Developments:
* Last month we received one new pledge of monthly financial support that put us at 45.2% of our budget; after adding the one-time donations for this month we received 52.2% of our budget which is 80.3% of our “survival mode” budget—our Lord will be proven faithful..!
* On April 10th my Senior Pastor, Steve Turner, arrived in Lima with a missionary medical team to serve in Lurin.
* On Sunday April 11th Pastor Javier surprised us with an unexpected Church Handover ceremony in which he officially gave me, before the whole congregation, the rains of Calvary Chapel Vida-Miraflores. I had the pleasure of having the presence of my Senior Pastor, Steve Turner, to teach that day and to lay hands and pray for me. He taught the Bible study that day and the following Wednesday—I translated for him.
* On April 15th Karla and I went to a three-day retreat for Senior Pastors and wives of all the Calvary Chapels of Peru. We were deeply refreshed, challenged, and blessed by the fellowship with all the Pastors and the teachings of Pastor Bryan Newberry from Calvary Chapel San Diego.
* Our first trip to ER happened on April 18th. Little Samuel came down with a bug that with his pre-asthmatic condition gave him a scary enough cough that we decided to bring him down to ER for nebulization. After that Karla came down with a virus, high fever, and pink eye, then Daniel with stomach flu, and then Sebastian with strep-throat and high fever. In all $143 were spent in medical expenses. We’re all now acclimatized and healthy, ready to continue to do God’s work here in Peru—thanks for your prayers..!
* On May 1st some of our best friends and brothers and sisters in Christ did the impossible: in order to be in compliance with the Peruvian Customs, they went to our rented 20-foot storage in the US to do a detailed inventory of every loose item and the content of every box in the storage. They had to open every box, take inventory, close it, tag it, and put it back in the storage..! All of this in preparation to be loaded on a 20-foot container to be shipped to Peru two days later. ‘Thank You, Lord, for putting this team together and for putting the Spirit of wisdom upon them allowing them to carry out this task selflessly and with incredible proficiency… Thank You, Lord’ and thank you team for your love and support!!
* On May 5th another team assisted us with the mighty task of loading everything from the storage into a container. This is another praise report since God put the team together in a matter of hours to then go through many gyrations in order to make everything fit into the container—it was filled to the brim with personal and ministry belongings; nothing had to be left behind! Amazing—thank You, Lord, and thank you team!!
* On Sunday, May 2nd, we spent our first night in our new home in Miraflores. We live now within walking distance to the church—15 minutes. Karla and I have a room to ourselves for the first time since January the 2nd..!
* On May 9th we had our first baby dedication and our first church event, Mother’s Day Celebration.
* On May 20th Karla’s mom, Mayo, will be coming to Lima for a three months summer vacation from the Bible College in Murrieta, CA. She will be staying very close by with Karla’s grandma. It will be a blessing for us to have her with us to help in the church and for fellowship—the kids are very excited about the arrival of ‘abuelita’ Mayo…!
* Pastor Guillermo Novoa from ORC, and old friend and supporter of our ministry, will be arriving in town on May 22nd on a ministry trip. We will have the opportunity to spend time with him and be refreshed with his teaching of the Word from the pulpit of our church on May 23rd.
* Sometime toward the end of May we should be receiving the container with all our household and ministry belongings.
* We’re gearing up to start a men’s discipleship group in early June.
Prayer Needs:
* For a consistently fresh and empowering view of God to carry our souls through every moment of our existence.
* For the will of God to be done and His kingdom to be further established in our lives.
* For our marriage, our devotional lives, and for our kids to continue to grow in their desire to know God in all His splendor.
* For Godly friend for our kids.
* For an indoor space for the Children’s Ministry—they’re meeting in the open area of the lobby and it’s getting too cold for it… In the past families have come to the church but had to leave because of this problem.
* For us to stay healthy.
* To find favor with the Peruvian Customs when the container arrives.
* For the forming of the missionary team that is coming to help us in August from our home church, Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale.
* That nothing in us would hinder the work that God is doing in our hearts in this season of abasement.
* For the items mentions above in the Developments area.
* For our monthly financial support to go from 45.2% to 65% of our budget. 65% is what we need to make it in “survival mode…”
Thank you for holding us up through your love and faithful work of intercession..!
In His love,
Andres and Karla, Sebastian, Daniel, and Samuel—the Garcia’s.
PS: Make sure to check out the new pictures of our recent activities to your left...
