2016 Is on the Way

Dear Life Church Family,

I know that many of you read my blog but I also know that several are not on facebook and do not see when it is posted so I wanted to give you an update about where I am heading, what I will be doing and my needs for the coming year.

I will be leaving for Guatemala again on Jan 18 to begin work immediately. We will be hosting about 14 groups and working with 2 others this year. We have approximately 28 weeks of work on the schedule as of now and there are sure to be a few changes and additions as the year progresses. I will be returning home in late March most likely for about 3 weeks and then returning for 6 to 8 more months.

We will be doing much the same work as last year. We will continue with house and stove construction. We still have work to complete on both schools and the Church in Membrillal. We will continue to work on the Food Machine in Zapote. We will also work with medical teams as well in both villages. Our desire is to find projects that will help people become self sufficient and allow us to proclaim the Gospel to them.

We never know what a year will bring and there are always lots of surprises but we are looking forward with eager anticipation.

As for me, I am behind on my fundraising. I need to raise about $3,000 by Jan 11 before I leave to cover some expenses. I have received about $1,000 so far and half of that has gone to my initial airfare. I will also need to buy a roundtrip ticket in March before I return.  I have set a goal of $12,000 this year for my personal expenses. I set the amount at that because that is the amount needed for a resident visa. Though I love to come back here, it would be more convenient to do in my timing rather than the Guatemalan governments. I also am looking to raise $5,000 extra for a car. It would probably cost around $8,000 for a reliable vehicle and I figure that there should be about $3,000 that I could spare from the $12,000 because I do not have rent yet. This is the best year to buy a car because next year I will have the extra expenses of rent and utilities.

I am asking you to consider partnering with me in this ministry this year. In order to raise the needed funds, I am looking for 20 monthly individual supporters and 3 or 4 monthly supporting Churches. I also want you to consider Jean, Lauren and Annie and the work they too will be doing in Guatemala. If God leads you to support them instead, that is great. Mostly I want to ask you to pray for us and get involved.

 Thank You.


If you would like to help with my expenses you can mail checks to  
Life Church Morris
C/O San Lucas Mission    
P.O. Box 679                      
Morris, IL 60450

            For Lauren and Jean              
C/O Santiago Mission
                                 
For Annie                            
C/O Esther House