Friday, March 18, 2011

NEWS LETTER: MARCH 2011

Developments:

* Last month our pledged monthly financial remained at 63.9% of our budget; after adding one-time donations for this month we received 100% of our budget—our Lord IS faithful..!

* On February 11th Gabie Goni held a conference for the women of our church.

* On February 12th our church and the youth of the congregation of CC Surco joined forces on an outreach to the poor kids in Rimac. We provided hair cutters and CC Surco provided an evangelistic show of puppets and mimes. About 30 kids got a haircut and heard the Gospel message that day.

* On February 24th Karla assisted this year’s Pastor’s Wives Conference in Kawai, a beach retreat center about one hour south of Lima. She had the honor to lead a morning devotional with the group.

* On February 27th we held the last service of CC Surco and provided cake and refreshments to celebrate the conclusion of their fruitful ministry in La Cruceta. They were invited to join us in Miraflores and are praying for God to direct them to where He wants them to congregate going forward.

* On February 28th “Iglesia Cristiana Calvary Chapel Miraflores” was officially born as a legal entity here in Peru.

* On March 3rd I shared at CC Huacho, about three hours north of Lima. Our family had a great time there with the Tippie’s and getting to know the congregation.

* On March 13th the church organized a surprise party in a local restaurant for Karla’s 31st birthday where 40 people showed up. The Lord has truly blessed us with a very loving congregation to teach and to pastor here in Peru.

* Last month we had a full schedule of social/counseling get-togethers where the Spirit of God moved to bring freedom and the exchange of spiritual life.


Prayer Needs:

* For a fresh and empowering view of God, and that His will be done in our lives.

* For our marriage, our devotional lives, and for our kids to continue to grow in their desire to know the Lord.

* For social activities and godly friends for our kids.

* For my back’s healing and for the family to stay healthy.

* For an intense hunger for God in the hearts of everyone in the church, including our children and our youth.

* For the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God to be poured in our congregation as a whole.

* For the healing hand of God on the marriages of our church.

* For wisdom to do God’s will with the benevolence ministry of our church.

* For the hungry kids of Lurin and Rimac.

* For the men in the rehab center in Rimac.

* For provision for me to go to the yearly Calvary Chapel Senior Pastor’s Conference in Murrieta, CA in June, 2011.

* For provision for Karla and I to go on the Israel and Jordan Tour on March 12-24, 2012 with John Bonner from the CC Bible College here in Lima, Peru.

* For our monthly financial support to go from 63.9% to 100% of our budget.


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...

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

NEWS LETTER: FABRUARY 2011

Developments:
*
Last month our pledged monthly financial support dropped to 63.9% of our budget; after adding one-time donations for this month we received, for the first time, 100% of our budget—our Lord IS faithful..!
*
On January 7th Karla and I broke our 10-day liquid fast.
* On January 10th our family had the opportunity to spend a week of relaxing and spiritual recharge with Pastor Lucho and Nori Garcia in the beaches of Asia, about an hour south of Lima.
* On January 16th Karla and I accompanied Pastor Lucho and Nori to what was meant to be the final service at Calvary Chapel Surco. CC Surco is a congregation of mostly young adults, about a 20-minute drive from Miraflores, whose Pastor went to be with the Lord about three years ago and they haven't since been able to find a Pastor to lead them. Upon meeting them I felt a tug from the Lord to be involved with them. After much prayer we felt the Lord leading us to support them with a month of rent and spiritual leadership during which we have been seeking God's will in regard to our roll in their spiritual progress in the future. I have been teaching and worshiping with them on Sunday afternoon and praying together on Thursday night. We are still waiting on the Lord to make His will known to us...
* On January 25th we broke cake and sang Happy Birthday on a small corporate celebration for all the January birthdays in our congregation.
* On January 26th we had our monthly Movie Night at the church. The Spirit of God is using these events to bless our congregation with fellowship and spiritual oneness in a mighty way.
* On January 28th our family traveled about three hours south of Lima to Pisco to join our fellow missionaries, Marco and Monique Laura, as they celebrated the third year anniversary of Calvary Chapel Pisco. We had time to connect with them and their congregation, to lead worship, and to perform a couple of baptisms in the beach of Paracas, a well know tourist area about 15 minutes further south of Pisco.
* On January 31st we had our first baptisms in our congregation..!
* On February 5th we celebrated birthday number three for our youngest son, Samuel.
* Last month was a challenging month in terms of physical health in the family. Daniel (6) went down with a case of mild pneumonia that lasted for 20 days and Samuel (3) had a bronchitis infection that agitated his asthma. Thankfully everybody is back in good health today.
* The Lord continues to bless our children with godly friends as He brought another Peruvian-American couple with a nine years old daughter to our congregation. They are a returning-home family that lived in the US for ten years and used to congregate in Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale, our home church.

Prayer Needs:
*
For a fresh and empowering view of God, and that His will be done in our lives.
* For our marriage, our devotional lives, and for our kids to continue to grow in their desire to know the Lord.
* For social activities and godly friends for our kids.
* For my back’s healing and for the family to stay healthy.
* For an intense hunger for God in the hearts of everyone in the church, including our children and our youth.
* For the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God to be poured in our congregation as a whole.
* For the healing hand of God on the marriages of our church.
* For wisdom as we formalize the legal entity and the board of our church.
* For wisdom to do God’s will with the benevolence ministry of our church.
* For God to lead us into His will in regard to our involvement with His sheep at Calvary Chapel Surco.
* For the hungry kids of Lurin and Rimac.
* For the men in the rehab center in Rimac.
* For provision for me to go to the yearly Calvary Chapel Senior Pastor’s Conference in Murrieta, CA in June, 2011.
* For our monthly financial support to go from 63.9% to 100% of our budget.

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 checkout the new pictures of our recent activities to your left...

Sunday, January 16, 2011

NEWS LETTER: JANUARY 2011

Developments:

* Last month our pledged monthly financial support remained at 67.3% of our budget; after adding one-time donations for this month we received 82.7% of our budget—our Lord IS faithful..!

* On December 18th we had our first Christmas Dinner with the church body at a local Chinese restaurant where we celebrated the birth of our Savior and exchanging gifts with each other.

* On December 20th we visited the Iglesia El Camino in Rimac to participate in a Christmas event where we had the opportunity to bless the kids of that poor area with the love of Christ through small gifts and goody bags.

* On December 21st we had a small dinner at our house with a few key members of our congregation where we had an opportunity to say thanks for their support and build relationships.

* On December 22nd we had our fist Christmas Service.

* On December 23rd we visited a rehab center in Rimac to bless the inmates and their visiting kids with the love of Christ through small gifts and goody bags.

* December 26th the church body surprised me with a lunch celebration for my 43rd birthday. I was overwhelmed with the loving embrace of this group of people that now call me their pastor… The work of God, for sure..!

* On December 29th Karla and I started a 10-day liquid fast and encouraged the congregation to join us in a corporate fast of any kind. The Lord blessed us during this time with Biblical insight and direction for our personal life and the ministry this coming year, while developing a sense of oneness and spiritual purpose in our congregation.

* This month the Lord brought an American couple with two kids, eight and five years old, to our congregation. They will be stationed here in Peru for a couple of years and have decided to congregate with us. It’s truly an answer to prayer since we were asking the Lord for a while for godly friends for our kids.


Prayer Needs:

* For a fresh and empowering view of God, and that His will be done in our lives.

* For our marriage, our devotional lives, and for our kids to continue to grow in their desire to know the Lord.

* For social activities and godly friends for our kids.

* For my back’s healing and for the family to stay healthy.

* For an intense hunger for God in the hearts of everyone in the church, including our children and our youth.

* For the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God to be poured in our congregation as a whole.

* For the healing hand of God on the marriages of our church.

* For wisdom as we formalize the legal entity and the board of our church.

* For wisdom to do God’s will with the benevolence ministry of our church.

* For the hungry kids of Lurin and Rimac.

* For the men in the rehab center in Rimac.

* For provision for me to go to the yearly Calvary Chapel Senior Pastor’s Conference in Murrieta, CA in June, 2011.

* For our monthly financial support to go from 67.3% to 100% of our budget.


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...

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

NEWS LETTER: DECEMBER 2010

Developments:

* Last month we received one new pledge of monthly financial support that puts us at 67.3% of our budget; after adding one-time donations for this month we received 88.5% of our budget which is 136.2% of our “survival mode” budget—our Lord IS faithful..!

* On November 19th our church held a women’s conference with Gabie Goni from Running for the Gold Ministries in South Florida.

* On November 26th we had a Peruvian Lonche (light dinner) at the church. There we had a time of fellowship, live worship, and testimony. This time a fellow missionary from Soncoast Community Church in West Palm Beach, Jack Meier shared his testimony with the congregation. We were all encouraged to reach our mission field for Christ!

* On November 27th the youth of our church joined forces with the youth of Calvary Chapel Huacho to do an outreach in a Skater’s Competition held in a local skater’s park in Miraflores.

* On December 8th Karla and six other women from our congregation assisted a Women’s Conference in Calvary Chapel Koinonia.

* On December 9th Karla got together with some of the Calvary Chapel Pastor’s Wives around the area for a time of fellowship and encouragement.

* On December 10th Gabie Goni from Running for the Gold Ministries in South Florida held a leadership training over the web with the participation of women from several Calvary Chapels in the area. Karla hosted a group of five women that participated in the class from our house.

* On December 14th our church had the opportunity to bless 50 kids from Lurin with an afternoon at Bembos, a Mc Donald’s like, where the kids received a present and had a time to eat, play and be kids. Schick & Energizer of Peru sponsored this event through a member of our church.

* On December 18th we’ll be having our first Christmas Dinner with the church body at a local Chinese restaurant where we’ll be celebrating the birth of our Savior and exchanging gifts with each other.

* On December 20th we’ll be visiting the Iglesia El Camino in Rimac to participate in a Christmas event where we’ll be blessing the kids of that poor area with the love of Christ through small gifts and goody bags.

* On December 23rd we’ll be visiting a rehab center in Rimac to bless the inmates and their visiting kids with the love of Christ through small gifts and goody bags.

* This month we continued to have substantial extra medical expenses due to my back’s herniated disk and some dental problems. In total we spent an extra of about $320 that with the $360 spent last month total over $680 in the last two months.


Prayer Needs:

* For a fresh and empowering view of God, and that His will be done in our lives.

* For our marriage, our devotional lives, and for our kids to continue to grow in their desire to know the Lord.

* For social activities and godly friends for our kids.

* For my back’s healing and for the family to stay healthy.

* For an intense hunger for God in the hearts of everyone in the church.

* For the healing hand of God on the marriages of our church.

* For wisdom as we formalize the legal entity and the board of our church.

* For wisdom to do God’s will with the benevolence ministry of our church.

* For the hungry kids of Lurin and Rimac.

* For the men in the rehab center in Rimac.

* For the items mentioned above in the Developments area.

* For provision for extra medical expenses and for our family’s holiday season expenses.

* For provision for our family (2 adults and 3 children) to go to the yearly Southeast Calvary Chapel Pastor’s Conference in Merritt Island, FL in January, 2011.

* For our monthly financial support to go from 67.3% to 100% of our budget.


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...

Monday, November 15, 2010

NEWS LETTER: NOVEMBER 2010

Developments:

* Last month our pledged monthly financial support remained at 65.0% of our budget; after adding one-time donations for this month we received 87.3% of our budget which is 134.3% of our “survival mode” budget—our Lord IS faithful..!

* On October 19th we started offering the CC Ft. Lauderdale’s original Deep Faith classes on Tuesday nights. After the recorded teachings from Pastor Fidel Gomez I break with the men and Karla with the women. We are averaging a crowd of about 25 people—20 women and 5 men.

* On October 22nd we had a Peruvian Lonche (light dinner) at the church. There we had a time of fellowship, live worship, and testimony. This time a local musical artist, Mario Garcia—the Anti-Hero of Rock and Roll, shared his testimony with the congregation. We were all blessed!

* On October 31st we participated in an outreach for kids, called Life Festival, organized by Calvary Chapel Vida in Lurin, a poor town south of Lima. This event provided a sanctified alternative for the kids in that area to hear and see the Gospel with music and mimes while the world celebrates Halloween. That day Calvary Chapel Miraflores donated enough milk, oat, and sugar to feed a daily oatmeal to the children in the congregation for a month—about 25 of them. We are hoping to be able to provide this daily oatmeal on an ongoing basis.

* On November 8th Karla and I were delighted to have dinner with Pastor Lucho and his wife, Nori, from Garcia Calvary Chapel here in Lima. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and an opportunity to grasp some very helpful ministry tips.

* On November 11th we closed on the sell of our house in The Florida Keys. Yes, the Lord can be trusted... He is FAITHFUL..!

* On November 12th we had a Movie Night at the church where we played the 2003’s movie Luther. The entire audience was captivated and encouraged by this story as we realize how today we get to freely enjoy the light of God’s Word that remained hidden for so long—Sola Scriptura..!

* On November 19th we’ll be having a women’s conference at our church with Gabie Goni from Running for the Gold Ministries in South Florida.

* Karla is organizing a get-together for all the Pastor’s Wives of the Calvary Chapels in Peru for early December.

* This month we had substantial extra medical expenses due to my back’s herniated disk getting upset and regular vaccinations for the kids. In total we spent an extra of about $360 with another $220 pending for MRI expenses.


Prayer Needs:

* For a fresh and empowering view of God, and that His will be done in our lives.

* For our marriage, our devotional lives, and for our kids to continue to grow in their desire to know Christ.

* For social activities and godly friends for our kids.

* For my back’s healing and for the family to stay healthy.

* For an intense hunger for God in the hearts of everyone in the church.

* For the healing hand of God on the marriages of our church.

* For wisdom as we formalize the legal entity and the board of our church.

* For wisdom to do God’s will with the benevolence ministry of our church.

* For the hungry kids of Lurin.

* For the items mentioned above in the Developments area.

* For provision for extra medical expenses and for our family’s holiday season expenses.

* For provision for our family (2 adults and 3 children) to go to the yearly Southeast Calvary Chapel Pastor’s Conference in Merritt Island, FL in January, 2011.

* For our monthly financial support to go from 65% to 100% of our budget.


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...