Oceanside Ministry

In addition to the Bible School teaching at SouthWest School of the Bible (www.SouthWestSchoolOfTheBible.org) and the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy, we have been going over to Oceanside CA for a week of ministry every month at Community Lutheran church. This little church has a preschool, a monthly Food Pantry, and a healthy Bible teaching ministry. It's such a pleasure to be able to serve them! We have been staying on a sailboat in the harbor and working in English and Spanish. So much fun!

Second Term at SWSB

The first term at SouthWest School of the Bible was a success! We prayed for 12 students to begin; 14 signed up by the end of the first term. We offered classes in Introduction to the Bible and Bible Doctrine 1: the Way of Salvation.
Today we begin the second term. This is a short term lasting two weeks at the end of January 2016. The first week we are offering Philippians and the second Hermeneutics: How to Understand the Bible.
Classes will be taught from 10 am to noon and from 7 to 9 pm each day, Thesday through Friday of these two weeks. The same class will be taught twice each day to accommodate students who are unable to attend either during the day or after dark. (In general the younger students work during the day while the older ones prefer not to drive at night.)

The new Bible School is being launched at Calvary Free Lutheran Church in Mesa AZ.  Classes will begin on October 19th.  The Faculty is composed of Pastor Al Monson, Ryan Tonneson, and Dan.  Dan will be the main teacher this first semester, so there is an enormous amount of work to be done before the 19th.

The new website is up and running at southwestschoolofthebible.org  as of last Wednesday.  we have published a catalog and a flyer to pass out to local area churches and interested individuals.

After a long hiatus, we're back.

I see the last post was in 2009. Amazing how much has happened; I just haven't had time or inclination to write for three years.

Not long after my last post, my Dad passed away at the age of 92. Mom continues to live with us, and she is now 92.

I have continued working at the Software company with occasional trips to Mexico and other places, to train clients in the use of the software.

Our six-year-old granddaughter Ariadna was checked into a hospital in Aguascalientes about seven weeks ago. When Marcela (her Mom), called Daniel (our son, her husband) to tell him about it he got on the first airplane he could find to Aguascalientes.

The day he arrived they were given the diagnosis: Ari had a brain tumor. She has had seven surgeries, including two craneotomies, since then. They were unable to remove the entire tumor, which had begun in her eye. She is currently still in the hospital and we hope she can be sent home tomorrow. A week ago she was fitted with a tracheotomy tube to help her breathe and a g-tube (gastrostoma) so her parents can feed her.

So far she has not been able to move very much and she can't talk yet. We will see what comes next. Meanwhile, the Doctors have said that they don't think that radiation or chemotherapy will help in her case, and that given the aggressiveness of this tumor, she probably has from six to nine months to live.

We appreciate the wonderful and amazingly skilled Doctors that have given her such good care, but realize that isn't their call. Ari will go home to heaven whenever God calls her; not before and not later. We are still praying for a miracle of healing. We have seen tumors disappear after prayer. Why not this one?

The good news is that Daniel and Marcela are together, taking care of their (our) precious Ari and raising their other two little ones as well. Daniel will be working as a local representative for the Software company, which will enable him to stay there instead of returning to the US to work.

Ingrid is here with us in Phoenix and has launched a language school where she teaches Spanish-speakers English and English-speakers Spanish. She is sharing the bedroom with her grandma and the dog she brought out of Mexico, since launching a business takes all the capital for a couple of years until it starts being profitable. She is having a great time with this project.

Pray for Ariadna. We need (another) miracle.

Trip to Jerez

Last week we had a wedding here in Phoenix on Friday for Paul Junior, my brother Paul’s oldest son. The next day, Saturday, we flew to Aguascalientes, where our Son and Daughter, Daniel and Ingrid, met us and drove us the last two hours to Jerez. We got there about midnight, so Marcela and the kids had already gone to sleep. We slept downstairs in Ingrid's apartment. Upstairs was already full of relatives from Aguascalientes who were there for the baptism that was to take place the next morning, all gone to sleep already.

The next day we got up to hug our daughter-in-law Marcela and the grandchildren, including the baby, Roberto Emanuel, who is four months old. That was our first chance to actually see him! Then we went to the English church service, where we got to see the Schierkolks, who had just gotten back from a 4-month trip to the US themselves.

The church was full for the Spanish Service, and we filled up the Salon de Fiestas that Daniel and Marcela had rented for the afternoon’s party. People came from Aguascalientes - many relatives from Marcela’s side as well as people from the old church there, some of whom we hadn’t seen for several years. It was great!

We had Monday to visit with Ingrid, and Tuesday we drove to the border with Daniel and Marcela and the kids, as they had to take care of some international paperwork.

We had an uneventful trip to the border, except for getting lost after a wrong turn in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. That delay, however, kept us out of Reynosa, Tamaulipas (the city on the border) just long enough to allow a gunbattle that was going on in that city to finish and for things to quiet down. (We found out about that the next day.)

We have learned over the years to not get too upset when some unexpected delay seems to inexplicably detain us on a trip. After 20,000 coincidences of this sort, it’s easier to believe that God is in control than that such things can happen for no reason at all.

We spent a day on the border, during which we took care of the 3 kids, playing grandma and grandpa, so Daniel and Marcela could have a day out by themselves. We had a lot of fun doing that, and in the process learned two important things: 1.) why God gives children to parents while they (the parents) are still young and 2.) why Daniel and Marcela are so tired so much of the time!

Then we had a 26 hour bus ride across the US from McAllen TX to Phoenix. It wasn’t as grueling as it sounds, although the seats seem to have been designed for hunchbacked midgets and American buses are not nearly as nice as Mexican buses. Greyhound doesn’t even play movies on their long bus lines! No sandwich and coffee service! Such barbarians!

Anyway, we are safely at Phoenix and all is well.

In Jerez for a visit

Debbie and I flew to Jerez a couple of weeks ago. Debbie stayed here with Marcela, who is due to have the baby any day now, and Ingrid and the two little girls, our granddaughters, Ari and Andi. Daniel and I loaded up the van with stuff we had left here and can use in Phoenix, and drove out of the country. Daniel needed to renew his papers, which requires him to be outside of Mexico for ten days.

We drove to Phoenix and unloaded, stayed a few days so he could touch base with his cousins there, and then drove back. On the way North I got really sick with a "stomach flu" (probably food poisoning), so I was out of it for about a week, recovering just in time for the return trip.

Now we are back in Jerez. We got to see most of the church members on Sunday and will have dinner with the Schiekolks on Thursday- all plans are tentative and postponable if the baby makes his debut.

It's so good to be here and see everybody.

Mexico is under siege with the AH1N1 "Swine" flu, but so far the Giles and Schierkolk families have stayed healthy, thank the Lord!

Debbie and I fly home on Tuesday the 12th of May. We hope we get to see our grandson before we leave. The Dr just told Marcela that he could be born any time after this Sunday.

Minneapolis

On Monday I flew to Minneapolis, to teach a class at the Seminary and meet with Del Palmer, the World Missions Director and a couple of members of the World Missions Committee. I was warmly received, saw a lot of old friends and met a few new ones, and was reminded all over again what a privilege it has been to work in the AFLC all these years.

The Mission Board is meeting this Friday and Saturday (March 28th and 29th) and will discuss my letter of resignation which I gave to Pastor Palmer on Tuesday. Please pray for them as they seek the Lord on this and a number of other matters that affect the work of World Missions.

We will probably be going to Jerez the last week of May to explain ourselves to our friends and church there, say goodbye, and pick up a few things we will need for our new life in the US.

Big Decisions

We have been increasingly faced with the fact that in spite of wonderful progress with therapy and a large measure of independence that has resulted from it, Dad will still be needing someone to provide full time care for the foreseeable future. We've been warned repeatedly by different Physical Therapists, Doctors, Nurses, etc., that Mom must not be given the task of sole care giver ever again. She is also 88 years old and has some osteoporosis going on, so a fall while helping Dad could be disastrous for both of them.

After much prayer and careful consideration, Debbie and I have come to the conclusion that the only viable solution, and what also seems to us to be God's answer, is that we resign from the Mexico mission work and stay here in Phoenix to provide the care that Dad needs.

We spoke with our adult children in Mexico (Daniel and Marcela, and Ingrid) and they told us that the Lord had spoken to them last week to let them know that this was coming, so it wasn't a total surprise for them. They will continue working as Short Term Assistants under AFLC World Missions with Todd and Barb Schierkolk and living in what has been our house there in Jerez. If any of you would like to help support them, please send to AFLC World Missions in Plymouth MN. As STA's they have no guaranteed salary, medical insurance, etc. and are supported entirely by what is sent to AFLC designated for them. They are doing a wonderful job, working as full time missionaries in Jerez and we are very proud of them.

Keep tuning in to this blog, as we will continue to update from time to time both with news from here and from the Mexico field.

(By the way, we all need your prayers now more than ever!)

Dan Giles

Some Pictures and More

Here are a couple of pictures of our grand-daughters, Ariadna and Andrea. They are with their parents, Daniel and Marcela, serving as Short Term Assistants (STA's) in Jerez, together with Ingrid, even while we are with my folks here in Phoenix. They are all living in our house. It's a big house, so they have plenty of room for two families, especially with us out of the way!

The work is going well there, with Ingrid continuing to translate Sunday School material and Daniel and Marcela handling the Youth Ministry. Todd and Barb Schierkolk are heading up the whole operation, Todd pastors the church, and they also have the Kid's Clubs outreach ministry. Barb's music is a powerful blessing at the heart of the work.

Dad home!

My Dad came home today!
He was able to come home a day sooner than our most sanguine hopes. This is good.
Please pray that he will get stronger every day and be able to get to the point where he can get up out of a chair unassisted. he has made so much progress in the past few weeks that we are very encouraged. The doctor said that there seems to be nothing wrong with him except the polio, which he has has all his life. This is just a new stage in the disease, and he will learn to work around it as he has done at every previous stage.
The good news is that at 90 years old, this is the only serious health problem!

Polio at age 90!

We have been here in Phoenix about 2 weeks now. I've been able to work with my Dad along with the Physical Therapists every morning and every afternoon since we arrived, while Debbie helps my Mom.
My Dad had polio when he was a very small child. Now at age 90, he has developed "Post Polio Syndrome", which means that some of the typical symptoms of polio have begun to show up again.
My Dad is doing very well and making good progress. The doctors are hopeful that he will be able to move from the nursing care facility to home on the 8th of February. Between now and that date, we will divide our time between helping Dad become physically ready for the move, and making major changes in the home to get it ready for Dad.
After that comes the in-home care -- a new frontier for all of us!
Keep us in your prayers!

Getting Settled in Phoenix

We have been in Phoenix for about a week now and all is well, with just one little glitch. Debbie's upper respitory virus turned nasty during the flight and by the time we landed she had lost her voice and was developing lung congestion. She saw a doctor the next morning, who strongly suggested that she not stay anywhere near my mom and dad! So good friends of ours, Dennis and Alice Andert, have taken her into their home this week to recover. She's feeling much better and expects to rejoin me in my parent's home within a couple of days. Meanwhile, I've been with my dad for several hours each day and am encouraged by his progress. Thank you for your prayers!

Prayer requests

About half of us (Schierkolks, Giles, and half of the city of Jerez) have a bad cold that's going around.  Not serious,  but miserable, especially as Debbie and I are getting ready to go Phoenix next Thursday and need to wrap things up here.

Pray for us!

Daniel and Marcela are also looking for a little house of their own within their STA budget.  Pray that the Lord would lead them to the house of His choosing.

Ingrid has found the tarantula that was biting her in the night and turned it into a pet.  She feeds it crickets that she is able to trap and bring home when she is out...

Thanks!

Hospital, Ministry Training Center, Church

When we started work in Aguascalientes over 20 years ago, the Lord made it clear to us that what we thought was going to be a church -- a gathering place for Christians -- was going to be more of a "Ministry Training Center", preparing servants for the church in the Spanish-speaking world.

And so it was.  Over the next 20 years, the church in Aguas sent 7 young people to Bible School, launched one couple into ministry who are now a pastor and his wife in Aguas itself; another couple who are ministering in music at a church in Monterrey and run a Bible bookstore there; another couple who are serving as missionaries in the muslim world, and three others -- our own daughter, son, and daughter-in-law -- who are now serving with us as Short Term Assistants under our own AFLC mission here in Mexico.  Not to mention our daughter's roomate from the Free Lutheran Bible School in Minneapolis, who came to know Jesus in our church in Aguas and who together with her husband, now serves as a missionary of the World Mission Prayer League in Mexico.

Here in Jerez, the Lord has again made clear to us that our purpose in this work is not just a Sunday-go-to-meeting church for people who are already Christians, but a hospital for people in need of spiritual and emotional healing as a result of sin -- whether their own or someone else's.  This is to be a place where people come to find healing, restoration, deliverance, and wholeness in Jesus.

Recently we have been reminded that there is a fine line between a hospital, where people come to find healing, and a hospice, where people go to be made as comfortable as possible while they die.  They aren't the same thing!

Pray that we would be faithful in bringing about a place of healing, deliverance, and strengthening; not just a comfort zone for people who never recover!  We need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit's power in our life and ministry to make the difference between these two.  Pray for us!

Advent Services in Jerez

These are pictures of our congregation in Jerez at one of our Sunday morning services during Advent this year.  The young man lighting the advent wreath in the front of the church is César, one of our young fathers.  Pray for him as he seeks to be a husband and father after God's design.

Thanksgiving

Dick and Barb Erickson from the Latin American Lutheran Mission in Laredo TX joined us and the Schierkolks for Thanksgiving dinner.  The Ericksons are old friends from when we lived in Ecuador and worked together under the World Mission Prayer League.  They have known our kids since they were new-born babies.

Their visit over Thanksgiving has become something of a family tradition for us.  They come over 500 miles to spend it with us each year.  What a gift our friendship has been over the years!

More Concrete Plans

The World Missions Committee has very kindly granted us two months' leave to go and help with my Dad in Phoenix.  We have reservations for January 17th., flying from Guadalajara to Mexico City and then to Phoenix.

We really appreciate our AFLC World Missions committee and all the help and encouragement they give us on the field.

Ingrid also had a wonderful meeting with the committee and was very encouraged when she returned to Mexico!

Daniel and Marcela went to Aguascalientes to spend the 24th with her mom.  The traditional Mexican family Christmas celebration is at midnight on Christmas eve.  We expect them home today sometime and will have our family Christmas celebration tomorrow the 26th, as we usually do.  This works out great for all our families.

God's peace be with you all this Christmas!

Dan Giles et al

Winds of Change

After a time of soul-searching and prayer, the Lord has led Debbie and me to the decision that we need to go to Phoenix for a time and help take care of my Dad.  We will leave sometime in January and return to the Jerez mission field about four months later.  This will be instead of the trip we had planned to Spain during that same time, which will now be postponed until a later date.

While we were trying to decide what to do, the Lord reminded us of the story of Ruth, from the Old Testament.  She wanted to serve the true God the best way she could, but had no real knowledge of how to do that.  She just made the best decision that she knew how to make -- to accompany and take care of her mother-in-law.  History tells us that she made the right decision and walked with her mother-in-law not only back to Bethlehem, but straight into God's blessing as well.  So it is with hearts full of love and peace that we will  journey to Phoenix to take care of my parents for a time.

Pray for my Dad!

Last Friday (23rd of November) I got a message from one of my brothers in Phoenix, that my father, Rev. Robert Giles (AFLC) was taken to the hospital in Sun City West because his legs weren't working.  The doctors have run tests and eliminated all the really scary things like stroke, heart attack, etc.  In fact they say that for a 90 year old man with Post-Polio Syndrome he is in good shape.

Pray that the Lord would keep my Dad in the hollow of His hand, give wisdom to the doctors, and provide healing for Dad.  Pray that he would give our family wisdom as we consider the best ways to help Mom and Dad.

Thanks!

Tabasco Flood Relief

Flooding caused by torrential rains has submerged 80% of the southern Mexican state of Tabasco and left over 1,000,000 people homeless.  The need is enormous!

Last week, I (Dan), my son Daniel, and César, a friend from church, drove our 3/4 ton Chevy van over 2,000 miles round trip from Jerez, Zacatecas, to deliver a load of relief supplies to a Refugee center in a Christian church in Tabasco.  The food, used clothing, blankets, medicines, and other supplies were donated by neighbors, church members, and other friends.  AFLC World Missions and Amery Free Lutheran church both helped with financial gifts that enabled us to buy more food and supplies and pay for gasoline and tolls to get there.  Thank you, everyone who helped!  (Attention, Partners in Mission -- what a van!)

(The date on the pictures is wrong!)