¡Hola, Mèxico! ***UPDATED***

***Note: I've added a few things at the bottom. Please take the time to check them out.***

I'm finally here! Man, has it been awesome! I got here on Tuesday, and so far, it's been the best time ever. Legit. I'm not at the orphanage yet, but I am staying with Pastor Elvis, the pastor of the church that I helped with on the missions trip back in June. A lot has happened in the past six days, so I'll share the highlights/main points of each day:

Tuesday, I went to the church with Pastor Elvis and his family (Pastora Berenice, Danely, Danitza (Titis), and Gadiel (Gadi)). It was really awesome being able to see Carlos and his family again, along with the other kids. We got to the church as soon as Carlos and his sisters were coming home from school. Carlos saw me and ran over to me all excited, which made me smile. It was really cool to know not only that he remembered me, but that he was excited to see me as well. That night at the church, Pastor Elvis had me play two songs in Spanish (my D-string breaking at the end of the first one) and then had me lead the class for the kids, which was sort of difficult since I hardly knew much Spanish. Luckily, I had Caesar, one of the guys from the church who knew both English and Spanish, helping me lead the class, but I was supposed to be doing most of it. All I had to do was figure out games for the kids to play, but I couldn't think of anything. We played Zombies, which is pretty much tag, except that the person who was it was a zombie. Then, I just had the kids think of games because I couldn't think of anything else. After playing three more games, church was over, so we went home to Pastor Elvis's.

Wednesday, we went to the store, got some stuff to start painting the walls at the church, and went to the church. I got to see Carlos before he went to school. Here, you can go to school in the morning from 7 to 12, or from 12 to 5. At least that's what I gathered. Either way, you only go to school for 5 hours. Carlos and his sisters go in the afternoon, so I got to chill with Carlos before he went to school. Then, I started painting. Well, it wasn't painting. It was this paste-stuff that we put on the wall so that it turned into drywall. I don't know. Anyway, so me and Caesar did that, and when we finished, some people from the church showed up, and we ate "flutas", which is like long and skinny progies. It was muy delicioso. Then Carlos got home from school, so I played with him and some of the other kids around the area: Mona, Tuco, an older Carlos, Gavi, and Claudia. It rained for a bit, too, so we played in the rain which consisted of me spinning them around pretty much the whole time it rained. It didn't rain for long, but the kids loved it while it did. The last four kids I mentioned are pretty much orphans. They have a mom and a dad, but from what I gathered, they aren't the best people. The last several days that I've seen the kids, they're always by themselves, playing and doing whatever, along with their other two brothers and two sisters. At least that's what it looks like since those kids are together almost all of the time. There isn't really any discipline, so they do whatever they want pretty much. If it wasn't for the people at the church, they probably would literally do whatever. My heart gets heavy whenever I see them. Whenever I'm with them, the boys are always pretty clingy. Not so much older Carlos, but Tuco is. Whenever we're sitting somewhere, he always, and I mean always, wants to sit on my lap. He also always wants to ride on my back or shoulders. I don't mind at all. Someone needs to show him God's love. They really love playing Zombies, so that's pretty much what we did before and after it rained. I also spun them a million times, haha, which I also don't mind. I'm here for them, not me. Once it started getting dark, we left.

Me and Carlos in the rain.

Thursday, we went back to the church and painted the wall from the day before. Carlos's teacher was sick, so he didn't go to school that day. I didn't get to hang out with him that much since I was painting, but I did for a bit. I actually didn't get to finish painting before we left. Luckily, Caesar said he'd finish it up for me. It was only a little bit, but still, I felt bad that he had to do it. That night, I went to this house church with Pastora Berenice and the kids. Pastor Elvis had to work (he does graphic design stuff, which is pretty sweet) so he stayed home. I don't remember what they called it, but it was pretty much house church. They had me lead the worship part, which I played the same two songs (Te Doy Gloria and Abre Mis Ojos, the only songs I know in español) as Tuesday, which was fine with them, thankfully.

Friday was a chill day. We didn't go to the church at all. I stayed at the house most of the day. I played with Gadi, the pastor's year old son, while Danely and Titis were at school, and when Danely and Titis got home, I played with Titis for a while. First, she took out this photo album and started showing me random pictures. Then, she took out Chutes and Ladders, which we played like six times. I'm pretty sure she beat me every time except for like once or twice. Once I thought six times was enough, I asked her if we could play a different game, so she took out Battleship. Mind you, this is a six year old girl who only speaks Spanish. After I finally got done explaining how to play in fairly broken Spanish, I found out that she doesn't know what letters are which. So much for that idea. We ended up going outside with Danely and playing with the neighborhood kids. We pretty much did a tic-tac-toe tournament, haha. Fernando, one of the older kids, saw my tic-tac-toe skills and thought I was really intelligent, which made me laugh just a bit. That night, we went to Rancho de sus Niños for a special program and to drop off some ID cards that Pastor Elvis made for the School of Ministry there. The program ended up being cancelled, so I just played with Danely and Titis the whole time. Then, I really wanted some ice-cream, so I asked if I could buy some for everybody, which I did. A whole tub of Cookies and Cream, haha.

Danely, Titis, me, and Gadi.

Saturday was the program for the kids at the church. We play games with the kids, do a Bible lesson, do a craft, then give them breakfast. Caesar dressed up as a clown for the kids. He asked me to, but I told him that I really would rather not. I wanted to be myself with the kids. Plus, I really didn't want to put on face paint. If needed, I would do it for sure, but he said he didn't mind. About 15 kids came. It was a lot of fun. Of course, we played Zombies, which is their favorite game. We also played some other games that I've never played before. One of them was about a cat and a mouse, and the cat had to get the mouse, but everyone else held hands in a circle and had to protect the mouse from the cat. It's kinda hard to explain. Then, Pablo, one of the teenagers, taught the kids the story about Abraham and Sarah and how they had a son named Isaac. That's as much as I could gather. Then, I can't remember if they did a craft or not, but I know we had breakfast: eggs, bananas, oranges, bread, orange water (it's like orange flavored kool-aid, but they call it water) and donuts. It was really good. Then, Pastor Elvis had to leave to do some work, but he said that I could stay with the kids and play with them, so I did. It was awesome. A lot of spinning kids and Zombies, haha. I got a pretty bad sunburn from playing outside all day, but it was so worth it. Carlos's family made me dinner, but Pastor Elvis came back to pick me up before I could eat it, so I ended up just taking it with me. That night, I played with the neighborhood kids almost all night. It was a lot of fun. This day was probably the best day by far.

Sunday was church. We got there around 9:30am. I hung out with Carlos and some of the other kids until about 10:30, when church started. I was a little confused because only about fifteen people were there, but after service was over, I realized that it was like Sunday school. 12:00 was when actual church started. The service was really good. I knew almost all of the songs. I knew Abre Mis Ojos (Open The Eyes Of My Heart) in español, but the other songs I only knew the English versions to, which was fine with me. Then, they had me give a testimony about my experience here. Unfortunately, no one told me ahead of time about that, but God gave me the words to say. He always comes through. After my testimony, Luis, the worship leader, did a drama. I didn't really know what was going on, but it was something like a human video. Music was playing, and he was dancing, or something like that. Then was the sermon. I tried my best to understand what Pastor Elvis was saying, but I could only pick out a few words. Carlos and Jesús, another kid I met at the church, sat next to me, so I kind of just chilled with them. The sermon is more for the adults, so they really just sit there. Jesús listens, but only for a bit it seems like. Carlos doesn't listen at all, haha. I had to keep telling him to listen. I realized after that it really wasn't for him, and he probably didn't know what some of the things that Pastor Elvis said meant. Oops. After church was over, some people from the church made some pasta stuff and put them on tostadas. It was delicious. Pastor Elvis kept on trying to give me more, but I was full after 2. They weren't that big, but still. I don't like overeating. They also made this orange-colored kool-aid, which was amazing. I'm still not sure exactly what flavor it was, but it was good. Afterwards, I noticed all of the kids with these bags with what looked like ice cream in it, and I was curious about what it was. Jesús asked me if I wanted some, so I tried some of it. It was different, but really good. He ended up going to the store and buying me one even though I said it was fine. He's a cool kid. Once we all finished, we played some more. I then left with Pastor Elvis and his family to his home. For dinner, we went to a Chinese restaurant, which I thought was really cool of Pastor Elvis to take us there. When I first got here, he asked me what kind of foods I liked, and I told him Mexican and Chinese. He remembered. While we were there, he said something to me about how I am going to bring more people to the church, or something like that. That's what he made it sound like. He said something about me and him bringing more people into the church and something like things are blessed when I am there. That's as much as I could gather. I really hope I didn't understand him wrong, cause that was a really cool thing to hear. Afterward, we went back to Pastor Elvis's house. All of us were pretty tired, so the kids were acting really loopy. I was, too. I took out my camera and filmed us acting weird. Hopefully, I can put the video up on my Facebook or YouTube soon. Then, the kids went to bed, and later on, so did I.


Thankfully, one of the ladies from the church has wifi, and she asked me if I needed to use the internet. Of course, I said yes, so now, this is the complete blog. I've been helping at Pastor Elvis's church, Mision Familiar Bethlem, for the past month, and it's been amazing. I want to continue helping here while I'm working on getting to the orphanage, but without money to travel to the orphanage, I can't continue to visit them. It's only $4 to go there and back, but I don't have the money to travel at the moment. Even though I've been doing a lot of stuff at the church, I know God still wants me to be at the orphanage, so while I'm working at the church, I'm doing my best to visit the orphanage as much as I can so that they can get to know me more and really see my heart for orphans. So, please, If you can donate any amount, even if it's just $4 so I can visit the orphanage one time, that would be greatly appreciated. You can donate via PayPal by clicking the donate button at the top right of this page.


I've been writing down memorable moments each day, so I'll post them about every week or whenever I can get Internet. Please continue to pray for me as I continue doing God's work! Pray for the kids as well, especially older Carlos, Tuco, Claudia, and Gavi. Their family really needs prayer. All of the kids do. These kids needs Jesus, and I'm going do whatever I can to bring Him to them.

Alan, me, Octavio, Miguel, and Tuco.

Moroni, Miguel, me, Octavio, and older Carlos.

 May God bless you abundantly! All glory and honor belongs to Him!

I Went To Mexico.......

Went is the keyword. No, I'm not staying there yet. I so wish I was.

Today, I visited the orphanage I've been praying about: Niños de la Promesa. It was called The Purple Palace, but they've changed the name. It was amazing going there and getting to meet Connie and Tyler, the two people who started Niños de la Promesa, and all of the kids: Cristofer, Santiago, Dana, Karla, Esmeralda, Daniel, Jesús, only to name a few. Well, the names I could remember. I learned a few more names, but I left my notebook in the car, so I couldn't write down their names. I do this to help me remember their names. It helps a lot. Fortunately, I was able to grab it and write down some of their names before we left.

Anyway, it was so awesome to be there. I had so much fun being with the kids. One of the kids, I forget who, had went up to me and said, "¡Vueltas!" I always hear "wertas" but I was told that it was "vueltas" which makes way more sense since "wertas" isn't actually a word and "vueltas" means "to turn". This is also one of the words I learned last time in Mexico, and the kids would always have me spin them around. Hearing this word made me laugh a bit, and then I was spinning the kids around. One of the kids, Cristofer, would say, "Superman!" when I spun him around. This made me laugh, too.

I spent quite a bit of my time with Cristofer today. I first met him when I walked over to his table as the kids were eating breakfast. I decided to introduce myself to the kids, ask their names, and ask them any questions I could in Spanish. Unfortunately, it wasn't much, but it was something. After that, I didn't really see him until some of the girls started asking me to spin them. He came over and wanted a turn, so I spun him around, too. He had me spin him several times, as did Karla and Dana, but after a bit, I decided to take a break. The three of them went off, and I started to talk to Kaprice, my friend from San Diego who got me connected with the orphanage, about the orphanage and everything that was going on there. After a while, Cristofer walked to where I was sitting, sat next to me, and with the most adorable face, said to me in a quiet voice, "¿Vueltas?" Unfortunately, I was talking about something important, so I told him, "Espera, uno momento," which means, "Wait, one moment." Instead of walking away, he sat next to me the whole entire time I talked with her. Tyler had walked over and started talking with us, and Cristofer still continued to sit there. Every once in a while, he would ask, "¿Vueltas?" but he still waited. He got asked to do something, but right when he was done, he came right back over to me and sat next to me. He even rested his head on my shoulder. Once the chance arose, I looked at him and said, "¿Vueltas?" to which he nodded. So I went outside with him and spun him around. Then, I pretty much spent the rest of my time with him. We played soccer with a cup lid, he rode on my back, we went to the swings, I watched him climb around the playground, we climbed some other thing, and I helped him ride a flat bike. Then, he went to do something, so I grabbed my notebook to start writing down names. Once I did, I found out it was time to go soon. Before we left, I went over to the swings where Cristofer was and told him that I was leaving and had to go. He asked me to push him on the swing really quick, so I did. Then, I had to go. It hurt so much to leave. I almost got out of the car and said, "See ya later!" but I knew that I couldn't stay yet. I think what hurt the most was that I noticed that Cristofer wasn't really hanging out with any of the other kids. He was kind of off on his own doing his own thing. Maybe I just noticed him when he happened to stop playing with the other kids, but it didn't seem that way. He seemed to be alone. I feel that God points those kids out to me since I once felt that way (but that's a whole other story of its own). In a sense, I can relate to those kids. No, I'm not an orphan, but I do know what it feels like to be rejected and alone, and it's not good at all. That's one thing that I want to show the kids: that they're not alone and that they are cared about and are worth it. More importantly, that there is a God in heaven who loves them so much and cares deeply for them and desires to have a relationship with them and will never leave them nor forsake them.

Well, that was my trip to Mexico. I'm definitely going back soon, within this next week, to visit the orphanage and spend more time with them and get to know them more. Also, after praying about it for a while, I'm going to be staying with Pastor Elvis, the pastor of the church that I helped with last time, and helping him and the people and kids there for a week. After that, if I feel God telling me to stay longer, then I will. I'm praying and believing that I'll be able to work something out to where I can stay with Pastor Elvis and also visit the orphanage whenever I can. Once the orphanage gets comfortable with me, then I'll move there and help out there. It's all in God's hands.

Joy and Sorrow

So, I've officially been in California for three days now, and it's been really great. The guys I'm staying with are really awesome, Spirit-filled guys, which is great. It's been great being able to talk with them and grow spiritually with them, and it's only been three days. Amazing. I've had a lot of time to really grow personally as well. I'm not doing anything yet, so I've been able to use a lot of my time to just pray, get into God's Word, and enter into worship with Him. It's phenomenal. Also, another amazing thing that happened is that Pastor Elvis, the pastor from the church in Mexico that I helped with on the missions trip, messaged me on Facebook and asked me when I was coming down to Mexico next so that I could continue my ministry in Mexico. He said that I could stay at the church or at one of their houses so that I didn't have to pay for a hotel. When I found out, I flipped out. I was so excited that the PASTOR had messaged me. Not just someone from the church, but the pastor. I had been talking with some people from the church and told them how I was coming here, and they had suggested what Pastor Elvis had said, but it just confirmed things and made it even more awesome that the pastor had messaged me. I messaged him back and told him that I was in San Diego and that I would love to go down there and stay with them for a bit, especially since I'm not really doing anything at the moment. After discussing it with him and with Cade, one of the guys here in San Diego, I'm going there next weekend, as long as it works out with everyone. I'm believing by faith that it will in the name of Jesus :D It's just so awesome to know that they still remember me and that they want me there to help them. I miss them a lot and am thanking God that I have the opportunity to see them again. Also, I was able to email Connie, the head of the orphanage I am seeking to work in, and she said that she wants me to come by this weekend. I'm going to see them tomorrow! It's pretty hard to contain my joy. For example, this morning, as I was conversing with God, I randomly got bursts of joy whenever I would thank Him about being able to go to the orphanage tomorrow. I would start to jump and spin around because I was so excited and full of His joy!

Well, that was the joy part.......

Yesterday, my grandma passed pretty unexpectedly. It really hit my family hard. We were all emotionally strung by it, my mom especially. She had went into the hospital the day prior to her passing, and my mom had called me and asked me to pray. Of course, I prayed and had some of the guys here pray with me. The next morning, though, she had passed. I prayed that her body would come back to life and even had my mom go back into the room so we could pray over my grandma's body, but she didn't. Yet. I still believe that if it's truly God's will for her to come back, then God will provide a miracle, and she will come back. If not, then this happened for a reason. It's hard to see the reason right now, but it will come to light soon. I strongly feel that this is an attack from the devil. The day after I get here, my grandma goes into the hospital, and then, the next day, she passes away. The devil is really trying to hit my family hard. And you know what? Even though this has happened, I'm not going to let it stop me from doing God's will. That's what Satan wants to happen. He sees how close I am to fulfilling the calling God has placed on my life, and he's trying to do everything he can to prevent that. He's gone too far. Unfortunately, for him. I choose to have joy in this time of sorrow, because I know that I need to have joy in every situation, especially in times like these, and when my faith in God is tested, it develops patience and perseverance. I know that if my eyes, mind, and heart are fixed on Him, then nothing can hinder me from doing His will. Last night, I put depression and any doubt or worry to death and proclaimed joy and peace over my life, and that is exactly what I have: joy and peace. I will not let this get me down, and I pray for peace, joy, and perseverance over my family's life.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of any kind, because you know that the testing o your faith develops perseverance." - James 1:2-3

11 Hours and Counting

Wow. I'll be heading to San Diego in less than 11 hours. These last two weeks have been easy, but hard, too long, but too short, and stressful, yet soothing. It seems like my life, family, and friends have been crammed into these past two weeks. Unfortunately, I don't feel that I've had enough time, but now it's time for me to go. I've really enjoyed being with my family and friends and going to my home church, Grace Christian Church. I've especially enjoyed helping out with Little People, the preschool classes at my church. I had the opportunity to teach the 4 and 5 year olds this past weekend. The memory verse for this month was: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" Psalm 23:1. As I taught the kids this verse, I was teaching myself as well. I already knew this verse, but I reminded myself the meaning of this verse. It's saying that since God is watching over me and taking care of me, I shouldn't be in want of anything. Of course, it's WAY easier said than done, but it's something I have to do. I've been trying to teach myself this concept ever since last year when my missionary stuff started, and I've gotten a hold of it, but things still come up against me. I've learned to push through those things and keep my mind and heart on Him. I know that as long as I do that, I know everything will be provided for, and I won't be in want of anything. It might be tough, but I know that this move is totally going to be worth it. I'm so excited to go and experience what God has for me. I'm also excited to be able to be a light for the orphans of Tijuana, Mexico, and bring them His love, peace, and joy. Man, I really hope I go there soon. I can't wait. I miss it way too much. God, give me patience, haha. Please pray for me as I travel tomorrow, well, later on today, and please pray that God gives me His peace, joy, and patience for the day and the rest of my life.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." - Psalm 23:1

It's Official

After several days of praying and making phone calls, I'm finally going back to Mexico!¡ Well, not exactly Mexico yet, but I'll be staying with my friends in San Diego until the orphanage gets to know me more. The people at the orphanage said that they wanted to actually meet me before I went to do permanent work there, which is understandable. Once that happens, I'll then be able to permanently move to Mexico!¡ I've been extremely excited ever since I found out yesterday. Every time I think about it, I get this huge smile on my face. I know it's God's joy rising up out of me. Knowing that I'm one huge step closer to the calling He has placed on my life really stirs up the joy inside of me. Even though it has taken longer than I thought it would to get to this point, I'm so thankful that things are finally coming together. I know now that God wanted me here for certain things before I left. One thing I truly know now is that no matter what, I need to put ALL of my trust in Him and know that His timing is perfect. It's still a struggle for me to do both of these things, but I really know that I need to do these things if I'm going to be a full-time missionary. I really don't know if missionary is the right word, but it definitely seems to fit the best.

Anyway, I'll be living in San Diego and will be visiting the orphanage probably a couple of times before I actually move there. This way, the kids and people at the orphanage can really get to know me, and they'll be more comfortable with me, rather than me just showing up one time to talk with the people there. Then, I'll permanently be living there and doing work with the orphanage daily. I'm looking at being there for a year right now, but if God says longer, then I'll stay longer. I'm also hoping that I'll be able to visit the church in Mexico that I helped on the missions trip back in June. Before I left, one of the members of the church exchanged numbers with me, and I've kept in contact with them. I've talked with him and our translator from the trip, and they both asked me to come visit while I'm there. I really want to, so I'm praying things work out. If it's God's will, then I know it will.

That's how it's looking right now. I thank God every time I think about it. I'm just so grateful to be in His will.

My Current Status.......

I finally got to talk to Connie, one of the people at the orphanage I'm looking to do work with, and she said that she wants to meet me in person and talk with me before she decides anything. There's only one problem: I live in Michigan. After talking with some of my friends in San Diego, I came to the conclusion that I might have to move down to San Diego. That way, I could be only 45 minutes away from the orphanage rather than 38 hours away, so I would be able to visit the orphanage more than just once. Also, if I visited more than once, everyone at the orphanage could become more comfortable with me rather than me just showing up one random day and that's it. Once the orphanage got to know me better, I would then move to Mexico permanently and do work there at the orphanage. After praying about it and asking God to give me the peace I need, I know that this is what He wants me to do. So, please, if you feel led to donate so that I can share God's love with His precious creation and fulfill the calling He has placed on my life, you can contact me via email: daniel.ratz92@gmail.com, or by donating via PayPal by clicking the donation button on the right side of this page. This isn't just another missions trip. This is what God has called me to do with the rest of my life. This isn't something I just decided to do one day, either. I've been praying for God to show me the place He wishes me to do work with since February, and He's finally revealed it to me, so now I must go out in faith and do what He has for me to do. These precious children are looking for love, for someone to care for them, and for someone to show them that they are worth it, and if I don't go, then who will? God has called me to share His love, joy, peace, and care with the orphans of Tijuana, Mexico, and I don't want finances to get in the way.

Please prayerfully consider it, and thank you so much for taking the time to read this. May God bless you abundantly.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Luke 6:38