God has done amazing things in 2024!!

Ministry

By the end of 2024, we will have hosted 44 teams (over 680 people) from the US and Canada. We also had our first team from Hawaii this year! All of these teams were housed at Connections House where our staff cooked most of their meals as well. About 25% of the teams did ministry with other missionaries, so we set up the ministry for the majority of them. They served at orphanages, feeding kitchens, the garbage dump, churches, and more. There was a lot of kids’ ministry (VBS, which also reaches out to a lot of their parents), soccer ministry, construction projects, two homes built for families in need, and the gospel was shared at every single one of them.

This year we’ve also hosted almost a dozen events for our church and other ministries, a few retreats, a couple of missionary training teams, a quinceañera, and another wedding!

We also hosted the Calvary School of Missions for the sixth straight year. They stay with us in the summer for four weeks. They have classes five mornings per week where they learn about missions and church planting, primarily focused on the 10/40 window. Then three to four times per week we take them out into the different communities to serve and visit some of our church plants.

Missions

We had the opportunity to take four mission trips this year! Kristy served with a team of ladies from our church (Calvary Rosarito) in Oaxaca. She led worship and spoke at their ladies’ conference. They also did a painting project and served during Sunday service.

Ron & Kristy took a small group from our church, which included some of our Connections House staff and interns, to Calpulalpan, Tlaxcala. There we served at Brian (our son-in-law) & Brittany’s church, Calvary Conexión México. We helped run a youth camp for about 70 youth, held a children’s outreach, and more.

Kristy also had the privilege of returning to Calpulalpan to serve with some of the worship team from our home church, Calvary Rosarito. We put on a worship conference where Kristy helped lead worship and led a workshop on EasyWorship (and other lyric presentations, such as PowerPoint).

Ron & Kristy also took a short mission trip to Loreto. We were able to bring down some belongings for an Assistant Pastor’s family and deliver some chairs to our church plant, Calvary Loreto. It is always a blessing to visit Pastor Elmer and his wife, Crystal, and serve wherever we can. While there, we did a movie outreach on the beach and handed out backpacks to over 80 kids!

Family

There are many highlights this year, but not the least of which is that our third grandchild will be born in January 2025! We are blessed to have Brittany and our two grandchildren, Joshua and Kimberly, here for over a month. We’ve enjoyed spending time with them and decorating for Christmas together. This year we also had the privilege of traveling to Loreto, Baja California Sur, for the wedding of one of our very first interns in Mexico, Claudia. Brittany was one of the bridesmaids and our whole family was able to attend. We’ve also had three different sets of family members come and visit. Kristy’s niece, Hannah, came to visit it with her friend, Annika. Ron’s cousin, Erin, and her husband, Charles, and their son, Eli, came on a week-long trip with their church. Ron’s brother, Phil, and his wife, MeLinda, came down to deliver 300 backpacks! Ron was also able to travel to Tennessee for a family reunion, where 9 out of 10 of his siblings were able to attend!

Visiting our Supporters & Supporting Churches

We were able to take a few weeks and visit most of our supporters and our supporting churches in Illinois and Wisconsin. It was a huge blessing and encouragement to us. We were able to attend the missions weekend at our sending church, Faith Community Church, in Fort Atkinson, WI. There, we shared a short update during the morning service, shared with a small group during adult Sunday School, shared with the kids during children’s church, attended a dinner and a church-wide pancake breakfast. We also managed to spend some time with family and have a little bit of fun!

Thank You!

The Lord is doing amazing things here in Rosarito, Mexico and beyond, and it would not be possible without our ministry partners! Thank you so much for your prayers and support. All of this is part of your spiritual fruit!

Prayer Requests

1 – Health – Please pray for Ron’s back and shoulder. He is planning to have shoulder surgery soon, and his back pain has worsened significantly again.

2 – Grandbaby #3 – Please pray that everything goes well with our granddaughter’s birth next month.

3 – Connections Staff – Please pray with us as the ministry has grown immensely over the last year and a half. We are in great need of staff to help shoulder the load. We are looking for self-supported missionaries to come on the field and join us. In the meantime, we will begin to hire staff soon. Please pray for wisdom as we prepare to begin this process.

We hope you have a Merry Christmas & a very blessed New Year!

Though I’ve never been to Kansas, I did go to India and Thailand recently. Many of you may have heard some funny stories or perhaps know a little bit about the trip. In this newsletter, I would love to share a full breakdown. However, to protect workers from sensitive countries, it will have to be vague in regards to names and places. If you’d like more detail, please feel free to reach out to me—I’d be glad to share everything with you. Before I even begin I would love to thank all of you for your financial support and most importantly your partnership in prayer. Only heaven will reveal all the rewards and all the results of your earnest intercession.

Thailand

On the 13th of September, my roommate and I left for our long trip to Thailand. After a few days of travel, we arrived in Thailand. From there, we attended the CCA Conference. The likes of 8+ countries were represented, many of which were believers from the 1040 window and missionaries serving in these challenging countries. During the conference we would start our days with morning prayer. This part impacted me the most. It just amazed me how much the saints from some of these persecuted countries pray. They aren’t much different than us in nature, however, their fervency in prayer left me in awe. On top of that I was able to listen to one of my favorite teachers expound on the life of Joseph. To top it all off, day in and day out we fellowshipped with believers and missionaries over lunch and dinner constantly. I met missionaries from all over and even got to see some old friends. It was such a sweet time. Then on Wednesday of that week I started to feel a sore throat coming on. That morning I thought to myself, “Uh oh.” Nonetheless, I powered through, but as the day kept going on it got worse and worse. Soon it was body aches until I was in my bed at the end of the day sick. I’ll spare you the gory details of all the sickness entailed. I remember feeling totally discouraged and utterly down in the dumps. For the next few days I was in my room in a strange country, missing home and my parents especially. I specifically remember reading the story of the woman coming to Jesus with the issue of the flow of blood and thinking what she says in Scripture, “For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”” Though I didn’t get an instant miracle. I slowly recovered in time for the SGWM conference. During that conference I got to meet many of the workers from Asia. I got to hear about the work going on in all the various countries that need the greatest efforts to reach.

India

A few flights later, we traveled to India to visit some workers. We arrived late at night to our hotel and instantly fell asleep. That morning we met with the workers who we would spend the most time with. We went out to breakfast and got to experience traveling in India. Driving in India reminded me of a game we used to play in school called chicken. It’s a game where you run at each other and swerve out of the way at the last minute. I wasn’t super concerned since everyone else wasn’t worried but I found it fascinating. Then, we took a train which reminded me so much of Israel and taking the rail there. Then from there we took a Tuk Tuk. Truly an iconic vehicle of India. A sort of staple form of transportation. After a few days of being in India we had eaten plenty of Dosa (sort of like a crepe but with curry inside) and all sorts of other Indian specialties. Not only did we eat and fellowship with the workers there, more importantly we got to meet the church. This was truly a awesome experience. Our first meeting with them was for a church worship practice. I absolutely love other cultures’ takes on worship and theirs was just as good. I can’t comment on the spiritual aspects to the song as I can’t speak the language, but as far as music goes, it was stunning. There was one brother who had a set of bamboo flutes that sounded heavenly. After spending some time with them, we had a boys’ day. Our day began early and we started the day as any Indian does with some Chai. Then we ventured throughout the city stopping along strategic points and praying over them. It was a wonderful time to get to see the work needing to be done. Another eye-opening experience was getting to spend time with them during church. The church is very young. The median age was probably around 25-30. The interesting thing about the city is that it’s a sort of hub for work and education. This naturally attracts plenty of young people who come for school and work. However, the challenge when ministering here is that people come and go often.

Through my time in India I got to see some of the spiritual difficulties there. The most prevalent problem there is idolatry. Certainly, idolatry is a issue worldwide. However in India it is blatant and totally normal. Throughout India, anti-proselytization laws mean evangelism is difficult and even dangerous. All this goes to say that the work for the Church is great. This can tend to seem overwhelming, but the work of God is going on and God is still not done with India.

Prayer Requests/Praise Reports

• Thank God I made a full recovery while in Thailand and didn’t have to go to the doctor
• Praise God for the time I got to spend within India and Thailand
• Please pray for the work going on at Cal State Fullerton
• Pray for India and the workers there
• Pray that the Lord would direct me

Again thank you so much for your support and prayers. Currently, I am still waiting and praying for God’s direction in my life. I don’t currently believe that God is calling me to India. However it wasn’t a wasted trip. I was able to learn so much from the brothers and sisters from that part of the world and understand more of their world. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given to go and be a part of what the Lord is doing in Asia. Please continue to pray God would direct me. Thank you all so much again. God bless.

Hello, dear brothers and sisters.

Christmas greetings to you from our family and a blessed, happy “New Year”! 

2024 has been a year of persecution for the churches in our state. Many house churches have been closed by the government with the pressure of Hindu radicals.

In spite of all this, churches are growing. One new family was added to our Sunday fellowship. We baptized four people. Five couples were blessed with babies this year. One couple was blessed with a child after being married for four years.

 We pray that this Christmas season will give us the opportunity to share the Gospel. Please keep us in your prayers.

God bless,

Pastor 15* Family

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

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.

– Matthew 1:21

Merry Christmas Everyone!

At Thanksgiving, I (Tim) was asked the question, “if you could pick one word that would describe the last year. What would it be and why?” I picked the word “wow.”  Why would I use the one word “wow” to describe the last year? It’s because as I look back at all that God has let us put our hands to this year, all I could think to say was wow. Many of you have received and read our updates throughout the year and I’m sure you would agree with me. If you haven’t, then please visit our blog and catch up on all that happened this year!

Looking back at the last couple of months is a big WOW. June through October was an incredible season, starting with six weeks in Mexico at the Calvary School of Missions. CSOM is where I (Tim) get to direct the school, assisted by my beautiful wife and an incredible team of past graduates, who are in training, learning skills that will assist them on the mission field (please read last month‘s update for further information on that). At the end of the six weeks in Mexico, we came back to the states for two weeks in order to regroup and wrap up the admin portion of CSOM. Early September, we launched out to Thailand and South Asia for six more weeks to lead a few students on a vision tour, visit the church plants, and workers there, and host in Thailand one of the most incredible conferences that I’ve ever been to. We had close to 50 SGWM “Workers” gathered,  many of them serve in countries where it is illegal to preach the gospel or share the Bible with the intent to convert someone to christianity.

After Thailand, we went to South Asia where we had opportunity to teach at some of the Bible colleges and churches. We were able to help strengthen, encourage, and counsel senior pastors and their wives who are in the church plants within restricted country. They serve where Christians are highly persecuted and where the gospel is not welcomed. Pastor Gary and myself also had the privilege of teaching systematic theology and the book of Colossians at two of the Bible colleges there. It is such an incredible privilege to be able to train up future church planters and pastors in a country where over 1 billion people have never heard the name of Jesus and are completely deceived and lost in Hinduism. 

The photo below is CBI Kauai singing the Goodness of God with hand motions. It truly was really beautiful.

I’ll pitch it over to my wife Jenn for some of her highlights of our time.

Meeting the pastor’s wife from Pakistan for the 1st time, spending time with her, and hearing her heart for women of Pakistan blessed me (Jenn) a lot. She has the same desires as I do with biblical counseling and encouraging the broken women. I look forward to continuing to support and encourage her through the next season of her ministry. Her older son gave his life to Jesus at the conference. Hallelujah!!

I also spent time with another pastor’s wife from South Asia who has been serving on the field for many many years. I loved hearing her heart and challenges on the field and praying for her. She was encouraged by the conference to get more involved with her ministry and with the students at the Bible school in South Asia. Tim and I also spent time as a couple with the other couples, listening to them, praying with them, and encouraging them.

We also had a new MTS student and a returning MTS student with us in South Asia on a vision tour. One of the students stayed in south Asia for 6 months on a vision tour. It was her second time in south Asia and she feels led to this country.

Spending time at each church plant in South Asia with the workers on the ground was very fruitful. We got to see one of the relocated new churches and see how their ministry has grown. I was able to share my testimony at 2 locations and teach at a women’s conference at another church. The women even had a sleepover which I hadn’t done in many years. It was fun to see the women’s home and learn their culture. We were able to stay at one of the worker’s home for 1 week and spend intimate time with them and their new baby.

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.”

Acts 15:37

We really love this verse, it motivates us to do what we do. 

Coming back into the country in mid-October felt like we were busier than ever. MTS (missions training school) was launching in one week and there was so much work to do. By God’s grace we completed enrollments, scheduling, census, curriculum, and syllabus. It is off to a great start and we are looking forward to what the Lord will do with this year’s 19 students. 

As we close out 2024 we are beyond grateful to our great God and King for the most incredible gift ever given… forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation with Him through the shed blood of His son Jesus Christ. We deeply desire the whole world to hear this good news. We are also grateful for each and everyone of you who are in our corner financially, emotionally, and prayerfully. If the Lord leads you to join us financially, or increase your already generous support, you can do so by clicking here to become a financial partner or mailing your support check to:
Saving Grace World Missions

17451 Bastanchury Rd., Ste.203 Yorba Linda, CA 62886

*Note Pappas support in memo

All for His Glory, 

Tim and Jenn Pappas

I wasn’t hoping for this…

Sometimes things don’t go as planned, and when hardships, trouble, and trials arise—as they will—remember the words of our Lord Jesus: to count it all joy (James 1:2) and that in Him, we have peace by faith (John 16:33). We can trust in His grace, goodness, and faithfulness, for He is the God of hope.

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13 NKJV

Blessings to you, beloved,

I have officially been living in Yorba Linda, California, for about two months, and it’s been a bumpy yet wonderful ride so far.

After landing at LAX from Southern Asia, I began getting my life situated in Yorba Linda. I was excited and feeling incredibly blessed. I had a job lined up, support to sustain me, and had just come from an amazing experience in a new country. But as Jesus said, “You will have troubles in this life,” and as Christians, we are either in a trial, coming out of one, or heading into one.

Within three days of my return, I reached out to my potential employer only to find out the position had been taken. My support was inaccessible, my family called to inform me of trouble back home, my car’s check engine light came on, and the diagnosis revealed it needed a new transmission, which would cost me 3,000 dollars to fix…
This wasn’t the beginning I was hoping for, and I was tempted to say:

“Lord, I’m doing the will of God; shouldn’t I be receiving favor and blessing? Lord, I left all to follow You; why are You letting this happen to me?”

It’s easy for us to fall into the snare of believing that our obedience equals a life of ease—and that is simply not true. Trial, testing, and temptations are just a part of this life.

So, what did I do to overcome? I remembered the cross. I remembered His promises in His Word, I remembered His love for me and how circumstances don’t define it or Him.
And in His faithfulness, He turned it all around.

In the coming weeks, I found two jobs, my support came in, I received news that God was moving in the lives of my family back home, and I got a call that my check engine light had gone off and my transmission was miraculously okay.

Great is His faithfulness.

I miss my family and church community, but in the meantime, God has blessed me with such a special community that loves Him, each other, and the lost. I feel so blessed to be a part of the work that God is doing here.

Most of my time is spent serving, training, and being equipped for the field with this wonderful body of believers—on Sundays, at church events, evangelistic outreaches, missionary training classes, and in sweet fellowship.

The other part of my time is spent working at Samaritan’s Purse, an organization that sends Christmas presents to children all over the world—with the greatest gift of all: an invitation to receive Jesus Christ.

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry that invites churches to fill shoeboxes with Christmas gifts for children ages 2–14 years of age. Samaritan’s Purse collects these shoeboxes and sends them to children all over the world. But it’s not just about the gifts—it’s about the Gift of Salvation.

Along with the shoebox, children also receive the gospel and are invited to receive Christ. If they do, the children are discipled, taught about their faith, and shown how to share it with others. Samaritan’s Purses heart for operation Christmas Child is evangelism, discipleship, and multiplication.

Since 1993, Samaritan’s Purse has sent out over 220 million shoeboxes; that is 220 million Gospel invitations and counting. These shoeboxes are reaching the ends of the earth, including many unreached areas.

What a journey it has been so far!

I am so thankful for the grace of God that has sustained me and I’m excited for what lies ahead.

Prayer Requests:

– That God would save thousands upon thousands of children, women, and men through the ministry of Samaritan’s Purse

– That God would reveal where He would have me serve long-term
– For my walk with Jesus to remain intimate and that I would abide in Him
– That God would protect and provide spiritually, physically, and financially
– That I would walk in His perfect will for my life

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

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

If you would like to financially partner with me as I serve with Saving Grace World Missions, you can click here.

Wishing you all a wonderful and Merry Christmas, and a blessed New Year!

And may we all continue to faithfully follow, love, obey, and walk with the Lion and the Lamb.

God bless,

Deprii

CARTELS

It is a well-known fact that Culiacán is home to the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the largest and most dangerous drug cartels in the world.  Upon my arrival in 2016, I learned that 90% of the city has ties to the cartel– they are either in it themselves or have family or friends who are.  In spite of those grim statistics, for my first 8 years in Culiacán, that was all they were – statistics that didn’t affect my reality.  It’s in the Cartel’s best interests to keep the city peaceful and pretty, so the ugliness of the drug trade is generally eclipsed by the prosperity they provide in exchange for our feigned ignorance.  As the saying goes, “Don’t mess with them, and they won’t mess with you.” We stay out of their business, they stay out of ours, and the city reaps the rewards.

WAR!

On September 9, all of that changed.  Due to some critical arrests and a massive shift in power, the children of the founders and former leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel (El Chapo and El Mayo) have openly declared war against each other, turning our beautiful city into a war zone and shattering the once peaceful and prosperous facade.  In the last three months, thousands of people have lost their lives, liberty, and property in the cross hairs of these warring factions, and the city along with its outlying villages is living under a self-imposed curfew, a “narco-pandemic.”  Few people dare to be out after dark, and as a result commerce is dying, people are losing their homes, jobs, and businesses, and travelling in and out of the city is dangerous at best, deadly at worst.

When I signed up to be a missionary, I knew I wasn’t signing up for something easy or “cushy,” but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine taking shelter with my children at 4:00 AM while cartel members detonated grenades, fired machine guns, and incinerated vehicles two blocks from my home. 😬

BUT, GOD…

One of my favorite phrases in the Bible is “But, God…”  Far from being affected by what goes on in our world, God’s sovereignty always prevails.  Psalm 23:4-5 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

In spite of the crippling violence plaguing our city, God’s hand of protection and prosperity continues to rest on our Calvary Culiacán church family.  With over 1,000 people forming part of our 11 churches, only one family was briefly affected.  A friend’s nephew was taken hostage, but instead of being pressed into service in the war, he was released 6 days later.  Among all the horrific stories of violence, this is literally the only account I have heard of where someone was released unharmed.  God is GOOD!

CAKES GALORE!  … IN THE PRESENCE OF OUR ENEMIES

In spite of the war, the churches of Calvary Culiacán are in fiesta mode, enjoying the table the Lord has set before us in the presence of our enemies!  At the end of October, we celebrated our 9^th anniversary in grand style, renting out the city’s famous downtown theater to welcome more than 600 people from our 10 current churches and our newest church planting team – Horizonte Culiacán.  Our dual theme was “9 Years Doing Church…” and “Praying for the Peace of Culiacán.”  We had guest speakers and musicians from several Calvary churches in other states who braved the drug war to be part of our main celebration and to participate in the individual celebrations of each of our church plants.  

In celebration of all that God is doing in and through Calvary Culiacán, allow me to proudly introduce you to each of our churches and their pastors…

AND WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Besides being the day the Cartel war started, September 9 also marked the first day of classes for this year’s EPICC– the church planting school of Calvary Culiacán.  From 2018 to 2022, all church planting students met together at Calvary Culiacán North in classes ranging from 20-40 students.  In the Fall of 2022, we opened our second campus at Calvary Culiacán South, and we added a virtual campus via zoom to train up the staff of a new church plant in another city.  In the Fall of 2023, we expanded again, adding our 3^rd campus at Calvary Culiacán West.  And this year, in spite of the war, we opened our 4^th and 5^th campuses in Calvary Patria and Calvary Aguaruto!  

Due to the insecurities we are all facing, each campus has chosen to meet in the safest way possible.  Two of our groups are rather small, and since everyone lives within a few minutes of the church, they are able to safely meet in person.  Another has chosen to meet in a centrally located home, so as to not call attention to themselves, and the other two campuses are meeting via zoom.

We have more than 60 students enrolled at this time.  Most of them will graduate in June of 2025 and go on to become teachers of the Word and ministry leaders.  If they continue training and demonstrating that they are F.A.T. (faithful, available, and teachable), the men will go on to become assistant pastors, and many will eventually plant churches of their own. Pray with us that God will clearly speak to all of their hearts and direct them to the ministry and/or location where He would have them serve.

So far, the majority of church-planting efforts have centered on the city Culiacán, but our vision is to grow beyond our Jerusalem (Culiacán) to reach our Judea (all of the state of Sinaloa), our Samaria (the rest of Mexico), and the rest of the world.  Statistics have proven that Mexicans, with their physical appearance and culture, are perfectly equipped to reach the vast majority of the world with the Gospel.  They can blend in to almost any European, Asian, or Middle Eastern culture without raising suspicion, and are therefore welcomed into many areas of the world that are 100% closed to the Gospel… and to Americans.  Please pray that God will raise up not just city-changers, but world-changers from this generation of students.

HOW CAN YOU PRAY FOR US?

With all of the unrest in our city, our primary prayer concern this month is for safety and a quick end to the war.  Our churches were able to resume some mid-week activities a couple weeks ago, but due to a major upsurge in violence this week, all evening activities have returned to virtual mode.  Pray for the wisdom of our leaders in balancing the “not forsaking the gathering of the saints” with protecting their flocks from the inherent dangers of our city.  This will especially be a concern with all of the upcoming Christmas events and outreaches that we are accustomed to having.  May God provide a SAFE way to continue reaching the lost of our city during this special season of the year.

In addition to our safety, you may pray specifically for my family:

• Sammy’s health and schooling.  We praise the Lord for his strong health this year and pray that God would help him to be the best student he can be as he faces junior high for the first time this year.

• Ruby’s safety and continued healing and preparation.  Her shift at work is from 2:00-10:00pm, meaning that she must travel home AFTER the 8:00pm curfew.  So far, we have seen God’s miraculous hand of protection, and we hope it remains as her boss refuses to close early.  While she has made huge strides in her emotional healing journey over the past 18 months, it is far from over.  Pray for her continued healing and that she might continue her schooling and achieve the future she longs for.

• Jenna’s health and priorities.  I’m still recovering from last year’s car accident, I am battling 3 herniated cervical discs.  Pray for a good medical team to find solutions instead of more problems.  Also, pray that God helps me to prioritize my relationship with Him, my family, my part-time jobs, and the ministries He has given me.  Ministry opportunities abound, but I must choose my activities wisely so as not to neglect myself, God, or my family.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US?

If you have not already done so, please sign up to receive my e-newsletters.  They usually come out once every two months, but my goal is to increase that to every month.  Use this link or the QR code below to sign up.

You can also support us financially.  At this time, less than half of my monthly budget is met by supporters, making it necessary for me to maintain a part-time job in addition to my mission work.  I would love to become fully funded and be able to dedicate ALL of my time to the ministry.  Use this link or QR code below to give a one-time gift or to become a monthly partnering the work God is doing here in Culiacán.

And He said to me, weakness, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9

Please continue to pray for my family and me. On my birthday, November 25, I started having symptoms of severe food poisoning.  I got IVs and antibiotics and recovered within a week.  A couple days later, on December 3, I started having severe and increasing weakness and pain in my legs. I thought it was just muscle soreness from overexertion.  Eventually, the symptoms progressed to partial paralysis of my toes on both feet and ankles, and to weakness in my fingers and legs. I also had severe pain in both legs and my lower back as well. To make a long story short, I had an MRI, a Lumbar puncture on December 12, and was diagnosed with Guillian-Barre Syndrome which came as the result of my food poisoning. According to some sources, it may take six months to a year to recover completely.

Praises:

1. Praising God for His grace and protection through weeks without proper sleep due to severe pain.  

2. Praising God I recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital without needing to spend five days in the ICU for intensive and potentially financially devastating treatment.

3. Praising God that we had just enough time left on our term-health insurance (which expires the end of 2024) to get treatement).

4. Praising God that my apologetics students can continue to learn despite my illness because I was able to find the video lecture files that I recorded during COVID time-God doesn’t waste anything!

5. Praising God that I am regaining strength and balance more rapidly than the doctor and nurses expected.

6. Praising God that I am able to weakly curl the toes on my right foot again and trusting Him for toes on the left foot and that my finger strength is returning to near normal.

Prayer Requests:

1. Please pray for more sleep.

2. Please pray for a rapid and complete recovery process.

3. Please pray for strength and health for Kayo and Benjamin as they must bear more burdens and stress during my recovery process.

4. Please pray for favor with our insurance company and for speedy processing of our claims.

5. Please pray that we won’t have major expenses related to this syndrome in the future because we have term-health insurance (which expires the end of 2024), as they probably will not be covered as a pre-existing condition.

6. Please pray for wisdom, protection, and provision in our finances.

7. Please pray for wisdom and provision for Physical Therapy etc.

As we celebrate Christmas, we have many blessings to be thankful for and remember that Christ is the greatest gift we could ever receive!

I am praising in the pain and trusting that God will transform this dead-end street into a runway!

In Christ’s Loving Hands,

Darryl, Kayo, and Benjamin

Christmas is in full swing here in Japan. There are decorations and lights in the parks and shopping malls. The stores are playing Christmas music. There are Christmas markets and holiday light shows that you can go watch. Unfortunately, they don’t understand why Christians are celebrating. So, while on the surface they seem more excited about the birth of Christ than the West does (‘Merry Christmas’ is plastered everywhere, there’s no ‘Happy Holidays’ or ‘Season’s Greetings’ here), once the Hollywood version of Christmas is wiped away there’s nothing left.

The other night we went to the German-esque Christmas Market near where we live. There were stalls selling sausages and candied nuts and hot chocolate, there was an ice-skating rink and street performers. There was also a nativity scene. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were there, along with sheep and donkeys and the like. As the Japanese people passed the nativity they would bow to the manger and then throw a coin at the feet of Mary and Joseph. This is the sight very common in Japan, but you’d only see it if you were at a Buddhist Temple. The Japanese aren’t a spiritual people, but they are extremely superstitious, so they will go to the temple and throw in a coin if they need good luck on a test or a job interview. They don’t understand the difference between Jesus and the principalities that are worshiped at the temples and shrines, all they know is that the nativity shows up for six weeks a year and if they have time, they might as well throw a coin and see if their luck improves.

This, of course, leads to many opportunities to have important conversations with people. Some are curious about the meaning of the manger scene, or the reason for decorating trees, or how Santa Claus fits into the story, and it’s an easy conversation to take them to Jesus and His coming to earth. Be praying for us as we continue to have these conversations with people until the end of the year.  

We are almost to the end of our first year here in Japan, and it has gone by in a flash. We are so thankful for all that the Lord has done to bring us to where we are now. Japan has quickly and mostly painlessly become to feel like home, and our church family here are a blessing in every way. Thank you for all your prayers and support, they have been a great encouragement to us.

In January, more workers will arrive from California to serve with us at Abide. Please be praying for our entire team as it starts to grow. I’ll be attending a language school full-time starting in January and Alishia will continue on with our friend from church who tutors her. I have been teaching the book of Acts via Zoom at a bible school in South Asia for the past few months. Those classes will run through March; please pray for me as my schedule becomes much fuller. Alishia continues to host people and has been investing in some of the young girls at church. We are still helping with the kid’s English classes at the church, and I have been given the opportunity to teach here and there as well. Please continue to pray for us.

We love you all. Merry Christmas!

October and November 2024

There comes a point in our walks with the Lord where He begins to test our trust in Him and in His Word more and more. I know the Lord has been working on this in me and it’s been stretching. I know that if He puts His chisel on me, it’s because there’s an area of my life where I have not yet brought an emotion or action under His authority and light. Thank God, by His grace, He wants to grow us heavenward. I love what Chuck used to say, he might’ve gotten it from someone, but in response to some saying, “Don’t be so heavenly minded you’re of no earthly good,” he shared, “Be so heavenly minded you’re of every earthly good.” It’s easy to think, get your head out of the clouds, but I don’t think you can be too focused on Jesus. I think if your heart and mind are really and truly wrapped up in Him, then you will be busy about the business He’s given you to do here on this earth. We have a purpose and a mission to make disciples during our time here (no matter where He sends us). Our time is short, let’s not let anything keep us from that goal—that aim. Jesus is the prize (Phil. 3:7-15).

I think one of the enemy’s greatest tactics is to shame the people of God (it could be over something that happened yesterday or 10 years ago). Why do we keep bringing up things that Jesus has put away, with His blood, once and for all. It’s a tactic that, if we allow it, can debilitate the people of God. We have to remember how we’ve been redeemed. We must preach the Gospel to ourselves daily and remember His all-sufficient sacrifice. The enemy wants to defeat the saints of God with shame, but the Lord wants to pick you up, dust you off, and help you keep moving forward; and all for the glory of His name. Nothing is greater than our God and King.

“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”

-1 John 3:20

I pray that we all grow in His grace together. To radically deal with sin, to walk in holiness, to know greater the depths of His love, and to live more fully in His grace. His grace is His enablement for us to walk in holiness! Lord, give us more grace!

Life in the Southern Hemisphere…

October:

Man oh man, how do I sum up two months concisely? It’s been a blessing, it’s been really busy, it’s been really fruitful, and God is doing so much. Our conference had finished up right before October hit, and so it was nice to get some good rest afterward. I battled some sickness for a while, but by the grace of God was able to keep up with everything I needed to. The Thursday prayer group for Argentina, and our Casa a Casa kept meeting on each Friday as we dove into the Word together. I was still preparing for both Tuesday night Church Planting Class, and for Fridays at our home group. It was such a blessing to see how the Lord was bringing us closer together as a group each week. The Lord has blessed me with some wonderful friends and family here in Trujillo. In October I was asked to go and teach the book of Genesis at CBI Brazil and so when I could I was trying to prepare for that as well. Classes continued and we began to get things ready for graduation and the coming semester. Construction continued and is continuing—there is a lot to do. At the end of the month all the students and a few staff went to Lima for a big outreach. It was crazy to experience the campus so quiet in between services at the church. In a lot of ways it was a good break, but I missed them a lot. They’ve all become like family and it’s hard to see them go at the end of the semester. I’m so thankful for them and what the Lord is doing in their lives. It’s amazing to see the growth that’s taking place in their hearts and minds and seeing lives transformed by the power of His Word. It’s so cool to see the discipleship that’s taking place and I’m blessed to be able to be a part of it.

November:

November was a little crazy, but the Lord saw me through it. I got to go teach the book of Genesis at CBI Brazil and was super blessed by my time there. During the busyness of everything, I actually ended up missing my flight to Brazil, but by the grace of God He worked it out and I was able to get a new flight out later that night and arrived the next afternoon. Right before I left, all the students got back from their mission trip in Lima so there was a lot going on. I was in Brazil for two weeks in Sao Paolo in a city called Sao Vicente and was super blessed by everyone at the campus and church there. I had a great opportunity to teach a Sunday service while I was there and it was a blessing. It was a busy and full two weeks, and outside of class preparation, teaching, and hanging out with the students, we still got to go have some fun. Praise the Lord it was on their free day and what turned out to be the only sunny day while I was there.

I got back early the morning of the 17^th, and it was back to business as usual at CBI Peru and Calvary Trujillo. It was almost a weird feeling because things were slowing down immensely—not having to study for a class on top of everything else, and with our Casa a Casa’s coming to an end, the semester had one more week, and we also had our final prayer meeting for Argentina over the semester (excited for what God is doing). It was strange celebrating Thanksgiving in Peru, but it was much more than I expected. Our pastor’s wife knows how to make gluten free food and she absolutely blessed me by bringing gluten free pie, stuffing, gravy—the works! Thanksgiving food is my favorite and it was a blessing to get to spend it with good friends on the southern part of the planet. Our final Casa a Casa was on Nov. 29^th, it was a great time just fellowshipping, eating good food (Pollo a la Brasa), and getting to encourage them one last time before the break.

What’s on the Horizon

I will arrive back in the States on Dec. 23^rd. I’m looking forward to seeing you all, and catching up after almost a year here in Peru. I’ll be back for about a month and head back on the 20^th of January. Prayers would be appreciated as I need to renew my passport, driver’s license, and some other things while I’m back. If you’d like to get together please shoot me a text or an email and I’d love to try to make some time to see you (I’ll also be down in Southern California for a bit too).

After I get back, we’ll be within a week of our Spring Semester and we’ll be hitting the ground running. As for anything Argentina related, I will keep you guys in the loop as there are some moving parts—I’m hoping to go again soon. As for now, the plan will be to keep on with construction and administrative tasks at CBI Peru.

Prayer Requests

• Travels.
• Time with family.
• Passport and license renewals.
• Getting everything set up for next semester.
• Continuing to grow in managing my schedule in a way that allows for more productivity between admissions, service hours scheduling, construction, and anything else that’s needed.
• To continue to grow closer to the Lord, and walk in His will and calling on my life.
• Wisdom, discernment, His strength, leading, and provision for all that He has in store.
• Visiting a couple churches while I’m back (I’ll be sharing at my home church on Jan. 12^th).
• That my time back would be restful, and productive, and fruitful to catch up on all the necessities since I’ve been gone.

Ciao Familia, los amo mucho,

-Jordon