Twenty-four years ago when I first passed this chunk of land on my way in and out of Ensenada it was vacant. Nothing there at all as it sloped it’s way up to become part of the mountain in the background.

Then, literally overnight, a blue tarp city appeared. It happened April 17^th 1986. It’s an easy date to remember because they named this little colonia after the date that it pooped into existence “17 de Abril.”

The blue tarps are mostly gone. There is an elementary school now, a few little stores and many broken and very poor families. The police sub-station was abandoned due to too much violence. It’s sad. But there is some budding life. Reflejo, a community of believers and our friends in Ensenada, have been meeting with Hector, the director of the school for many years now. They have even done some projects at the school and become friends with some of the kids.

We went to visit 17 de Abril with our friends from Reflejo. We walked the streets, talked to neighbors, and saw the sights as Hector, the school’s director, lead us up and down streets.

Peter is NieuCommunities artistic photo man and Dany is his counterpart with Reflejo: they are why we went to work on setting up an international artistic photo exhibition with these kids. We want the kids to take pictures under the mentoring eye of Dany and then do a show of their work. The show will include work from children in South Africa and San Diego too. NieuCommunities is building relationships in all these places with cameras. Pretty creative huh? What kid wouldn’t want to take pictures even if it’s a disposable camera?

It’s a new creative way of making friends of the friendless, building confidence in the down trodden and letting the forgotten know they really aren’t forgotten. It’s hard to know where this will all go but we have hopes of sharing the gospel afresh in this context.

I’ll give you updates as it unfolds. The final ‘show’ will be sometime in June 2010.

Last week a few of us from NieuCommunities (Ncom) journeyed to Ensenada to have ‘Café with our Amigos’ which is our sister community called Reflejo with a several important purposes in mind:

1. to continue to nurture a relationship with Reflejo – they are some cool folks and great friends that have a passionate Kingdom focus…They are highly relational, involved with the homeless as well as the spiritual and political leaders in Ensenada. Amazing things are happening there.
2. take a planning step in reaching out to Casa Esperanza women’s shelter in Ensenada with Reflejo taking the lead.
3. strategize an international photo swap adventure that would allow kids in the States and Mexico (and several other countries) to have a photo art show/exchange together and thus open many doors to what God’s agenda is. I love this creative bent to His Kingdom work… so many doors fly open when we do things like this.
4. and of course to eat the amazing food that Ensenada has to offer (life does has it’s little perks huh?)

I will update you with how all this is progressing soon and also with news of the women’s retreat that Maria is helping with this very weekend – she took 6 of her ladies with her this year…

I recall many years ago running across a stranded motorist in Mexico. The final step of her medical schooling was to give a year of free medical care to a poor community. That meant she was as poor as her patients and actually lived in the clinic that she worked out of. And now her beat up car had a flat and was going no where.

Because years ago my older brother gave me his skills and knowledge about fixing cars, including fixing and changing a flat tire, I was able to help this young doctor get rolling again.

And through that moment on the road that doctor ended up living with us till her intern was finished in our town. And her living with the Sheahan’s had also brought her into meeting Jesus in our living room…a flat fixed, a life changed.

Yesterday it happened again. Two friends from NieuCommunities came over with their allying cars. We changed oil, did a tune up, replaced a bad starter, and got greasy and nasty together… it was actually fun. They learned so quickly that I doubt they will come back to learn more but I know they will give their neighbors this newly learned when they need their cars fixed.

I felt like I was able to give a little more of what was given to me and what a joy to get out the tools and give my brothers skills away…again.

I appreciate my brother giving me his skills. I think that life was meant to ‘give away’.

Hey bro, thanks for the skills and by the way, who gave you your skills?

.