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Winter Update 2024-2025

Writer's picture: Yucatan Helping HandsYucatan Helping Hands


Feliz Año Nuevo 2025!


Dear Friends & Family:


Happy New Years! We hope you had a joyous holiday season. We pray that you're in good health and with a refreshed perspective and renewed hope as we begin another year.


This season, we've been blessed with the company of wonderful friends, and we experienced an unexpected change when Kawika decided to return for his winter break. Initially, he believed it would be better not to spend the holidays with us due to a shorter break this school year. However, his college friends, aware of his strong affection for Yucatan, persuaded him to come back which has been good for his soul and for ours! He's now back at Seattle Pacific University to begin a new quarter.



Amidst the celebrations, entertaining guests, and hosting dinners for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we also managed frequent colds, toe injuries (Inez & Kawika), and Byron’s therapy for his plantar fasciitis. Despite these challenges, we are profoundly grateful to God for supporting us and enabling the three of us to enjoy the holidays together. We ask for prayers for Byron's foot (heel) condition, especially as we prepare for our upcoming travels in the states, which we will detail shortly.



Due to these recent events, this post will be shorter than usual. However, please continue reading to stay updated on our upcoming activities and prayer requests. In just over a week, we will depart for the U.S. to start our travels across the country. Our journey begins with family time in Hawaii, followed by visits to supporters and churches from February through May in South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Colorado, Oregon and Washington State. We are excited and eagerly anticipate these visits!


Reflecting on 2024, we've witnessed God's work through His church, fostering a deep sense of unity, humility, and service among His people. We realize we would not have been blessed in this way without your help and interest in our ministry. We are truly grateful for your partnership through your generous support and prayers.


Blessings & Aloha,


Byron & Inez

 

Updates in Ministry:


2025 plans: We are set to host a development team from Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church (RBPC) in mid-June, with potential teams from South Carolina and Florida expected in June and July. As we continue to finalize dates and details, we'll provide more information in our upcoming post.


New water plant in Muna: We're working with Laura from RBPC and Pastor Geronimo of the La Trinidad church in Muna to initiate a new Living Waters for the World (LWW) water plant project for 2025, aiming for completion in early 2026. As previously mentioned, in mid-June, we plan to host Laura and her development team to sign a LWW covenant agreement with La Trinidad. Later in the year, a construction work team from RBPC will join us, and at the start of 2026, if everything proceeds as planned, we will collaborate with an RBPC implementation team for the system installation and the training of the water committee and educators.

  

Update on Chalmuch water plant. During the development team trip in June, we also plan to visit Chalmuch where we worked with RBPC and LWW to install a water plant this past spring. As we mentioned in our last blog, Pastor Jeremias of the Horeb de Pena water plant there was still working out issues with legal paperwork. Thank you for your prayers! After some challenges with a process that can be complicated, he has since received official documentation and is now compliant with government regulations.


Akil House & Church Construction. We ask for your prayers for our house project in Akil for Jose & Maribel. Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church, which sent a team to work on the Filadelfia church roof last year, has also funded this house project. Although much of the work on the house is complete (see photos below), the remaining funds are currently held by the presbytery's bank. We were informed that the funds would eventually be released, but unfortunately, we have had to pause the project. In the meantime, Jose and Maribel, along with Pastor Emanuel and the church members from the Filadelfia church, are waiting for our call. Please pray, God willing, for a swift resolution. This situation certainly tests our patience, but we trust that God is in control and that there is always a purpose in His timing.



Meanwhile, the Filadelfia church continues to raise funds for the new church building, having completed the interior walls with stucco and has just started working on the flooring. It's such a blessing to see the temple reconstruction in progress.



Celebrating in Akil

Just today, we returned from an overnight stay in the Akil area, where we attended the 15th birthday celebration of sister Carolina's granddaughter from the Filadelfia church. These celebrations, known as quinceañeras, are significant in Mexican culture, symbolizing a young girl's transition into womanhood. We've known Keyla nearly her entire life, and witnessing her reach this milestone is a blessing for our family. Even Kawika called from the U.S. to video chat and congratulate her during the event. After her father, grandfather, and even Byron were invited to dance with her, uncles, cousins, friends, and her younger brother all stood in line to dance with her as well. However, the most emotional dance was between mother and daughter. Seeing Sarai hold Keyla so closely reminded us of what all mothers must eventually do: let go. It was a joy to reconnect with friends, catch up, and hold Carolina's new granddaughter, Mayli.



Update on Maní Church

The Divino Pastor church in Maní, which collaborated with North Palm Beach Presbyterian last summer to construct a new cement floor, has continued its efforts in building the church. As you may remember, the congregation gathers at a location originally designed as a sports court, since the original church building is outdated and too small. Following the completion of the flooring project in June, the congregation members have continued to raise funds to finish concrete pathways around the court's perimeter, leading to the bathrooms located behind the structure.



They managed to construct a few walls with the intention of slowly building the remaining ones over time. While the church works on raising funds, there's also been news of a possible donation to help fund the construction of the remaining walls.


It's been amazing to see how the Divino Pastor congregation has expanded from starting a new floor project to achieving what the church has accomplished so far. We pray that the Lord continues to equip the brothers and sisters to welcome the community, using the "temple" as a place of worship for celebrating feasts and milestones like the first Advent Sunday and a Quinceañera service in December, as shown in the photos below.



 

Reflection: A Misdirection with Google Maps?



We wrap up this update with a story we hope inspires you as much as it does for us.


Amid the hustle and bustle of holiday activities, Inez mistakenly sent our friends, Diana Elena and William, the wrong Google Maps location for a café where we were supposed to meet for breakfast the other day. She directed them to the same restaurant, but it was in a different shopping mall instead of the one we intended.


Unfortunately, they had just arrived at the other location while we were waiting for them at the other restaurant site.


Embarrassed, we rushed over to where they were.


We had eagerly awaited this reunion since Diana Elena was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year and underwent surgery. Even though we already knew the wonderful news that Diana Elena's latest MRI showed no signs of cancer, we listened to her and William talk about the anguish and uncertainty during the wait to learn the extent of the cancer. We felt blessed hearing them share the triumphs along the way as Diana Elena has been undergoing therapy to relearn motor skills and how to walk again.


By God's grace, her recovery has been remarkable. We were amazed at her seemingly ease of handling her fork and lifting her mug of tea. Observing her radiant smile, and fluent conversation about her grandchildren, one would never suspect the challenges she faces due to having brain surgery. Yet, she perseveres through her faith in Christ, supported by pastors, a loving family, and friends who pray for her.


Life doesn't always grant us our desires, but hearing about triumphs through adversity by having courage reminds us why we have faith and hope in something greater than ourselves.

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. --1 Corinthians 15: 57

During our family Christmas Eve devotion, we examined our faith and contemplated whether we would have believed a story about a savior being born in a manger had one of our campesino friends here urged us to hurry and go with them to see the babe in a pueblo.


It can all seem skeptical until we are humbled with hardship and have no other option but to get on our knees, genuinely seeking God amid our struggles and fears, with our doubts, and through our pain.


That's when we begin to find the love of Christ and his grace. That’s when we can break through and experience victories, whether in small steps or big ones, like Diana Elena.


In fact, she shared that, God willing, her soon-to-be-born granddaughter will be named Victory Emma. Her son says it's to honor his mother who is one more "victory" of God to prove that he is almighty.


And by the way, the wrong location Inez sent to them? It was supposed to be the café in a little mall called Plaza Fontana. Instead, we ended up celebrating with them over breakfast in the shopping plaza called…Victory. Just the way God intended it to be.




 

Prayer Requests For:

  • Safe travels and provisions during our 4-month travel in the U.S.

  • Healing from illness and our foot problems (Byron's heel and Inez's & Kawika's toes)

  • Kawika as he finishes his 2nd year at Seattle Pacific University

  • God's guidance and help for our 2025 ministry plans and the teams expected to come

  • The house project in Akil. That the bank will release the funds soon so that Jose and Maribel and their daughter can settle back in a safer and a much needed expanded home.

  • The churches in Akil and Mani. That the Lord will provide for all their needs to complete construction of their place of worship so that many will come to know Jesus.

  • Our friend Diana Elena. That the Lord will continue to work in her so that she continues to tell her story as a witness to Christ.


 

Muchas gracias for reading amigos!



¡Dios los bendiga!

 

Thank you for your support in prayer and financial giving


For contributions toward our ministry & personal expenses:


If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation, go to MissionDispatch.org, and either go to our missionary page or click on the “Giving” tab and yellow “Donate” tab. Or mail your check payable only to “Mission Dispatch” (not to Yucatan Helping Hands or the Ahinas) to the address below. Be sure to reference “Inez Ahina” on the bottom of the check.


Mission Dispatch / PO Box 641 / Edmonds WA 98020


You can also set up an automatic bill payment through your bank account.


If you wish to make a non-tax-deductible donation, please send a check to our US address:


Payable to: Byron Ahina / 1918 214th CT SE / Sammamish, WA 98075


For contributions toward food relief packages or construction projects:


If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation, go to MissionDispatch.org (see above instructions). All gifts we receive from Mission Dispatch are considered as income to us. Therefore, we will set aside a portion of that gift to cover for IRS taxes.


If you wish to make a non-tax-deductible donation, maximum up to $15,000, please send a check to our U.S. address above and include a brief description note for the purpose of the donation. Example: "These funds are to reimburse Byron and Inez Ahina for __________. The Ahinas did not have any financial gain from this gift."


For Personal Gift Contributions


All personal gifts are non-tax deductible and must be sent to our U.S. address:


1918 214th CT SE

Sammamish, WA 98075

Payable to Byron K. Ahina, Inez T. Ahina or Byron Kawika Ahina


You can also make a Zelle transfer and find us through our email address: ahinabk@gmail.com


If you have any questions, please contact us at ahinabk@gmail.com, call us directly at +52 999 129 6227 or leave us a WhatsApp message at the same number. You can also leave us your number as we have unlimited calls to the U.S. Thank you.

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About Us

Yucatan Helping Hands is a Christian ministry in Mexico, fostering relationships between churches in the U.S. and Yucatan, working together to bring transformational and sustainable change to communities through short-term missions.

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