CS Mexico is Headed to Conference!

Last week we received some amazing news from the Allbutts, who head up CS in Puerto Escondido, Mexico - they're loading 8 national Mexicans into a big van and driving all through Central America to attend our international conference! They will need help to make it though. Read below for full details from Mike and Vanessa...

We are writing personally to offer you the opportunity to financially bless some local Mexican Christian surfers. As you might remember from our previous newsletter, Mike is heading to Costa Rica at the end of July, to attend the International Christian Surfers Conference. Our initial plan was to attend as a family, but as we have prayed and talked more about it, we really sense that this is an excellent opportunity to instead take some of the local surfers we have been working with.

This International Conference takes place every two years and at different locations around the world. This year is the first time it is being hosted so close to us (only four days drive away!). It has been such an encouragement to attend these gatherings in the past. The delegates are exposed to sound biblical teaching, to testimonies of God's work throughout the world and to ideas for ministry opportunities. In taking these young men to the conference, we hope to inspire them and encourage them in what God could do in Mexico.

The plan is for Mike to drive our van to Costa Rica, keeping the travel expenses as minimal as possible. But the costs of the conference are beyond what most of these Mexican surfers can ever save. We are asking the surfers with more means to contribute some of the expenses, but we need some funds to help them cover the difference.

We will be away for 2 weeks and the expected costs per person are:

$40/day (meals, accommodation at conference)
$100 conference registration
$150 for travel to and from conference
($800 would pretty much cover the whole trip for 1 person)

These are the 8 guys who would greatly benefit from coming and in faith have already spent more than a week's wage buying passports.

Israel Lopez
Carlos Angel
Jose Ramirez
Jesús Ávila
Pablo Linares
Emilio Linares
Raul Lobato
Tony Carpio

The first four guys are in Mike's discipleship program. They are being trained to lead the local mission and are actively sharing Jesus and making disciples amongst their surfer mates.

The next two are brothers who are still in high school. They come from a very difficult family situation but have been faithful despite their circumstances. I see great potential in them in leading many others to follow Jesus like they do.

The last two guys are from another part of Mexico a days drive up the coast. They are both recent converts but until I went to their town last month they didn't know that there were other Christians who surfed. We plan to start a CS mission in their area after they return.

If you, your church or homegroup etc. are interested and able to help out, you can deposit into our Citibank ministry account:

MICHAEL ALLBUTT
Citibank
BSB: 242200
Account: 431412907

We leave Puerto Escondido on Monday 21st July and will return two weeks later. The 4 days drive down then 4 back will be used to watch the 10 hours of the Bible movie, do the Alpha Course and listen to the whole Bible. It will be a great time of fellowship and adventure as we visit 5 countries.