http://ventanaministries.com/blog Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:07:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en How can you come to a Camp Ventana and not eat the best Tortas in the world? Pastor Brandon seems to think so. We thank you for your servants hearts, playful spirits, and delight in God's word. We hope you guys come back next year for a week. http://ventanaministries.com/blog/?p=209 I dunno. Perhaps the media tends to sensationalize things a bit. I mean if we lived our lives based on the perspective of the television I'd imagine few of us would rarely head out the door if we lived in LA or New York. From what I gather those two places ... http://ventanaministries.com/blog/?p=207 A NEW WIDOW An older man in our church died a few weeks ago.  His name was Nacho and he was 79 years old.  After a week of pneumonia, a heart attack stopped his suffering.  His wife Cande, (pronounced Cahn-day) has attended our church for the majority of her adult life, but ... http://ventanaministries.com/blog/?p=205 January 2009  Dear Faithful Friends of Ventana, If the cows from California had their say, life would remain simple. Similar to the verdant fields of our neighbors north of the border, our Baja campus was transformed into a perfect pasture due to the winter rains. Despite being followed around campus by my ... http://ventanaministries.com/blog/?p=201    (Pastor Mike spoofing Doug and his addiction for Eggnog) The famous political figure and Christian author Chuck Colson coined a phrase that I want to lift from. He defined paradox as truth turned upside-down. For many of our students serving the homeless and indigent population these past two months has been ... http://ventanaministries.com/blog/?p=193 With incredible weather, often in the 80's, students and staff found themselves taking needed rest days strolling along the beach and visiting the many sights of Santa Cruz. http://ventanaministries.com/blog/?p=196 Quite a few people have inquired about our past Ventana students, so in an effort to keep you up to date I thought I’d feature a few every once in a while.  And so it is with great excitement that I announce our first Ventana couple!  Emily from Hemet, CA, and ... http://ventanaministries.com/blog/?p=160 I thought I’d mix it up a little. Instead of reading developments from my perspective, it seemed rather appropriate to hear from our students.  Since our arrival in Santa Cruz in early October, we’ve scattered students along an area called Pacific Avenue each Wednesday and Saturday nights where tons of ... http://ventanaministries.com/blog/?p=188   Now that we’ve been in one spot for 3 ½ weeks, we’re packing up again to roll south to Mission Springs Christian Camps.  We anticipate being in Santa Cruz once more where we can serve the homeless and be part of a community of marginalized people.  http://ventanaministries.com/blog/?p=186   From the look of these articles and pictures ... you'd think Ventana was just a cheaper version of Club Med or something. I must confess that at times our staff feel more like cruise directors that cultural architects. http://ventanaministries.com/blog/?p=183