Stick the Landing

You gotta stick the landing !! 

In gymnastics an event can be fierce, the workouts, the practices, not to mention the competitions themselves are highly emotional and physically challenging. One of the most important things is to stick the landing… What does this mean? At the end of your gymnastic event there’s one final move and how you land can make all the difference in the world. As we have had a few moments to reflect on the past eight weeks in Mexico with the 2023 CSOM, our heart is to stick the landing… Land well. That’s the moment that can make all the difference. `Well thanks to our Gods grace, mercy, and the prayers of friends like you that’s exactly what happened. We landed well, six weeks of training, stretching and growing for staff and students alike. And we were no exception. We were able to get back to America and have time to wrap up the administrative details of the school. Calvary School Of Missions as you know, is no small feet, it takes months and months and months of preparation for us which is including but not limited to interviewing students, securing lodging, food, transportation. Arranging Ministry outreach, organizing curriculum, securing teachers, I’m exhausted just writing this 🙂 

I could go on and on but I think you get the point. It’s a lot of work, but it’s so worth it, just like competing in the Olympics for that gold medal is .  A week after we got back, we were able to sneak away for some much-needed R&R. Tent camping in the mountains just Jenn and I with our Bibles a good book and a guitar. We worshipped & cooked by the campfire and yes even got to do a little stream fishing but mostly we got to be still and know that He is God. It was much needed because as we came back down the mountain there’s more work to be done. The Missions Training School (MTS for short) is an extension of the Calvary School of Missions where some of the students from CSOM enter into the training school with the long-term goal of being placed full-time on the mission field, where the Lord would have them to be. There’s too much to tell about in this letter, so more will have to be told at a later time because we wanted to save room to tell a little more about our time during CSOM.

I’ll let Jenn share about one of the most exciting things we got to be a part of this summer at CSOM, which was visiting an unreached people group in the mountains of Mexico.

The Kuaré Tribe

We  joined other Calvary Chapels from Sinaloa, and traveled a total of about 15 hours to the state of Nayarit. From there, we then journeyed up the mountains through the night on uneven roads with many pot holes and very little asphalt. We use the term “road” loosely, but finally we reached the Kuaré Tribe.  Needless to say, we had little to no sleep. Pastor Antonio and his wife from Calvary Aguaruto, one of Pastor Hugo ‘s church plants have been visiting this tribe for the past 5 -6 years, creating relationships, providing for their needs, and sharing about Jesus. 

We were truly grateful for all the prayers as we were concerned about the weather going up the mountain. If the rain came it could have completely stopped our mission. The roads were treacherous, and the drive was difficult, so we were so grateful to God that the rain did not come until we arrived to their Community. Tim and I pulled out our rain gear and did what we do, “serve”.  When we asked the students to pull out their ponchos, most of them said they left them in their backpack which was tied down on the top of the vans under a tarp. As we chuckled inside, as we faced yet again, another challenge in training up these future missionaries. AGAIN, God reminded us, this is WHY we do what we do! Training and raising up these future missionaries and leaders has been such a joy and we are tempted to tell you of the nine past students who are now living in the 10/40 window making steps to reach some of the hardest people to reach. There’s too much to tell about in this letter, so more will have to be told at a later time. Since this is the second time, we said that we might as well reveal that somewhere in the next few months we will be having an update, get together, sometimes called a dessert gathering where we invite people to gather and here in person. All the Lord has allowed us to be a part of. We will keep you posted as we’re not sure yet if it will be at our home our church or another facility but we would love to share with you all live. It’s way overdue.  

Back to the mountain…We got to spend 3 days with these beautiful people. Some of the things we got to be a part of was going from house to house in groups passing out clothes, shoes, medical supplies, and praying for each family; the students helped put together VBS style outreaches alongside of the other church plant teams from Sinaloa and ended our time with the tribe’s first ever church service in their language, translating from Spanish to English and then into Kuaré, the local language. The Kuaré, people know that there is a God because they see the evidence through the mountains, trees, and weather, yet they worship creation instead of the Creator because they did not know who He was. 

It was a very simple Gospel message, but It was incredible to watch them hear that the God who created nature, also created them and that His name is Jesus and He wants a relationship with each one of them. 

There was so much else we got to engage in this summer at the school of missions and we want to make sure you know that, even if our visit to the unreached people groups was by far the most powerful and exciting, it does not diminish in anyway the ministry outreaches the church planters conference, visiting church plants, and yes, much Missionary Care !!!  We were able to connect with 8 or more SGWM Missionary’s over our summer and although the training of future missionaries seems to be the main focus God has for our lives at the very moment He has in no way lessened the call to care for existing missionaries on the field as well as to continue in biblical counseling and discipleship. We love being able to serve our Lord in this way !!!

We are so dependent on and grateful for your prayers and want to say thank you to those who have already joined us in this area, we realize it’s by gods grace and through your prayers that we are able to serve the lord the way we do but If the Lord leads you to partner with us financially, or increase you’re already generous support it would be a huge help. 

You can do so by clicking here to become a financial partner or mailing your support check to
Saving Grace World Missions

17451 Bastanchury Rd., Ste.203 Yorba Linda, CA 62886

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All for His Glory, 

Tim and Jenn Pappas