This month we launched KITCHEN BUILDERS, where month by month our supporters are giving with the goal is to build more kitchens to equip more ministries to feed more people. If you become a KITCHEN BUILDER before the end of 2018, your monthly donation (at any level) will be matched up to $5,000! Why are KITCHEN BUILDERS important? Read on to learn about the impact they are having in just one ministry in Eastern Tijuana.   

KITCHEN BUILDERS multiply ministries and create community change. Pastor Jose Luis and Cindy Pesina are experiencing this first hand. This dynamic couple pastor Gracia del Calvario, a Calvary Chapel church in Eastern Tijuana. Their model for ministry is a true reflection of the heart of Jesus.

The Pesinas knew that there was a spiritual need in their community of Vista del Valle but they also saw a physical one. This couple coordinates and runs three feeding programs in the impoverished areas surrounding Vista del Valle. The meals that they serve come from Outside the Bowl’s Tijuana Super Kitchen. The Pesinas share, “It is a fact that a child needs nutritious food to do well in school and so we believe that faith, education, and food all go together to help raise godly leaders!”

Cindy and Jose Luis see Outside the Bowl meals as a tool for ministry. Each day around 200 children run straight from school or their homes to these safe havens in their neighborhoods to eat lunch! But it is not just food they’re receiving. Cindy shares, “The kids feel safe here.” And from the smiles and laughter to the order and respect, it is apparent that these children, for a short time every day, feel loved. You can see friendships and community being built as these kids sit down to share a meal. Food is opening the door for kids (and families) to step foot in church and to experience love.    

Two of the three feeding programs take place in communities within a fifteen minute radius of the church. The women running these program are investing in the youth. “We share about Jesus in their neighborhoods and then pick them up on Sundays and bring them to our church in Vista del Valle,” says the Pesinas.  

As any mother will tell you, one of the greatest gifts is seeing their child being cared for and invested in by others they trust. Because of this, these daily meals are opening the door for families to come to church. Cindy shares, “The mothers are more receptive to come to services and hear the gospel.” One such mom is Alma Aguilar. Her bustling boys are growing up healthy because of these daily meals. And Alma now helps serve the meals during the hours of the feeding program at Gracia del Calvario.

Since attending church at Gracia de Calvario, Alma shares, “We’re growing up a lot. We’ve started to know more about Jesus and changing our lives. Right now we just wake up and thank God for everything we have.”

Cindy continues, “People are changing. Their lives are getting changed. The kids are getting educated. The mothers and fathers are following Jesus. We’re seeing families changed.”

This small church on the outskirts of Tijuana is having a huge impact on hundreds of lives surrounding Vista del Valle. Much of this impact is because of meals, cooked in an Outside the Bowl Super Kitchen, that are served with love by Gracia del Calvario.

Meet Alma, Cindy, Jose Luis, and the kids of Gracia del Calvario by watching the video below.