Dear Friends,

After weeks of working from home, today I am sitting at my desk at Amnion writing this newsletter. The center is now open, and with a few adjustments we are back to providing our regular services. Praise God!

 know we are not out of the woods with COVID-19, especially now dealing with the economic consequences of the lockdown. Since we are community funded, we know that our budget will be impacted to some degree or another. It is times like these that give us opportunity to trust the Lord in even greater ways.

Our Walk for Life is still taking place, only now it's a virtual walk. Get all the Walk details HERE.

Please let me know if there is anything we can do for you. We call you friends, but you are really family.

Thanks for helping us SPREAD HOPE!

Mark Opseth
Executive Director
952-898-4350

A COOK AND A CARPENTER

This month I want to share with you about the mission work of a cook and a carpenter.  We read in the Bible (John 21:9) that Jesus had prepared breakfast for his disciples.  I like to call that the "Great Fish Fry".  We also read in the Bible that Jesus was the son of a carpenter; which means Jesus worked with his hands as a carpenter.

Now let's move forward to today's context.  What are your Emanuel Mexico Mission missionaries doing during this time of "Stay at Home"?

For one, Sheri is cooking, and cooking alot.  Everyday she makes more than we can eat, so she can share it with our neighbors.  Every Friday she prepares a complete meal for a family of 5, whose mother has cancer.  Cooking and Sharing just go hand in hand for Sheri.  She has made simple dishes to complete banquet type meals for this family.  Are they grateful?  Their oldest daughter said one Friday night, "Mom is having a bad day and I'm tired of cooking and cleaning.  I have my school work, via on-line, to complete.  Thank you so much".  Their favorite desserts so far have been Sheri's Pecan Pie and Orange Cookies.  Their favorite meal was homemade thin crust pizza, made on a pizza stone.  Mom's favorite is Sheri's fruit salads.

Now, on to a carpenter story.  Jose, the minister at the Ontañon Church of Christ, has always loved working with wood.  So it was natural for him to help a church member build the shelving that they needed.  Then the same family said, "Can you build us an entertainment (T.V.) stand for our living room"?  Other church members heard about Jose's work as a carpenter and asked if he could build them 2 individual bed frames.  

So, the story goes that while in quarantine, both Sheri and Jose have been busy.  Sheri in her natural environment, the kitchen and Jose turned his apartment back patio into a carpenter shop.  It's like the WWJD bracelet "What Would Jesus Do".

You can find Jose sharing his Sunday morning messages through Facebook live at 11:00 a.m., on the Emanuel Mexico Mission, Facebook page.  Also his weekly ministry programs (live on Facebook called Atrevete) at 9:00 p.m., on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  

This past month (April), I was able to get all the plumbing and electrical repairs finished !  Now onto repairing and replacing broken doors and door knobs.  I'll continue to be the Uber Eats driver to deliver meals and work as the maintenance man that the ministry needs at this time.

Our scheduled May trip to the U.S., was canceled and we hope to reschedule it for June.  Hope to see many of you in June!  God bless you and thank you for supporting your ministry work in the kitchen and carpenter shop of Emanuel Mexico Mission.

David DeBolt

Dear Christian Friends
 
Amid great adversities, discoveries are possible, and opportunities arise even as challenges confront. TCM has been through many of these since our beginning in 1957. And now we discover God positioning us for creative expansion opportunities ahead.
 
As you know, all our training and operations have continued through various distance delivery tools. No classes have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The best distance education delivery practices are increasingly being utilized. International disciple-making students from nearly 50 countries continue their training, ministries, and mentoring.
 
As you may have heard, challenges with different virus peaks, border crossings, airline restrictions, and visa procurements remain. This negatively impacts our staff, faculty, volunteers, and students. For these reasons, the leadership of TCM has made the decision to continue with 100% distance education delivery for the rest of this year. This decision includes postponing the 2020 Graduation from August 2020 until May 2021.
 
We foresee returning to a blended education model in 2021 that will include face-to-face mentoring...

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