[{"content":"God has done amazing things in 2024!!\nMinistry By the end of 2024, we will have hosted 44 teams (over 680 people) from the US and Canada. We also had our first team from Hawaii this year! All of these teams were housed at Connections House where our staff cooked most of their meals as well. About 25% of the teams did ministry with other missionaries, so we set up the ministry for the majority of them. They served at orphanages, feeding kitchens, the garbage dump, churches, and more. There was a lot of kids\u0026rsquo; ministry (VBS, which also reaches out to a lot of their parents), soccer ministry, construction projects, two homes built for families in need, and the gospel was shared at every single one of them.\nThis year we\u0026rsquo;ve also hosted almost a dozen events for our church and other ministries, a few retreats, and a couple of missionary training teams, a quinceañera and another wedding!\nWe also hosted the Calvary School of Missions for the sixth straight year. They stay with us in the summer for four weeks. They have classes five morning per week where they learn about missions and church planting, primarily focused on the 10/40 window. Then three to four times per week we take them out into the different communities to serve and visit some of our church plants.\nMissions We had the opportunity to take four mission trips this year! Kristy served with a team of ladies from our church (Calvary Rosarito) in Oaxaca. She led worship and spoke at their ladies\u0026rsquo; conference. They also did a painting project and served during Sunday service.\nRon \u0026amp; Kristy took a small group from our church, which included some of our Connections House staff and interns, to Calpulalpan, Tlaxcala. There we served at Brian (our son-in-law) \u0026amp; Brittany\u0026rsquo;s church, Calvary Conexión México. We helped run a youth camp for about 70 youth, held a children\u0026rsquo;s outreach, and more.\nKristy also had the privilege of returning to Calpulalpan to serve with some of the worship team from our home church, Calvary Rosarito. We put on a worship conference where Kristy helped lead worship and led a workshop on EasyWorship (and other lyric presentations, such as PowerPoint).\nRon \u0026amp; Kristy also took a short mission trip to Loreto. We were able to bring down some belongings for an Assistant Pastor\u0026rsquo;s family and deliver some chairs to our church plant, Calvary Loreto. It is always a blessing to visit Pastor Elmer and his wife, Crystal, and serve wherever we can. While there, we did a movie outreach on the beach and handed out backpacks to over 80 kids!\nFamily There are many highlights this year, but not the least of which is that our third grandchild will be born in January 2025! We are blessed to have Brittany and our two grandchildren, Joshua and Kimberly, here for over a month. We\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed spending time with them and decorating for Christmas together. This year we also had the privilege of traveling to Loreto, Baja California Sur, for the wedding of one of our very first interns in Mexico, Claudia. Brittany was one of the bridesmaids and our whole family was able to attend. We\u0026rsquo;ve also had three different sets of family members come and visit. Kristy\u0026rsquo;s niece, Hannah, came to visit it with her friend, Annika. Ron\u0026rsquo;s cousin, Erin, and her husband, Charles, and their son, Eli, came on a week-long trip with their church. Ron\u0026rsquo;s brother, Phil, and his wife, MeLinda, came down to deliver 300 backpacks! Ron was also able to travel to Tennessee for a family reunion, where 9 out of 10 of his siblings were able to attend!\nVisiting our Supporters \u0026amp; Supporting Churches We were able to take a few weeks and visit most of our supporters and our supporting churches in Illinois and Wisconsin. It was a huge blessing and encouragement to us. We were able to attend the missions weekend at our sending church, Faith Community Church, in Fort Atkinson, WI. There, we shared a short update during the morning service, shared with a small group during adult Sunday School, shared with the kids during children\u0026rsquo;s church, attended a dinner and a church-wide pancake breakfast. We also managed to spend some time with family and have a little bit of fun!\nThank You! The Lord is doing amazing things here in Rosarito, Mexico and beyond, and it would not be possible without our ministry partners! Thank you so much for your prayers and support. All of this is part of your spiritual fruit!\nPrayer Requests 1 - Health - Please pray for Ron\u0026rsquo;s back and shoulder. He is planning to have shoulder surgery soon, and his back pain has worsened significantly again.\n2 - Grandbaby #3 - Please pray that everything goes well with our granddaughter\u0026rsquo;s birth next month.\n3 - Connections Staff - Please pray with us as the ministry has grown immensely over the last year and a half. We are in great need of staff to help shoulder the load. We are looking for self-supported missionaries to come on the field and join us. In the meantime, we will begin to hire staff soon. Please pray for wisdom as we prepare to begin this process.\nWe hope you have a Merry Christmas \u0026amp; a very blessed New Year! ","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2024/12/20/looking-back-at-an-amazing-year/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eGod has done amazing things in 2024!!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"ministry\"\u003eMinistry\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the end of 2024, we will have hosted 44 teams (over 680 people) from the US and Canada. We also had our first team from Hawaii this year! All of these teams were housed at Connections House where our staff cooked most of their meals as well. About 25% of the teams did ministry with other missionaries, so we set up the ministry for the majority of them. They served at orphanages, feeding kitchens, the garbage dump, churches, and more. There was a lot of kids\u0026rsquo; ministry (VBS, which also reaches out to a lot of their parents), soccer ministry, construction projects, two homes built for families in need, and the gospel was shared at every single one of them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Looking Back at an Amazing Year!"},{"content":"","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/give/","summary":"","title":"Give"},{"content":"We thank and praise the Lord for those that were faithful and came to serve over these last couple of years. Ministry was not the same due to COVID 19, but God was faithful. He provided enough teams to do the exact work that he had planned. We understand that it was out of the hands of most team members on teams that had to cancel - whether there were health reasons or church leaders that cancelled their trips. But we also know that Satan used it to put fear into people\u0026rsquo;s hearts and minds. Ministry is growing more and more and we are incredibly thankful to the Lord and to those of you that have decided to come and serve!\nOur Family Since our last blog update, there was a little addition to our family! Meet our granddaughter, Kimberly Grace! She\u0026rsquo;s almost 3 1/2 months old already and starting to show her own little personality. It is a joy to have our grandbabies so close! Joshua will turn two next month and his energy level shows it! This little guy is always moving and keeps his parents on their toes. Brian and Brittany are continuing with the church planting class at Calvary Rosarito. Brittany took the second semester off last year when she had the baby, and this is Brian\u0026rsquo;s second year in the class. They are continuing to seek the Lord\u0026rsquo;s guidance as to where He would have them plant a church. Please pray for them as they serve and raise up new leaders at Calvary Chapel Playas. William recently arrived on a surprise visit home! It is so great to see him and spend some time together! He was finally able to meet his new niece. Will is living and working up in Fond du Lac, WI, although he is not enjoying the cold or driving in the snow very much.\nKristy\u0026rsquo;s parents were finally able to meet their only two great-grandchildren! They came down to visit in November, along with Kristy\u0026rsquo;s sister, Shannon, and most of her family. Since Joshua was born in Mexico and still doesn\u0026rsquo;t have all his paperwork, he has not been able to go to the states yet. So this is the only family that our grandchildren have met so far, except for one of Ron\u0026rsquo;s brothers and his wife. (Philip \u0026amp; MeLinda were able to visit at the end of 2020 and meet Joshua.)\nMinistry in 2021 Last year\u0026rsquo;s ministry looked different, but it was amazing! When the pandemic hit in March of 2020, we watched as all of our spring and summer teams cancelled, except for the 5 week Calvary School of Missions (CSOM) in the summer. Thankfully, through generous donations by you and teams that postponed their trips, we kept super busy! Besides CSOM, we only hosted 8 teams in 2020. That\u0026rsquo;s a little less than one fourth of the number of teams we normally have in a year. However, we had numerous outreaches and events. We also spent the greater portion of the first six months of that year working on the Upper Room (dining area) and kitchen on the third floor here at Connections House.\nWell, 2021 may have only brought us 14 teams, but we had a spectacular year of ministry! We also hosted a youth retreat and 12 events for local churches and ministries this past year. At the end of the year we enclosed the second floor patio and turned it into a meeting \u0026amp; game room. This past year we also added three dorm rooms and about 10 beds, as well as a new living room to our two bedroom apartment. We had about 13 teams postpone their trips until this year, and 10 teams are already booked for the first part of the year. Please pray that they will be able to come and serve with us this year!\nAlong with the expansion at Connections House, comes the need for more bunk beds, mattresses, sheets \u0026amp; towels. If you would like to help with any of these items, please click here. It would be a tremendous blessing! The goal is to have bed spaces for up to 55 people. Therefore, our next big project at Connections will be an expensive one. It is to remodel the first floor dorm bathroom into two shower rooms, and then add two separate stall rooms with toilets and sinks. This means tearing out a lot of flooring in order to redo and add plumbing. The dorms also need to have the electricity redone, floors reinforced, and more. Little by little, the Lord has provided, and we are certain that He will continue to do so!\nChurch Planting \u0026amp; Mission Trips In 2021, we were able to travel a little and help some of our church plants. This was something we had prayed about and longed to do more of for almost five years. It has been amazing to watch so many churches get planted here within about an hour of our church, Calvary Rosarito. Unfortunately, due to COVID, we had to cancel our third annual staff mission trip. We had planned to serve in Monterrey with Pastor Pedro. Please pray that we will be able to reschedule that trip soon so that we can encourage our brothers and sisters over there at CC Monterrey.\nAs we shared previously, in January of last year we helped some church planters move to the southern part of Baja to plant the church, Calvary Loreto. We didn\u0026rsquo;t think we could be much help at such an early stage for this church plant, but God had another plan. After looking at some possible buildings for the church right away, the Lord began to reveal what he had in store. We stayed an extra week to help with renovations for the church building, but there was still so much work to be done. We returned home to find out that Ron\u0026rsquo;s back surgery was postponed, so we took that as a sign that we had more work to do in Loreto. We returned for another couple of weeks to work on the church and help with their grand opening.\nThe church just celebrated their one year anniversary last week. It\u0026rsquo;s been amazing to watch how much it has grown! Kristy had the opportunity to take a trip there in May with Brian, Brittany, Joshua, and some friends. They served at a couple of events the church was having, one for women and one for men. They also helped with painting another sign at the church and helping to get the pastor\u0026rsquo;s office ready by doing some drywalling and painting.\nWe were super blessed to take trips to three different church plants in November and December. For the first time, the backpacks that are donated reached Baja California Sur \u0026amp; Sonora! However, we will save those trips for our next update. All of this is your fruit and we appreciate your prayer and financial support!! We will leave you with some before and after photos of the church plant in Loreto. God bless!\nThe two photos on the left show before and after photos of the front of the church. The next set of photos is the sanctuary. It has been expanded three times, and they are already looking at a possible fourth expansion. In the third set of photos you can see the storage shed that was turned into a classroom for the children. Finally, the renovation of the courtyard between the church and storage shed. It looks fantastic, and gets used before and after church for fellowship, as a Sunday School classroom for the older children, and more.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2022/02/12/struska-missions-update-february-2022/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe thank and praise the Lord for those that were faithful and came to serve over these last couple of years. Ministry was not the same due to COVID 19, but God was faithful. He provided enough teams to do the exact work that he had planned. We understand that it was out of the hands of most team members on teams that had to cancel - whether there were health reasons or church leaders that cancelled their trips. But we also know that Satan used it to put fear into people\u0026rsquo;s hearts and minds. Ministry is growing more and more and we are incredibly thankful to the Lord and to those of you that have decided to come and serve!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Whom Shall I Send and Who Will Go For Us?"},{"content":"Family We are super excited to announce that grandbaby #2 is on its way! Joshua just turned one year-old this month and in October he will be a big brother! Brian and Brittany have recently started attending the church planting class offered at our church. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for them! (While secretly hoping that God doesn\u0026rsquo;t take them too far away from us.)\nWilliam has a big life change coming up. On Monday he will be moving to Idaho with a friend that he grew up with here in Mexico. We are excited for this next step in his life. Please keep him in your prayers as he looks for a job and adjusts to living on his own. While he has been working in the U.S. for about a year and a half now, he hasn\u0026rsquo;t lived there since 2010. So he will definitely still be experiencing some culture shock.\nAs many of you already know, Ron\u0026rsquo;s back surgery was rescheduled for February 23rd. It went very well and the surgeon was happy with everything. He has definitely experienced some pain relief and is getting better little by little. However, almost five weeks later, he is about in the same place he was just before the surgery in regards to how much he can do. Of course he has lifting (bending, reaching, etc.) restrictions, but he is only able to stand, sit, or work for so long before he has to lay down again. Please keep him in your prayers as well, as he has a long road of recovery and a hard time resting when he\u0026rsquo;d rather be working.\nMinistry We were blessed this month to serve alongside the youth from Calvary Chapel Saving Grace (Yorba Linda, CA). They served at a local church who hasn\u0026rsquo;t received a team in over two years, Iglesia Bautista Cristo Rey, here in Rosarito. The team ministered to the children with games, crafts, worship, and a Bible lesson. They also shared a message and testimonies with the adults. At the end they gave out backpacks to the children and food boxes/cleaning supplies to all the families.\nThe team also blessed a local children\u0026rsquo;s home, Niños Con Fe, in Tijuana. There was a lot of soccer, tug of war, crafts, worship, testimonies, and a Bible lesson. They also served dinner to the 30+ children there and their staff. It was awesome to hear the conversations and testimonies being shared over face painting, crafts, nail painting, and even an open Bible on one of the tables. Afterwards, the youth and a few leaders prayed for the anyone that wanted it. It was really neat to see not just some of their staff go up and ask for prayer, but some of the youth from the children\u0026rsquo;s home as well!\nChurch Planting In our January update we mentioned that we had returned for a second trip to Loreto in Baja California, Mexico. We had helped church planters, Elmer \u0026amp; Crystal, move to plant a bilingual church, Calvary Loreto, located about fourteen hours south of us.\nWe had driven back to Loreto without a trailer. Somehow Ron managed to get all of our stuff, 30 folding chairs, Juan\u0026rsquo;s motorcycle, and some other donations in the back of our pick-up. We even brought the kayak, which we were able to use a couple of times after the work on the church was done. Juan, who is on the church plant team, had to leave his motorcycle behind because it wasn\u0026rsquo;t ready when he left. So we surprised him by bringing it down for him.\nMostly, Ron managed the crew working on the church, but he did manage to get his hands dirty. You can see above that he put up the banner on the side of the church. Don\u0026rsquo;t let the photo on the right fool you, though. He only helped Kristy paint the logo over the church doors for a little over an hour. Of course, he worked on many other things as his back would allow. Kristy took three days before the church\u0026rsquo;s first service to work on this sign. The first evening she traced it - mostly by light from the truck because it was too bright during the day to see the projector. Then the next two days were mostly spent painting it. She didn\u0026rsquo;t claim to be quick or to be an expert, but it turned out pretty good! Below you can see the church ready for the first service and the logo painted over the front doors of the church.\nThe first service at Calvary Loreto was February 7th. There was a full sanctuary and three professions of faith! Kristy led worship, along with a couple of other ladies. Pastor Carlos from Calvary Rosarito joined us for several days, along with his wife, Robin, and our friend Grace.\nWe are so excited to see how the Lord continues to work in Loreto! Since we returned home, they added seating for about 10 more people by tearing down the back wall of the sanctuary. After that, they removed the side wall and expanded even more, adding another 15 or so chairs. They\u0026rsquo;ve had two much-needed air conditioning units and a sound system donated, and are now working on painted the sanctuary floor.\nKristy is going to have an opportunity to return to Loreto this May for a pastor\u0026rsquo;s conference that they are holding. She will be helping with the food and wherever else needed for the conference and hopefully arriving early enough to help with the ladies\u0026rsquo; event the week before. She will likely be bringing a trailer, as there are more donated chairs that need to be brought down, plus some other donations. Brian \u0026amp; Brittany will also be attending the conference, as Brian is going to be one of the speakers. About 75-100 men are expected to attend!\nConnections House A huge thank you to all of you who have been praying for us! Your prayers are felt and they are much needed! You, along with everyone that has partnered with us financially, make this ministry possible! To those that have specifically given toward our 3rd floor project, here is a quick update on its progress. Over the last few months, you donated a little more than $3400. With that, the ceiling of the Upper Room (dining/meeting room) has been tiled and it looks awesome! Some trim and beams were painted. Donated cabinets for the Upper Room, and a few for the kitchen, were painted are currently being installed.\nWe have been blessed recently on this project by several volunteers who have donated their time, including but not limited to, Pastor Carlos \u0026amp; Robin Oliveros, John Vandenhaak, Omar Cossio, Esau \u0026amp; Sandy Quintero, and a few others. About 75% of the kitchen has been moved to the 3rd floor. Next, we will be installing some sinks and moving the water filtration system to the 3rd floor. After that, some electrical work for lighting, and then we can tile the kitchen ceiling. Unfortunately, the floors will not get tiled yet, as this is a very expensive step. We\u0026rsquo;d love to paint the floor to make it more cleanable, but it would cost too much for this temporary fix. Instead, after all these things are done, we will shift our focus back to the first floor and finish the new bathroom and shower room under the stairs. From there, when the Lord provides the funds or materials, we will be able to add some dorm rooms, as well as more bathrooms and showers to the first floor.\nPlease continue to pray that our summer teams will come to serve and not have to cancel. We know that the best place for any believer to be is in the center of God\u0026rsquo;s will, but we also know that it is up to each individual or team coordinator to decifer his will for them. As for us, we will continue with the work the Lord has called us to in Rosarito, in Baja California, in Mexico, and beyond. God bless!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2021/04/01/struska-march-2021/","summary":"\u003ch4 id=\"family\"\u003eFamily\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2021/04/165759699%5F3848170811957686%5F4557497991511665440%5Fo.jpg\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2021/04/164773899%5F3848170605291040%5F1872782732468738418%5Fo.jpg\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe are super excited to announce that grandbaby #2 is on its way! Joshua just turned one year-old this month and in October he will be a big brother! Brian and Brittany have recently started attending the church planting class offered at our church. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for them! (While secretly hoping that God doesn\u0026rsquo;t take them too far away from us.)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mission Work in Loreto and A Special Announcement"},{"content":"We hope the new year finds you all doing well! Ron and I are truly blessed by each and every one of you that read our updates and pray for us and the ministry God has called us to. We continually thank the Lord for your faithfulness and partnership!\nMinistry As we have mentioned several times in 2020, ministry just looks different right now. Last month\u0026rsquo;s update specified the two main areas of ministry that we will be focusing on this year - relief ministry (food boxes/cleaning supplies) and construction (building or repairing churches, feeding kitchens, orphanages, etc.). The idea behind this is to still be the hands and feet of Jesus, but safely and with much less personal contact.\nWe have teams scheduled for spring and summer, however we are starting to see some postponements again. This is completely understandable due to the global pandemic we are facing. However, we do want to make sure that our teams are well-informed on travel restrictions for their country, as well as Mexico.\nFirst of all, at this time, there are few restrictions in our state of Baja California here in Mexico. We have an \u0026ldquo;orange\u0026rdquo; light for our state. This means that certain establishments, including churches, are limited anywhere from 25-75% capacity - churches unfortunately being limited to 25%. The only other restrictions, according to the US government, are for non-essential travel going both directions over the border. This is categorized as tourism and recreation. Thankfully, missions does not fall under either of those categories. All other aspects of this restriction clearly state that they do not apply to US citizens and lawful permanent residents returning to the United States.\nMany of you have heard that the US is now requiring that \u0026ldquo;all airline passengers to the United States ages two years and older must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within three calendar days of travel\u0026rdquo;. This does not, however, apply to land border crossing. At this time, both of our children work stateside, crossing the border into the US 3-5 times per week. So we will definitely know if any further restrictions are put into place.\nUnfortunately, for our Canadian friends, it looks like the travel restrictions are a lot more strict. For anyone crossing a land border, they must provide a negative test taken within 3 days of travel, and then self-quarantine in a specific location for 14 days. Airline passengers must quarantine in an approved hotel for three days first (at their own expense), before self-quarantining for 14 days after that. These restrictions are currently in effect until April 30th. We do ask that you contact us if you have any questions about traveling to serve with us in Mexico.\nFamily Ron\u0026rsquo;s back surgery was postponed yet again, after being rescheduled for the beginning of February. This was kind of a blessing in disguise, because it meant we were able to return to Loreto to help the new church plant get their sanctuary, bathrooms, and welcome center up and running for their first service on February 7th! We don\u0026rsquo;t totally understand what the Lord is doing, but we are doing our best to follow His lead! We do ask for your continued prayers in this area, that if it is the Lord\u0026rsquo;s will, Ron\u0026rsquo;s surgery will happen soon.\nOn a happier note, our children are all doing well and our 10 month old grandson is already walking! He\u0026rsquo;s also played in his first snow, which believe it or not, was in Mexico!\nConnections House Over the past couple of years, we have seen God show up in a big way in regards to Connections House! The first year of building the 3rd floor went so much faster than we ever could have ever expected! So we decided to reach big and try to get the 3rd floor kitchen and dining room up and running for our spring teams. We are well on our way, as the bathrooms are now completed and we plan to install the drop ceiling in the dining room soon!\nIn November we set a goal to try and raise $4,500 by February for this project by asking for individual donations of $30 each. After many people gave generously, we are excited to say that we only need $1,673 to reach this next goal! That\u0026rsquo;s about 55 people at $30. We know that God can do it! If you have not partnered with us in this next step, we ask for you to prayerfully consider it. This will bring us that much closer to being able to host more teams at the same time. This is a huge need, especially beginning this summer, when we will have a group of 20+ people staying in our dorms for six weeks.\nChurch Planting Last month we told you about our opportunity to travel about 16 hours south to Loreto in Baja California Sur. We were super blessed to be able to use our big trailer to help some church planters and their team move to Loreto. We stayed a few extra days for vacation while were there, and a few days to help if at all possible in these early stages. Well, it turned out that we were able to help look at several possible buildings for the church. When they quickly decided on the right one, shortly before we were supposed to head back home (and it needed a serious amount of work to get it ready) - we made the decision to stay one more week to help. We worked with the Loreto team on the church for that week and had to leave knowing there was much left to do. However, we thought Ron had to be back for his pre-op appointments for his surgery a little over a week later.\nAs we mentioned earlier, due to the postponement of Ron\u0026rsquo;s surgery, we have returned to Loreto. We will be here until just after their first service on February 7th, hoping to meet the goal of working on the three areas of the church we specified above. Please continue to keep this church plant in your prayers! In the first week of their arrival, the Calvary Loreto team had experienced one profession of faith, two baptisms, and baby dedication! After their test service this morning, there has already been one more profession of faith! God is already moving in incredible ways in Loreto and we are blessed beyond measure to have such a small part in it!\nGiving Many people have asked how they can help during this time - especially those that would normally bring a team and currently aren\u0026rsquo;t able to. Well, unfortunately, it all boils down to finances. The answer is simple. We will continue to do ministry as long as teams come to serve with us, or as long as funds are available. If your church would normally do a fundraiser or two in order to send a team, then we would ask you to consider continuing with that. If the effects of COVID-19 are preventing you from coming to serve, you could look at this as a possible temporary substitute.\nFor those that would like to give financially, you can do so by going to give.connections.org, typing an amount next to \u0026ldquo;for Connection Ministry House\u0026rdquo;, and writing what it is for in the comment section. (Click here for our address if you prefer to send a check.) Maybe you\u0026rsquo;re considering a $30 gift for Connections, or you are feeling led to help an orphanage or the Loreto church plant. Whatever it may be, no matter how small a gift you may think it is, helps in a very big way. God bless!!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2021/01/31/struska-missions-update-jan-2021/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe hope the new year finds you all doing well! Ron and I are truly blessed by each and every one of you that read our updates and pray for us and the ministry God has called us to. We continually thank the Lord for your faithfulness and partnership!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"ministry\"\u003eMinistry\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs we have mentioned several times in 2020, ministry just looks different right now. Last month\u0026rsquo;s update specified the two main areas of ministry that we will be focusing on this year - relief ministry (food boxes/cleaning supplies) and construction (building or repairing churches, feeding kitchens, orphanages, etc.). The idea behind this is to still be the hands and feet of Jesus, but safely and with much less personal contact.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Back Surgery Postponed - Back to Loreto!"},{"content":"Family As you know from our last update, Ron has decided to have back fusion surgery to try and help alleviate the severe back pain he has been experiencing for almost a year now. It was supposed to take place mid-January. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, non-essential surgeries are being postponed. It may happen as early as the end of January, but we have no way of knowing at this point. Please pray with us that it will be allowed to take place soon!\nChurch Planting This past weekend, our church, Calvary Chapel Rosarito, had the privilege of sending out its 26th church plant. Pastor Elmer Cardenas was ordained, and he and his wife, Crystal, will leave shortly to plant Calvary Chapel Loreto in Loreto, Baja California Sur (South). They will be starting a bilingual church in this coastal, resort town of about 20,000 people.\nWe have the opportunity to support them next month! We will be traveling to Loreto with our 24-foot trailer to help Elmer and Crystal move. It is a 16-hour trip south, without traffic and without pulling a large trailer, so we will be taking a couple of days to drive there. We are excited to be able to help them out in this way. We will also be moving some belongings of Juan, who is going to be serving with them. There are two other couples who are moving there to serve at CCL as well.\nPlease pray for all of us for safe travels, and for the start of this new church!\nMinistry \u0026amp; the Coronavirus Here at Connections House, we feel very confident in our decision to resume ministry on June 29th of this past year. When teams began canceling in March and details of COVID-19 were still very vague, we had made the decision to temporarily cancel ministry. Once we had more knowledge on the subject, we decided to reopen.\nWe have been called to reach the people of Rosarito, Mexico and the surrounding area. We\u0026rsquo;re not only called to serve when it’s easy! God did not tell us to, “spread the gospel, but shut things down when there are too many obstacles”. We have witnessed several ministries and missionaries who have packed things up and gone home this past year. We have been condemned and criticized for our decision to remain open and accept teams. However, God’s opinion is the one that matters. Since the arrival of our first team in July 2020, restaurants in Rosarito may have had limited capacity, but they have been open for business and most of them open for dine-in as well. This is just one of the things that helps to reassure us that it was a good choice to resume ministry.\nWe are doing our best to be safe and careful. Connections House will be continuing with its extra efforts in the cleaning and sanitization of our facilities and ministry materials. We will remain committed to following all social distancing and safety guidelines of our churches, ministry sites, stores, etc. Anyone that is the high risk category of COVID is strongly advised not to come. We will also continue with our rules of greeting with elbows and wearing masks.\nMinistry will likely continue to look different this year, especially in the beginning. This past year, all of our ministry included COVID relief – giving out food and/or cleaning supplies. We remained steady in sharing the gospel and trying to encourage the local people as much as possible. In 2021, we would like to add construction ministry to our focus. We have a great opportunity to use this time to help churches, feeding kitchens, and orphanages in the construction or repair of their facilities. This is something that can be done with very little to no contact with the local people in order to help promote safety and good health.\nPlease join us in praying that the Lord will work in the hearts of many to come and serve! Contact us if you have any questions at all about ministry or bringing a team to serve during this global pandemic.\nEnd of the Year Giving We would like to thank all of you that have partnered with us this past month to help continue our 3rd floor project. Our Upper Room is looking awesome and as of today, we have two functioning bathrooms! With a little bit more paint and some wall tile, they will be completed soon! The next step will likely be the drop ceiling in the dining room and/or kitchen.\nPlease consider a small donation of $30 to help us continue this work. Since the beginning of December, you have helped us to raise $1548! We\u0026rsquo;d love for you to help us out with the remaining balance of our short-term goal of $2952. That\u0026rsquo;s just 98 more people at $30 each! If many people are able to give small amounts, it is not only a lighter load for people to carry. It also means that that many more people will get to share in the fruit of this ministry! Lord willing, we would like to have this project completed before our spring teams arrive! Click here to learn more about Connections House.\ngive.connectionshouse.org\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2020/12/31/struska-missions-update-december-2020/","summary":"\u003ch4 id=\"family\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFamily\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs you know from our last update, Ron has decided to have back fusion surgery to try and help alleviate the severe back pain he has been experiencing for almost a year now. It was supposed to take place mid-January. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, non-essential surgeries are being postponed. It may happen as early as the end of January, but we have no way of knowing at this point. Please pray with us that it will be allowed to take place soon!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"We're Not Only Called to Serve When It's Easy!"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;Therefore go and make disciples of all nations\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; Matthew 28:19 We have a great need right now for volunteers and full-time staff. If you are available to serve a week or more during our busiest times - spring or summer - we would love to hear from you! Responsibilities may include things like supervising our teams out in the field, photography/videography, teaching our intern Bible studies, cooking, etc. The Lord is continuing to do amazing things, even during this time of shutdowns and quarantines. Ministry may look a little different, but we plan to continue the work that the Lord has called us to do here in Rosarito, Mexico and the surrounding area.\nVolunteering Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older, and may serve anywhere from a week up to three months. This is not a paid position, and we do ask our volunteers to pay a small amount to help cover the cost of food and lodging. We will gladly assist anyone who serves for more than a couple of weeks with some support raising to help with this cost. This is a great opportunity for young adults who are in or just finishing up college. It is also perfect for anyone considering full-time missions or a career in full-time ministry. Anyone between the ages of 18-24 that wishes to volunteer, is asked to complete our summer internship program first.\nFull-Time Missionary Staff We currently have several openings for full-time staff who are willing to commit to serving for at least one year. We are seeking couples, families or singles to fulfill a wide variety of areas to serve - administration, media, cooking, outreach and more.\nAnyone considering to serve full-time should have a clear calling from the Lord before entering the mission field. This person, or persons, should have some experience with short-term missions. It would be preferable for them to also have some previous involvement of ministry in this area of Mexico.\nPlease contact us if you would like more information about joining our staff here at Connections House. There is also a great article we\u0026rsquo;d love for you to check out. It is called, \u0026quot; Are You Ready to Become a Missionary\u0026quot; and it is written by Pastor Mike Thiemann.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/full-time-staff-volunteers/","summary":"\u003ch4 id=\"therefore-go-and-make-disciples-of-all-nations-matthew-2819\"\u003e\u0026ldquo;Therefore go and make disciples of all nations\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; Matthew 28:19\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have a great need right now for volunteers and full-time staff. If you are available to serve a week or more during our busiest times - spring or summer - we would love to hear from you! Responsibilities may include things like supervising our teams out in the field, photography/videography, teaching our intern Bible studies, cooking, etc. The Lord is continuing to do amazing things, even during this time of shutdowns and quarantines. Ministry may look a little different, but we plan to continue the work that the Lord has called us to do here in Rosarito, Mexico and the surrounding area.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Full-Time Staff \u0026amp; Volunteers"},{"content":"Family\nNext steps for William! After several postponements, we recently held a small graduation ceremony for William by the beach. We are very proud of him for graduating with honors and we look forward to what the Lord has in store for him! He is continuing to work at Chick-fil-A in California. Recently he fixed up and sold his first car, and has purchased and started fixing up a second one. Please join us in praying for him as he decides his next steps in life.\nBrian, Brittany, and Joshua are doing well. We praise God that they have been able to continue to work during this unstable time of shutdowns and quarantines. Unfortunately, they have had a recent string of vehicle issues - including various repairs, their car getting hit twice while parked, and a part being stolen off of a vehicle. Please pray they are able to find a good vehicle, as they are currently in the market for a minivan.\nRon\u0026rsquo;s most recent back surgery was in September of last year. It alleviated a good amount of pain, however a few months later that pain started to return and has gotten significantly worse. This has seriously impacted his ability to consistently work 8-hour days (which is difficult for someone that is used to working 12 hours a day). After waiting a year to see how his back would heal as his doctor suggested, a recent MRI has shown that he has another herniated disc. This is the fourth time this disc has been herniated and Ron has had three back surgeries in total. For these reasons, and also because he has degenerative disc disease, Ron has decided to go ahead with fusion. This means that one or two discs will be removed and replaced with a metal plate and rods. The good news is that he can\u0026rsquo;t herniate this disc again because it won\u0026rsquo;t be there. It does mean he\u0026rsquo;ll have limited mobility, which he already has due to the pain he experiences. Unfortunately, it also means more stress will be put on the discs above, and up to 12 months of recovery time. His surgery will be in California in January. Please pray for Ron\u0026rsquo;s doctors and also that there will be a considerable amount of pain relief from the surgery.\nGiving Tuesday! We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you that have given financially and donated materials for our 3rd floor project! God is good and He is so faithful! As we prepare for spring teams, please pray with us that travel restrictions and quarantines would not impact the decision for people to come and serve here in Mexico! Our calendar is filling up, but as 2020 has already proven, this can change quickly.\nWe watched the Lord provide amazingly faster than expected and finish the exterior of the dining room/kitchen building before last summer. After witnessing this, we excitingly set a goal to have the kitchen and dining room mostly completed and ready to be used for their intended purposes by March 2021. However, due to the Coronavirus, we have had a lot less teams, resulting in less ministry and fewer donations. When this project is completed, we\u0026rsquo;ll also have space to remodel and add more beds to the first floor, bringing our total sleeping capacity to fifty-five.\nOn December 1st, \u0026ldquo;Giving Tuesday\u0026rdquo;, we are looking for 150 people to partner with us and donate $30 to Connections House in order to help us reach our goal. This would make it possible for us to finish the bathrooms and hopefully more. We know that the Lord can do it! Please pray that He would move the hearts of 150 people to join us in this endeavor! Here is how to give:\nGo to: give.connectionshouse.org and be sure to put your dollar amount next to, \u0026ldquo;for Connection Ministry House\u0026rdquo;.\nIf you would like to write a check, please make it out to Connections House and send it to 340 W. 26th Street, Suite K, National City, CA 91950\nConnections House 3rd Floor Project\nGuadalajara Missions Trip\nWe wanted to share some photos from our August mission trip to Guadalajara, Mexico. Kristy, most of our Connections staff, along with our daughter, Brittany, and her family, had the opportunity to serve at one of our church plants - Calvary Esperanza Viva. We were blessed to spend a week and come alongside our friends, Pastor Lalo and his wife, Linda, to minister to the local people there. Ministry was a little limited due to the quarantine, but praise God, the church had opened back up just before our arrival. We were able to hold a simultaneous men\u0026rsquo;s/women\u0026rsquo;s event, a carnival outreach, do worship along with testimonies and sermons for Sunday \u0026amp; Wednesday church services, put up some new lights and backdrop in the sanctuary, and more! Our team also got the chance to do a little sightseeing in this beautiful city! We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to serve and be able to bless the pastor, church, and community. We give all the glory to God for the many seeds that were planted, watered, and sown!\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll leave you with some more photos of our Guadalajara trip. We appreciate each and every one of you for your prayers and partnership! Please contact us if you have any questions about giving or serving with us here in Mexico.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2020/11/30/struska-missions-update-nov-2020/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFamily\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNext steps for William! After several postponements, we recently held a small graduation ceremony for William by the beach. We are very proud of him for graduating with honors and we look forward to what the Lord has in store for him! He is continuing to work at Chick-fil-A in California. Recently he fixed up and sold his first car, and has purchased and started fixing up a second one. Please join us in praying for him as he decides his next steps in life.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Guadalajara \u0026amp; Next Steps"},{"content":" This has definitely been a different year of ministry so far! In March we watched all of our spring teams cancel due to the pandemic. This was difficult for a couple of reasons. One, because that meant a lot of ministry that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be happening - children that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t hear about Jesus, orphanages that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t get visited, food that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be given away, and so much more! Secondly, it meant that Connections House wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have any funds coming in to help pay the bills.\nWe thank and praise God for the teams that sent funds in place of coming down! One team was supposed to insulate and drywall the dining room and kitchen on the third floor here at Connections House. We are so thankful that they were able to send funds to pay for the materials and most of the labor for us to finish this stage of the project.\nAs summer was approaching, our teams began to cancel until there was only one team left - Calvary School of Missions (CSM). This team is different than the rest. The School of Missions is run by Saving Grace World Missions, our sending organization. This was the second year for the school here in Rosarito, which is about 5 1/2 weeks long and is for people who are called (or feel they may be called) into full-time missions. The CSM team ended up staying at Connections for five weeks! This was such an answer to prayer! It was also good news for our summer interns and volunteers.\nWe had a couple of teams come in August and September, and we have a few teams scheduled in the next few months as well. Needless to say, our operating expenses for fall and winter will be a lot easier to pay now that we have had some teams.\nShawn continues to serve with us here at Connections House, doing a little bit of everything, as usual - including helping with photos, cooking, teaching Bible study for interns, and more. It was especially good to have him (and his medical training) with us during this time to help advise and guide us during the Coronavirus pandemic. We were super excited to have Kailyn, a former intern, serve on staff with us for the summer! Kailyn\u0026rsquo;s main duties were intern mentor and Bible study instructor, as well as our Cook for breakfasts. We were blessed with two awesome interns - Yajaira and Nadia. This was Yajaira\u0026rsquo;s second summer as an intern at Connections. It was great to see how she has grown and how the Lord has been using her to further His kingdom! Nadia is from Idaho and had previously come down with a team from her church. She did an amazing job and we are so proud of the way she was flexible, and willing to serve in whatever way was needed. Due to the extra amount of daily cleaning implemented this summer, we required more volunteer staff. Thankfully, the Lord provided three extra volunteers. Jenny, who interned with us at a previous ministry, helped us for a couple of weeks. If you know Sandra who cooks for us sometimes, you may know her daughters. Two of them, Yessica and Yazmín, served with us for a little over a month. We couldn\u0026rsquo;t have done it without any of them!\nSummer Ministry Due to the pandemic, a lot of ministry options weren\u0026rsquo;t available for most or all of the summer, such as visiting orphanages. Instead, we did a lot of relief ministry with our CSM team. They usually spent their mornings in classes taught by different pastors and missionaries. They learned about various aspects of missions, such as church planting, finances, the purpose of the church, and more. Most of our outreaches consisted of handing out food and/or cleaning products, sharing testimonies, helping church plants, and of course sharing the gospel. We even had the opportunity to hand out backpacks at a local church, which was an event that was postponed several times since January.\nConnections House Projects What does all of this mean for the projects here at Connections House? Well, we saw the Lord move way faster than we expected to build the dining room and kitchen building on the 3rd floor! We started with no funds and a bunch of donated material, so it is all based on donations. We have been praying that the 3rd floor would be usable by spring of 2021. While we have had some small donations come in recently, the 3rd floor project is currently at a standstill. In the meantime, we began remodeling the bathroom under the stairs. We decided to add a separate room for the toilet so that the current bathroom could become a much needed shower room. We are a little over halfway done with this project, and hope to finish it soon. The cost to finish up this small project is $1200. In order to expand our dorms and host more team members once the 3rd floor is ready, we will need to add two more showers and bathrooms after this project.\nFamily Update We had the opportunity to spend a week in Puebla, Mexico, which is where our son-in-law, Brian, is from. We traveled there with Brian, Brittany, Joshua, and Brian\u0026rsquo;s brothers, Kevin \u0026amp; Aldrin. It was so great to meet more of Brian\u0026rsquo;s family and tour this beautiful, historic city! Our grandson, Joshua, is now six months old! He is getting so big and has such a big personality.\nWilliam graduated high school in June and turned 18 in July! Wow, how time flies! He is continuing to work at Chick-Fil-A in California and we are praying for him as he has been contemplating different career options.\nGiving Opportunities We know that many people prefer to give one-time gifts or give toward something that is close to their heart. So we would like to start outlining small ways each month that you can give toward ministry in some way. The first one we\u0026rsquo;d like to highlight was already mentioned above - the bathroom/shower project at Connections House. Again, the total cost needed to finish this small project is $1200.\nSecondly, we\u0026rsquo;d like to present the option of helping a local intern at our church to be able to attend Bible college. This young man has interned at our church for some time and is praying about what the Lord has in store for him, including the possibility of planting a church. The total cost for the 2-year program at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Ensenada, Mexico, is $3500. We are more than happy to provide more information to anyone that is interested in helping. (Just text Kristy at 608.322.7650.)\nIf you would like to give you can just click HERE to donate online. (Please put the dollar amount next to \u0026ldquo;for Connection Ministry House\u0026rdquo;, and write in the \u0026ldquo;comment\u0026rdquo; section where we should direct your donation.) If you would like to write a check, just make it payable to \u0026ldquo;Calvary Chapel Rosarito\u0026rdquo;, write a note as to what the donation is for, and send it to our mailing address.\nThank you so much!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2020/10/05/oct-2020/","summary":"\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/10/20200813%5F130453.jpg\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis has definitely been a different year of ministry so far! In March we watched all of our spring teams cancel due to the pandemic. This was difficult for a couple of reasons. One, because that meant a lot of ministry that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be happening - children that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t hear about Jesus, orphanages that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t get visited, food that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be given away, and so much more! Secondly, it meant that Connections House wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have any funds coming in to help pay the bills.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Projects, Projects, Projects!"},{"content":"So much has been happening since our last update! Here is the abbreviated version:\nFAMILY If you have not yet heard, we are going to become grandparents any day now! Brian \u0026amp; Brittany are expecting a baby boy - Joshua Brian - on March 17th! We are super excited for them. Brittany has been continuing with her job at Chik-fil-A in California. In January, Brian was ordained as an Assistant Pastor at their church, Calvary Chapel Playas de Tijuana. We\u0026rsquo;re super proud of him and excited to see what the Lord has in store for him in the future!\nWilliam will be graduating from high school in May. He is currently doing a four month internship, serving in the Communications Department at a large church in southern California. His work is related to graphic design, which is one of the options he has considered as a career. Please keep him in your prayers as he gets ready to graduate and make some major life decisions.\nOur family had the opportunity to take a few weeks at the beginning of the year to visit with the majority of our supporters. We are so thankful to everyone that has partnered with us in prayer, as well as financially. We know that none of this would be possible without you. We are humbled and more grateful than you could ever know!\nWe also had the privilege of attending the weddings of two of our nieces and nephews at the end of last year. The fourth grandchild on Ron\u0026rsquo;s side of the family to marry was Emily, in Topeka, Kansas. The second grandchild on Kristy\u0026rsquo;s side of the family to marry was Matthew, who was married in Chicago, Illinois. We enjoyed sharing their special day and spending some time with family.\nMINISTRY \u0026amp; THE CORONAVIRUS We are in the process of getting ready for our spring teams! We will have a couple of months where we have at least one team every week. It will be very busy, but we are looking forward to it! We have completed several smaller projects on the 2nd floor covered patio. This includes installing windows, stuccoing a wall, finishing electrical, painting, and relocating the snack shop. We also widened the lower outdoor staircase and added some new railings.\nWe have had some teams questioning the traveling situation because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The fact is that there are no travel warnings at this time to travel into Mexico, nor is there any concern right now for the closing of the border crossing. There are only 7 cases as of today in the whole country, while there are 1,010 in the United States. You can click here to see what the Center for Disease Control has to say about travel \u0026amp; prevention of the Coronavirus.\nSUMMER INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY This will be our third summer offering an internship program for young adults. It\u0026rsquo;s perfect for anyone considering full-time ministry or missions, Bible college students, or other young people who feel led to serve and deepen their relationship with Christ. Click here for dates and for more information, or contact Kristy if you are interested.\nCONNECTIONS HOUSE The 3rd floor expansion project has really taken off! You can see a short video of the progress made in 2019 here. The exterior of the building is completely finished, except for the installation of the doors. All of the interior metal studs are installed, the plumbing is done, and the floor is poured in the bathrooms. Lord willing, we will have a team at the beginning of April coming to install the insulation and drywall. In the meantime, we mostly just have a little bit of sheeting to install and all the electrical in preparation for their arrival. We are a little short in funds and time, but we believe by faith it will get done. Of the $3,500 needed for this part of the project, we only need about $800 to finish it up.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s a quick look at the budget needed to complete the entire project. The previous amounts needed as of February 2019 are on the right. Over 95% of what has gone into the building so far has been donated:\n$0 - Railings ($2,400)\n$0 - Block Walls ($4,000)\n$13,000 - Occupancy: Materials for doors, ceiling, bathroom fixtures, lighting, etc. ($40,000)\n$1,800 - Cabinets \u0026amp; Kitchen Prep Tables ($1,800)\n$4,600 - Kitchen Equipment ($4,600)\n$3,000 - Dining Furniture ($3,000)\n$6,000 - Tile ($6,000)\n$28,400 - TOTAL ($61,800)\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll leave you with a few photos of the new kitchen/dining room building. We praise God, first and foremost for the progress, but we also give a huge thank you to so many of you as well!! God bless!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2020/03/11/whats-new/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo much has been happening since our last update! Here is the abbreviated version:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"family\"\u003eFAMILY\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you have not yet heard, we are going to become grandparents any day now! Brian \u0026amp; Brittany are expecting a baby boy - Joshua Brian - on March 17th! We are super excited for them. Brittany has been continuing with her job at Chik-fil-A in California. In January, Brian was ordained as an Assistant Pastor at their church, Calvary Chapel Playas de Tijuana. We\u0026rsquo;re super proud of him and excited to see what the Lord has in store for him in the future!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"What's New?"},{"content":" Our Mission To connect your God-given skills, talents \u0026amp; abilities with local churches to spread the gospel and further the kingdom of Christ.\nOur Story Connections House is a great place for your short-term missions team to stay. Our facility is safe \u0026amp; secure. There are seven dorm rooms that sleep up to 46 people. There is also a common area/meeting room, dining area, and a kitchen where teams can have meals prepared for them. Connections is conveniently located just five minutes from Calvary Rosarito, and five to ten minutes from all of the restaurants, shopping, etc. offered in downtown Rosarito. We have secure parking for several vehicles, a basketball court, upper terrace (with a great view of the ocean and sunsets), campfire pit, large meeting and game room with a foosball and ping pong table, and more.\nConnections is not only a comfortable place for your team to stay. We also work with local churches to connect your missions team to the local people here in the Rosarito/Tijuana area. Maybe you are looking to connect with a children\u0026rsquo;s home (orphanage), the homeless, or a feeding kitchen. Or you\u0026rsquo;d like to do an outreach for children, youth, women, or married couples. Perhaps you\u0026rsquo;d like to connect with a local church to help with the facilities or repairs, or build a home for a family in need. Our Upper Room is a dining room for up to 100 people that can be used for meetings, events, and more. It has a 70\u0026quot; wall-mounted TV with HDMI, sound system, drums, acoustic and bass guitars, and a keyboard. We have a commercial kitchen as well. Our outdoor, open patio area has a fire feature table, men\u0026rsquo;s and women\u0026rsquo;s bathroom, patio table, and a fire pit with benches. Our next project is will be adding more showers and bathrooms.\nContact us today and see how we can connect your youth group, family, or church to the local Mexican people - so that together we can help connect lost souls to Christ!\nAnd So Much More At Connections House, we don\u0026rsquo;t just provide lodging and meals. We do so much more! Let us plan your mission trip from start to finish. We will work with your current local church if you already have one, or connect you with a new one. Let us work out all of the details on our end - schedules, materials, and more - so that when you are here on the field, that is your focus. If you\u0026rsquo;re doing a construction project, we will get bids and photos for you. Then when you show up on the work site, everything will be ready to begin. Our staff will guide you at each of your ministry sites and make sure everything runs smoothly. C ontact us today for more information!\nGive Click the link below to donate financially to the ministry of or renovations at Connections House. All donations are tax deductible.\nDONATE\nPlease contact us if you have any questions.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/connections-house/","summary":"\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2023/07/20220428%5F103923.jpg\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/12/Connections-House-Logo.jpg\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003ch4 id=\"our-mission\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOur Mission\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo connect your God-given skills, talents \u0026amp; abilities with local churches to spread the gospel and further the kingdom of Christ.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 id=\"our-story\"\u003eOur Story\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2023/07/IMG%5F9007.jpg\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://connectionshouse.org\"\u003eConnections House\u003c/a\u003e is a great place for your short-term missions team to stay. Our facility is safe \u0026amp; secure. There are seven dorm rooms that sleep up to 46 people. There is also a common area/meeting room, dining area, and a kitchen where teams can have meals prepared for them. Connections is conveniently located just five minutes from Calvary Rosarito, and five to ten minutes from all of the restaurants, shopping, etc. offered in downtown Rosarito. We have secure parking for several vehicles, a basketball court, upper terrace (with a great view of the ocean and sunsets), campfire pit, large meeting and game room with a foosball and ping pong table, and more.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Connections House"},{"content":"2024 Spring \u0026amp; Summer Internship Opportunities!\nMarch 14 to April 24, 2024 - Interns \u0026amp; Volunteers\nWe will be offering a spring internship for the first time here at Connections House. This is one of our busiest times of the year, as we have had up to three teams at once, serving at five or more ministry locations. This will look a little different from our normal summer internship. We will also be accepting volunteers that would like to serve on a weekly basis.\nJune 20 to August 19, 2024\nIf you are a young adult that feels called to full-time ministry or missions, or you just want to serve and deepen your relationship with your Lord and Savior, then this internship is for you!\nThis is a formal program that provides practical experience on the mission field. At Connections House, you\u0026rsquo;ll work alongside full-time missionaries, staff, and other interns. We provide lodging and meals for our teams, as well as full ministry planning and assistance. We set up all of our teams\u0026rsquo; ministry so that they are connected with a local church and ready to hit the ground running when they arrive. Our teams serve in many areas, including but not limited to, children\u0026rsquo;s ministry (VBS), assisting orphanages and senior homes, serving at the local garbage dumps where people live and work, and construction projects. These construction projects range from repairs to helping with new building construction, and can be for churches, orphanages, feeding programs, or even individual families in need. Not only do we set everything up for our teams, we also serve out in the field with them. Our bigger teams split into 2-4 ministry sites each, and we often have more than one team at a time. We are also taking our interns on a mission trip to another state in Mexico this summer! See more details in the photo to the left.\nPlease note that all dates are subject to change as they are based on when our teams are here.\nWe will be accepting spring applications until February 1, 2024. Summer internship applications will be available December 1 - April 5, 2024. Please contact Kristy if you have any questions or request an application here.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/internships/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2024 Spring \u0026amp; Summer Internship Opportunities!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMarch 14 to April 24, 2024\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e- Interns \u0026amp; Volunteers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe will be offering a spring internship for the first time here at Connections House. This is one of our busiest times of the year, as we have had up to three teams at once, serving at five or more ministry locations. This will look a little different from our normal summer internship. We will also be accepting volunteers that would like to serve on a weekly basis.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Internships"},{"content":"Backpacks!\nIf you recall, at Christmas time we have been getting a large number of backpacks donated for children. These backpacks are full of school supplies, hygiene products, toys, sometimes clothing or shoes, and more. They have been such an awesome tool for evangelism! This year they were used for three different outreaches. Two of these outreaches were Christmas outreaches for children. There were games, crafts, a piñata, Bible lessons, and of course, the gospel presentation. Over a dozen children professed faith in Jesus Christ!!\nThe third outreach was led by a local pastor (Carlos) from our church, Calvary Chapel Rosarito. It was an outreach to the Honduran migrants living in Tijuana, trying to get over the border into the U.S. On top of the backpacks, we were able to give away almost 100 small bags of hygiene products to the families. Many people were blessed, prayed for, and heard the gospel message!\nThird Floor Update\nWe are so excited about the expansion to Connections House! We had a team from Northgrove Calvary Chapel (Anaheim, CA) spend a day painting, running gas lines, rebuilding the firepit, and more. They were a huge blessing, and we now have a firepit that is rooftop-ready on a roof that has styrofoam inside of it. Almost all of our teams use the firepit when they stay with us, so we are super happy that it is usable again!\nA donation was given for us to build the railings on the third floor. Construction of the railings began yesterday. This will make our stairs and third floor safer for people of all ages to use again. We are also working on other small projects around the property, like stuccoing the new bench wall next to the basketball court.\nCCR Sanctuary Expansion\nThe sanctuary expansion at our church began around the same time as our third floor expansion. Needless to say, we have been very busy. Fortunately, Ron was able to set aside a lot of time these last couple of weeks to help out at the church. The expansion will allow for us to seat up to 260 more people, for a total of about 860. We have been averaging about 1,050 adults recently between our three weekend services. It is such a huge blessing for us to attend and be on staff at a church that continues to grow and seek the Lord\u0026rsquo;s will!\nNo More Electric Bills?\nSomething else happening here at Connections House is that we are hoping to eliminate our electric bill! We have found a really great deal on solar panels. The cost is $5500 for 20 panels. This number of solar panels should be enough to significantly reduce, if not eliminate, our electric bill. The panels have a 20-25 year life span and are expected to pay for themselves within 3-5 years. By faith we made the decision to deplete the Connections account in order to make this purchase, as we believe it will be very beneficial in the long run.\nWe Couldn’t Do This Without You!\nIt would be wonderful if we had the time to write individually or call to thank each of you that has supported our family and the ministry that the Lord has called us to here in Rosarito, Mexico. However, time doesn’t really allow for that. So we hope that you know how much you mean to us! Many of you have supported us since our arrival in Mexico, or earlier. We are truly blessed and humbled by your commitment and generosity, not to mention your heart for missions and serving the Lord. Thank you for your faithfulness!!\nFor those of you that have inquired or are praying about giving financially towards the third floor expansion project or solar panel purchase, checks may be made payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”. Please write “Connections House” on the memo line and mail to: Calvary Chapel Rosarito, 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2019/02/11/february/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackpacks!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2019/02/Collage-1-1024x204.jpg\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you recall, at Christmas time we have been getting a large number of backpacks donated for children. These backpacks are full of school supplies, hygiene products, toys, sometimes clothing or shoes, and more. They have been such an awesome tool for evangelism! This year they were used for three different outreaches. Two of these outreaches were Christmas outreaches for children. There were games, crafts, a piñata, Bible lessons, and of course, the gospel presentation. Over a dozen children professed faith in Jesus Christ!!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Disappearing Backpacks \u0026amp; Electric Bills!"},{"content":"Third Floor Expansion!\nWe are so excited to show you some photos of the expansion to our third floor! The foundation has been laid for the new commercial kitchen/dining hall and the firepit has been moved to its new location on the open, upper patio. Next week all the supports will be taken down on the second floor.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s Next?\nThere are two things on the list of what comes next - railings and block walls. Two of the walls for new building will be made of block. Once those are in place, the metal studs that have already been donated can be put up to finish the walls for the building. As soon as possible, we would like to get railings put up on the third floor for safety. The fire pit is ready for use, however some teams, especially those with children, will not be able to use it until railings are installed.\nHow Can You Help?\nWe would like to respond to those of you who have asked how you can get involved. The Lord has His time table as to when the third floor will be complete and ready for use. We did not start this project with the funds already in hand, it was started in faith. Of course we are anxious, because once this project is complete, we will move on to adding more beds. More beds means more teams and the ability to host bigger teams. Ultimately, more teams means more people coming to share the gospel with the people of Rosarito/Tijuana! We wanted to begin working with and using what the Lord has already provided. So it is going to take some teams and some financial partners to get the job done. After seeing how the Lord provided for the purchase of Connections House, we are even more confident that we serve a big God that can do anything! Here is a little breakdown of the needs for the third floor:\nRailings - $2,400 Block Walls - $4,000 Occupancy: Materials for drywall, electric, roof, etc. - $40,000 Cabinets \u0026amp; Kitchen Prep Tables - $1,800 Kitchen Equipment - $4,600 Dining Furniture - $3,000 Tile - $6,000 Total - $61,800\n\u0026ldquo;Occupancy\u0026rdquo; will allow us to move our current residential kitchen appliances, dining room tables, chairs, etc. to the third floor for use.\nThank You!\nThank you so much to all of you who have and continue to pray for us and who have partnered with us financially. We know that we would not be here without you. This ministry would not be possible without you. This is your spiritual fruit and we are so happy you have joined us! Thank you also to those who have prayed for and partnered with Connections House and the work God is doing here! We look forward to seeing what He has in store for the future! We wanted to leave you with some awesome photos that show just some of the progress that has been made to Connections House dorms over the 2 1/2 years we have been here:\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2018/11/09/connections-house/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThird Floor Expansion!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are so excited to show you some photos of the expansion to our third floor! The foundation has been laid for the new commercial kitchen/dining hall and the firepit has been moved to its new location on the open, upper patio. Next week all the supports will be taken down on the second floor.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMG_9663-Labeled-Low.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMG_9663-Labeled-Low-300x200.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMAG8188-Low.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMAG8188-Low-300x209.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMAG8179-Low.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMAG8179-Low-209x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMG_0137-Low.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMG_0137-Low-200x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMAG8172-Low.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMAG8172-Low-300x169.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMAG8185-Low.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/11/IMAG8185-Low-300x209.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat\u0026rsquo;s Next?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are two things on the list of what comes next - railings and block walls. Two of the walls for new building will be made of block. Once those are in place, the metal studs that have already been donated can be put up to finish the walls for the building. As soon as possible, we would like to get railings put up on the third floor for safety. The fire pit is ready for use, however some teams, especially those with children, will not be able to use it until railings are installed.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Connections House"},{"content":"Wow! We have had a whirlwind of teams and ministry. God is so good! He is also doing big things here at our team dorms, Connections House! In mid-July the paperwork finalizing the sale of the property went through and we officially became the new owners! We are eager to show you the improvements that we have been making over the past six months or so, and update you on our newest project! However, that will have to wait for our next update, so stay tuned!\nRight now, we\u0026rsquo;d like to give you a glimpse of the ministry from our teams and interns. If you recall, this is the first year that we have had interns at this ministry location, and it was amazing! The Lord called two wonderful young ladies, Kailyn \u0026amp; Rachel, with a passion for missions to come and serve with us for 7 1/2 weeks. God did amazing things in and through them, and we look forward to seeing how He continues to do so in the future. Over these weeks we hosted and worked with six teams, most of whom were here for a full week, plus served at a local 5-day VBS. The interns helped out in almost every aspect of ministry, from planning/preparation, to working in the kitchen, to serving on the field, and so much more! Their introduction to ministry on the field in Mexico this summer began by serving at Calvary Chapel Rosarito\u0026rsquo;s VBS. They helped in different areas, but both girls had the opportunity to teach the lesson one day to all the children. They did a fabulous job!\nThe girls had the opportunity to serve alongside some other local missionaries. A couple highlights include helping put together backpacks for a ministry that helps send local children to school. This was through Pastor Jose Luis \u0026amp; Cindy Pesina at one of our church plants, Grace Calvary, in Tijuana. The second one was working alongside our friend Jorge Najera and Baja Christian Ministries to build a home for a local family in need. This included working on the house and some street evangelism. Our interns served at orphanages, a retirement home, two local garbage dumps, Celebrate Recovery, several churches through children\u0026rsquo;s and women\u0026rsquo;s ministry, and more. They were both stretched and used greatly, and they both had opportunities to share their testimonies on how God has moved in their lives. They completed two Bible studies during their time here. One of them, entitled \u0026ldquo;Unfinished\u0026rdquo;, especially had a great impact on them (and Kristy). This study is all about the task Jesus gave to each Christian before He left this earth (Matthew 28:19-20) and how the work is still unfinished. Both Kailyn and Rachel are praying about how the Lord will have them serve through missions in the future, possibly even full-time! Here are some photos of their week at CCR\u0026rsquo;s VBS.\nHere are some highlights of the interns working in various ministries:\nWe managed to fit a little fun into our time with the interns - the wax museum in Tijuana, a harbor boat ride in Ensenada, and of course trying the local cuisine. Their time with us ended with a 2-day camping trip next to the beach.\nWilliam turned sixteen in July, so we took him out for a nice family dinner at a Brazilian restaurant in Tijuana where they serve all you can meat, over 20 kinds. They come around with these different meats on skewers, plus have a huge buffet of other foods to choose from. They gave him a \u0026ldquo;Goofy\u0026rdquo; hat to wear while they sang \u0026ldquo;Happy Birthday\u0026rdquo; to him. He also had some friends over one night to do his two favorite things - play basketball and play video games. Will recently got his driver\u0026rsquo;s permit and started his first job. He is working two days a week at Chik-Fil-A in California. It is the same location that Brittany works at as well. Will started his 3rd year of high school this fall, of which he has three more semesters to complete. He\u0026rsquo;ll spend his 4th semester doing an internship or missions work somewhere, so please keep him in your prayers and he (and his parents) decide where that will take place.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll leave you with highlight photos from some of our teams and a huge thank you to all of you that partner with us and make this all possible!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2018/10/02/interns-teams/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWow! We have had a whirlwind of teams and ministry. God is so good! He is also doing big things here at our team dorms, Connections House! In mid-July the paperwork finalizing the sale of the property went through and we officially became the new owners! We are eager to show you the improvements that we have been making over the past six months or so, and update you on our newest project! However, that will have to wait for our next update, so stay tuned!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Interns \u0026amp; Teams"},{"content":"Summer has definitely arrived! June and July have brought some unusually hot days our way. We are eager to begin a couple of months straight of teams, teams, teams!!\nWe are thrilled to announce that we have two interns serving with us this summer here at Connections House! This is our first time having interns at this location. Both interns have served here in Rosarito with us on at least one short-term trip. Kailyn comes to us from Colorado Springs, CO, where she attends The Road at Chapel Hills. Rachel lives in Fresno, CA, and attends New Hope Community Church (Clovis, CA). Both of our interns have missions experience, as well as a good deal of children\u0026rsquo;s ministry experience. On their second day in Rosarito, when walking into the church service at Calvary Chapel Rosarito, our Senior Pastor immediately volunteered them to help out in our Sunday School ministry. So both Kailyn \u0026amp; Rachel will be assisting teachers in a Sunday School classroom each week. They have been busy getting the dorms ready for teams, preparing their personal testimonies, practicing their gospel presentations, and even helped on a home build with a local ministry. Next week they will be helping with VBS at CCR. They will be teaching the lesson for VBS on Tuesday. Please keep them in your prayers this summer. Some of their regular responsibilities include assisting in the kitchen, helping run the dorms, and general support for teams in the field. There will be times that they are serving right alongside teams, whether it\u0026rsquo;s working with children, building a church/orphanage, or serving food to/praying with those who are less fortunate. They will be called upon to share their personal testimonies with others. There will be opportunities to share Christ with others, whether one on one or with a group of children, teens, or women. Our interns will be stretched, they will used in amazing ways, and we pray that many will be blessed because of their sacrifice and the work they are doing here with us this summer.\nWe have seven teams over the next seven weeks. We look forward to sharing photos and stories with you. God is good and we know He will do amazing things through these teams!\nPrayer Requests:\n1 - For strength and wisdom for us and all the staff as we go into this busy season.\n2 - That we will all be able to find times of rest throughout the summer and stay healthy.\n3 - For the interns, as stated above.\n4 - For the paperwork on Connections House to move along quickly (which looks like it\u0026rsquo;s getting really close)!\n5 - For our teams to have many opportunities to present the gospel to the lost people of Mexico.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2018/07/11/summer-is-here/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSummer  has definitely arrived! June and July have brought some unusually hot days our way. We are eager to begin a couple of months straight of teams, teams, teams!!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are thrilled to announce that we have two interns serving with us this \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/07/2018-Photo-with-Name-Rachel-Beard.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/07/2018-Photo-with-Name-Rachel-Beard-222x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e summer here at Connections House! This is our first time having interns at this location. Both interns have served here in Rosarito with us on at least one short-term trip. Kailyn comes to us from Colorado Springs, CO, where she attends The Road at Chapel Hills. Rachel lives in Fresno, CA, and attends New Hope Community Church (Clovis, CA). Both of our interns have missions experience, as well as a good \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/07/2018-Photo-with-Name-Kailyn-Madole.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/07/2018-Photo-with-Name-Kailyn-Madole-222x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e deal of children\u0026rsquo;s ministry experience. On their second day in Rosarito, when walking into the church service at Calvary Chapel Rosarito, our Senior Pastor immediately volunteered them to help out in our Sunday School ministry. So both Kailyn \u0026amp; Rachel will be assisting teachers in a Sunday School classroom each week. They have been busy getting the dorms ready for teams, preparing their personal testimonies, practicing their gospel presentations, and even helped on a home build with a local ministry. Next week they will be helping with VBS at CCR. They will be teaching the lesson for VBS on Tuesday. Please keep them in your prayers this summer. Some of their regular responsibilities include assisting in the kitchen,  helping run the dorms, and general support for teams in the field. There will be times that they are serving right alongside teams, whether it\u0026rsquo;s working with children, building a church/orphanage, or serving food to/praying with those who are less fortunate. They will be called upon to share their personal testimonies with others. There will be opportunities to share Christ with others, whether one on one or with a group of children, teens, or women. Our interns will be stretched, they will used in amazing ways, and we pray that many will be blessed because of their sacrifice and the work they are doing here with us this summer.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Summer Is Here!"},{"content":"Team Ministry\nWe really sprung into spring with team ministry this year! For seventeen days around Easter time, we had four teams, did ministry at three orphanages, two VBS/soccer camp/women\u0026rsquo;s ministry locations, one kids\u0026rsquo; club, two festival outreaches, and more! Two of these teams, as well as a couple others, spent a lot of time and donated a lot of funds toward the construction of Casa de Los Angeles orphanage here in Rosarito. We have seen a huge amount of progress on this project over the last few months, which is very exciting!\nNine of those days we hosted two teams together, as all of these teams overlapped each other. This would not have been possible without our awesome staff - Shawn \u0026amp; Pam Cullen and Jody Gonzales. Shawn \u0026amp; Pam did a great job as always serving alongside the teams, hosting them, cooking meals, packing lunches, and so much more! Jody has been helping Pam in the kitchen and has been a huge blessing!\nFamily\nIf you have not seen William in a while, this photo does not lie. He is now taller than his parents! Will is having a great school year, and will be finishing up in about a month. He recently joined a local basketball team and has gotten quite good. Brian and Brittany continue to serve at Calvary Chapel Playas in Playas de Tijuana, where Brian also works full time. They moved about five months ago from the caretakers\u0026rsquo; home at Casa de Los Angeles orphanage in Rosarito to a nice home in Tijuana, which is about a half an hour closer to work, church, and school for them. Brian is taking a music class this semester, and Brittany started a new job recently at Chick-Fil-A just over the border where she was quickly promoted to Shift Leader. (She\u0026rsquo;s following in her dad\u0026rsquo;s footsteps, I guess.) Also, CDLA was blessed to find a wonderful missionary couple to live in the caretakers\u0026rsquo; home.\nAs many of you know, our family went through a tremendous loss last year. Both Ron\u0026rsquo;s mom, Sue, and Kristy\u0026rsquo;s sister, Kimberly, went to be with the Lord in December. We would like to take a brief moment to say thank you. Our fall trip last year was primarily spent with family, as Sue\u0026rsquo;s health, especially, was beginning to decline. Normally on these trips, while also visiting with family, we strive to meet with all of our supporters. We are so grateful for your understanding in this, as well as for the time we had together. Sue and Kim were always huge supporters of ours in so many ways. We will truly miss them.\nConnections House Purchase\nAt this point in time, it looks like the final signing of the papers to purchase the property has been delayed approximately until July. Please join us in praying that everything will go smoothly and there won\u0026rsquo;t be any further delays.\nThe amount of the personal loan we have taken out that covers the difference still needed to pay off the property is $26,500. If you feel led to give toward the purchase of our ministry dorms, you may do so by one of two ways:\n#1 – GoFundMe – Just click \u0026amp; give!\nClick to Donate Now!\n#2 – Tax-deductible gift – May be sent in the mail by doing the following:\nChecks may be made payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”. Please write “Connections House” on the memo line and mail to: Calvary Chapel Rosarito, 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2018/04/25/sprung-into-spring/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTeam Ministry\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/04/31265486%5F10216352499307697%5F1254701565118251008%5Fn-200x300.jpg\" width=\"230\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/04/31164038%5F10216352497627655%5F957424141005225984%5Fn-300x170.jpg\" width=\"400\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/04/31166371_10216352497387649_7497283762162499584_n.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/04/31166371_10216352497387649_7497283762162499584_n-300x200.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/04/31172035_10216352498067666_4204591962797375488_n.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/04/31172035_10216352498067666_4204591962797375488_n-300x200.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe really sprung into spring with team ministry this year! For seventeen days around Easter time, we had four teams, did ministry at three orphanages, two VBS/soccer camp/women\u0026rsquo;s ministry locations, one kids\u0026rsquo; club, two festival outreaches, and more! Two of these teams, as well as a couple others, spent a lot of time and donated a lot of funds toward the construction of Casa de Los Angeles orphanage here in Rosarito. We have seen a huge amount of progress on this project over the last few months, which is very exciting!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Sprung Into Spring"},{"content":"Happy New Year! We pray that you had a wonderful Christmas and the opportunity to spend some meaningful time with family. I know that we did and we are so thankful to the large number of people that have made this possible. We would like to start off by updating you on the church plant in Santa Cruz, California. If you remember, in May 2017 we helped our friends and fellow missionaries, the Hansons, move back to their hometown to plant a bilingual church. They began their work by starting a life (fellowship) group in their home. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t long before they outgrew their home and moved the group meetings to the coffee house located at Santa Cruz Bible Church. On November 4th, we had the opportunity to attend and help serve at the launch service for Santa Cruz Bilingual Church. Kristy, William, Brian \u0026amp; Brittany, as well as our friend, David, had the privilege of leading worship. Two members of SCBC\u0026rsquo;s worship team, Melissa \u0026amp; Caleb Hanson, joined us. It was a meaningful time of worship and Pastor Michael did an awesome job preaching God\u0026rsquo;s word. We were blessed, and we pray that all who attended were blessed as well.\nIn the beginning of November, Kristy received a free gift of being flown to Wisconsin to spend some quality time with her sister, Kim, who was sick with cancer. She also had the privilege of attending the Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field with Kim, her husband, Dale, sister, Shannon, her husband, Tom, and their cousin, Alford. The tickets were a gift from Alford, and his brother, Mark, arranged it so that Dale \u0026amp; Kim could lead the way on the field at the beginning of the game and hold the \u0026ldquo;Bear Down\u0026rdquo; flag. It was a fun time, and we are so glad that Kim had this experience!\nThe last few months of the year have always proven to be a time with the least number of teams. This year we hosted seven teams, which consisted of serving at the dump, working on a new church building, orphanage visits, children\u0026rsquo;s ministry, and more. A team from New Hope Community Church provided a new roof for the Connections House Dorms. This fulfilled a huge need to have the roof replaced before the rainy season. Teams in December meant approximately 220 backpacks for kids that were filled with toiletries, clothing, school supplies, toys, handmade hats, and more! They were given out at Christmas party outreaches at three different churches. The parties included games, songs, cake, the Christmas story, the gospel, and then ended with piñatas and an abundance of candy! So many children were blessed with items that they need, as well as other special things they wouldn\u0026rsquo;t otherwise receive.\nThe backpacks were a special highlight of the year for us. This was the third year we\u0026rsquo;ve received these backpack gifts, and praise God that there were more than double the number of backpacks as last year! This ministry was started and organized by Ron\u0026rsquo;s sister-in-law, MeLinda (wife of Philip), from Colorado. Through her hard work, amazing sales shopping skills, and also word of mouth, the ministry just exploded this year. Many people from their home church, Chapel Hills Church in Colorado Springs, also joined in the effort. Due to the number of backpacks this year, Philip \u0026amp; MeLinda hand delivered them to Mexico themselves! There were too many to send in the mail. This was a great blessing to us, as Phil \u0026amp; MeLinda had the opportunity to serve at one of the three churches where the backpacks were given out.\nAlso in December, we had a team for a week. But not just any team. This one consisted of family! Charles \u0026amp; Erin Lasky (Ron\u0026rsquo;s cousin) brought their six children for an amazing week of ministry. They hit the ground running immediately as they arrived in Rosarito. Since the local children still had a few days of school left until Christmas vacation, one of the Christmas outreaches was scheduled for their only weekend day, Sunday - the day of their arrival. The team jumped right in, playing games with the kids, serving cake, handing out backpacks, and more. They served at and hosted three of these outreaches, providing everything (except the backpacks). The team also blessed two families by replacing the roofs on their homes. Both homes had water damage on the inside. These families could not afford the necessary repairs. So one of them used tarps to try and keep the water out, and the other family removed most of their shingles and painted a rubberized coating onto the plywood. Neither of these temporary fixes would\u0026rsquo;ve helped very much when the rains started coming a couple of weeks later. The families were very blessed by this gift and the team\u0026rsquo;s hard work.\nIt is extra special to be able to serve alongside our family here in Mexico. These two families in particular have been long time, huge supporters of us and our work on the missions field. This was a very meaningful time for us and we will remember it always.\nThe day has almost arrived for us to close on the purchase of Connections House dorms!! As of now, the closing date is set for February 5th. Please pray with us that everything will go smoothly with the paperwork. This will be just over 11 months from when we were originally supposed to purchase the property, so we are praying that there will be no more delays. We are still about $28,500 short of the full amount. While we do have a loan secured for the remaining amount, it would be great to be able to pay the entire amount and not have to borrow. If you feel led to give toward the purchase of our ministry dorms, you may do so by one of two ways:\n#1 – GoFundMe – Just click \u0026amp; give!\nClick to Donate Now!\n#2 – Tax-deductible gift – May be sent in the mail by doing the following:\nChecks may be made payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”. Please write “Connections House” on the memo line and mail to: Calvary Chapel Rosarito, 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173\nWe will leave you with some more pictures of our recent team ministry from the end of last year.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2018/01/11/backpacks-new-roofs-for-christmas/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHappy New Year! We pray that you had a wonderful Christmas and the opportunity to spend some meaningful time with family. I know that we did and we are so thankful to the large number of people that have made this possible. We would like to start off by updating you on the church plant in Santa Cruz, California. If you remember, in May 2017 we helped our friends and fellow missionaries, the Hansons, move back to their hometown to plant a bilingual church. They began their work by starting a life (fellowship) group in their home. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t long before they outgrew their home and moved the group meetings to the coffee house located at Santa Cruz Bible Church.  \u003cstrong\u003eOn November 4th, we had the opportunity to attend and help serve at the launch service for Santa Cruz Bilingual Church.\u003c/strong\u003e Kristy, William, Brian \u0026amp; Brittany, as well as our friend, David, had the privilege of leading worship. Two members of SCBC\u0026rsquo;s worship team, Melissa \u0026amp; Caleb Hanson, joined us. It was a meaningful time of worship and Pastor Michael did an awesome job preaching God\u0026rsquo;s word. We were blessed, and we pray that all who attended were blessed as well.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Backpacks \u0026amp; New Roofs for Christmas!"},{"content":"This is the WPForms preview page. All your form previews will be handled on this page.\nThe page is set to private, so it is not publicly accessible. Please do not delete this page :) .\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/wpforms-preview/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis is the WPForms preview page. All your form previews will be handled on this page.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe page is set to private, so it is not publicly accessible. Please do not delete this page :) .\u003c/p\u003e","title":"WPForms Preview"},{"content":"\nConnections House\nWe are excited to update you on the purchase of Connections House dorms! The paperwork on the property is progressing and we hope to be able to complete the purchase in as soon as 3-5 weeks. The amount we still need to raise is $33,800. Please pray with us for the Lord to provide the funds needed and for the paperwork to go through.\nUpcoming Midwest Trip!\nThat\u0026rsquo;s right, we are heading to the Midwest to visit our supporters, family, and friends. We will keep you informed as to the dates of some get-togethers that we will have. We\u0026rsquo;d love to visit with as many of you as possible, so please feel free to send us a message and let us know if you\u0026rsquo;d like to connect. We will be visiting in Wisconsin and Illinois from September 3rd to September 26th. Ron will actually be arriving a bit early to visit his parents and staying a little later for a missions conference.\nFamily Update\nAn update on our ministry this summer will be out soon. Right now we just wanted to give a quick family update. William will be starting 11th grade soon. It\u0026rsquo;s crazy how fast the time goes. Only two more years and he will be graduating high school! Brittany is continuing to work stateside about three times a week at Bibigo, a Korean fast food place. She also continues to serve at Calvary Chapel Playas (Playas de Tijuana, Mexico) with her husband, Brian, where he works full time as the Pastor\u0026rsquo;s Assistant. They recently started the youth group at CCP on Friday nights and it is going very well. Brian will also begin classes soon at the University where he will be continuing his eduation in foreign languages. We also just got a new puppy! If you have heard, we lost our dog, Maya, to some sort of lung infection a couple of months ago. The new puppy\u0026rsquo;s name is Maverick and he\u0026rsquo;s a lab mix. He is 2 months old, very smart, and is getting along really well with Moka.\nWe recently had some family come and visit us here in Rosarito. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t happen often, so it was very exciting for us! Kristy\u0026rsquo;s sister, Kim, her husband, Dale (who is also Ron\u0026rsquo;s brother), their family, and one of Kristy\u0026rsquo;s other sisters, Shannon, all came to visit. We had a great time together! We even crossed a few things off of Kim\u0026rsquo;s bucket list!\nIf you have not heard, Kim was recently told there are no more treatments available for her cancer. Her doctors say she likely only has 3-12 months left on this earth with us. We know that only the Lord knows how much longer she\u0026rsquo;ll be here with us. We also know he can still do a miracle! Please pray with us that Kim\u0026rsquo;s migraines would lessen and that she would be not be in so much pain.\nAlso, Ron\u0026rsquo;s mom has been battling cancer. While she successfully won her fight with brain cancer, today we found out she has stage 3 fallopian tube cancer. She also recently underwent surgery, so she will have the next month to recover from that before beginning a new regiment of chemotherapy.\nThrough all of this, we can only declare that God is good! His plans are perfect and His ways are higher than our ways. It is difficult to be so far away from family at this time, but we are very thankful for our upcoming trip! Please continue to keep us in your prayers. They are what keep us going!\nWe will leave you with some photos of our recent family\u0026rsquo;s visit. God bless!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2017/08/17/__trashed/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/08/Connections-Money.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/08/Connections-Money-1024x410.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConnections House\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are excited to update you on the purchase of Connections House dorms! The paperwork on the property is progressing and we hope to be able to complete the purchase in as soon as 3-5 weeks. The amount we still need to raise is $33,800. Please pray with us for the Lord to provide the funds needed and for the paperwork to go through.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUpcoming Midwest Trip!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Quick Update \u0026amp; Upcoming Midwest Trip"},{"content":"It has been a little while since our last update on the purchase of the Connections House property here in Rosarito. We are excited about the funds raised so far and we are completely in awe of what the Lord has done! Just over two thirds of the total purchase amount has been given. At this point, however, we are in waiting mode. There are a couple of small issues with the paperwork for the property that need to be cleared up before the sale can go through. It looks like it could be up to an 8-10 month process. So we are waiting on the Lord\u0026rsquo;s timing. We know it is perfect. We have faith that everything will be taken care of so that we can make the purchase final.\nAs we look ahead, we have two big projects here at Connections House coming up. The first one is to replace the leaking roof over the dorms, and the second is to add two new bathrooms. If your church/youth group/etc. is looking to send a team to Mexico and would like a construction project, please pray and consider one of these much-needed improvements to our dorms!\nTeams, Teams, Teams!!\nRight now we are springing into the busy season! Connections House was hopping with four back to back teams in the two weeks surrounding Easter. At the same time we had two teams housed at a different location that we were serving with as well. There was children\u0026rsquo;s ministry, soccer \u0026amp; testimonies, a dump outreach, street evangelism, a senior home visit, work projects, children\u0026rsquo;s homes visits, and so much more! One highlight was an outreach at the park, complete with carnival games, prizes, face painting, popcorn, cotton candy, soccer, and clowns, which ended with the VeggieTales movie, \u0026ldquo;Jonah\u0026rdquo;, on the big screen.\nNew Bilingual Church Plant and New Staff at Connections House!\nNext month we are going to have to say \u0026ldquo;see you later\u0026rdquo; to some very good friends of ours. Michael \u0026amp; Melissa Hanson, along with their three children, Caleb, Sarah, and Nathan, have been serving here as missionaries for six years. In May, they will be moving back to Santa Cruz, California to plant a bilingual church - Santa Cruz Bilingual Church! We are so excited for them and looking forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do through this amazing family. Next month we have the privilege of helping them move to Santa Cruz, approximately 8 hours north of here. We will visit a couple of churches along the way that we have been working with for several years. Our return trip will be to move our good friends, Shawn \u0026amp; Pam Cullen to Rosarito. The Cullens have served as part-time missionaries for the past six years. Pam has served many weeks at a time, as well as several summers, here with us during our busiest seasons of teams, as Cook, Nurse, Team Host, and wherever else needed. Shawn has also served for many weeks here and there over the past six years and has recently retired from the fire department in Northern California. Shawn and Pam will be working with us in team ministry here at Connections House. The photo on the right is Shawn and Pam with their daughter, Jessica. Our trip up to California will also include some much needed family vacation time as well.\nFamily Life\nThere is never a dull moment. William is working diligently to finish up school over the next month. He is doing really well, considering all the days and half-days he takes off for ministry purposes. He is excited and striving to finish up in time for our upcoming trip so that he will not have to do school on the road. Ron has been busy getting some items ready to sell at a fundraiser at CCR and to pick up a huge load of donations near LA for the church and our church plants. Kristy is working to catch up on all the photo editing from all the teams and recent ministry. A recent project was the Easter photos at CCR. You can see the background we created in these three photos. William is pictured with one of his good friends, Daniel.\nBrittany has a new job working for Bibigo, a Korean restaurant. She commutes an hour, one way, to work on the other side of the border. Brian will be finishing up his third semester soon at a university in Tijuana, where he is studying to be a teacher of foreign languages. He and Brittany continue to serve together in worship ministry at Calvary Chapel Playas in Playas de Tijuana, where Brian is also working full-time as Pastor\u0026rsquo;s Assistant.\nThank You!\nWe truly do feel your prayers! We are so blessed to serve here in Rosarito and we are excited for what lies ahead. Thank you so much for your love, prayers, and support!\nFinancial Giving\nNo, it\u0026rsquo;s not too late to give toward the purchase of Connections House! The sooner the property is paid off, the sooner we will be able to make the improvements needed! There are still two easy ways for you to give:\n#1 – GoFundMe – Just click \u0026amp; give!\nClick to Donate Now!\n#2 – Tax-deductible gift – May be sent in the mail by doing the following:\nChecks may be made payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”. Please write “Connections House” on the memo line and mail to: Calvary Chapel Rosarito, 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2017/04/28/dorm-update-spring-teams-upcoming-trip/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt has been a little while since our last update on the purchase of the Connections House property here in Rosarito. We are excited about the funds raised so far and we are completely in awe of what the Lord has done! Just over two thirds of the total purchase amount has been given. At this point, however, we are in waiting mode. There are a couple of small issues with the paperwork for the property that need to be cleared up before the sale can go through. It looks like it could be up to an 8-10 month process. So we are waiting on the Lord\u0026rsquo;s timing. We know it is perfect. We have faith that everything will be taken care of so that we can make the purchase final.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dorm Update, Spring Teams, \u0026amp; Upcoming Trip"},{"content":"\nWell, the deadline is almost here! Only 16 more days left to give towards the purchase of Connections House dorms before we close on the property! Just in case you needed a little reminder, we thought we would send out the information for the two different ways to give. The amount still needed to purchase the property is $52,603. To give us some time for processing, donations will need to be received by March 15th. Please don\u0026rsquo;t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions.\n#1 - GoFundMe - Just click \u0026amp; give!\nClick to Donate Now!\n#2 - Tax-deductible gift - May be sent in the mail by doing the following:\nChecks may be made payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”. Please write “Connections House” on the memo line and mail to: Calvary Chapel Rosarito, 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2017/02/27/16-more-days/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/02/Full-View-C-Matte-Title.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/02/Full-View-C-Matte-Title-300x200.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWell, the deadline is almost here! Only 16 more days left to give towards the purchase of Connections House dorms before we close on the property! Just in case you needed a little reminder, we thought we would send out the information for the two different ways to give. The amount still needed to purchase the property is $52,603. To give us some time for processing, donations will need to be received by March 15th. Please don\u0026rsquo;t hesitate to \u003ca href=\"/struska/contact-us/\"\u003elet us know\u003c/a\u003e if you have any questions.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"16 More Days!"},{"content":"\nIt\u0026rsquo;s time to start planning your next short-term missions trip to Mexico! Hosting families and teams on their missions trips to Rosarito and Tijuana is our primary focus. It is what we love to do! So if you have been thinking about a trip for your church, youth group, family, etc., please don\u0026rsquo;t hesitate to contact us today! We would love to answer any questions you may have and guide you through the planning process. Here is just a little reminder of what we offer:\nCompletely customized trips with a wide variety of ministries and opportunities\nSupport \u0026amp; outreach opportunities with church plants\nChildren\u0026rsquo;s ministry (VBS)\nConstruction projects - New construction, Remodeling \u0026amp; Repairs - Churches, orphanages, feeding programs, etc.\nMedical \u0026amp; dental outreaches\nTijuana dump\nSoccer camps\nBuilding homes for families in need\nConferences - for youth, marriage, pastors, leaders, etc.\nWork projects at Connections House\nStreet evangelism\nAlways working through a local pastor!\nAlways focused on sharing the gospel!\nDorm facilities for up to 30 people - meal options, full kitchen, indoor/outdoor meeting space, rec area, basketball court\nAnd much more!!\nConnections House Dorm Purchase Update\nWe have continued to see more funds come in toward the purchase of our team dorms! God is so good! As you can see above, we are in need of $52,603 in order to purchase the property outright. The date for the purchase to go through has been pushed back a little to allow us time to process things. It means paying rent just a little longer, but will give us until March 15th to receive donations. Remember, there are two ways to give. The first way is through gofundme - it\u0026rsquo;s convenient and online. The second way is listed below - it\u0026rsquo;s through the mail but is tax deductible. Thank you in advance to all of you that are considering to partner with us in this way. Remember, no gift is too small!\nFamily Update\nKristy and William had the opportunity to take a short trip to Illinois and Wisconsin. This included some wonderful family time, as well as visiting many friends and supporters. The ulterior motive for this trip was to try and help get Kristy healthy, as she has been dealing with a cough, more than usual headaches, and other symptoms for over three months. Our hope was that the mold we found in the bedroom closet was the cause. After returning to a clean, repaired, mold-free home, a few days ago, the symptoms have not completely disappeared. So please pray with us that they subside or that we are able to find the cause of the problem.\nBoth Brian \u0026amp; Brittany have started new jobs recently. A few weeks ago, Brian took the position of Pastor\u0026rsquo;s Assistant at their church, Calvary Chapel Playas (a CCR bilingual church plant in Playas de Tijuana). It is a full-time job that he will be working while attending the university in Tijuana to get his degree as a teacher of foreign languages. He is in his third semester. Brittany began a new job today as a nanny for a 7-month old infant in National City, CA. She will be crossing the border four days a week. Please keep them both in your prayers.\nCCR Church Planting Update\nA local family of three recently moved to the state of Guadalajara in central Mexico to plant a church, Capilla Calvario Esperanza Viva (Calvary Chapel Living Hope). We are super excited for them and their team, which includes a couple that moved down about six months ahead of the pastor and a single Bible college graduate. We hope to be able to take a trip to Guadalajara to support them in their journey.\nWe are also praying about a couple of trips to Santa Cruz, California (about 9 hours north), to help out with the new church plant, Santa Cruz Bilingual Church. One trip would be to help move the pastor and his family, who are currently missionaries here in Rosarito and are on staff at CCR. The second trip would be to help with outreach for their big kick-off later in the year. Please pray with us that the finances will be available and that the plans would work out for these trips.\nA huge thank you to those who have partnered with us financially, both personally and with the purchase of Connections House. It\u0026rsquo;s amazing how buying this property is actually going to help us with our personal finances as well. We look forward to sharing the details about that with you all soon!\nFinancial Gifts\nChecks with your tax deductible donation towards the purchase of Connections House may be made payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”. Please write “Connections House” on the memo line and mail to:\nCalvary Chapel Rosarito, 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2017/02/15/thinking-about-your-next-missions-trip/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/02/Day-Countdown.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/02/Day-Countdown-300x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/02/Money-Countdown.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/02/Money-Countdown-300x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s time to start planning your next short-term missions trip to Mexico! Hosting families and teams on their missions trips to Rosarito and Tijuana is our primary focus. It is what we love to do! So if you have been thinking about a trip for your church, youth group, family, etc., please don\u0026rsquo;t hesitate to \u003ca href=\"/struska/contact-us/\"\u003econtact us\u003c/a\u003e today! We would love to answer any questions you may have and guide you through the planning process. Here is just a little reminder of what we offer:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Thinking About Your Next Missions Trip?"},{"content":"\nWe know that the Lord is good and that He will supply all our needs. But it sure is great when you get a little reminder every now and then! You may have noticed that the dollar amounts above have changed significantly. As you know, our first of three $55,000 payments is due on March 1st in order to purchase the Connection House dorms. Due to some very generous gifts, we now have just over $100,000 to put toward the purchase. Our goal is to reach $165,000 by March 1st for two reasons. The first reason is so that we can avoid paying interest on the property. We want to be wise stewards with the funds God is providing. The second reason is that we are hoping to save a minimum of $10,000 by purchasing the property outright (as opposed to over three years), knowing that the owners are eager to sell.\nWe ask that you join us in prayer that the Lord would provide the rest of the funds needed. We serve a big God and we know He is able. We also ask that you prayerfully consider partnering with us through your one-time gift of any amount. We have set up a GoFundMe account to make it easy for those that would like to give online. If you would like to make a tax-deductible gift, please see the information below.\nThank you so much to all of you that keep us in your prayers regularly and who have prayed for the purchase of these dorms! This ministry is your ministry as well.\nPlease check out this video about Connections House. Be sure to like our facebook update and give us a share!\nhttps://youtu.be/Q9l0iDtEFqA\nFinancial Gifts\nChecks with your tax deductible donation towards the purchase of Connections House may be made payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”. Please write “Connections House” on the memo line and mail to:\nCalvary Chapel Rosarito, 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2017/01/27/amazingthings/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/01/Day-Countdown-2.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/01/Day-Countdown-2-300x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/01/Money-Countdown-2.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/01/Money-Countdown-2-300x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe know that the Lord is good and that He will supply all our needs. But it sure is great when you get a little reminder every now and then! You may have noticed that the dollar amounts above have changed significantly. As you know, our first of three $55,000 payments is due on March 1st in order to purchase the Connection House dorms. Due to some very generous gifts, we now have just over $100,000 to put toward the purchase. Our goal is to reach $165,000 by March 1st for two reasons. The first reason is so that we can avoid paying interest on the property. We want to be wise stewards with the funds God is providing. The second reason is that we are hoping to save a minimum of $10,000 by purchasing the property outright (as opposed to over three years), knowing that the owners are eager to sell.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Watching God Do Amazing Things"},{"content":"\nWell, it\u0026rsquo;s crunch time. We are down to 43 days until we need to make our first of three $55,000 payments in order to purchase Connections House, our team dorms and home here in Rosarito. It has truly been a blessing for us to be able to rent this property, however the owners do want to sell it. We earnestly seek your prayers as we make the decision to move forward with this purchase. Please see the information below to help us with your tax-deductible donation. We will need to assess the situation again in two weeks in order to make a final decision.\nAs you can see, we have raised less than half of the first payment. While we continue to try and secure a private loan to make up the difference, we also have to remember one thing. And that is, once we make the first payment, we are all in. We\u0026rsquo;ll have 12 months to come up with the second payment of $55,000. Borrowing part of this down payment may prove to be difficult for two reasons. One, because we would be making loan payments at the same time as making interest payments to the owner. And two, because it will put us behind on being able to save towards the second down payment. Obtaining a private loan for the full amount needed to purchase the property would be ideal. For those of you that may not remember, the reason we are not able to take out a bank loan is because Mexican banks will not loan money to Americans, and American banks will not loan money for Mexican property.\nWhile we are certain that the Lord has called us to this ministry of working with short-term missions teams as well as providing housing, we want to make sure this is the property that He has in mind long term. We need to remain open to the possibility that this place was something temporary on the way to something different or better. So we ask you now to join us in praying for wisdom and discernment. This is His money and it is our desire to be mindful and diligent when it comes to how it is used. May it be all for God\u0026rsquo;s glory and for the purpose of expanding His kingdom!\nProtesting of Gas Prices in Mexico\nIf you haven\u0026rsquo;t seen our facebook posts, or heard on the news, the gas prices in Mexico made a huge jump at the beginning of the year. This has caused some major protesting, especially here in Rosarito where we have a Pemex gasoline distribution plant. This plant fills approximately 220 trucks per day with gasoline. Pemex also currently owns almost all of the gas stations in the country, which is supposed to change sometime this year. On January 1st, gas prices spiked with about a 20% increase throughout Mexico due to the deregulation of the gas industry by the government. The cost of gas here in Rosarito is about $17 pesos per liter, or $3.20 per gallon (up about $.50/gallon over night). The minimum wage here is $10 pesos per hour, which means that people need to work about six hours to earn the money to buy one gallon of gas.\nThere is protesting and unrest all over the country. Thankfully, things have been calm and non-violent here in Rosarito for the most part. There was a blockade to the Pemex plant for several days. Most or all of our gas stations ran out of gas after a few days as a result, in Rosarito, Tijuana, and beyond. However, with police reinforcements, the blockade was ended and the shortage was averted. There were some reports of looting and some injuries during the protesting. Also, our two nearby border crossings were closed on a couple different occasions. Praise the Lord that we have had no deaths and little violence as a result of the protesting, which is not the case in other parts of the country. Police vehicles are still escorting the gasoline trucks to and from the Pemex plant. Otherwise, despite the fact that gas prices have not budged, things have calmed down even more.\nPlease do keep this situation in your prayers. The peso is worth close to half as much as it was when we moved down here almost seven years ago. That along with the sky high prices of gas has made the cost of living rise heavily. While we are blessed to be able to cross the border to fill up with gas, etc., it is likely that these high gas prices are going to cause the cost of other things here to rise - food, drinking water, propane, etc.\nThank you so much to each and every one of you fo r your prayers! Thank you for your support and financial gifts. We know that we wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be here without them! This ministry would not function without them. We are thankful to God for all you.\nFinancial Gifts\nChecks with your tax deductible donation towards the purchase of Connections House may be made payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”. Please write “Connections House” on the memo line and mail to:\nCalvary Chapel Rosarito, 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2017/01/17/calling-all-prayer-warriors/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/01/Day-Countdown.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/01/Day-Countdown-300x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/01/Money-Countdown.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/01/Money-Countdown-300x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWell, \u003cstrong\u003eit\u0026rsquo;s crunch time\u003c/strong\u003e. We are down to 43 days until we need to make our first of three $55,000 payments in order to purchase \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ConnectionsHouse/?fref=ts\"\u003eConnections House\u003c/a\u003e, our team dorms and home here in Rosarito. It has truly been a blessing for us to be able to rent this property, however the owners do want to sell it. We earnestly seek your prayers as we make the decision to move forward with this purchase. Please see the information below to help us with your tax-deductible donation. We will need to assess the situation again in two weeks in order to make a final decision.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Calling All Prayer Warriors"},{"content":" Wow, how time really does fly! It\u0026rsquo;s hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. Last month marked six and half years for us serving here (full time) in Rosarito. What an amazing time it has been! So full of new experiences, a wedding in the family, meeting people from all over North America and the world, amazing friendships, an incredible church \u0026amp; staff to work alongside, thousands of team members being the hands and feet of Jesus - and the best part is that we have the privilege of organizing their mission trips and working alongside them! We look forward to the Lord continuing to use us to further His kingdom. But we also know that it would not be possible without the prayer and financial support of all of you. From the bottom of our hearts, we sincerely thank you!\nWe truly believe that the Lord is going to provide the funds to purchase Connections House. As you can see, we have just less than three months and just over $47,000 to go. However, we are continually amazed at the facility He has provided, as well as what our God is capable of. He is absolutely able to provide enough for us to be able to make our first of three lump sum payments on March 1st! We serve a big God! If you would like to make an end-of-the-year (tax deductible) donation, you will find more information below. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.\nSummer Team Highlights\nHilmar Covenant Church - Hilmar, CA\nHilmar Team - Ministering to the youth on the soccer court\nWe have had the privilege of working with Hilmar Covenant Church for six years. They have served in the same community for about eighteen years now. They had an awesome week of children\u0026rsquo;s, men\u0026rsquo;s, and women\u0026rsquo;s ministry. They also ministered to the youth through soccer, the sharing of testimonies, and more. This year they held a one-night marriage conference as well! Many were blessed and added to the kingdom this week!\nPastor Martin Garcia and his wife, Yolanda - Calvary Chapel church plant, Capilla Calvario Las Delicias (CCLD), Tijuana\nSanta Cruz Bible Church Youth - Santa Cruz, CA\nPastor Martin, who was our youth pastor at CCR (Calvary Chapel Rosarito), left four years ago to plant a church in Tijuana. The church is growing so much that they are now in the process of building a new facility. Money was donated and three lots were purchased in the ranch area, about an eight minute drive from their current location. The church has been blessed by several teams that have served out there since this past July. The new church will hold about 250 people, while their current building only has room for around 75 and holds two Sunday services. The new property will include Sunday School classrooms on the second floor, a third floor youth/large gathering room, as well as a small home for Pastor Martin and his family. Some of our teams have sent extra funds to help continue the work on the church. The church members have been faithful, donating their time to work on the new church building. The church has only paid to hire one skilled worker, so the rest of the money could go to purchase materials. At this point we will soon be ready to pour the foundation of the church!\nThe youth team from Santa Cruz Bible Church had the privilege of starting the construction of the new building. They worked on the first retaining wall, digging and moving dirt, laying block, mixing and pouring cement, and more. It was very hot, but this young team gave it all they had, and did a tremendous amount of work. Part of the team worked at CCR for the week to help run our VBS. They were a tremendous help, as it takes a very large team to run VBS for almost 300 children! The crew was in charge of snacks for all of the kids. They also helped care for some special needs children and filled in wherever needed.\nA team from Calvary Chapel Bakersfield, Bakersfield, CA, came in August to put on an event at a local church in Tijuana, Calvary Chapel Cedros. This event closed out their summer-long VBS program and included worship, the gospel message, VBS awards, a hot dog lunch, as well as a water slide and kiddie pools for the little ones.\nThe Crossing Church, Costa Mesa, CA, came in August to work on the new church building for CCLD as well. They spent two days mixing a ton of cement, laying black, and tying rebar. They worked super hard in the heat!\nWe are so excited to see what the Lord will be continuing to do next year. Not just with this new church building, but also with the purchasing of our team dorm housing, and through the continued work of the short term missions teams that come down. It\u0026rsquo;s never too early to plan a trip for yourself, your family, a youth group, or for your church! We look forward to continuing to partner with you in this ministry through your prayers, financial gifts, and serving side-by-side on the mission field. Thank you for all that you do to further the kingdom!\nFinancial Gifts\nChecks with your tax deductible donation towards the purchase of Connections House may be made payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”. Please write “Connections House” on the memo line and mail to:\nCalvary Chapel Rosarito, 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2016/12/11/another-exceptional-year/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/12/IMG_4427-Low.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/12/IMG_4427-Low-1024x683.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e Wow, how time really does fly! It\u0026rsquo;s hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. Last month marked six and half years for us serving here (full time) in Rosarito. What an amazing time it has been! So full of new experiences, a wedding in the family, meeting people from all over North America and the world, amazing friendships, an incredible church \u0026amp; staff to work alongside, thousands of team members being the hands and feet of Jesus - and the best part is that we have the privilege of organizing their mission trips and working alongside them! We look forward to the Lord continuing to use us to further His kingdom. But we also know that it would not be possible without the prayer and financial support of all of you. From the bottom of our hearts, \u003cstrong\u003ewe sincerely thank you\u003c/strong\u003e!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Another Exceptional Year"},{"content":"\nWe\u0026rsquo;re so excited to see how the Lord has started to raise some of the money needed to purchase Connections House (our team dorm housing and current residence). We just wanted to keep you all updated. Our first payment of $55,000 will be due on March 1st. We would appreciate your continued prayers as we continue to seek the Lord\u0026rsquo;s will concerning this amazing property He has provided. If you feel led to give towards the purchase of this property, you can find more detailed information here. (Please scroll to the bottom for directions on how to make your tax deductible donation.)\nOf course, the most exciting news since our last update, is that Brittany \u0026amp; Brian were married on October 14th. They had a very beautiful ceremony at a hotel on the beach just south of Rosarito, followed by a wonderful dinner and reception to celebrate at our church. We were blessed to have so many family and friends here to share in this special day!\nTeam Ministry - Belated Spring Update:\nIn a previous update, we left off with the first team hosted here at Connections House. Here is a quick look at the rest of our teams from the spring.\nPictured here is a team from New Hope Community Church (Clovis, CA). This awesome team built a home on the property that belongs to the new children\u0026rsquo;s home, Casa de Los Angeles, being built here in Rosarito. If you recall from a previous update, Ron is the Project Manager for this amazing undertaking. The house is for future small teams working with the children\u0026rsquo;s home, or possibly staff. However, it\u0026rsquo;s purpose until the home opens, is to house caretakers to help secure the property. The home is just larger than two of the 16x20 homes that we usually build here. An extra tidbit about this home is that Brian \u0026amp; Brittany are the current caretakers living in the house. The New Hope team also spent the week doing children\u0026rsquo;s ministry at a nearby church. So many were blessed and added to the Kingdom this week!\nWe had this fabulous team from Calvary Chapel South Bay (Gardena, CA). They poured into the children at CCR\u0026rsquo;s (Calvary Chapel Rosarito) Club 10:14. This is a group of children who mostly do not attend church, so this is the only Jesus that they see. The team gave them a very special day at the park, complete with a barbecue, games, worship, a message, the gospel, and more!\nIt\u0026rsquo;s always a pleasure to host a team from Calvary Chapel Bakersfield (Bakersfield, CA)! They spent their time here evangelizing at a local park, where many young people hang out, as well as on the streets of downtown Rosarito, at the beach, and the neighborhood around Connections House! They also worked with a local group to evangelize and go inviting for a home church in La Gloria, Tijuana.\nWe are always blessed by our visits with Santa Cruz Bible Church (Santa Cruz, CA). We have had the opportunity to work with them for several years now, as they are the sending church of our good friends, Michael \u0026amp; Melissa Hanson. They spent some time renewing friendships and spending time with the kids at Grace Children\u0026rsquo;s Home in Tijuana. They also spent two days at CCR working on various projects - drywalling the new entrance, painting, constructing a new store on the church patio, and more!\nThank you for taking the time to catch up with us! You may here us say this a lot, but it is absolutely as true now as it has always been - we could not be here, doing what we do, without your prayers and support. God bless!\nFinancial Gifts\nChecks with your tax deductible donation towards the purchase of Connections House may be made payable to “Calvary Chapel Rosarito”. Please write “Connections House” on the memo line and mail to:\nCalvary Chapel Rosarito, 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2016/11/09/family-wedding-ministry-team-updates/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/11/Day-Countdown-2.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"day-countdown-2\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/11/Day-Countdown-2-300x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/11/Money-Countdown.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"money-countdown\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/11/Money-Countdown-300x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe\u0026rsquo;re so excited to see how the Lord has started to raise some of the money needed to purchase \u003cstrong\u003eConnections House\u003c/strong\u003e (our team dorm housing and current residence). We just wanted to keep you all updated. Our first payment of $55,000 will be due on March 1st. We would appreciate your continued prayers as we continue to seek the Lord\u0026rsquo;s will concerning this amazing property He has provided. If you feel led to give towards the purchase of this property, you can find more detailed information \u003ca href=\"/struska/2016/08/15/the-countdown-begins/\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e. (Please scroll to the bottom for directions on how to make your tax deductible donation.)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Family Wedding \u0026amp; Ministry Team Updates"},{"content":"We\u0026rsquo;ve started the countdown of the number of days until we will no longer be able to rent Connections House. That\u0026rsquo;s right. If you haven\u0026rsquo;t heard this story, allow us to quickly catch you up. God directed us to this facility after over a year of praying and many months of searching. It seemed to be where God was calling us, and it has proven to be an absolute blessing! We have a two-bedroom apartment for our family, a separate home with six bedrooms that sleeps 26 people, a separate room to house up to four more team members or volunteers, a large dining area, five bathrooms, a basketball court/recreation area, a huge garage/parking area, and more than enough outdoor space for teams to have meeting or just hang out in. And all this sits on three city lots, is secured behind a metal fence, and is located only five minutes from church and downtown Rosarito.\nThe other important piece of information here is that the owners were not so keen on renting the place, as they were looking to sell. However, with the Lord\u0026rsquo;s help, they agreed to rent it out for one year. After that, in order to stay, we will need to purchase the property in three, large lump sums. The first payment of $55,000 is due on March 1, 2017 (198 days from now). The second payment in the same amount will come due March 1, 2018, with a final equal payment due one year after that.\n2016-08-12 CR Group at CR Summit - Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA\nThe only problem with this situation exists because we are Americans trying to purchase land in Mexico. Therefore, Mexican banks will not give us a loan because we are American, and American banks will not give us a loan for Mexican property. So the alternative is to raise the funds for the ministry to be able to purchase the property. The countdown has begun, and God has provided $3,100 so far toward the purchase. We are asking all of you and the churches that we have partnered with to consider giving to this vital aspect of our ministry. It has been such a relief to have dorms for our teams to stay in. Before Connections House, we had only one option for team housing that is nearby. Everything else would have required the teams to drive up to ninety minutes round trip every day, which as you can imagine, would seriously cut into their ministry team.\nIf you would like give, you may do so at the address below. If you have questions, we would love to answer them. We are also available to come and speak to your missions/elder boards, to pastors, or at any fundraisers you/your church would like to organize. We know that the Lord will be faithful to provide! Please pray how He would have you partner with us on this journey. Thank you so much and God bless!!\nFinancial Gifts\nChecks with your tax deductible donation may be made payable to \u0026ldquo;Calvary Chapel Rosarito\u0026rdquo;. Please write \u0026ldquo;Connections House\u0026rdquo; on the memo line and mail to:\nCalvary Chapel Rosarito\n511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355\nSan Ysidro, CA 92173\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2016/08/15/the-countdown-begins/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/08/Day-Countdown.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Day Countdown\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/08/Day-Countdown-300x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/08/Money-Countdown-1.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/08/Money-Countdown-1-300x300.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWe\u0026rsquo;ve started the countdown of the number of days until we will no longer be able to rent Connections House.\u003c/strong\u003e That\u0026rsquo;s right. If you haven\u0026rsquo;t heard this story, allow us to quickly catch you up. God directed us to this facility after over a year of praying and many months of searching. It seemed to be where God was calling us, and it has proven to be an absolute blessing! We have a two-bedroom apartment for our family, a separate home with six bedrooms that sleeps 26 people, a separate room to house up to four more team members or volunteers, a large dining area, five bathrooms, a basketball court/recreation area, a huge garage/parking area, and more than enough outdoor space for teams to have meeting or just hang out in. And all this sits on three city lots, is secured behind a metal fence, and is located only five minutes from church and downtown Rosarito.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Countdown Begins"},{"content":"Summer is here! As always, the kids (and mom) are glad to get a break from school. As many of you know, Brittany graduated from high school last month - with honors! She is now also engaged to be married to Brian, her boyfriend of 1 1/2 years, and they plan to marry here in Mexico this October. Brittany plans to attend the Bible College at CCR in Rosarito starting in January. Brian just completed his first of four years at a University in Tijuana, where he is studying to be a teacher of foreign languages.\nWilliam just completed his first year of high school (9th grade). He also just finished up with his first season of soccer. Here in Mexico, soccer runs all year long, which is very different for us. So we committed to soccer for his second semester and he\u0026rsquo;ll break for the summer. We can definitely see that his skills have improved greatly over the past six months.\nImage00001 2 LowC\nImage00001 Low\nThat kind of catches you up on some recent and significant events in our family\u0026rsquo;s lives here in Mexico. However, it seems that we have let time get away from us. Our last update came to you just before we opened up our new team housing, \u0026ldquo;Connections House\u0026rdquo;, on March 1st. Just three days later, we hosted our first team from Calvary Chapel South Bay from Gardena, CA. They hosted a prayer breakfast for the Rosarito police department, which included dozens of D.A.R.E. youth as well. They shared the gospel, led worship, handed out Bibles, served breakfast, did a human video, and more. They also served at El Refugio (The Refuge), a home for the elderly - again serving a meal, as well as providing worship, a message, prayer, etc.\nI think we\u0026rsquo;ll have to stop there, and we\u0026rsquo;ll pick up again later. We would just like to leave you with some photos of Connections House - as well as the logo and motto. What do you think?\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2016/07/08/catch-up-with-the-struskas/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSummer is here! As always, the kids (and mom) are glad to get a break from school. As many of you know, Brittany graduated from high school last month - with honors! She is now also engaged to be married to Brian, her boyfriend of 1 1/2 years, and they plan to marry here in Mexico this October. Brittany plans to attend the Bible College at CCR in Rosarito starting in January. Brian just completed his first of four years at a University in Tijuana, where he is studying to be a teacher of foreign languages.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Catch Up With the Struska's"},{"content":" IMG_2328C Low\nIMG_2339 Low\n12650888_10153575105308922_441937609648154374_n\nBunk Bed\nAmazon List\n2016-02-09 Ron at CC Culiacán\n2016-02-10 Ron at CC Culiacán\n12698347_559879877526043_4443030094916290520_o\nThank you so much for your prayers and for your partnership! Remember to check out our Amazon List to see how you can help us furnish the new ministry house! We found a great deal on some bunk beds for only $179! There are also dozens of items priced as low as $9.14 to $14.99. If the Lord will put it on the hearts of 75-100 people to buy just one or two items on the list, we can have the home furnished in no time! Blessings to you all!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2016/02/11/getting-ready-to-open-new-team-housing/","summary":"\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/02/IMG%5F2328C-Low-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_2328C Low\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_2328C Low\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/02/IMG%5F2339-Low-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_2339 Low\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_2339 Low\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/02/12650888%5F10153575105308922%5F441937609648154374%5Fn-300x170.jpg\"\n         alt=\"12650888\\_10153575105308922\\_441937609648154374\\_n\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003e12650888_10153575105308922_441937609648154374_n\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/02/Bunk-Bed-300x264.jpg\"\n         alt=\"Bunk Bed\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eBunk Bed\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://amzn.com/w/24ZNHDZY22GMW\"\u003eAmazon List\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/02/2016-02-09-Ron-at-CC-Culiac%c3%a1n-225x300.jpg\"\n         alt=\"2016-02-09 Ron at CC Culiacán\" width=\"225\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003e2016-02-09 Ron at CC Culiacán\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/02/2016-02-10-Ron-at-CC-Culiac%c3%a1n-300x169.jpg\"\n         alt=\"2016-02-10 Ron at CC Culiacán\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003e2016-02-10 Ron at CC Culiacán\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/02/12698347%5F559879877526043%5F4443030094916290520%5Fo-300x225.jpg\"\n         alt=\"12698347\\_559879877526043\\_4443030094916290520\\_o\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003e12698347_559879877526043_4443030094916290520_o\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThank you so much for your prayers and for your partnership! Remember to check out our \u003ca href=\"http://amzn.com/w/24ZNHDZY22GMW\"\u003eAmazon List\u003c/a\u003e to see how you can help us furnish the new ministry house! We found a great deal on some bunk beds for only $179! There are also dozens of items priced as low as $9.14 to $14.99. If the Lord will put it on the hearts of 75-100 people to buy just one or two items on the list, we can have the home furnished in no time! Blessings to you all!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Getting Ready to Open New Team Housing!"},{"content":" 12386766_922440457864084_1479249699_n\nThis past month or so has brought about some changes in the Struska household, with some promising changes coming up on the horizon. At the end of November, Brittany left for an internship/job at The Crossing Church in Costa Mesa, California. We have been working with this church several times a year for the past few years now. They have joined us in ministry here in Mexico, building homes for families in need, serving at different orphanages, working on various construction projects, and more. We are very excited to see what the Lord will be doing in and through Brittany in the coming months. She will be graduating high school early this year, in December, as she is currently finishing up one last class. At least half of her time will be working with the large children\u0026rsquo;s ministry at The Crossing. She will also volunteer in different areas in the church, including their Spanish ministry. (A Spanish worship service was started there in April of this year.) William is adjusting to being the \u0026ldquo;only child\u0026rdquo;. He\u0026rsquo;ll be starting soccer in January, which will help keep him busy. The house definitely feels a little empty with Brittany away.\nChange can be difficult, but it really is a good thing. Right now in ministry, we have a reoccurring problem that is continuing to grow. We have a few different dorms/homes where we house our teams. More and more, they are filling up quickly and we are are having a hard time finding a place to put our teams. We have been praying about this for some time now. We strongly feel that we need to purchase or rent something that will help accommodate some of our teams. After looking at many listings, considering and viewing many properties, we are not yet certain what the Lord has in store. Ideally, we would purchase or build something just outside of town that would fit teams of 60-100 people. One option we are considering is renting a home that would house our family and teams of about 25-30 people, and later possibly getting something larger. This option could prove to be somewhat difficult in the beginning while we are getting things ready and just getting started with teams, as our rent/living expenses would be at least triple of what they are right now. However, the need is so great. This year we had around 35 teams. On at least five or six occasions, a team was actually bumped from their housing due to double booking, or other circumstances. At the moment we have at least two teams that do not have housing yet for the spring. It\u0026rsquo;s such an awesome problem to have! This is why we are praying about and leaning towards renting a home right away.\nPlease join us in prayer as we start making some big decisions in regards to housing and finances. It is possible that we will be making a decision in the next few days. We have a rather promising option we are looking at right now, however the owner wasn\u0026rsquo;t originally considering renting, just selling. If we are to rent this property, we will have the risk of it being sold after booking teams to stay there. This particular property is actually very reasonably priced at $150,000, providing six bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and kitchen for team use, separate from what would be the living quarters for our family. It is near the church and includes a big patio and a large terrace, as well as proper parking and storage for our tools, etc. It is also prepped for a third floor, which if purchased, would give us the opportunity to add on, allowing the ministry to grow. It\u0026rsquo;s a rare find. The difficulty comes with securing a loan as Americans in Mexico. If we do rent, we believe that after three to six months, the teams will begin to relieve the financial burden of renting a large home. However, we know that we will also have expenses in the beginning, a large portion of which will be bunk beds and mattresses.\nIf you would like to partner with us financially in this venture or give an end of the year gift, you can do so online here. Without our financial partners and generous one-time gifts, we know that this ministry would not be possible. We are so thankful for the support that we have received these past six years on the field here in Mexico.\nBlessings from our family to yours. Please don\u0026rsquo;t forgot to take time to remember the real reason for this Christmas season!\n\u0026ldquo;For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.\u0026rdquo; - Isaiah 9:6\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2015/12/17/change-is-good/","summary":"\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/12/12386766%5F922440457864084%5F1479249699%5Fn-225x300.jpg\"\n         alt=\"12386766\\_922440457864084\\_1479249699\\_n\" width=\"200\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003e12386766_922440457864084_1479249699_n\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis past month or so has brought about some changes in the Struska household, with some promising changes coming up on the horizon. At the end of November, Brittany left for an internship/job at The Crossing Church in Costa Mesa, California. We have been working with this church several times a year for the past few years now. They have joined us in ministry here in Mexico, building homes for families in need, serving at different orphanages, working on various construction projects, and more. We are very excited to see what the Lord will be doing in and through Brittany in the coming months. She will be graduating high school early this year, in December, as she is currently finishing up one last class. At least half of her time will be working with the large children\u0026rsquo;s ministry at The Crossing. She will also volunteer in different areas in the church, including their Spanish ministry. (A Spanish worship service was started there in April of this year.) William is adjusting to being the \u0026ldquo;only child\u0026rdquo;. He\u0026rsquo;ll be starting soccer in January, which will help keep him busy. The house definitely feels a little empty with Brittany away.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Change is Good?"},{"content":" IMG_6934C - Low\nIMG_8125C\nIMG_9960 - Low\nIMG_8408C\nIMG_0963\nIMG_9990C - Low\nIMG_0745C - Low\nIMG_9780\nIMG_9924\nIMG_0784\nIMG_0760\n2015-09-13 09.29.13\nIMG_8620 - Low\nRon met Kristy and the kids in Wisconsin a couple of weeks after they departed, making the total trip seven weeks (5 weeks for Ron). Of course the drive alone takes a good four days, driving a little over eight hours per day. When we returned home, we were definitely ready for a vacation!\nThese photos only represent a few of the highlights from our trip. We returned home super blessed and encouraged. We visited churches and almost all of our supporters, gave updates, shared the ministry, and still managed to have some time left over for family and friends. We were able to spend some extra time serving at FCC, our sending church. It was so great to spend more time with the church members, some of the Elders, the missions committee, and especially the staff. We were super excited to begin facilitating a missions trip from FCC for next summer. We look forward to working together again soon in Mexico!\nA huge thank you to everyone that made this trip possible! We received some financial gifts to help with our vehicle repairs, we were provided lodging in the homes of many friends and family members, as well as enjoyed several meals and desserts - many of which were homemade, and so much more!\nAs much as we enjoyed our trip, we do have to say that it is wonderful to be back home. Of course we jumped right back into things! We look forward to updating you soon on our teams and other work that we are doing now. For now we\u0026rsquo;ll just leave you with one prayer request. Ron will be taking a trip to our newest church plant (Calvary Chapel Culiacán) in Culiacán, Sinaloa (Mexico) at the end of November. The plan is to help them renovate their new building. Ron will mostly be working on remodeling and A/V (getting the stage built, as well as the audio, video and lighting put together). Please pray for a safe and productive trip. He will travel with Jorge, an intern from CCR, Jeff, another missionary, and also our senior pastor, Mike, will be with them for the first few days of their trip.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2015/11/11/visiting-our-american-home/","summary":"\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F6934C-Low-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_6934C - Low\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_6934C - Low\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F8125C-192x300.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_8125C\" width=\"192\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_8125C\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F9960-Low-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_9960 - Low\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_9960 - Low\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F8408C-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_8408C\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_8408C\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F0963-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_0963\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_0963\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F9990C-Low-300x206.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_9990C - Low\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_9990C - Low\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F0745C-Low-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_0745C - Low\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_0745C - Low\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F9780-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_9780\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_9780\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F9924-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_9924\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_9924\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F0784-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_0784\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_0784\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F0760-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_0760\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_0760\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/2015-09-13-09.29.13-300x225.jpg\"\n         alt=\"2015-09-13 09.29.13\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003e2015-09-13 09.29.13\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/11/IMG%5F8620-Low-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_8620 - Low\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_8620 - Low\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRon met Kristy and the kids in Wisconsin a couple of weeks after they departed, making the total trip seven weeks (5 weeks for Ron). Of course the drive alone takes a good four days, driving a little over eight hours per day. When we returned home, we were definitely ready for a vacation!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Visiting Our American Home"},{"content":"The last weekend in May kicked off three weeks with four teams and three home builds. It was a very busy, hectic, amazing three weeks filled with ministry, new and renewed friendships, sharing the gospel, and so much more. We know that you have heard us say this so many times, but we can\u0026rsquo;t say it enough. Without the prayers and support of you, our friends and family, this ministry would not be possible. Many have received Christ in their heart for the first time, the fatherless and senior citizens have been blessed, food has been distributed, and secure, weatherproof homes have been given to families in need - and so much more!\nThat is just a small taste of what we have been privileged to do over the past year since we have been working on staff at Calvary Chapel Rosarito (through Saving Grace World Missions). The main part of our job is to work with teams coming down from the US \u0026amp; Canada. We take the gifts and abilities of the team members and partner them with a local church or Calvary Chapel church plant. We have had conferences, worship concerts, children\u0026rsquo;s ministry, construction projects - all of which are used as a tool to teach and train and/or to share Christ with the local Mexican people.\nWe are so blessed to be a part of such an amazing staff of pastors and missionaries at CCR. We have a staff of eight pastors and at least that many missionaries. All of the missionaries, and a couple of the pastors, are all self-supported, including us. If you are not sure what that means, it is simply that we are not on payroll at the church. Rather, we receive a paycheck (through SGWM) that comes from the generosity of a few dozen singles and famlies, as well as a couple of churches. All of the fruit of this ministry is your fruit as well. Our living expenses quadrupled a year ago when we changed ministries. Over the past year, we have seen several of our financial supporters need to cease their support due to various financial situations. We are grateful that we serve a big God and He has continued to supply all of our needs and even some wants through this season in various and unforeseen ways.We would like to ask you to pray about becoming a financial partner with us in the ministry God has called us to do here in Mexico. We would be more than happy to meet with you in person on our next trip across the US to the Midwest. We will be in the Wisconsin \u0026amp; Illinois area August 21st - October 5th, which includes a missions weekend at our sending church, FCC, at the beginning of October.\nCheck out some photos of the previously mentioned busy three weeks below.\nCalvary Chapel Church Plant Update:\nIMG_2633\nWe previously mentioned that we have eight pastors on staff at CCR. Well, in about a month that will change to seven, as this past weekend was a sending weekend for Pastor Hugo Limon. He, along with his wife, Brenda, and their three year-old daughter, Joy, will be moving to Culiacán, Sinaloa to plant CCR\u0026rsquo;s 11th church in seven years - Calvary Chapel Culiacán. Pastor Hugo felt to plant a church in Culiacán, where he is from. He also completed the church planting course at CCR. It will be the first Calvary Chapel church in that area. Please join us as we lift them up in prayer through this time of transition, also as they train their new team of servants and search for an affordable church building.\nThis was an especially amazing sending weekend for me (Kristy). As I sat in the Saturday night service, the first of three for the weekend, I found myself doubting. Pastor Mike began presenting the gospel at the end of the service, like always, and I was trying to figure out how the Lord could use this service to bring someone to the point in their life that they would say, “yes”. Yes, I know I need a Savior. Yes, I want to turn away from my sin. Yes, I want to ask Jesus to be the Lord of my life. Part of the message time Pastor Hugo preached about the four lepers in II Kings chapter seven. Another part was Pastor Mike teaching us about the first church plant from Acts chapter thirteen. Close to half of the sermon was sharing about Culiacán, praying for the family, Pastor Hugo\u0026rsquo;s last trip there where he had a meeting with 20 people willing to serve at CCC, etc. How was God going to use this service to bring people to Him? Well, He sure showed me! Two people raised their hand and gave their lives to Christ that night, and a total of eleven would do so over the course of all three services! Praise God! These eleven people met directly afterwards with a brother from our church and his wife, where they made sure that salvation was clearly explained, the people received a Bible, they were prayed for, and were shared with how our church would like to come alongside them on their new journey.\nWe are so thankful for our church and all the new church plants. Ron is planning a trip to CCC in Culiacán to help out with the sound system, electrical, and other preparations of their new building. It is our hope that he will be there for their first service on November 1st. This trip is dependent on finding a suitable building and what the needs are, so please keep them in your prayers.\n2015-05 The Crossing Church\n2015-06 Neighborhood Alliance Church - Riverton, WY\n2015-06 Calvary Chapel Saving Grace\n2015-06 Chapel Hills Church - Colorado Springs, CO - Low\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2015/08/05/an-incredible-year-with-ccr/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe last weekend in May kicked off three weeks with four teams and three home builds. It was a very busy, hectic, amazing three weeks filled with ministry, new and renewed friendships, sharing the gospel, and so much more. We know that you have heard us say this so many times, but we can\u0026rsquo;t say it enough. Without the prayers and support of you, our friends and family, this ministry would not be possible. Many have received Christ in their heart for the first time, the fatherless and senior citizens have been blessed, food has been distributed, and secure, weatherproof homes have been given to families in need - and so much more!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"An Incredible Year With CCR"},{"content":"Picking up where we last left off, which brings us to April \u0026amp; May\u0026hellip;\nFamily tradition at Easter time - coloring eggs. This was Brian\u0026rsquo;s first time, as it\u0026rsquo;s not a common thing to do in Mexico.\nIMG_5612 Low\nA little one receiving food at the Tijuana Dump.\nKristy \u0026amp; the kids finally made it to Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles.\nIMG_6150\nIMG_6528\nIMG_7990 Low\nIMG_0084\nThat takes us through the month of May. A lot of time was spent getting ready for the four teams and three home builds in three weeks coming up starting May 31st. Kristy was busy with the children as they finished up their schoolwork for the year. Kristy also had two big photo shoots at CCR. Photos were taken of all of the families and people that attend the church at Easter, as well as Mother\u0026rsquo;s Day photos with all the moms and whoever they wanted to take pictures with. 5x7 prints were given out to everyone. It\u0026rsquo;s a big job, but it\u0026rsquo;s also super fun.\nPlease continue to keep us in prayer. We can certainly feel your prayers and we are so thankful!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2015/06/20/moving-into-another-busy-season/","summary":"\u003cp\u003ePicking up where we last left off, which brings us to April \u0026amp; May\u0026hellip;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/06/IMG%5F5474-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"Family tradition at Easter time - coloring eggs. This was Brian\u0026#39;s first time, as it\u0026#39;s not a common thing to do in Mexico.\" width=\"280\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eFamily tradition at Easter time - coloring eggs. This was Brian\u0026rsquo;s first time, as it\u0026rsquo;s not a common thing to do in Mexico.\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/06/IMG%5F5612-Low-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"IMG\\_5612 Low\" width=\"280\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eIMG_5612 Low\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/06/IMG%5F6611-200x300.jpg\"\n         alt=\"A little one receiving food at the Tijuana Dump.\" width=\"200\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eA little one receiving food at the Tijuana Dump.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Moving Into Another Busy Season"},{"content":"It has been a while since our last update, so we have a lot to share! We\u0026rsquo;ll try and keep it simple and save some for the next update as well. We have been blessed by so many teams! From February to April we hosted ten teams! Take a look at what we\u0026rsquo;ve been up to through these photos:\n2015-02-09 11.32\nA team from Calvary Chapel South Bay came to host a children\u0026rsquo;s ministry training conference at our church. They also blessed the children of our 10:14 Kids\u0026rsquo; Club with a day at the park with a devotion, games, barbecue lunch, songs, and more!\nIMG_8831C\nA team from The Crossing in Costa Mesa, CA came to bless the girls at Casa Estrella (Star House) children\u0026rsquo;s home.\nThis team certainly broke the record on the farthest distance for a team we\u0026rsquo;ve worked with so far. They came all the way from Norway to work on the children\u0026rsquo;s home.\nIMG_0348\nIMG_0512\nIMG_1139\nWe took our superstars on a little side trip to Hollywood before going to the screening of the new movie.\nIn March we had the opportunity to go to a screening of the movie that Brittany \u0026amp; Will were extras in - Little Boy. We also had a Q\u0026amp;A and meet \u0026amp; greet with the director, as well as the \u0026lsquo;Little Boy\u0026rsquo;, Jakob Salvati. The movie is excellent. If you haven\u0026rsquo;t seen it yet, visit www.littleboymovie.com and find out if it\u0026rsquo;s still playing near you.\nA huge team from Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara came to bless our church by repairing and painting our church\u0026rsquo;s playground.\nThey also visited and spent time with the children at Door of Faith children\u0026rsquo;s home in La Misión, about 30 min. away. This was also our first visit there, and it gave us some good ideas for the new children\u0026rsquo;s home being built.\nWe hope you enjoyed our update through photos! This only brings us through March, so we will update you again soon. It is such a joy and privilege to be able to see time and again how God moves through short-term missions teams. Thank you so much to all of you for your prayers and support. Without it, this work would not be possible.\nBefore We Go\u0026hellip;\nJust a quick update on the new children\u0026rsquo;s home, Casa de Los Angeles. We have spent many hours meeting with our friends that currently work at or with different orphanages in the area to get different ideas, especially regarding the layout of the building. The architects did an amazing job at designing the building, however it was essential to gather information and tweak the design. We have also had several meetings with Andy from LCPC (La Cresenta) who is on the board and working hard to get things moving. The home is situated on two lots, and Casa de Los Angeles has been promised the gift of five surrounding lots. Andy is working hard to get all the paperwork finalized and put into the name of organization. The existing plans for the home depend on those lots for almost all of its outdoor space. Please pray as the new building layout is being finalized and sent back to the architects. We are also looking to build a small home next door on one of the new lots for a caretaker to live in during construction of the orphanage. We have had some problems with theft of the rebar sticking out of the retaining wall. We will most likely need to have someone living on site before we will continue working on the home.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2015/05/16/super-blessed/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt has been a while since our last update, so we have a lot to share! We\u0026rsquo;ll try and keep it simple and save some for the next update as well. We have been blessed by so many teams! From February to April we hosted ten teams! Take a look at what we\u0026rsquo;ve been up to through these photos:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/04/2015-02-09-11.32-300x225.jpg\"\n         alt=\"2015-02-09 11.32\" width=\"285\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003e2015-02-09 11.32\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/05/IMG%5F8336-Low-300x200.jpg\"\n         alt=\"A team from Calvary Chapel South Bay came to host a children\u0026#39;s ministry training conference at our church. They also blessed the children of our 10:14 Kids\u0026#39; Club with a day at the park with a devotion, games, barbecue lunch, songs, and more!\" width=\"285\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003eA team from Calvary Chapel South Bay came to host a children\u0026rsquo;s ministry training conference at our church. They also blessed the children of our 10:14 Kids\u0026rsquo; Club with a day at the park with a devotion, games, barbecue lunch, songs, and more!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Super Blessed"},{"content":"We are so eager to tell you about all that the Lord is doing here in Mexico! We have a new ministry opportunity that He has given us that will hopefully bring more teams to Rosarito and get people on fire for missions and serving!\n2015-01-29 12.06\nCasa de Los Angeles\nThis is the name of a children’s home (orphanage) being built just a couple miles outside of downtown Rosarito. We are overjoyed to tell you about how God has opened the door for us to partner with some southern California churches in the construction of this new home. Andy, who is the pastor of La Crescenta Presbyterian Church, recently came to visit as he was getting things prepared for an upcoming team trip. We have worked with Andy in the past to help obtain materials for the children’s home and to hire some local workers, and this trip was no different. Except when it came to the point where he needed to hire a Construction Coordinator and our contacts weren’t quite panning out. More money has been raised for the project and the board is ready to get things rolling, which means there’s a need to have someone here that can help manage things. Obviously that fits right in with Ron’s experience, as well as our team ministry here. So when the Lord put it on Andy’s heart to ask Ron to fill this position, he (we) gladly accepted.\n2015-01-29 11.51.02\nIt will not be a paid position per say, but our expenses for everything related to the children’s home will be covered. Ron will be in charge of managing the teams that come, purchasing materials, hiring local workers as needed, etc. It is very similar to the construction ministry that we already do, like when a team comes to build a home for a family in need – only this will be an ongoing project. There are at least two large churches that will be sending teams regularly to work on the project. We are open to having other volunteers and teams help in the construction of the home, they are just asked to cover the cost of materials.\nWe’re thrilled to have been a part of this project from the beginning. As you can see from the photos, there is already one retaining wall in place on the property. Since then, the home has been given five adjacent lots, and the plans were changed from accommodating twelve children, to now housing up to twenty! The home will also be blessed with an amazing view! We look forward to keeping you updated on the progress of the children’s home. Early 2017 is when we estimate the completion of this project.\nIMG_8932 Low\nCCR Church Plants\nWe are so very excited about the new church plant in Playas de Tijuana – Calvary Chapel Playas. It is located approximately forty minutes from CCR. They had their first service on February 1st, and it was very well attended! Praise God that there were six people that gave their life to Christ at that service! Ron had the privilege of getting their A/V equipment installed and set up. We look forward to all that the Lord is going to do through this new church.\nUnfortunately, we recently had to cancel our February mission trip to Calvary Chapel La Paz, down on the southern tip of Baja. Although there was a lot of interest in the trip, it seems that it is on the expensive side for most people. We pray that we will be able to reschedule the trip in the near future, and possibly be able to do some fundraising with the people to help get the cost down.\nLocal Outreach \u0026amp; Short-Term Missions Teams\nWe had a recent local outreach to the Tijuana Dump, and were blessed to be accompanied by a youth team from Voyagers Bible Church in Irvine, CA. We gave out sandwiches and fruit, some groceries, drinking water, and clothing. We also had people that played with the children, gave out a few toys, washed feet, shampooed hair, and gave hair cuts. However, the most important part of our day was sharing the gospel and praying for the people. While there, Kristy had the opportunity to meet Juana, a mother of three whose home burned down two months ago. She was forced to come to the dump in order tomake a living. She asked if there is anyway we could build a home for her. If that is the Lord’s will, then we know that He will raise up a team and the funds.\nFamily\nAs many of you know, Kristy’s sister, Kim, recently had her third cancer-related brain surgery. We have received so many encouraging messages from numerous people, and we know a lot of of you have kept her, as well as us, in your prayers. And for that we sincerely thank you. It is very difficult to be away from family at times like this. Please continue to lift Kim up in prayer, as she continues to suffer with severe head pain.\n2015-01-31 13.51\nWe also recently mentioned that Ron’s back is giving him trouble. He is in severe pain that is keeping him from being able to do everything that he would like to do. He did have a consultation with a doctor in California, who agrees that this is an aggravation of a previous injury. Now he is currently waiting for approval from the insurance company to move forward with physical therapy. It is our hope that he will not require a third back surgery.\nHow Can You Partner With Us?\nThere are many ways for you to partner with us in ministry. There are always opportunities to share the gospel and help those in need for you, your family, youth or church group. Whether it\u0026rsquo;s through the distribution of food or clothing, building a home for a family in need, reaching out to the children, youth, the hurting or the homeless. Also, as you may recall, our living expenses increased significantly when we began working with CCR. Click on the \u0026ldquo;Become A Financial Partner\u0026rdquo; button at the top right of this page, and join the work here in Mexico with your monthly partnership. Even a small amount can go a long way!\n2015-01-31 12.20.54\nAnd lastly, we have an Amazon wishlist with current needs for tools, etc. Especially with the building of the new children\u0026rsquo;s home, there is a great need right now for a generator, as well as cement working tools. Here is the link if you would like to take a look:\nhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/ref=nav_wish_list\nThank you so much for taking the time to read this update. We know that it is only because of your prayers and those who have sacrificed to give financially that this ministry is even possible. God bless!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2015/02/06/a-season-of-growth/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe are so eager to tell you about all that the Lord is doing here in Mexico! We have a new ministry opportunity that He has given us that will hopefully bring more teams to Rosarito and get people on fire for missions and serving!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/02/2015-01-29-12.06-300x225.jpg\"\n         alt=\"2015-01-29 12.06\" width=\"300\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003e2015-01-29 12.06\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eCasa de Los Angeles\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the name of a children’s home (orphanage) being built just a couple miles outside of downtown Rosarito. We are overjoyed to tell you about how God has opened the door for us to partner with some southern California churches in the construction of this new home. Andy, who is the pastor of La Crescenta Presbyterian Church, recently came to visit as he was getting things prepared for an upcoming team trip. We have worked with Andy in the past to help obtain materials for the children’s home and to hire some local workers, and this trip was no different. Except when it came to the point where he needed to hire a Construction Coordinator and our contacts weren’t quite panning out. More money has been raised for the project and the board is ready to get things rolling, which means there’s a need to have someone here that can help manage things. Obviously that fits right in with Ron’s experience, as well as our team ministry here. So when the Lord put it on Andy’s heart to ask Ron to fill this position, he (we) gladly accepted.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Season of Growth"},{"content":" 2014 Struska Christmas Photo - Low\nWell, Christmas is right around the corner. We are very blessed to be able to spend Christmas with family in Colorado this year. This is the first time we will be gone from Mexico for Christmas since we moved here.\nIn our last update we mentioned that we had a missions trip to Mexicali. We took a team from Calvary Chapel Rosarito to minister to a church that was planted by CCR about a year and a half ago by our former youth pastor. Mexicali is 2-3 hours east of Rosarito through the mountains. It is a desert area where daytime temperatures in November are beautiful, and night time temperatures are very cold. _Keep an eye out for the * throughout, as these are things we saw God in control of._\nWe left Rosarito on a Friday afternoon and headed east. On our way there, we began having transmission problems with the church bus. *The transmission problems didn’t start till after we reached the top of the mountain. Had they started sooner, we would not have reached the top. When we were only about 30 min from our destination, the transmission was getting so bad that we had to stop frequently to put in fluid and let it cool down. What was supposed to be a 2½ hour drive turned into more like 5 hours. *Pablo, our bus driver, is also a mechanic and said that he would work on the transmission the next day. He thought he should be able to get it going again. *The church there is 3 doors down from an auto parts store, and they had EVERY part we needed throughout the weekend.\nWe made it to the church to find out we had no cooking facilities to prepare meals for everyone. One of the interns that came along on the trip is Carlos, *a former chef from the U.S. He was, however, a little concerned that there was no kitchen, stove, or even a sink. The church people came through for us and provided a propane gas single burner, and a charcoal grill for us to use. Those two things, a folding table, and hose spigot became our kitchen.\nSaturday we sent our team out into the streets to invite people to the church service on Sunday. We ended up singing worship songs on a corner at a park, as well as inside a second-hand store, while talking with people passing by. The church decided that they wanted to provide lunch for us. We had however brought lunch stuff with us in coolers that needed to be used. Instead, we were able to make lunches for all the kids that came out for the church’s kids club that day. Normally they have 20-25 kids for the Saturday club. *The day we came, the Lord brought 40! It was a great day of ministry with those young ones.\nThat evening, we also hosted a marriage conference for the adults in the church. *All seats were full for this event! We have found this to be a great encouragement in churches we work in. Healthy marriages lead to healthy families, and healthy churches.\nSunday morning, we again hit the streets inviting people to church for that afternoon. The church had a new banner sign that they needed to have put up, but no ladder or tools. *We had tools with, and I drive a large truck. I was able to back my truck up onto the sidewalk in front of the church, while some of the guys stood on top of it to install the sign. We set up coffee and cookies in front of the church to share as we talked with people. We also set up to play some music with a little speaker and a guitar we had brought. While this was going on, a man stopped by with a pickup truck that had loud speakers mounted on top. *He asked if we would like to plug into his truck for a while. He parked and allowed us to use his equipment for over an hour. Worship songs could be heard from blocks away. That Sunday, God packed out Calvary Chapel Oasis with people standing in the back. It was an amazing sight, to see this little church packed out. God is good, and we all made it back home safe!\nFinancial update: With moving this summer, and no longer living on the ministry ranch where we were before, our expenses have gone up by about $400 per month. I mention this to you as our support team to keep you informed of where we are. God is faithful, and has always provided for our needs in this area. However, we know that we have a responsibility to communicate those needs as well. Please keep the ministry here in mind as the end of the year approaches. If you are looking to do an end of year, tax deductible donation, we would very much appreciate you considering partnering with us. Thank you all for your faithfulness over these past years, without you we cannot do what we are doing here in Mexico. You share in the fruit of the ministry here!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2014/12/20/december-update/","summary":"\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2014/12/2014-Struska-Christmas-Photo-Low-e1419033605766-150x150.jpg\"\n         alt=\"2014 Struska Christmas Photo - Low\" width=\"205\"/\u003e \u003cfigcaption\u003e\n            \u003cp\u003e2014 Struska Christmas Photo - Low\u003c/p\u003e\n        \u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWell, Christmas is right around the corner. We are very blessed to be able to spend Christmas with family in Colorado this year. This is the first time we will be gone from Mexico for Christmas since we moved here.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn our last update we mentioned that we had a missions trip to Mexicali. We took a team from Calvary Chapel Rosarito to minister to a church that was planted by CCR about a year and a half ago by our former youth pastor. Mexicali is 2-3 hours east of Rosarito through the mountains. It is a desert area where daytime temperatures in November are beautiful, and night time temperatures are very cold. \u003cstrong\u003e_\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eKeep an eye out for the * throughout, as these are things\u003cimg alt=\"CCR Team\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2014/12/CCR-Team-300x168.jpg\"\u003e we saw God in control of.\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e_\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"December Update"},{"content":"Well, it’s been a busy couple of months here in Rosarito. Kristy and I are settling into new rolls, and new routines. We were blessed to have two teams down over the past month or so, and also helped organize and lead 2 mission trips from our local church here.\nThe Crossing, a partner church of Calvary Chapel Rosarito (CCR) came for the weekend. They have been great friends, and we have had the privilege of working with them for about 2 years now. They came down and participated in our 10:14 kids club at CCR. They threw a birthday party, and shared Bible stories, songs, and some good times with the kids. Our kids club is based on Jesus’ command from Mark 10:14. We continue to welcome the children into the church for an afternoon of food, fellowship, games, and the sharing the good news of the Gospel with these little ones. As children’s lives are changed for God, they are a testimony to the parents, and we have the opportunity to share with them as well.\nA group from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesas Bible College came down for a weekend of ministry. They went out to El Refugio to cook a meal for and to spend time with the people there. El Refugio (The Refuge) is a home for elderly people, or those with disabilities. Most of the residents there were dropped of by families who could no longer care for them. This Christian home receives no government assistance, and little, if any, financial help from the families who have dropped off their loved ones. They rely solely on the donations of people supporting the ministry they are doing there. This was a very eye opening time for me, and also for the team. Preparing for this team to come down was the first time that I had been to this home. Please keep them in your prayers as they care for about 130 adults with very little resources.\nDuring the week that CCCM was down doing ministry, there was a fire in East Tijuana that burned down 32 homes. This is an area very close to Gracia del Calvario, a church plant that was started by our home church here in Rosarito a couple of years ago. Several families from the church lost their homes in this fire. We went out to the area with a group from CCR, and spent some time ministering to people there spiritually. This was really an encouragement for me as we saw 3 different ministries all unite to minister to those who have lost everything. We went with some sandwiches, chips, and drinks, and nothing more to really offer people other than prayer. During our time there, Acts 3:6 continued to come to mind where Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee…” We did not have easy answers for this community, we don’t have to ability to rebuild 30+ homes for them. We do have Christ, and we can offer that all day long.\nI want to close by saying thank you to all of you who have partnered with us financially. The fruit of the ministry here would not be possible without you, and you share in the blessing of helping to expand the numbers of people headed to glory. We have continued to see God bless the ministry here, and guide and direct our steps. We would like to ask you to please keep the ministry here in Mexico in mind as we approach the end of the year. If you are looking to make an end of year tax deductible donation we would ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with us in the ministry here. End of year donations help to carry us through the rest of the year. Thank you again for your partnership.\nWatch for our next update where I will tell you about how God lead and directed a missions trip to Mexicali.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2014/12/07/octobernovember-update/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWell, it’s been a busy couple of months here in Rosarito. Kristy and I are\u003cimg alt=\"IMG_0012\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2014/12/IMG_0012-300x199.jpg\"\u003e settling into new rolls, and new routines. We were blessed to have two teams down over the past month or so, and also helped organize and \u003cimg alt=\"IMG_0016\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2014/12/IMG_0016-300x199.jpg\"\u003elead 2 mission trips from our local church here.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Crossing, a partner church of Calvary Chapel Rosarito (CCR) came for the weekend. They have been great friends, and we have had the privilege of working with them for about 2 years now. They came down and participated in our 10:14 kids\u003cimg alt=\"IMG_0039\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2014/12/IMG_0039-150x150.jpg\"\u003e club at CCR. They threw a birthday party, and shared Bible stories, songs, and some good times with the kids. Our kids club is based on Jesus’ command from Mark 10:14. We continue to welcome the children into the church for an afternoon of food, fellowship, games, \u003cimg alt=\"IMG_0025 Low\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2014/12/IMG_0025-Low-300x199.jpg\"\u003eand the sharing the good news of the Gospel with these little ones. As children’s lives are changed for God, they are a testimony to the parents, and we have the opportunity to share with them as well.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"October/November Update"},{"content":"Family, Home, \u0026amp; Ministry\nAbsolutely fantastic! There aren’t many words that can do a better job at describing how great it has been to have time to spend together as a family! While there is a lot going on, and always plenty of work to do at the church, we can honestly say that family time is once again high on the priority list. With Kristy’s primary duty is to be a stay-home mom, school is once again a more enjoyable time. Brittany and William are both doing very well in their studies, most days finishing early as well. Brittany is continuing with piano lessons and is taking a Microsoft Office course this year, while Will is focusing on Spanish and drums. Our (by which we mean mostly Ron’s) spare time right now is mostly being spent building a new pantry and installing new cabinets in our kitchen. We are thankful that our landlord was willing to buy new cabinets, which were built by our good friends Richard \u0026amp; Noel.\nIn addition to Ron’s other roles at the church, he has also taken on Audio Coordinator. (It was inevitable!) To give you an idea of how much there is to do in this area, he spent one full day repairing cables and only got about 25%of them done. Kristy has taken over coordinating worship for Celebrate Recovery at CCR (Calvary Chapel Rosarito). They meet every week and begin the program with worship. Kristy and Brittany are both singing and playing keyboard in the band, as well as helping with tech. Will is, of course, playing the drums. If you have not heard of Celebrate Recovery, it’s an amazing, Christ-centered recovery ministry that helps people overcome their hurts, hang-ups, and habits. CCR has the first bilingual program and is translating the materials into Spanish to hopefully begin bilingual or Spanish programs elsewhere. Short-term Missions Teams\nAt the end of August we hosted our first team with CCR. This team from Costa Mesa, CA came down to minister to some local children who do not attend church. Normally, every Saturday, these children are bussed over to CCR for the afternoon. This time, however, the bus took them to the beach, which I’m told is something these kids don’t often get to do. The team provided lunch, activities, and a Bible lesson for these 6-14 year-olds. It was hard to keep their attention, as they were anxious to get into the water. However, the team did an amazing job with their illustrations and Bible memorization that helped them to be able to focus better on the message.\nWe are told that the majority of the teams that usually come down through CCR don’t plan very much in advance. So we are very excited to have already begun planning for some teams for next summer! They will include various ministries, and so far a couple of home builds as well. It is great to have the ability to host teams of all sizes and help them to use their gifts and strengths to come alongside the church here in Mexico! We look forward to continuing this work and seeing what the Lord has in store. Please keep in mind that we’d love to host your family or team!\nUpcoming Missions Trips/Church Plants\nWe mentioned in our last update that we would be taking a team to La Paz in the south of Baja California. This trip has been rescheduled for February. We are excited to report that Calvary Chapel La Paz is doing quite well! The team moved to La Paz in the beginning of July and started holding a midweek service about a week later, which is averaging 15-20 attendees. They have spent a lot of time remodelling their church building. They recently held their first Sunday service and had about 50 people in attendance. We ask that you would keep them in your prayers as they continue their work, and also for their community after being hit by a large cyclone on the 17th. Many are without food, water, and even homes. The church is doing what they can to meet some of these needs.\nOur next missions trip is scheduled for November 21st-23rd. We will be heading to Mexicali with a team from our church to Capilla Calvario (Calvary Chapel) Oasis. This church was planted last year by Oscar, who is a graduate and former staff member of the Bible college here at CCR. Our purpose will be to offer support and encouragement. We will give more details when the time gets closer.\nLast But Certainly Not Least\u0026hellip; We’d like to thank all of you that have continued to support during this transition in ministry! After meeting and talking with almost all of you, we were incredibly encouraged to know that our support level would not only stay the same, but that some of our partners would be increasing their gift. This is vital to our ministry, as especially our living and ministry expenses have gone up significantly. If you would like to partner with us financially, or you are one of the few that still need to make the switch, just click on the blue “Become a Financial Partner” button at the top, right-hand side of this page.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2014/09/22/september-update/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eFamily, Home, \u0026amp; Ministry\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbsolutely fantastic! There aren’t many words that can do a better job at describing how great it has been to have time to spend together as a family! While there is a lot going on, and always plenty of work to do at the church, we can honestly say that \u003cstrong\u003efamily time is once again high on the priority list\u003c/strong\u003e. With Kristy’s primary duty is to be a stay-home mom, school is once again a more enjoyable time. Brittany and William are both doing very well in their   studies, most days finishing early as well. Brittany is continuing with piano lessons and is taking a Microsoft \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2014/09/1555296_10152440668383922_2291562360160135942_n-e1411417727244.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"1555296_10152440668383922_2291562360160135942_n\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2014/09/1555296_10152440668383922_2291562360160135942_n-e1411417727244-300x199.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e Office course this year, while Will is focusing on Spanish and drums. Our (by which we mean mostly Ron’s) spare time right now is mostly being spent building a new pantry and installing new cabinets in our kitchen. We are thankful that our landlord was willing to buy new cabinets, which were built by our good friends Richard \u0026amp; Noel.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"September Update"},{"content":"5 Ways You Can Get Involved: Bring a team! Bring your family! Join our spring or summer internship program! Become a volunteer or full-time missionary! Give financially! There are many opportunities for teams down and families to serve in Rosarito! We host teams and families of all different sizes! Let us set up all of your ministry for your next missions trip! We make the contacts, get project estimates, talk to the pastors, order project materials, plan logistics and meals, and more! We will hire translators for your team and send staff with you every day to make sure things run smoothly. If you are interested in serving with us for an extended period or full-time, please click here. Customize your trip completely! You choose how many days, as well as your arrival and departure days. Want us to cook all your meals for you, but also take you to a couple of local places? No problem. There are teams that come and work on building a church or orphanage for a whole week, while other teams will do different types of ministry each day. Some of the options for ministry include:\nChildren\u0026rsquo;s Home (Orphanage) Visits - Including the construction of a new home, Casa de Los Angeles! Dump Outreaches (Ministry to people that live \u0026amp; work at the garbage dump.) Assisting New Church Plants (Outreach Events, Construction, Etc.) Children\u0026rsquo;s Ministry (VBS) Soccer Camps (Teach the kids about their favorite sport, share testimonies, etc.) Construction \u0026amp; Repairs at Churches, Orphanages, Feeding Kitchens, Etc. Youth, Men\u0026rsquo;s, Women\u0026rsquo;s, Teacher, \u0026amp; Marriage Conferences Senior Center Visit (Provide a meal, pray with the people, etc.) Building a Home For a Local Family In Need Distribution of Donations (Clothing, Food, Etc.) And so much more! All ministry is done through a local church. We always work with local pastors so that the people will be connected to a church. This way, anyone who professes faith, is new to the area, etc., will get plugged in and not forgotten.\nWe have low-cost housing for groups of up to 33 people right here in Rosarito. Connections House has team and family-style dorms, with a kitchen, dining area, meeting room, basketball court, patio, terrace, and plenty of outdoor space. We also have secure parking for up to nine vehicles. Many teams come and serve for a week, while others will come for the weekend or a few days. For teams with more than 33 people are housed at dorms that are a three minute drive from Connections House.\nContact us today and let us customize your next missions trip to Mexico!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/get-involved/","summary":"\u003ch3 id=\"5-ways-you-can-get-involved\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5 Ways You Can Get Involved: \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/03/IMG_0216-Low.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/03/IMG_0216-Low-300x200.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBring a team!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBring your family!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJoin our \u003ca href=\"/struska/internships/\"\u003espring or summer internship program\u003c/a\u003e!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBecome a \u003ca href=\"/struska/full-time-staff-volunteers/\"\u003evolunteer or full-time missionary\u003c/a\u003e!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.egsnetwork.com/gift2/?giftid=A80CA35ECD6841C\"\u003eGive financially\u003c/a\u003e!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/10/IMG_8730-Low.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/10/IMG_8730-Low-300x200.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e There are many opportunities for teams down and families to serve in Rosarito! We host teams and families of all different sizes! Let us set up all of your ministry for your next missions trip! We make the contacts, get project estimates, talk to the pastors, order project materials, plan logistics and meals, and more! We will hire translators for your team and send staff with you every day to make sure things run smoothly.  If you  are  interested  in  serving  with  us  for  an  extended  period  or  full-time,  please  click  here. \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/10/20200706_195422-1.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/10/20200706_195422-1-300x225.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Get Involved"},{"content":"Dear Ministry Partners, Family \u0026amp; Friends,What a whirlwind these last couple of months have been! Since our last update, we have found a home to rent, been offered a new ministry position, prayed incessantly, traveled to Wisconsin to pick up a donated vehicle, had our housing fall through and found a different home, packed, moved, accepted the ministry position, taken a deputation trip to the midwest, taken a much needed 10-day family vacation, and secured a mission organization. So we\u0026rsquo;ve been a little busy!What\u0026rsquo;s Next?Ron will begin his new position in about a week as Outreach \u0026amp; Mercy Ministry Coordinator at our church, Calvary Chapel Rosarito (CCR). We are so excited to begin serving in ministry alongside such an amazing church staff! One aspect of this position will be to assist new church plants through outreaches, by meeting construction needs, etc. Ron will organize and run outreach ministry for all U.S. \u0026amp; Canadian teams that work at and through CCR. Their work will include various combinations of children\u0026rsquo;s ministry, working with orphanages and feeding programs, outreaches to the dump, construction ministry, etc. Also part of Ron\u0026rsquo;s job will be to organize outreaches for the local CCR church body. These will include outreaches to the dump, senior center, orphanages, as well as graffiti cover-up outreaches. Lastly, he will organize all donations that come in and set up outreaches to partner with local churches in need to distribute these donations. Kristy is now the official photographer for CCR, shooting photos of special services, events, etc. However, her primary responsibility will be Mom. The whole family will continue to help with teams and will participate in short-term church-planting trips.Why Not YUGO?If for some reason you missed our last prayer letter, we have resigned from YUGO Ministries as of May. For approximately nine months, the Lord had continually showed us in different ways that He had another plan for us. We used that time to pray about a new ministry opportunity, including asking the question, “Is our time here in Mexico coming to an end?” After much prayer and obtaining wise counsel, the answer was clearly, “no”. This was also confirmed by the donation of two vehicles, from two different couples, to our family. We learned so much during our time with YUGO! There are so many amazing, committed YUGO missionaries on the field here in Mexico doing a tremendous work for God\u0026rsquo;s kingdom. We pray that their ministry will be fruitful and that many will enter heaven one day as a result of their labor.Prayer Letters \u0026amp; Financial Gifts__: Many have asked where to send their support or one-time gifts to help cover the cost of our extra moving and other expenses. The name of our new missions organization is Saving Grace World Missions. They will handle our finances and prayer letters, (which you will receive via email from sgwm.com). If you would like to continue receiving our updates, please send us a message at the email address below so we have your current email.For those of you that are currently financially partnering with us, or would like to begin doing so, this can be done by visiting sgwm.com/struska and clicking on the “Become A Financial Partner” button. If you have an automatic payment set up with YUGO, we ask that you please set up your payment with Saving Grace, and then call (619.336.9003) and cancel your support with YUGO by August 15****th._New Contact Information__:_FollowingHisCall@struska.net619.567.9846Mailing Address: 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173We look forward to sharing with you about our upcoming trip to CCR\u0026rsquo;s first bilingual church plant in La Paz, Mexico! God bless!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/2014/07/31/august-update/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDear Ministry Partners, Family \u0026amp; Friends,What a whirlwind these last couple of months have been! Since our last update, we have found a home to rent, been offered a new ministry position, prayed incessantly, traveled to Wisconsin to pick up a donated vehicle, had our housing fall through and found a different home, packed, moved, accepted the ministry position, taken a deputation trip to the midwest, taken a much needed 10-day family vacation, and secured a mission organization. So we\u0026rsquo;ve been a little busy!\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat\u0026rsquo;s Next\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eRon will begin his new position in about a week as Outreach \u0026amp; Mercy Ministry Coordinator at our church, \u003cstrong\u003eCalvary Chapel Rosarito\u003c/strong\u003e (CCR). We are so excited to begin serving in ministry alongside such an amazing church staff! One aspect of this position will be to \u003cstrong\u003eassist new church plants\u003c/strong\u003e through outreaches, by meeting construction needs, etc. Ron will organize and run \u003cstrong\u003eoutreach ministry for all U.S. \u0026amp; Canadian teams\u003c/strong\u003e that work at and through CCR. Their work will include various combinations of children\u0026rsquo;s ministry, working with orphanages and feeding programs, outreaches to the dump, construction ministry, etc. Also part of Ron\u0026rsquo;s job will be to \u003cstrong\u003eorganize outreaches for the local CCR church body\u003c/strong\u003e. These will include outreaches to the dump, senior center, orphanages, as well as graffiti cover-up outreaches. Lastly, he will \u003cstrong\u003eorganize all donations\u003c/strong\u003e that come in and set up outreaches to partner with local churches in need to distribute these donations. Kristy is now the \u003cstrong\u003eofficial photographer\u003c/strong\u003e for CCR, shooting photos of special services, events, etc. However, her primary responsibility will be Mom. The whole family will continue to help with teams and will participate in short-term church-planting trips.\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy Not YUGO\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eIf for some reason you missed our last prayer letter, we have resigned from YUGO Ministries as of May. For approximately nine months, the Lord had continually showed us in different \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2014/07/2014-06-Excursion-Donation-C.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"2014-06 Excursion Donation C\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2014/07/2014-06-Excursion-Donation-C-300x200.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e ways that He had another plan for us. We used that time to pray about a new ministry opportunity, including asking the question, \u003cstrong\u003e“Is our time here in Mexico coming to an end?”\u003c/strong\u003e After much prayer and obtaining wise counsel, the answer was clearly, “no”. This was also confirmed by the donation of two vehicles, from two different couples, to our family. We learned so much during our time with YUGO! There are so many \u003cstrong\u003eamazing, committed YUGO missionaries\u003c/strong\u003e on the field here in Mexico doing a tremendous work for God\u0026rsquo;s kingdom. We pray that their ministry will be fruitful and that many will enter heaven one day as a result of their labor.\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrayer Letters \u0026amp; Financial Gifts\u003c/strong\u003e__\u003cstrong\u003e:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e Many have asked where to send their support or one-time gifts to help cover the cost of our extra moving and other expenses. The name of our new missions organization is \u003cstrong\u003eSaving Grace World Missions\u003c/strong\u003e. They will handle our finances and prayer letters, (which you will receive via email from sgwm.com). If you would like to continue receiving our updates, \u003cstrong\u003eplease send us a message at the email address below so we have your current email\u003c/strong\u003e.For those of you that are currently financially partnering with us, or would like to begin doing so, this can be done by visiting \u003cstrong\u003esgwm.com/struska\u003c/strong\u003e and clicking on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.egivingsystems.org/v3.0/index.php?client_id=58823\u0026amp;recurdate=3%7C18\u0026amp;recurdate_first_label=3rd%20of%20every%20month\u0026amp;recurdate_second_label=18th%20of%20every%20month\u0026amp;purposeid=3024\"\u003e“Become A Financial Partner”\u003c/a\u003e button. If you have an automatic payment set up with YUGO, we ask that you please set up your payment with Saving Grace, and then call (619.336.9003) and cancel your support with YUGO by \u003cstrong\u003eAugust 15****th\u003c/strong\u003e._\u003cstrong\u003eNew Contact Information\u003c/strong\u003e__\u003cstrong\u003e:\u003c/strong\u003e_\u003ca href=\"mailto:FollowingHisCall@struska.net619.567.9846Mailing\"\u003eFollowingHisCall@struska.net619.567.9846Mailing\u003c/a\u003e Address: 511 E San Ysidro Blvd #6355, San Ysidro, CA 92173We look forward to sharing with you about our upcoming trip to CCR\u0026rsquo;s first bilingual church plant in La Paz, Mexico! God bless!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"August Update"},{"content":"Ron \u0026amp; Kristy Struska\n608.322.7612 (Text/Call)\noffice@connectionshouse.org\nFor donations toward to the Struska family click here:\nsgwm.com/struska/give\nTo give towards ministry or renovation projects at Connections House:\ngive.connectionshouse.org\nYou may also send donations in the mail. Checks should be made payable to “Saving Grace World Missions”. Please mail to:\nMailing Address - Letters/Donations/Packages:\nStruska\n67 N Broadway\nSuite A #180\nChula Vista, CA 91910\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/contact-us/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/03/IMG_0100C.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2020/03/IMG_0100C-300x200.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRon \u0026amp; Kristy Struska\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n608.322.7612 (Text/Call)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"mailto:office@connectionshouse.org\"\u003eoffice@connectionshouse.org\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor donations toward to the Struska family click here:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/give\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003esgwm.com/struska/give\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTo give towards ministry or renovation projects at Connections House:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://give.connectionshouse.org\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003egive.connectionshouse.org\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou may also send donations in the mail. Checks should be made payable to “Saving Grace World Missions”. Please mail to:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2023/07/IMG_6363.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2023/07/IMG_6363-300x200.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMailing Address - Letters/Donations/Packages:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nStruska\u003cbr\u003e\n67 N Broadway\u003cbr\u003e\nSuite A #180\u003cbr\u003e\nChula Vista, CA 91910\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2024/10/facebook-logo-png.png\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n    \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2024/10/instagram-logo-png.png\"/\u003e \n\u003c/figure\u003e","title":"Connect With Us"},{"content":"We are Ron \u0026amp; Kristy Struska, and we are missionaries with Saving Grace World Missions to Rosarito, Mexico. We are from the Chicago area but moved to Wisconsin shortly after we were married. That is where our children were born and where Ron worked primarily in restaurant management. The name of our sending church is Faith Community Church, in Fort Atkinson, WI. We are serving as volunteer missionary staff at Calvary Rosarito (CCR), where we are primarily in charge of short-term mission teams, serving at and through CCR. Our church is bilingual and is located in Rosarito. It has a strong focus on sharing the gospel and discipleship, as well as missions and church planting.\nWe have two children, Brittany \u0026amp; William. Brittany is married to Brian, who has graduated from church planting school as well as UABC, a university in Tijuana, with a degree to teach foreign languages. After serving as the Assistant Pastor at Calvary Chapel Playas (in Playas de Tijuana, BC), and Brittany working just over the border in California, they moved to Calpulalpan, Tlaxcala (near Mexico City) to plant a church in February 2023. Calvary Conexión México held its first service on Easter Sunday 2023, and just three short months later, they were so full that they had to start a second service. Brian \u0026amp; Brittany have three beautiful children, Joshua Brian, Kimberly Grace, and Cristina Lizbeth. After living in Wisconsin for about a year and a half, Will moved to Arizona, where he bought his first home. He works as a Service Writer for an automotive company. We are super proud of him for graduating with honors from the Arizona Automotive Institute in March 2025. Will also attends and serves by playing the drums for worship at another one of our church\u0026rsquo;s church plants, Refresh Church.\nWe first heard the Lord\u0026rsquo;s call to missions on a short-term youth missions trip to Chihuahua, Mexico in 2004. Shortly after that, we took two short-term trips and spent the summer of 2009 serving in Rosarito. Then in May 2010, our family moved to Rosarito full-time. Our role has primarily been hosting mission teams from the US \u0026amp; Canada as they serve through various types of outreach to the local church. We are committed to spreading the gospel to the Mexican people.\nWe organize and run short-term missions trips for teams who would like to serve at our church, its church plants and in the surrounding communities. These trips are completely customizable and vary with each team - from garbage dump outreaches, children\u0026rsquo;s ministry (VBS), and orphanage visits, to construction ministry where we build or do repairs for churches/homes/orphanages, as well as building a home for a local family in need. There are opportunities for teams and families of all sizes! We work with teams from churches of all Christian denominations. In March of 2016 we opened Connections House, which has dorm-style housing for short-term missions teams. We made this decision because we were having trouble finding dorms for the teams that we were working with, and the Lord has continued to bless this endeavor! We opened with six rooms and 26 beds. Since then, we have done a lot of renovations to the place and with God\u0026rsquo;s help, we raised over 80% of the funds needed to buy the property. The purchase finally went through in July 2018. At the end of 2018 we doubled the size of the 3rd floor in order to add a new dining room and commercial kitchen. We felt the Lord leading strongly in that area because of all the donations that were coming in for the project. By February 2020, the exterior of the building was about 95% completed and by the following June we finished the electrical, drywall and paint. We were finally able to use the space for our teams!\nWe have continued to add and remodel dorm rooms, bathrooms and showers. We had a splitting foundation, damaged walls, and bad electrical on the 1st floor that needed to be fixed in 2023. Connections House now has 11 dorm rooms and 55 beds. Please pray with us as we ask the Lord to provide funds and/or labor to add more showers and to possibly expand our property.\nWe thank God for our incredible support team! It is because of their partnership that we have the privilege of working to expand the kingdom here in Mexico!\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/struska/struska/about/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe are Ron \u0026amp; Kristy Struska, and we are missionaries with \u003ca href=\"http://sgwm.com\"\u003eSaving\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2023/07/IMG_6363.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/struska/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2023/07/IMG_6363-300x200.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"http://sgwm.com\"\u003eGrace World Missions\u003c/a\u003e to Rosarito, Mexico. We are from the Chicago area but moved to Wisconsin shortly after we were married. That is where our children were born and where Ron worked primarily in restaurant management. The name of our sending church is \u003ca href=\"http://fccfa.com\"\u003eFaith Community Church\u003c/a\u003e, in Fort Atkinson, WI. We are serving as volunteer missionary staff at \u003ca href=\"https://calvaryrosarito.com/\"\u003eCalvary Rosarito\u003c/a\u003e (CCR), where we are primarily in charge of short-term mission teams, serving at and through CCR. Our church is bilingual and is located in Rosarito. It has a strong focus on sharing the gospel and discipleship, as well as missions and church planting.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"About"}]