“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