The Beans of Life - Frijoles De Vida

Status Update

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:51:00 +0000

Hey everyone,

So I am not in Mexico any more. I am actually married now and living in San Luis Obispo, CA with my beautiful wife Katie. However, Justin, Darren, and I have begun a project called Enfoque Ciudad. In this project our goal is to provide missionaries to Mexico with the necessary structure for raising funds and the support of Biblical coaching, counseling, and budgeting while they are on the mission field in Mexico. We have started this nonprofit and you will soon be able to follow updates at EnfoqueCiudad.org. In addition, I highly recommend you follow Darren and Justin's blogs:

http://darrenhurst.blogspot.com

or

http://justinhurst.blogspot.com

Thank you for your support!

Cheers,

Eric

Guadalajara Trip Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:02:00 +0000

Guadalajara Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Hey guys,

So we took 5 days and went to guadalajara for a vision trip for a couple people (paul, eric, and lindsey) to show them the city where darren and justin will be planting a church next year. It was a couple of amazing days in this city. We stayed with a couple pastors of a church Rey de Reyes (king of kings) on the outskirts of guadalajara. They were really hospitable, thankfully, and we were able to spend all day seeing the city, the downtown, and also able to spend some time on a couple university campuses there talking with students.

The trip was an eye opening one. Darren and I stayed with the head pastor of rey de reyes, kenton, while the other guys stayed at the english service pastor's house, ray. We were able to chat with kenton a bit who was raised in mexico as a missionary kid then had to leave when he was 14 (both his parents died in an airplane accident). He came back to mexico, however, a while ago and spent 10 years in acapulco pastoring a church and has been in guadalajara for about the same.

I remember one thing specifically he asked us "what do you think the main difference is between roman catholicism and christianity?" The answer was a simple one and one many would have guessed, "catholicism values tradition more than scripture, for the most part". I hadn't actually thought that through or studied that for terribly long, yet it was striking. Catholics here have a respect for the Bible sure, however, it is unfortunately true that many will discount the scripture for the sake of following tradition. That is just how it is here, after a long time of tradition it is just so infused within the psyche here people will take it over scripture saying the opposite.

A thought on evangelism toward roman catholics: Darren actually taught a bible study while we were in guadalajara and he brought up some good points about evangelizing to roman catholics. namely, it is important to reach common ground. for example, instead of pointing out that we don't worship the virgin mary we should talk about that we agree we worship jesus and he is the source of salvation.

A blog for a few missed blogs!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:50:00 +0000

Hey friends and family,
So, I haven't been blogging as much as in the past and it has occurred to me that I really should be doing my best to keep you all informed so that you are able to pray for us down here; in addition, so that you yourselves can see God's faithfulness to my team and our contacts down here.

With that- I am back in D.F. (distrito federal, a.k.a. mexico city) and have been off and on for the last couple months. I say off and on because I have taken some impromptu trips to Guadalajara where Justin and Darren Hurst (the guys leading my team) are planting a church there the next year or so. Also, I came back to the states for a couple of weeks due a death in the family. My grandma, my mom's mom, had been diagnosed with cancer in an advanced stage and shortly after passed away. My family and I were shocked by the quickness of her passing only because we expected it to happen- but much later. The time home afforded me the opportunity to talk with a few members of my family about God a little, I am not sure how much of it came through but I hope some of it did. Also the pastor doing the eulogy had several strikingly decisive things to say about death and the afterlife about my grandma's conviction concerning Jesus's salvation. For that, I was very grateful. If you are able I know that my family is still feeling her loss a bit and could use prayer for strength; as well as direction in taking opportunities to share with my extended family.

Another quick family prayer, request is that my grandpa, dad's dad, is now in the hospital! haha, I was like "seriously" now grandpa!? However, fortunately it seems that God is giving him a second chance so to say. He has been immobile for a while and now it appears he might have some hope for walking and recuperating a bit. I gave him a pedicure last time I was over at his house a couple weeks ago and after that service we had the closest conversation than we had ever had about Jesus. So, hopefully things will begin to open up more with him due to his hospitalization, mom says she is amazed at his openness now to things- so pray for him if you would, his name is Len.

Thank you all for your support this year, who ever has been following this blog and/or praying for me I really appreciate it alot and I hope you have been encouraged.

darren's 2nd book!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:31:00 +0000

From Darren's Book

hey guys! so darren hurst, our team leader down here, has written another book and i have the privilege of designing it inside and out! so i just wanted to show you guys a sneak peak of the cover and let you know what to watch out for! its on John 3:16 and he wrote it because he wanted to write specifically to the hearts of the people he has come to know well in mexico!

Mexican Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:27:00 +0000

We had a little party for all the americans before we left to come here and vacation back in cali while UNAM is on break. It was a white elephant party! and we had to find a gift for less than 50 pesos so i found a rasta hat with fake dreads! yah! we had a great time watching charlie brown christmas and elf! I love hanging out with these guys they all are so great!

pies for the guys!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:22:00 +0000

so the soccer guys, the guys from the soccer field from the college of science at UNAM, came over for another hangout time the other day. The first time was when we had a crazy soccer tourney in our house. This time was more tame and had more food! I baked a raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry cheesecake for them and that was a big hit. It is a lot of fun to hang out with the guys but they still aren't showing a lot of interest in Jesus, they need prayer for softened hearts!

JOE IS LEAVING

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:15:00 +0000

Joe Cross, one of 2 of the directors here for enfoque mexico (campus crusade) in mexico city, is leaving to join the marines! he announced this surprise exit to us about a couple weeks ago. This is his farewell party where all the americans and mexicans get together and encourage him on his way home. Joe was the reason that darren as well as me and the rest of our house coming down here to mexico city. He has proven to be a man of vision and a great encouragement to be around and he is just a lot of fun to be around. He said, that the timing just seemed right to leave now and join because he is soon to be too old. He also said that this hasn't come out of the blue: he has had a recurring dream since he was a boy about this particular calling in his life. He is excited and ready to see how he is going to be used in the corp.

xochimilco!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:07:00 +0000

so some know and some don't know that mexico city was originally built on a lake. Here today, there is little water in mexico city; however, there still is a small portion called xochimilco. This lush rural area of the city is home to a wide variety of canals that irrigate the man-made landscape of vegetation. Here they are able to grow vegetables year around as well as provide a fun area for a little R and R. We sat in a boat for a couple hours being pushed around by our host, diego, and being serenaded by a couple passing marachi boats and fed by a kitchen boat that served up some spicy tacos and enchiladas for us! it was so relaxing. Craig, our director here, wanted to get to know us better as well as hang out a bit so Xochimilco was the place to go.

the column of independence

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:53:00 +0000

So after dropping about 400 bibles off in tepito i had craig drop me off near the "columna de independencia" which is only a brief walk over to the street kids we have a bible study with on saturdays, plus it provides for some great looking scenery!

memo and UNAM

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:31:00 +0000

Hey, so here are a couple more contextual shots of what UNAM is like. My friend memo here is one of the guys i spend the most time with on campus. He is a really open and honest guy that like most mexicans is really turned of to bible by the abuses of the religious people he has encountered. Institutions of religion has left a really bad taste in his mouth about God and the Bible, but he has been pretty open about letting me know where he stands thankfully. Recently, his grandmother has been not doing so well so his family is preparing for her to pass on. He seems at peace with her going but she is a huge figure in his life and we have been able to talk about what the bible tells us about heaven. His grandmother, he is convinced, is a believer. Memo needs prayer that he would be less apathetic towards jesus what his death on the cross means for his life and sin. He seems at times disinterested but hopefully he will really be rocked by the conviction of the holy spirit about his life. pray for him.

Darren book photos

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:25:00 +0000

So, my roommate and friend darren is writing another book. He wrote his first one last year during his senior year of college as a way to reach his friends and old highschool and college buddies with the gospel, because nothing inspires interest like saying "i wrote a book just for you." His first one was called those who turned the world upside down and was a conversational, evangelistic commentary through acts. Now he is finishing his second book and it is one of the ways i get to help him out by designing the book for him, b/c i have a background in graphic design, and popping some shots of him for the back cover. So enjoy, darren is always kind of a goofball but i think these make him seem less so, haha just kidding!

bibles! bibles! bibles!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:18:00 +0000

Our garage went from empty to completely packed a couple weeks ago when we received a shipment from miami of over 200 boxes of bibles. These bibles were given to us for the specific purpose of getting them in the hands of university student who dont have a copy of God's word of their own. This shipment was over a year in the making and only done with a lot of hard work from our director here, craig johring. The bibles in total are 209 boxes, thats about 5,000 of them, weighing over 10,000 lbs, with an approximate value of $100,000 us dollars!

boys! now no playing footbal in the house!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:13:00 +0000

so chris and scott had their friends from the college of sciences over to the house for some dinner, disccusion, and a dessert of soccer tournament! it was a lot of fun and surprisingly tame enough to be inside our living room! chris and scott have been pretty amazingly diligent to hang out with these guys and be christ in their lives by teaching the word during their lunch time about once a week for the last month. The guys have been fairly receptive, but i am definitely expecting these guys to be used to change the lives of some of the guys from the "canchita" (their soccer field)! you could pray for energy and grace for their words when they are able to really to speak frankly to these guys!

semilla de mostaza! my church here!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:06:00 +0000

So i go to This church called Semilla de mostaza (the mustard seed). it is pastored by former Control Machete front man, Fermin Cuatro! He is even a more influential teacher than he was a rapper! he still raps, however this time with the right messages in mind. His past gives him a unique in with a lot of people, since he was so heavily into drugs and alcohol. The church is a great place where we have met a lot of brothers and sisters who are as eager to encourage and evangelize the city as we are!

house pics

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:45:00 +0000

So this is our house! it is so much nicer than we were anticipating and we are so grateful to have it. We could use prayer, however, our landlord has been a little on the shady side on a lot of her activities and it has caused us to walk a hard line with her. We could use prayer that we are a light to Jesus to her and that we will be led by the Spirit in all our interactions with her! her name is Reyna!

Lunch with gonzalo

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:52:00 +0000

Gonzalo is a student on UNAM who we we had a chance to sit down with at lunch. The conversation went something like this, " hey it looks like you are walking to the comedor to eat?"- "uhh, yep i am" - "Perfect, come eat with us" - " Perfect, come eat with us!" So he did! We got a chance to share the gospel with him. He is a economics student who wants to become a teacher there at UNAM so he will pursue his post graduate then return! Unfortunately, Gonzalo didn't know any christians but fortunately he got some truth that day.

More Resting

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:46:00 +0000

More Resting! We had an absolutely fantastic week! Thank God for giving these people the desire to bless us in this way it turned out to be so good for us! Here is a couple snapshots of how we spent the week! Now its back to work!

a Week of Rest

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:40:00 +0000

So the rest of Enfoque Mexico is going to Acupulco for a week of R and R. So we decided to
follow suit with a week of vacation of our own. We have a few friends in the Cuernavaca area who graciously offered to host us from monday to friday. So we ended up staying with the marquez family who are a christian family who we know pretty well at this point. Darren has come over to spend time with Arturo (26) and Mario (30) a couple of times. In addition, mario and I volunteered for registration during Passion so I got a chance to know him pretty well over the course of a couple days. Mario (senior) and Susie are so nice! They are Mario and Arturo's parents and just offered to let us stay in their bottom floor/ basement type set up which coincidentally had 5 beds! This week has been incredibly restful and rejuvenating. God speaks again and again of resting in the Bible. From resting physically from labor and also finding your rest in Him. He is the great provider of this and we have been so blessed this week to spend a week in the sun, sleeping in, and seeking God.

Lunch @ Coyoacan w/ Victoriano!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:30:00 +0000

So Victoriano is this really cool guy i met at the college group we go to on mondays. He is a full-time musician and working on a electronica type music album right now (he says he is kind of really behind on it). So occasionally we get together and go to the center of coyocoan (a colonia) to hit up el jarocho cafe (which is really famous) to get their hot chocolate and get some churros at the best place for it in the city. This guy is a lot of fun to be around. He loves Jesus and has a hilarious sense of humor. He definitely would like prayer for his album to get finised if you guys have time.

Dinner night!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:19:00 +0000

We like to have other missionaries, students we meet, and our teammates over for dinner fairly often. Here is one dinner that I cooked for tim (left), john (attempting to drink balsamic vinegar), and justin (right). I cooked shishkabobs and it was AMAZING! Thankfully we have a good super market about 2 blocks away!

Enfoque Student Leader Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:12:00 +0000

So during Passion we passed out a lot of flyers for all those who were interested in potentially starting a movement on their campus. Passion seems like the perfect event to get the word out about the Enfoque Mexico, with all the christian college students in the city basically coming to one location. So we passed out a bunch of flyers and saw a pretty good turn out at the meeting. The individual teams are now following up with students in their focus area: like for us UNAM. Hopefully, the lord will use this to jump start a lot of studies and evangelism on the different college campuses in D.F.! In the picture, Joe Cross (1 of 2 directors for enfoque mexico) and Chris Chown (roommate and teammate here in Mexico City).

A City of Hospitality!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:46:00 +0000

Hey Friends,
After a morning meeting with our team we took the metro to UNAM to do our routine of looking for those divine appointments on campus with christians in order to encourage them to share their faith, start a bible study, or in other ways build up the christian body on their campus and take those opportunities that they might not have in the future to talk with their friends about Jesus. So, during the train ride i ran into Ivan! Ivan is a picture of the culture here: after a few minutes of chatting he asked for my number and asked if i wanted to go to hang out with his girlfriend and him for lunch and just hang out. He was so kind and we became friends instantly, he and his girl friend valerie both are catholics (she seems to be the spiritual one in the relationship, however, they both agree that what my team is doing here is great). if you are able friends, please pray for opportunities to speak truth to them! it seems that Valerie knows Jesus but i am not sure about Ivan (he is definitely nice though). Pray for grace and love to surround my words as we become closer friends!

Also, i went to the post office today. On the way back we took a taxi which was driven by Abel, a friendly 40-something guy with a wife and 2 kids (19yr old son, and 15 yr old daughter). I felt instantly like asking if he wanted to go to church! Abel was at first pretty stand-offish but after we talked for longer he could see i wasn't interested in converting him to my institution. After a few minutes i asked if i could give him my number so that if he wanted to go to church sometime i would love to take him to my church, to which he said "claro que si!" (of course). It was sad and enlightening after this to see his response after thinking about my offer..." Pero, soy pobre y no tengo dinero" (I am poor and dont have money). My response to him was that Jesus didn't ask for money and neither should anyone else because the gospel is gratis... "free". He was excited at this and seemed very open to calling me for church. Keep Abel in and his family in your prayers!

dance party!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:35:00 +0000

Our house hosted mexican independence day dance party! for 4 hours or so we were entertaining our guests in a circle of crazy dancing latinos and gringos!
We didn't plan any of this, they just asked to use our house to have a "couple of people over" for one of the ministries on campus and then at 9 or so a group of people came in to the house with a trunk full of dj equipment and started a dance party!
me and jen in the kitchen taking a break and making some snacks for our guests!
the d man showing how low he can go with a member of crusade's national staff, alejandra, towards the end of our dance party. I was really glad to see so many non christians come! Darren had invited a group of people he had been witnessing to at starbucks and they showed up! They didn't know what to expect with a bunch of "religious" people on the biggest party night of the mexican calendar, but i really do think that we were able to show them a good example of how in christ we can have tons of fun without a drop of alcohol! pray for those starbucks folks tho as we are still able to see them on a daily basis!

los ninos en la calle

noreply@blogger.com (Eric Doster) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:42:00 +0000

los ninos en la calle (boys in the street) who come from broken homes or no home at all and spend most of their time washing windows and getting high off of paint thinners. Consequently, most of them are fairly malnourished as the paint thinners kill their hunger pains! pray for the bible studies and that God would use us to help these kids get off their addictions and more importantly that they would know their true Father who loves them.