May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.PSALM 90:17

Praise God! After years of planning, preparing, and patience, the Lord has given our school accreditation from the National Council of Higher Education here in Uganda! We are no longer Terebinth School of Discipleship, but are now officially known as Terebinth Bible College, the first and only accredited Evangelical Bible college in Northern Uganda. We strongly believe that it is God’s Word and His Spirit that truly equip His people to work in His service, not a piece of paper. However, we also know several benefits that come with this license. Firstly, seeking to meet higher standards is improving the quality of our product. Also, because of their love of formality, Ugandans will now have more respect for the education and discipleship they receive from us. Lastly, with accredited papers, the student’s churches will be safe from the likely coming of laws which threaten to shut down “unqualified” religious institutions.

As we mentioned in the last update, shortly after the graduation in April, our Academic Registrar, James Olonyo, was in an accident and severely broke his back. God protected him and brought surgeons who could repair much of the damage, and he is now, slowly but surely, on the path to recovery. Due to his level of involvement in the running of the school, his injuries have pushed the starting date for our next class from July back to September. While disappointing, this late start gives our team more time to develop courses. The matter of curriculum stands as a challenge for us, since our previous materials do not fit the required format, and since NCHE does not allow outside curriculum to be used in the school. Each school must develop its own original materials. That has kept Matt and the rest of the team very busy. Please pray for them to overflow with the same kind of vision and strength they had for developing the previous materials.

Terebinth Bible College will differ from Terebinth School of Discipleship in various ways. Firstly, we will be offering a Certificate in Christian Ministry (a 60-credit hour course), a Diploma in Biblical Studies (a 90-credit hour course), as well as a Higher Education Access Program to prepare students for college entry if they do not have the qualifications (think GED prep course). Time spent on campus will now be in larger chunks of time. Instead of 1 week every single month. Diploma students will study for five weeks consecutively, three times a year, over a two-year period. Certificate students will study for four weeks consecutively, three times a year, over a two-year period. Likewise, HEAP students will study for 4 weeks in a row, 3 times over the course of 1 year, for their prep course. Each student will also have homework between each of these modules. TBC also has caps of 20, 30, and 10 students for the Diploma, Certificate, and HEAP programs, respectively. Besides those, we will be offering classes that were not taught to past students, such as computer use, essay writing, and other various academic subjects. If this brings concern over those who are not educated and will not be able to enter the school, our heart is still with them, and we are working on how to offer classes in their local tongue, something we have not offered in the past. Pray for this aspect as well, since it would require more time and money.

Bible trainings in Uganda are now becoming plentiful, and many people are proclaiming the Word; however, it is still rare to find teachers or leaders who have read through scripture, understand context, and can explain a verse accurately to another person. While our school’s name and our standing with the Ugandan government have changed, our goal remains the same as before: to equip church leaders both spiritually and physically to do God’s work.

In Christ,

Matt & Noelle & Family

P.S. Thank you for your prayers for our friend Vivian. Unfortunately, we lost her early on May 30^th. Please pray for her family as they mourn the loss of a daughter, sister, mother, and grandmother.

In the past few months a lot has happened. However, in this newsletter I want to focus on 2 main things.

Time to Retreat 

These past few months have been packed with ministry, preaching class and all sorts of events still to come. In the midst of it all, I must admit I got used to just doing. My walk with the Lord was looking more like a checklist rather than a relationship. One day I saw a text on the Trinity Church Young Adults group chat (the church I was formerly attending on Thursdays). In this text was an invitation to sign up for their Young Adults retreat up at Oak Glen. After some time thinking about it I signed up and the weekend finally came. I got to catch up with some good friends over dinner the first night and we opened up with the word and worship. Admittedly, it was so nice just to sit and receive and not have to worry about who would tear down the chairs or finding people to help serve the food. I could just bask in the glory of God’s word and fellowship with some brothers and sisters I greatly admire and love. I was extremely encouraged in the small groups where I found I wasn’t the only one feeling like I was. The theme of the retreat was being strong in the grace of God and the second day Pastor Jerrod was preaching on the parable of the prodigal Son. It was nothing new to me but it was such a good reminder of the character of the Father. The retreat eventually ended to my dismay, I walked away physically tired but spiritually refreshed being reminded of the grace of God and the goodness of God

In The Studio

On the Saving Grace side of things, evangelism at the colleges has continued as usual. However, what has been unusual is the filming we’ve been doing. In the past, whenever it rained that was just an off day, but now the rain has become an opportunity to film short apologetic videos on various topics. So far we’ve filmed and released about 5 videos. Our first table talk covered life after death and what the Bible says about it. I was shocked at how well the first video came out. I guess my home movie making experiences did count for something. While we haven’t blown up and gone viral, we have had a few views on our videos. The ultimate goal for these videos is to reach those on the various social media platforms either to reach them with the gospel or encourage other believers to share their faith with others. Please continue to pray for the campuses as we continue to reach them with the gospel.

If you would like to check out our latest video or visit our channel click the button below!

Prayer Requests/ Praise Reports

• Praise God for the students who have been joining us at the college campus and for the connections we’ve made
• Pray for the VBS coming up in June 
• Praise God for retreats
• Praise God for all the new marriages that have happened in the past few months 
• Pray for God’s direction as I pray about upcoming vision tours
• Pray for a car as getting around has gotten a little more difficult 

Thank you all so much reading the newsletter and praying. I am excited about what the Lord will do in the next season. Please continue to pray for direction as I continue to ask the questions “Where Lord?” And “When Lord?”. Thank you guys so much for all the support. If you have any questions or comments feel free to reach out to me. God bless you.

He is not here; for He has risen, as He said. Matthew 28:6 

Dear Friends and Family,

He is risen! He is risen indeed!!

As we enter in to this season of celebrating Christ’s Resurrection let us remember that it is the resurrection that sets us apart from every other religion, what makes us certain that Jesus is the only way to heaven.

As we prepare here in Uganda to celebrate the passion week and resurrection I cant help but think of some of the activites that have recently taken place or just begun.

The first thing I think of is my women’s Bible study.  My home church, Calvary Chapel Saving Grace and my pastor, Trent Douglass, just celebrated their 30 year anniversary.  The reason I mention this in conjunction with my Bible study is that my Pastor is the one who inspired me to put together this study.  When our family was in the states last year Pastor Trent did a couple of teachings on David and Goliath.  I was blown away with the fact I knew this story so week yet there was so much I had never considered before and how it related to Christ and the New Testament.  

This started my thinking about all of the common Bible stories we teach our children.  Stories that even most nonbelievers have heard of before.  I felt that I was to put together a study on these common stories and what the deeper truths are and how they point us to Jesus.  When I first announced the study at church the ladies were a bit skeptical.  Most of them actually teach Sunday school.  They told me later that they were like, “we already know all of this, this should be for new believers or children.” After the very first teaching they had changed their minds.  Like me they did not realize the so called simple stories we normally teach our children actually contain some very deep spiritual truths and foreshadow or prophesy of Jesus.  I am so blessed that I get to be the teacher because I feel like I am learning so much more then the ladies as I study and prepare the teachings.  Even sometimes when I am teaching it feels like I am listening and learning something for the first time.  I made a workbook for the ladies to go through during week and I learn so much from what they get out of their personal study. I think more than ever the verse from Hebrews 4:12 applies. “ For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” No matter how many times we have read God’s Word, it is always revealing more to us, more of God and more of how we should live for Him.

Of course as a church we are preparing to celebrate Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter. The youth and the kids at church will have a big role in those celebrations and I can’t wait till next month when I can share how they all turned out and how God moved during those services, because I know He will.

Luke, Laylee and Liana also participate in activities outside of church.  The girls have been in Ballet since they were 3 yrs old.  Luke used to be in Karate but after his huge growth spurt he chose to focus on basketball. He has just reached 6ft, which he is very proud of. When Laylee turned thirteen last year she was promoted to pointe.  It has been challenging but she has been very faithful to practice on her own and her teacher comments almost every week on how good her technique is.  For Liana ballet is more of a class in self discipline.  She is normally vey hyper and can barely hold still. Her dance of choice and what she normally incorporates into our church productions is hip hop/breakdancing.  Ballet helps her to have to slow down and be aware of her body and control her movements. 

Earlier in the year the girls were invited to help showcase ballet in a production put on by the New York University school of dance.  They both enjoyed being on stage in front of an audience and we were so proud of them. Luke has been training 4 hours a day 3 days a week with a local basketball team.  They play against teams from other areas around Kampala.  Every so often scouts come looking for talent for the national teams. Luke hopes that as he improves his skills and when he is old enough that he will be able to play for one of those teams.

The other event that took place, or I suppose it wasn’t an actual event but was special to us, was that our Godchildren were in town.  They were able to stay with us for over a week.  It was such a blessing to see all the children together playing and fellowshipping.  It was also a great time of fellowship for us adults as we caught up with their parents, Greg and Jo.  Greg taught a Sunday service and shared about Jesus as our super hero.  I have never heard the church laugh so much during a service or the translator seem so lost as he tried to keep up with the strong American accent.  It was a very memorable service and I can’t wait for them to come back from the states in 6 months and share with us again.  I know the kids are already missing each other so much.

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

In Him,

Brian, Jill, Luke, Laylee, and Liana

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Give thanks for the proof we have of the resurrection and that Jesus is 100% the way, the truth and the life!
• Please pray for the women of Arise Christian fellowship. Pray that as they learn more of God’s word they would grow in their faith and would be a light in the areas which they live.
• Pray for the Kanyike children to be a light to the children and coaches they come into contact with through out the week.  Pray for them not to be tempted by the nonbelievers in their activities.
• Pray for Greg, Jo, Israel, Lindiwe and Keziah while they are on furlough for 6 months.
• Pray for the Kanyike family as they continue to serve the Lord in Uganda. Pray for their spiritual life as well as their physical needs.
• Pray for Brian as he  pastors and leads the ministry team at Arise Christian Fellowship.
• Please prayerfully consider becoming part of the Kanyike Family support team.

EDIT

by Joshua Vanrenterghem|Published April 9, 2025

March 2025 Newsletter

Joshua Vanrenterghem

I went out… and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire… Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies in waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.Nehemiah 2:13,17-18

Dear Friends, Family, and Loved Ones,

Nehemiah took a few men and viewed the necessities of the city of Jerusalem- the destruction of the walls. Without walls, a city was not a city. There would be no protection or security, and no one would want to live or trade there. This was a great problem, but with the severity of the necessity well understood, the people gathered together and the call went out to rise up and build. This month I got to see God do the same thing here. Pastor Grant, and Tim his son, and Luke, Brent, and Jonathan form Far Reaching Ministries visited us for a week to see and partner in the work of the ministry here. We went all around Trujillo visiting the churches, ministries, and places where child trafficking takes place.

Viewing the Walls

One of the first places we visited was the tourist destination of Huanchaco. The city is a beautiful beach town with some of the best waves for surf, but just behind the peak where the big catholic church stands in the picture on the left, there is a very poor neighborhood. In this neighborhood children are often sold by their parents to be used by the mafia for sex trafficking. Many times children are kidnapped right off the street at night as well.

Another location we took the team was the Basurero, or the garbage dump. This is an extremely poor area of Trujillo near El Milagro where people make money by recycling and raising animal. We talked to a local about the area. She told us how children are kidnapped from the schools, and the mafias threaten to kill the principal or leaders if they try to stop them. When we asked directly about the mafia’s presence in the dump, she said, “I can’t answer that, I have a family, and kids too”. 

Aside from our visits with the team, I also want to share a report that came out this month. In the city of Arequipa, the second largest in Peru, an investigation and subsequent raid revealed that the former chief of the National Police of Peru and his wife were selling babies for organ harvesting. The way they did it was through convincing pregnant ladies who wanted an abortion to not abort, but instead give birth and then give them their newborn for about $1k. What wrenches my stomach the most is this is one of the nicest cities in Peru. What could be happening in Trujillo?

Aside from Trafficking, we also got to share the miraculous story of Calvary Buenos Aires, a church mostly filled with Venezuelan refugees, and lead by pastor Angel, also a refugee. Pastor Grant, my pastor from Texas, shared at the Wednesday night service about family discipleship.

Youth Ministry

Weekly I have been visiting a group of orphan boys for discipleship. It has been difficult, but going well. I can see God moving greatly but the ground is by no means soft. They all have very rough backgrounds and often of abuse. One of them named Henry has been very involved in the church and even serving. I can see his growth even in the short time I have been with them, which is a great encouragement!

MOYOBAMBA!

I am sure some of you remember about my trips to the jungle city of Moyobamba when I lived here in 2023, well, I am going again! April 13-19th I will be going with a group of CBI students to support the Calvary church plant and one of my best friends, pastor Andrew. It is going to be a packed week of evangelism, outreaches, and serving at the church. We are going to be visiting the prison to share the gospel with the inmates, and some schools. 

Calling All Partners

It is my honor to connect you, my sisters and brothers in America, to all God is doing on the mission field, and show you the fruit of your work through me! If you would like get more involved in this work, there are different ways you can partner with with me as I seek to fulfill my call to rescue and care for children in trafficking, and bring the gospel to the ends of the earth. 

One way you can support is through joining my Signal group. This is where I send prayer requests and more frequent updates on my life in the mission field of Peru! You can join this group by responding to this email.

Another way is to partner financially. If you feel lead to become a financial partner, you can give through the link found at the bottom of this news letter! It is by your generosity that I am provided for on the field and available to give my all in this new work.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful partnership and love, I am eternally grateful for your support!

Praise Reports

• Praise God for the successful operation against organ harvesting in Arequipa
• That Far Reaching Ministries wants to be involved and partnering in this work
• Blessing of my pastor visiting from Texas and my friend, his son, Tim.
• Growth of the Ministry, and closing on a new property for the church

Prayer Requests

• For favor in our search for a property for the children’s home
• That as the church and Bible school grow in numbers, they would grow in love and grace as well
• Protection and the filling of the Holy Spirit as we go to Moyobamba to support the church there and share the gospel
• That I would keep learn how to be a better support and assistant to pastor Cory

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Paul Boubion

April 2025

Did you know that the greatest way to show that you love God is by loving people? 

Jesus said that the Greatest commandment is to love God first, and then He said this: 

And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:31

As missionaries in a border city in Mexico, we have enormous challenges as well as big opportunities to meet and help people! Since we are part of the biggest church in Playas de Rosarito, Baja California we have constant opportunities to meet people all the time. Our staff goal for 2025 is to make at least 25 friends! Of course, that means spending time and sitting down and talking with folks every week. 

People visit church constantly typically because they have problems in their lives! I see the same thing in the ministry of Jesus. He constantly spent time listening to people and healing their illnesses. I’m not Jesus, but I can listen to people’s problems and pray for them! I have a friend that says, “people feel loved when you listen to them!” I like that! 

We hope you enjoy this month’s blog! Hope you like the pictures! Enjoy Poiema’s update! Don’t forget to send us a greeting by email or whatsapp! Or how about subscribing? https://www.youtube.com/@CalvaryRosarito

Poiema in Peru and Brazil! 

by Poiema Joanne Boubion

Hello everyone! I just wanted to thank you all for your kind prayers and for taking the time to read this part of the blog. God has been so faithful and kind to me these past few months and I want to quickly share about it!

Firstly, by God’s grace I was able to return for my fourth and final semester here in CBI Peru. He gave me such a peace about returning, on top of completely providing for the semester when I had zero funds. He has been so faithful to guide my steps as I’ve sought Him and His will for my life. I think it’s been about a month and a half that I’ve been here and this time has just been filled with lessons and incredible opportunities. 

A big tragedy occurred suddenly in our big shopping mall. The roof collapsed and many people died, were missing or injured! It was national news! Many of us shop there and friends work there! So the next day, we immediately went to help. 

We were able to bring aid to workers that were rescuing people from the wreckage. We had the blessing of providing water, food, and prayer for the workers as well as those waiting outside for any information on their loved ones. It was incredibly humbling to even have the opportunity to serve the community in such a way. I will never forget it.

Images from our aid efforts.

The roof over the food court had collapsed.

Above are photos of time at the Institute and some of the ways I get to serve: helping lead worship, sharing for morning devotionals (Bible), 

Me and my friend Meche after evangelism and finally, finishing our church history class with Pastor Cory

God is teaching me to walk by faith without doubting! He’s always teaching us this lesson, but recently I’ve had a big opportunity to put it into practice! God has opened the door for me to go on a week-long mission trip to Río de Janeiro, Brazil. I’ve always wanted to go to Brazil, however this time I was kind of reluctant when I first heard about it. God really worked on my heart, and He has confirmed to me that this is where He would have me go for our semester’s mission trip. I trust that this is where He would have me go to serve and I’m not going to doubt that. The Lord is my good Father, and He will protect me and guide me by opening doors or closing them. During our time in Río de Janeiro, we will be going to help with a Bible study that was started inside of the favela (slum) of Rio. We will be serving with the students from CBI Brazil and Pastor Alexandre from a Calvary there in Rio. We will be helping with construction, children and youth outreaches, and just serving in whatever is needed.

So in April, I will be boarding a plane to go to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! God continues to surprise me with the opportunities and doors He opens to me. My prayer is that I would go without expectations, but to be simply ready and available to serve in whatever way He opens to me.

Please pray for me and the trip!

POIEMA’s PRAYER REQUESTS:

• For traveling mercies as we leave and enter Peru
• Brazil trip to minister in the Favelas of Rio! (April 7-14)
• That I would be able to just transmit the love of God and the Gospel to those that we are serving
• For unity amongst the whole team that we would be one in our purpose to serve God and the people
• We are going to a very sensitive situation, so for safety and wisdom for the leaders
• And just in general that the Lord would guide me into my next steps after I finish up at CBI Peru!

Celebrating Birthdays

Claudia has had great opportunities to teach and travel!

In the last couple months, Claudia and I got to share our thoughts on our church’s podcast on spotify “Después del sermón” ( After the Sermon) . The interview and discussion is in Spanish in case you are interested!

Spotify Podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/2gg01AdPjLdOS4izqPsiTM?go=1&sp_cid=5a31838b-e047-4af5-8469-5221cfcd6eeb&nd=1&dlsi=12e27af2fb584d80&utm_source=oembed

Claudia recently took a couple of ladies from the Bilingual Women’s study on Thursdays to Morelia and Patzcuaro, Michoacan to teach at a women’s conference. 

Here is one of the most popular teachings on the Youtube channel if you would like to learn how to develop your personal time with Jesus through Bible reading and prayer.

Paul’s Favorite things!

It is a great blessing being able to communicate with my friends and Christian brothers in their native language! I get to meet with men every week and communicate daily with men through the popular WhatsApp messaging app! I get to do a lot of translating into English as well. I will be translating the main church Bible study April 9th and will be teaching the main Bible from the Book of Acts on Wednesday night, April 23. That message will be posted on our Calvary Rosarito youtube channel in case your curious about what a bilingual sermon looks and sounds like! 

Praise Reports and Prayer:

PRAISES:

1. Successful first 10 weeks of Claudia’s bilingual womens study!
2. Poiema’s excellent experience and growth at CBI Peru!
3. Our sons’ studies are going well!
4. Imroved health – diet and exercise imoproving!
5. Discipling and counseling men and married couples!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• MDVP new semester and greater social media impact!

For the priorities of making God first and family second, ministry 3rd!

Wisdom in accepting opportunities and invitations to teach

Married couples in counseling

Unmarried couples to repent, do premarital counseling and get married legally!

For Paul to develop online counseling resources in Spanish – Youtube / Spotify

Greetings from Mexico. In March, I got to travel to Mazatlan to help send out our first church plant to the South American Country of Venezuela! In this update, I am excited to tell you all about it! 

Our church was blessed to send out my good friend (and former Calvary Rosarito assistant Pastor) Tony Carranza and his team to plant a church in Mazatlan back in 2016! In just 9 years they have planted six churches. The great news is that in March, they sent out their seventh.

Venezuela is one of the poorest countries in South American which has resulted in a flood of their citizens fleeing the country to the neighboring countries of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Although Venezuela is governed by an authoritarian Socialistic government, they are open to Mexicans coming to work. Thankfully, this Latin American country also practices freedom of religion. It is in this poor country that God has called us to plant our next (2^ndgeneration) church plant.

I met Pastor Raul Favela and his family three years ago at the church in Mazatlan at one of their yearly church planting conferences. Raul along with his wife and adult daughter completed the church planting course with excellence, and while they were studying, God placed it on their heart to plant a church in Venezuela. At our conference in March, we got to ordain and send out Raul and his family to do this great church planting work.

The theme of this year’s conference was “The Movement of the Holy Spirit in Church Planting” and each one of the eight main sessions related to this powerful theme. The title of my sermon was “The Holy Spirit leading the Apostle Paul!” This topic I was assigned gave me a great opportunity to do a new Bible study, because although I have taught many sermons on church planting, I had never focused on this aspect of Paul’s church planting journeys!

The conference was a blessing and well attended with over 200 in attendance. But the highlight for all was definitely sending out Pastor Raul and his family to plant the church “Maranatha Caracas!” (Caracas is the capital of this country with over 3 million inhabitants.) After the conference, I got to join them for their Sending Sunday where their local church joined us to send out their mission’s team.  This is our most recent 2^nd generation church plant, and it is special as this is the first 2^nd generation church plant that has been planted in a foreign country by one of our church plants.  

The final words of Jesus to the church in Acts 1:8 were, “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth!” It is always challenging to plant churches in other countries and continents, but this is exactly what our Lord Jesus has asked us to do. We thank the Lord for the blessed opportunity to reach not only our city and country, but the rest of the world as well!

Finally, I want to once again thank you for your partnership with our family and ministry. It is through your prayers that God meet’s our spiritual needs, and it is through your financial partnership, that God meet’s our physical needs. We love you and are praying for you!

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

Mike, Sarah, Grace, and Daniel

Prayer Requests!

#1- Pray that God will bless our newest 2^nd generation church plant in Caracas Venezuela!  

#2-  Pray that God will bless our church’s Easter community outreaches and events.   

Praise Reports!

#1- Praise God for the blessing of planting a new church in a capital city of South America. (Caracas Venezuela)  

#2- Praise God for Grace and Daniel’s full time jobs in San Diego.  

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

For your convenience, you may consider giving through electronic funds transfer or direct deposit. Simply click on this link to directly support our family as your missionaries.

https://www.egsnetwork.com/gift2/?giftid=DFA990CC09D942B

Or, you can  go to our mission’s website, click on the “become a financial partner” button and fill out the information. Please remember to type in  “Vincent” in the “purpose of gift” section.

“ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrew 4:16

Welcome back beautiful creations of God!

I’m honored that you are taking the time to read and interact with me! This month of March has been…. What’s the word… pruning! Well, so far, this whole year has been. I’ve had to surrender lots of like things, people, ideas, desires and materialistic things. (I wish it were that easy to surrender this weight) JOKES! (Kinda)

Last time we spoke I caught you guys up on the last few months in mostly pictures and very general information. LIKE MOVING TO CALIFORNIA! Anyway this time I want to get in deep; getting into the juicy stuff…

February 25’

Yes, I know! I just said we were in March, BUT things also happened at the end of February that I want to share! 

Life group is basically when the congregation gathers in groups and attend different houses. (Usually at the pastors house) It’s a time of eating and fellowship with friends but in smaller groups! We do this instead of midweeks and I love it! It’s a time where we can be more open and honest, where everyone has a chance to express themselves. We help one another with prayer, encouragement and love. On this specific day, I cooked the chicken on the grill (my first time eee!) and everyone helped with bringing rice, salad, drinks, beans etc. However, this year we’re doing 2 months life group then 2 months men’s/women’s Bible study.

There was a call in the Middle East to attack a group of Christians with horrific violence and evil doings. And of course those that were targeted were asking for prayer. So, that’s exactly what we did. We had a time of interceding for them, with everyone making their request made known to God and especially a head of protection for the dads, mothers and children. A couple days later, the attack was called off. The Lord protected them and are able to worship God through this time of terror. Prayer changes things.

[Psalm 34:17]

The By Faith conference was amazing! This was a beautiful reminder that God is really faithful when we are faithless. 

The worship was absolutely insane! I love that the presence of God was in that room!

We had many gifted pastors teach and encourage us with focusing on the core subject, faith. 

I had the privilege to hear David Guzik, David Rosales, Wade Oniell and John Randall! There was other amazing teachers there like Art Reyes I wasn’t able to see teach however it was truly inspiring and encouraging. 

This is convinced ministries! I first joined this team around November/ December. I realized that I had so much to learn about apologetics and about defending the word of God while not so much attacking people’s beliefs but to ask them questions to help them question their own faith. 

I always had a love for editing and having a social media platform. Now, the Lord used all that I had learned for His glory. We are small but mighty group who want to help get the word of truth out!

We are still new and currently in a trial and error process. This takes time and endurance. However, knowing this will work out for the furtherance of the gospel makes it all worth it.

I sold my car! At first, I tried my hardest to keep the Honda. I tried working hard and tried convincing myself that I should keep it. However, after learning about financial peace with Dave Ramsey I learned lots about financial wealth. The Lord had already been preparing my heart for this moment and was already working. I put my car up on Facebook marketplace and one week later it was sold. Another week passed and the Lord provided me with this beauty named Grace. Fully paid off, this lovely couple at church sold me the car and now I am able to focus on paying off the debt I have and allowing God to use me for His glory. One thing I came to realize, is that if I want to be sent out one day, I can’t have debt. Neither will I have a fancy red car across the world.

I want to give a humongous thank you to everyone who has blessed me with accountability, guidance, prayer and grace. I know that you are a gift from God because I wouldn’t know how to do anything like this without you. 

Answered Prayer:

• Growth in financial peace 
• Taking class on time management 
• Surrendering everything the Lord calls me too
• Growing in evangelism and sharing the faith 

Prayer Request:

• Growing and improving on teaching kids/ practice sermons
• Wisdom on time management and budgeting 
• That I would have a heart of worship
• To obey where the Lord wants me for summer

Ways to Support:

PRAYER: If I can request anything of you, it would be that you would pray for me. The things I wrote above but that the Lord be magnified in my life. I’ve seen the Lord answered prayer and I know He hears.

FINANCIAL PARTNERSHIP: Although I don’t know where the Lord wants to send me, I would love to go on vision tours and be able to experience different cultures. 

SHARE THE VISION: I would love to be able to connect with people interested in supporting a missionary or even just staying in touch. I love when people interact, then I know that this is not in vain. 

I thank you all for the time you took to read and write back. It means so much to even see an encouraging word or hearing that you read makes my heart abound. May God bless you and keep you all the days of your life!

Love, Ariana

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭

“As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27‬:‭17‬ ‭

  It is good to be back home in Cochiquinas. After spending the holidays in the states visiting family, churches and friends, we have returned to the Amazon jungle of Peru. We have a new member the Lord has added to our team. My brother Patrick has been here with us for the last month and a half. He has been a great support. Taking on construction tasks, helping wherever there is need and he has birthed a fishing ministry in the jungle. My brother is an avid fisherman and was gifted a fishing pole from Jim at 414 missions. When he got to Cochiquinas he would go out to fish the Amazon in the evening. A bunch of kids came up to him because they had never seen a rod with a reel. So they saw him casting and wanted to try it themselves. They are hooked, pun intended. We are in the process of buying 4 fishing poles with reels and are going to use it to minister to the youth through prayer and Bible study. These kids are always at our house because they love hanging out with “Patricio”.

We got off to a slow start in February as we were in Iquitos for about two weeks. While we were in Iquitos, we were purchasing equipment and material for the construction project we have undertaken, visiting churches and friends we had made the previous year, and helping with a mission’s team from Idaho. 

Once we were done in Iquitos, we traveled to a place called Cushillo Cocha which is about 12 hours by boat down river, on the Amazon to be a part of a boat training for the Ticuna leaders and visit the Bible training classes at IBIETA where they not only train pastors and leaders in the word but they also have a technical training program that includes computer literacy, wood working, welding, and mechanics. 

  Later in the week we met up in Cushillo Cocha with the 414 missions team and did some pastoral training and helped with a team from Texas who did some medical outreaches and VBS for the kids. We are blessed to be under the banner of 414 missions, which is directed by Jim and Chrystal Booth, and our hearts are knit together with this incredible couple.

We were blessed to receive 50 pastors and leaders from the river communities and the Ticuna tribe in Peru, and Columbia during this 4 day training. We focused on the inductive Bible study method, where they learned how to observe, interpret and apply the Bible in their biblical studies and spiritual life in Christ. We graduated 10 pastors from this training and our next training will be in early August. Once the training was finished, we headed home to Cochiquinas.  

     We have 3 goals we would like to reach this year. We are looking forward to building a 1500 square foot dormitory, with a rain catching system, some solar power and about 10 rooms. The purpose for the build is to house 10-15 young adult men in March of 2026 and take them through 8 months of biblical study courses.  Right now we are in the process of drying out the wood in preparation for the build. Our build date is dependent on the level of the Amazon river. If the river comes up and covers the land in the community, we will begin in July.  If the water stops rising, we will begin in May. Please pray that the river is at its highest point.  

     The second goal we have is to plant the church in our community.  We have begun taking steps to come under the covering of Ibieta ministries, which will allow us to legally function as a church in Peru. We thought the jungle was a place without rules and we could do whatever we want, but we are learning new things every day. We have about 15 people attending the services right now and are focused on teaching book by book through the Bible. We have four men that we are training in biblical leadership and biblical counseling.  Our hope is to plant Bible teaching churches on the river, which seems to be in short supply.  

     The third goal we have is reaching  out to the local pastors and beginning a discipleship program. Many of the pastors in the river systems feel abandoned and are discouraged. The missions providing spiritual covering generally do not visit them and have little communication with them. They need to be encouraged. Our plan is to boat to these local communities, build friendships with the pastors and their congregation and offer practical, biblical care for them. They need fellowship and we are going to provide it. Please keep these things in prayer and we will continue to update you on the progress. We thank you for your continued love and support!

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