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.