Meet Our Team
Phil & Denise Anderson
Exec. Director & Volunteer
Phil and Denise came to Cactus from Bourbonnais, IL where they were both helping to plant a church with their daughter and son in law. Phil is the Executive director of both The Well Health Center and CNMC. Denise is a volunteer and serves as a Department Of Justice representative for the Immigration center, writes grants and fills in where she can in other programs for CNMC .
Phil has a Masters in Missional Leadership and a Masters of Divinity from Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) and Denise has her Masters and PhD in Social Work as well as Masters in Pastoral Ministry (NNU). Phil and Denise were in lay ministry until they were called to serve as missionaries in 2003. They have served along with their daughters Makenzie and Morgyn, in Thailand, The Dominican Republic and South Africa. They feel blessed to serve the Lord and the church with so many different people groups in different world areas. Serving in Cactus brings all of the world areas they have loved into one place.
Email: phil@cactusministries.org
Stephanie Diehlmann
The Well' Medical Director
Steph is a family doctor. She graduated with her medical degree from Ohio State University and a master’s of public health from Loma Linda University. She completed her training at John Peter Smith Family Medicine Residency in Fort Worth, Texas and a fellowship in obstetrics from UTMB-Austin. She served as a missionary doctor at Nazarene Hospital in Papua New Guinea from 2009 to 2013.
Dr Steph joined Cactus Nazarene Ministries in the fall of 2017 to plan for and build The Well Health Center. Steph serves as the physician and medical director for The Well, which opened in January of 2019. her husband, Andy, also continues to volunteer with the ministry to reach the people of Cactus with the love of Christ.
Email: steph@cactusministries.org
Todd & Raquel Forrest
Ministry Teams & Family Ministries Coordinators
Todd Forrest was born in Indiana and met Raquel Liz Cintrón in Guatemala while on a short-term mission trip. Raquel, or “Raqui,” who is from Puerto Rico.Todd has a Bachelor of Theology from Olivet Nazarene University, and an M.A. in Religion at Southern Nazarene University. Raquel earned her Bachelor of Religion from SNU, while adding an M.A. in Religion from ONU.
They have pastored in Oklahoma, Indiana, Colorado and Texas including directing Compassionate Ministry Centers in Denver and the Chicago Metro. Raquel has also worked for Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army in Denver and Kansas City, while Todd worked as a residential treatment therapist in Denver and at Nazarene Headquarters in Kansas City. Todd and Raqui have three daughters. Celeste, who is married to Joseph Blissett, Aliza and Estrella.
Email:
Salah Lahony
Caseworker
Prior to joining us at Cactus Nazarene Ministries, he was an accredited representative by the Department of Justice working at Catholic Charities of the Texas panhandle.
As a DOJ representative, and Director of Legal Immigration Service for Catholic Charities, Salah provided immigration services and represented immigrants and refugees before the Department of Homeland Security U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Salah is fluent in multiple languages which includes: Kurdish, Arabic, and Farsi. He has translating experience and translates for clients at Courts and U.S citizenship and immigration interviews.
Salah and his wife currently reside in Amarillo with his two sons.
If you have any questions about the immigration center, to be in contact with Salah, message us at: Immigration@cactusministries.org
Sarah Alvord
ESL Instructor, Patient Advocate (For The Well) & Staff Support
Sarah Alvord graduated in January of 2020 from Olivet Nazarene University with a Bachelor's of Social Work and Spanish degree. She loves being able to use Spanish to interact with others, translate, and serve, and she also loves to play the piano and try new foods. Sarah Alvord is seeking to serve God in whatever next steps He has for her, and right now, that means learning and serving the people of Cactus as a patient care coordinator in The Well.
Email:
We Need Your Support Today!
Scarlin De la Cruz
Media Coordinator
Scarlin is originally from the Dominican Republic but came to cactus from Bourbonnais Illinois in 2020, where she graduated from Olivet Nazarene University with a bachelor's of science in the Multimedia Studies field. Scarlin is the Multimedia coordinator for CNMC. She maintains and develops the CNMC Website, FaceBook, and the monthly Newsletter. She also assists in the front office and helps translate spanish for our Immigration services. .
Scarlin is an amazing cook and her scones and traditional Dominican food are legendary among the staff of CNMC!
Email:
