2023
November 2023
Dear Family and Friends,
We hope this letter finds you well. It is that time again for us to prepare for our annual Thanksgiving meal and outreaches in the 9th Ward community of New Orleans. This will be our 17th year serving the meal and many of you have served with us and supported us for years. Serving in New Orleans was the catalyst to us forming Family Serve, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit religious corporation. The mission of Family Serve is simple: Share with God's people who are in need; practice hospitality. Romans 12:13. Here is an update of Family Serve 2023.
San Diego Food Share: In 2023, Family Serve continued to share fresh food at least once a week with friends and neighbors near downtown San Diego, reaching over 70 people weekly. We alternate between a free food source (SD Rescue Mission) closer to home and a paid for truckload of food from Temecula. Unfortunately, our ministry vehicle broke down and we have had to rent a truck to ensure that the community is served. The good news is that the food that we buy does not have restrictions on its use and we are able to share it with those in need in Baja California. Since there seems no end to the soaring food prices and food insecurity, we continue to do our best to distribute food as often as possible to the neighboring community and anyone else who has a need. For the past year, food which used to take 2-3 hours to distribute, is gone within the first 15 minutes. We are doing our best to keep up with the demand and often deliver food to those in our community who cannot drive to our location.
King’s Daughters: King’s Daughters is a club for girls of all ages. We have fun together, learn from the Bible, and serve the community. Jennifer and Cami Stout have been leading King’s Daughters for over 12 years. In 2023, we met 2-4 times per month at City Tree Christian School. This summer, we hosted the third King’s Daughter weeklong summer camp, called “Kingdom Builders”. This was our first co-ed summer camp and twenty-five elementary and middle school campers attended. Each camper received a “Kingdom Builder’s” t-shirt, made theme related crafts and leather work, learned from the Bible, and served the younger campers. Jennifer wrote the curriculum based on Matthew 6:9-13 and all of the activities focused on what it means for “God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Kingdom theme was carried out through Bible lessons, music, art and service activities all relating to bringing God’s Kingdom to the earth by serving those around us. Family Serve provided supplies and materials for both the PreK/K and the elementary/middle school campers. We were thankful for volunteers who served all week and invested in the lives of the youth. Other volunteers included Marilyn McCain, Cami Stout, Sara Hooper, and Dorcus Ndume. The campers brainstormed service activities and by week’s end they had worked together to make 17 handmade blankets and collected over 75 cans of food which were taken to families in need in Baja California. The campers also prepared a lemonade stand for the younger campers and made cards and gifts for every teacher at City Tree. The camp culminated with a Kingdom themed celebration. The older campers hosted the younger ones to a party complete with lunch, lemonade, cotton candy and arts and crafts. There is no question that the campers were bringing God’s Kingdom to earth through their acts of love and service.
King’s Daughters began in October for the 2023-2024 school year, and we have over twenty girls signed up to attend in-person at City Tree Christian School. We are also excited to have sent King’s Daughters uniforms and devotionals to Liberia with Malia Harris and we look forward to starting meetings remotely soon. We also continue to pray to reach other school communities locally and in Mexico and South Africa in the future.
Tecate, Baja California, Mexico: We continue outreach to local families by providing food, clothing, and other needed items. As reported last year, we have a longstanding relationship with the Gonzalez-Herrera Family who we met over twenty years ago when we volunteered to build their home with Amor Ministries. This year, Family Serve donated money to Amor Ministries for the foundation, and a local San Diego church completed the building of a double wide home for their adult daughter just as the winter rains began. We were able to assist with furnishing the home and providing weatherproofing and other necessary household items. We continue to visit the family once per month, bringing food and other needed items. Since three generations live together on a rural piece of property, the adult son is now seeking a home be built for him, his new wife, and his newborn son. We are hopeful that his home will be completed by year’s end by Amor Ministries who has been serving in Baja for over forty years!
Valle de Guadalupe: In 2023, we committed to a more frequent presence in this region of Baja California. Our Christmas outreaches were a success and we continue funding the building of a local church, Piedra Angular (Cornerstone). Family Serve donated funds to complete the roof, the pulpit and the floors. We continue to raise funds to complete the project. We also donated 20 Bibles for the congregation. We visit this region at least once time per month and serve at the church and in a small village where many families who work in the vineyards live. Near the end of each month we bring at least 20 bags of food to the families living in the village. In August, we held two back to school outreaches; one at the local church and one in the village. We received a generous donation of backpacks and school supplies and an unusually large amount of cleaned and sorted clothes for women and children. We distributed over 100 backpacks and set up a “shopping area” where families could pick out their clothes. We also provided food, cotton candy and Bible based arts and crafts. We plan to make this an annual event especially after finding out how limited affordable backpacks are in this area.
We have planned Christmas outreach events at both locations in late December. We will be distributing toys and food bags for at least 50 families and welcome your donations. We are also in negotiations to rent a property in the area so we can work on a food bank and other community building activities in 2024. We still offer “Sip and Serve” excursions and would love to have you come and serve with us in this beautiful wine region.
New Orleans Outreach: In 2023, we safely traveled to New Orleans in our RV and participated in several community events. We held two outreaches, one in the 7th Ward complete with cotton candy, nachos, and distribution of food, clothing and generously donated “For Girls Like You” magazines. We invited everyone to the Thanksgiving meal and were excited to see many we invited join us. We stayed busy by shopping and preparing the feast for the 16th Thanksgiving meal. The meal lasted from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and we served well over 300 people home cooked Thanksgiving plates and homemade deserts. We also gave out themed t-shirts to everyone in need and were busy with Bible related arts and crafts for kids and adults. It was a full week, and the multitudes were fed, both physically and spiritually. Sadly, while we were there, a young child related to the owners of the diner where we serve, was accidentally shot by his brother who had access to an unsecured gun in their home. This, and other events, lead us to consider bringing gun safety locks to this year’s meal. Jennifer recently requested and received one-hundred-gun safety locks with educational literature from Project Child Safe for distribution at this year’s meal. We pray that these locks will save lives. Jennifer just returned from New Orleans where she and Miss Kim did some preplanning, and it is clear there is no time like the present to demonstrate peace as we serve in New Orleans this upcoming Thanksgiving week. Our theme is “Build Your Kingdom Here, We Pray” Matthew 6:9-13. Please pray this with us. We leave November 16, 2023.
Partners: Since we are stronger together, Family Serve likes to support other ministries who are strengthening families and communities. In 2023, we donated funds and in-kind services/goods to ministries that serve in Baja California, the Yucatan, South Africa, the West Bank, Liberia, and San Diego. You can read more about these ministries on our updated website at www.familyserve.org.
Thank you for praying and supporting us in 2023 as we continue to add more “serve” to Family Serve. If you would like to donate to our upcoming New Orleans trip or other service area, you can do so at www.familyserve.org or send a tax-deductible donation to Family Serve, 2766 A Street, San Diego, CA 92102, or Venmo your donation to Jennifer McCain-2 (also available in the top right corner of our new website under “Give”) You will find a complete donation menu on our website. Feel free to designate your giving for a specific purpose. Since our time, travel and administrative efforts are always donated, 100% of your your donation will be used for the outreach you request.
As the Lord calls us to different places, we go with the intention of meeting spiritual and practical needs one person at a time. We are thankful for your prayers and your support. We would love to have you come along in any of our upcoming adventures, as we serve as family in Christ.
With Joy and Gratitude, Doug and Jennifer McCain, Family Serve
Share with God's people who are in need; practice hospitality. Romans 12:13
