I would like to tell you a story about a man I met the other
day named Max. Last night we stopped by
McDonald’s on our way to Wednesday night church to get ice cream (we had just
eaten fantastic Zurdo’s quesadillas). I
was sitting at a table with two of my kids and 3 female interns from the baby
home (Melissa was home sick L);
when a Mexican gentleman saunters up, and sits down (with no food) at a table
nearby. I prepared myself for “The Pitch”. “Here it goes”, I thought to myself, “He’s
going to hit up the rich American for some dinero”. He opened up with something friendly in
choppy English and stuck out his hand. I
responded with a smile and a handshake, impressed with his English. He asked about the five “kids” I was with
assuming we were all family. I told him
we were part of a ministry, and that we all worked together. He smiled a jealous smile wanting my job at
that point, assuming I spent all day long with attractive female teenagers (BTW,
that is not the case, I work with Jesse Martinez J). He then asked what church I attended. It was at that moment I realized I had the
whole situation backwards. I started off
resisting sharing my resources with Max, when actually the Lord had brought
this man to me in order to introduce him to True Riches!
I immediately felt convicted and wondered how many other
times I had made incorrect assumptions and skipped over an opportunity to talk
about my faith with someone. Max and I
chatted for another minute before he showed me an invitation someone else from our
church had given him. It had a map on
the back, and he began to ask for directions.
At that point I felt I should offer him a ride. We walked out together, and Max sat down in
the front seat. When we arrived, I
introduced him to Jesse (the guy I work with), because I wasn’t going able to
sit with him during the service. I was scheduled
to help out that night; so after the introduction, I ran off to the tech booth. After the message, Pastor Mike in standard form,
issued an invitation to receive God’s gift of salvation. As he began, I prayed from the tech booth,
asking God to open hearts. After what
seemed like a long pause, everyone began clapping. I opened my eyes looking over the crowd, and
there was Max with his hand held up high!
I was shocked and thrilled at the same time. I had been a part in his salvation decision! It was awesome.

We are so blessed to be working here in Mexico. We just got back from representing Grace
Children’s Home at a church up in Los Angeles.
I was so proud of my family, seeing my kids jump in, helping sign up new
sponsors, introducing them to the children, and explaining the details of the
ministry. I was humbled watching my
capable children serve others with such enthusiasm and joy. I didn’t have to do much of anything! We have an action packed summer ahead of us here
at GCH as we solidify our plans to host a bunch of teams this summer. We could not do this work without your prayers
and support! We are so grateful for your
partnership. Thank you.
As my earlier story illustrated, in Tijuana, “The harvest is
plentiful, but the workers are few”. Please
continue to lift us up in prayer and consider what the Lord may be calling you
to do to serve those around you. May God
richly bless you as you step out in faith.
With love, The Hanson Family (Michael, Melissa, Caleb, Sarah
and Nathan)
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