Decade to Remember & Keeps Getting Better

In March 2012, we were sent out as full-time missionaries! This month marks 10 years of bringing the Gospel and teaching the Word of God throughout Asia and Africa with the goal of reaching the unreached and church planting in remote regions of the world.

Sent out to S. Asia in 2012

It’s been a DECADE of God’s faithfulness, favor and provision beyond anything we could have hoped and prayed. We know Jesus is worth it all and He has gone before us in EVERY facet of our lives and ministry. Much of the reason we were able to do so much in a short time is because of you…..our incredible friends, family, churches and partners. You have prayed, encouraged, visited, supported financially and stood with us on throughout the last 10 years. Some of you have been with us since day one and some of you we met along the way and all of you are dear to us and we praise God and remember you in our prayers. Thank you for all you have done to make it possible!

As we reflect, Psalm 115:1 rings loudly in our hearts and minds, “Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”

We have written 100+ updates over the past decade, but we wanted to take this update to share a few of the highlights in hopes that together our faith will be built up and we can praise God for all He has done. What started as a vision to win and disciple nationals who could go further than we could ever go and reach more people than we could ever reached….turned into:

– Countless students taught the Word and discipled in Nepal, S. Asia, Uganda and China (in barns, under mango trees, in high rises, mountains, villages, cities)
– 8 Bible Colleges / School of Ministry locations established throughout Asia & Africa
– 40+ churches planted in the 10/40 window (most unreached parts of the world)
– Thousands of kids have heard the Gospel and been prayed over
– Have been a part of crusades, conferences, outreaches, schools, orphanages
– Met physical needs of some of the poorest, earthquake relief in Nepal, Sudanese refugee relief, covid food relief, shoes, clothes, bibles all provided freely
– Land purchased, church buildings constructed, wells for villages, campuses established
– Visited lepers, widows, orphans, prisoners, hospitals, refugee camps, slums
– Taken hundreds of flights, trains, buses, taxis, horse carriages, bikes, motorcycles, boats
– Hosted over 50 teams from various churches and organizations and had 15 interns
– Breanna was born and added to our family (our greatest blessing of all)

We have also experienced hardships and trials, which we knew would come. We had malaria, dengue fever, bus crashes, motorcycle accidents, full body rashes, failed attempts, lost Heather’s parents and grandfather, made mistakes, moved locations, persecution, major earthquake devastation, doubters, nay sayers, police visits, swat team invasion, language barriers, refugee crisis, pandemic lockdown and yet we were sustained by the prayers of the saints and the grace of God. We learned what James 1:2-3 meant when he says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

Somehow “thank you” doesn’t seem like enough and yet we simply say THANK YOU! Our family is forever grateful to serve as missionaries, to have been sent, to have partnered in the Gospel with you and to run hard for all God has set before us.

Last month, we were able to teach at a mission’s conference and we were challenged by the Lord….. “Do you believe that I can do greater things in the next 10 years than in the previous 10 years?” We answer with a big loud YES! We believe that greater things are yet to come.

While a lot of the world remains closed, we have an open door right now in Peru. We didn’t know if we had it in our hearts to embrace another place in the world, especially since our plates are full with many remote regions. We have made plans for Mexico and Nepal and praying the Lord opens the way in other parts of the world later this year. But, we are thankful for time here with the Kilgus family at Calvary Bible Institute Peru and the opportunity to teach in-person classes to students who are hungry for the Word of God. We will share more in our next update about our time here in Peru as God is moving powerfully!

With Love from Peru,

Bond, Heather and Breanna Gaona

2022 Heading to Peru
2015 Breanna was 2 months old heading to S. Asia