Meet Our Team

Phil and Denise came to Cactus from Bourbonnais, IL where they were both

helped plant a church with their daughter and son in law. Phil is the Executive director of Cactus Nazarene Ministry Center. 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 ministries for CNMC .

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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

           denise@cactusministries.org

Olbin & Alshandra Visagie

Teen Mentorship, & Volunteer Ministry Director 

Reverend Olbin and Pastor Alshandra Visagie are both South African born. They have been married for 22 years and have two beautiful children, Olandra and Aldrin.They have been in active ministry for all their married life both as lay people and as pastors. Pasto Olbin has a Bachelors in Theology and is joining Cactus ministries to plant an international church. In addition, he is serving as our Teen BLAST Mentorship Coordinator. He is experienced in leading a multi-cultural church and youth ministries for several congregations in South Africa. 

Pastor Alshandra is in her final year for her Bachelors in Theology and is volunteering her time to assist with finance, as well as volunteering as the Director of Ministries which is an assistant to the Exec. Director. She has been in banking for 23 years and is experienced in Worship ministries and counselling. They are both excited to join the Cactus Nazarene Ministries family and be an active part of taking the love of Jesus Christ to the many nations represented in Cactus.

Email: olbin@cactusministries.org
            alli@cactusministries.org

Reverends Todd Forrest was born in Indiana and met Raquel Liz Cintrón or “Raqui,” who is from Puerto Rico, in Guatemala while on a short-term mission trip. Todd has a Bachelor of Theology from Olivet Nazarene University, and an M.A. in Religion at Southern Nazarene University. Raqui earned her Bachelor of Religion from Southern Nazarene University, and an M.A. in Religion from Olivet Nazarene University.
They have pastored in Oklahoma, Indiana, Colorado and Texas including directing Compassionate Ministry Centers in Denver and Chicago Metro. Raqui 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 as a Special Projects Editor in Sunday School Ministries at Nazarene Headquarters in Kansas City. Todd and Raqui have three daughters. Celeste, who is married to Joseph Blissett, Aliza and Estrella.

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Email:   todd@cactusministries.org
             raqui@cactusministries.org

EAL Coordinator

Joy MacLean

Joy arrived at Cactus Nazarene Ministry Center (CNMC) from Illinois. She graduated in May 2021 from Olivet Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Social Work. In her final semester, Joy worked with refugees, asylees, and immigrants as the Employment and Job Readiness Intern at World Relief in Chicago.

Joy’s introduction to cross-cultural engagement started early when her family moved to Beirut, Lebanon when she was 9 years old. Her friendships with Lebanese, Arab, Palestinian, French, and Jordanian children sparked her interest in working between cultures, building bridges, and developing relationships. In high school and college Joy participated in cross-cultural trips to Basque Country in Spain and South Africa.

At CNMC, Joy enjoys continuing to build relationships cross-culturally through teaching English and aiding with the BLAST after school program.

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Email: joy@cactusministries.org

Prior to joining us at Cactus Nazarene Ministries, Salah 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.

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Email: salah@cactusministries.org

Front Desk

Claraisa Martinez

Claraisa was born and raised in Cactus, TX. She started working as the front desk secretary for The Well in fall of 2020. Then, served in a different role as Medical Assistant. Her duties as a MA included taking vitals of patients, asking some questions regarding their health, drawing their blood, and carrying out other necessary lab work. She also worked at Med/Surg as a CNA at the Dumas Hospital before joining The Well Team. In 2021, she joined the CNMC staff as front desk secretary and has been a great asset to our team.

Claraisa is bilingual in Spanish and English and some of her duties include answering the phones, directing clients to the appropriate personal, and assisting clients and staff members in the day-to-day operations of CNMC.

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Email: claraisa@cactusministries.org

Yessica Chavira

EAL Teacher

Yesica has lived in cactus her entire life and is well integrated into the community. Her previous teaching experience has been at the elementary school as a substitute teacher for a number of years. Yesica is bilingual in English and Spanish and is using this skill to relate with a larger variety of students. Having Yesica here at the Center has been a big asset to the ESL ministry. She brings an energetic spirit and creative ideas to enhance the English classes held here. Yesica and her husband are raising their three kids here and though they have done some traveling to other places, they truly love this small town and the diverse, friendly community here.