Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Thank yous and opportunities!!

Valued Prayer partners and supporters!

Thanks so much for your continued faithfulness this last year! We are grateful to call each one of you partners in the ministry.

As we enter into our busy Christmas season I just wanted to take a few minutes to say thank you and encourage you with all God has done this last year- as well as give some the opportunity to plan their giving for 2013 or deal with their year end gifts for 2012.

Our personal monthly account is ending up in the "black" this year (Praise God!!). This means that we have been fully supported at 100% for 2012!  All of this happens with your generous monthly donations coupled with "spontaneous gifts"! Thank you for that and we pray that God will continue to guide and direct you all in this way for 2013!

National Workers Fund
--- YUGO has a National workers fund that helps to support local pastors and leaders in times of financial distress. With this fund we were able to help the family of one of our recent graduates pay for his unexpected and sudden funeral expenses. Would you consider giving towards this fund? It is almost depleted for 2012.

Pastors and local missionaries

--- We have several pastors and local missionaries we work with that some of you have supported over the years- as well as some new ones that would love to be able to help.

--- Ivan Martinez
------- Ivan works with me with our pastors and leaders ministry as well as in YUGO's Men's Prison ministry. Each week Ivan preaches and disciples up to 45 men in the Ensenada prison. Over the last 2 years he has baptized about 50 new believers. This is a fruitful ministry that you would be blessed to be apart of. would you please consider supporting Ivan monthly?

--- Abelino Jacome------Abelino is a local pastor of a church plant in Tijuana's poor colonies. He is the dad of the "miracle babies" and th husband of the miracle lady Mirelya that we have spoken so much about. Abelino serves full time a church of about 50 adults. Most of his people are unemployed- and those that have jobs are amongst the working poor. Supporters currently support Abelino at about $100/ month-- he needs $300 / month more ($4000 /year) to be able to care for his family and continue to serve full time.

--- Gustavo
-----Gustavo is a graduate of our Bible training Center for pastors and leaders. He co-taught a class last session with his pastor. Gustavo's pastor is full time and is very busy in ministry with 3 feeding kitchens feeding 150+ kids each day, several services each week, being president of his denomination, teaching in a Bible Institute. We are confident that Gustavo is ready to be an assistant pastor, but needs to support his young family. This church of about 60 adults is along the railway tracks on squatters land and most of the people in the church are unemployed and unable to support the church ministry financially. Would you consider supporting an assistant pastor at $400/ month ( $4800?)

Ministry Funds
Pastors and Leaders Training

--- This winter we are providing a school of ministry in the colonias to help teach and train the people in leadership and teaching / preaching. We will be concentrating on grads of our Bible Institute, but will also have an aspect that new, untrained people can participate and learn. Next September, we are hoping to have several Bible Institute Classes in our area. We are praying for 200 students.
Training those students costs us about $150 for each one-- a cost of $30,000 over 2 years. We ask the students to pay for half of their schooling (again- most are very poor---) so we need to raise about $15,000 over the next two years to cover the costs of this valuable training.
This ministry is bearing fruit. We hear all the time from pastors whose people feel like they are growing spiritually under the teaching, we see churches being planted in difficult places sacrificially, we hear of families being reastored, Sunday school teachers equipped, Feeding kitchen ministries reaching new kids with the Good news-- it is a very fruitful and valuable ministry investment.
Would you please pray about partnering with us financially in this ministry?

Feeding kitchens
---- we have the privilege of working with a ministry that helps us to feed kids at an incredibly reasonable price. for 2 pesos (about 18 cents) we can feed a kid a good, hot nutritious meal. We partner with local churches to do this. Would you consider giving towards the East Tijuana Feeding Ministry? Any amount will go to feed hungry kids physically and spiritually!

Thanks so much for your continued, faithful partnership with us!  Your investment in time, finances and prayer are paying eternal dividends! May God continue to bless you as you are a blessing to so many!!
Merry Christmas!

Mike, Shar, Elijah, Caleb and Jacob