“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV)

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:12-14 

Time can move so quickly! I am so thankful that the Spirit of God does an amazing work within His people and that we are ever being changed and molded into the likeness of our Savior. Day by day He is making us new, and I look forward to seeing what He has in store for tomorrow! No matter where you find yourself today, especially as we move toward eternity, make Christ your aim! Run after Him with the strength He will provide! Time is short, let’s be about His business!

Peru (Part 2)

From power outages, to worship nights, to church planting, my time in Peru was a whirlwind! CBI Kauai was also there with us. Between all of us, we had a lot to do, and the Lord gave us the wisdom and ability to get it all done; and with time to spare. A few of the guys and I from the Saving Grace team were working on getting the new church banner up for Calvary Trujillo. We had a lot of help from Calvary Trujillo students as well as Kauai. This thing was huge! Almost 10 feet high by 50 feet long! After that I helped with the new coffee shop that was set up in the patio area (right under the overhang we helped install this past May). I even got to do some cabinet-work. The Lord knew what we needed and He helped us to get it all done! 

Each morning a pastor would share a morning devotional with us to start the day. These devos were a great preparation for what came with the conference. One of the devos that stuck out to me the most was on Acts 20:24 where Paul writes, “but none of these things move me…” He knew he was headed to Jerusalem to be bound and he continued anyway. What moves me? This has been a constant reflection since I heard it, and the Lord has been working away on me that I might be able to say as well, “but none of these things move me.” Please pray that I would be so rooted in Jesus.

Getting to serve there alongside the students, staff, and the other short term teams was a huge blessing. Seeing their hard work, tenacity, and joy in the face of many obstacles and trials was an incredible thing. Be encouraged church, there are a lot of young people that want to see this world affected for the Lord. He’s doing an incredible work, and the growth that is taking place is a beautiful thing to see.

What’s next?

I am excited to say that this January, Lord willing, I will be heading to Peru to serve alongside Calvary Trujillo and CBI Peru. I have an incredible opportunity to serve and learn the ropes of helping run a Bible College. An opportunity to disciple and help raise up the next generation of church planters, pastors, missionaries, and to see them sent out wherever the Lord calls them. I am excited to see all that the Lord has in store, and to be able to grow in the call He’s placed on my life. Jesus is coming soon! Let’s be busy and about His business! This whole world needs to hear and I won’t be satisfied, I won’t stop, until I’ve walked in all that He has for me this side of eternity! It’s not just me going, but the Lord has stirred in the heart of a good friend to come as well. Please pray that we would stand firm and be faithful in all that He has set before us.

How to Get Involved

Thank you for partnering with me in prayer! It has been a long time in waiting for the Lord to reveal what’s next, and I’m excited to go! This season, in many ways, has been surreal and bittersweet as I will miss my family (biological and spiritually speaking) a whole lot. This life is a vapor and where Jesus leads I must follow! Would you please continue to pray for me? To be faithful, to fall more in love with Jesus, and to make disciples well? Would you pray for me that I would follow His leading in all things, and that His Spirit would provide the wisdom, strength, and grace needed for all that He is calling me to? I need His strength, His guidance, and His wisdom. I know He will provide all that is needed, and I look forward to seeing how He does it!

If you would like to get involved by partnering with me financially, there’s a link below to help make that possible. Thank you for your support!

In Christ,

-Jordon

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”

2 Corinthians 9:8

A big highlight of last month was the team that came out from Maryland. The brother of our director’s wife and several members of his church came and taught “Resolving Everyday Conflict” to our staff and students. Everyone I talked to said it was one of the most practical and helpful seminars they had ever attended. It was a treat, too, to watch the team interact with the 180 widows in our widows program during the conference they hosted at Calvary Chapel Gulu. Some of these women have been my personal friends for years, and it was precious to see them blessed by another member of the body of Christ. It is proof of Christ’s love when people come from thousands of miles away to simply wash the feet of someone they have never met, give them gifts, or encourage them with a good meal and a special message. It always fills my heart! I pray that God allows more and more people to come and see what He is doing here and what their partnership with us is doing in His name.

As we prepare to return to the US from Dec-Jan 15th, it is easy for me to feel overwhelmed in the planning process. I think of the calendar from our last visit and remember that every day was full of doctor’s appointments and travel arrangements, lunch dates, and dinner plans, names, phone numbers, and reminders for everything. In the midst of it all, it didn’t feel too busy because God gave enough strength for each moment as it came. Those plans seemed to come about on their own somehow. But now, as I sit, with three weeks before our flight, there are mostly empty days on the calendar. There are so many people whose names I want to write on those empty days.

If we haven’t arranged a time to see you when we are in Colorado during December or Nebraska in early January, would you let us know some dates that would work for you? We would love to meet up for coffee or a meal to catch up, just Matt or I if that works best, or even with the kids in tow. We don’t want to miss a chance to see you face to face, to hear how you are, to encourage you and be encouraged. In these troubling times, we need each other.

Please pray with us that:

• The final class of the year would go well, and each student would have a peaceful break over Christmas.

• Our travel to the USA would go smoothly.

• Luke and Hannah’s wedding plans would come together as they work it out from here, and the day’s events would go smoothly.

• We would be able to visit with our families and each of our supporters.

In Christ,

Matt & Noelle & Family

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven”

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Dear Friends and Family,

This past month has been the definition of this passage in Ecclesiastes for us as a ministry and as a family. Let me start with the ministry.

For the ministry it was both a time of planting and a time of reaping. It started with the arrival of Paul. Paul is a Nigerian by birth but has spent much of his life in Russia. It was in Russia that he got born again and began to serve in the ministry. Recently Russia revoked his visa and he returned to Nigeria. Missions was still on his heart and he came to visit FRM’s ministries in Uganda and South Sudan. After spending some time at both, he will be helping out the ministry at Canaan Farms in Uganda.

Not too long after Paul arrived we received Dmitry and Mark. Mark has been serving alongside FRM for a very long time and Dmitry is only 20 years old. Dmitry feels very called to teaching God’s Word at this young age. After spending some time with him, Brian gave him the opportunity to share at Arise. It was Dmitry’s first time teaching in English. He is Russian. The teaching was amazing and what really made it amazing is that his English appeared to have an Ugandan accent. This made it clearer for the English speakers and easier for the translator to understand when translating. I believe God has great things in store for this young man.

Mark and Dmitry were here to be part of a larger team that was coming to teach at a conference in Masindi and at the chaplain refresher course in South Sudan. I have to say these men were used by God to help me in all the preparations and work that I had to get done to host so many people at once. I am so grateful for them and the timing in which they arrived.

A week after Mark and Dmitry arrived we received a team of 27. It is one of the largest teams we have had. They were divided into 3 groups, 2 that would begin in South Sudan for the chaplain refresher and 1 that would begin in Masindi for the Pastor/ Teacher conference. The first night they were all at the guest house, Brian and I held a cultural debrief with them and shared about security, health, and what to expect with the differences in culture. The team was very responsive and asked a lot of questions which is always a good thing. We prayed for the many ministries they’d be doing and for the opportunities that would arise as a result of those ministries.

The teams set off, with two of them flying on MAF to South Sudan and one driving a van to Masindi. The team in Masindi held a pastor/leader conference. Many Pastors from all around the area came. The women on the team held a women’s conference as well. Some of the team served at a new church plant in the village. They were a great encouragement to all that came. In Sudan, the team ministered to the chaplains who have been serving on the front lines and all around South Sudan. Some of the team members were able to interview and get updates from the chaplains. There were over 300 chaplains as well as other local church leaders who attended the refresher conference. The women on the team held a women’s conference as well. About halfway during their time in Africa they switched places before returning to Kampala.

This now brings me to another part of Ecclesiastes… A time to be born and a time to die. It is with great sorrow and tears that I write that we have lost Brian’s brother Augustine Serugga. He was more than Brian’s brother but Brian’s best friend, right hand man, the children’s closest uncle—bringer of weekend treats. He was 9 years younger than Brian and healthy so it is beyond shocking and painful. He was at our house on a Tuesday helping with food for the team returning.

On Wednesday he did not come for mid-week service because he was not well. The doctor said he had malaria and needed to rest. On Thursday morning he said he was already feeling much better. On Thursday evening after we sent off all of the team, we received the call that he had died. He leaves behind a widow and 4 daughters. He was so involved in every detail of our life, church, the parents, business, and so many others’ lives. We know the Lord is in control but pray as the gap he leaves is huge and the pain is great. Pray for Brian as he grieves. He saw him as the next generation he was raising up, not just as a brother but as his child in Christ. On the day of the burial, the wife of Brian’s other brother, Fred, gave birth to a baby girl.

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

In Him,

Brian, Jill, Luke, Laylee, and Liana

PRAYER REQUESTS

• We are so thankful  for the many ways the Lord has blessed us and for everyone who supports us and the ministry in Uganda.
• Please pray for Brian and his family as they go through this very painful time of mourning. Pray for Augustine’s widow and daughters.  Pray for wisdom and guidance for the way forward.
• Pray for the team that was just here.  Pray that the Lord blesses them for their ministry. Also many of the team got malaria while here and 2 got very ill once returning home. Please pray for the health of the team.
• Pray for all of the people who were reached by the team.  Pray for those who came to know the Lord and for those who have known the Lord a long time to have been refreshed.
• Pray for the Kanyike children to get called for their citizenship interview.
• 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.

Dear Family in Christ,

There has been a standard set by our Lord Jesus Christ that we must love as He has loved the disciples. Daily it has been our constant prayer to love one another, care for another, encourage one another and, if God wills, die for a greater cause in serving the brethren. Below are a few testimonies of how God has graciously allowed us to visit our brothers at various mission fields to join together in their new journey, joy, suffering and tribulation. Brace yourself to see what it is like to travel with us for about 2,000 kms around in two states. 

1st Stop – Two Villages that are Strongly Anti-Christian

These two strongly anti-Christian villages have attacked many who have come there. One time they even plotted to catch and attack us and almost beat us! Both villages warned us not to come and talk about Jesus. In the past, they burned a pastor alive when he came to preach the Gospel! SINCE THEN NO CHRISTIAN HAS DARED TO GO THERE AND TALK ABOUT JESUS AGAIN. They also burn Bibles. So it has remained unreached since then. I have already told in a couple of my letters how God led me to that village to begin His work there. No government, no religious authorities, no skeptics, no scientists, no philosophers, or no book burners have ever been able to stop the work of the Word of God.  

Praise God, we have now started a Bible Study in that village, and 4 people are attending! They come very secretly, while hiding their Bibles. I even have to hide my Bible from anyone seeing it when I go there. Please pray that everyone in these two villages comes to know Jesus. Yes, they rejected Him, but one day He will be the Cornerstone. 

In my last newsletter, I shared about a woman named K* who is 23 years old. Her husband has caused her a lot of suffering. Because he would not allow her to have the food she needed during her pregnancy, she became so malnourished and full of infection that she had to be hospitalized. After she conceived, because her husband would not allow her to eat what she needed, she actually became so hungry that she ate sand. She was readmitted to the hospital. The doctor said her life was in danger because her womb was so infected. Our church tried to help her all through this difficult time while praying for her and strengthening her with the Word of God. God amazingly healed her form from all of the infection just as He promised in His Word! Now she has been blessed with a beautiful baby girl! She has come to believe in Jesus and has accepted Him as her personal Savior! She asked to have her baby dedicated during our church service. I am so blessed to see how happy her family is now. We are even having our Bible study in her home each week in this village! 

2nd Stop—An Ancient City 

This Ancient City is recognized as one of the best heritage cities of our country. It is 150 km away from the state capital. It is also the second largest city in the state. It took nearly 4 hours for us to get there. This is where one of our dear brothers— Pastor 7 labours and serves in the region. He received us with utmost love and affection, the love of Christ was reigning our hearts. This mission field is scores of villages where the Gospel of Christ has never been preached. All these villages are heavily involved in witchcraft, black magic and sorcery. Our hearts leaped out for joy upon hearing the great things the Lord has been doing through this humble servant.

We then were introduced to a sister in Christ who gave her life for the service of the Gospel. Though she’s in her 40’s, she never ceases to take every single opportunity to share the Gospel with anyone and everyone. She has been accused, questioned and mistreated for being a witness of Christ by fanatical groups. Nothing stops her from spreading the Good News of our Lord. Even though she is older than most people who attend college, she is even ready to join our institute to study God’s Word. God-willing she will join us next semester in unpacking the treasures of the Word. We then bid them farewell until next time. It was a time of great importance for all of us because we were reminded that we are not alone in this great task the Lord has given us. He is there but we need each other too. 

3rd Stop- An Unreached Village Area Where Our Friend was Sent to Minister

Seventy-five percent of the people in this district are tribal. Thus the majority of city people will communicate in a tribal language. This language has no script and is sustained on spoken words. This is literally a no-man’s land. Traveling to the area, it was so distressing to not see even one Christian community. All these communities, villages, and people are untouched by the Gospel and have no witness to the power of grace. It is to this unreached people group that our brother C* has been called. Brother C* is a man of faith, prayer and servitude. We were more than happy to come alongside him in word and deed.

We then visited a school where children are being taught English and mathematics everyday. It was a joy to see the kids grow— providing schooling is one of the doors of outreach to the villages. The village of K* needs to be under strong consideration. There’s a temple. There is also a stone they worship. Every year a feast is celebrated by offering goats and sheep in front of this stone. The blood is spilled throughout the village land. Sometimes even human children are sacrificed without people knowing about it. May Lord help in each and every possible way to expand the mission in and around these villages.

4th Stop: Serving in the Village with Brother A*

Another sudden blow hit one of our dear brothers, A*. A few weeks ago, brother A*, was on his way to a nearby railway station to drop off his brother-in-law. When they were about to do a J-turn, an out of control bus (that had been hit by a car), came from the other road and hit this bike. Immediately, they all were thrown through the air and fell next to the road.

Brother A*’s leg was heavily injured and broken. Without any delay, he was taken to a nearby hospital and doctors conducted a medical evaluation of his leg. He was then taken to the surgery department. His leg was fractured and he was told not to walk for another two months.

All throughout this period, God was protecting A*’s life. We were so glad to see and encourage our brother who has been affected with a sudden accident. While visited with A*, his father gave a testimony of God’s goodness over A*’s life. Brother A* had not smiled for a long time, until we came to see him. We do not always know how God works and even sometimes miraculously functions His will. Nonetheless, all things work together for good for those who love Him. A lesson can be learned from the words of Jesus Christ, that He’s the greatest friend who has laid down his own life for his friends. 

5th Stop – Sent Out to Serve God in the Village

Brother AV* is serving in our neighboring state, where God has called him. It was a great joy to see him working hard and teaching people the Word of God. I was able to see his ministry and got an opportunity to teach in his church. He is serving in a village where there are a lot of idol worshipers and black magic. Please pray for him and for the ministry.

Women’s Ministry and Conference: My Wife’s Update

Hello dear family! I thank God for His grace and mercy over all of us. I am really thankful to God for His amazing grace in moving forward with women’s ministry. Thank you for your prayers and support! It is such a great joy to serve the women in and outside the church! I am learning and teaching the Word of God to them. Please be in prayer for me to be more equipped to teach women by learning and obeying God’s Word increasingly. Also, please pray for the special needs of many of the women who are single parents.

God put it in my heart to teach and have fellowship with them every other month. Through this they can learn, grow and be strengthened to endure the suffering they endure in their daily lives. Most of the sisters that are married have husbands who beat and harass them. They are domestically abused for choosing Christ and attending fellowship. Even though the cost is high, the Lord is strengthening them to take a stand for the truth; and to lead their families to saving faith.  

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1. Please pray for my family and I to grow more in the Word of God, and that we will be in good health.
2. Pray for the Bible college students and the staff.
3. Pray for K* and her baby
4. Pray for our upcoming outreach in the month of December 
5. Pray for our students who are going to be graduating this semester to obey God’s calling on their lives.
6. Pray for a good means of transportation for Brother C* and Brother A, since travel is very difficult as there are no transportation facilities. 
7. Pray for our brothers who are sent out to serve in the different areas where God has called them. 
8. Pray for Sister R* and Sister A*s’ families. 
9. Pray that we find a new place to move our campus as our landlord told us to vacate this place.
10. Pray for the construction of our ministerial building. 
11. Pray for God’s will in our upcoming state elections in November. 

Thank you,

Pastor 6* and Family

*Names and faces have been changed or omitted for security reasons.

Dear Pastors, Partners, and Leaders!

Once again I want to thank our Lord Jesus Christ that God has kept me and my father alive until now, so I am sending you our update. 

Beaten and Mocked for Believing in the Lord Jesus, but Still Preached the Gospel

2 weeks ago, when we were going to a village to attend a Bible study as we do daily, some men followed us. They found out that our Christian fellowship was going on in a certain village. After we left the village, those men, along with about 100 other people went to the village and vandalized it. They forced the people to sing Hindu devotional songs. Many of the people who were new believers sang the songs.

One of believers there was a woman named R*. I have mentioned her many times to you in my newsletters and prayer requests. She was beaten and abused by the people who vandalized the village. Still, she did not bow down. Instead, she preached the Gospel in front of the bigoted people. The Hindu fanatics made fun of the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ and threatened R* with death. 

They are pressurizing the people of the village to build a Hindu temple there, saying that everyone should worship in it and that those who will not worship in it will be killed. Long ago, our state was called the “graveyard of Christians”. There has been peace here for a few years. Now, we are concerned that our state is going to become the graveyard of Christians again. Please pray that God gives protection to me, my parents, and my wife and that the church family becomes stronger in their faith.

1 Day of Each Month Is Dedicated to Intercessory Prayer from Morning to Evening!

Thank God that He is truly a gracious and loving Lord and provides for our every need. God is advancing all of us day by day in the knowledge of His Word. He is burdening us to pray for other sisters and brothers. I always thank God that He has given me such a church and for supporters who are always attentive to our needs and praying for us day and night. That is why we all decided to find one day in each month when we could all gather together from morning to evening and for intercessory prayer. 

All of us spend time together in prayer and worship of the Lord from morning till evening on the first Friday of every month. In the evening we have dinner together. Because of this, people in our church are growing stronger in their faith and learning to depend on God while also praying for others. It feels great to hear their prayer requests and that God has given them the burden of preaching and spreading the news of Jesus. Many people from the church are going to other villages and sharing the news and bringing new believers to our church. We are also praying for them day and night and always encouraging them with the Word.

Praise Points:

1. Praise God that He has kept me safe.
2. Praise be to God! A wonderful work has been done through your prayers. In my last update, I asked for prayer for a lady named P*. Her husband had kept her under house arrest, but through your prayers she has started coming back to worship!
3. Praise be to God! S* was suffering from a very strange disease in which his hands would burst on their own and bleed. Because of this, the people of his village despised him. God has now cured him about 90%. He is doing much better and is doing electrical work.
4. Praise God, the people of our church are deeply understanding God’s Word and persevering in the face of persecution.

Prayer Requests:

1. Please pray for the safety of R*. Pray that God will protect her from all of the anti-Christian people who attacked her and her village. 
2. Please pray that our Sunday fellowship does not interfere with our Friday Bible study fellowship.
3. Please pray that the logistical problem with the banks be solved as soon as possible.
4. Please pray for me, my wife and my family. Everyone is suffering from a cold and fever. May God heal us.
5. Please pray for P*. She has a skin problem and has been undergoing treatment for about 2 years but is not getting cured.
6. Please pray for R*, he has been paralyzed for about 22 years and has been coming to our church for about 15 years. May God heal him. Also pray for A*. He has also been coming to our church for about 22 years but he is mentally handicapped.
7. Please pray about our outreach plans for this coming December. Like we do every year, we want to do a lot of outreach to tell the Gospel in the areas where the name of Jesus Christ has not reached. We currently have about 1,500 New Testaments. We hope to distribute them, show the Jesus movie on projectors in rural areas, distribute blankets to the poor and widows, etc. If it is God’s will, please pray that He gives us protection and fulfills our every need.

Thanks for your prayers, love, and partnership in sharing the Gospel.

God bless you!

Pastor & Mrs. 11*

*Names and faces have been changed or omitted for security reasons.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

As we endeavor to be more Christ-like in our lives, I’m reminded of Matthew 11:28-30. In those verses Jesus tells us that His burden is light, He doesn’t put a heavy weight upon us. In fact, in Him, we find rest and relief from the weight of this world, it’s the opposite of a burden. As ministers of Christ, how can we emulate Christ by not being a burden on those we’re ministering to? And beyond that, what can I do to relieve the burdens of those around us?

I often think about this question, not because I view myself as an incredible burden currently, although I’m sure I have my moments, but because of a conversation that we had with a missionary years ago. One of our friends gave us the contact information of a veteran missionary in Japan. He had been there several years, had an effective ministry in Japan and the Philippines, and had come from our denomination, so we were excited to connect with him over the phone. The missionary was great and very helpful, but the first thing he said to us has stuck with me four years later. He said “I hope you come to Japan and serve, but I don’t really have a place for you in my ministry. The minute you land at the airport here in Tokyo, you are a burden to me or my team. I don’t say that to discourage you, it’s just the reality of the situation. You don’t speak the language, you can’t rent an apartment or set up utilities. A national will have to take you to every government appointment and help you accomplish the simplest of tasks.”  

The Holy Spirit used the bluntness of his comments to teach me a valuable lesson that day. We had not yet started our missions training at SGWM and we didn’t realize how childlike we would become in our adopted culture. We viewed ourselves as a blessing, called of the Lord, coming to help the people of Japan. That conversation cured us of that notion and we decided that night, while talking to each other, to do whatever we could to shorten the amount of time we would burden the Japanese church. We knew we couldn’t eliminate it all together (the law prohibits foreigners from being able to do somethings without a Japanese guarantor), but we could reduce the weight and length that they would have to carry for us. Thus, we began three years of cross-cultural training and internship, language learning, and growing spiritually before we left for Japan. Please pray for us to be a blessing and not a burden in any way to those in Japan.

Please also pray about partnering with us financially. Our sending organization has a policy that we have 80% of our monthly needs funded before we can go so that we don’t become a financial burden on the indigenous church. They are wonderful, loving, Christian people, and if they saw we were struggling to make ends meet, they would help us any way they could. We don’t want to ever put them in that situation, but especially not when we’ve just arrived. We are currently at 50% of our monthly needs, so please consider coming alongside us to get to our monthly goal. At the same time, we don’t want to be a burden to any of you, so please give prayerfully and within your means. No amount is too small or insignificant, The Lord will bless and multiply it. If you already partner with us, thank you so much, it means the world to us. It is incredibly humbling to have people believe in your calling and want to get behind you. The ‘financial partner’ link is at the bottom of this letter.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Prayer requests:

• For the Lord to provide everything we need (financial, visa, moving logistics, etc.) for our move to Japan.
• For Jeff as he teaches the midweek service at the church.
• For Alishia’s health and strength as she ministers and works each day.
• For the team going to Japan with us for a few weeks in January, and the planning of the trip.
• For Alishia’s US citizenship process, that the timing would work with our departure.

Greetings from Mexico,

               In October we had another blessed month here in Mexico. Daniel and Grace are both staying busy studying and working hard in their college courses, and Sarah is once again teaching online school full time this year. On the ministry side of things, we had a full month which included local ministry and missions trips, and in this update, I want to tell you about an amazing mission’s trip God let me take to Las Vegas!

            We all know what Sin City is famous for– gambling, sin, and plenty of other vices. But it is in this world-famous city that God has called our church in Mexico to reach through our “Sending Hub” ministry of church planting.  Last month I was blessed to travel to Las Vegas with my two church planting assistants, Dan Valdez and Mario Medrano, and a future church planter named Jason Toscano.

            We had multiple destinations planned for this quick three-day visit, and while the slick advertising slogan claims “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” I am happily going to break that rule with this update. I would like to share with you the four main highlights of this fruitful trip!

Our first stop was visiting my good friend Fernando Serrano and his home Bible study. You might remember that Pastor Fernando and his family served at our church as full-time staff for over ten years. And while Fernando has been serving for a season at an established church while leading their Spanish ministry, the time has now come for Fernando to plant his own church.

            Fernando invited me to teach his weekly home Bible study and I was blessed to teach a message out of Mark chapter 2, I titled “Friend of Sinners!” As this is a Spanish Bible study, I was challenged to teach the sermon in Spanish, which I stepped out in faith and did. God really touched our hearts while we were seeing his amazing group of saints. Yes, the worship was amazing and there was an atmosphere full of love, but (best of all) this large house was packed out with over 60 adults preparing to join Pastor Fernando and his upcoming step of faith!

            We also were blessed to visit my good friend Derek Rosario and his “Fit to Serve” Christian cross fit gym. Derek has become a great friend of mine over the past four years. He has sponsored and pioneered several “Fit to Serve” workout outreaches and classes at not only our church in Rosarito, but also in several of our church plants.

Derek has also trained up with me through my online church planting course I offer for future American church planters. Derek leads an amazing ministry and the hope is that some day in the future, he can not only plant a church himself out of his gym, but start up a new “Sending Hub” of churches that are planted along with a Christian cross fit gym!

      While in Vegas we were also blessed to visit two of our church planting partners. Pastor Gregg Seymour is an amazing friend that pastors Calvary Chapel Red Rocks in Vegas. From the beginning of his church plant five years ago, Gregg has consistently and generously partnered with us through supporting church planting. I was also able to make a new friend, Pastor Wayne Rispalje of Calvary Chapel Sonrise that is the longest tenured Calvary Chapel pastor in Las Vegas, and also a church planting partner with us.

      Our final stop was to see my good friend Rick Arcotta and his ministry. Rick had been beaten up and trashed by different churches over the years, so he decided to start a home Bible study in his garage five years ago. As that home study grew, Rick and I came in contact three years ago and after meeting and talking, he asked me to be his spiritual covering as he moved forward. In response, I gave Rick a bunch of things that I needed him to accomplish if I was to be his pastor and for his home study to develop into one of our church plants. I am happy to say that after three years, all of that hard work and preparation has been done with excellence.  

       Our team got to be there with his home Bible study that now numbers around 80 adults as I ordained Rick as an official church plant. I am proud to officially welcome Calvary Chapel New Zeal Las Vegas and Pastor Rick as our newest church plant. They already partner with us by supporting church planting, and they host their own weekly church planting class with twelve students.

            This trip to Las Vegas was very exciting and encouraging for me. When our family moved to Mexico over 21 years ago, I would have never dreamed that God would use our ministry to encourage and plant churches up in the good ole US of A! But our God is the God of the impossible! Our God is a God who is always able to do more than we could ask or think!

 So thank you Lord Jesus and THANK YOU to our amazing friends and co-laborers. It is an honor and a blessing to serve the Lord with you!

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

Mike, Sarah, Grace, and Daniel

Prayer Requests!

#1- Pray that God would bless my church planting trips to Florida (USA) and Morelia (Mexico) in November!  

#2-  Pray that God will bless our preparations for our Christmas outreaches and events.

Praise Reports!

#1- Praise God for a great trip to visit our church plant in Peru! (South America, my first visit there)

#2- Praise God for His continued blessing and provision for our family, ministry, and church plants.

For our personal support, checks should be made out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Vincent support” in the memo section.  For special projects, checks should also be made out to Saving Grace World Missions or SGWM, with the project name in the comments section. Use the enclosed envelope or mail directly to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near.”

Luke 21:28

From South America to Southern California.

COMISIONADO: Conferencia De Misiones Sudamerica

We left for Peru September 28th and came back October 7th. One of the most touching things about this trip for us was seeing our youngest son and seeing where he’s been attending school and where he has felt called to by God to be a missionary.

When we landed in Peru, we hit the ground serving and preparing for the upcoming conference. Seeing how we all came together, worked at creating a great environment for the conference, and the end transformation was amazing. Serving with the students and locals, we developed a bond with them that just coming and attending the event wouldn’t quite have developed. We got to hear the young student’s and staff’s stories and testimonies on how the Lord brought them there and how God was moving in their lives. There were many people there from all over South and Central America.

We had the opportunity to attend and see the newest one-year-old church plant, Calvary Buenos Aires in Trujillo. It was very impacting in that many who attend are from Venezuela. They were so warm, open, and happy in welcoming us into their church. God is doing such a work in South America.

Missions Training School and Southern California

Once we got back to Southern California, we prepared ourselves for the start of Missions Training School. It was so great to reconnect with many of the students from Calvary School of Missions. We are getting used to the new packed schedule. We have classes Monday nights on cross-cultural training, Tuesday nights we had classes on evangelism, and Wednesday we have been starting Hermeneutics: the art of how to study of the Bible. We were hosting a Life Group at our house on Wednesday nights which has now ended and will be beginning Bible studies at church on Eschatology: the study of the end times.

Another awesome thing God has been doing in our lives is we have been given the leadership over the Welcome Team ministry of our church. Sven has such a vision for this and is excited to see the fruit from creating a welcoming environment for our church.

We’ve been loving opening up our house every other Friday night to praying for the Nations. It’s been a great turn out every time and Carrie was so blessed this last prayer time because it was also on her birthday. What a great birthday party to gather with believers and intercede for the nations of the world, especially during these scary, unrestful times.

SVEN’S CORNER

“And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!‘”

Romans 10:14-15

I was so encouraged to see the work that the Lord is doing in Peru and the rest of South America. God is moving! There were at least 600 attendees at the pastor’s conference. I got to meet so many amazing men of God who are dedicated to planting churches all over South America and the rest of the world. The Lord reminds us that we are servants, and servants, serve, wherever, however. I was excited to be able to help serve the awesome pastors and make sure they had a great environment to absorb the Word. Isn’t that what church planting is all about? Being willing to do anything and everything. We should never be caught up in “our ministry” or “my role in the church.” We should all be willing to serve in any capacity. Yes, that means things like dumping water in the toilets after the electricity goes out in the city and they are close to overflowing. Or painting murals and hanging spotlights so that the attendees can see them at night after they leave the compound. Re-painting the bathrooms so the school and conference have a fresh coat of paint for people to look at. Cooking meals for 500 people so that everyone gets fed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Picking up garbage on the dirt roads outside of the school so that the attendees have a pleasant experience walking to the gate. There was so much to do in preparation for the conference and just as much during it. I loved every minute of it. There is no fellowship like like-minded work fellowship, just brothers and sisters working together to accomplish what needs to be done for things to run successfully.  

For many of the pastors and their wives this the one time a year when they get to come together and get fed the Word and fellowship with one another. We wanted to do everything we could to make it as fruitful a time as possible for them. Many of them have very small teams, some are just alone, the pastor and his family. So, this is a very special time for them.

At night, a few other guys and I were assigned security in and around the campus. James and I patrolled the outside perimeter of the compound and directed traffic, helped guests as they arrived, etc. Peru has other ideas when it comes to parking and driving. As long as there is no car in front of you, you can do whatever you want I guess, that includes running me over.

The conference was very fruitful. I got to sit in some sessions during the day and learned much more about church planting and what God is doing in each church there in Peru and the rest of South America. A new church plant in Moyobamba, Peru was launched the week after the conference. After the conference was over, the church planting seminar began for the students of CBI Peru and CBI Kauai (who came to Peru to serve as we did). We also stayed to attend as well. Pastor Trent, Pastor Hugo, and Pastor Corey taught those amazing classes. Every time I hear about the “Purpose of the Church” I learn something new. Our time flew by there. Many got sick, including Carrie and I, but that is to be expected on the mission field in a foreign country. At least half of the 30 students from Kauai got very sick. We call it “throwing up and throwing down,” some did both at the same time. Was that TMI?

I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do next. School has officially begun; I will share more on that in the next newsletter. We are in full swing now, making our preparations for our trip to Japan in January, which will be here before we know it.

Praise Reports

• Peru conference and trip was a success. Made many friendships and the Lord spoke to all.
• School started off without a hitch and we are falling into the routine well.
• Sven and our son and son-in-law had an wonderful time at the men’s conference in October.
• We bought our first plane ticket to Japan on January 15th.
• Carrie had an amazing birthday. Thanks to everyone who reached out and sent their love to her.

Prayer Requests

• For supporters in prayer and finances.
• For the Holiday season on whether we’d be able to visit some of our friends and family before the busy New Year and vision tours.
• For the vision tours: Japan and Indonesia and possibly Middle East. We are budgeting and scheduling things out. For God’s guidance.
• Our daughter has a pretty bad cold right now. Please pray for her healing and ability to take care of her 2-month old baby.
• For our health.
• For our teeth which we are getting treatment for.

Hi you guys!

I know I haven’t written to you all in a while, so I’m excited to share everything that’s going on!

I had the opportunity to go to Trujillo, Peru and serve alongside my brothers and sisters from Calvary Trujillo and CBI Peru for the missions conference, “Comisionado/Commissioned”. I’m so glad I was able to go on this trip. There was part of me that didn’t want to leave home again after being away for 6 weeks in Mexico for The School of Missions. This trip to Peru showed me that God is at work in South America and there are people, especially young people who have an urgency to go and preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a lack of sound doctrine in South America and God is using His servants to go evangelize, disciple, and plant churches that teach the Bible verse-by-verse. 

I was able to build great friendships while I was there which I didn’t expect. My Spanish isn’t the best so I didn’t know if I could build any kind of relationship. I decided I was going to use any Spanish that I knew. With this, I was able to sit and talk to students and staff and hear how they got saved, how they got to Trujillo, and what the Lord is doing in their life now. I was so blessed to hear how God is moving in their lives and their heart to serve God. 

I was also in awe of all the connections there are in the Church. I saw a sweet friend of mine and was able to catch up. We had an awesome time hearing what God is doing and we were able to encourage and pray for each other.

I give thanks to God that I got to know my sisters in Christ some more. Such special ladies that the Lord is using so mightily!

What now?

With much prayer and many tears, I have decided to continue on in the calling that I believe God has placed on my life. During the School of Missions I wrote to you guys explaining a conviction I had when I heard about the unreached and preaching the Gospel. Going to do cross-cultural missions in these hard places of the world is no easy task. I can’t just go right now thinking I’m going to change things and everyone is going to be saved. Although God can work through that, it is not a wise decision. Being sent takes time and training. Therefore, I will be going through the SGWM Missions Training School. I will be training for one year with Calvary Chapel Saving Grace in hopes of being sent out in the future. This year I will be focusing on learning more about cross-cultural ministry and being equipped for that. This week marks my third week of being here. God has been challenging me as well as teaching me. Our classes are great times of getting deep into God’s Word, learning about different religions, and learning all about missions in general. I can’t wait to see what else the Lord teaches me throughout my time here.

To close, I’d like to thank all of you for your constant support. Although I am away from home (though not too far), I can feel the love from my family and my family in Christ. I am so grateful to have such caring people in my life. The Lord in His kindness continues to show me that if I am dependent on Him, He will always show up for me. I truly have a friend in Jesus and throughout my time here, I have felt that immensely.

I am always praying for you guys and ask that you would also keep me in your prayers… if you have any questions or prayer requests, I would love to chat with you!

In His love,

Alani