I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil – this is God’s gift to man.

ECCLESIASTES 3:12-13

Life has not slowed down much since moving into the city two months ago. The Terebinth School of Discipleship is still proceeding with its study week, class week, and off weeks each month. Church and extra ministry opportunities continue to find their way onto the calendar with seldom any pictures to remember them by, but loads of praise because of what God is doing. Homeschooling has taken a slightly different look now that we have a schoolhouse to separate the noise of housework, meetings, and phone calls. On a typical day, I (Noelle) can lead each of the four schooling children through the state-required subjects and probably give them an extra-curricular lesson by lunch at 1 p.m. Of course, life itself is the classroom of our family.

We are still trying to balance what our schedule should look like now that drive time is not an issue and that our family has had good health these past two months; with our only case of malaria being Matt, after he had spent a night in Adak. Since moving to town, we have had many invitations to serve, organize programs, join group activities, and other events. We carefully consider each one. A few that we have added to our schedule have been a weekly Reading Hour for neighbors of all ages, hosted by our director’s family next door, and supplemental reading help as often as possible during play hours. These and Matt’s new college schedule are enough to fill the cracks of time freed up by our lack of sickness. As we settle here in town, work in the ministry, and get involved in our new community, we pray that our roles and commitment in each area will continue to deepen, develop, and produce fruit for the Lord. We are excited for this season of growth for our family.

Praise God that:

– Our family has enjoyed a new season of health.

– We discovered a gluten intolerance in Noelle, which was the source of many physical discomforts and even emotional challenges.

– We have started good relationships with some of our new neighbors.

Please pray with us over the following:

-These new relationships with our neighbors, that God would use us as a light for them, that they would see Him and be drawn to His salvation.

-The many new opportunities to serve and reach others, that God would lead and strengthen us for any good work He has for us.

-Omony Felix, a young student in the Terebinth School, suddenly passed away this week due to kidney failure. Please keep his family in your prayers.

In Christ,

Matt, Noelle & Family

Autumn has arrived in Montana, and as the seasons change on the calendar, they are changing for us as well. September was spent by getting things in order, and then mailing away applications for our Japanese visas. As well as planning our move and the trip we are leading for other prospective missionaries. We are very excited to take the next step in what we feel called to, and we are so thankful that the Lord continues to lead us down that path. It’s of course a bit scary giving up everything we’ve worked for over the years to follow the Lord, but He has blessed us every step of the way, and we wouldn’t change a thing.

I (Jeff) returned this week from a short-term missions trip to Peru. My friend, Henry, and I were able to join a team from Saving Grace World Missions in California and another from CBI (Calvary Bible Institute) Kauai in Hawaii, that served at CBI Peru as they hosted the Calvary South America Missions Conference. The week leading up to the conference was spent preparing the campus for the influx of the hundreds of people that would be attending the conference, as well as preparing meals and getting to know the students. The trip was both challenging and invigorating, and I’m so glad that I was able to go.

The conference itself was a huge success. It was well attended, there were no major hiccups, and the message was clear and well communicated. The goal was to encourage those who attended, that they were commissioned by God to fulfill the Great Commission, even though they come from a less affluent part of the world. To let them know that God wants to use them to reach their home countries, but He can also make a way for them to go to the least reached peoples around the globe. Please pray for all those who came, as well as their churches as they return with this message, and share it with their congregations.

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 10:15

Alishia was busy while I was gone, with both work and ministry. She is helping with a women’s bible study at the church, providing childcare so that mothers are able to attend. She also has a new job cleaning houses for a friend from church and spends time each week meeting with people and encouraging them. Please continue to pray for us to make connections and bless those around us.

I’m going to be teaching the mid-week service at church until the end of the year. Each Wednesday we’ll be looking at the life of David and learning from his character. Please pray for me as I prepare and teach each week, it’s amazing to get to grow my gifting with this opportunity.

If you’d like to hear more about our calling to Japan, have any questions for us, or would like to become part of our sending team, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Please consider joining us in what God is doing in Japan, there is a link at the bottom that will take you to our giving page.

Prayer Requests

• For the mid-week church service that I’ll be teaching.
• For provision and guidance as we plan our move to Japan.
• For Alishia’s citizenship process to go quick and smooth.
• Praise for a great trip to Peru and all the Lord did during the conference.

God has been abundantly good. I remember when Pastor Mike Vincent and I came to Culiacan to pray for the city and ask God what he wanted to do in this beautiful city of a million inhabitants with so much need for churches that taught verse-by-verse the whole counsel of God.

I could clearly understand the vision that God was showing us: in order to reach this great city, 4 churches were needed in each cardinal point, in the North, South, East, and West. At that moment the vision really scared me, how were we going to do it? But I was sure that God would do it.

That’s how we started and from the first day we started the first church I clearly communicated to all the people that we would be a church that would plant churches. Soon I realized that the vision that I had understood from God was really just part of the master plan that God had in mind for the city. I am sure that at that moment God did not show me more because I would have lacked faith to believe it. Now, I see it more clearly. We are about to send our church plants numbers 9 and 10! The seed is planted and bearing a lot of fruit, so, without a doubt, more church plants will be sent in the coming years since it is no longer a single church that is planting churches, but the churches that are being planted are in turn planting more churches. They have the vision in their hearts and this results in a great harvest for the Lord.

In addition, we are already working on 2 more church planting projects for next year. One of them in particular gives me great joy because it is a church that will be planted by a church that was planted by another church that was planted by our church! That is, Pastor Trent Douglass sent my pastor Mike Vincent, Pastor Mike sent us, we sent Pastor Valerio, Pastor Valerio sent Pastor Antonio, and Pastor Antonio will be sending this new church next year, Glory to God!

I also want to share with you that I am full of joy because I just returned from Peru. I went to serve in the Missions Conference at Calvary Trujillo with my pastor friend Cory Kilgus. It was a great blessing to see that God used my life to encourage and train many churches in many countries in the vision of church planting. I was teaching at the conference alongside pastors Mike Vincent, Trent Douglass, Luis Sánchez, Cory Kilgus, Don McClure, Lloyd Pulley, and Wade O’Neill. Additionally, I taught on Sunday at Calvary Trujillo and we sent the future Calvary Moyobamba church planting team to the jungle of Peru, and finally, I taught at a church planting seminar at CBI Peru. What a great group of students passionate about serving the Lord in all nations.

I want to thank you who are reading this letter for all your support in prayer and finances; we really consider you a very important part of our team and together we are serving our Lord. All this fruit is yours too because without your help we could not achieve it.

Please continue to pray for our family, for the new church plants, for our finances, for Culiacan, and especially pray for us because we are looking for sponsors for our family, if you want to partner with us, please let us know. Also we are in the process of making an important decision where we believe God is leading us to advance even further in his work and in planting churches throughout Mexico and the world. I will keep you informed of that situation.

With love,

– Pastor Hugo, Brenda, Joy, and Judá Limón

Praise the Lord!

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Dear partners, thank you for your prayers and financial support. We are praying for your family and your country. By the grace of God, my family and I are doing well; God has kept us safe.

Last month, I had the opportunity to visit the hospital, and I prayed for two brothers, as they were ill and admitted to the hospital.

Also last month, the members of all of the churches in the city organized a peaceful protest rally in support of persecuted Christians in a certain area of our country. Persecution began in that area in May, and since then, more than 300 churches have been burned and many Christians have been killed. Thousands and thousands of Christians have fled to a neighboring state, and and thousands are living in the deep forests to try to save their lives. The government in our country is not doing anything to bring peace in that state.

We had an outing with our church members. We had a good time with them in worship, prayer, and fellowship.

I have finished teaching Ephesians. Now, I am teaching Philippians in our Calvary Bible Institute.

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for my children, that they will grow in the fear and knowledge of the Lord.
• Please pray that the Lord will intervene in the problem the world is facing.
• Please pray for the village ministry of our local area, that they will grow in God’s Word.
• Please pray for our church members, that they will grow in the Word of God.
• Please pray for the state in our country where thousands of Christians are undergoing persecution.

Blessings,

Pastor 16* and Family

* Names have been changed or omitted for security reasons.

I greet you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ! I hope you are well! By the grace of the God, my health is good now. Last month, I had dengue fever, and I was very ill. Now I am feeling better, thanks to your prayers.

God has used me to preach the Gospel in various places since I wrote last.

Church Ministry

During the last two or three months, many new families have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior! They keep coming to church. It is very difficult for them to come church because of their relatives and the pressure of the Hindu community. Some of them have a very difficult time; we are not even able to go and pray in their homes, but the Lord is helping them to grow in His love. He is slowly opening doors for them.

We are still doing fellowship in the same way we previously had fellowships, in three different places. There are seven to eight families who are ready to publicly show their commitment to follow Jesus. We are waiting for the right time for us to be able to hold that service.

We have also been conducting an online Bible study for a long time, in which about fifteen people participate. They are preparing for the ministry of the Gospel. By the grace of God, these people are growing in the Word of God. Keep remembering them in your prayers.

Outreach Ministry

In our state, there are more than sixteen thousand villages and thirteen districts. Until now, the Gospel has only reached 20% of the people. The remaining 80% are deprived of the Gospel. The Lord has given me the vision of church planting here. My heart is that the Word of God will reach every village and district. In these eight or nine years of ministry, we have reached more than five hundred villages in this area. The people call this area the “land of the gods”. You can imagine why we need to work hard and reach every single place. I cannot do this by myself. That is why we are training the local people, so that they can be useful vessels for sharing the Gospel.

A few months ago, we were able to go to visit my parents’ village with some of my fellow brothers. I told them to share the Gospel and pray with the people there. It was such an amazing experience! Many people were filled with God’s Word. He used them mightily. We were also able to show some of the villagers a Christian movie. The movie was in our local dialogue. The most beautiful thing was that we got to pray right in front of the Hindu temple.

Slum Children’s Ministry

We are continuing to go into some of the slums, where many children have been abandoned by our society, since they are poor and have a low standard of living. We go there with limited resources and try to educate the children. We show them a motivational video, draw with them, and have fun together. We hope to help them not feel about themselves like they are “garbage”. As God says, “you shall love your neighbors as yourself”. 

Prayer Requests:

1.     Pray for me to be used for the kingdom of God and to reach places where the Gospel of God has not reached. 

2.     Pray for the growth of the church, and that we will grow more in the Lord. Please also pray our church to be registered if it is God’s will.

3.     Please pray for our outreach ministry and for those who come with me. Please pray for our protection and safety. We cannot drive easily because of the difficult roads.

4.     Pray for our slum ministry, that the Word of God reaches the people and changes their lives.

5.     Pray for our prison ministry. There are many prisoners who are innocent but are in prison. Pray for their release. Also pray for those who have heard the Word of God. May the Lord deliver them so that they will be able to live a normal life.

Thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers! 

Pastor 12*

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

Greetings from Mexico,

Summer has come and gone, and as we move into the fall, my calendar is full of travels visiting our church plants. One of my more recent goals that God has given me, is to attempt to plant a church that is a sending hub in all of the major continents! We are presently attempting to get a young Ugandan pastoral student over to Mexico to train him and send him back in 2024. (Please pray for the visa process!) But last year, my dream began to become a reality, when we received two interns from South America.

            At the end of September, I was blessed to take my first trip to visit our church planter in Peru named Lorenzo! (As you are reading this update, I am probably still there!) You might remember that we sent Lorenzo out to begin his church (Calvary Punta Piedra) at the beginning of the summer after a year of training. Lorenzo’s church is now meeting in a school and averaging 30 to 40 in weekly attendance after just three months.

            On this week long trip, the plan is to stay three days in the Peruvian Capital of Lima (Population over 11 million) where I will teach the Sunday service at the new church plant. We will then get the privilege of participating in the very first beach baptism of this church.

What an honor that is, and I can’t wait to participate in this. Our mission’s team also plans on spending an extra day or two there in Lima to spend time with and bless Lorenzo and his family of five.

            Another main purpose of this trip is to fly up to the North of Peru to a major city called Trujillo where my good friend Cory Kilgus pastors a church and has a Bible college. Cory has become a good friend of mine and has caught the vision to turn his church into a sending hub. Cory has also participated in our church planting conferences, and he now hosts an amazing yearly missions conference of his own.

            I was blessed to be able to teach at the conference along with my pastor Trent Douglass and our church planter Hugo Limon. The theme of this year’s conference wa`s Commissioned (Comisionado) and I had the honor of teaching about church planting. (What a surprise!)

 I am looking forward to this conference for a number of reasons. #1- We have three gifted young ladies from our church that attend the Bible Institute there and I am excited to see them. #2- Cory will be sending out his own church planter at the end of the conference. And #3- Our generous church is donating 80 of my new books (The Sending Hub) to each Senior Pastor that is in attendance. Pray that as these Pastors who are flying in from all over South America read the books and catch the church planting vision that God has given us.

It is such an honor to follow in the footsteps of the great Apostle Paul. After Paul planted many churches on his 1^st missionary journey, Paul told his partner Barnabas this in Acts 15:36, “Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” And that is exactly what we get to do on these types of mission’s trips.

But just as Paul and Barnabas didn’t do their work alone, we don’t do our work alone either. We have been SENT OUT by our local church family and by you, my precious supporters and ministry partners. It was at the start of our ministry 21 years ago that God gave me the theme verse for our missions work. It is found in 1^st Corinthians 3:6, where Paul says:  “I planted Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”

This verse talks about the partnership that Paul had with his friends, and Almighty God. Paul’s great missionary work was a team effort, and ours is too! So THANK YOU! Thank you for your love, prayers, and financial support. I feel honored and blessed to do this great missionary work with you as my partners and friends!

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

Mike, Sarah, Grace, and Daniel

Prayer Requests!

#1-  That God would bless our trip to visit our new church plant, Calvary Punta Piedra in Lima, Peru.   

#2-  Please pray that the 80 books we are giving out at the conference will help the South American pastors catch the vision of reaching their countries through planting churches!

Praise Reports!

#1- Praise God for a great trip to visit our church plant in Hermosillo!

#2- Praise God for God’s 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

By Claudia Boubion

Hello family, friends, and fellow co-laborers,

I want to start off by thanking everyone who has, is, and will be holding us up in prayer! 

Wow! God is amazing indeed! He continues to equip folks here in Mexico and beyond!

I am blessed to share with you our new Bilingual Women’s study called, “Women of Worth and Purpose” (Mujeres de Valor y Propósito)

Our key verse is Ephesians 2:10 

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Why? Because every woman is valuable and has a purpose in God’s kingdom here and beyond ‘til we see Him face to face. My heart is simply to equip them, whether they’re 13 or 113 years old, to fulfill their calling for every good work God has prepared for them to step into and glorify Him with. We promote HIM, not ourselves, which is a very good place to be! 

Here’s a question or two:

1. What good works should a Christian woman or man do? 
2. What good works are you presently walking in and fulfilling? Because if you are, that’s great! You’re fulfilling your part in His plan of redemption! And, if not, why not? 

Time is of the essence! Jesus is coming soon! May He find us tending to His kingdom business.

(We know that good works do not save or make you more or less approved before God. It’s simply out of love, faith, and obedience that you are! Our approval, acceptance, and favor come from repentance over our sin and believing in Jesus Christ alone to forgive all our sinful actions past, present, and future. That’s great news! 

All this to say, God has allowed and redirected me to begin a new women’s study. Here’s the catch: it is a bilingual women’s study, the first ever at Calvary Rosarito! September 26th was our first meeting. It was great to see new faces, new leaders, and a new enthusiasm.

Our first meeting was a great blessing! We will be studying the book of Psalms, I got to teach Psalm 1 in Spanish. My translator Dannya was a blessing. 

We’re so thankful for you as you partner with us prayerfully and monetarily, this is YOUR eternal fruit as well! 

Poiema is currently attending Calvary Bible Institute and was very busy this week preparing for a large Church Planting conference in Trujillo, Peru!

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for leaders’ unity, guidance, and love for the ladies God brings.
• Future leaders with the same heart and commitment as the group grows
• My trip to Morelia, Oct 4-8, I have the privilege of sharing at the retreat. 
• For Poiema to grow in her faith and vision for her future as she works at CBI Peru. And provision for expenses. She returns in November.
• Wisdom and energy for Paul as he teaches Tuesdays at a rehab clinic, directs the 1pm church planting class on Mondays, oversees Biblical Counselling, and his work with the staff and the executive board. 

ONEinChrist

Dear Team and Family in Christ,

Thank you so much for your faithfulness in praying for me and for all the work that our Lord is doing. Please know that your prayers are the fuel for us to continue in the Kingdom work the Lord has set before us. God has been so faithful! He continues to open doors to visit new villages and meet new people–new people who need to hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I am visiting new villages and regularly returning to other villages, the children that I meet are really on my heart. There have been many opportunities to build relationships with the parents of the children, to get to know them and build trust. Because of that, the parents feel comfortable and allow me to minister to their children as well. There are times when I visit these families and the adults are busy working on the farm and are not able to meet with me. At those times, the parents let their children participate in the children’s ministry. We take the time to introduce them to Jesus and share stories from the Bible with them.

I recently met a young boy who really stood out to me. When I first saw this boy (left), I could see he was strongly influenced by Hinduism. He was wearing tika and bottu on his face. These markings represent having much faith in an idol. They are an outward sign that the person believes in a particular god and is showing reverence towards it. He seemed to keep a distance, because he knew that I was not Hindu and that I was from a different religion. My heart broke for this boy. With love, we invited him to gather with us and join the rest of the children. However, he continued to keep a distance from us. I am praying to have an opportunity to explain to him about the true and living God.

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” 1 John 5:21

In Hinduism, there are many reasons why people offer sacrifices to their gods. Sometimes they offer a sacrifice because it is a special occasion, like a festival or celebration. Sometimes if there is an illness, loss of crops, or a situation that is not going well in the home, the people will offer a sacrifice to try to win favor with the gods or goddesses and please them. Based on their financial status, they will sacrifice sheep, goats, or even chickens. The families who have very little money, will spend a whole lot of their wages to make a 2-3 day trip to a temple to offer a sacrifice to an idol who will do nothing for them. Their children are learning to bow down to these false gods, worship them, and seek their favor and protection. Influenced by their parent’s idolatry, the children do whatever their parents tell them to do. Since the parents are in total darkness, they are passing on their idolatry to the next generation. 

I feel great compassion and urgency to tell them about the true and living God–the Creator of the universe. If the enemy is actively working to keep these adults and their children in darkness, how much more should I be telling them about Jesus?!

Judges 2:10 says “…another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.” Just like the generation in the book of Judges who did not know God, this generation that I am working with in the villages has forgotten to seek the true and living God. The Lord is using me to tell them about Him and to tell their children. 

Even if there is much darkness, I have much hope and faith in what God can do. Last Christmas I met a young girl in the 10th grade named S*. She believed in Jesus at a young age and wanted to begin going to church when she was in 4th grade. Her parents did not want to discourage her, so they accompanied her to church. During this process, the entire family became born-again! Today I am ministering to her parents. This family is incredibly faithful. The entire village they live in is back-slidden and choose not to go to church or have an active faith in God. But this family attends church every Sunday and continues to grow spiritually. Because this young girl had a heart for the Lord, the entire family has now been saved. It is important to minister to the entire family, to seek out every soul from very young to very old and tell them about Jesus. God wants to open their eyes and save every generation.

“To open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me”

Acts 26:18

Thank you for praying with me for these souls!

Praise Report:

• The Lord continues to open doors for me to do ministry and meet new people and share the Gospel with them.
• I continue to see fruit in the new believers’ lives and an eagerness to know the Lord.

Prayer request:

• I’m looking for a place to move closer to the villages where I minister. Pray that I can find a good place and for favor with the landlord.
• Pray for the believers who I’m shepherding to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
• Pray for continued open doors to minister to the youth.
• Pray for the young man I recently met, Arjun. May he open his heart to the Lord and be raised up to serve Him.
• Please pray for the full restoration of my mothers health–for her to have stronger lungs and ability to walk without the help of a walker.
• Pray that God would bring me a helpmate.

In Christ,

Pastor 7*

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