Hello Friends!
We pray you are all doing well, and thank you for taking a moment to read our latest update! I (Joel) have been reflecting lately on what in the past has been, quite frankly, my least favorite portion of scripture: Joshua’s dividing up of the land to Israel after they entered the Promised Land. The list of boundary lines and cities is not a thrilling read, but I was assigned to teach this to our Bible College students in South Asia (via Skype) through the book of Joshua as I finished up my portion of this semester’s teachings. As I approached this text, I noticed that the future of Israel’s rich history was represented in what was, at that time, cities and lands full of potential. This potential for them was the choice between honoring God with the land and seeing His blessings in it (with places like Shiloh and Jerusalem), or offending God with idol worship and receiving the curse of disobedience (as with Ben-Himmon or Dan). As we move forward in our lives of following Christ, the same pregnant potential lies in front of us at all times. Will we reach out and receive His promises in faith and obedience, or end up heaping trouble on our lives with sin, laziness, or cowardice? Praise God that for us, above all of this, stands His great and faithful grace!
This last month has been a great one! I (Joel) got to lead worship for the church’s men’s retreat, which was an amazing experience to be a part of. It is such a privilege to have a front-row seat to seeing the men of our church lifting holy hands in prayer and worship.
I’m also looking forward to traveling next year. Sadly, I will not be able to go to Jordan and Israel as I anticipated due to the proximity of those dates to Amy’s due date. However, that gives me a little more flexibility regarding another potential trip at the beginning of the year. I have learned to on hold loosely to plans for short terms missions, since I’ve discovered those plans can change in an instant! But once things are more firm for this particular trip, I’ll give you all some more details. I am excited about the prospect!
On the home front, the kids are doing great! Maggie is flourishing with homeschooling and loves to learn. Jude is starting to walk all over the place more and more. And Harrison is jumping in and learning lots of things alongside Maggie. It’s always an adventure with those three, and we can’t wait to add one more!
Speaking of #4, please continue to keep Amy in your prayers through this pregnancy. She’s doing great, but experiencing all of the fatigue that comes along with pregnancy and being the amazing, active mom that she is.
We also ask that you continue to keep us in prayer to find a larger home that fits our limited budget, as well as the additional funds needed for a move. We’d love to have a three or four bedroom house to have more space for the kids to run around, room for the new baby, and to be able to practice more hospitality and host more church gatherings.
Finally, please pray as I enter a busy season of running two of our church’s biggest events: our Halloween Front-Yard Outreach Parties and our all-church Thanksgiving Potluck. These are a lot of work, but are super rich and fruitful events, and we have an amazing group of servants at the church who step up to lend their giftings.
Love you all, and please feel free to let us know what is going on in your lives and how we can pray for you!
All The Best For His Glory,
Joel, Amy, Maggie, Harrison, Jude, and Baby #4
If you’d like to become a financial partner with us as Joel continues to work as a missionary with SGWM’s home office, please click the button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Joel Garcia support” in the memo section to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873. Thank you all for your support and prayers!
