Garcia Family Update October 2026
Hello Friends!
We pray you are all blessed and doing well! We have had a great year with lots going on in family and ministry life. We wanted to give you all an update on how we are and the trip Joel will be taking in a few weeks.
On the family side of things, we’ve have a fun summer with field trips, free classical music concerts in the park, music lessons, and recently, our first experience with soccer (for Jude and Harrison), and Joel’s first time coaching soccer! We also went on a trip to Yosemite with a huge group of friends (30 people total, including 17 kids!); it was amazing to see God’s creation there for a few days and have a great time with close friends.
On the ministry side of things, Joel has had a few opportunities to teach at our church on Sunday mornings when our Senior Pastor, Trent, has been traveling. We were able to stop in the middle of our church’s series through Acts to take deeper looks at topics like the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:42, and the early church’s boldness.
There have been lots of other opportunities this year as well, like the missions conference our church put on earlier this year, where Joel was able to teach a workshop on the importance of the missionary’s relationship with their sending pastor. He also got to teach a class on “Missions and Worship” and lead worship at this year’s Calvary School of Missions this summer. And this year, Joel is taking on a greater leadership role with our Missions Training School, helping to train young people who feel a call to be cross-cultural missionaries.
All of this is on top of Joel’s other responsibilities with the church and SGWM; approving newsletters and POs, editing content, counseling, leading our young adults and worship ministries, regularly meeting with our missionaries, and more.
Lastly, Joel has the amazing opportunity to go to South Asia in October; two different countries, and three different locations (by the time his trip is done, he will have taken 10 different flights!). In the first country, he will be teaching a couple of sessions and a workshop at a conference and Bible College graduation. In the second country, his primary goal will be to spend time with some of our American and national missionaries, and will be teaching another 3-day conference to some young believers. He will be joined by another SGWM staff member to help with some other ministry opportunities as well.
Please keep this trip in prayer; for the health and safety of Joel and his traveling partner; for strength in both preparing for and giving about 20 hours’ worth of teachings; and for the rest of the family back home to be sustained during his absence.
We also ask for prayer for our finances. Rising costs of housing, groceries, and gas make life in Southern California difficult to sustain with a large family in vocational ministry. We trust our God to always provide, and we know He will sustain us financially for as long as He’s called us to this!
If you are not already a financial partner, please know that your prayers for us are sufficient, but you are welcomed to prayerfully consider partnering with us financially using the means provided below. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this update and to pray for us! It truly means the world to us.
Love in Christ,
Joel, Amy, Maggie, Harrison, Jude, & Clara Garcia
You can become a one-time or ongoing financial partner with us by clicking the “Give” button below, or by mailing a check made out to SGWM with “Joel Garcia” in the memo line to 17451 Bastanchury Rd, Ste 203, Yorba Linda, CA, 92886.
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