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.
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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.
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| 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.
