Aaron and Jena Garcia

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”

Acts 1:8

¡Hola a todos! Hello everyone!

We made it to Mexico with our team that will be serving together at the Calvary School of Missions (CSOM)!  There are 13 students this year who are either called to become full time missionaries or have the desire to hear from what the Lord has for them regarding missions.  This is our second year helping with CSOM, and it has been so awesome to be able to disciple and train up these future missionaries who have a burden to reach the world with the gospel!  These past couple of weeks here, the students have been going through the Word to learn what biblical missions is and have been partnering with the Calvary church plants in Mexico to host outreaches to give care packages with basic necessities, have children’s crafts & Bible stories, and share the gospel & personal testimonies.

Discipleship around the world

Our calling is to disciple believers in the Word to be witnesses in our Jerusalem (our neighbors), and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8) — that is, to be witnesses to our neighbors and to the nations! Similar to when we served in S.Asia, each semester had a fresh group of students who were eager to study the Bible and to learn how to rightly divide the Word themselves.  It was also a new beginning of friendships and a new beginning for discipleship in their lives!  This year at CSOM, it feels similar to that with this new group of students who are eager to also study the Word and get trained up to become future missionaries! 

For the first week of class, the students always feel like there is just so much information to be retained, and they are all wanting to soak up as much information as they can about biblical missions.  Each of them are personally convicted, challenged and encouraged to go out and share the gospel with those who have yet to know Jesus personally in their own Jerusalem and to the nations.  One of the best parts about serving at CSOM is that we get to pray with the students the very same prayers we had prayed before we were first sent out to Asia almost 8 years ago.  The prayers of God’s guidance on where to go, prayers of God’s confirmation, prayers for God’s provision and prayers for God’s wisdom.  These are the same requests that we cried out to God and they’re the same one’s that these students are praying!  Please be praying for each of these willing hearts, who have set apart these 6 weeks to learn and seek God for guidance in their lives!

Keeping us young

Last week, we had a team from our home church, CC WestGrove, bring a youth team full of high schoolers.  They co-hosted a Vacation Bible School at Calvary Chapel Rosarito where they served with CCR’s youth, led the VBS worship songs & dances, shared Bible stories, and had crafts and games with all of the kids.  There were about 150 kids that came for the week from ages of 3-5 all the way up to 11-12 years old!  It was so great watching our youth step out in faith and use their gifts at different times during their trip.  They definitely keep us young with all of their energy and excitement to serve! 

CCWG’s team was able to join up with the CSOM students and serve together at a few outreaches.  One of the highlights was seeing the students step out and share their faith with whomever was willing to listen, almost half of the team had never gone on a mission’s trip but knew that God had called them to go!  We were reminded of when we went on our first mission’s trip, stepping out in faith, continually going on trips, which then led us to be full time missionaries.  It’s exciting to think that that could possibly be one of the high schoolers that came on this trip.

An Update from Lily:

Being in Mexico has been tons of fun!  This month, I’ve been learning that “hola” means “hello,” “adios” means “goodbye!”  Everyone is really excited that I learned how to wave and clap my hands so it’s been extra fun watching and meeting people!  I’ve been able to spend so much time with all of my tias & tios (aunties & uncles) here at the Calvary School of Missions.  When we go on fun trips with the school, I get to sing worship songs & dance with my mama in my carrier with all of the kids before they share Bible stories and pass out bags of food!  I really like going on the car rides with my parents where the roads are really bumpy and I fall right to sleep!  I’ve also been eating solids, like green beans, sweet potatoes, pears, bananas, carrots and my new favorite, apples!  My two bottom teeth have grown in much more this month and I think two more are coming in soon, just ask my mama how much I’ve been chewing on things!

Thank you so much for co-laboring with us in the gospel and for praying for us!  It has been a blessing receiving the love from you upon our family and especially for Lily!  We are thankful that she is here with us and that we’ve been able to continue to serve the Lord as a family of 3.

Praise Reports

• Staff & students have been working hard and have remained healthy
• Lily has adjusted to Mexico life and loves being with all of her tias & tios
• The WestGrove team did really well here and were a blessing to have them serve with us

Prayer Requests

• Our hearts yearn to be with our Nepali family and have them meet our little Lily, please pray for the country of Nepal to open up and be safe to travel to so that we can visit our family again!
• Please pray for the discipleship of the students at CSOM here in Mexico
• Protection of everyone’s health and over our travels when going on outreaches
• Divine appointment to share the gospel and for lives to be transformed by His saving grace
• The needs of the ministry and raising support for our national pastors / ministry workers in the 10/40 window

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

John 15:4-5

When we first evacuated Nepal and returned to the States in April 2020, we knew that the “2 week lockdown” wast going to be just two weeks there. Finding out Jena was pregnant the day before we were approved to be on the evac flight, we knew it was the Lord’s timing leading us to be in the States but we didn’t expect to be here for a year. As two weeks led to two months and the borders still closed in Nepal, we continued to seek the Lord for His wisdom and direction on how to fulfill our calling while we were here. After all, missions isn’t just oversees, it’s the moment we step out of church to our workplaces, the market, and to our unsaved family. The echo of Jesus saying, “do business till I come” (Luke 19:13) was on our hearts as we left Nepal and came to the States. Missions doesn’t stop no matter where we are in the world so we prayed for opportunities to serve and do His business while we were stateside. Instead of feeling like we were striving to get back into a closed country, we chose to abide in Him and wait to see what the Lord had planned. When one abides in Christ, we are walking in His will and can surrender our will to His. So as God showed us other open doors here, we were blessed knowing that it was Him who orchestrated it.

Over the years, every time we are in the States, we have been able to give ministry updates with our partners, sharing with them the fruit and needs of the ministry. While we were here this past year, we’ve been able to continue that communication with our co-laborers. There have been multiple Covid Relief outreaches in South Asia that our national pastors and leaders managed while we were able to convey the necessities to the church here. Our hearts were burdened for our family in Asia that it motivated us to continue to serve here until God made a way for us to go back. We have been very thankful for the internet, especially for FaceTime which allows us to see our S.Asia family and for them all to meet Lily!

Lockdowns in Asia

The lockdowns throughout S.Asia have recently stopped and the students were able to finish their semester and safely travel back to their homes! Their faith and desire to study the Bible has been beyond extraordinary, all of the students came back to Bible College knowing the risk of there being another lockdown but they all would rather be quarantining together while still being able to study the Bible instead of sitting & quarantining at home. Aaron was able to teach a few times a week over Zoom and it has given us a chance to see the students with their smiling faces. Please continue to be praying for protection, and provision for enough food as many shops are closed and the ones that are open have shortages. Our national leaders have been amazing and have asked for prayer for God’s wisdom while we continue to plan for next semester at the Bible Colleges.

Back to Our Roots

This past month has also been a month of transitioning into a new chapter of life as a family. When we both got born again, we were discipled and sent out from Calvary Chapel WestGrove, and now after 7 years full time on the mission field, Aaron has recently accepted the new role of being WestGrove’s Missions Pastor and we will be returning back to our roots in Southern California.

We will continue to serve in S.Asia for shorter amounts of time and we will mainly be Stateside, raising up and discipling future missionaries to be sent out onto the mission field, focusing mainly on the 10/40 window reaching the unreached where people have never heard of the Name of Jesus and His saving grace. With a mix of emotions and getting familiar with the different ways of life here, we ask for prayer as we make this huge shift in our life. Please pray for God’s wisdom to help us practically (housing, furnishing, transportation, etc.) and for our hearts to continue to be knit together with our S.Asia family. Praise God for working WiFi to keep us connected!

CC South Jersey

We are very blessed to have everyone who has partnered with us through prayer and financially over the years. One of the best parts of every visit back to the States has been being able to visit with our partnering churches! Recently, we flew to the East Coast to share a S.Asia ministry update with CC South Jersey who have been able to come out to Nepal multiple times and personally meet the national pastors and see the work firsthand that God is doing. It was a very encouraging time reuniting with our friends there all while Aaron was able to attend the Calvary East Coast Pastor’s Conference. Jena was able to spend time with the pastor’s wives and teach at the first women’s luncheon since the lockdowns. It was a week filled with great memories and everyone loved on our little Lily!

Looking Ahead

Last summer, we were able to be a part of the Calvary School of Missions in Mexico and we’ll be able to be a part of it again this coming July – August! We’ll be discipling and training those who have a burden to be future missionaries, going through God’s Word to see the purpose of the church being about missions, cultural training and much more! During our time in Mexico, we’ll also be serving at CC Rosarito and doing weekly outreaches to the different Calvary Church plants to share the gospel, share God’s love and help distribute food / hygiene packages. Please pray for everyone who is preparing to come to the school starting July 11 – August 22 and for the staff who will be leading and pouring into the students while in Mexico.

During our time there, we also have the opportunity to serve with CC WestGrove who are going to be bringing two short term teams, one with their High School ministry and the other with their Young Adults. Stay tuned for our little Latina Lily taking on her Mexican roots and going on her first month-long missions trip!

After the CSOM, we are praying and hoping that the doors will open wide for our family to be able to go back to Nepal for about a month to see our family there and the ministry. With the lockdowns that happened so quickly and being able to go on the evacuation flight back to the States, we’ve been waiting on God’s timing to reunite with our Nepali family and are getting more excited for them to meet our little Lily some day! As we abide in the Lord, we know He will lead us in this next chapter of our lives, continuing in the work of the ministry to reach the unreached.

In Christ,

Aaron, Jena & Lily Garcia

aaronjenagarcia@gmail.com

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5 :14-15

The word, compel means to urge, drive force, to impel us to live for Jesus. Motivation is not necessarily missions or obligation, it is God’s heart, it is His own will, and it’s Jesus and His love. He showed His love to us in that He died for us so we would stop living for selfish ambitions. It’s the love of Jesus that took the curse, suffered the penalty for our sins and was forsaken for us. His love for us is reason enough to serve Him.

Live for Christ in Light of Eternity

We were so excited to join Bond and Heather in Lake Tahoe for CC the Rock’s Compelled Young Adults winter retreat. It was our family’s first plane ride with Lily and she did amazing. It was also her first time in the snow; thankfully she is part polar bear and was cozy the whole time!

Over all, it was an amazing trip to spend time with friends and to stir up the college generation for Christ. It was a blessing to teach the retreat and share with the group our testimony of serving the Lord since the age of 17. God really spoke to us through 2 Corinthians 5, being compelled by the love of Christ which He demonstrated toward us on the cross so that we may live with an eternal perspective, being God’s ambassadors to this lost world. The group was challenged to let go of living for themselves and begin to live for Christ, who died and rose for us.

Sowing the Word

The first semester of the new Bible College in South Asia is already underway and about to finished their first month! We as a staff have been teaching them through the books of Romans, Acts, 1&2 Samuel, Genesis, Luke, and 1&2 Corinthians. Aaron has been calling and teaching twice a week for Romans class via Zoom. We recently had a special evening where we had our Care Team, who has been faithfully praying and encouraging us for years, gather together with us and Zoom call in to talk and hear the testimony of each student at the college. One student shared about how he is disowned by his father for following Christ, and how many of them came to Bible College without the support of their families. There is a real cost to follow Jesus and to go into ministry in this area of the world. It was an amazing night to connect the American church with who they have been praying for and the ministry that is being done in South Asia.

In Christ,

Aaron, Jena & Lily Garcia

aaronjenagarcia@gmail.com

Praise Reports:

• The Lord has provided opportunities to share the gospel and be involved in ministry here in the States.
• God has kept our family healthy from the flu and even Covid — thank you to everyone who has been mindful around Lily!
• Two of the Bible Colleges in S.Asia have started their new semesters and the students are eager to learn God’s Word!

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray as much of Asia is still being put under strict Covid restrictions and lockdowns.
• That the Lord would give opportunities to share the gospel with those that are wanting to receive Him.
• For the students to be safe and healthy during their new semester in each Bible College in S.Asia.
• The needs of the ministry and raising support for our national pastors / ministry workers.
• Continued good health and safety for our family.

The Power of God for Salvation

Ravi turned to Buddhism to find peace, and became fully involved even to the point of wanting to become a monk.  He was so devoted, and through the help of an evil spirit he was attracting a lot of attention from those around him who were convinced that he was a reincarnation of their lord Buddha.  Ravi was being worshipped by so many, that he even made it on local news stations.  He suddenly became sick and had severe back pain.  Nothing was relieving the pain, not even his Buddhist faith he followed.

It was a very hard season in Ravi’s life when his mom shared the good news of Christ.  Unknown to him, it was Jesus whom Ravi had always been longing for.  He determined in his heart that whether or not he was healed, he would believe and follow Jesus.  Ravi was completely set free and left all he was involved in with Buddhism to follow Jesus.  Ravi literally went from being worshipped, to becoming a worshipper of the true and living God. The Lord led him to church and then to our Bible college.  It was so much of a transformation that at times it took rejecting everything he had previously known to now take in what the Bible taught.

Ravi became zealous for the Word of God and he longed to preach the gospel to anyone who would hear it.  He traveled across his country, evangelizing throughout Asia and being invited by migrant workers abroad.  This led to an enormous following on facebook where Ravi resolved to teach the bible verse-by-verse online so that his friends who worked abroad could listen too. Since then, he’s been graced with a wonderful wife, Mahima, who shares the same zeal for the Lord.  Together, they have planted a CC church in their community.  They’ve remembered the poor by traveling and doing ministry among some of the most impoverished people we’ve ever heard about in Asia.  Ravi and Mahima are a part of our Bible college staff, teaching and leading the students to share their faith.  Ravi serves as an example of the power of the gospel to bring anyone to salvation, even Buddha.  Please pray for this couple, and for Ravi’s mother who is always facing chronic illness.

Coming up 2021

We are excited to announce the start of a new Bible college in South Asia!  Our heart has been to invest the Word of God in national pastors who will then go on to begin the next wave of church planting that will reach the areas where the gospel has never reached.  Over the recent years, God has been assembling a team, slowly establishing the right foundation for another Calvary Chapel hub in Asia.  The team consists of six young leaders we have personally been able to disciple and have seen the obvious anointing of the Lord calling them into the ministry.  These men approached us in July with their desire to have a Bible college in their city.  Right now, the team is working on setting up the new school in the midst of this pandemic.  Please pray for the Lord’s direction, as the team is eager to start the school. Pray also for all the finances they will need to begin this great and exciting ministry.

Consider the Lilies

            We have been so blessed these past couple of months with our little Lily!  She is 3 months old and has already applied for her first passport to travel to S.Asia!  Lily enjoys behind held facing forward to see everything that is going on around her.  She has been “cooing” so there have been many fun, baby conversations.  Recently, she’s been wanting to stand up with her little legs on our lap.  Becoming Lily’s parents is one of the greatest joys in our life and we are learning much more about being reliant on the Lord for His wisdom and grace.

            While we are still waiting on God’s timing to travel back to S.Asia, by faith we are trusting Him with all of the details on getting our passports renewed and preparing for Lily’s first time abroad.  As parents, of course you’re concerned about every circumstance that could happen, or the what ifs of traveling during a pandemic with your first baby but God always brings us back to a portion of scripture that we’ve held on to in our life through our marriage and now as parents: Matthew 6! 

Jesus tells us not to worry about our life, He tells us to consider the birds of the air and consider the lilies.  The birds don’t worry about what they will eat because the Lord provides food for them, how much more He will provide food for us!  The lilies don’t worry about growing because the Lord grows them and clothes the grass of the field, how much more will He provide our every need!  Our Father considers us, and He considers our little Lily, we trust that He will take care of our family and will give us wisdom on how to care for our baby.

In Christ,

Aaron, Jena & Lily Garcia

aaronjenagarcia@gmail.com

Praise Reports:

• The Lord has provided opportunities to share the gospel and be involved in ministry here in the States
• God has kept our family healthy from the flu and even Covid — thank you to everyone who has been careful around our newborn!
• God’s Word never returns back void and for your investment into lives like Pastor Ravi

Prayer Requests:

• That the Lord would give opportunities to share the gospel with those that are wanting to receive Him.
• That start of the new Bible College in S. Asia
• For Ravi’s mom who has chronic illness
• For the needs of the ministry and raising support for our national pastors/ministry workers
• Continued good health and safety for our family

LilyMaya

We are celebrating the birth of our baby girl, Lily!  She was born on November 13 at 2:03 pm, weighing 7lbs 11 oz and 20 inches long.  Lily came into this world healthy, with one dimple in her cheek, and a full head of fuzzy dark hair. Lily eats, snuggles, enjoys time on her tummy, and sleeps a lot.  She recognizes our voices and us as her mommy and daddy. These are the moments we have prayed for over the years and we are still in awe that we have been blessed with our little Lily. When we hold our daughter, our hearts are thankful and overwhelmed with the glory and goodness of God.  Jena is recovering well and together we are adjusting right into parenthood.  We want to thank you all for loving us, checking up on us and sending many gifts to our daughter.

As the Lord leads

Our desire now is to prepare all we can to go back to the mission field in February.  Then, as the Lord opens the doors, the three of us will travel back to South Asia. Right now, there is still great uncertainty among the countries that we work in concerning what they will do as they continue to ban foreign travelers.  We trust that God will lead us and will bring us back to Asia in His perfect timing.

Praise Reports

• Lily was born healthy with a smooth delivery
• Our brothers & sisters in Asia have been safe and have seen the Lord’s provision in their life during this pandemic lockdown

Prayer Requests

• Protection for our health, especially Lily’s during this flu season
• Our friends at the Leprosy colony who have been getting sick and haven’t been able to have any visitors during the lockdown

In Christ,

Aaron, Jena & Lily Garcia

aaronjenagarcia@gmail.com

Calvary School Of Missions

We enjoyed our time spent with all of the students by giving them a head start of equipping and training for the mission field.  They all finished well and new friendships have been formed during the month and a half of spending time, living and serving with one another.  We were able to be a part of relaying the faithfulness of the Lord through our own experiences.  Throughout our time together, we shared about how God has been with us, how He has provided always, and what miraculous works we’ve seen God do while on the mission field.  It was encouraging to see how the Lord has spoken to each of them on where and what to do in this next season of their life. 

Our intention while at the school was to help them see and believe that it is worth taking the step of faith to follow Christ onto the mission field.  During our time in Mexico, we were reminded of the verse from Matthew 9, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”  Everyone who attended the School of Missions has a burden for the lost and desires to be sent out into His harvest and the school is a great setup to multiplying missionaries. 

Our Antioch

During this extended time of being in the States, we have been very blessed to be getting more connected with our home church, Calvary Chapel Saving Grace.  Our time here has been filled with great fellowship and investing our lives discipling others.  Since serving at the School of Missions in Mexico, there is a group of young adults who have dedicated this next year of their life to intern at CC Saving Grace.  We will be spending time with them, helping them learn the behind-the-scenes of ministry and train them with raising their personal support for the mission field. 

A way that the Lord has opened a door to be able to invest in the lives from the church is through assisting Pastor Joel in the CC Saving Grace young adults ministry.  We will be doing discipleship with them, and stirring up people who aren’t serving the Lord to begin getting involved in some way that God has gifted them to serve at the church.  Our heart with discipleship is to pour into the young adults and getting them fired up about discipling others as well. Pray that a real Christ inspired revival would happen in the hearts of these young men and women, that they would become zealous to take the gospel from their neighbors and unto the nations.

Missions Testimonies

When we come back to the States, most of our time is spent visiting the partnering churches.  During this Covid season, that schedule has changed but there have still been opportunities.  We always hope to be an encouragement to the church body to engage in whatever role they have in fulfilling the great commission that Jesus gave us in Matthew 28: to share the gospel, make disciples, baptizing and teaching them in the ways of the Lord. 

Recently, Aaron was able to travel to Colorado to visit two partnering churches.  He was blessed to meet with the pastor of Legacy Church in Thornton to give a ministry update and spend some time in fellowship.  He then travelled a few hours south to share an update and teach from the Word at Living Stone Calvary Chapel in Cañon City.  We appreciate every time we get to visit because it is great to connect with the people from the church and meet those who have been personally praying for us.

Our Little Pineapple

Jena just began month 8 of pregnancy and we are counting down the weeks until November 8^th!  Mama and baby are both doing well, and we experienced the beginning of Braxton hicks (contractions; false labor pains) a couple of weeks ago.  Lily is the size of a pineapple and at the stage where all of her major organs are fully developed.  She can perform her breathing skills by inhaling amniotic fluid to give her lungs some practice for her big debut in November!  Speaking of performing, her dancing skills are getting stronger that Jena’s stomach will sometimes change in shape as Lily dances to the music.  As each week goes by, and as Lily continues to grow bigger, the fact that she will be here soon is becoming so surreal and we are so excited!

In Christ,

Aaron, Jena & Lily Garcia

aaronjenagarcia@gmail.com

“do business till I come…”

~ Luke 19:13 ~

Jesus gave a parable about servants taking ten minas (about 30 months salary) and how their master tells them to do business, meaning to invest wisely or to complete a task.  Jesus is teaching about taking what He has given to you and use it to reach the goals of building His Kingdom here by spreading the gospel, making disciples, and building His church. 

Since being back in the States, we’ve had many asking us, ‘are you going to stop doing missions now that you’re going to have a baby?’ or ‘with Covid happening, does that mean you’re going to stop doing missions?’  As Christians, our calling is to be the light in the darkness and it is all of our responsibility to share the gospel to the world.  It is because Jesus is coming soon, that our hearts are burdened for the lost, we need to be bold witnesses to the ends of the earth and make disciples.  For us, “missions” doesn’t ever stop no matter where we are in the world.  We couldn’t have planned to have Asia’s borders be closed to us being there right now, but we praise God for the opportunities He has given us while being Stateside!

Relief Reaches the Mountains

For security purposes, name and places are being protected. This past month, our national pastors were able to host more Covid-food relief outreaches at their churches throughout Asia.  One place in particular that we were personally able to visit before is far up the mountains in a village where Pastor R is from and has been serving.  His community already has limited amount of supplies, and now with Covid affecting the country, their supplies have been scarce.  Recently, this Calvary Chapel was able to distribute packages filled with rice, lentils, vegetable oil and salt to the families in the village.

Pastor R was able to host the distribution at the church to pray over people and share the gospel with everyone.  We are very thankful that the Lord has provided for this little village on the mountains!  P.R recently shared with us that since the outreach they had at the church, the people have been more receptive to him hosting additional outreaches in their village! Please pray for Pastor R who has been laboring as a carpenter and helping the locals with any of their field work.  Please also pray for the safety of the people health wise and that they would have the proper shelter that they need during this current monsoon season.

Calvary Chapel School of Missions

We have been so blessed to be here in Rosarito, Mexico!  The school is beginning its third week with an incredible group of students who are eager to learn and are excited about reaching the lost. 

The past few weeks have been filled with classes pertaining to missions such as church planting, building partnerships, the purpose of the church in Acts, laying aside our “rights” for the sake of the gospel, and the highs and lows of the mission field. We’ve also been going on outreach with the students alongside the different church plant locations that are connected with Calvary Chapel Rosarito.  With Covid regulations still continuing, there have been changes to our “outreach schedule” but evangelism and ministering to people doesn’t stop!  We’ve all visited locations to do a form of food distribution, ministering to families, hosting small children’s programs, having a time of sharing personal testimonies and most importantly, the gospel.  Many of the students are stepping out, sharing the gospel and leading people to Christ for the first time!

BabyGarcia is a…

We are excited to announce that we are having a little girl!!  We had decided to name her Lily based off of Matthew 6:28, “So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin.”  Matthew 6 has always been very special for us throughout our relationship with the Lord and together as one.  Learning to not worry about tomorrow, but trust in God instead because He cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, how much more He cares for us as His children!

Jena has entered her 6^th month of pregnancy and still enjoys all of the fruit that she can get.  Her pregnant belly has popped out in the last few weeks and soon she will be able to balance her ice-cream bowl on it.  This month, Lily is the size of a grapefruit!  Our baby is going to be growing much more and doubling in her weight.  Lily has been super active, especially when there is music playing (we’re thinking we might have a tiny dancer) and we both love to feel her move around!

We are very thankful for your prayers and the constant love you have shown us.  Thank you for celebrating this new season with us as our family is growing and for cheering us on as we continue to serve the Lord.

In Christ,

Aaron, Jena & Lily Garcia

aaronjenagarcia@gmail.com

Praise Reports:

• The students have all been so amazing and encouraging
• We’ve all been prayerful and careful about not getting sick
• People have been giving their lives to the Lord and are getting connected with the local Calvary church plant
• Our national pastors in Asia have all been safe and continuing the work of the Lord

Prayer Requests:

• That the Lord would give us and our team in Asia wisdom and direction during this Covid season
• For Lily’s health and growth
• For our friends in Asia to be safe, and have the access to food and water for their families
• Divine appointments with people here in Mexico to hear the gospel

Food Relief

Bringing food to those in need.  For the past two months it’s been the priority to get relief to those who are without food.  The lockdown has run its course and there are so many that have been affected.  People have been unable to work, relying on what little they have, and many have been going on with nothing to eat.  We thank God for the amazing team we are a part of who have been working to help put together everything required for this relief work.  There has been a team effort in organizing and distributing food and bringing the love of Christ to the people of Nepal and South Asia.

In Nepal, our dear friends at the Leprosy Colony have been affected with many of them being elderly and having the weakest immune systems.  A team went out of national pastors and church members to meet the needs at the colony.  It was a rainy day and you could see the desperation on many of their faces while over 200 families gathered in line and were given bags of groceries and hygiene essentials.  Pastor Anand preached the gospel and gave hope through Gods word to the people. Our friends at the leprosy colony are already overlooked, so when all of Nepal goes into survival mode, unfortunately these people become even more neglected.

We Ate Our Last Rice Last Night

As we’ve shared before our students of the bible college returned home, many arriving to packed villages filled with people who had returned from working in the cities and other countries.  These travelers found it safer to be in the rural, remote villages, and subtly they’ve been bringing back the Gospel.  Many of them heard about Jesus in some far away land when they were working abroad and we’re hearing about a massive influx of Jesus!  These migrant workers returned to their homes to now see churches and small house bible studies going on.  Since there’s no work, it allows for free time where they can attend the Bible studies.  Our students are taking the opportunities that have been set before them and are beginning to see Hindus come to Christ.

In fact, one of the first villages where our leaders did food distributions at was in the village of Padam and Desu.  Both students were in their last semester of bible college, becoming leaders to the rest of their class mates.  Since being sent home due to lockdown, Padam teaches bible studies in his village every day, even posting them on facebook live to expand their reach.  When our leaders arrived with bags of rice for the village they were overwhelmed with happiness.  Immediately, Desu wanted to cook for the guests that came to her village.  They noticed Desu opened the food rice bag just given to her, and when asked how much food they had remaining until now, Desu answered “we ate our last rice last night and today you have come with more.”  Needless to say, the situation is scarce, and food is running out for many.  It’s been amazing to witness the courage of our friends amidst every challenge they face to still serve Christ and preach the gospel more than ever.

We thank God that funds were provided to meet these needs and hundreds more.  So far, there has been more than 12 food outreaches, and people’s needs continue as we are setting our sights to help more of the villages where our Calvary Chapel pastors are serving, including the mountain region of Lapu where Pastor Raju is living.  Please pray for the continued needs and if you are being led to give towards helping with the Covid relief, click on this link for Nepal / South Asia Relief Efforts.

Another door opens

As you know, we are staying in California until the world reopens.  It has become clear that pandemic panic has spread to Asia where they are just now making more tests available.  Every day the test numbers increase so much compared to having zero testing a few weeks ago.  It appears that the doors have temporarily been closed for us to be in Nepal today, but God always makes a way for another to be opened.  The Calvary Chapel School of Missions will be starting their summer session next month on July 6^th – August 17^th down in Mexico.  We three, our small family, will be joining as staff and helping to raise up a next generation of Calvary Chapel cross-cultural missionaries.  Its an amazing opportunity to pass along the things we wish we had known 7 years ago when we first went on the field. We will be able to disciple young zealous people, and of course have another excuse to eat great tacos daily! You can find out more by clicking this link to Calvary School of Missions.

BabyGarcia Update

Jena is 16 weeks pregnant (4 months) and BabyGarcia is the size of an avocado!  Last week was the week of the “baby pooch” where it looks like you ate just a little too much food but it’s actually our baby growing inside!  Jena’s health is great and she is enjoying the pregnancy cravings of everything bagels, ramen noodles, cheese (especially nacho or cream cheese), but not altogether of course.  This month we’ll have another doctors visit and will be finding out BabyGarcia’s gender!  Stay tuned until the end of the month for the big reveal!

In Christ,

Aaron, Jena & BabyGarcia

aaronjenagarcia@gmail.com

Prayer Requests:

• For those that are hungry in Asia
• Our family as we go and be a part of the Calvary School of Missions
• That God would provide financially for us and for the ministry in Nepal & South Asia
• For those divine appointments to share the Gospel with people
• Endurance to be faithful in the work of the ministry

“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.”

2 Timothy 4:2a

Thank you so much to everyone who has been praying for us while in Nepal and especially during the time of our lockdown.  In the middle of March, Nepal had closed their borders and cancelled any domestic flights that were flying in and out of Nepal.  As many of you know, we boarded an emergency evacuation flight that was put together by the US embassy to fly back to the States just a few weeks ago. We hope that you are well and we are praying for you. 

We pray that you are entering into God’s peace and that you are abiding in Him for strength.  We know that you have been affected in one way or another, but trust God with your health and trust Him with your finances because this too shall pass.  If you are worried and stressed out, turn off the news and go for a walk instead, or listen to worship, spend time with your family, read your Bible and pray.  It is important to remember that not just your world has shut down, but the entire world has shut down.

Throughout Asia, people are restricted from leaving their neighborhoods or even beyond the boundaries of their villages.  They are being monitored by policemen with giant sticks waiting to physically beat anyone.  Many families who earn their living through daily wages, are unable to pay for food for themselves.  This is why faith is necessary in a time of peace but especially during a time of trial.  It is ultimately your faith and trust in God that will hold you and keep you through this time of uncertainty.  The strength of God and His power will be manifest in even greater ways for us who believe and who continue to believe.

Faith-filled

We are amazed at the mercy of God and the wisdom that He grants in response to crisis.  We had heard of Covid-19 and began seeing the borders and businesses shutting down in Kathmandu.  Then we later found out that all schools had shut down officially.  There was a weeklong window where we prayed as a staff on what to do with the school.  It was encouraging for us to know that our team wasn’t fearful, but faith-filled and we trusted God with whatever He had planned for us and the school.  With places being shut down throughout Nepal, it became evident of the necessity to close down the Bible school and send the students back home to their villages.

Within the short time frame that we had with the students, we commissioned them to preach the Word, to be ready in season and out because this is a season where God ordained for them to go back and preach the gospel to their family, friends and neighbors.  The students have been trained and sent according to God’s timing, although it wasn’t the normal send off that we’re used to, it was still His timing.  To our amazement, many of the students have gone out and began meeting house to house in their villages.  Nepali people have been restricted to staying only in their villages and are unable to leave for any reason, so our students have gotten creative with the media and are doing online teachings to continue to reach out to those they can’t physically be with.

Are YOU ready?

Back in 2015, we lived through the largest earthquake in Nepal.  They said that the previous one was 70 years before.  We feared for our lives and slept in an open field, unwilling to sleep indoors for many nights due to the large aftershocks.  It was difficult to bathe, eat, or sleep.  Our lives were never the same but then a moment came when we saw and heard about others who had much less and had it much harder than us.  Entire villages were cut off due to mountain slides and people were left near to death, homeless and hopeless.  That moment was the beginning of the greatest outreach adventures ever.  God opened up so many doors to preach the gospel and reach villages that had never heard the name of Jesus.  It all came down to whether or not we were going to just survive or seek to serve others. 

We understand in times like these, it is hard to see past our own selves but consider that there are others that have much less and have it much harder.  Let’s not waste our lockdown.  Let’s reach out, call someone to check on them, reconcile with loved ones, or deliver a meal to an elderly neighbor.  Share the gospel with those that are willing to hear because people really are seeking help and hope in this crisis.  Let us pray for those who are hungry, unable to work and are surviving on little.  Pray for the gospel to spread like wildfire in the world right now.

Are WE ready…to be parents?!

We are so happy to announce that we are going to have a baby!  Jena is feeling well and is finishing her first trimester.  We were able to tell our parents that they are grandparents as soon as we reached US soil.  We are so thankful to the Lord for His perfect timing!  Baby Garcia will be coming this November!

In Christ,

Aaron, Jena & Baby Garcia!

aaronjenagarcia@gmail.com

We began the Spring 2020 semester with one of our largest group of students ever!  Beyond blessed to be pouring into 30 students through the teaching of God’s Word.  Many of them come from different backgrounds and have experienced many things, and all have one thing in common: their love for Jesus and their desire to become more like Him.

Revolving Door

There have been many teams and guests who have come to visit the Bible College, form relationships with the students and serve alongside us while doing ministry in places like the slums, leprosy colony, or traveling to the village to visit CC church plants and help the pastors with outreach and/or any projects they would be blessed by.  Our home has become a revolving door for those we have been able to host personally, or even having our friends over for fellowship and worship times. 

This month we were able to host a team from CC Monrovia who came to spend time at the campus as well as visit Pastor Milan at CC Dumre.  We travelled outside of the valley and were able to introduce the team to our brother who has been laboring for Christ and ministering to his people.  The team was prepared to help with some construction on CC Dumre’s building project and helped further the work that was being done.  It was really great to see the relationship being formed between the team members and Milan while we all served alongside one another.

Two of our friends, Gerry & Nicole Kizitaff, who were representing CC South Jersey came to spend time with us for a week.  Gerry taught a block class through Titus, and Nicole was able to teach the girl students how to bake everything from scratch.  We went to visit our friends at the leprosy colony that we usually see throughout the month.  The students prepared worship songs, dramas, dances, and someone to share their testimony.  Gerry had been there many times, and it was a sweet moment as Nicole was able to meet many of the people that we’ve shared about.  The leprosy colony was gifted more hygiene packages to help them with some basic necessities to get through the month, since many of them have no source of income or a way to do personal shopping themselves.

Double Jeopardy

Us Garcias have taken over Monday, Wednesday and Fridays for our classes we’ve been able to teach.  Aaron taught through Leviticus and then Hebrews to the students.  Every semester, we’ve noticed the students test grades continue to get higher and higher that it shows their apparent hunger for God’s Word and that they are really understanding it. 

Jena has been teaching two levels of English classes and has thought of creative and helpful ways to get the students to learn more easily.  Recently, to help review everything that has been taught, both English classes joined together in a game of Jeopardy, which showed the students’ eagerness to learn as well as to win!  It was a fun and encouraging way for the students to see how much they have retained in just two months.

Breaking the Mold

Recently, one of our students mentioned something that we’ve unfortunately heard before, that they only knew pastors or church leaders that don’t do any work or even teach through the Scriptures and don’t allow younger men/women to interact with the pastors or leaders.  This is something that we are very aware of and are intentional to lead by example by breaking the mold of what the students have experienced traditionally.  Throughout our time, we serve and do outreach together even if that means just simply walking with the students to get them out of their comfort zone and sharing the gospel in the streets.

With our relationships that have continued at the leprosy colony, some of the college students have seen the opportunity go on a weekly basis to have a Bible study with those who want to learn more of God’s Word.  Some college students that have been attending CC Nakkhu at the college approached us saying they had some friends who also wanted to learn more about the Bible but

couldn’t attend the college due to their other school schedule, so the Lord opened a door for the start of the our Friday night college group!  It was amazing to see more and more college students coming to learn, worship and fellowship with our students.

Many graduates, go back to their homes and start Bible studies that later grow into church plants.  This past semester, some of our 3^rd semester guys, who have had a heart for their people, have already been doing Bible studies on their own during the semester holiday.  In the past few weeks, those same students have been given the opportunity to continue those studies in their hometowns by going back home during the weekend to revisit with the fellowships and then return back here for classes.  This is a way for them to gain practical experience that they will need when they graduate to start a church.

In Christ,

Aaron & Jena Garcia

aaronjenagarcia@gmail.com

Prayer Requests:

• For the students, that they would keep following Jesus and grow in His grace and knowledge of the Lord.
• That we as a staff would continue to love and serve the Lord faithfully.
• Pray that we would love each other in our homes, in the churches and on the field. 
• That God would provide financially for us and for the ministry in Nepal & South Asia.
• For those divine appointments to share the Gospel with people.
• Endurance to be faithful in the work of the ministry.