Seeking

My husband has had the blessing of being discipled by one of our elders, the last several years. Because of this, the elder is well aware of our desires and journey with missions. His own experience includes previously playing for and now working with MLB. In 2025, this friend told Rick about an opportunity to serve as a volunteer chaplain for the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino ...in Spanish.  We began to pray.  In January 2026, Husband began working on and submitted his application. Weeks went by, but he did not get a reply. The elder found out the website was down. A new link was provided, so he submitted a second application and received confirmation and offer the next day. Within that same week, he was advised to seek counsel from 2 other elders and discuss the potential impact to Sunday service. He did so and was encouraged to move forward . One of the greatest blessings was when we were told this opportunity would be presented to our elder board, so they cou...

When Fall comes, I am reminded of the Fall of 2019. This was when my husband and I first visited Cornerstone, my grandmother who was like a mother passed away and I was in a situation that would cost me my job. It was one of the most trying seasons of my life. But God ...our second church visit was during the annual "Thanksgiving Service," and I was beyond blessed by the brethren praising the Lord, in the midst of loss and suffering . Six years later, I stand in awe of God's sovereign goodness to me, in spite of old and new sufferings. Below is some of what I shared at this year's service of thanks. I want to share three stories that show God's love to me, and why I am grateful to Him. In May, my husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We had a terrific two weeks enjoying France and one another. This is a testament to God's grace, because year 7 was far from enjoyable. It was hard and felt insurmountable. We had allowed various patterns of sin t...

Greetings to you in the Lord, beloved! October 20th marked the 1-year anniversary Husband and I attended a  12 Stones counseling retreat with four members from and at our church. I had never felt so exposed and humiliated by my sin. By the last day, I began to shut down, wanting to run away and hide. But it was part of God's perfect and gracious plan to continue exposing a distorted understanding and application of the gospel. Through much of my life I thought He responded to me based on my performance (which I thought was fairly decent), and I responded to others based on their performance (not so decent), damaging relationships, especially my marriage. I was looking down on people, as opposed to looking up at Christ . But fellowship with the body plus   consistent preaching of the word and gospel from the pulpit, equipping school and women's bible study  began to chip away at my heart these last 4 years and especially the last.  Our prayer is that the Lord would ...

During a meeting with Israel Contreras, the pastor at Iglesia Biblica Misionera (IBM church), he encouraged our Short Term Missions team of 7 to ask the Lord why He would send us to Queretaro, Mexico and consider the impact would outlast the week. Every time I pause to consider, there is a new facet for which to remain in awe! But one thing we want to highlight about our trip is God's gift to peel back the curtain to see a glimpse of that future day by witnessing  unity in the body, in service and in the hope & need we all share today .  STM Team + Pastor Isra (blue shirt behind wife Maru) & wife Maru (pink pants) @ IBM church on Sunday Our team stayed in 4 different houses of IBM church members, and we were welcomed like family - given their bedrooms, time and love. Before we even arrived, our host husband reached out to mine asking if I preferred almond or coconut milk, since I am sensitive to dairy. Late on our travel day, I was eager to get "home" to rest, tho...