September 2022 Newsletter
Matthew 14:18-21 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Greetings Friends,
We can feel the weather change and the dog days of summer being chased by fall. I think the last update was sometime back in June, so thought I better get a letter sent out. We had a great summer with several activities going on in the ministry. In July, we had the pleasure to prepare for a trip back to the Midwest for some family time and fundraising. After weeks of watching the price of flights fluctuate, we finally got a decent deal on tickets. We had the chance to see a bunch of friends and had some great fellowship. We visited three churches and attended a golf tournament. It was a great time to see the friends we have made over the years, and to see the people again who have come to help in the ministry. One of the highlights of our trip was that we stayed a couple nights in my brother's camper on the Missouri River, and were taken out fishing by a new friend named Al. It was just a great trip all around. Thank you everyone for an awesome visit.
While we were gone, our activity in Mexico was still going strong. We receive updates frequently from Cristina’s ministry & feeding center, and also Sylvia’s feeding centers for the kids. Cristina has moved to another city, and yet another dump. She told us yesterday they are serving and ministering to 70-80 people on a weekly basis. Her original location is still serving around 70 people, four times a week. She has also started serving at the prison to share with them the Word of God and some hope. Sylvia is serving 30-40 young school kids each day, and also delivering meals to the homes of the surrounding neighbors. With your prayers and financial support, we can help them with the finances so they can continue to share the word of God and a meal to those in need. Why does food play such a critical part in sharing God's word? Years ago, I read a book titled “Preacher with a plow” by Samuel Coles. The author, a missionary in Africa, shared the word of God for months, with absolutely no response from the people he was ministering to. He was so frustrated! He got up in front of the group he had been sharing with and asked in frustration, "What am I doing wrong that you don't hear me or respond to what I have been teaching?" The local leader stood and told the missionary in loving and humble words,"Pastor, we can not hear your words over the growling hunger in our stomach." He changed his ministry, built a plow, and taught them to farm and feed themselves. After a short period of time, the Word of God he shared started to produce fruit. (Sounds like Jesus feeding the people who were following him.) Thank you for your support to help these ministries continue their work.
The student part of our ministry is producing fruit beyond words! One of the students has been living at the ministry house all summer, immersing himself in his studies to become a federal judge. While there, he received a phone call from the federal government with a possible job opportunity with the government in the capital of Sonora.
One of the young ladies has entered medical school to become a doctor, and is excelling in her studies. Another young lady, who just graduated with a degree in Psychology, has taken a position at a local clinic. She is now working with young kids in the community. Upon graduation, the mayor's office snatched up a young lady to work in the city hall. Her grades and determination in school spoke volumes to the local government, and they offered her a position. A young lady with a law degree in her hand, has applied with the police academy and has hopes of becoming a detective in the near future. I could go on and on about these young adults. I want to just give a huge thanks to all who support and sponsor these students.
Along with higher education comes very high tuition for the students and their sponsors. One day our Pastor from our church in Yuma and his son were in Mexico picking something up from the house. We began to share our predicament regarding the higher university tuition costs. Our Pastor said he felt they could help by doing a presentation on Mission Sunday. He sent some guys down to shoot a short video, and presented it at a Sunday morning service. After the service, we were informed that we had been given $10,000 to begin a scholarship fund! This money will go to help these young adults pursue higher education. A huge thank you to Church For The City and your continued support. We still have five young adults on the list waiting for a sponsor. So if you feel led to help one of these young adults obtain an education, and help break the cycle of poverty, we would love to hear from you. Again, thank you for helping to change lives with the love of Christ.
Prayer requests:
Student sponsorship
Prayers for the upcoming fall and winter season. It looks to be very busy
The need for a few more monthly supporters
Overall covering of prayer for the ministry
Love you all,
Curt and Kelly VanEkeren
Greetings Friends,
We can feel the weather change and the dog days of summer being chased by fall. I think the last update was sometime back in June, so thought I better get a letter sent out. We had a great summer with several activities going on in the ministry. In July, we had the pleasure to prepare for a trip back to the Midwest for some family time and fundraising. After weeks of watching the price of flights fluctuate, we finally got a decent deal on tickets. We had the chance to see a bunch of friends and had some great fellowship. We visited three churches and attended a golf tournament. It was a great time to see the friends we have made over the years, and to see the people again who have come to help in the ministry. One of the highlights of our trip was that we stayed a couple nights in my brother's camper on the Missouri River, and were taken out fishing by a new friend named Al. It was just a great trip all around. Thank you everyone for an awesome visit.
While we were gone, our activity in Mexico was still going strong. We receive updates frequently from Cristina’s ministry & feeding center, and also Sylvia’s feeding centers for the kids. Cristina has moved to another city, and yet another dump. She told us yesterday they are serving and ministering to 70-80 people on a weekly basis. Her original location is still serving around 70 people, four times a week. She has also started serving at the prison to share with them the Word of God and some hope. Sylvia is serving 30-40 young school kids each day, and also delivering meals to the homes of the surrounding neighbors. With your prayers and financial support, we can help them with the finances so they can continue to share the word of God and a meal to those in need. Why does food play such a critical part in sharing God's word? Years ago, I read a book titled “Preacher with a plow” by Samuel Coles. The author, a missionary in Africa, shared the word of God for months, with absolutely no response from the people he was ministering to. He was so frustrated! He got up in front of the group he had been sharing with and asked in frustration, "What am I doing wrong that you don't hear me or respond to what I have been teaching?" The local leader stood and told the missionary in loving and humble words,"Pastor, we can not hear your words over the growling hunger in our stomach." He changed his ministry, built a plow, and taught them to farm and feed themselves. After a short period of time, the Word of God he shared started to produce fruit. (Sounds like Jesus feeding the people who were following him.) Thank you for your support to help these ministries continue their work.
The student part of our ministry is producing fruit beyond words! One of the students has been living at the ministry house all summer, immersing himself in his studies to become a federal judge. While there, he received a phone call from the federal government with a possible job opportunity with the government in the capital of Sonora.
One of the young ladies has entered medical school to become a doctor, and is excelling in her studies. Another young lady, who just graduated with a degree in Psychology, has taken a position at a local clinic. She is now working with young kids in the community. Upon graduation, the mayor's office snatched up a young lady to work in the city hall. Her grades and determination in school spoke volumes to the local government, and they offered her a position. A young lady with a law degree in her hand, has applied with the police academy and has hopes of becoming a detective in the near future. I could go on and on about these young adults. I want to just give a huge thanks to all who support and sponsor these students.
Along with higher education comes very high tuition for the students and their sponsors. One day our Pastor from our church in Yuma and his son were in Mexico picking something up from the house. We began to share our predicament regarding the higher university tuition costs. Our Pastor said he felt they could help by doing a presentation on Mission Sunday. He sent some guys down to shoot a short video, and presented it at a Sunday morning service. After the service, we were informed that we had been given $10,000 to begin a scholarship fund! This money will go to help these young adults pursue higher education. A huge thank you to Church For The City and your continued support. We still have five young adults on the list waiting for a sponsor. So if you feel led to help one of these young adults obtain an education, and help break the cycle of poverty, we would love to hear from you. Again, thank you for helping to change lives with the love of Christ.
Prayer requests:
Student sponsorship
Prayers for the upcoming fall and winter season. It looks to be very busy
The need for a few more monthly supporters
Overall covering of prayer for the ministry
Love you all,
Curt and Kelly VanEkeren