Mexico on Struska Family - Missionaries to Mexico

Looking Back at an Amazing Year!

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 23:01:13 +0000

God has done amazing things in 2024!!

Ministry

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’ 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.

Whom Shall I Send and Who Will Go For Us?

Sat, 12 Feb 2022 23:54:22 +0000

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’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!

Back Surgery Postponed - Back to Loreto!

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 07:32:10 +0000

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!

Ministry

As we have mentioned several times in 2020, ministry just looks different right now. Last month’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.

Projects, Projects, Projects!

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 00:27:04 +0000

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’t be happening - children that wouldn’t hear about Jesus, orphanages that wouldn’t get visited, food that wouldn’t be given away, and so much more! Secondly, it meant that Connections House wouldn’t have any funds coming in to help pay the bills.

Disappearing Backpacks & Electric Bills!

Mon, 11 Feb 2019 21:27:17 +0000

Backpacks!

If 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!!

Connections House

Fri, 09 Nov 2018 18:00:29 +0000

Third Floor Expansion!

We 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.

What’s Next?

There 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.

Interns & Teams

Wed, 03 Oct 2018 01:24:21 +0000

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!

Summer Is Here!

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 17:50:37 +0000

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!!

We 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’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 & 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’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.

Sprung Into Spring

Wed, 25 Apr 2018 21:43:52 +0000

Team Ministry

We 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’s ministry locations, one kids’ 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!

Backpacks & New Roofs for Christmas!

Thu, 11 Jan 2018 18:58:49 +0000

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’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 & Brittany, as well as our friend, David, had the privilege of leading worship. Two members of SCBC’s worship team, Melissa & Caleb Hanson, joined us. It was a meaningful time of worship and Pastor Michael did an awesome job preaching God’s word. We were blessed, and we pray that all who attended were blessed as well.

Watching God Do Amazing Things

Fri, 27 Jan 2017 18:06:42 +0000

We 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.

Another Exceptional Year

Sun, 11 Dec 2016 20:16:41 +0000

Wow, how time really does fly! It’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 & 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!

Family Wedding & Ministry Team Updates

Wed, 09 Nov 2016 22:48:01 +0000

We’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’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.)

The Countdown Begins

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 04:56:03 +0000

We’ve started the countdown of the number of days until we will no longer be able to rent Connections House. That’s right. If you haven’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.

Catch Up With the Struska's

Sat, 09 Jul 2016 04:46:58 +0000

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.

Getting Ready to Open New Team Housing!

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 17:47:54 +0000

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Bunk Bed

Amazon List

2016-02-09 Ron at CC Culiacán

2016-02-10 Ron at CC Culiacán

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Thank 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!

Visiting Our American Home

Wed, 11 Nov 2015 23:38:29 +0000

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Ron 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!

An Incredible Year With CCR

Thu, 06 Aug 2015 06:02:11 +0000

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’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!

Moving Into Another Busy Season

Sat, 20 Jun 2015 23:45:13 +0000

Picking up where we last left off, which brings us to April & May…

Family tradition at Easter time - coloring eggs. This was Brian’s first time, as it’s not a common thing to do in Mexico.

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A little one receiving food at the Tijuana Dump.

Super Blessed

Sat, 16 May 2015 21:22:49 +0000

It has been a while since our last update, so we have a lot to share! We’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’ve been up to through these photos:

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A team from Calvary Chapel South Bay came to host a children’s ministry training conference at our church. They also blessed the children of our 10:14 Kids’ Club with a day at the park with a devotion, games, barbecue lunch, songs, and more!

A Season of Growth

Fri, 06 Feb 2015 15:57:17 +0000

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!

2015-01-29 12.06

Casa de Los Angeles

This 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.

December Update

Sat, 20 Dec 2014 00:06:10 +0000

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Well, 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.

In 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._

October/November Update

Sun, 07 Dec 2014 07:50:35 +0000

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.

The 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.

September Update

Mon, 22 Sep 2014 20:47:41 +0000

Family, Home, & Ministry

Absolutely 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 & Noel.

August Update

Thu, 31 Jul 2014 02:58:57 +0000

Dear Ministry Partners, Family & 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’ve been a little busy!What’s Next?Ron will begin his new position in about a week as Outreach & 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. & Canadian teams that work at and through CCR. Their work will include various combinations of children’s ministry, working with orphanages and feeding programs, outreaches to the dump, construction ministry, etc. Also part of Ron’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’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 & 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’s first bilingual church plant in La Paz, Mexico! God bless!