We hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and you are eagerly awaiting Christmas, as we are!
We look forward, with great anticipation, to the Christmas Eve tamale dinner, talent show, piñatas and presents!
We pray that your Christmas and New Year’s celebrations will be full of JOY, HAPPINESS AND ABUNDANCE. Merry Christmas from the staff and children of
The Family Care Program has been running for almost a complete year now. Early on in the program our team quickly saw that there was also a need for education. As a result, last month we opened our first kindergarten class! The class currently has 11 children all from the Albesti Village. The Albesti Village is a small village where you’ll find about 300 people living without electricity, gas or running water. Their only source of water is a small stream that runs through it’s valley which is mostly contaminated by livestock and garbage. In this village, there are roughly 150 children and less than 10% of those children manage to make it through school each year.
The children in our school are picked up from their homes each morning; they are bathed, given uniforms, fed breakfast and then participate in our school program. They are excited each day as they learn new things and are loved on by our team. We have received an incredible response from the community and are already coming up with plans to be able to accommodate many more children!
Our team has been amazed by how much the presence of structure helps kids find safety and confidence. We have seen behavior changes and kids who have never participated before find their voices. During one of our weekly lessons, a little girl started singing a song about sitting at His feet in response to the lesson that was being taught. Her song encouraged all of the other children and ended up leading the whole group into a time of worship! It was such a beautiful moment to see them really capture the heart of what was being taught!
Aldair Salvador Valenzuela Moran is twelve years old and has been part of our Family Care Program in Tijuana, Mexico for seven years! His parents have also been on staff with us for several years as well. A few weeks ago, Aldair accompanied his mom on one of our outreach programs in one of the surrounding communities. As they served together, he began experiencing God’s love for those around him! Aldair was forever marked by that night as he witnessed people receiving Jesus as their Savior. Now, Aldair volunteers at outreach every Tuesday and has a hunger to see people encounter Jesus and know that they have a loving Father.
Christmas will be upon us before we know it. If you would like to help us make this Christmas
and unforgettable one for our kids, please contact us at:
info@themissioninc.org or 619.661.9232.
In Tijuana, Mexico we have education programs from preschool through high school, a Family Care program for after school hours, as well as a school of ministry. We recently began a new trimester which means the campus is full of growth and new life!
In the surrounding communities it is not unusual for teenagers to dropout of school before completing jr high or high school to help contribute to the families finances or care for their younger siblings. The accessibility of our education programs alongside our Family Care program, allow us to help children of all ages complete their education. This year, we are beyond excited to have eight of our high school graduates beginning their first trimester in the School of Missions!
It is a privilege to pour into, encourage and equip kids who would normally not be able to complete their education. Please pray for all of our students, that they would continue to grow, learn and experience His presence everyday.
In Romania our team is seeing incredible testimonies come from the daily time of worship and devotions with the children in the Family Care program! From the very beginning, the children loved these times of worship because they love music and dancing. Our team quickly realized that although the children were enjoying themselves, they were not fully aware of the power of their worship. Through the intentionality of the team, we have seen the children fully take on this mantle of worship. Each day they are being filled with His presence and encountering the Father’s love!
Recently, three different boys, each from a different group, shared that they had seen a beautiful, yellow angel during worship. It is our joy and privilege to help usher them into encounters of love with their heavenly Father and teach them to listen to His voice.
This month in Nicaragua at the outreach feeding program, our team shared on the power of prayer with the children. In this program you will find children and young adults that live on the streets and most are addicted to drugs.
After teaching about prayer, our team asked if any of them wanted to be prayed for specifically. Howard, a twenty-year old that has been on the streets since he was a child, quickly raised his hand. The team and the other youth laid hands on Howard while he wept as we shared our Father’s heart for him. Later that day, he completely opened up with our team! We are blessed to be able to continue loving, praying and connecting with him since!
Please continue to pray that our team experiences more breakthrough in building relationship with the people of this beautiful nation.
Each fall the RDSN Mexico base of The Mission welcomes students and families from across east Tijuana to experience a new approach to education, an education that is committed to developing the whole child; body, mind and spirit. Our founders, Steve and Cathy Horner, began this program because they saw a need in the surrounding colonias. There were many families who had two working parents; which would often mean that the children would be left home unattended during the day and would not go to school. Through our Family Care Program and schools, we are able to help keep families together, all while providing an excellent education, two meals a day and transportation to and from their homes. This month we began a new trimester with over 350 children enrolled in our different programs! Please join us this school year by praying that our teachers would be filled with love, creativity and wisdom and that each child experiences the love of God as they learn.
Our feeding program in Romania serves children from many different villages and areas of the city. This is actually quite unusual in their culture; as most of the locals tend to not be very welcoming towards the Gypsy villages that surround their city or even towards immigrants that live in town. A few members of our team were in the city center when they ran into Princess. She is a young girl from Albești, one of the Gypsy villages just outside of town where our team does outreach every Wednesday. Princess was there with her mother, begging for money, in the town center. With permission from her mother, our team took the opportunity to take Princess out for a good meal! We were so blessed with the opportunity to love her in this way. The kindness that the staff at the restaurant showed by helping us translate, and even playing music for her to dance to, just shows that the walls that have been separating the people of this beautiful nation will not be standing for long!
In the beautiful nation of Nicaragua, our team provides a home for teenage boys who, otherwise would probably be found fending for themselves on the streets. Our hope is to create a safe place for them as they mature and discover what it means to be a child of God. This month, we have seen breakthrough as two of our older boys found jobs! Vanega, who has been with us for four years, has recently found work in the local market. Victor, who has also been with us since the beginning, has began pursuing his passion of cutting hair. Our heart is to not only provide care and safety for these boys, but to also teach them that hard work is a key part of life and will help guide and give them purpose in their journeys! We are so proud
As we receive more and more students to our education programs on each of our bases, we are in search of partners who would like to join our effort by helping provide for our constant growing list of school supplies.
pencil sharpener
construction paper
liquid glue
thin markers
paints & brushes
playdough
various art supplies
calculators
geometry kits
Eng-Spanish dictionaries
notebooks
binder paper
pencils
pens
glue stick
colored pencils
crayons
thick markers
erasers
scissors
Feel like doing even more? For a more extensive list of needs visit themissioninc.org/back2school.
This summer, we have hosted over 1,200 people from all over the world. We are overwhelmed by the love and generosity that was poured out by all those who have served alongside us! In July, for the Jesus Culture Missions Experience, we had the privilege of teaching, equipping and activating over 400 participants with tools to bring heaven to earth. Jorge, a JCME participant from Tijuana, felt the Holy Spirit lead him to a specific home during the outreach track and knew that he was supposed to pray for healing for someone living there. As he began talking to the woman who lived there, she shared that one of their relatives was in the hospital in Sonora, Mexico and was not doing very well. Jorge prayed for her relative over the phone and later on that afternoon, as they were about to leave the community, the woman excitedly ran up to Jorge! She was overjoyed to share that her relative had been completely healed and the doctors were sending him home!
Summer Internship Program
Each summer we host a VBS program for the children in our orphanage, family care program and local communities. This program creates a safe place for children when they aren’t in school and is especially helpful to the families who have two working parents! We feed, care for, and have fun with the kids five days a week! It is an honor to not only create a fun summer for them but to also set aside time each day to usher them into encounters with the Lord. This year we have been blessed with fifteen summer interns! They are doing everything from facilitating VBS to lifeguarding. If you are interested in applying for our summer internship program next year, you can read more at themissioninc.org.
At 15 years old, Norlan was unable to live with his family due to emotional abuse. Upon learning his story, we welcomed Norlan into our home for at risk youth in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Since joining our family in March of 2018, he has flourished! He was enrolled in school for the first time in his life and has developed close bonds with our staff and the other boys living in the home. Norlan continues to surprise us with his love of others, selflessness and personal growth. We are amazed at how far he has come and are excited to see where God will lead him!
Meet Adi and Gabriel. Both of them are enrolled in our family care program and both are excellent examples of the love of Jesus! Adi, is nine years old and lives in a nearby village with his single mom, twin brother and little sister. Their mother works long hours in order to provide for their family and oftentimes, Adi and his siblings are cared for by their grandmother. Gabriel, who is also nine years old, lives with his eight siblings and both of his parents. Gabriel’s parents struggle to meet their large family’s day to day needs. During one of our Family Care Program activities, Adi noticed that Gabriel didn’t have shoes. The very next day, Adi brought a pair of his own shoes to give to Gabriel! The joy that Adi had as he gave his shoes to Gabriel was evident and the joy that Gabriel had as he received his very own pair of shoes was beautiful! As we continue to teach our children that the solution to the needs surrounding them resides within them, our hope is that they take what they learn back to their homes and families! Adi and Gabriel have done just that and we are so proud.
Jonathon Enrique was brought to us in 2012 with his older brother Jesus. Through the years Enrique has grown into a very smart and handsome young man, excelling in sports and building strong relationships with his fellow students and leaders! Enrique began the 5th grade this year and in the beginning it was proving to be quite the challenge for both him and his teacher. Our education team quickly began forming a plan of action! They all knew how intelligent Enrique was and his ability to learn quickly proved to be an essential key in his fast turn around. After a few months of hard work the director of the school met with Enrique telling him, “I believe in you! You are so smart and we believe that you are ready for the next step. We are promoting you to 6th grade!” Enrique was shocked; his hard work paid off! That morning, he excitedly walked over to his new classroom with a fresh hope for his future. Enrique continues to thrive in his 6th grade classroom and has become one of the top students. This July, he will graduate and advance to the junior high! We are so proud and honored to have him in our family!
There is growth happening in Romania! We have recently accepted 15 new children, from two different villages, into our family care program. We are so excited to see unity developed between villages as their children begin to build friendships with one another. In May we began introducing a time of worship for the children in our family care program. During this time, we are able to teach the children what worship is and why we do it; we are coming together as a family, to love God and to be loved by Him! During one of these services, one of our boys shared that he experienced God’s presence and joy for the first time! It is such an honor to be able to create a space where children can learn how to worship our heavenly Father. Please continue to pray with us as we introduce these families to the love of our Father!
Our feeding program in Matagalpa feeds anywhere from 50 to 150 children each day. We are overwhelmed by the response of each and every child that walks through our doors and it is an honor to love them in this way! Two sisters, five and eight years old, have attended our program since the beginning. They both live in extreme poverty and suffer from neglect, hunger, malnutrition and abuse; often they are left to fend for themselves while their single mother is away. It has been a joy to show them the love of Jesus every time they join us for the feeding program. Since being a part of the program, we’ve seen them begin to feel more and more at home with our team! Now, they run through the gates and greet us with big smiles and hugs; wrapping their arms and legs around us! Please continue to partner with us in prayer as we love these girls and the many others who join us each week.
On April 19th the population of Nicaragua began rising up against their government in protest of new laws that affected social security. The government responded with force causing tragedy and fear in the hearts of the people. In the midst of this movement, our team in Nicaragua has been gathering people together to pray and seek His face. Recently, they held a gathering in the main park in the city of Matagalpa and cried out to the Lord in unity to heal this country. We believe with our whole hearts that the Lord has a bright future for this beautiful nation and it’s strong, passionate people! Thank you for your prayers for the team at our Nicaragua Base. We ask that you continue partnering with us as we intercede for guidance for the people of this beautiful nation, wisdom for its government leaders and most importantly that heaven will continue to invade this nation like never before!
Nelu, a man from Sighisoara, was radically healed at one of our Worship Nights. When he first walked into the church he physically felt heaviness beginning to lift and be replaced with a great freedom in his body and soul. For years, Nelu had been struggling with back pain and when our team began to pray for him he was able to bend over for the first time in years! The next day, when he went to work, all of his colleagues were asking him what had happened because they noticed that something was different about him. Nelu was able to share his testimony with his colleagues and show them what God had done in his life. A few days later, one of our team members saw him in town and he was so excited to share that his back was great and that the joy of the Lord has made him a new man, from the inside out!
Lidia and her five siblings came to The Mission in 2013 due to neglect and the lack of provision by their family. Lidia, who at the time was 9-years-old, had difficulty taking care of herself and connecting with adults. Often she would shut down emotionally and physically for hours at a time. Caregivers would wait for hours until she would make eye contact, move or even speak. Although she would struggle, there was always a glimmer of a fun girl who was brave and had a smile that could melt your heart. Through personal mentoring and house parents that poured into her by reinforcing her true identity, she began to show others who she really was. Now, during our daily morning devotions and Sunday services you will see Lidia in the front passionately worshiping and dancing before the Lord! During a recent school talent show, she got up in front of her entire school and sang a song all by herself! The constant reinforcement of the Father’s love for her and what He has made her to be is slowly being revealed one day at a time. We are blessed and excited to be apart of this beautiful journey with her!
In May 2014, a family of 3 was brought to us from Child Protective Services (DIF) due to serious abuse and neglect. Bruno, who was 2 years old, was on 7 different kinds of medications. One of those medications specifically treated him for the seizures he was having multiple times a day. When the family arrived, Bruno couldn’t walk, talk or feed himself like a two year old normally would be able to. His muscles were so underdeveloped we had to use a stroller or carry him everywhere. After a year of intensive care and love, he was removed from all medication and was beginning to walk, talk and feed himself!
A few years later, in January of 2017, we received notification from DIF that Bruno and his siblings would be returning to their biological family and to our surprise, the following Christmas of 2017, we were asked by DIF to take Bruno and his siblings once again. After almost a year away from us we are happy to report that Bruno is still running, jumping, playing and bringing joy to all those who know him! We are so encouraged by all that the Lord has done in Bruno and are so excited to see what’s in store for him and his siblings!
There is movement and growth in Romania! God is so faithful. We have had great progress on the remodeling of our building from several visiting groups from England, the US and our church from our Mexico base. We have cleared out the first floor of our building and where we held our very first church service on April 22nd!
In addition to that, we are happy to report that we have seen growth and momentum during our times of worship together on Friday nights. Our team has been so blessed by the relationships that are forming within families from the surrounding villages. Many of these families have children that are a part of our Family Care Program and we are so excited for this opportunity to pour into them on a deeper level! Please continue praying for and covering our team as they
God is moving in a fresh way in Nicaragua! For two weeks we were blessed by a visiting group from Redding, CA. They poured into us, served us and taught us all new ways to talk with God. On one specific day, the team sat with the boys from our children’s home and taught them about the languages of the spirit and how to hear God’s voice. One of the boys, Yilber, volunteered to practice and began prophesying over his house dad, Junior. It was so incredible to watch Yilber step so naturally into the prophetic and to see him grow in confidence and connection with Papa God! We are so excited to see the fruit that is being produced in the lives of these boys as they continue to soak up all the goodness that God has for them.
Our Family Care Program, in Romania, is a place where our team gets to guide children in a time of encountering God, as well as care for them practically. We provide a safe place, where they get to just be kids, feed them and also set aside time for academic tutoring.
In January we moved our Family Care program into one of our local gypsy villages. We have seen a lot of favor in this village, allowing us to make great relationships and have seen many miracles within the families there. Now that the program is there, we have seen a significant impact on the children of this village and we are so excited to see the testimonies that are coming from this! We get to introduce them to God’s love, our love, fill their bellies, and give them a hand up on skills that will help them succeed in life.
If you have been to our Mexico base, you have experienced “1st, 2nd and 3rd John” (the outhouses). We are so happy to announce that our new bathrooms are done! With the completion of the first two stages of our water treatment system, we were able to open our beautiful new bathrooms! We started the bathroom project’s foundation in July of 2016, during one of our Jesus Culture Missions Experiences. Throughout the last few years, by the help of visiting groups, the rest of the building was finished. Thank you to all who contributed to this project!
This is Victor; he was addicted to drugs and street life. Instead of going home to his family, he spent his days and nights on the streets in dangerous neighborhoods.
Victor came into our program at the age of 15, where he was provided a safe and stable home to grow in and to be loved unconditionally. He has worked hard to change his life. Now, Victor loves to study and dreams of running his own business one day. Victor is currently in high school and is attending a trade school on weekends where he is learning to cut hair.
We share stories like these because they are not only the fruit of our labor, and testimony of God’s faithfulness, but yours too! These are your victories and testimonies. Thank you so much for continuing to partner with us.
On February 16, 2018, we celebrated the past 30 years of ministry. We were amazed by the amount of friends and family that came along side us and celebrated. We literally had people from all around the world join us! They came from the United Kingdom, Romania, Nicaragua, Canada, Mexico and the United States. We celebrated with an intimate time of worship, testimonies from Steve and Cathy, a time of honoring the past and a dedication to the next 30 years of ministry to the nations.
We live and breathe to rescue the orphan, love the broken and bring healing and hope to those who are lost. We are dedicated to demonstrating that every person on this earth has a Father who loves them and is waiting for them. Through this, families, cities, and nations will be transformed. We are steadfast in our fight to restore true family, and we dedicate the next 30 years to the Father’s promise of bringing His kingdom to earth.
In the last 30 years, over 5,000 children have been rescued, housed, fed, educated, loved and brought into family and we are fighting for exponential growth. We are excited to announce that, over the next 12 months, we are stepping out into a new season of faith.
Our goal as a family, and ministry, is to raise 1 million dollars over the next twelve months and sow into the next 30 years. The proceeds that are raised over this next year, will fund the expansion and growth of our new campuses in Romania and Nicaragua.
The Lord has, without fail, met every need we have faced over the past 30 years and our hearts are full of anticipation as we step into this exciting season of faith. So many of you have faithfully partnered with us since we began in 1987.
We are filled with hope, like never before, as we ask you to partner with us once again as we honor our past by investing in our future.
We are excited to share with you that we are now able to accept cryptocurrency donations. We are accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum donations through our website. Click the button below and you will be directed to our donations page where you will be able to choose which cryptocurrency you would like to give.
Some time ago, Maximiliano (5yrs), Jonathan (14yrs) and their mom, Maribel, heard of our family care program through a friend. Maribel was in need of safe childcare for her two kids so she could work full time and keep her small family together.
In November 2017, Maribel received bad news from relatives stating that two of her nephews had been picked up by child protective services and custody was removed from their parents because of severe neglect.
Maribel remained hopeful for her nephews situation and began praying for the opportunity to take them into her home. She fervently pursued a way to gain custody of the boys. Maribel received the favor she’d been seeking and was granted custody of both boys, which is highly unusual in our social services department; Maribel is a single mom of two and living off of one income. The social worker assigned to the case told Maribel that she was granted custody because she had lined up safe childcare, with us, for her nephews ahead of time.
In the beginning of January we were introduced to Ivan (8yrs) and Adrian (9yrs) on their first day entering our family care program. Our family care has made it possible for these boys to not see the inside of an orphanage and to be introduced to our Heavenly Father.
After 2 years of working with street boys in Matagalpa, we have begun to take steps towards phase 2 of our program; prevention. To determine the needs of at risk children and to feed hungry bellies, we started a feeding program in November, 2017.
We currently feed about 100 children daily and this community is fast becoming a small church as we teach the children about The Father who loves them. In the next 2 months we will be assessing needs and then launching programs to keep children in school, in healthy social settings and off the streets.
Margarita found a lump in one of her breasts about a year ago and had a doctor exam it. It grew large enough to become physically uncomfortable and caused her pain. A few members of our team were ministering in the community near her home and were led to her to pray. As they prayed Margarita began to feel heat in her chest and the pain in her breast faded away! A few days later, she went back to her doctor where they took a scan of the tumor and confirmed that it had shrunk considerably!
In 1987, The Mission was founded out of an act of obedience, a simple yet firm step of faith. It was born out of a desire to see a nation transformed, one child a time.
Steve and Cathy Horner were convinced that the Lord was asking them to care for abused and abandoned children. After moving their family to Mexico from the San Francisco Bay area, the Horner’s continued to say yes to every need that was highlighted to them. Because of their consistent and strong yes to the Lord, The Mission’s vision has grown to include orphan and family care, schools from Pre-K through High School, church plants, School of Missions, community outreach and feeding programs.
After leading for 22 years, in 2009 Steve and Cathy passed the leadership of the ministry to their son and daughter in-law, Jimmy and Genea Horner. Jimmy and Genea have a rich inheritance filled with faith and hope. They are firmly planted in the heart and original mandate of the ministry; which lies in the simplicity of following Jesus by simply saying yes to what need is highlighted. Because of this, they have passionately pursued growth and expanded the vision to include multiple bases across three different nations.
The more we expand as a ministry, the more we have begun to understand that we’re citizens of heaven who genuinely own the nations. Wherever we set foot, becomes His. We don’t feel like we’ve been sent to a foreign land; we feel like we’ve been sent to our land, to His land.
As a ministry and family, we live and breathe to rescue the orphan, love the broken, and bring healing and hope to those who are lost. We are passionately pursuing the restoration of true family, which has always been the promise of His kingdom.
The names on this page are just a few of the 5,000 children who we have rescued, housed, fed, loved and brought into our family over the past 30 years. We are incredibly excited to announce that we are stepping out into a new season of faith. Our goal as a family, and ministry, is to raise 1 million dollars over the next twelve months. The proceeds that are raised over this next year, will fund the expansion and growth of our new campuses in Romania and Nicaragua.
The Lord has, without fail, met every need we have faced over the past 30 years and our hearts are full of anticipation as we step into this exciting season of faith. So many of you have faithfully partnered with us since we began in 1987. We are filled with hope, like never before, as we ask you to partner with us once again as we honor our past by investing in our future.
