La Roca

Welcome to La Roca (The Rock) Servants International’s new home in San Luis Potosi, Mexico! Here are some before and in progress shots.

Pretty rough to start!

But now after some months of progress La Roca is taking shape...

It's a lot of work but it will be awesome one day! Can you see the change?

Some clean-up, wiring for electrical, a few bathrooms, some furniture and we can get started!

Just a reminder:
We are coming up to the Christmas season and our customary Christmas fiesta at the rancho is a big part of what the 160 people there look forward to each year. (Sixty percent have no jobs and only one parent (a mom) the other forty percent of families that are employed make only $60 per week.) The celebration includes warm clothing, blankets, food, toys and candy for the children. Of course this takes extra money.

You can help! A little can go a long way... so any help would be great!
As the year ends, please remember that any funds contributed to Servant’s International before December 31, 2007 will be tax deductible for 2007. Muchas Gracias!

Servants International, Inc.,

16103 Weatherly Way, Huntersville, NC 28078

http://www.servantslove.org/

June/July 2007

Dear friends and family,

Wow what a busy summer this has been and it is not even over! June started out with Lisa attending a two week missions encounter in L.A. that is a requirement for Foursquare missionaries. Jim stayed back in Mexico with Patrick to finish out the school year and keep things going at Guadalupe Victoria. Lisa learned a lot about how missions works in Foursquare and got to hear many inspiring stories from other missionaries who had been on the field for many years. She was in a class with 15 other missionaries who are going to be stationed everywhere from Ireland to South Africa. It was an incredible experience for her to be with these wonderful people and we look forward to keeping up with them through the years to see what God will be doing in all their lives and ministries.

A Divine Appointment!

Just when she thought it was all winding down, Lisa met an incredible young woman on the plane home who was on her way to San Luis Potosi for the second year with a group of young people from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Her name is Shelli Brown and she and Lisa hit it off like sister from the moment they began to talk. They exchanged numbers and we had the opportunity to join their team for a day of ministry in the town of Rio Verde where they partnered with a local church for VBS and conducted a sports camp in a local public park. It was awesome to see over 200 kids have the opportunity to engage is sports with these Christian athletes.

Karla, Lisa, Shelli Brown, Missy

VBS for the small children was a huge hit!

The Barretts inspiring and working with the children

FCA college athletes working with the kids

These mission trips have come about through a vision of Jean Barrett. Jean has a manufacturing company in Rio Verde, SLP, Mexico and is a former NFL player with the San Francisco 49ers. He has had FCA sports camps in his home state of Oklahoma for 10 years and had the vision to bring the same camp to Mexico. We are glad he did and look forward to seeing them again next year. We continue to marvel at the creative ways God makes Himself known and the beautiful way the body of Christ functions together. Many came to know Christ as a result of their being here and the week ended with a big cook-out where they served hundreds of hamburgers, chips and cokes!

P.S. Did I mention that Shelli is moving to Charlotte and is going be attending Grace Covenant? ............ is God good or what?! Please find her, say hello and give her a warm welcome!

July took us to the states where we met our girls Kristen (26) and Britany (28) as well as Lisa’s Dad (81) for a week at the beach at South Padre Island. It was the first time since Christmas that we had all been together. Needless to say we were thrilled to get to be with them.

Top: with Britany Bottom: Patrick with Kristen

Patrick's cratering birthday cake flambe'

While there we celebrated Patrick’s 15th birthday complete with a homemade chocolate cake, his favorite meal of pork chops and mashed potatoes and ended the day with a rousing game of Apples to Apples. It was a perfect day. There is nothing like family. It was just all too brief. The week ended with Britany going back to New York City where she will be teaching for the 3rd year a Rye High school. Kristen and Patrick went with Papa back to Rome Georgia where they attended his infamous “Papa Camp” that included 4 wheelers, fishing, horse back riding, shooting guns and wearing the grass off in the back pasture with a go cart! After having a blast with their forever young Papa (81), Kristen returned to Baton Rouge where she is finishing her 3rd and final year of Graduate school at LSU and Patrick came back to Mexico on July 29th to help interpret for a mission team from Massachusetts in La Huestecta (Mexican jungle).

Guadalupe Victoria
Things are still progressing at the rancho. We are having church services one Sunday a month, special Bible institute classes for leadership and doctrine classes for the local pastors in the area. We saw one woman (Juana) healed from a shoulder injury that kept her from raising her arm. She came for prayer after a church service and she was moving her arm above her head and praising God for her healing! Luisa also came for prayer and was healed from strong headaches that have plagued her for years. God is so faithful and He is proving Himself over and over at Guadalupe Victoria in many ways. Jim taught the discipleship classes while Lisa was in L.A. and has been building shelves along with some of the guys at the rancho, for the trading post we have started.

Lisa and Karla addressing a women's group.

Following the lead of some of the women who would bring us tortillas or tunas (fruit from the cactus) to exchange for clothes and shoes, we decided that the people there are really wanting to have a hand in bettering their lives rather than just getting a hand out. It has been a beautiful thing to watch and is proving to be a blessing to all. The women and some of the youth leaders are arranging the clothes and other items in the “store” and are really doing a great job organizing things and setting up the system for disbursement.
We are also getting the sense that God wants us to build a church building there. We talked to a Christian friend who is a builder and he has agreed to help us make the plans and clear the land. We will keep you posted on the progress. This same builder is going to also help us access some of the housing needs so that the team from GCC can help with repairs when they come in November.

Jim and the boys building shelves.

The weather here has been extraordinarily wet and cool this year. This has been a fantastic blessing for the crops and the livestock as God has not only changed the spirit of the people but completely changed the complexcion of this desert community.

Pigs love puddles!

Well those are the highlights of what has been going on in our end of the world. We hope that you are having a great summer and that you are taking time to enjoy your families. We also want you to know that we appreciate your support of our family here in Mexico. Without your prayers and financial support we would not be able to be here doing what God has called us to do. Thank you for your faithfulness. We know God will richly bless you as you sow into His Kingdom. We love you and pray God’s richest blessings upon you. May His presence be your portion in all you do.

Serving Him in Mexico,

Jim, Lisa and Patrick McTighe

May 2007

Dear friends and family,

We hope this letter finds you all we healthy and blessed. Things here are busy as usual!

Guadalupe Victoria:
The first week end in May Jim spoke to a group of leaders at Guadalupe Victoria to announce a series of leadership trainings we are going to be having there this summer. There will be trainings two Saturdays a month in June, July and August. The trainings are for Pastors of areas churches at other ranchos as well as potential leaders in those churches. The trainings will be facilitated by us as well as other members of our G.V. team. The concept of doing ministry as a team is really a new concept for them but one they are guardedly open to and one we feel would help them sustain healthier churches. Please be praying for this.

Forteleza de Amor: (the church at G.V.)
The church is still growing and actually had a guest speaker two weeks ago from Dallas Texas. The people were affixed to every word as Pastor Terri talked to them about the Holy Spirit. Following his preaching there was a time of ministry and the Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way. People were set free and the joy of the Lord filled the room.Jim also preached at Sunday service this month as well and gave his testimony. It was a powerful time of testimony of the saving grace of the Lord. Many were very moved to tears at hearing his story and came down front for prayer and healing afterwards. God is good and so faithful.

Bodega:
There is a small room in one of the buildings at G.V. that has been used to store clothing and other donated items. The room was not organized or efficient for distributing things. This month Jim and two other men hung shelves (donated by Don Hall) in the room and moved things around in such a way that we are now able to distribute the items in an efficient way. Seven women and youth helped us separate the clothes and in return they got to “shop”. We are setting up an economic system where things they receive are earned. They actually started this system on their own by trading us tortillas and nopales (eatable cactus) for shoes, clothes etc. We use this food as a suppliment for shut-ins in the community who can't get out for food due to health reasons.

Economic Picture:
Also this month we had a “State of the Rancho” meeting with the adults in G.V... We have been going to the rancho for 18 months now so we felt it was time to see (from their perspective) where we are with regard to water problems, food, economics etc. We got some very valuable information from them that will help us direct our efforts in a more effective manner. We have also elicited the help of two of the most faithful youth to conduct a new census so that we can know precisely how many reside in the community and which houses they live in.

Bible Study:
Lisa’s Bible study is going well .For the most part, the women in the group are spiritually very young. They are from a number of different church backgrounds. It has been a joy to teach the basic fundamentals of the gospel to these precious women who are so eager to learn. With school getting out we will be taking a break for the summer but will convene when school starts the end of August.

Praise Report!
As some of you know Pacoito the six year old grandson of Patrick’s tutor was put in the hospital last week for renal (kidney) failure. When he was admitted his kidney were functioning at only 40% or less and withing 12 hours they totally stopped and he began to swell. It was a shock to his family and all of us who love him. The prognosis was bleak and the financial implications of the situation a huge concern to the family. But …God intervened and after only four days in the hospital Paco woke up and had energy to play and the doctors were astonished. So much that they ran more tests and were completely baffled when the results came back that his kidney were functioning perfectly! The doctors were so sure the test was wrong they did another set of tests and found the same result! God healed him! The entire situation was a testimony to the power of God and all who knew the circumstances were amazed. Then when they left the hospital bill came rather than the $5000 they had expected it was only $250.00. An old friend that heard about the problem came and took care of the bill! It was a miracle all the way around! Thank you for all your prayers.

Thank you again to all of you who have partnered with us in this ministry. Our work in Mexico would be possible without your prayers and financial support. If you are interested in partnering with us you can go to our web site at http://www.servantslove.org/ and find out how you can help with a tax deductable donation.

March 2007

Dear friends and family,

We hope this letter finds you all well. Things have been busy as usual here in Mexico. However, this month has not been without its challenges. Jim has had some health problems that had him in the hospital for some tests because of flashing in his right eye. He has had the problem for seven weeks now and it just doesn’t seem to go away. After all of the tests they still don’t know what is wrong, however, he is being treated now with some medication they give for migraines and it seems to be helping somewhat. We just need for God to heal him. Please pray for him.

Patrick also met with an accident at school playing soccer and tore a tendon in his foot at the ankle. He was in a cast for three weeks but he is on the mend now. Then Lisa ran into a glass sliding door and cut her nose (don’t laugh it really hurt! But it was pretty funny after the fact!) Then our car broke down on our way to Guadalupe Victoria and we had to wait 5 hours in the middle of the desert to get picked up. Of course Jim used this time to take some pictures.
We couldn’t find the right part in Mexico and had to have it shipped in from the states. Thanks to Marty Rhyne and family we are back on the road after 9 days without our Suburban. All of this plus the expense of it all has made for a very challenging month. But, God is faithful and has provided for us in so many ways. One example is that we had to go to this one doctor and the tests cost $100.00. We were both bummed that it was extra money that we just didn’t have. Then when we got home we had a check in the mail from Jim’s sister Donna in Raleigh

Guadalupe Victoria:
Our church services are going very well at the rancho. We have been averaging about 140 people at each service in a room built for 50-60. There is usually another 30-35 more adults standing outside. Lisa preached twice this month and 31 people accepted the Lord. The praise and worship at our services has been awesome. Jim hooked up a projector with the words to the songs and they are really singing out much more than ever. It sounds so beautiful to hear the people singing from their hearts to the Lord. We also need to provide a children’s service while the adults are meeting. We have over 70 children in the services and we really need to have an age appropriate service for them. Please pray for God to bring us people with a heart to help us.
for $100.00. Things like that have been happening over and over. God is so good. The doctor bills have been steep but we know God will provide.

God story! We wanted palms for palm Sunday but had no money to buy them. Told no one but then on the way to church at G.V.we saw the pruned branches from the palm trees in our neighborhood lying on the side of the road for trash pick up. We loaded them in our car and had our palms for Guadalupe Victoria! God knows our hearts and loves to bless us!

Iglesia de Gracia (the church we attend here) bought a new bed for Maria, the 78 year old woman at G.V. that is bed ridden with a broken back. She was so happy to have us visit and bring such a wonderful gift.

General:
We are still taking our Spanish classes and both got A’s on our recent exams!
Patrick continues to do well in school land we are constantly amazed at how God has blessed him with the ability to function so well in all his classes that are totally in Spanish. Imagine... chemistry, biology, physics, history and geography all in Spanish. It was tough for us in English. God is so good!

Jim had the opportunity to bless a couple in a neighboring rancho with pictures of their wedding. It was a beautiful event and the entire village was invited. No matter what their economic level Mexicans go all out for special events like this. It was an honor to be there! It was encouraging to us to find out that the pastor that officiated the wedding was saved through missionaries who came to his rancho when he was a boy. God is faithful.

Coming up:
Lisa is starting a Bible study in our home for English speakers. As we told you earlier we are constantly meeting people from all over the world who speak English and there are no English church services here. We are going to start with a Bible study and see what happens. Though we didn’t have any idea that we would be ministering to Americans and people from other countries while we were in Mexico, it just seems to be something the Lord has put in our path and keeps prodding us in our hearts. It has been a test of our obedience as we just “do it” even though it is not what WE thought we were coming here for. It is not the first time and it will not be the last time that we see again that God’s ways are far higher than our own and His plans are far greater.

We will close for now. We love you and thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Serving Him in Mexico,

Jim, Lisa & Patrick

February 2007

Dear family and friends,

Blessings from San Luis Potosi! We hope that this letter finds you well. We are moving right along with our plans for the new year. We are still taking our Spanish classes every day and Patrick doing well and working hard in school.

Guadalupe Victoria:

Well, as you know we got our trailer across the border finally and were blessed to take the coats and other clothing out to Guadalupe Victoria last week end. It was such a blessing to watch their excitement as they received the coats. We had to turn our heads more than once to hide the tears of joy that ran down our faces as we handed them out. We wish you could have been there. However, we are including some photos so that you get a glimpse of what it was like. The coats were so appreciated and the hats and blankets were also a much needed blessing. Though the weather is warming up some, it is still really cold out there especially at night.

News:

Our team of 12 that goes to the rancho on a regular basis has started having Church services on the first Sunday of each month. The name of the church is Forteleza de Amor, which means fortress of love.

Suzy, the lady that started the ministry 5 years ago has always had a vision to start a church out there and we are blessed to be a part of fulfilling that vision. The services have been sweet and the people there are so eager to learn the worship songs and to learn more about following Jesus. Along with having the church services, we are still having our regular Bible classes on Saturdays. We are teaching the youth class and are working towards making a puppet stage for the children’s class that will use the great music CD’s that the Rhyne’s brought for children when they visited last fall. We met a woman in SLP that is a puppeteer and we are hoping to have her give us some tips on contructing our own puppets and with putting the whole thing together. Please be praying for us in this.

“My people perish for lack of knowledge.”(Hosea 4:6)

Plans are also in the works to put together leadership materials to help us with workshops we want to have this spring for the leaders we are mentoring in G.V. as well as pastors and leaders from other surrounding ranchos in the area. They have a desire to learn and most of them have had limited, if any training, in leadership.

We also plan to make it a time of encouragement for them. Understandably it is sometimes hard for them to stay encouraged when they are as isolated out in the dessert areas.

WATER!

We are also in the process of a strategy to deliver fresh water to the families of Guadalupe Victoria. As you know from our letters there is not enough water there and the water they have is highly contaminated .The singles at Grace Covenant have committed to buy water in 5 gallon jugs that will be delivered weekly to families in Guadalupe Victoria.

There is also an on going collection of coins from the kids in the Kids Construction Zone at GCC that will also go toward buying water.

Friday Night Fellowship

Friday Night Fellowship started this month at our house. So far it is a group of young adults (plus us oldies) that are from Mexico, U.S.A. and Switzerland! We are at this point just getting together for food, talking and playing games. It is really turning out to be a great group. Conversations are being stirred toward talking about the Lord and we have plans to make a time of “God talk” a regular scheduled part of the evening. Several member of the group play instruments and want to also incorporate praise music into the evening! Bring it on!! God is so awesome!

Relationships are being built and we sense the Lord’s blessing in it. One young man has never been to church in his entire life and he is 20years old. All of this is really new to him but he still comes back and always has a smile on his face.

Television Workshop:

As most of you know, for 20 plus years, both our careers were in Radios and Television. Jim was asked to speak this month to senior pastors from 10 different churches in Mexico as a consultant for syndicating some new Christian programming that is going to be produced in Mexico. Once they are ready, they will be made available on cable in Mexico as well as the U.S. Currently, to our knowledge there is no Christian programming in Mexico.

I am scheduled to be speaking to them next month on “Dos and Don’t s” for the camera etc. We marvel at how God uses everything we have experienced in our lives. We never had any idea that we would be using our television background here in Mexico! God’s ways are so much higher than our own!

Who are we?

Jim and Lisa McTighe are people that love people. Their passion to love and serve others has been evident throughout their married life for the past 18 years and has now taken them to serve the Lord as missionaries in the country of Mexico.

Stemming from a successful career as a marketing consultant, entrepreneur, television and radio show producer, as well as a college and professional football player with a degree in Design, Jim had no idea that one day he would be called to serve the Lord on a foreign mission field. A Christian since 1975 Jim has always been active in his church whether at Christ Church in Nashville Tennessee or Grace Covenant in Cornelius North Carolina.

Jim attended the Grace School of Ministry and has served as a Sunday school teacher for classes age 4 to high school, a life group leader and short term missionary on evangelism teams as well as photo journalist on numerous mission trips to Mexico, Nicaragua and Trinidad. With Jim, whether the task at hand is serving as a life group leader or as the “tree” in the story of Zacchaeus in the 4 year old Sunday school class, he freely shares the Love of Jesus and serves the Lord with a cheerful attitude and compassionate heart.

Lisa attended the Grace School of ministry and is a licensed Foursquare pastor.

Subsequent to graduating Cum Laude from Georgia State University with a B.A.

degree in education she was blessed with a 25 year career as a national television and radio host. Having hosted over a thousand televisions shows, Lisa enjoyed an exciting career interviewing many Country music favorites as well as a vast array of other celebrities from first lady Barbara Bush in the white House to Dale Earnhardt at the NASCAR track in Talladega.

Simultaneous with her career in television, Lisa has served in the churches she’s attended as Sunday school teacher, conference speaker/trainer and worship leader. She also served for two years on the staff at Grace Covenant Church as the director of the Early Childhood Department and was the Bible teacher for Mooresville Christian Academy for grades 6-12 the year prior to going on the mission field. She and her husband Jim were life group leaders for 5 years and have served together on evangelism teams to Nicaragua and Mexico.

Through a series of miraculous events that transpired in their lives, this couple became aware that God was calling them to serve in the county of Mexico. They and Patrick, the youngest of their four children, now live and serve the Lord in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Servants International exists to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ through demonstrating the Love of Jesus. We serve by discipling and partnering with local Nationals to address physical, spiritual and educational needs in the city of San Luis Potosi, Mexico and surrounding rural rancho communities. Our passion is to not only address current needs of people, but to disciple, train and equip Mexican Nationals as leaders that will impact the next generation in Mexico for Jesus Christ.

Areas of ministry include:

Rural Community Ministry

Clean Water, Discipleship and Leadership Training,

Children’s Ministry, Nutritious Food, Clothing

Inner City Ministry

(La Roca Christian Community Center)

Evangelism and Leadership Training

Bible Study, Drama/Puppets/Crafts, Testimonies

After School Enrichment for Children and Teens

Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball, Homework help, Classes in Bible,

English, Computer skills, Music, Dance, Drama & Art

Internship Intensive Trainings

(1-3 weeks)

Presenting the Gospel, Cultural Considerations, Evangelism Techniques

Hands- on Application

Community Centers, Parks / Plazas/ Rural Communities, Churches

Servant's International

What is Servants International?

At the recommendation of our pastor and others that we trust in ministry, we have formed a nonprofit organization called Servants International Inc. We also have a web site at Servantslove.org where you can read more about the ministry. Our purpose in having this web site is to keep everyone informed and to be a way that, if people feel led, they can partner with us financially. We don’t have the pay pal part set up quite yet so that you can make a contribution on line, but that is forth coming. In the mean time, should you decide to partner with us financially, you can mail a check payable to:

Servants International

Mail it to:

Servants International

16103 Weatherly Way

Huntersville, N.C. 28078

Please pray and ask God to show you how you can help. The reality is that we have to have monthly support in order to stay here and do what we feel God us to do.

Please visit our website and then please pray. Should you want to hear form us personally about our ministry we would be happy to call you .Please just e-mail us with your phone number and the best time to call. Our e-mail is: llmctighe@hotmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you and are happy to answer any of you r questions. Lisa is also available for speaking engagements for retreats and conferences and can be reached at the same e-mail address.

We love you and pray God’s richest blessings on you and your family today and always.

Serving Him in Mexico,

Jim, Lisa, Patrick