So we are now home and have been for just over a month. we have been quite busy with things here on the ranch and in our personal life! Enjoy the video (please excuse our pauses and stammerings!) and please feel free to send us an email, text or call us if you have any questions or want to know more! If you are wanting to join our prayer team please leave a comment or email and I will add you to the group!
I will correct myself from in the video here and there are 273 days until we begin our Discipleship Training School in Mazatlan!! the countdown is on and we are so excited to see where our Father will take us on this adventure!
Here is the video with clips from some of our worship times! The love that pours out from these awesome people is simply amazing! We are really going to miss our worship times here!
If you’re brave enough, turn up the volume for full effect and imagine the walls, floors and windows literally shaking!
It is so hard to believe that we are going into 5 weeks here and our time to head home is flying at us at a break neck speed! We are in awe each day of how God has put people in our day to day that spoke such truth and love into our lives, how the Holy Spirit moved through our lives and through others has been absolutely transformational! We are humbled by the generosity of the friends we have made here and are now like family, we KNOW we are blessed to witness their love and wisdom! WE feel honoured that they have shared their testimonies and lives with us these last weeks and we look so forward to watching their continued growth and love!
We feel so loved by everyone here and man are we going to miss them all when we leave, but we still have 5 days and what 5 days they will be!!
Here is the past week update and a bit more...
Today we will begin resting physically (well Dennis will as I am still on kitchen duty today and have my rest day starting tomorrow!), lots of Carnaval testimonies will be heard and told and worship tonight out in the park!
Have a great day!
Anyone who knows us, knows that Dennis and I enjoy good coffee in the mornings and since we have been here, we have really grown to love our coffee and our cream - which leads me to share a funny story.
Dennis and I were shopping and buying some groceries when we first arrived, being avid coffee drinkers (with cream) we began our hunt of the Soriana store! We found many coffee cream like packages in the middle aisles (non refrigerated) and creamers, but no real cream. As we searched the store we figured we would be enjoying our Looney Bean coffee black for the month! But God knew we would enjoy our morning coffees SO much more if we had actual cream! (Isn’t he amazing to think of even the small, crazy, insignificant things?!) As we searched we found the refrigeration area and low and behold CREAM! So we bought a small bottle and found it is so thick it is the same idea as Clotted Cream in the UK. It is the most delicious addition to our morning coffee... oh my! So fast forward to the next week where at Ley’s (a smaller grocery chain - similar to an IGA) we found the same Lala brand but in a bigger bottle AND in a tub (since it’s so thick it would be easier to use in the mornings!)
We buy both, take them home and the next morning I open the tub and taste it... this is NOT cream... it is sour cream! which I had enjoyed a few days before with my tostados at breakfast... at the base. Good thing I had tasted it first... but if you look at the picture you can see why we would be confused ... lol to say the least the kitchen staff got a good giggle from my sour cream/coffee cream story... and yet no one could explain the labeling to me! So long story short, when in Mexico and wanting to really enjoy your coffee, always buy the BOTTLE of crema fresca.
Tonight is our last night of Carnaval and we will be out until 1am, then back to the base and I have to dump my photos for media, Dennis will be bringing back the cafe things (because they tear it all down each night), so it will be a very late night for us again! Tomorrow we hope to get some basic house needs done, a bit of time in the sun and gearing up for packing for home!
So this morning I did a quick video of the base, and I need to apologize to Sebastian! I introduced him as Chino (insert eye roll here)... not sure why I did that! Lol can I beg late night, little sleep and early mornings?! lo siento, Sebastian! I am still working on my video-ing skills but you’ll get the idea of it all and see where we have spent our last month! There have been some big changes in the last year and it is still changing daily! Enjoy the tour!
Can’t believe we only have a week left here! We are trying to remember and enjoy every minute of work, worship & intercession and time with friends (who are more like family now!)
But here is a quick update on our first night going into carnaval! Can’t flip my phone around during taping so there will benTWO videos again! We will try to get a week update tonight (if we can get time)! Photos will get posted as well... again time allowing! Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm!
It is hard in imagine we have been here for as long as we have! That means soon we will be heading home! Not something we are really getting too excited about (except to see family and friends!)
We have made such beautiful friends here and made a home for ourselves in our room and community, we have learned the art of getting around; calling uber or polmonia to get home places when we are tired and bogged down with groceries (and other purchases). It is going to be a hard internal fight to get on that plane to head home, but we know we have so much to share with everyone, that makes it exciting too!
So here is a movie about the last week, and photos will follow possibly tomorrow or Monday! Enjoy!
Hola! Here is our week two video (recorded yesterday - Sunday)! We have been pretty busy with our work shifts and ministries but we have been so content and at peace here!
I am dealing with a sunburn from yesterday, but I am not to terribly uncomfortable. We had such a wonderful day to rejuvenate and rest for this coming week! God is good and knew just what we needed! This morning we have worship time and then work, with a break this afternoon for an hour, then back to work. I will try to post some photos with the stories behind them today/tonight.
Both Dennis and I have been having some clarifications on some things we had been praying about and all we can say is God is good! We will continue praying and we definitely want to thank y’all for your prayers! They mean so much to us! Again if you have any questions drop a comment or an email and we will get back to you as soon as we can! Have a blessed week!
HOLA! here we are almost a whole week into our mission trip and have so much to share, but we will try to contain it in this video! Keep your eyes on the INSTAGRAM act for more frequent updates with photos as we are finding our days are quite busy! We have weekends off and this weekend we toured around trying to get our bearings straight and finding out what shops are where and how to get there! WE walked to the lighthouse this morning (the walk was 7.53km+ ... I forgot to turn on my tracker sooner) and it was like walking up 43 flights of stairs! Yesterday we also walked over 4km (according to google maps) to go to the grocery store (Soriana's) ... so much walking lately! LOVE IT!
We will try to update with videos on Saturdays if possible, but we will have to see how things are going once we are in full swing with our work details! Enjoy the video and the photos that are on the left in our IG acct! Drop us a comment if you have any questions and the PRAYER REQUEST list has been updated!! Thank you and until next week!
goodness time sure is weird... speeding along at break neck paces some days and slower than molasses in January on others! My days are snails pace it seems and yet I can't believe we are here at this time already!
We've read so many books and learned so many things n our walk with God in preparation for this journey, we have a basic knowledge of Spanish (which we will get to try out in Mexico City for 13 hours on a layover before we have our final flight to Mazatlan! I think we are as ready as we will ever be!
SO...
We are one week away from leaving for Mazatlan (we should be in Toronto waiting for our connecting flight this time next Monday!) and we are ready and yet there is still so much for us to do! (packing being the biggest I think!)There are still some appointments we need to go to, a bit of shopping still to do, a fridge to clean out (meaning meals), laundry, house cleaning and I know there is still farm stuff to get done by Friday! I know it will all get done and that there is no sense worrying about it (not that I am worrying per se...) just typical travel concerns of forgetting something or not packing or overpacking. Until this afternoon we had a few concerns over the finalities of things with YWAM but they were all sorted today ... see not worrying!
All in Gods time, right!?
Here are a few prayer requests for this coming week:
~ Protection (not just for our travels and time in Mazatlan but for family at home) of our minds and hearts
~ To see what God is putting on our hearts when meeting with the people of Mazatlan and those at YWAM
~ Open hearts (ourselves and others) to the leading of the Holy Spirit as he sees fit
~ Prayers for the unknown as we embark on this God adventure
These are pretty general prayers it seems, but the power of prayer is amazing and we know how important fervent prayers are!
I have a feeling this next week (and beyond) Philippians 4:6-7 will be not only on my arm (it is a tattoo) but on my heart: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
With this said, please know that we truly thank you for your prayers and concerns and it does give such peace to be going to Mexico with your prayers before us!
Please drop a line (comment box or email) if you have any questions!
We are only 30 days away from leaving for Mazatlan (THIRTY DAYS!), there is a pile of things still to do before we leave and Dennis has a very bad chest and head cold! I am asking for prayer for his health to be restored!
Coming up we have our second round of TwinRex to do in the next week or two (he needs to be healthy for this!), we are having issues with some water lines, the sewage pump is acting up in the house, there is other farm work that needs to be set up for while we are away, health insurance to purchase, organizing for time with family before we go and then there is just day to day stuff!
Please hold Dennis up in prayer for healing (and also that I don’t get what he has!)
Well, we have been back for about 3 weeks now (and we yearn to be back in Mazatlan doing Gods work!) .... and to say the least... the trip was amazing!!
We built a home, we distributed 154 bibles, we fed children supper one night! We walked around Mazatlan, taking in the sights, the foods and the people!
It was most definitely a God journey... no better way to describe it! I was waiting to post photos of the trip until we had shared the trip with our church and a few other people ( and we still have any people to share with!!) but I thought I would get this quick (5 minute) video of the highlights on our trip up for y'all to see!
A few highlights I will tell you about:
The lady we built the home for!! She was the loveliest lady you would ever want to meet! She was not only kind but extremely generous! She made us meals and every morning she would serve us cafe leche... mmmmmm cafe leche... she helped us with whatever and whenever she could - she worked many, many hours after her regular day job to pay for these treats for us! Her favourite colour is purple, so that is why it is purple! (houses in Mazatlan are so beautifully colourful!)
We met many wonderful people while distributing bibles in a poorer colonia (neighbourhood). The people were so welcoming to not only talk with us and allow us to pray for them, but we were told they have been waiting for the bibles we had. These bibles were PDT (La Biblia: La Palabra de Dios para Todos- which translates; The Word of God for all) and the versions they had were too complicated to read! it was so amazing to take the time to talk with people and pray over them! I will admit it was a bit scary at first and praying through a translator took a bit of getting used too, but it was a definite highlight for me!
The night at the Feeding Distribution Centre (soup kitchen) was great too! We fed about 60 kids (there is usually 70!) This program is run by a local man (Roman) and his wife and 2 volunteers. Roman works in an autonomy shop and felt that God was telling him to feed the hungry. So two evenings a week and one breakfast he feeds the children of the local Colonia (neighbourhood) with food that is mostly donated by a local lady who runs a bakery or a restaurant. The kids there were so excited to. have some newcomers and soccer balls (and Dennis' beard lol)!! After they ate, the soccer balls came out and it was outside to play with them and to play a piggyback game!
There is so much to say about our trip, and although the Inuit have 150 words for snow, I can't seem to find the right words to convey this trip. We loved it so much and are praying that we will have the opportunity to go back again but hopefully for a bit longer, doing Gods work!
Please take a few minutes to check out the video and the photos to catch a glimpse into our week in the beautiful city! If you are any questions, don't hesitate to ask or if you want to get together to here more of the mission trip, just drop me a comment or even a phone call!!
Thank you all so much for your prayers, messages, texts, calls, donations! You made our trip that much better by being involved!!
El amor de Dios nunca falla!!! 💕🤗💕
Hopefully, we will have another God adventure to share again soon!!
Some of you may know that last year I did my DTS with YWAM in Mazatlán Mexico. For me that was a life changing experience. That was where I started a more intimate relationship with Jesus, I made lifelong friends, where I found myself, impacted others life, and had my own life impacted as well. Now, I have the amazing opportunity to lead a team of 15 people (from the Grace Baptist Church) back to that place.
During our time there, we will be working with a team called Homes of Hope. We will be building a house for a family in need down there. That will take us about three days to build, and then we will be doing other ministries around the city. As a leader for this team I do have many responsibilities, but I am very excited about this. I get to lead a team back to a place that I am pleased to call home to go back and do God’s work. I am excited to see how God will use me in every way that he can, for Him to use us as a team, and as individuals. I know that God can do amazing things, and has amazing things planned for this team. Each member of the team has a special gift, and I am excited to see how God will use them during our days there.
I have always had a huge heart to help and serve people and have always wanted to go on a mission’s trip to love on people and help those in need. When I got back from Mexico I just had a strong feeling to go back and take a team with me, to serve a family there in need. At first, I did not know if this was just a feeling I had, because I had always wanted to do a mission’s trip, or if it was God putting this desire on my heart. I brought it before my youth pastor and we started planning a little bit of it, organizing a few things, and seeing who all would be interested in going. Once things started to fall into place I knew that it wasn’t just a desire in my heart, that it was God who has leading me to lead a team. After many months of planning and prepping for this trip, I am excited to see what God has in store during the time down in Mexico.
Mazatlan, Mexico... YWAM (where we will be staying)
is about a 5 minute walk from this beach
We received an email yesterday with a bit of info and background on our family in Mazatlan that we are building house for! It was so thrilling to read and learn a little about them! I don't know if we are allowed to share that information, so I won't, but I will say this; they are a family of 7 and Dennis, Hannah and I are so eager to meet them! As we are putting the final preparations in gear for our trip, I pray that you will all pray for this beautiful family with us and our mission team! My heart is brimming for them and I can not wait to meet them and see where God has moved in their lives! There is still time to donate if you are feeling lead to do so via our GoFund Me page! We want to say a big thank you everyone who has texted, sent well wishes and love during this first ever time on missions! We didn't (and still don't) know what to expect of it all, but so far seeing how God our Father works is so exhilarating and breathless that it is just a huge blessing! Thank you again to those who have donated money and time to our efforts! We are truly blessed!
You can still donate and the money would to the team, as there are still travel expenses that you can help with for the team and as always we need your prayers!
With only 19 days left until we begin to make our way to Mazatlan, Mexico, I can't help but be grateful for all that we have, all the people we have already encountered and all the prayers and blessings that have been bestowed on not only Dennis, Hannah and I, but on our whole team as well!
God's love has been literally shining through when we least expect it ... and all I can say is God is good!
Our auction has come and gone and was a success! I think all prizes have been delivered or picked up. We still are just shy of the cost of the house and it would be a wonderfully, beautiful blessing to be able to furnish for the family as well! So we leave it all in His hands (because like a business owner said to us when he was donating an auction prize "His hands are way bigger than ours!" -- Can I get an AMEN!!) and FAITH can move mountains! If you are feeling lead to help us to achieve this goal, you can use theGoFund Me page or contact me and I will help you out with it! (either way you will receive a tax receipt!)
Dennis and I are busy with the typical Christmas busyness and working to get things in order n the farm for us to be away. (Joshua and Dana will be looking after things for us, as well as their own farm). Dennis and I also finished a morning devotion in YouVersion that is to help us to prepare our hearts for our mission trip. It was an eye opener for us, with things you typically don't think about when getting ready! Since this is our first mission, we are a bit nervous but so excited to see what God has in store of our team and for us as individuals!
Hannah is working hard at studying the last week as she goes into her last week of exams before the Christmas break, so she is a tad stressed. We are always praying for our girl (and al our children of course), and we are excited for her to be back at YWAM and hopefully seeing some of her friends!
This journey has me thinking (and I pray, growing) more of my relationship with Christ. I see Him more each day in all sorts of unexpected places. I love my morning time with Him each day and I try to find joy in His wondrous creation daily... in the snow, the hoar frost, the cattle, the sunrises and sunsets, in my family and our little farm. I pray that I will see people (not just in Mexico but here at home too) through His eyes and find more GRACE and MERCY and COMPASSION in my heart for His sons and daughters; to find ways to share His love for them and to spread the gospel and not be afraid to do so.
I pray that each of you are having a wonderful Christmas season and you are enjoying His many rich blessings -- because it's all about Him, right!?
Thank you all once again for your prayers and love and blessings! We truly appreciate and thank our Father for each and every one of you!!
So!!! We are now 35 days from leaving for Mazatlan! (EEEEKK!) and we have been quite busy with our fundraisers!
The Bigger & Better auction took a change in plans: we have been set up at 2 local malls and have had a rainbow auction with the amazingly generous prizes that were donated by local businesses from Dauphin, Ste.Rose, Riding Mountain, Neepawa and Minnedosa! There are prizes that are ranging from hats and travel mugs to two cases of frozen chickens to local artisan work and electronic accessories to very generous gift cards to local car dealerships! The surprise donation was from Ruff's in Dauphin who donated a brand new rocker recliner!! So we decided to have a silent auction with it!
Ste Rose Mall set up... we were a bit squishy
but a great day was had!
The Recliner is on site to try out too!!
(I highly recommend it!)
This was the set up at Dauphin Place Mall
when Hannah and other team members were
sharing our mission trip plans
We are still working on removing envelopes from the "house" which when all envelopes are gone we will officially have the money for the supplies for the house!! We are also hoping to raise funds to purchase furniture for the family as well -- to make their new house a home - this will be an extra $1600USD approximately.
The tables will be set up this Saturday at the Dauphin Place Mall and on Sunday at Grace Baptist Church during our Grey Cup party! Tickets for the rainbow auction or 4 for $5 or 10 for $10 ... or you can try your luck to bid on the fantastically comfy rocker recliner!
If you would like to make a donation you can visit our GoFund me page and receive a tax receipt for it!
Our next fundraiser is this Sunday at Grace Baptist Church! We are having a Grey Cup Party. There is no set charge for tickets, a donation at your discretion, and not only will we be cheering on either the Ottawa Red Blacks (go RED BLACKS!!!) or the Calgary Stampeders but there will be all you can eat Mexican food (tacos, nachos, beans, rice and drinks). Come on out and have a fun night of fellowship, food and fun! Even if you don't follow or like football, come out and bring a game or two, sit and visit and enjoy some food!! Doors will be open at 5:15!
Dennis and I have been enjoying preparing for the mission trip in a way we never expected. God has asked us both to step out of our comfort zones and amazingly enough we survived! We have spoke to many people in regards to the trip (both believers and non believers) and the questions we have been asked and we were able to answer (thank YOU God!) have really helped us to prepare our hearts! We have encountered some people who are not in favour of away from home mission trips and I feel that our responses were ones that left the people with a better understanding of our trip, missions and hopefully God. Before this trip I know I probably would have been a bit more shy inn y responses but God seems to have filled my heart (and mouth) with words to share AND not shy away with those words! With this being said I am sure there are many more times I could have said something and didn't, so I am praying for the Holy Spirit to work more in me on it!
The days are counting down and with Christmas and life roaring as well, I ask for prayer not only for our trip, but for our hearts to be softened through the hustle and bustle towards those who are here at home in our community. I pray that my eyes will be opened to where God wants me to speak up or serve. I ask for your prayers in this as well!
Thank you so much for all the prayers and donations of prizes, funds and time that you have all bestowed to us for this mission trip so far! Please know that we count ourselves very blessed with your friendships and love!
Would you like to do a bit extra along with praying!? We have learned we are able to take clothing and things to Mexico to share with the people there!
Hannah noticed that when she was in Mazatlan last year that they love soccer! So we want to take some balls (deflated of course) and so we will also need a few pumps to blow them up (and leave them) again once there.
A few other ideas of things we would like to take are clothing, personal hygiene items, shoes - all for men, women and children, school supplies. basically things you would put into an Operation Christmas Child box.
There is not much there in Mazatlan for these items (or else we would take down money to purchase in that area to aid in their economy).
If you are wanting to help in this area let us know! I will make arrangements for pick up!
I thought I would take a moment to share one of our other fundraising efforts that will be happening in the near future!
We are going to 'play' a game of
Bigger or Better Challenge!
The idea is that local businesses (from Dauphin to Neepawa (and other surrounding towns if they want to play as well) will challenge another business (or 2 or 3... as many as they want actually) to donate a gift that is "Bigger or Better" than what they have donated. There will be a letter from the church explaining our mission intent and another small note that is the challenge to another business. the note will state their name (the challenger), their business name and what their donation is! Businesses that choose to play with us can be given a tax receipt if they wish (that is the actual cost of the donation). All the gifts will be collected and then auctioned off for our trip with a silent auction.
We aren't 100% sure of the date of the auction but I will keep y'all posted!
This is a "fun for everyone" fundraiser, as it not only helps us to go and build the house in Mazatlan, but it also helps encourage local businesses to be a part of it in a unique way; it is a fun opportunity to have a friendly rivalry with businesses, trying to out give each other! And it will help bring free advertising to the businesses and hopefully new customers!
We will be making sure that the businesses participating are made known at the silent auction and other avenues as well!
If you are a business (large, small or if you want to participate with a new item donation for the silent auction) and you would like to be a part of our Bigger and Better Challenge, please let me know and I will make sure to get you the necessary paper work!
Hi!! If you have found our blog page it is most likely (we hope) it is because you want to partner with us for our family mission trip to Mazatlan, Mexico in December!
Hannah, Dennis, Jodi - 1/2 of the Ginter family
We are going with others from our church (Grace Baptist Church in Ochre River) and we are going to build a home! We have teamed up with YWAM
(Youth with a Mission) and they are through with Homes of Hope, to help us build a family a home!
The plan is to build the home in three days and then the remainder of the week will be spent spreading the gospel and the love of God in many ways like: handing out bibles, interacting with local kids through soccer, visiting area of need, doing prayer walks, etc.
Wonder how YOU can help?! For starters — PRAY!! Please for Dennis, Hannah and I as we are trying to listen to hear what God wants from us. WE are needing prayer for many other areas: preparing for the trip, being in Mexico, leaving Mexico, things on our farm will be uneventful while we are gone, raising enough money to get the materials (and hopefully furniture as well) for the home, money for the travel to and from Mexico and I am sure there are tonnes of other things to pray for and as they are brought to our mind we will add them to a running Prayers and Praise list!
If you feel lead to do so you can help support our trip financially. There is a Go Fund me page set up for our group or you can send a cheque to our church and a receipt will be mailed to you. (mailing address will be in the side link along with the go fund me link).
If you have any good ideas or want to help in fundraising in a physical way let us know! With that said we have a few fundraiser ideas in the works as of right now and we are praying they go off well! Some plans are a Grey Cup Party at the church – watch the football game on the big screen! The evening will include the large screen game, taco bar and pop! We are also preparing for a Big&Better auction where we will ask local businesses (from Neepawa and area and Dauphin and area) to challenge another business to donate a Bigger or Better prize for us to auction off at a local play. There will also be an ongoing envelope pull where you can pull the envelope of the donation you want to make towards the building of the house! Tomorrow we are going to be having a hotdog sale in Dauphin at the Co-op from 11-1 and 3-5.
The bible verse that is keeping us going and encouraged is “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Hebrews 3:4 — so please playfully consider partnering with in whatever manner you feel you are being called to and lets see where God will take us all on this journey!
We are very excited to be going and doing this work! Some of you will already know why we are heading to Mazatlan – but some won’t. Our daughter Hannah was with YWAM MAzatlan last year and experienced such amazing things that when she returned from her schooling and outreach, she strongly felt God calling her back to Mexico to do something more… enter Home of Hope!! so with others who were also excited to follow God’s calling, she and our Associate Pastor began digging into it and setting up what was needed! AND now we begin the task of making it a reality as we follow His nudging and whispers!
Please keep checking in with us to see where we are at in prayer requests, praises and fundraising as we only have about 101 days until we leave for our mission trip!
goodness time sure is weird... speeding along at break neck paces some days and slower than molasses in January on others! My days are snails pace it seems and yet I can't believe we are here at this time already!
We are only 30 days away from leaving for Mazatlan (THIRTY DAYS!), there is a pile of things still to do before we leave and Dennis has a very bad chest and head cold! I am asking for prayer for his health to be restored! 
... prayers are answered!! Mountains were moved!!
Our auction has come and gone and was a success! I think all prizes have been delivered or picked up. We still are just shy of the cost of the house and it would be a wonderfully, beautiful blessing to be able to furnish for the family as well! So we leave it all in His hands (because like a business owner said to us when he was donating an auction prize "His hands are way bigger than ours!" -- Can I get an AMEN!!) and FAITH can move mountains! If you are feeling lead to help us to achieve this goal, you can use the GoFund Me page or contact me and I will help you out with it! (either way you will receive a tax receipt!)
Would you like to do a bit extra along with praying!? We have learned we are able to take clothing and things to Mexico to share with the people there!
All the gifts will be collected and then auctioned off for our trip with a silent auction.
