The Garcia’s consistently send out a great newsletter. It’s timely. It’s informative. It has a great balance of all the right ingredients. They post it to their blog and it also arrives electronically in my email inbox.

Here is a list of the ingredients that make their newsletter a great communication tool.

1. News about their ministry.
2. Family news.
3. Prayer needs.
4. Financial needs including budget status.
5. Praise reports.
   

These five ingredients are a great template for any newsletter. Sometimes when you sit down to write, your mind goes blank. Every missionary experiences this. In fact, anyone that must use communication as part of the ministry goes through this. There are two things you can do to overcome this.

First, make the time. That’s the biggest part of the battle. Actually sitting down to write you supporters is the lowest priority in our busy ministry lives. This must change in order to keep your pool of supporters from shrinking.

Second, make notes. On a piece of paper that you keep in a journal or somewhere on your desk, create headings from the above list and jot down ideas and events that take place day-to-day under the appropriate heading. Believe it or not, this is over 75% of the task. All you have to do now is string your notes together in a way that will make sense to your readers.

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 10^th my Senior Pastor, Steve Turner, arrived in Lima with a missionary medical team to serve in Lurin.

* On Sunday April 11^th 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 15^th 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 18^th. 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 1^st 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 5^th 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 2^nd, 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 2^nd..!

* On May 9^th we had our first baby dedication and our first church event, Mother’s Day Celebration.

* On May 20^th 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 22^nd 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 23^rd.

* 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.

Garcia blog

Garcia missionary page

Developments:

* Last month we received four new pledges of monthly financial support that put us at 43% of our budget, but after adding the one-time donations for this month we received 65% of our budget which is 100% of our “survival mode” budget—our Lord is faithful..!

* On March 13^th we attended Gracia Calvary Chapel’s 15-year anniversary with Pastor Lucho Garcia. Gracia is the first Calvary Chapel of Peru.

* On March 14^th we had our first baptisms in Peru where I led the study and helped Pastor Javier perform the baptisms in a pool in Lurin. I had the pleasure of baptizing my sister-in-law, Maria Monica.

* We started our first Sunday service on March 21^st. As of today I’ve been preaching/teaching at the church for the last three Sundays/Wednesdays.

* I’m not one to go by numbers but I couldn’t help to notice that church attendance on Sundays has been around 35 adults and 5 kids—up from about 18 adults the previous weeks.

* We had our first profession of faith! On March 24^th Karla led a young woman to the Lord after the mid-week prayer meeting at the church.

* We had the privilege of spending Easter weekend with Pastor Lucho and his wife Nori in a house in Asia—a very nice vacation area close to Lima. We got refreshed and connected, as well as, received very helpful and practical ministry tips. Thank you Pastor Lucho and Nori!

* On April 6^th I got my “Peruvian Green Card.” Now I’m officially staying in Peru… I had no need to leave the country.

* My Senior Pastor, Steve Turner, from Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale—Plantation Campus will be visiting us along with a missionary medical team arriving on April 10^th. Pastor Steve will be blessing us with Sunday and Wednesday teachings in Miraflores and the team will be ministering in Lurin until April 18^th.

* We’ve been honored with an invitation to a three-day retreat for Senior Pastors and wives of all the Calvary Chapels of Peru from April 15^th to 17^th. We feel way out of our league but blessed and thankful for the opportunity to refresh our marriage and connect with the rest of the Calvary Chapels in Peru.

* We’re still in nomadic mode but aiming to move into our rented apartment around April 20^th; we’re really looking forward to this!

* We’re making the arrangements to ship a small container with most of our house and ministry belongings sometime in May—all earlier dates were taken.

Prayer Needs:

* For the will of God to be done and His kingdom to be further established in our lives.

* Please keep our marriage in your prayers—it’s been under heavy-duty attack since we arrived in the mission field.

* For our kids to continue to grow in their desire to know God in all His splendor.

* For our devotional lives to grow stronger and that we would plunge deeper into God’s love.

* To continue to find favor with the congregation of Miraflores for a graceful transition as we assume the leadership of the church.

* For wisdom in the many decisions we need to make in the coming month.

* 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 43% 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...

Garcia Blog

Garcia Missionary Page

Developments:

* We are in the other side of the river… All glory to God, we made it to Peru!

* The enemy didn’t waste time to attack us. The first day was brutal for me, but thanks to your prayers it’s gotten better every day.

* Last month we received one new pledge of monthly financial support that put us at 40% of our budget; we also have a total of six open pledges. Through one-time donations and monthly supporters that started contributing before departure day we are at 100%! of our projected moving expenses—praise the Lord!

* I was interviewed by Bob and Anitra from the Reach FM Morning Show where I had an opportunity to expose our ministry and to ask for prayer on a state-wide Christian radio broadcast.

* Karla and I finally visited Pastor Chet at his house in the Bahamas for fellowship and training. We receive very pertinent ministry tips from Pastor Chet and his wife Andrea. Thank you Pastor Chet and Andrea for your love and support..!

* After coming back from the Bahamas, Pastor Chet and Pastor Bob presented and prayed us off from the pulpit of CC Ft Lauderdale on the Wednesday night service. ‘Thank You Lord for validating our calling through the laying on of hands of our Senior Pastor!

* We visited Pastor Carlos Aviles’ Horizon Calvary Chapel of Clermont, FL to share the vision for our ministry with the congregation. The Aviles family and the congregation received us with the love of Christ and blessed and encouraged us immensely.

* Our friends from the Plantation Campus blessed us with a surprise farewell party at the Garage with all our friends from all campuses. Thank you to all involved in this event for it hugely blessed our hearts!!

* The Sunday before we left, Pastor Steve and the elders at Plantation, our home church campus, laid hands and prayed us off from the altar.

* Since we arrived in Peru on the morning of March 4^th we have accomplished a lot. Today we have only one week in Peru and we already bought a car from a sister in the Lord (a divine appointment), opened bank accounts, did all the errands pertaining my Peruvian green card (this is a big one), the kids started homeschool, got cell phones, and found a place to live where we’ll move-in in a month.

* Ministry-wise, we met with Pastor Javier Barrionuevo, our Senior Pastor in Peru, and I’m scheduled to start preaching in Miraflores on both Sunday and Wednesday services the 21^st and the 24^th, respectively. I’m also doing baptisms in Lurin this Sunday 14^th and substituting Pastor Javier on a Nehemiah class that he is scheduled to teach at the Bible College on Friday 19^th.

Prayer Needs:

* For the will of God to be done and His kingdom to be further established in our lives.

* For wisdom and clarity in our decision making.

* To find favor with the congregation of Miraflores for a graceful transition as we assume the leadership of the church.

* For our devotional lives to grow stronger and that we would plunge deeper into God’s love.

* That nothing in us would hinder the work that God is doing in our hearts in this season of abasement.

* For protection on our marriage and our children.

* For the Lord to give Karla a heart for the children’s ministry in the church--this is not her strongest gift.

* For Karla to learn to drive in the streets of Lima.

* For the items mentions above in the Developments area.

* For our monthly financial support to go from 40% to 65% of our budget so we could adequately minister the Word of God to the middle-class in Lima—the main reason we came to Peru!

Special Note:

After prayer and fasting we sense it unwise for me to start looking for a secular job at this time. With all the settling activities in the area of family and ministry if I were to add a regular job to the equation it would leave very little time for ministry—the main reason we’re here in Peru..!

For this reason we are slashing the original budget and going into “survival mode”. We figure that if we cram the family into a small two bedroom apartment, live on grains and vegetables, and give up provision for next year’s homeschooling curriculum, extra-curriculum activities, and entertainment we could survive on 65% of the original budget.

This would leave us with only 25% of the budget to make up for with any supernatural provision that God would come up with… This is why we are asking for your fervent prayers in this regard.

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...

Garcia Blog

Garcia Missionary Page

Developments:

Developments:

* Praise the Lord! We received four new pledges of monthly financial support that put us at 17% of our budget. Through one-time donations and monthly supporters that started contributing we are at 25% of our projected moving expenses. We also received three new open pledges, people who formally let us know they intend to support us financially but don’t know the dollar amount yet.

* This month I attended one more funeral and one more wedding. I’m now 2 out of 3 weddings and 2 out of 3 funerals in my pastoral training track. I also had a one-on-one funeral training session with Pastor John Chinelly. He and I are meeting again in January for a one-on-one wedding training session. This is a great blessing since Pastor John has a wealth of ministry experience—thank you Pastor John!

* Our sister in Christ, Kim Fernandez, organized and hosted a Mary Kay party where all the proceeds will go towards our moving fund. Thank you Kim!

* This month we had our booth giving exposure to our ministry at the Spanish Ministries – Calvary Chapel Southeast Pastor’s Conference in Aventura. We had the privilege to make acquaintances with some of the key leaders of the Calvary Chapel Spanish Ministries here in Miami and in California.

* Our trip to visit Pastor Chet at his house in the Bahamas for fellowship and training was postponed to sometime in January.

* Our friends from the Calvary Ft. Lauderdale Campus are organizing a Love Offering Dinner Party to raise awareness and support for our ministry on 1/15/10.

* We are scheduled to have our booth at the Calvary Chapel Southeast Pastor’s Conference in Merritt Island from 1/18/10 to 1/20/10.

* We are schedule to have our booth at Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale on 1/23/10 and 1/24/10.

Special Announcements:

1. We are selling our cars. If you’re interested or know someone that’s interested, please, let us know. These are the specifics:

* 2007 Honda Civic EX Coupe 2D. 30,000 miles. Gray. $14,500.

* 2003 Dodge Caravan SE Minivan 4D. 130,000 miles. Silver. $3,500.

2. We anticipate having a gap between the time we have to move out of our house and the time we leave to Peru. Please let us know if you can help with our accommodations during that time.

Prayer Needs:

* For the will of God to be done and His kingdom to be further established in our lives.

* For wisdom in regard to the logistics of our move to Peru.

* For God to sell or rent our house.

* For all the items mentions above in the Development and Special Announcements area.

* For one-time donations toward our moving expenses.

* For monthly financial and prayer support for our ministry.

Thank you for your faithful work of intersession..!

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...

Garcia Missionary Page

Andres & Karla Garcia: NEWS LETTER: DECEMBER 2009