades are written in normal font; while bold font represents full length crusades.)

January 21			Iglesia Cristiana de Paz,  Ixtapaluca, State of Mexico
February		1 & 2 3 & 4	EMMC Inventory EMMC Conference
February 13 - 20			Comala & Remudadero, Colima
March 4			Chalco, State of Mexico
March 15 -18			Chilpancingo, Guerrero
April 1& 2			El Triunfo, Mexico City
April 10 -15			Durango, Durango
May 8- 12			Teziutlan, Puebla
June 12 - 19			Oaxaca & Puebla
July	12 & 13 14 & 15		EMMC Inventory EMMC Conference
August*			Jalapa de Diaz, Oaxaca
September 4 - 10			Uruapan & Lombardía, Michoacán
October 3 - 12			Los Mochis**
November 6 - 10			Veracruz
November 18			Xola, Mexico City
December 4 - 8			Cuautla, Texcala, Morelos

"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness." Matthew 9:35

The Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade (EMMC) teams seek to emulate this verse as they take the good news of the kingdom to the towns and villages mentioned above, working through the local church and healing as many diseases and sicknesses as the Lord empowers them to heal!

Thank you for praying for each of these crusades: for the volunteers, their safety, the provision for all of the earthly resources required to carry out a crusade (anywhere from $1500 to $2500 for a weeklong crusade during which hundreds of individuals receive free personal care and attention), the local churches that host each of the crusades, and, most importantly, for each and every individual that will receive free medical care and have the opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior and find true and eternal healing from the greatest illness of all....sin!

We especially covet your prayers for Adrian and Vero Tovar and their son, Isaac, as they lead the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusade ministry!

So, let's get on with the dot, dot, dot and see what God has in store for 2017!

Very Important Ministry News

Dear Beloved Supporters of Fishers of Men,

Greetings from Refuge Ranch! 

The Lord has certainly been moving, for some in unexpected ways, but we are encouraged to share with you His doings!

This past week, on Thursday, October 27, 2016, a group of five men who love the Lord, consisting of:  Pastor Kirk Hanger (the founding pastor of the church we attend in Mexico), Pastor Ruben Bonilla (the lead pastor of the church we attend), Pastor Dave Claassen (my father), Dan Claassen (Julie’s brother) and Adrian Tovar (staff member of Fishers of Men at Refuge Ranch), met with Victor Zaragoza.  Concerned with specific character issues, certain sins, such as pride, and other behaviors that have hindered Victor’s ability to be the man that God desires him to be as husband, father and co-director of Fishers of Men, they confronted him in love and in accordance with Matthew 18.  The confrontation was carried out with the full knowledge and consent of the Fishers of Men Board of Directors.  

By the grace of God, Victor acknowledged his need for restoration and help in these and other areas of his life.  Therefore, the group of men shared with him a plan for such restoration, including leaving the following morning to spend an undefined amount of time living with Pastor Kirk and Marilyn Hanger in Alexandria, Virginia where Pastor Kirk will mentor Victor, as well as Victor receiving professional therapy.

So, last Friday, Victor departed with Pastor Kirk to Virginia to take part in this restorative process for an undesignated period of time.  All financial support for Victor’s restoration is coming from personal funds.

The ministry of Fishers of Men, both at Refuge Ranch and through the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades, continues to be carried out in Mexico.

I will continue to serve as co-director of Fishers of Men, alongside the leadership of the Fishers of Men Board of Directors, as well as, obviously, leading the ministry at Refuge Ranch as the mother of our 18 children.  I will continue to build up our children’s lives in the love and truth found only in Jesus Christ, just as the building of the new house continues to move forward!  The Lord has graciously provided through you!  In fact, every Friday our family pours 8 more columns! 

Just a few more weeks and all of the first floor columns will be poured and we will begin to prep the site for the pouring of the floor!

Adrian Tovar, Victor’s very capable right hand man and Fishers of Men staff member, has taken over the leadership of the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades.  The remaining crusades on the 2016 schedule will be carried out as planned and we are beginning to schedule 2017, by the grace of God.

Obviously, we covet your prayers and continued support during this challenging, yet hopeful time as we anticipate Victor’s eventual return to our family and the ministry.

Please feel free to contact myself with any of your questions or concerns, but I do request that any communication with our children be limited to expressions of love and support. 

Through all of this we are confident that, “He who began a good work in you (each of us) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 1:6)

May God be honored and glorified in and through our lives!

Confident in Christ,

Julie Zaragoza