Barrel Racing Event - Community Outreach

Carnisimo, a business-as-missions effort through The Fatted Calf, sponsored a barrel racing competition on the campus of Casa Vida y Esperanza this past April. The two organizations along with a local rancher worked hand in hand to bring this family-friendly event to the community of Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico.

Enthusiasm was high as over 200 spectators arrived at the CVE campus on a beautiful sunny day for a well-planned event. The arena was lined with bleachers and food booths from local vendors, horse trailers parked in the distance, and participants on horses eager to compete.   Andy Ott, missionary and event coordinator said, “It was great to see the turnout from the community of Magdalena for this event. We enjoyed seeing families spend time together at this family-friendly rodeo. God willing, we will have more rodeos in the future and it's our hope to see families return and be able to form relationships with the participants.” Twenty-five participants between the ages of 6-17 were competing for top honors as prizes were awarded to the 1st and 2nd place individuals in each of the two age groups. In addition, hats and gift cards to Carnisimo Burgers were given out to all participants as a community-building promotion.

"I love to see families spend time together in a family environment."

Regina, a local equine therapist and barrel coach, brought a group of her students to the event.  She said, “We love coming to this place because everyone is so nice and helpful. I loved this event and I love to see the parents show up and encourage their kids. This is so important. I love to see families spend time together in a family environment. There’s nothing more I could ask for but to say thank you.”

With such a positive response and outcome of this event, we are sure to have more of the like in the future.

Employee Spotlight - Martin Valdez

Martin Valdez is a local Magdalena de Kino, Sonora man living his life as a faithful Baptist assistant pastor and a hardworking employee of Carnisimo. Martin moved from Hermosillo to Magdalena in 2012 and after seeking employment, found a way to use his degree obtained in Human Nutrition in the Carnisimo production facility.

Since April 2018, Martin has consistently shown up to work with a down-to-earth personality and the desire to work effectively. Martin wholeheartedly embraces the passion behind Carnisimo's mission to produce delicious foods and help others. Martin sees both being carried out at Carnisimo to the Magdalena community and responds that he sees his part by being a consistent, responsible Christian example. Martin daily has the opportunity to speak into the lives of the other employees who work for Carnisimo and Carnisimo Burgers. Additionally, Martin understands the importance of keeping machines and equipment clean and sanitary before, during, and after the production of meat products.

A typical week in his life at work somewhat follows a pattern. Mondays and Tuesdays are spent ordering spices and other materials from local grocery stores, cutting up meat that will be processed later in the week, weighing out spices for the week's recipes, and placing labels on bags that will contain the finished meat products. Wednesday is production day when Martin will grind or slice the beef and pork for the products, mix in spices, and stuff them into casings (if needed). The final step for most of Carnisimo’s products is to smoke the meat such as in the case of sausages and beef jerky. A thorough cleaning of all equipment follows. Thursday and Friday are packing the finished product into appropriate bags, vacuum sealing the bags, and then for those that need to be frozen, they are put in a large walk-in freezer. After all of this, if there’s still time in his 8 am-3 pm work day, he will look for general maintenance tasks to complete, power washing the walls, changing light bulbs, and replacing supplies. 

Working at Carnisimo allows employees to grow their interests and utilize their talents. When asked what is something at work that Martin is working harder to achieve, he replied “learning and exploring with foods and different flavors.” Many days you can find him making breakfast for himself and other employees. He says, “It’s the perfect place to experiment with different meats and spices”.

Martin values...pouring into their congregation

Martin's wife of 14 years, Ivette, is a principal at Colegio de Verdad y Vida, the private school located on the campus of Casa Vida y Esperanza. Martin and Ivette both walk a committed life to Christ and are essential partners in both of these HarvestCall ministries. On the weekends, they enjoy spending time together visiting other towns and distributing Bibles and tracts. Additionally, Martin values his responsibilities as an assistant Pastor in their local Baptist Church, pouring into their congregation and filling in for the main Pastor in his absence.

It takes a variety of people and talents to make Carnisimo successful and we certainly want to thank Martin for his many years of faithful work. May God get the glory for all He is doing through business as missions in our beloved Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico. 

Opportunities in Magdalena

You may have heard “business as missions” and wondered what it is and how it works. The Fatted Calf in Mexico is using business as a platform to reach a different group of people than those who are currently being served in the Magdalena community. The Fatted Calf, a non-profit organization, supports the for-profit entities Carnisimo and Carnisimo Burgers to employ local business people and beginning-level employees in our community to work in a burger restaurant and a meat processing plant, to share the gospel with its employees, and to create a safe space for employee development in a basic job setting.

While there are two HarvestCall missionaries currently serving in The Fatted Calf ministry, there is an opening for an additional missionary. We are looking for someone that God calls to come alongside Bro. Andy Ott as he works to oversee the two business-as-missions entities. Bro. Jonathan Aupperle has served in this role (since 2018) but Lord willing, he will transition back to the United States with his family within a few months.

Creating a team atmosphere at work and being an involved member of the Magdalena Church and community is a way to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ directly.

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. - Matthew 9:38

If you or someone you know is curious about this cross-cultural opportunity to serve in this capacity, please contact Amber Miller with any questions you may have about this opening. Her contact information is: phone 765.250.4295 x 108  and email: amiller@harvestcall.org.