Thurman Update #31 Written April 20th, 2007

 Recently, I have been devoting most of my time working with Jayson K., for the past five months I have been helping him with the development of a strategic web page focused on mobilizing prayer for Turkey. Currently, the focus is translating the web page into Turkish, Spanish and eventually Korean so that Latin, Turkish, and Korean Believers can use the resources and tools provided on the web site to pray effectively for Turkey.

 I will be heading to Turkey next month participating in our bi-annual Antioch Network staff meetings. It will be a special time as I get first hand experience of the ministries and workers that I have been serving behind the scenes through this Turkey prayer initiative.

 Our family is continuing to serve in Nogales as much as we can. I recently returned from a short trip.


Short story about latest trip to Nogales

Hundreds of illegal immigrants are bussed back to Nogales, Mexico each day. They are given the option to go to the Grupa Beta detention center, where they are allowed a phone call to try to get money wired so they can return to their homes in Mexico and Central and South America.

Many hang out, ashamed, scared, and not sure what to do next others are desperate to figure out how to get back into the US where some have family.


Dan Kane and his family have begun a ministry of compassion by providing meals to these immigrants. This past week I joined the Kane family; we prepared and then distributed a warm meal, they were all grateful. Those who spoke English told us a little of their stories. Juan(photo) shared a little of his story with us as he was waiting around for friends that he was detained with on the U.S. side but had since been separated from.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.”
-Jesus


Grupa Beta is a Mexican government-funded humanitarian organization that is involved in helping illegal immigrants. They have welcomed Dan’s effort to provide meals, recognizing it as a crucial need that they are not providing.

Thurman Update #30 Written March 28th, 2007

This is the team! We spent our time, this past weekend, enjoying the rhythm of work, prayer and study that is foundational to the
Cuirim House Ministry in Nogales, Mexico. For the work project
we continued where the college teams left off.
We mixed cement with a mixer and when that died we mixed it by hand and laid the
foundation for the addition that was built for Miguel’s house last month! It was a special trip for me, to have my wife and son with me, as well as some of my closest friends!



My Lovely wife
doing her part,
she was in charge of
holding the buckets under
the cement mixer. She
has the concrete on her
face to prove it!


Frederick was the
the pulley man. He
was in charge of getting
the five gallon
buckets of cement up
to Miguel’s house.


Zach is up on top
making sure the cement
doesn’t fall on Frederick
but rather becomes the
foundation of Miguel’s house.

Prayer Request Written March22nd 2007

Dear Team,

My family minus Keilah who will stay with her grandparents will be heading down to Nogales, Mexico this Friday afternoon for the weekend. We will be continuing to work on Miguel's house. Miguel and his family oversee the kids cafe. Two weeks ago we built an addition and a new roof to their existing small house. This trip we hope to lay a cement foundation for the addition and possibly frame the interior walls. There will be seven us total going down from Phoenix.

Please pray:

*that we represent Christ to the people of Mexico.
*that we would accomplish the tasks
*that we would learn new inisight from Jesus on what it means to be his followers
*for protection, joy and laughter

Thanks for your support

We are grateful

Ryan and Noleen

Thurman Update #29 Written March 10, 2007

Last week I spent 8 days working in Nogales at the Cuirim House. I went to help Brian Donahue, who runs the ministry lead 30 College students who used their spring break as an opportunity to serve Jesus. I had many wonderful conversations over meals, as we worked, and after our daily times of prayer and worship. We wrestled with the person of Jesus Christ and how his life is relevant to our every day living.

It has been 15 months since I first started working in Nogales, and it has been amazing to see friendships strengthened and to see God use this ministry to give hope to the poor and help equip Mexican leaders to serve their own people.

Miguel is one example. As I sat with him at one point during the week, he shared how Christ had saved him from a twenty year self-destructive battle with drugs. For seven years God restored him, healed him, and gave him a family as he served at a rehabilitation center in Mexico. After the seven years in exchange for his service, the ministry gave him two pieces of land. Just a few years ago, Miguel was completely broke, but full of vision and passion to serve Jesus he began to dream about how God would use him and the property. This is where the Cuirim House ministry comes in; it has been able to provide the laborers to build the Kids Café as well as the resources for the day to day operations and also to pay Miguel and his family so that they can be free to focus on serving the community. We rejoice in our God who is able to restore and heal the broken and place the light of His Son Jesus into our lives to shine in the darkness!

Thanks for your ongoing love and support,

Love the Thurman Family!


Miguel along with his wife Mari and adult daughter Lisbeth, live next to the Kids Café property. He runs the ministry, overseeing the property, cooking the meals, and leading Bible studies with the kids.







The building with the red roof is the Kids Café, every MWF 70+ kids come and get an amazing meal, (I eat there when I am down there). Miguel’s house is just above the Kids Café. This past trip we filled in that hole you see in front of the Kids Café, built a concrete porch to wrap around the Café so there would be more room for the kids and added an addition onto Miguel’s house and replaced his roof.

Christmas Greeting Written Dec. 19th, 2006

“Wisdom unsearchable, God the invisible,
Love indestructible in frailty appears.
Lord of infinity, stooping so tenderly,
Lifts our humanity to the heights of his throne!

O what a mystery! Meekness and majesty,
Bow down and worship for this is your God!”
-Graham Kendrick



Merry Christmas! Through your love for us you reveal the heart of our Father! Thank You! Our God is faithful! We have once again seen His abundant provisions for our family. God provided strength for us to endure many hardships and grace in relationships to forgive as well as be forgiven. He lifted our heads when we were discouraged and guided us back when in rebelliousness or ignorance we went astray. Every ministry work that God laid upon our hearts to do, He provided the resources for, and we lacked nothing. And then there is the amazing miracle of a place for us to call home! Thank You God, every good gift comes from You!
I find myself this year in a pursuit of learning to follow Jesus; becoming his apprentice. A season that I believe will lead to a life of fruitfulness no matter what assignment the Lord gives us! As I spend time with Jesus I long to see, feel, think, and hear as He does so that in all things I would respond as He would, in the small as well as the great things.

We are grateful,
Ryan, Noleen, Ethan & Keilah



This is a time when we celebrate and rejoice that Jesus came down to save us from the ways of death, and to teach us how to live ‘real’ life, and to give His own Spirit to restore us to the image of God so that we will indeed be the hands and feet of Jesus to a lost and broken world that God desires to show His love to, through us! It is also a time to remember what was told to the disciples after they spent time with the risen Christ and watched him ascend to Heaven, “this same Jesus shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go.”

Thurman Update #28 Written Dec. 5th

We write this email with wonderful news, after15 months of difficulty including one verbal threat and another via certified letter to take away the house, the house officially is ours, or more accurate God's! We finished signing the paperwork today! God is indeed mighty! He does amazing seen and unseen deeds, not least of these is the work in our lives so that we did not lose hope but were able to persevere in hardships. He also has used you, our friends and family to provide words of encouragement, help moving, material gifts, and shoulders to cry and vent on!

Thank you for your prayers and support! Let me say this again Thank You! No I don't think you understand we have been loved so fully by our loving Father through you! Thank You! We want to invite you to a celebration and dedication of this house to the Lord, we are thinking late January after things slow down from the holidays, we will keep you posted!

Please pray for us as we continue to journey with a small group of others, learning to be apprentices to Jesus. Please also pray for the work in Nogales, I am leaving this morning to go down to help with the final preparations for Monday's opening of the Kids Café that we have been working on, over the past several months! We are also planning on taking a group down over New Years Eve weekend!

We are grateful,

Love the Thurmans!





Our new address is:

1215 W. Monroe

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Thurman Update #27 written Nov. 8th

Dear friends,

I will be taking the Apprenticeship to Jesus group back down to Nogales this weekend. In September, our group built the stone walls (figure E.) to protect the trees, which are the only shade for the kids from the sun, from being washed away by the rainwater runoff. This trip, we are hoping to complete the finishing touches on the property so that it will be ready to start serving meals to the children of this community!

Kids Café—

A.) The German style structure was built this summer, this is where the kids’ meals will be prepared.

B.) Old community outhouse that needs to be torn down and filled.

C.) Vacant lot that we are hoping to purchase to add to the Kids Café.

D.) Tire wall we are rebuilding to protect the land from rain damage

E.) Rock barriers to protect trees from rain runoff.

F.) New bathroom being built for the Kids Café.

G.) Miguel’s house, Miguel and his wife will be coordinating the everyday operations of the Kids Café



Please pray for our upcoming weekend in Nogales that the Spirit of God would shape our thoughts, feelings, and actions to reflect His Son Jesus as we pray, worship, serve, eat and laugh together!

P.S. if you would like to come down and participate in or just see the work in Nogales sometime, let me know, it is only a 3 hour drive to the border!

Thanks for your love and support,

Ryan, Noleen, Ethan and Keilah Thurman

Thurman Update #26 written October 15, 2006

Photograph of the chapel at the Cuirim House


Ministry in Nogales, Mexico

My family is working with a friend who has started a ministry center called the Cuirim House. The Cuirim House is a center located in the heart of the Nogales slums that partners wiht local Mexican churches to love their neighbors.


The ministry includes:




Feeding children through the Kids Cafe



Facilitation the construction of houses, churches, and other projects; using young people from the U.S. through short term trips throughout the spring and summer.

A cross cultural discipleship and training center for Christians seeking to mature in Christ through a rhythm of prayer, study, and service among the poor.

Weekly trips to Nogales

I have begun to make weekly trips down to Nogales as well as periodic trips with the whole family to help with the completion of the Kids Cafe. We are hoping to have it up and running in the next few weeks. It will be the only place like it in this community.
A place where children and can have a delicious and hearty meal. It is also a safe place for children to play. Miguel and his wife Mari also provide Bible studies for for the children. Even though we are still finishing the work, kids are already seeing this as a safe place to gather!