Spring 2024
Dear Friends & Family,
2024 has been a busy year so far with many Family Serve activities and events. We continue to "bloom where we are planted" in San Diego with a weekly foodshare distribution for people in our Golden Hill/South Park Neighborhood. Doug picks up the food from the San Diego Rescue Mission and the weekly events are so well attended that we are typically out of food in the first ten minutes! With the growing need, we will continue our weekly outreach and are considering expanding our reach even further in the future.
In April, we started gardenshare events for people in the neighborhood who have expressed an interest in receiving organic produce grown by Doug in our A Street yard. These events are off to a great start, and each person is able to harvest produce as they desire from our garden. Our mission is to strengthen communities one person at a time and we believe that sharing our "bounty" with others does just that.
Also, locally, Jennifer continues to disciple young girls with her King's Daughters meetings at City Tree Christian School in Downtown San Diego. She is blessed to have Camelia Stout as a volunteer for the last several years. This quarter, they celebrated the New Year, Jesus' love, His million little miracles and this month's theme is Jesus' love is like Springtime. The girls love to worship, read God's word, create and serve others.
Further away from our homestead, we have been busy with outreach activities in Baja California. We have visited both Tecate and Francisco Zarco six times this quarter. We received a huge donation of clothing, shoes, toys, and baby furniture and items in February and just now completed sourcing it to many in need. We gave one single mom the supplies necessary (table, racks, etc.) with enough items to sell to the community as a way of supporting her family. We distributed 25 food bags monthly to the community in Francico Zarco and at their request, we started teaching them English, monthly on Sunday afternoons. Our first class was attended by over 30 people of all ages. Every weekend we visited we were met with rain, but we made it work and the motivation of the students is contagious. We are also very excited to see the progress on the local church (Piedra Angular) we have been supporting with their building expansion. Every time we donate resources, members of the church immediately volunteer their labor and time to work on the new building. It is coming along so nicely, we are praying that it will be completed this year! Completed or not, the Lord is growing the church as they love the surrounding community. We will attend a baptism of several new members at the end of April. God is on the move. This is Pastor Javier "dancing for joy" as he praises the Lord for His provision.
We also updated our website this quarter to include donations for St. Paul's school in Liberia. They are in great need of finishing their high school science lab. All donations will go directly to buying the needed equipment for their high school. They are now a distinguished high school in Liberia so this will be an important step to maintaining their academic rigor.
We are very excited for what lies ahead this summer and would love your support in any way you are able. Jennifer will be joining other women in South Africa in July with Amor's Women of Strength. They will be building housing for women and children and will continue community work that they started last year, specifically helping local women learn to sew washable sanitary pads. We also are planning now for summer youth events in both San Diego and Valle de Guadalupe. We will host the Kingdom Builders Camp again at City Tree Christian School and will also hold a similar camp for the children in the Valle de Guadalupe. We will also distribute backpacks and food to the local children. And, we are also super excited to be planning a field trip to the zoo in Valle de Guadalupe for a very large family who lives in Tecate. This is almost a two hour drive and will involve renting transportation and entrance fees. We are so excited to make this come to fruition.
Next quarter, we will host two couples for Sip and Serve and are excited to share the Valle with them. We would love to have you join us whenever you are able. You can also email us if you have any interest in volunteering with Family Serve in any capacity.
Thank you for your prayers and your support. We consider you the "family" in Family Serve and are thankful for all you do!
Blessings,
Doug and Jennifer McCain
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
2022
November 2022 Family Serve Updates
November 2022
Dear Family and Friends,
We hope this letter finds you well. This time of year marks the preparations for our annual Thanksgiving meal and outreach in the 9th Ward community of New Orleans. This will be our 16th year serving the meal in this community and many of you have served with us and supported us for years. In many ways 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 2022.
San Diego Food Share: Family Serve shares fresh food at least once a week with friends and neighbors near downtown San Diego, reaching over 80 people. In 2022, we were blessed to find a new, free food source (SD Rescue Mission) closer to home. This allows us to use our own car to pick up the food, saving the cost of renting a truck. With food prices soaring and food insecurity rising, we decided to distribute food at least once per week to the neighboring community and anyone else who has a need. Word has spread and when able, we distribute food twice per week. For the past few months, food which used to take 2-3 hours to distribute, is gone within the first 15 minutes. If you or someone you know would like to participate, please contact us.
San Diego King’s Daughters: King’s Daughters is a club for girls of all ages. We have fun together and learn from the Bible and serve the community. Jennifer and Cami Stout have been leading King’s Daughters for over 11 years. Marilyn also helped out until she moved to college in September. In 2022, we were thankful to return to in-person meetings 2-4 times per month. This summer, we hosted the second King’s Daughter weeklong summer art camp, called “Brave”. The curriculum and supplies were provided by an amazing ministry partner, Thou Art Exalted, lead by Annie Pajcic. We had over twenty girls attend. Each girl received a “Brave” t-shirt, made beautiful works of art, learned from the Bible, and also learned how to prepare and eat healthy meals. You can see how much fun was had here. We just started our meetings for the 2022-2023 school year and we have over twenty girls signed up to attend in-person at City Tree Christian School. We are branching out to other school communities and we continue to pray to reach Liberia, 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, the Gonzalez-Herrera Family who we have known since 2003 lost two of their homes in a fire. In 2022, Family Serve raised the funds to replace their two smaller homes with one double size home. Family Serve donated the money to Amor Ministries and their staff in Mexico built the double wide home in just a few days. We continue to visit the family often, bringing food and other needed items. Since three generations live together on a rural piece of property, we are working on securing funds to build another house for one of the daughters and her two children who currently live in a structure that is not sound or weather proofed. With winter upon us, time is of the essence.
Valle de Guadalupe: After spending many years in this region of Baja California known for producing the majority of Mexico’s wine, the Lord connected us with a local church in need of a more permanent structure. Family Serve donated funds to purchase materials to begin work on the roof. We continue to raise funds to complete the project. Through this effort, we learned of a village where many families who work in the vineyards live. Many families migrate from Chiapas to work. The local church shares the gospel with these families and provides affordable rent for small trailers. Many have been baptized. Earlier this month, we brought volunteers to explore the vineyards and also serve these families through the local church. We call these excursions “Sip and Serve.” So far, everyone who has joined us has left with a new appreciation for the region and the people who work hard to support the region. With guidance from the local pastor, we brought bags of nonperishable food, blankets, diapers, water and toiletries to these local families. We are working with the church to continually stock a food bank for these families as well as planning two Christmas outreach events in the community. A local craft brewery has also volunteered to host a fundraising event in 2023.
South Africa: In July, Jennifer and Marilyn joined Amor Ministries “Women of Strength” for a 10-day mission trip to South Africa. Some of you supported Marilyn’s trip through Family Serve. This was their third trip together with this group. It has been almost four years since they had returned due to Covid. Much was accomplished even though there were only 15 volunteers, many of whom could not participate everyday due to a Covid outbreak. But, Covid could not curtail the Lord’s work. Along with youth from Amor Europe, the women helped build a house for two sisters and their children, dedicated a mobile library at a senior secondary school in Tambisa, and spent much of their time working on a very special seed project at Mafa Max Motloung secondary school in Delmas. The group brought many suitcases of supplies and taught the young girls and women to sew reusable sanitary pads. They learned that many girls stop attending school due to lack of funds to buy sanitary pads. Jennifer, Marilyn and others sewed many pads during the evenings after working and distributed the pads to the young girls. The local women have since started their own nonprofit to continue the microbusiness and Amor is seeking grant funds to reach other areas. The women were blessed to plant the seeds for this important project. Since returning home and sharing the trip details with others, Family Serve has secured funds to buy additional sewing machines. We plan to return next summer to support Amor’s ongoing efforts in this community and will continue to raise funds for this purpose.
New Orleans Outreach: Last year we traveled to New Orleans in our RV and participated in several community events. We served in memory of Wasim Merchant, our daughter Sara’s fiancé, and father to our grandchild, Josephine who passed away in August of 2021. Sara and Josephine served the entire week and endured the long trip there and back in the RV. We distributed truckloads of food to the community and held outreaches where we distributed donated “For Girls Like You” magazines to the local youth. We hosted the 15th Thanksgiving meal that served many families with homecooked Thanksgiving goodness. We also gave out t-shirts to everyone in need. One highlight was finding our longest standing volunteer who had to relocate to Texas. We found him living in his car and we were able to bring him a Thanksgiving meal on our way back to California. It was a blessed reunion. It was a full week, and the multitudes were fed, both physically and spiritually. We are currently planning another full week in the 9th Ward Community this upcoming Thanksgiving week. We plan to distribute food, hold an art Bible camp for the local youth at our partner church, sponsor two outreach events and shop, cook and serve a home cooked Thanksgiving meal to the community. We leave November 18, 2022.
Partners: Since we are stronger together, Family Serve likes to support other ministries. In 2022, we donated funds and in-kind services/goods to ministries that serve in Baja California, the Yucatan, South Africa, Palestine, Liberia, Poland and San Diego. Thank you for praying and supporting us in 2022 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 send a tax-deductible donation to Family Serve, 2766 A Street, San Diego, CA 92102, or Venmo your donation to Jennifer McCain-2. 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. You can also add Family Serve as a charity under your Amazon account by logging into Smile Amazon each time you order items.
We also accept donations of food, clothing and other items that can be provided to those in need. As the Lord calls us to different places, we go with the intention of meeting spiritual and practical needs one person at a time. With your prayers and support we have been able to make a lasting impact in the communities we serve. We are thankful for your prayers and your desire to help out however you can. If you would like to join us in upcoming adventures, we would love to have you come along as we serve as family in Christ.
With Joy and Gratitude,
Doug and Jennifer McCain for
Family Serve
Share with God's people who are in need; practice hospitality. Romans
12:13.
2021
October 2021 Family Serve Updates
October 2021 - Strengthening Communities One Person at a Time
Dear Family and Friends,
We hope this letter finds you healthy during this last quarter of 2021. It has become a tradition for many of you to receive a letter about our annual trip to New Orleans. The McCain’s hate to break tradition and with Hurricane Ida hitting on the exact day as Hurricane Katrina hit sixteen years ago, the need in the 9th Ward is even greater than last year. So, we begin again to prepare for the 15th Thanksgiving meal and outreach in the 9th Ward. Since some of you are new friends, this video gives you the history of how this outreach began.
2021 marks the first full year serving through our 501(c) (3) nonprofit religious corporation, Family Serve. The mission of Family Serve is simple: share with God's people who are in need; practice hospitality. (Romans 12:13) Family Serve seeks to demonstrate the basics of living in peace and connecting people with opportunities to serve and grow in the local, national, and international context. Here is an update of what Family Serve has been up to in 2021.
San Diego Food Share: Family Serve shares fresh food each month with friends and neighbors near downtown San Diego, reaching over eighty families in San Diego communities and across the border into Mexico. New connections are made monthly and everyone who comes is encouraged to take extra food to share with their friends and neighbors.
San Diego King’s Daughters: King’s Daughters is a club for girls of all ages. We have fun togetherthrough many activities such as art, dance, baking and gardening. We learn from the Bible and serve the community. Jennifer and Cami Stout have been leading King’s Daughters for over ten years. Marilyn also helps out regularly. In 2021, due to Covid-19 restrictions, we went virtual. The online platform allowed us to reach girls from other communities and our numbers grew! This summer, we hosted the first King’s Daughter weeklong summer art camp, called “His Love is All You Need”. We had over twenty girls attend. The girls made beautiful works of art, learned from the Bible, and made blankets for our friends in Tecate. We just started up for the 2021- 2022 school year and we have thirty girls signed up to attend in person at City Tree Christian School. We are planning to continue with zoom and weekend meetings for girls in other school communities and our prayer is to reach Liberia soon.
Tecate, Baja California, Mexico: We continue outreach to local families by providing food, clothing, and other needed items. The Gonzalez-Herrera Family is very dear to us. We have been friends since we met them fifteen years ago while building one of their homes with Amor Ministries. Three generations live together on a rural piece of property near the border. Sadly, two of their homes burned down in August. Gladly, everyone survived. We have visited them several times since the fires in August and we are currently fundraising to rebuild their homes through Amor Ministries. We are also seeking volunteers who would like to help rebuild with us.
Liberia: This year we partnered with Malia Harris and participated in a virtual teacher training with St. Paul’s church in Liberia. We also organized and supported two collection drives of food and household goods which were shipped to Liberia. Another canned goods drive is currently underway.
New Orleans Outreach: Last year we traveled to New Orleans two times. In October, we helped a widow who we met after Hurricane Katrina with home repairs and cleaning. We also met with partners who provided us with food and volunteers for the Thanksgiving meal. In November, we hosted the 14th Thanksgiving meal and outreach which reached hundreds of families with homecooked Thanksgiving goodness, “I Love 9th Ward” face masks, grocery distribution and “For Girls Like You” magazines for the local youth. We met new ministry partners and joined them for a day of door-to-door grocery delivery. Those partners then served with us at the meal. They also provided us with extra hands when a huge truckload of groceries needed to be distributed to several additional neighborhoods. It was a full week, and the multitudes were fed, both physically and spiritually.
For this year’s outreach, we will distribute as much food as possible during the week at different locations. We will cook a traditional meal for everyone in the community. We will also assess needs due to damage caused by Hurricane Ida and plan to work with Reach Global who coordinated Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in 2006. This year we serve with the spirit of Wasim Merchant as our guide. Wasim, our daughter Sara’s fiancé, and father to our grandchild, Josephine, and Kamila, was a true Louisiana man who never met a stranger and always had a smile on his face. Sadly, he passed away on August 24, 2021, after a courageous battle with brain cancer. Sara and Josephine will serve the community with us as we remember Wasim and how much he loved his family, others, the Saints, and Louisiana!
Thank you for praying and supporting us this past year. As we head off to New Orleans soon, we wanted to let you know of ways you can help. You can send a tax-deductible donation to Family Serve, 2766 A Street, San Diego, CA 92102, or you can Venmo your donation to Jennifer McCain-2. You can also designate your giving to any of the specific areas mentioned above. All of the money we receive will be used 100% on the outreach you request. Another way to help is to add Family Serve as a charity under your Amazon account by logging into Smile Amazon each time you order items. Amazon donates a percentage of orders to your designated charity. We would love you to help out in any way you feel called.
As the Lord called us to different places, we go with the intention of meeting spiritual and practical needs one person at a time. Our time and efforts are always donated, but with your prayers and support we have been able to make a lasting impact in these communities. We are thankful for your prayers and your desire to help out however you can. If you, your family, or your organization would like more information about Family Serve, or would like to join us in upcoming adventures, please let us know. We would love to have you come along as we serve as family in Christ.
With joy and gratitude,
The McCain Family/Family Serve
Share with God's people who are in need; practice hospitality. Romans 12:13