In many ways I’ve found the Lord to be growing and stretching me much in this season. It’s easy to keep moving and maintain in the midst of busyness, but going deep, pressing in closer, and preparing for things to come adds a different twist. I know He’s growing me in this season to not just get by, but flourish and prepare for what’s next. It takes preparation, and much more of His grace. Such a season produces an understanding of my utter inadequacies, and my great need for more of Him and less of me. Paul exhorts us in his own struggle where the Lord encourages Him in his weakness, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me,” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NKJV). He is a good God, and no matter where I find myself. If I am feeling stretched and pressed on every side, if I feel my strength dwindling—surely He desires to show Himself strong in my life. He’s not setting us up for failure. He desires our purity, our pursuit of holiness, and our life to be lived for Him more than we do. I need His help to recognize where I’m not properly relying on Him to accomplish His will. Paul had strong words for the Galatians who sought to complete the work of God, in themselves, in their own strength. Lord, please give us the grace to understand, to see, to trust and see You glorified!

Life Lately—

The month of September came with a lot of work, all worthy things, and it’s amazing to see how much growth is taking place here at Calvary Trujillo and CBI Perú. There’s been a lot of progress not just physically, but spiritually. Many peripheral projects have been getting accomplished as we have many more construction minded people here now—what a blessing! Spiritually, the classes have been a blessing for the students and the discipleship that’s been taking place is always soul-searching, and pruning. I’m thankful for it all. God has been blessing me with the ability to think and relate how I need to to accomplish tasks more quickly on the administrative end. I’ve been able to help implement transcripts for all of our students and am continuing to refine and update them as the semester progresses; helping students make sure they are on track to graduate as well. God is good! 

At the beginning of the month we were blessed to have multiple pastors here to teach the book of Mark and they were a blast to hang out with! Lot’s of cooking good food, fellowship, hard work, and fun. The guys bathroom upstairs in the new dorm has been able to get a lot more attention—praise the Lord we’re getting closer! I got to help teach the book of Isaiah which was a huge honor and blessing (if any of you would like to watch the class I can get you a link). We got to have a construction team out only for a few days, but they helped us progress quite a bit—they were a blessing to hang out and work with for sure! I finally got the girls’ bathroom vanity completed as well! Leading the home fellowship group has been a blessing as well. A lot of the work was needed as well as we got ready for our annual South American Missions Conference—what a blast! I even got to build some planter boxes and plant some trees! An even bigger blessing I got was to see some family from back home when Pastor Bond and his wife came out to speak at the conference! I got to see old friends and help drive around a lot of guests and pastors. It was a blessing! I also got to see a lot of the people who are excited, prayerful, and heading up ministry in Argentina right now! We’ve even got a fruit budding on one of our trees we planted this past summer! It’s amazing to see what God is doing here, there’s been a lot of growth in a very short time—but in that the attacks of the enemy have not been lacking—praise the Lord He is greater!

What’s Next—

I was asked to go to the CBI in Brazil early in November to teach the book of Genesis and I am honored and blessed by the opportunity to get into the Word with hearts that are hungry for Jesus. Please pray for me and my preparation, that nothing would be held back. Also, that I would be filled with the Spirit and enabled to share His Word contextually, and in a way that will draw their hearts closer to Jesus! Please pray for safe travels as well! I’m also needing to renew my passport and I may do it as I pass through Lima at the American Embassy there. Other than that, it’s business as usual. We’re progressing more and more on finishing the other rooms in the new guys’ dorm. We’re getting little projects done. The Lord is providing for other big works in our ministry. It’s a blessing to be a part of what the Lord is doing here at CBI Perú and Calvary Trujillo. Our semester ends November 22nd so please be praying for the students and ourselves as we get ready for graduation and want to finish well. 

Other exciting news, I already booked my flights and am going to be heading back to the States just before Christmas and will be in California for about a month. There’s much more on the horizon, and I will keep you posted as new information about the property in Argentina comes in. Currently we’re awaiting a signature to keep the ball rolling to buy the property. 

Prayer Requests—

• Teaching Genesis at CBI Brazil 
• Travel mercies
• Passport renewal
• Continued wisdom for scheduling with students and other admin tasks
• Continued unity—no opportunity for the enemy
• Continued focus and progress on construction things 
• That the Lord would give me wisdom on all the specifics for my trip to the States
• Refreshment and renewal
• For my lungs with my asthma (it’s been acting up quite a bit lately) and I may be fighting some kind of bacterial bug
• For my family back in the States
• Continued opportunities to share the Gospel
• Continued wisdom and grace to better my leadership as being a dorm steward, leading construction (alongside some of the other staff), leading administratively, teaching with Church Planting class, and for our home fellowship groups
• To learn quickly anything else related to running a campus
• That my mind would be thinking ahead enough to not only be present, but not overwhelmed in what’s to come
• The purchase of the property in Argentina for the new CBI there

Thank you all so much for all of your love and support. Thank you for reading and keeping up with these updates. I couldn’t be here doing what I’m doing without your love, prayers, and support. You are having a far greater effect than you know and I pray the Lord blesses you and the part you’ve taken. I pray that He would encourage you in all He has for you in this season and for you to walk in where He has you. I’m excited to see what He has in store for your lives!

The Lord bless you and keep you,

-Jordon

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  1 Peter 4:10

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Often times when I am teaching I say something to the effect that we always have something to be thankful for.  Even when we don’t have much or even if we are going through a hard time there is always something to be thankful for.  Sometimes it is in that search for what to give thanks for that God is able to take our eyes off of ourselves and put them back on Him. 

In this season that we have been back in Uganda I am blessed to say I do not have to search for things to be thankful for, God is so good. And as everyone in Uganda would say after that, and all the time, God is so good.  Right after we got back we had an after glow service with the church.  It was a beautiful time of everyone coming back to the heart of worship.  We took communion together and prayed together.  Our family was also able to share about our time in the states and thank the church for their prayers and the volunteers for all they did while we were away. It was a joyous reunion with our church family.  Brian said we missed them and was sad that they all couldn’t have come with us but we had brought a piece of America back for them and then Luke passed out chocolate to everyone.

My first Wednesday back they ladies gathered at my house for Bible study.  They all shared testimonies of what had gone on in their lives while I was away.  I was blessed to hear from them how the study we had finished on Reflecting God continued to minister to them and they were able to apply what they had learned while I was gone.  On that first study I shared about my time in the states and introduced the new topic we will be studying.  Of course there was more chocolate for them.  A lovely lady from my church, Julie, had sent earrings for the women so they had fun looking at them at choosing them.  On the following Sunday at church most of the ladies were wearing them. They were so blessed and thankful that someone in America had thought of them.  I am looking forward to how God will move in the new study we are beginning.

We just had a large team of pastors come through.  They came to teach the refresher course for the chaplains in South Sudan.  Before they went up North they spent some time with us and Arise Christian Fellowship here in Kampala.  The fellowship was so nice.  Having a house full of pastors is a blessing because someone is always giving a devotion, sharing an encouraging word or telling a good joke.  While they were here they participated in market evangelism, open air preaching and home visits.  It was raining on and off so they had to brave the rain but many people were ministered to and at least 10 received the Lord as their personal savior.  The team was able to provide practical gifts such as: tea, sugar, soap, rice, and/or milk to over 70 families. Although it was raining on and off a large crowd gathered to hear the open air preaching and some people were able to find tarps to put up as a quick shelter.  Some of the team were taken by a church member to the older people in the community and the shut-ins to pray for them and also share the gospel with.  The team was a blessing and the community has shared with us through our church members how thankful they are.

The Sunday that the team was at Arise, Pastor Chris shared about keeping our eyes focused on Jesus only and serving Him with all we are.  The message was very stirring and when he had finished he said that if the Lord was touching your heart to know Him and serve Him better to come forward. Almost half the church and even some of the other pastors came forward. It was so beautiful.  I too want to serve my Lord better.  After church the visitors were able to play with and minister to the Sunday school children during their snack time. We are truly thankful for this team.

Thank you for Praying for our family and for the ministry in Uganda.

In Him,

Brian, Jill, Luke, Laylee, and Liana

PRAYER REQUESTS

• I am so thankful for the many ways the Lord has blessed us in serving Him and for everyone who supports our family and the ministry in Uganda.
• We are thankful for our church family and for those who volunteer to serve at Arise. Pray for the volunteers to be blessed and for more church members to discover their gifts and step out into ministry.
• We are thankful for the team that has come and the ministry they have done. Please pray for the people who have heard the gospel and for those who received Jesus to come to church.
• Pray for the women’s ministry as they begin a new study. They are very thankful for the people who think and pray for them.
• Pray for us as a family as we continue to serve the Lord in Uganda. Pray for our spiritual life as well as our physical needs.
• Pray for Brian as he pastors and leads the ministry team at Arise Christian Fellowship.
• Please prayerfully consider becoming part of the Kanyike Family support team

Greetings from Mexico. This past month I had the privilege of celebrating three church plant anniversaries! The Rock Calvary Chapel in Florida and Calvary Maranatha in Mazatlan both celebrated their 8^th anniversary. I was also blessed to travel to Culiacan to witness Calvary Culiacan North’s 9^th anniversary! In this update, I wanted to tell you all about the great things God has done in Culiacan over the past nine years.

Hugo ended up sending out his first church plant Calvary Culiacan South after just three years in 2018! (That church became our first 2nd generation church plant). Calvary South sent out their first church plant, Calvary AguaRuto in 2021, which became our first 3rd generation church plant.

As you can see, there was a lot to celebrate, so I was blessed to jump on a plane and lead a team of six staffers from our church to Culiacan to join in on their celebration! For the Saturday event, we rented a large theater in the center of this city, where Hugo brought in all of his churches for a celebration. I was the featured speaker (in Spanish) and the title of my message was, “The Sending Hub of Culiacan!” We spent an amazing and joyous evening with six hundred friends celebrating all that the Lord has done.

One of the highlights for me personally, was to be called up to the stage with Hugo’s eleven other church planters. Hugo called me up along with my good friend Pastor Juan Domingo. If you haven’t heard Juan’s story, he was the first Calvary Chapel Missionary from the States to move to Mexico over forty years ago (at just 21 years of age) where he planted the first Calvary Chapel in the entire country. To stand with one of my spiritual hero’s (Pastor Juan), my church planter Hugo, and his eleven planters, brought me to tears.

At the celebration, we didn’t only celebrate God’s faithfulness, but together we sent out Hugo’s 11^th church plant. Please keep this new church, Horizon Culiacan and their young Pastor Yael in your prayers. I have been blessed to send out many gifted pastors to church plant, but never have I seen a man plant churches faster than my friend Hugo!

God has used Hugo and his pastoral team to truly do far more than we could ever ask or imagine. Hugo has a funny saying that he often shares at our church planting conferences. Hugo tells us “I wants to plant churches in Mexico like OXXO’s!” (For those of you living in the USA, OXXO’s are our 7-Eleven’s and every city has at least 50 of them!) For a church to plant 11 churches in just 9 years is something that only God could do, but that’s exactly what we have witnessed in this key capital city of Culiacan!

I never tire of sharing these testimonies with you our precious ministry partners, because all of this is your spiritual fruit. I want to thank you once again for partnering with us in this great missions work here in Mexico. It is through your prayers that God meets our spiritual needs, and through your financial giving that God meets our physical needs. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Con mucho amor de Mexico,  (with much love from Mexico)

Mike, Sarah, Grace, and Daniel

Prayer Requests!

#1- Pray that God will bless our new (2^nd generation church plant) Horizonte Culiacan in Sinaloa.

#2-  Pray that God will provide a job for our college graduate daughter Grace! (And if you know of any online businesses that are hiring, please reach out to me!)  

Praise Reports!

#1- Praise God for a wonderful and safe trip to Culiacan Sinaloa for our mission’s team!

#2- Praise God for the 135 first time guests that visited our church last month, please pray that we can do a good job of plugging them in and discipling them.  

It is written

Then Peter said ” See, we have left all and followed You.“

– Luke 18:28

I have decided to leave all and follow Jesus.

Why?

Because He saved me and is worthy off all that I am.

God sent His Son from the highest of the heavens and He became a man and gave His life for me, for you, and for the world. He suffered a shameful and horrendous crucifixion; the wrath that we deserved was poured out on Him and He died in our place. Through this, He restored us unto Himself, saved us from our sin, judgement, and the eternal wrath of God, and gave to us eternal life.

Why?

Because He loves us and there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for another. This is the good news, the Gospel that the world is dying to hear.

What Now?

I have uprooted my life from Washington and moved to California to be trained up to serve and share this message cross culturally. Only a day after moving to California, I hopped on a 21-hour plane ride heading from Los Angeles to Thailand. I had the amazing opportunity to be in Asia for over a month, a trip that started with a 10-day conference in Thailand. Through this conference, I had the privilege of meeting brothers and sisters from all over the world. We fellowshipped, encouraged one another, exchanged wisdom from the field, and made lifelong friendships and partners in the Gospel.

After being in Thailand for ten days, I began my 3-week journey in South Asia. This leg of the trip was a “vision tour,” a time where workers are able to go to a region of the world where they feel called to and they are able to experience the culture, the work, and the need of that place. The Lord has placed South Asia on my heart, a region that is within the 10/40 window that has some of the most concentrated amounts of the lost who have little to no access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Souls are being born, living, and dying without ever having the opportunity of choosing eternal life. I know what some of you may be thinking: “How could a loving God send someone to hell for not knowing or believing in Jesus?” God is not sending anyone to hell for not believing in Jesus, but for their sins. In the same way a just judge could not allow a convicted murderer to be set free without first paying for their crimes. God cannot allow sin to go unpunished, so He laid that punishment upon His Son Jesus Christ. This gifted forgiveness, innocence, and eternal life to all who will repent and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. (John 3:16)

This is the purpose of the Church: the evangelization and discipleship of the whole world, to let the world know that there is a Savior and His name is Jesus Christ.

I’m so excited to share this journey with you all and in my next update I’ll share the good, the bad, and the hope for Southern Asia, as well as what it was like serving in the 10/40 window.

Prayer Requests:

• Guidance on what my exact role in the Great Commission is and where I’m to serve long term.

• God would provide all my needs spiritually, physically, and financially.

• That the Church would awaken to her purpose.

• That souls would be saved.

If you have prayer requests, please press respond at the end of my newsletter and it will be sent to my email: Haggstromdeprii@gmail.com

I want to thank everyone who has partnered in making this mission happen. I am so excited to share this journey with you all as we fulfill the Great Commission. Stay tuned for all that the Lord is doing.

If you would like to partner with me as I serve with Saving Grace World Missions, there is a giving link posted below.

All gifts will go towards the funding of future missions and pressing on towards the purpose of preaching Jesus in places where He has not been preached.

May we all continue to faithfully follow, love, obey and walk with The Lion and The Lamb.

God bless,

Deprii

Greetings from San Jose de Cochiquinas.  Yes, it is official, we have moved onto the mighty Amazon river into a community of 3,000 people.  It is the Centro Poblado of this section of river, which means it is the center of 63 communities and the hub of ministry for us. This is the perfect place to begin to disciple local pastors and plant churches.

We have been here about a month and it has not been an easy adjustment. The people are wonderful, the community leaders are welcoming, but the living ain’t easy. We have a jungle home, now we know it sounds like we are living in a hut with a palm leaf thatched roof, but that isn’t the case. We were beyond blessed to have wonderful missionaries come before us and build a house and church in Cochiquinas. We just installed some more solar panels, so we have power and we have a rain catching system, so we have water but we still need to make a filtration system for the rain water. We live in a beautiful little wooden home with plenty of space for the natives to invade. Now, by natives, we don’t mean the human kind. Bullet ants, mosquitos, a pet rat that we can’t seem to trap, termites that come out at 6pm on the dot in such numbers– it is impossible to keep them out of your hair and we get more bug bites than we can count. It is hot and humid, all day, all night. This is another kind of living and it’s going to take some getting accustomed to but we know the Lord is on the throne!

It is so great to make plans and then watch the Lord throw a changeup. When we came here to Peru, Ryan was confident that he would not be pastoring a church or church planting. We were planning on  discipling the existing pastors, and that was going to be our focus. However, after coming to Cochiquinas, the Lord has shown us the need to plant a church and pastor it as well. There is a local group of about 15 people that have been meeting. One of them is Pastor Julio, an awesome brother in the Lord. Ryan has sat down and talked with him and another brother from this group and we have decided that through much prayer, we will plant a church in March of 2025 and Ryan will Pastor it for one year. Ryan will be training both of these men in biblical teaching, biblical counseling, and biblical leadership. In January of 2026, Ryan will step into a role as an assistant and Pastor Julio will take the lead role. There are quite a few communities around our area that do not have churches, so one of our prayers is for God to bring us men to send out. This brings us to March of 2026. 

The 2026 plan is to begin a Discipleship Center in our town. Praise God we were able to purchase a piece of property next to the church on the river and the hope is to raise enough funds to build a dormitory and class room. We are hoping to construct the building in June of ‘25 and have everything set for the following school year.  The goal is to have 10 to 15 students the first year and go from there.  Please keep these things in prayer as we continue to advance the gospel together.

We have a lot of opportunities to minister in our community. One of the biggest problems in the river communities is clean water. We are talking to community leaders about putting in a system to help alleviate that problem. Also, there is no higher education for the kids who finish school. The kids finish school at 15 or 16 years old. After that, they generally go to the coco fields to plant and harvest. This whole area is controlled by the cartel, and this is not a very bright future for the youth. We are praying for the opportunity to open a technical school that would be connected to the discipleship ministry.  Teaching carpentry, agriculture, general construction, and even computer skills. The purpose would be to give the kids a spiritual education as well as teaching them an honest trade to support their future families. Please keep these things in prayer and thank you all once again for your incredible support as we seek the will of the Lord together, here in the Peruvian Amazon Jungle.

Prayer Requests:

• Discipleship Center Construction

• River Conference Oct 24-28

• New Church Plant in Cochiquinas

• Pastors and Leaders who desire to plant churches

Dear friends & family,

Do you ever fall into a rough cycle of trying to do the right things but end up falling short each time?

So often as humans, we naturally want to take it upon our own strength and ability to go through life and accomplish what we need to. But the truth is so much less burdensome than this way of life. Jesus beckons us to come to Him like little children, understanding our need for utter dependency on Him. This teaching is what I always come back to (Matthew 11:25-30). The truth is that the more we depend on our own strength and “wisdom,” the further we go from God. But when we approach God eagerly with a child-like heart, understanding our great need for Him, it is to that kind of person the Lord reveals Himself.

These truths have been particularly speaking to mine and Geoff’s heart lately. Because as we have each grown out of childhood, have gotten married, and have begun a new life together with all kinds of new responsibilities, it is more natural to learn how to become “self-sufficient” rather than become dependent on God like a child. Afterall, aren’t all those typical steps of growing up moving you towards being an independent unit?

Yet as we put in the work for our new independent family, there must be a constant recognition of our utter need for God, otherwise we will find ourselves drifting further away from the One we were created for. Everything we have is ultimately from Him, even down to our functioning hands which allow us to work. Praise God He is our Provider and He has never let us down! When we look to our own frail capabilities or circumstances, there is anxiety. When we look to Him as a child trusts their providing father, there is peace.

So we write this newsletter full of gratitude in our hearts to our good Father, His gracious ways, and to all of you who He has brought into our lives. We have felt so loved by you and are grateful for your partnership in our lives thus far. May you be reminded and encouraged by these grace-filled truths of God as we have been. 

Life Updates:

As we enter a new year of SGWM’s Missions Training School in late October, we will resume our biblical studies and cross-cultural training. Geoff has been progressing in his videography course as well, and has begun a few exciting video projects with more to come. It is amazing to see the Lord bringing different opportunities to Geoff and I’m excited to see how the Lord uses this gift for His kingdom.

Speaking of which, we were recently asked to go to Hawaii to film a class at the bible college in Kauai (CBI Kauai)! Our pastor here at CC Saving Grace, Trent Douglass, will be teaching his “Purpose of the Church” block class there in November and he asked Geoff to film and edit the teaching into video classes. Please pray for a smooth recording process and for Geoff to have a peaceful and clear mind as he takes this project on. We are so excited to meet the students there who are interested in missions and to see a bit of Hawaii too of course! We will be there November 3-7.

Finally, an update on our Japan vision tour. We are excited to spend about 3 months in Japan in the upcoming year! This will be an extended time of seeking the Lord for confirmation of our calling, a time of prayer over the country, a time of fellowship with the Japanese believers, and a time to get a better understanding of what living there would truly be like. We will get more connected with Abide Osaka church and see more of what ministry looks like there. We have hearts ready to serve however we can, but also desire to get to know the church, missionaries, and way of life first so we don’t overstep as newcomers. We will be in Osaka, Japan from January 16th to April 4th, 2025. 

We praise God for this opportunity! Pray that He would speak to us clearly while we’re there and that the Holy Spirit would guide us and provide divine appointments in Japan. We’re also so excited to see our friends Jeff & Alishia Root again, who we went with to Japan earlier this year when they were planted in Osaka as SGWM missionaries! Pray the Lord reveals His will for more of us to join their team in Japan.

Thank you so much for reading another one of our updates! We really appreciate your prayers, encouragement, financial support, and email responses! We feel so loved by your care! May God bless you abundantly for your kingdom partnership. Until next time!

Sincerely,

Geoff & Lydia

A few moments from the last month:

Praise Reports:

• God is so good and gracious, the only One we can fully depend on!
• We get to visit CBI Kauai and film Trent’s “Purpose of the Church” block class.
• God provided the temporary housing we needed for the 2 months leading up to our Japan vision tour (thank you Gerry & Becca!<3)
• We’re going back to Osaka, Japan for an extended vision trip!
• God is providing more opportunities for Geoff to grow his skill and passion for videography!
• Lydia is growing more in her understanding of the Japanese language through both her 1-on-1 training with Mirei and independent study.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for a smooth filming process of Trent’s class at CBI Kauai and that God would continue to speak to the students through those teachings.
• Pray the Lord would raise up and send more laborers to Japan, a very spiritually dry country in need of the hope of the gospel!
• Pray that we would keep depending on the Lord for strength and endurance as we enter another rigorous year of MTS.
• Pray for our personal times with the Lord, that our love for God would grow and He would teach us more about Himself.

Hi friends and family!!

Thank you for your love, support, and prayers through the years for our family.

It’s been a wonderful adventure being able to continually witness God’s faithfulness.

We pray you are all doing well when reading this update!!

The Mission for children / La Mision para niños

We keep serving at this wonderful ministry that God planted in our hearts since I was 19 years old (26 years ago).

It's our joy to announce we have a new family, the Cruz family!!! Anna and Belo served on staff at La Mision as singles for several years, then they got married almost 2 years ago and now feel the call to serve as a family at the Mission, its been a wonderful blessing to have them back at home!!
 
We always have new staff coming and going during the year. We're so grateful for our amazing single staff: Blanca, Estefani, Yair, Karolina, Zimri, Ashley, Aneli, Lisa, Gedeon, Cora, Elaina, and Pearl.

It brings joy to our hearts and comfort to our souls to witness God's faithfulness every time for every need we face each day.

We're so thankful for the churches and groups that visit home. They bring rest to all our staff and fun times of sharing the Word, snacks, board games etc.

At the moment we are focused on obtaining the Mission's operating license again. This takes time, finances, and different courses such as: Civil protection, drills, what to do in case of a fire, earthquake, etc. Although all of this represents work, it's something extra because in the middle of any activity we never stop caring for the Mission's kids. Our amazing staff always makes us laugh as we live together in the midst of any situation, and that is a beautiful blessing.

AZAFF'S ADVENTURES

Our family adventures seem to never end. Our journey with our son Azaff started an the end of 2019 when he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on his brain. He received 2 surgeries within a week to remove the tumor, and they were able to remove about 95% (the rest was too dangerous to remove). Since then, he has been improving little by little until this day.

Jesus is with us at every step of the this adventure with our beloved son Azaff.  

Even though he's been losing his vision slowly, he graduated from middle school this past July. It's been so challenging for him but he does not give up!! At his graduation he sang a beautiful song named, "God Knows What He Does."

The doctor recommended for him to learn Braille and keep doing therapy for fine motor skills. He also needs to keep practicing rock climbing; that eye-hands-and-feet therapy helps him a lot, so we will continue going to San Diego once a week for that therapy. He is still on medication for seizures, sometimes it's difficult because of finances but we keep trusting our amazing God and resting on Him in the midst of all circumstances. 

Prayer requests:

1. Please pray for strength, wisdom, joy, and all the fruits of the Spirit for me in homeschooling our kids. Azaff is now in 9th grade and Abdiel in 8th grade.

2. Please pray for provision for the medical treatment, traveling expenses, and rock climbing therapy expenses.

3. Strength and joy to our wonderful Mission kids, staff, and families.

4. Also, if you would like to bless our staff with snacks or anything, you can send them packages to:

La Mision para niños 
P. O. BOX 460
Tecate CA 91980

With so much love
The Rivera Family
Miguel, Zurisadai, Conchita, Azaff, Abdiel.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Can someone please pinch me?! This is how I’ve felt for the past month. I have been praying this whole year to come back to Japan and it finally happened again! This time I have the opportunity to stay here for two months! And if that wasn’t enough, I had the blessing of attending the Asia CCA Missions Conference in Thailand! But wait… there’s more… the last stop was in the Middle East. I truly am blessed beyond measure. This is exceedingly abundantly above all that I could ever ask or think. This is a result of saying yes to Jesus! Yes, Lord send me!

Seek God

During the first week of the trip we got to show a couple of people around Osaka. They also are praying about possibly moving to Japan & sure enough, their heart grew for the people! It is so exciting to see a team slowly building on this side of the world. This is the true purpose of a Vision Tour, of my time here in Japan as well. It is to seek God and pray over the country and the people. As you have noticed, it is a gradual process. It started off as a 2-week trip, to now a 2-month trip, to soon a couple of years here, God willing. It is a way to be fully immersed in the culture and the language before making the full-time decision of moving here. And let me tell ya, I feel completely immersed! Full send!! I will share more about my time in Japan in my next newsletter. Stay tuned!

Heroes in the Faith

Our next stop for ten days was in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Over the past year I have read so many biographies of missionaries, but to meet them in person was another thing! You hear stories of Jim & Elizabeth Elliot going to tribes in the jungle and how he gets killed by the tribe, but the wife comes back and they all get saved. We had the honor of hearing those same stories from people all over the world! For example- one of the ministries that was started in Asia, sprung out from a pastor being killed by the tribe. Years later, God spoke to this man and told him to go back to that village to preach the gospel. He obeyed, left early in the morning, and the village got saved! 

After the main conference, Saving Grace World Missions held their own conference from their own missionaries working in different parts of Asia. There were about 50 people! Some who have given their whole lives to share the gospel. And not just that, but all the trials and persecution that come with it in their specific countries. In one closed country, a man shared about being beaten and incarcerated because of his faith. These are normal things that they experience. It was like walking into a red carpet event, except this was like walking in the hall of faith. We got to meet many of the heroes in the faith!

Light in a Dark Place

The last part of the trip was in the Middle East. As most of you may know, I have had a heart for the Middle East since I was little. The purpose of this trip was to meet with the current team in the Middle East, as well as seek God and His will. My heart remained open during my days there, as I embraced the culture, the people, and the food. I was highly encouraged as we met with many workers there from all over the world! The highlight of the trip for me was seeing the Latino community, specifically the Brazilian community, being a light in a dark place. I’m glad I got the opportunity to go, to encourage my friends that are praying about moving there. 

Going up to the Citadel, a historical place with ancient ruins dating back to the Bronze Age, we were able to overlook and pray over the country as a team. I was amazed looking at the horizon, seeing house stacked upon house, upon house, hundreds and thousands of people who are lost without Jesus. And the Lord spoke to my heart- He showed me a flock of birds, what looked like doves, going about in different parts of the city. All together, all reflecting the love of the Father to all peoples. Even with the call to prayer going on in the background, my heart felt compassion for the people. I was encouraged to hear that the Lord is sending out laborers into His harvest!

Praise Reports

• We made it safely to all the countries- thank you all for your prayers, we couldn’t have done it without y’all!!
• The conference was refreshing and uplifting- it ignited a fire from underneath us!
• God is sending out workers in all parts of the world- it’s so exciting to be a part of His work!
• I applied for my Visa paperwork- please be praying for God’s will and His timing!

Prayer Requests

• Please join me in prayer for those in restricted and persecuted countries- may they be filled with the Spirit and continual boldness in sharing the Good News!
• Please continue to pray for the Middle East- may they also turn to Jesus during these moments of turmoil!
• Please continue to pray for more laborers!
• Please pray for my time back in Japan- for wisdom and understanding in language learning, as well as open doors to sharing the Gospel!

The Lord has truly given me His peace that surpasses all understanding being back in Japan. I’m more than confident in knowing this is exactly where He wants me. I’m blessed beyond measure for your prayers- I have witnessed the hedge of protection around not only myself, but the team as a whole. I’m extremely blessed for your faithful partnership on this journey.

May God supply all your needs according to HIS riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). <3 

-MAYRA ALEJANDRA

And He is the head of the Body, the church…that in all things He may have preeminance.

Colossians 1:18

This past month has been a very blessedly busy month for my family and I. I taught an intensive Christology class, organized a day retreat for the men of the international church, and (because of the central location of the Christology class) I had the opportunity to fellowship with other missionaries/tentmaker missionaries as well. I also helped Soksan, the founder of Light Times Magazine, to film a testimony of Ps. Dara of Faith Family Church/Sonshine Kids School. He used to help translate my apologetics/evangelistic video scripts, and I’m a guest teacher at his church and school).

One of the main passages of the Christology class was Colossians 1:15-20. One of the blessings (and sometimes challenges to be honest…) of where God has positioned me in the Body is that I’m, as one Japanese pastor put it, “a bridge.” Sometimes I feel like I’m a ligament and a cartilage between the bones of the Body (denominations, cultures, nations, languages, and other doctrinal differences etc.). This month, the Christology class reminded me that Christ is the head of His Body and that the blessings outweigh the challenges by far.

For example, my fellowhip opportinities with other missionaries and tentmakers, really encouraged and strengthened me. I am blessed to have various key relationships that remind me of Paul’s relationships with Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy. I also think of Apollos’ relationship with Aquilla and Priscilla. Some missionaries have been and continue to be mentors and co-laborers. I’m able to encourage and equip them as well, even though we come from different nations and denominational backgrounds.

I was blessed that of the 13 men who were able to go out for a retreat/recharge event, I was the only westerner. The rest of the men were from various parts of broader Asia and Africa. This was our first event beyond the international church facility. Lord willing, we hope to be able to do an outreach with another mission organization before the end of the year (or possibly early 2025). I also fellowship with another men’s ministry that has more western men, so that is a blessing too.

I continue to work under the umbrella of Light Association/Light Times Magazine with Soksan and Linat, the founders. We are in the process of transitioning the magazine from print to digital and other activities as well. One of our immediate hurdles now is starting a website that has all the capabilities needed for such a project. Please pray for wisdom and provision for this undertaking.

This was my second time teaching the Christology class and so it went much smoother than two years ago. I believe and trust that the students learned from the class and I know that I learned a lot in the process of teaching. We learned about true Christian unity and discernment under the headship of Christ and much more. I discovered that Christology class is a great follow up to the Apologetics class that I usually teach at two different Bible schools. These lessons also helped me with sharing about discernment at a prayer meeting and speaking on 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 at the main service of the international church (also a very diverse congregation).

I’m thankful that Kayo and Benjamin were willing and able to bear more burdens during this past month so that I could go out so much. I’m also thankful to be able to work from home (so I can help around the house) most of the time. Kayo continues to lead the women’s ministry at the international church, please pray for her and her team as they plan their retreat. She also continues to serve with Precious Women organization in various roles. She’s also busy preparing to host guests and a team from Japan around the end of the year and organizing their projects etc. Benjamin has been busy studying for some major standardized tests that will impact his future college applications, so please pray for strength and wisdom for him as well.

Please pray for health, wisdom, and strength in many ways for us as well. There’s more to say, but this is getting long. We are blessed by those who support and encourage us with prayer, finances, and other ways. You all also represent a very broad spectrum of the Body. We thank Christ, the Head, for each one of you.

In Christ’s Love and Care,

Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin

Phnom Penh, Cambodia