Mud Games

Keith and Olivia were in charge of the mud games this week.  It was so much fun...I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

 Olivia and Keith showing how it's done.

Keith explaining the rules to the kids...in sign language!

Jason doing crowd control.



Smores

Today some of the students left for a trip to Rosarito for a few days. Me and Keith have stayed behind with a the kids who couldn't make it. Tonight we had a campfire dinner of Costco dogs and smores which was amazing! Great fun and fellowship.

Goodbye Bonsells

Our trip to Los Mochis comes to an end. Dave and Mitchelle

couldn't have been better hosts. They opened my eyes to the

deaf and the lost in places other than Rancho. I was honored

to be able to serve them during these last two weeks. 

Niños

Here in Los Mochis, the Bonsells have a good bunch of kids, I've definitely been enjoying my time here. Everyone has been so welcoming and the kids will keep you busy with a ton of games.  There's a huge need for staff here so keep this ministry and the kids in your prayers.

All the wasted years!

Mexican hot dogs are my new hero. Come on U.S. you can

do better than just ketchup, mustard and relish. This stand has

two hot dogs wrapped in bacon and topped with an unholy

amount of toppings. Oh yeah, and that stuff on top of the hot

dog? That's shredded hot dog. 

Los Mochis

So here we are at the Los Mochis airport on Thursday . We met up with Dave and headed to his school and home. Me and Keith have two weeks ahead of us here. We're looking forward to opportunities to serve in whatever ways we can.

Spelling Contest

Last Wednesday, Rancho held its Spelling Contest, the students were shown pictures and need to finger-spell and sign them correctly. It was great fun and the kids enjoyed the competition (and the prizes).

Evangelism Month

Today was our final Sunday to visit Horizante, the deaf church in Ensenada.  Carlos teaches in Mexican Sign Language and there is usually a person voicing in Spanish, so we gringos do our best at understanding.  There are about 15-20 people who attend and they are always very welcoming to us.  After that, we went to a well known burrito stand for lunch and then raced back to the Ranch to teach the video class to the Training Center students.  Whew.  Now off to get ready for staff church.  All in all, a great Sunday!

Overnighter

Jason and I rocked it in Ensenada for a few days. We hung out 

in a house with five other deaf guys, most of them former Ranch

students. We cleaned off their deck and covered it with water

sealant. It only took us two hours, but it felt great to help out. 

Ensenada at Night

Its beautiful night in Ensenada, me and keith have the awesome privilege of staying at a home here with Carlos and some other guys. We just got back from a fun evening of playing basketball at a local sports area. It's been a very blessed night.

Horizante Church & Alfredo

For the month of April we will be attending the deaf church in Ensenada.  We invited Alfredo to join us one time so he could see the ministry and check things out.  Alfredo would like to be in ministry, perhaps a pastor, so he may move to Ensenada to be mentored by Carlos Suarez, the pastor there.  Alfredo will graduate next month having completed two years in the Training Center.

Fun and Games

It's not ALL fun and games but with this group of interns there is definately a 'game' element.  We are pretty obsessed with the game Dominion, especially since we've added the Seaside Expansion cards!  I learned to work the Pirate card to my advantage and I finally won a game.

After helping Katie for a week in chapel,  I was given the

opportunity to lead the kids in their bible verse during the

Sunday Easter service. Made me feel very special and important.

Fire Fighting, Kinda

We had a little scare this week, we saw smoke rising up in the hills be hind the ranch. Me and Chris went to investigate. After running uphill for way too long we found out that the fire was actually so far away that the ranch wasn't in any real danger. Got a good hike out of it though. - jay

Easter Sunrise at the Ranch

We had a beautiful Good Friday service with communion and then an outdoor service on Easter Sunday.  It was touching to see the Last Supper reinacted and then receive the elements ourselves.  It was also an added blessing to share this special time with the visiting church groups from Washington state.

Cinderella

Before leaving, one of the groups put on an awesome little play of Cinderella for the kids. It was hilarious to see everyone running around in their costumes and the kids loved it. - jay

Working Out

Wow! The Washington group did an amazing job this week, the exercise room has a great new coat of paint and the building stucko is all done. Thanks to all involved, this is awesome. - jay

The Last Supper

In honor of Good Friday, the ranch had communion last night. In order to convey the meaning of it, Luke put together a little skit of the last supper in which he was Jesus and me, keith, and a bunch of other staff and group guys played disciples. Afterward we had an amazing time of worship through song and sign. - jay

Clothes, clothes, and more clothes

Two days worth of organizing the boy's clothing room. Already have packed up 6 bags of give away clothes to Guadalupe and 6 bags of clothes to be thrown away, and yet we are only 60% done. It's inspiring to see all the donations God has blessed the Ranch with. Just takes some effort to get it all organized.

Breaking Bread

So this week in the chapel I got to help in, the kids learned about the Last Supper. So they made awesome unleavened bread and we drank grape juice, fun and hands on! - jay

Different Duties

As an intern, theres not really a normal day, which is pretty awesome. Today me and Keith got to watch Juan Jose (JJ) the newest student to the ranch, the little man is only 4! He's an energentic little guy so we walked him around the track and kicked around the soccer ball. Fun day for sure.

Home Renovation

We've had a great team of churches from Washington helping at the ranch this week. Our home, the intern housing / exercise room is getting a new coat of stucko and some fresh paint. Thanks go to God for providing the building and the Washington teams for all the hard work they've put in. - jay

R.W.T.R.I.A. #2

Reasons Why the Ranch is Awesome #2

Personal running track on campus if you feel the need to get into shape.

New Month

Well its been awhile, had a great week at home with friends a family and the last week we've been settling back into the ranch life. A new month is here with new ministry opprotunities! This month we will be working with Carlos at his ministry in Ensenada. We will be helping him with a soccer outreach (which should be awesome!) and staying with him and some other the other guys from the church in Ensenada, so here's to a great month of ministry. Go intern! - jay

Biola Conference 2

We all had a great time today at the mission's conference attending different seminars, studies, and working the RSM Intern booth. It is my hope that God will bless those who took interest and call many more to His work at Rancho as well as around the world. May we live lives consumed by God - jay

A New Art Project

Been taking apart the old and broken sewing machines to create an artistic mosaic. It's fun tinkering with the machines and seeing how they work, expect pics of the results in the future. - Keith

Biola Conference

Today we start workin our booth here at the mission's conference, and as you can see we have a pretty good attention getter, hoping to get alot of people interested in ministry at RSM. - jay

New Auditorium

Luke Everett, Paul Ague, Jon DePriest, Steve Jenkins

Construction sites are inspiring because we know they are evidence of expansion and forward movement.  We welcomed SDCC President, Paul Ague, Academic VP, Jon DePriest, and Director of Spiritual Life, Steve Jenkins to RSM and were able to share the vision of our ministry - to send out workers to the great harvest of deaf people who have yet to understand the love, mercy and salvation that comes through Jesus Christ.  Our Ministry Training Center will be the location for training people from Mexico and the US, deaf and hearing, to serve the Lord by ministering to the deaf.  Thank you to "The Dos," Keith and Jason, for stepping out in faith and being our first class of Interns!  For more information on this program, see Internship Program.

Pizza Night

Three mission organizations in Valle de Guadalupe (RSM, Ventana and Ninos de Baja) organized an "Intern Night" in Porvenir.  We all came together for encouragement and a sharing of ideas.  We had homemade pizza followed by a worship night led by our very own Jason Holloway!

R.W.T.R.I.A.1

Reasons Why the Ranch is Awesome:
 #1
 Free oranges whenever you want.

Paint and Mud

This week we've had a great group of guys and gals from SDCC working on the intern apartment and exercise building. Got a fresh coat of "Mexico Blue" paint as me and Keith like to say and alot of mud work done. A big thanks to everyone who helped and a great thanks to God for being our provider. - jay

Queso

This past Sunday Keith and I had the opportunity to cook lunch for the Ranch.  Janet helped us out with the measurements and soup while Keith and I made quesadillas. Great lunch and I was glad to serve doing something I love. - jay

"To infinity and beyond!"

Our fearless leader, Luke, took the interns on the new Rancho Sordo Mudo zipline. 

Here is Luke showing how it's done,

"To infinity and beyond!"

Leading Worship

March is the beginning of a new focus for the internship program  -  "Church Based Deaf Ministry."  We have a full-fledged deaf church service at RSM and Jason and Keith joined Johnny and Amber Thompson in leading worship.  Wow.  It's amazing how much sign language they have learned in just one month!

Wildlife

Lots of fun critters to be found at the Ranch. This one was pretty cute when he wasn't flying around try to eat my face. -Keith

"Go Intern"

Lots of great stuff going on, some big some small. The exercise room is now closed up with some sweet drywall, reading and disciplining ourselves with God's help, and getting to work and play along side the kids has just been a great blessing. - jay

Tacky Tourist Pic

As promised, the tacky tourist pic.  But before we get too carried away on the mockery, I should let you know that Jason actually bought his poncho.  We dragged him out of the store before he could buy the sombrero too.  JK!  But we had a great day eating our way through Baja.



Internship Underway

The Internship is underway and "The Dos," Keith and Jason, are adjusting to life in Mexico and bonding with the students.  Tacky tourist pics from Ensenada will be posted soon!  Trust me when I say those pictures will be worth checking back in to see!

Internship Workshop at SDCC

Johnny & Amber were working the crowd at the missions conference at San Diego Christian College.  Our Internship table was very busy and we had about 80 people attend our breakout sessions.  Lots of information was shared about ministering to the deaf and the opportunities and needs in Mexico.  We had 20 people register to come down on a missions trip in March.  Can't wait to see everyone again.