It is hard to believe that it has been 5 years since setting out to serve the Lord full-time overseas in Asia and Africa. For some reading this, you have been with us since the beginning (that is 60+ email updates) and thankfully you are still reading. We thank you for sticking by us, supporting, encouraging, praying and cheering us on for what the Lord has done. For others reading this that we met somewhere along the way and the Lord ordained our lives and paths to cross and we are blessed to have you partner with us in this journey.
Over the past 5 years, together we have seen bible college’s established, school of ministries begin, students grow in God’s Word, graduates sent out, pastors ordained and churches planted amongst unreached areas. We have prayed for hundreds of Promise Children, shared the Gospel with thousands who had never heard the name of Jesus, taken a dozen interns to serve overseas, hosted many short-term teams and been a part of countless outreaches. We have taught our hearts out for hours on end in cow sheds, classrooms, on mountain tops and in the African bush. We have wept with refugees, prayed with those who lost everything in an earthquake, watched the most hardened people come to Christ and we have seen lives transformed as the Gospel as it has gone forth. Through it all, we ushered our parents into heaven while holding their hands, lost loved ones and experienced the greatest joy we have ever known in becoming parents to Breanna. We truly believe that we have the best family, friends and ministry partners on the planet and we thank God for you all the time!
The call has never changed…. “If you will train these men and women in the Word they will go further than you will ever go and reach more people than you can ever reach.” The commission is the same, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” Matthew 28:19. With that being imprinted on our hearts, we begin 2017 with an even greater excitement knowing that we serve a great God and people are desperate for the hope that lies within us.
2017 Schedule
We set off earlier this month and arrived safely in Nepal. Here is our current plan for the upcoming year:
January – May 3rd ~ Nepal (at some point we may visit India in the spring)
July – September 15th ~ Uganda
November – December ~ India / Nepal (our exact schedule for fall is still pending)
Ground Breaking in Nepal
As you receive this update, we are breaking ground on the first church that has been planted outside Kathmandu by a CCBC Nepal graduate. The story is nothing short of miraculous as a small team 
headed to a village 5 hours from our ministry campus in November 2016. Bond, Pankaj, Aaron, Gerry and a few others visited the newly formed fellowship of our graduate Milan. The small rented room were church service was being held was already filled. There were no other buildings that could be rented in the area. When they asked Milan about land, he showed them a piece of property. The group of men gathered and prayed over the place asking the Lord to guide and provide. When we returned to the states in December, the need was shared. Within days, we received word from a pastor and friend of ours who shared their church approved the funds to not only purchase the land, but also to start the building of a home and large meeting room were approved. Land was purchased while we were in CA in December and in a matter of weeks the deed to the land was received earlier this month.
We landed last Wednesday and the next day Bond and Pankaj drove to the village to put plans in 
place, order materials and make arrangements for an upcoming construction team. The building plans need to be approved by the local government office which can take up to a week and this past Friday the plans were approved (in one day) which is a miracle considering nothing happens quickly in Nepal. The construction team from CC South Jersey arrived Friday night and Sunday morning Bond set off with a team of 10 to break ground on this new work. The tractor arrived Monday night as did most of the supplies and they are busy working from sun up to sun down. Yesterday afternoon over 200+ kids gathered after school for games, songs and the Gospel is going forth in this community. Pray for continued favor with the local government, for the construction process, for the continued provision to complete the project and for this place to be a light and place of refuge to the community it will serve.
With Love From Nepal,
Bond, Heather and Breanna Gaona
