Valle de las Palmas

During the Senior Pastors' conference I had the pleasure of getting to know many new brothers in Christ. One of these was the young pastor of Capilla Calvario Las Palmas (Calvary Chapel Las Palmas) in Baja California, Mexico.

Hassan Villegas is orginially from La Mirada, in Los Angeles. About four years ago he moved to Mexico with his wife, Stacy, and their three young boys, so that he could run Casa Hogar Celestial, a local orphanage in Valle de las Palmas. During those four years, the Lord did many things in and through Hassan and his family. One of these was to plant a church in town which Hassan now pastors full-time. The orphanage has undergone some restructuring, and while Hassan and Stacy are still intimately involved, they have now been freed up to focus full time on the growing body of Christ at CC Las Palmas.

Me and my brother Hassan outside the CC Las Palmas building after Sunday service

Carrie and I and the kids were blessed to be invited to come and stay with the Villegas family for a few days. Hassan also asked me to teach on missions at the Sunday morning service at CC Las Palmas. It was a really wonderful time getting to know the Villegas family and the church family at CC Las Palmas, not to mention a great opportunity to stir up the brethren for missions. We also had the pleasure of meeting three other missionaries that help in the work there: Rebecka, Rachel, and David.

The Langley kids and two of the three Villegas boys.
Left to right: Noah Villegas, Keenan, Kevan, Micah Villegas, Caleb, and Jada
(with me in the background)

The next weekend I was able to go back to Valle de las Palmas for the grand re-opening of the orphanage. Many of the volunteers from the States who did the physical work to renovate the orphange were there, along with the staff, both new and old, and most importantly... the kids! We had a great feast of burgers and hot dogs and watermelon and the like.

Please remember to pray for both of these awesome ministries to the people of Valle de las Palmas, Baja California, Mexico: for the orphanage, it's staff, and children. And for the Villegas family, Rebecka, Rachel, David, and the body of Christ at CC Las Palmas.

I've posted some pictures below of our time there. You can also learn more by visiting the CC Las Palmas website: www.capillacalvariolaspalmas.org

The Langley Clan & the Mariachi Band at the Fish Taco Place in Tecate - yummy!

Back Row: Keenan & Caleb
Front Row: Micah Villegas, Kevan, & Noah Villegas
The Beautiful Dove-Shaped Platform at CC Las Palmas
I'm telling a funny story about using the word "taco" in Swahili - Hassan is translating the sermon into Spanish for me