Here is a recent post from Cesar, who is attending SIBI.


Sep 21, 2008: We visited Main St. Church of Christ in Olton, Texas, along with two fellow students; on the right, Richard and Brandon. The local preacher was out of the city helping the brethren hit by the hurricane Ike in the Galveston area.
On September 13th, the Hurricane Ike struck hard the small city of Galveston, Texas, and the same question was asked, "Why did God let this to happen?" I’m not going to elaborate on this today, but what we know for sure is that "all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28). In such difficult times, we are called to demonstrate how much we love God, and how much we love people. After a few days of this catastrophe brother Rick Harper from Olton, Texas, organized a group of brethren to aid the churches affected by Ike while seeking for financial resources to restore worship in the battered city. Rick came to Sunset looking for help, and praise God, by the end of the day he received more than enough to start. Keep praying God for such lovely hearts.
While we go through this Hurricanes season and look for ways to help others, you had been called to aid our ministry and support us while study at S.I.B.I. We thank God for your generosity in supporting us financially since we understand that the United States is facing economic difficulties. God wants us to keep faithful to His calling, especially during difficult times, in order that we learn how to trust in Him and His providence. Therefore, we encourage you to ask God to remove any worries from our hearts so that we are able to fully serve Him and His Kingdom.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV)
In Christ love,
César, Ixchel & Simei Gámez

Cesar Gamez

Cesar and Izchell are heading to lubbock, Texas for training at SIBI. They will strat their classes on August 11th. They are expected to arrive in Lubbock on Wednesday or Thursday August 6th or 7th. Speedy Hart is working with them to get them set up in an apartment so they can start their studies at the scheduled time. I cannot express my happiness at knowing they are going to be a great help to the church in Mexicali and the "Latin America Bible Institute: when they finsih their course work in Lubbock. Cesar is a young man who is dedicated to preaching. He first wanted to go to a school of preaching when he was only 19 years old. He promised his mother he would finsih college before he persued his preaching carrer. He has finished those corses and was gainfully employed when challenged to go to SIBI for instructions in preaching the gospel. I have worked with Cesar for several years now and am convinced he is the right man for the right time for the right place. His wife Izchell is very supportive of his work as well as their son. Cesar has organized both VBSes we have held there in Mexical and done an outstanding job. The Mexicali church is also very supportive of his efforts at SIBI. God gives the increase when we give Hm room to work. Cesar and Izchell are giving God room in their heart and lives to do His wonderful will.

God Bless

Joe Boe
PS
I have been looking for a picture to post of Cesar and Izchell but cannot put my pointer on one yet...stay tuned, I know I have one somewhere.
jb

Construction Progress

Wow!!! I just returned from Ethiopia, East Afrcica and I am greatly surprised. I just opened an email from Daniel Amir from Mexicali and he sent a set of pictures which show the progress of the work being done down there. The super structure is up and ready for the next step. Once our contractor has finished his portion then we need to get to work. Here are some pictures of the work already accomplished.

Progress is wonderful. It means we are that much closer to the first class of students who will be trained to preach the gospel in Mexico. We have a lot of work to do between now and then but every bit of new information is going to be received with gladness.

Please keep this work in your prayers and let me know if you can help financially or as part of a work group to go down later this year.

God Bless

Joe Boe

Progress

Last week Terry Hinton, marcos Miranda and I drove down to Mexicalli for a meeting with the architect and the brothers at the church. The construction, or I should say destruction, has progressed. Estaban's old office, which was just a shed with air conditioning, has been torn down and the pation cover has been removed. Forty cubic feet of dirt and cement has been removed and the foundation is ready to be poured and set.

The architect is doing a great job and is a very consciences man. He said his part of the construction should be finished about the end of July. Then, when the weather cools down, sometime in late October, we will schedule crews to go down to Mexicalli and begin the process of completing the building for habitation.

The first crews will be plumbing and electrical so if you have skills in these areas you might want to sign up for the first trip. We will post the dates and skills sets for the first trip later this year. We expect that the first trip will be in October/November and will last from 4-7 days. Please watch this site for more information in the future.

I took some updated pictures with my phone camera but do not know how to transfer them from the phone to the computer. When I figure it out I will post them to this site.

God Bless

Joe Boe

Special Contribution At Woodward Park

On Sunday March 9, 2008 the Woodward Park congregation had a special contribution to raise funds for the work in Mexicali. Some have pledged to give in the future but the total raised on that Sunday was...are you ready...$41,636...WOW!! incredible!!! I have never known of a congregation that gives so liberally for the work of God. I am so gratefull to be a part of a wonderful congregation of servants of the Master.

This money will go towards the building of the dormitory which will house the students of the newly established "Latin America Biblical Institute." We have planned and worked with SIBI for the future of this school. The first step was the building of the dormitory and improvements to the existing buildings in Mexicali.

There will be a lot of activities in Mexicali over the next year as we work and plan on opening the first session of the school. Our prayers are to teach men to preach to the Latin population and establsih God's church everywhere these men go. The future is in God's hand and we pray for every blessing from Him. With the first special contribution behind us we can now start on the building and lay the ground work for the future.

$41,636.00 is a wonderful way to start the work in training men in Mexicali. If yo would like to help in this work send your check to the
Woodward Park church of Christ
7886 N. Millbrook Ave.
Fresno, Ca. 93720
and in the memo line write Mexicali building.

Thank you and may God give the increase as we serve Him with all we have.

God Bless

Joe Boe

Getting Ready to Go

This is Tuesday and on Saturday we are all heading to Mexicali to conduct a VBS for the church. Here is a list of those who are going with us.
Teen agers:
Amanda Sharpton
Sommer Centeno
Jared houston
Jordan Houston
Jenna Houston
Thien Vang
Cody King
Lisa Marin
Juleen Flint
Ashley Sharpton
Courtney Lock

The adults are:
Terry & Carol Hinton
Cedric Rowe
Randy Jacobs
Charles and Maggie Patterson
Marcos & Mary Miranda
Mark Heredia
Joe & Lorry Boe

We will be gone until Thursday the 20th. This trip is becoming an annual spring event for our youth. Being a part of helping the Mexicali church reach out to the community is a great way of learning to serve others. Last year Estaban, the preacher, was able to reach and teach 5 souls as a result of VBS. His complaint was that we created more contacts than he could handle...what a problem to have!!! We are praying the Lord helps us to reach even more this years. Pray for us as we leave at 6 am Saturday morning.

God Bless

Joe Boe

Preparation for the signing

We are in Lubbock, Texas for the signing of the official documents which will partner S.I.B.I. with Woodward Park church of Christ and the Mexicali church of Christ. Our aim is to train men to preach the gospel in Latin America. I could think of no better school to partner with than Sunset International Bible Institute. They have been training men to preach for over 40 years and have sent missionaries all over the world. I graduated from there in 1979 and have had a long and prosperous relationship with them since Cline Paden handed me my diploma.



Now, with God's help, we will train men in Mexicali and send them into the Latin world to speak the message of life to their own people in their own language. Rudy Wray is one of the teachers we will have available for teaching the preacher students in Mexicali , via video teleconferencing. Rudy lives in Oregeon and teaches several other schools in the same fashion he will teach in our school. It is a great asset to have such men as Rudy who devotes so much time to teaching and training men to preach.



Modern technology is making it possible for potential teachers to live anywhere there is high speed Internet access and teach in the school. These are exciting times for the church and especially for training men to preach. The school in Mexicali will be a "base" station for the broadcast and will be able to relay the classes they recieve to 10 other locations who have the camera and video screen at their facility. Anywhere there is high speed internet connection we will be able to broadcast to and from...WOW!



One of the major obstacle in the planning of this school, at least for me, was the securing of capable teachers, raising the support for them, moving them to Mexicali and praying they would stay long enough to make a difference. Part of the fear is dissipated, the internet has made it easier and more efficient. Teachers can live anywhere and broadcast into Mexicali on a regular basis. Pray for us as we go through this week and sign all the documents and then get to work building the necessary dormitory for the school to start in September of 2008.



I will post pictures later this week and give an update on the weeks activities here in Lubbock.



God Bless



Joe Boe

Building estimate is in!!!

Thanks to Daniel and Cesar we now have an estimate for the new dormitory building in Mexicali. We will build a shell building with 2 stories, actually the shell will be built by the contractor down there. Then we will send several construction crews from Woodward Park to finish the work. (The picture above and to the right is the proposed new dormitory for the student preachers.) The estimate we received is to build this dormitory. We are hoping that it can be finished in time for classes in September 2008. The building will house approximately 10 men and 2 families. In Mexicali we already have 2 men who have commited themselves to being trained to preach the gospel. The estimate for phase 1, which will be the shell building, is $42,000.00 U.S. dollars. (This is for the bottom floor only, we are working on the estimate for the entire project.) Phase 2 will be for members to travel with us to complete the building on several trips to Mexicali.

On Friday and Saturday December 7, 8, 2007 several men met in Mexicali to discuss the preacher training project in Mexicali. Those men pictured above are 1. Estaban Lopez, 2. Terry Hinton, 3. Jim Minor, 4. Daniel Marquez, 5. Rudy Wray and 6. Joe Boe. The meeting was very succesful and great plans were discussed and presented to God for blessing. Rudy, from Sunset International Bible Institute, said that he had received about $6,000.00 for the video and internet equipment needed for the project. We will be able to reach into the interior of Mexico and Central America with the Mexicali project. With God's blessing we will be able to teach men to preach from all parts of latin America.

In january we will again meet in Lubbock, Texas to sign the "official" papers establishing the working aggreement between S. I. B. I., Woodward Park church of Christ and the Mexicali brethren. These are exciting time for the outreach to the Mexicali and Latin American population. Please let us know if you are interested in helping us with this project.

Contact:

Joe Boe

7886 N. Millbrook Ave.

Fresno, Ca. 93720

1-559-446-2550 Office

1-559-341-6474 Cell

May God continue to bless, guide and establish our works to glorify and exhalt Him in everything.

Joe Boe