August 26, 2002
Rancho Maranatha

Dear loved ones,

I wanted to take this opportunity to write to you all and to thank you so very much for standing by us. I have received emails from different people that I have to look at twice because I think that I'm reading the same email that I have already read! The line that repeats itself has been, "we have been lead to pray a lot for you lately, I hope that's a good thing." I know that our lives have been blessed a lot these last couple of months and I do attribute it to prayer. As a group, we continue to pray in the afternoons before we head off to the Bible studies, to pray some more! Since we are called to pray without ceasing, I'm afraid that sometimes I overlook group prayer in favor of just praying all the time. I am reminded of a story my friend Paco told me about about a certain old gentleman in Montana. He prayed without ceasing. When he was along in age, his family would ask him to pray over the meals. He would say, "excuse me Lord, they want me to pray for the food now"!  Anyway, I always am brought back to the importance of praying together with other believers even if we have to take time out of our "praying without ceasing" to do that.

  The construction is going along well. I am hoping that by Christmas, we will be able to move into a portion of the new place so that the Stearns can move into our home that they have been waiting for over a year now. The Psalm that I live by and especially when it comes to construction continues to be, Psalm 127. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it". My original idea of building a new house was to spend about what half of what the roof is going to cost. I truly feel as though the Lord is building the house though so I will just continue to show up for work and let Him stay in charge of that too. Please keep us in prayer as the project started a year ago and I having been a piece work contractor all my life and I'm used to a BIG job lasting a week! I'm ready to move on to the next job!

 The body is growing in depth. I have offered to let the people at the big church, Osobampo, take over there without me. They weren't too happy about the thought and were afraid that I wanted to leave them. I just know that they could do it now. There are now 4 school of ministry graduate students in this community of about 200 or less people. The latest wave, Nelo & Luis, are on fire and doing a great job of stirring things up. I love to set in the pews and listen to these guys share their love for Christ! They are all four serving the Lord doing outreach studies and if one of them doesn't start a division soon, I just might have to do it myself! (I'm just kidding about division) Please pray for wisdom and even more so, just clearly marked doors to go through for expanding the kingdom of heaven. I'm not interested in growth numbers unless there is an equal amount of growth in the "depth" section. I don't ever want to be a "mile wide and an inch deep", better to be an "inch wide, but a mile deep" for me. Please pray for us to continue to grow deeper in love with Jesus.
 
 Everything is GREEN! It's beautiful here right now and there are so many different colored flowers that we are surrounded by. Life is good. The down side of being in a cursed world of course is the heat and humidity that we have to endure for all this beauty. I'm sure most of you have had the experience of coming out of a shower and being sweaty as you dry off. (I'm glad for you if you don't know what I'm talking about) But how many of you have had that experience at 11 PM? Yep, that's what it's like right now. But remember the beauty!
 I am very happy to see my son growing up. He has been a real blessing to me of late. If you are praying for him, please continue to do so. There is nothing that gives me more pleasure than to see my kids in love with the Lord and showing it by their relationship to Him. Nothing could be more precious. Nothing. My other two girls continue to bless my life as well. Rochelle is such a trooper and loves the Lord so much and just loves serving Him through serving others and the big news is that Roshon & Jorge are supposed to be back by the end of September! I am a selfish old man that doesn't want any of his children far away from my bedroom door. I am so fortunate to have been so blessed by the Lord!

I pray that you all are doing well in the Lord as well. As we were studying last night in Matthew 24, in the last days, the love of many will grow cold because of evil. Don't be a part of that group. The enemy through the lusts and the lures of this world is constantly trying to draw God's children from His side to gaze upon the garbage dumps that the evil one disguises as an "earthly paradise". There is no such thing.  Remember that Adam walked with the Lord in the cool of the day in the garden everyday until they were drawn away by one such lure. Don't live for this world or anything that it has to offer. There is nothing here that will remain. On the other hand, if you are living for heaven, you will get your pie in the sky. There is no better pie!
God bless you all,
Daniel
Praise: 1. The construction is going well and we are about half way there.
              2. God is sending us another family to help with the children! 
              3. God meets our ever need and a lot of our "wants".
              4. The church is maturing.
              5. Radio Maranatha has been on the air for over 2 years now!
Prayer: 1. That the growth will continue in the body of Christ.
               2. That the construction will be done quickly.
               3. That the people such as my wife, my daughter and Mache who are taking care of 17 girls in a house built for seven, would be continually feeling God's presence and my appreciation for all they do.
              4. For the "Colonel's" knee to quit hurting him. It is well beyond the manufacture's warranty as he will be turning 104 in October, but it would be nice if it could stop hurting him so much.
              5. For the FM station to go in without any problems. Mike Gaude will be here in less than a month!
             6. Pray for the Cathy's as they are planning on leaving Costa Mesa to come to their new home here on the farm! Pray that everyone will get to change homes real soon so that they will get to move into one themselves instead of the makeshift one that they will have to make due with in the meantime.
            7. Pray for the upcoming weddings of Mache & Corey and Jake & Veronica and that God would be in the center of their lives at all times.
 

Date: Wednesday, August 07, 2002 8:18:57 AM

Subject: Prayer and Praise
 
Dear Loved ones,
I am going to write a quick note because I haven't been able to write the things that I would like to, but if I wait for that, I will never get around to this!
Things are going great. The Lord is blessing us. Radio Maranatha was off the air for 2 months due to vandalism but this morning, we are back on the air!
My grandmother, who I was raised by, has gone to be with the Lord. Although I will miss her so much, I am so glad that she is now with Him. She suffered much all her life, all that suffering is over with now.
Also our good friend and brother Glenn Smith passed away last evening. He has been one of God's angels for us here at Rancho Maranatha and we will miss him greatly. His nickname around here was "Mr. Clean!" He was a work of art in the Lord's hands that we had the opportunity to see in progress, and what progress there was! Now he is where we all long to be.
Please pray for Jeannette, Glenn's bride, and God's cheerleader.
Please pray that Edith from Mexicali would have clear direction from the Lord if she is to return here to Rancho Maranatha to serve the Lord full time at the radio station.
Please pray for Mike Gaude who is coming soon to install the FM station.
Please pray for the construction that is going on, I fell off a scaffold the other day when it felt apart, but nothing more than some bruises. That's a praise report!
Praise the Lord together with us for the 2 young men that have come back from the school of ministry in Boca del Rio, they are doing great and are a real blessing!
Praise the Lord for Mache and Corey who are now officially engaged and also for Jake and Veronica who are also now officially engaged!
Pray for Roshon and Jorge as they are planning to return in September. I can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do next!~
Praise the Lord for the vehicle that was donated to us this last month. It came at a great time!
Well, I have to go for now, I will write more soon. Please stay in touch!
God bless you all,
Daniel

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, I am the Resurrection and the Life! He who believes in Me, though he die, yet he shall live.
 

UPDATE June 16, 2002

Dear Loved ones,

Isn't it great to be loved by One who never changes? So many things in this world are so un-stable and constantly shifting but He always remains solid! I have been wanting to send an update for the last two weeks but the enemy seems to now be in computers. Well, when you think of it he always has been but now he is going after ours! I have had to re-install everything on my computer more times than I can remember but now I have a "Clone" program that keeps a copy of my setup and restores it in about 5 minutes time.
So, I need to ask you all to please be patient and if you have sent me e-mails that haven't been replied to, please re-send them. Also, if you receive any e-mails from my address or anyone else that have strange subject lines and are of a large size, about 120k, don't open them. They are most likely viruses and should be confirmed by asking the sender before you open them. The viruses get a hold of people's addresses and send them out so that it looks as though the message is coming from someone you know. Not unlike what the enemy does by using the Bible and religion to get into the heads and hearts of people only to give them the form of religion with no true substance. Be on the lookout for both!
If we were to be able to see a countdown clock to when Jesus was coming back for us, I believe that it would be reading in the seconds. Of course we have been in the last days since Jesus was here and we should be living as though He could arrive any second.     Luke 12:36-37 "And you yourselves be like men who wait for their lord, whenever he shall return from the wedding, so that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants whom the lord will find watching when he comes." Reading the news, is like reading the prophecies that are to take place. But there are other indicators as well. Jesus said:

 "I say to you that He will avenge them speedily. Yet when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8  Also He said, "Mat 24:11-13 And many false prophets will rise and deceive many. (12) And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold. (13) But he who endures to the end, the same shall be kept safe."
I believe that we are in those days that He was speaking of. The love of many is growing cold. There are many who are falling away because of the cares of this world and because of wickedness in general. The differences between the people of God and the people that aren't His, is becoming very obscured. It's harder and harder to identify God's people. So, either we can get all defensive and say, "not true!" or we can take up the offense and continue this race with all our hearts. The finish line is close, run hard!
Along with the computer woes, we also had our first problem with "Radio Maranatha". We were off the air for a week for the first time in almost 2 years. When the problem with the transmitter was finally fixed, we found out that the problem was provoked. Someone tried to steal a part that is called the "coupler" and that makes the match between the antenna and the station. We aren't sure if the intent was to put us off the air, or the more likely thing that someone needed a coupler and they tried to take ours. All we know for sure is that the Lord didn't let them get away with it. The station is damaged in that the transistors were hurt as a result of the station being on the air without an antenna, but it is putting out about 45% of what it was and so the ranches are listening again. We are so pleased with the work that was done by Bill and Mike Gaude on the AM and the FM stations. To think that the only problem has been provoked by someone and that the station has been operating almost 2 years with no problems is great!
The different studies are all being challenged for fruit and not all of them are coming out well. The study in Piedras Verdes, was going to be cancelled, but there are three old men there that weren't too happy to hear that. We have already buried two believers from that community and these old guys will still have us around till the Lord shows us different. The studies in Navojoa seem to be going well now in response to prayer about not continuing there. It seems as though for now, the Lord would have us to continue. There are a lot of people interested that keep coming and so we will be continuing there as well.
I have no desire to do anything that isn't fruitful. Sometimes though, I need to re-think what fruitful is. Of course I want to see us reaching new people in the communities, but sometimes it's a question of being faithful and consistent with the ones who have already come to the Lord and being patient with them to start bearing fruit themselves. I do know that we don't have time to waste. I pray that you all will likewise be bearing fruit as we actively await the return of our Lord Jesus!
God bless you all and thank you for your prayers. They are needed and felt!
Prayer Requests:
1. That the Lord would help us to keep finding the ones that are seeking Him.
2. That we would be faithful to disciple the ones that have already come.
3. For the upcoming baptisms.
4. For the 10 year drought to end this year without doing much damage!
5. For the children here to be well grounded and fruitful in their walks with the Lord.
6. For the Lord to provide the right teachers for the next school year.
7. For the FM station to get on the air soon and that the Lord will provide the means to keep it on the air.
8. For all the team here to be of one accord and to be the most effective that we can be.
9. There are several children that I want to adopt, please pray for the Lord's will in this.
10. For the electricity to finally make it to Jusibampo this summer.
Praise Reports:
1. For each person that the Lord has provided to make up the team here.
2. For the continued praise reports that are being received by Nelo & Luis away at the School of Ministry.
3. For all the opportunities that I had to share with people because of the computer problems.
4. For the way He provides for us and shows us that we are never alone!
5. For all of you that are praying for us!
Bye Bye for now!

Revelations 22:20 He who testifies these things says, Yes, I am coming quickly, Amen. Yes, come, Lord Jesus.

 

Update from Rancho Maranatha May 2, 2002

Dear family,

Time again for a word from down south. I am afraid because of changing over email addresses and who is sending out our updates now (me) that a lot of you didn’t get our last update from April 5th. (Yes, that’s this year!)

There is so much going on that I don’t even know where to begin. Unfortunately most of the stuff is just “busy stuff”.  Since I came to the Lord about 27 years ago, I have developed a theory on ministries and what happens to them over time. Now since last week, I have merged this theory with the “Peter Principal”. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the “Peter Principal” I will try and explain it without butchering it too badly. From my understanding of it, the “Peter Principal” states that a person will be promoted to the point to where they are no longer effective and remain there in that state of ineffectiveness till they are retired, when, if they could move back one step to where they were effective enough to have warranted promotion, they could continue to be productive. Unfortunately, that usually doesn’t happen.
So, now my theory of what takes place in ministries that are successful: My theory goes like this; Ministries are started by people that have a vision and desire to see that vision through. There can be good ministries and bad ones from the start but for our purposes we will assume that we are only talking about good ministries that are founded by people that truly want to see the King of kings glorified and aren’t out to build a reputation for themselves. Anyway, back to the theory. I think that these ministries often have a great impact at first because they are grass roots and are not over stretched in their duties and because of that, they are able to do the ministry “hands on”. The problem begins when the ministries grow to the point where the minister, is no longer adequate to continue it because of the growth and demands of said ministry begin to be beyond what that person is capable of handling. Meanwhile, others have moved into the ministry to fill the needs and the gaps that have begun to spring up because of the oversight of the founder. This is a good thing when there are more people being reached if the people are receiving what is necessary for their continued growth in the Lord. But eventually, the founders who are usually visionaries and not good at practical aspects such as fund raising, accounting etc, need people to come in and start doing those jobs. When it gets to the point that this is happening, the person with the vision and heart for the people can get sidetracked and lose his focus, then instead of the focus being on lost souls, it can become on how to support the work that is reaching the lost souls. Not a good thing.  If they decide to keep their focus on the job at hand, if the overhead has increased too much then the demands of needs exceeding the funds also creates stress. Not a good thing either. Obviously there is a delicate balance to be obtained here. If it’s not obtained, the enemy finds a foothold. Of course, we are always having to deal with his foul footholds on a daily basis anyway, so this is just another of the many that need to be dealt with.

Here is another bad scenario: A person like myself is brought up not sharing the needs and demands of a ministry unless directly approached. We have been taught,  “Where God guides, God provides”. This is a true statement that is proved here on a daily basis. We are also told sometimes that “full information with no solicitation” is okay.  To give you an idea of how hard this is for someone brought up like this I will share with you a class that I had at Calvary Missions. The class was given by a great guy and it was on how to share our needs with a newsletter. He had us write to him letting him know our needs and what was going on in the ministry. I thought, “Wow! This is something I really need to learn to do!” It was hard to write to him even though he was telling us to do so and sitting right there in the class! Now, can you imagine how I felt after we handed in the papers and he said, “Of course, I could never do this!” I got a laugh out of that but he wasn’t kidding! So, I will share one more theory if you will bear with me. It’s the “Out of sight, out of mind” theory.  I have been so busy that I have not been keeping in touch with the people that make it possible by God’s grace, to do what we are doing out here. I have been promoted to the point of being ineffective. I have considered this and decided that I must step back once again and let the Lord take over. It is His burden that I am after, the one that He would place on me.  I don’t want any burdens of my own. I want to keep Him first and make sure that all I do is pleasing to Him. (Mat 11:28-30)  "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." That’s the yoke that I want, that’s the burden I want and that is the rest that I have found. His yoke is easy and His burden is light! Although I wish that I didn’t have to have anything to do with money, I’m reminded about another scripture (Luke 16:9-13)  "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.  "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? "And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

  So, I continue to try and carry only the burdens that the Lord has for me. I will continue to try to use the funds that He provides through you all to win souls and I will also continue to resist serving “mammon” in any way.  The needs here are great and they are increasing. We used to be so blessed to receive $250 a month for our support. Now, we know that it’s going to be a difficult month if we receive ten times that amount! I was told recently that I never tell people our needs and how they can help support us. Well, hardly anyone ever asks me. If you want to know, I would be glad to tell you. Also, if anyone is interested in seeing where the funds are going to, please feel free to ask, We can give you as detailed of a picture as you want thanks to the guy who taught me to write letters that he would never be able to write, he also taught us to keep records of where the funds were going!

  The 20+ children are doing great. I love having little ones, lots of little ones, again. I also love having my bigger ones but along with them, I wish that they didn’t have to grow up in this world. My wife is growing in grace and beauty and becoming more dear to me every day. My son is beginning to feel the need for his own relationship with the Lord and not depending so much on mine. Rochelle continues to be a servant to the Lord, by serving the children here. Roshon, although in Montana, continues to desire to serve the Lord and longs to return to do so with us here at the ranch! The radio station is doing well, the recording studio is recording, (at no charge it’s in demand) and all of the communities that we are going to, continue to receive the Word of God. Life, is not only good, it’s great. Sometimes people tell me when they see problems “Welcome to the real world.” To me this is the real world. The other world, although we are living in it for a while as pilgrims and aliens, where we are concerned with money, health, etc. is a temporary world that will one day be consumed in fire. I choose my real world!

Prayer requests:
·That the peace that surpasses all comprehension would continue to cover our lives here.

·That we would continue to grow in the love and the grace of the Lord.

·That we would keep our eyes on the goal and the One that will get us there and not on circumstances that can make us take our eyes off of the goal.

·Please pray for my upcoming meeting with the person in charge of Southern Sonora’s radio communications. If he can’t give me the license that I need, it’s possible that just knowing him will keep us from getting taken off the air in the future.

·Please pray for the FM station that is to go on the air soon. It is safely here but still needs to be set up.

·Please pray for the new home that is being built. I really want to finish it soon to be able to concentrate on other things better.

·Pray for Betsy from NY that is feeling called to come and be a schoolteacher to our 25+ kids here on the ranch.

·Pray for the team here on the ranch to be unified in the fight and in the vision to win souls for Christ.

·Please pray for the children here on the ranch that they would continue to grow in the Lord and that if they have to leave us, that they would never leave Him.

·Please pray for Mache’s CD “Contigo” to be finished and produced.

 

Praise reports:

·The FM transmitter made it! Thanks to Grady, the Gaude’s, Jeff Smith, Jim & Mary Madison and the many others who sacrificed to get it here!

·In the same envelope that I got the notice that a body wasn’t going to be able to support us because of a move that they were going through, I also got another letter saying that our home fellowship was increasing our support!

·The AM radio station has been on the air for almost 2 years with no problems!

·The Lord provided a web host for our website for free from a Christian couple!

·For the way the Lord makes His presence known in our lives on a daily basis.

·For the wonderful wife He gave me and how she is becoming more of a blessing to me every year!

·For all of you that have been faithfully praying and supporting us so that we can continue to do what the Lord has called us to do.

·For the children that He is allowing us to raise.

 

Here is the part that I usually leave out and I almost did it again: If you are interested in supporting this ministry please send any donations to Go! Ministries P.O. Box 651 Norco, California 92860

You will receive a tax deductible receipt. Also, if you would like to know more about the finances you can contact us or Linda Dewsnap at Go! Ministries. Either of us would be happy to let you know where the funds are going and what the needs are.
Also, if you would like to see our website you can look us up at www.ranchomaranatha.com or www.calvarychapel.com/jusibampo .
God bless you all as you seek Him first!
Daniel

                

The new home that is being built, and some of the people that it is being built for.