Heading out

Dear Generous Supporters,

I hope you are all doing well. It has been a very exciting time here at The Owl. From upgrading The Owl with a home theater system that you guys helped fund, to rich times of sharing a common goal with climbers here, I am sure that the Lord has used me how He intended to.

It is my bitter-sweet opportunity to inform you that, even though I intended to stay for 7 months, I will be cutting my time here at the Owl short. I am feeling very strongly led to move on to a new chapter in my ministry career. I am sad to leave the team at The Owl. While I believe I have accomplished and learned a lot, my experience here has helped me to refine where my skills and desires might best serve the Lord. 

There are two large reasons for me needing to leave The Owl. The First is that there simply isn’t enough work to justify me being there. The season is now starting to wrap up and the numbers are even further diminished by press in the climbing community about the recent violence in the area. The second reason is that I feel like the Lord is strongly pushing me into the next chapter in my ministry career. I don't know what that will be yet but I am seeking the Lord and waiting for Him to reveal to me where He needs me.

While I search for my next ministry opportunity any remaining funds you have contributed will stay in my ministry account and help me to fund my next mission. I also plan to keep you all updated via my blog until I return to Denver.

Thank you for your ongoing love, support and prayers. I’m excited to see what the future will hold and how the Lord will direct my path.

Kevin

 

 

January

Another month has flown by. It’s amazing how fast the time goes here. People come in and tell me that they will be around for a month then, it seems like, the next day they are leaving. Anyways, here’s the update of what’s happened in the last month.

Within a week or so of my return I was reminded of how separated I feel from what is going on with the people visiting here when they aren’t in The Owl. I wanted a way to invest more in some climbers but didn’t feel a strong urge, nor did I think it wise to do the walk up to the campgrounds at night. It wasn’t even a fully formed idea that I had committed to prayer, it was more something that I was just thinking about in the back of my head. Then one day I was talking to some climbers while they were in The Owl and we were talking about all of the lodging options in and around Hidalgo and I mentioned that the lady that rents us the space for the coffee shop had other apartments for rent. A couple of days later, five climbers moved into two apartments just outside my back door! Since they are nearly always in The Owl, whether we are open or not, we have invited them to be a part of everything we do. So if we are having a meeting, going to church, or doing an outreach of some kind, they are always invited, and most of the time they accept our invitation. I want to give you their names and a quick piece about each of these folks so that you can be praying for them:

JP- Is from Houston and has been working for a climbing company for the last few years. He is fluent in Spanish and loves to help climbers talk to locals when they need things. He is not a believer but has attended our Bible study once.


Jake getting a tattoo to remember his time here by.
The tattoo artist is also a local dentist

Jake- Is from Portland and is studying to become a nurse. He has taken the last year off to travel the country and climb. He just recently became a believer and is now working out what that all means to him. We have had very rich times of discipleship with him and he says that "it just shows God’s perfect timing and intimate knowledge of me that I was led to The Owl at this time in my life". Jake has recently left Mexico and is preparing to go back to school.

Julian- Is an engineer in the Canadian Navy which, he says, means he works a few months a year and travels the rest of the time. He is not a believer but has been super open to discussing spiritual matters and offers very intelligent questions regarding Christianity. Julian left yesterday to go back to Canada and do some work before the climbing season starts up there.

Ina- was born in Russia and raised in Germany, Scotland, and England, which makes for a very interesting accent. She travels year round, stopping for only a season at time to replenish her bank account. She has been volunteering at The Owl since before Christmas and has been a very big blessing to us. She is not a believer and struggles to understand how the Christianity that she learned growing up in Germany, fits with the views on spirituality that she has learned in her travels. Since she has spent the most time with us, we have had many opportunities to present her with the Gospel and she remains thoughtful on the subject.

Sarah- Is from Michigan but has been traveling the States for a long time. Although she is probably my age or a little bit younger she has probably been living life on the road longer than most of the travelers I’ve met. This is due to, what sounds to me, like a rough family life. She is not a believer and seems indifferent to the subject.
 

Some of the volunteers on the day we broke ground

Another huge thing that happened this month is that we started building the middle school in Mission! Towards the beginning of the month there was a missionary group visiting the town where we go to church from the States and they got very excited about the project and wanted to be a part of it. So when they got home they sent back a massive sum of money and committed to raise more. So even though we don’t have all of the money that we need, Pastor David said “dig a hole and God will fill it”. So every Wednesday, for the last 4 weeks, we have been working on building the school. The really cool part is that we put up a sign in The Owl, asking for volunteers, and we have had a turnout of 4-7 people every time!


 The mess of gear and protection

Something else that happened in the last month that really helped my climbing resume and provided a rich time to get to know one of the climbers is that I was able to help a guy named Marco put up a new route in the canyon. This is sort of a pioneering route because it is going up on a part of a wall that has never been climbed before. This makes putting the route up more difficult because you can’t just climb a nearby route and rappel down to where a want to put the new route, as is done with most routes. I was able to help with the initial parts of the project (probably the most fun and difficult parts) before I realized how much work it would actually take for a route of that size. I realized that my first commitment is to The Owl so I now help by providing the equipment necessary to help finish. The route will be finished in a week and is roughly 600ft tall and will be called Pitch Black because of the prominent black streak that it follows up the wall. The skills that I learned have motivated me to try putting up new lines of my own because I have seen what the time on the rock with other people can be used for (relationally) and how it affects the way that people view The Owl.

Marco and I one rope length from the top of the route, 20 minutes of daylight left, 4 new anchors to drill, 1080ft of rope and 40 lbs of gear to haul, and 600ft to descend. We ended up staying on the cliff until 11:15 that evening

Everything else here is going great. I feel comfortable, happy, and like I'm being used by God. I miss you all and I am constantly thanking God for all of the support you have given me on this adventure. I want to remind you to feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or just want to say hi!

kevin@nicastro.us

Prayer:
-Pray for the community that the Lord has formed around the Owl and that we will be bold in sharing the Gospel with them.
- Pray for the school project and that we can use it in very intentional ways to show climbers the difference between social justice for its own sake and serving the Lord.
-Pray for God to bring people into The Owl that we need to come into contact with, and that we are listening for Him to point those people out to us.

 
Projects:
-Bolting projects on the mountain. The goal of these are to share a common goal with climbers through the labor intensive process of putting up new climbing routes. These can take weeks, months and sometimes even years. I don't expect to see any fruit from people climbing the new route other than making a good name for The Owl. I am more interested in seeing what the Lord will do through the process of working with climbers by sharing a vision and bringing it to fruition. Estimated cost = $200 for bolts and hangers
 
-Sun shade on the back porch of The Owl. The fact that we have a porch is a huge blessing because it expands our usable space by a massive amount. However, on the hotter days, the back porch becomes unusable and we can't even leave the back door open to let a breeze through because the porch radiates so much heat. The goal is to make a sun shade to make this space usable year round. Estimated cost = $300
 
To Donate to a specific project:
1.Go to: https://secure.etransfer.com/ecomm/donation/donation1.cfm?d2org=SolidRock&d2tool=donate
2.Fill out the donation form online.
3.For Apply my gift to: select “Designated (specify in memo)” from the drop down list.
4.For Additional comments or questions related to this donation: enter “Kevin Nicastro- Project (then type the project name, i.e. sun shade or bolt project)” in the text box.
5.You will receive a confirmation by email and a donation receipt early next year for you taxes.

One month in

One month! And a great month it has been for learning, processing, building, and exploring. God has been stretching me and the community I live in, as well as developing opportunities for me to spread His name.

First off I want to apologize for not updating this sooner. I have no excuse except that I didn't think many folks would read it. I was very surprised to find out when visiting home for Christmas that many people back home were patiently waiting to read my next post. I promise to be more on top of it from now on.

The biggest theme for my first month here has been learning what The Owl does and how they do it. Basically, trying to understand what Andrew's vision is for this place. I already intend for this to be a long post so you can check out what The Owl does by clicking here.

The record height during the Giant Jenga competition

I know it was a while ago but I want to give you an update on how things went at the birthday of The Owl. It was a total success! With only a few hours left before the party and no sign of Jon yet, a local friend called their dad who is an electrician. He said he doesn't know about coffee machines but would take a look. He ended up getting the machine running and making it so that we could enjoy coffee at the party! There was a giant jenga tournament, dancing competition, and raffle. Some climbers attended as well as many locals. The locals were exceptionally excited because many of them had been at the opening three seasons ago as well as each of The Owl's birthdays. The fun went into the wee hours of the night.

Getting to know the locals has been a big part of my life in Hidalgo. There are many locals that frequent The Owl. Most are customers, although some are just bored kids that have made The Owl their after-school hang out spot. Andrew has been pouring into these kids for many years and is very involved in many aspects of their lives. I have had the opportunity to join him in that but since my spanish isn't to the point where I can really find out what is going on their lives, I have been doing other things like taking them climbing on the weekends and trying to keep them entertained after school so they don't go finding trouble.

My friend Set

 

Speaking of cool folks that come in The Owl: relationships with the climbers has been very rich. For the most part, our ministry is about forming real relationships with the people that come into The Owl and hoping that God helps them to trust us so that we can share His Good News with them. The way I see this happening is really neat. The Owl is unique in that it is one of the spots that almost every climber comes through. So we get to meet almost everyone that comes through town in this way. Often times I get to make plans to climb with people during this first interaction. Then I get to know them better while climbing and hopefully form a friendship with them. This is also a great opportunity to try to learn how I can serve them. This generally comes in the form of showing them where to find something in town but has also been as big as setting up an urgent dental appointment and picking them up afterwards. It's cool how immediately after being served in some way, most folks normally ask about why we are here. And just like that, we get an opportunity to tell people about what Christ has done in our lives.

 

One of the most fulfilling times I've had here is actually a story of discipleship, not evangelism. As many of you know, Solid Rock Climbers For Christ are helping me by receiving my fundraising for me. They do this with the provision that I would start a local chapter in Potrero Chico. After learning what a normal chapter looks, Andrew and I realized that it would be difficult for us to fulfill that role since the only Christian climbers that actually live here full time work at The Owl. So we decided that we would put the word out to SRCFC members that if they are in town, we want them to be a part of our "chapter" for however long they are here. We want to do this by having a meal with them early on in their stay in Potrero so that we can hear their story and tell them ours. We also wanted to extend an invitation to them to help us serve in one or both of our weekly outreaches (bible study and Saturday climbing for locals).

 

This idea has since expanded to any people that we find out are believers that are staying in town. So, on with the story: One busy night in The Owl, Hamilton and I were working on pumping out some delicious coffee when a pack of five guys, about our age, with matching mustaches walked up to the counter. The first thing they said was "we heard that you guys are believers". I responded that indeed we were and they told me that they were as well. I was so excited about their openness they I wanted to hear their story. So I immediately invited them over for dinner. That time turned out to be a very rich time of making connections and encouraging each other. I am very excited to have meals like this with many more folks throughout the rest of the season.

 

Thanksgiving:

-I was so encouraged to talk to many of you or to hear encouragement from you through my parents while I was back home for Christmas

-I received my first batch of fundraising from SRCFC a couple of weeks ago and I am excited to tell you guys that I am at about 90% of my fundraising to get me through May!

-I am super grateful to Cherry Hills Community Church, Jason West, and Ryan Chapel for helping make possible our vision to improve movie night in The Owl by providing us with a projector and a full surround sound system!

 

Prayer:

-That they Lord would continue to bring climbers to the weekly Bible study

-For safety as I continue to push myself in climbing and form relationships out on the rock

-For vision from the Lord in how I can serve the climbers in more intentional ways

 

Projects:

Let me explain what I'm going to do in this section from now on. From basic improvements such as painting or better lighting in The Owl to bolting projects on the mountain, there are lots of things I want to do here to serve but there isn't always the funds. I have been using some of my money to get these things done but I know that I cannot keep doing that because the money you have given is to support my living expenses, not my projects. So I am going to keep a small list of projects here that I feel like would be a good way to serve but cannot afford at this time. If you want to donate to that specific project, please follow the steps at the bottom of this page. If you want to find out more about what I'm trying to do on a specific project before donating, please email me.

 

-Bolting projects on the mountain. The goal of these are to share a common goal with climbers through the very labor intensive process of putting up new climbing routes. These can take weeks, months and sometimes even years. I don't expect to see any fruit from people climbing the new route other than making a good name for The Owl. I am more interested in seeing what the Lord will do through the process of working with climbers by sharing a vision and bringing it to fruition. Estimated cost = $250 for bolts and hangers

 

-Sun shade on the back porch of The Owl. The fact that we have a porch is a huge blessing because it expands our usable space by a massive amount. However, on the hotter days, the back porch becomes unusable and we can't even leave the back door open to let a breeze through because the porch radiates so much heat. The goal is to make a sun shade to make this space usable year round. Estimated cost = $(I need to go to Monterrey to look at lumber costs, I will have this up soon)

 

To Donate to a specific project:

1. Go to: https://secure.etransfer.com/ecomm/donation/donation1.cfm?d2org=SolidRock&d2tool=donate

2. Fill out the donation form online.

3. For Apply my gift to: select “Designated (specify in memo)” from the drop down list.

4. For Additional comments or questions related to this donation: enter “Kevin Nicastro- Project (then type the project name, i.e. sun shade or bolt project)” in the text box.

5. You will receive a confirmation by email and a donation receipt early next year for you taxes.

 

 

What does the Owl do?

The first thing I want to do is explain The Owl and its two counterparts as I've been able to understand them over the last month. First, The Owl is a place for climbers to be at home. Our goal is to serve everyone who comes in, anything that they need. Amazing, gourmet, fair trade coffee? We're good at that. Need to call mom? We are set up for you to do that for free. Need to recieve a package with gear you forgot at home? Use our mailbox. Check your email? Use our loaner computer. The best part about that is that the Lord has made it so that Climbers come to us looking to solve these problems and that gives us a way to make an initial connection with them. From there we develope relationships with them. Common opportunities are: joining them for a day of climbing, eating meals with them, or just hanging out in the coffee shop with them so that the rest day doesn't get too boring.

The next part of the ministry is where the money from The Owl goes to. Thirty percent of the money that The Owl makes goes directly into an account to help build a middle school in a nearby town called Mission. The small/medium sized population in Mission consists of women, children, and cartel. Most of the men have gone to other places to find jobs. Right now the town does not have a middle school and most people are too poor or not motivated enough to pay the money to ride the bus to the next town for school. With the help of the local church, we hope to build a middle school in that town this summer.

The third part of this ministry is the church in a town called El Carmen. This church has had a very fruitful ministry and is where Andrew and Gena (the owners of The Owl) started their ministry four years ago. This church is connected with The Owl in many ways but the main way that they are connected with the goals of The Owl is through the school that it runs. This school has become the focal point of the community in many ways. Almost all of the kids in town attend this school because their parents want them to get the best education available. Through that, many have become interested in what the church has to say about other things. The church in El Carmen plans to form a relationship with the University of Monterrey so that they can raise up their own teachers, in town, to eventually staff the new school in Mission.

For a great look at The Owl from a non-Christian perspective. Check this video out. It was made by some climbers passing through town who happened into the coffee shop. It's a 15 minute long video but if you want to skip to the part about The Owl, it's at 9:38.
http://vimeo.com/48468088

First week

Well, I've been here almost a week now and it's time to give you folks the first update.


The weather when I left Denver

The weather when I arrived in Hidalgo

















First off, I want to thank everyone for the prayers. The Lord made all of the traveling go very smoothly and I didn't lose any bags. Training at The Owl has gone very well and I am about ready to do everything on my own. Later I'll tell a funny story about when we were being trained.

The first day I was here we went to the church that Andrew and Gena attend which was a surprising experience; surprising in how normal it felt. I definitely felt a huge unity with my Christian brothers here in Mexico. It was amazing to see the Lord confirming much of the same convictions and truths in their lives that I have felt and seen in my church. It's also very exciting that many churches in this area are starting to become "sending churches" instead only receiving missionary support. Believers from this town have gone to India and Nicaragua a few times with plans to go to New York and China. Not to mention all of the missions that people are going on throughout Mexico. Another exciting part of it is these aren't only the adults that are doing this. It is primarily people my age that are recieving the vision and carrying it out. This is all with significantly less resources at their disposal than most of our churches have in the U.S.. Pretty inspiring, right?

As far as El Buho goes, it has definitely been an interesting week. The espresso machine stopped working the first day the other volunteer, Hamilton, and myself were left to work on our own (wasn't me!). With plans to throw a party for the locals and the climbers that are starting to come into town, this has been a big worry for us. We have found what the problem is and that it is out of our skills to fix. We have been praying for a couple of days to find out if the Lord is going to get us a new machine, fix ours, or if we need to cancel the party. Only a few hours ago, a friend of Andrew's that volunteers here pretty often, said he has a spare machine and will bring it down here with him. He is driving from Louisiana and is hoping to get here just before the party on Saturday.

So now for that story about when Andrew was training Hamilton and I. Since Andrew is a bit of a coffee guru, things have to be done perfectly. How specifically coffee can be made came as a bit of a shock to a guy who has never progressed from cowboy coffee made in a tea kettle. To get everything dialed (correct pressure when pressing the grounds, correct size grounds, time between grinding and making the espresso, etc.) took making an insane amount of shots of espresso. Then we had to try them all so that we knew the difference between bad, good, and great shots of espresso. By lunch time I was so buzzed on caffeine that I could barely see straight. Then we went to get lunch in the weekly market in town. A buzz from seven to ten shots of espresso + hungry + traveling market in Mexico = I probably tripped over 5 little kids. As if everyone doesn't stare at the gringos enough!



Hamilton following me up Cactus Piles (5.10d 300ft)

And now for the climbing... It's unbelievable! I've only been to Potrero Chico once so far but every line I climbed, whether is was a 5.8 (easy) or a 5.10d (hard), would have been rated 5 stars at any crag I've been to in Colorado. Even though I had planned to only single pitch (climbing the length of one rope) my first day out, the amazing size of Potrero Chico just begged to be climbed so I hopped on a 3 pitch route at the end of the day. One thing that was really funny about the experience was that I already knew many of the people at the crag (climbing area), even though I had never been there before. This is because almost all of the climbers that stay for the entire season, frequent The Owl almost daily.

Spending time with the climbers has been a very rich experience. It has been raining for the last few days so there is hardly a time that there isn't a climber in The Owl. I have been hearing some amazing travel stories and met people from all over the world. I definitely feel like I am more effective in ministry to them since I can relate to them in climbing. Which happens to be a majority of the reason that many of them have made it their lives to travel the entire world. Another thing that I learned from spending time with them is that there is nothing funnier than an actual dirtbag climber calling another dirtbag climber a "dirtbag" while playing board games, especially when all of them have hilarious accents.

Other little updates.
-My spanish is doing really well. My favorite customers are the middle school guys because they are like most guys at that age and just use really simple, one word answers. But I can understand most people and can get them to understand me with a little effort.
-My roommate and I get along really well and feel really capable of living in community with Andrew and Gena for as long as the Lord keeps us here.
-I will not have an update on fundraising until the end of the month but last time I heard I was more than halfway to my goal for the entire trip. Thank you guys so much for being so agile for the Lord and getting me down here so quickly.

Things to pray for!
-Pray that my relationships with the long term climbers are led by God, for His glory
-That John makes it here on time with the new espresso machine
-For the local church, that the Lord would use me to encourage the people in the amazing things that they are doing for Him

Also, I took a video tour so that you could get an idea of the layout of The Owl (I will work on embedding it in this page)
 http://youtu.be/6pWl3ZmsPa8

Heading out

This is the big day everyone! Since November 1st (ten days ago), you guys made it possible for me to sell my car, pack and store my stuff, raise funds, get a plane ticket, find a sending ministry, and cancel my: lease, inernet, phone, and insurance. I can't even remember how many of you guys met with me in the last week and encouraged me. I told the story of how God made all of this line up so many times that I'm probably telling it in my sleep. I just want to thank you all for making it happen. With all of that done, I'm off!

Things to pray for:
-For a safe flight/drive to Hidalgo (I'll be getting into Monterrey pretty late then it's a quick drive to Hidalgo)
-Please pray that I don't lose my bag, I'm a little worried about that
-That I'm able to be a quick study at the coffee shop and that we are able to open by Andrew's planned date

One last picture and lots of prayer before heading out

How it began

This is the support letter that I sent out that hopefully all of you received. 

Hey there friends and family!

                Boy, do I have a story for you! As some of you may know, I have been preparing to go to Ecuador for a climbing trip in January. The goal was to go down with my climbing partner, climb a couple of peaks, then we were going to go our separate ways and explore South America. The Lord had been hinting to me that I may be down there for a while, possibly doing ministry, and that I should start lightening my load here. We had almost everything ready to go: climbing equipment, special skills training and practice, and logistics for when we are over there. The only thing that I didn’t have ready was a plane ticket. I had the money for the ticket in my pocket many times but when I rang up the ticket, I could never click “buy”. I didn’t know what was stopping me but I would always exit the window at the last second.

Well a few days ago, on October 30, my climbing partner and I decided, even though we were very excited and prepared, we needed to call the trip off for a few reasons. The next day, I was cruising the Solid Rock Climbers for Christ website and I saw a help wanted ad for volunteers at a Christian coffee shop. Turns out this coffee shop is located almost within walking distance of a world famous climbing area and ministers to climbers… and it’s in ­­­­­­­­Hidalgo, Mexico. So I emailed Andrew who runs the ministry about maybe helping him out. A few hours later he called me, told me he needed my help, and said he could really use me ASAP, sometime between November 6 and November 13 and he would need me to stay through May and potentially longer.

                I realized that this is what the Lord has been building me up to over the last few months. So… I’m going to Mexico! It’s so amazing how many things the Lord has been doing to prepare me for this trip without me even knowing about it. Let me tell you a little more about what I will be doing down there. El Buho (The Owl) is a Christian coffee shop that is for international climbers, locals, and any other travelers to come and relax. They can check their email, play board games, and enjoy a cup of joe. Andrew told me that it has also become like the local Starbucks and it’s where the local boys bring their dates now. The Owl will also host weekly movie nights during climbing season as well as Bible studies. My job will be to serve coffee to all that come, and try to pour into their lives in whatever way the Spirit leads me. In my spare time I will be out climbing at El Potrero Chico, trying to connect and minister to the climbers while on the rock. Another big part of what Andrew and his wife are doing down there is in the local community. As of right now, the local kids stop their education after 5^th grade because they can’t afford the bus fare to get to the middle school in the neighboring town. That is why thirty percent of all of the proceeds from The Owl go directly into an account that will eventually build a middle school in Hidalgo so that they can continue their education. To learn more, check out Andrew’s website at www.notquiteripe.com.  So now I need a few things from my friends and family to make all of this happen:

                First, I need prayer warriors. I need people that want to receive email updates about what needs to be covered in prayer while I’m there, and I need them to commit to actually praying about it. This will include things like safety while on the rock, specific relationships that are being formed, and special projects that I may take on.

               

Second, I need financial support. My total expenses while I’m there will be $350 a month[MTN: $350 x 7 months = $2,450 plus about $1,000 travel expenses, total = $3,450]. This includes room and board, gas money, personal expenses and spending.

               

Third, I need accountability. These are people that are willing to call me up or email me and check how things are going. These need to be people that will encourage me, advise me, and convict me if need be.

If you want to commit to one, two, or all three of these things, I need to know NOW! The thing about this trip that is different from any other mission trip that I’ve been on is that I don’t have half a year or even a few months to get ready. I have ONE WEEK. I beg you to pray about this and to see what you can commit to. I’m very excited that God has called me to serve Him by serving the international climbers and the local Mexican community. Who knows what the impact could be? Please be a part of this with me.

Thank you so much and God bless,

Kevin Nicastro

720-227-4568

kevin@nicastro.us

To Donate to Kevin’s Mission Trip:

1.       Go to:  https://secure.etransfer.com/ecomm/donation/donation1.cfm?d2org=SolidRock&d2tool=donate

2.       Fill out the donation form online.

3.       For Apply my gift to: select “Designated (specify in memo)” from the drop down list.

4.       For Additional comments or questions related to this donation: enter “Kevin Nicastro- Potrero Chico” in the text box.

5.       You will receive a confirmation by email and a donation receipt early next year for you taxes.