Drug Addict Stalker with Machete

Thank you for your love and support. We wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

During a year full of so many challenges we hope you are able to see the goodness and majesty of God. We have certainly had to stop and lean in numerous times this year because things have been hard, but we continue to marvel at His faithfulness, power and overall goodness. We share this update with hopes you will join us in prayer, but also in celebration for what God has done, is doing and will continue to do!

DRUG ADDICT STALKER WITH MACHETE

It all started with our neighbor sending us a video of a homeless man smoking meth while sitting on our chair in the enclosed patio area right outside our kitchen – while we were home. We didn’t notice him, but our neighbor chased him out. Our neighbor was keeping an eye out since this same intruder had attempted to steal our neighbor’s motorcycle the day before. Since then, he has come back more times than we can count (usually at least daily), threatened us with a knife and a machete.

The police have come numerous times and there is now a restraining order against him. Fabiola has prayed for him, and we have tried to talk to him, but sadly he is not well and does not want to be part of a program that could offer him help. When the police came one night after the machete incident, they couldn’t find the 2-foot blade that he had hid while the police were enroute – but the next day we found it buried in the planter space outside our neighbor’s door. He continues to pound on doors at 3am in the morning, use the bathroom and do drugs on our property.

We have had a few prayer meetings with our neighbors on the property. We have installed cameras, motion lights, locks and have the police and neighbors involved too. Everyone is on edge and not feeling super confident or comfortable coming and going – especially at night when we just don’t know if he’ll be waiting outside the door or behind a car.

Here is a video of the intruder escaping while the police were looking on the side of the yard. (12 seconds)

The police were only able to find a smaller knife and drugs on him, but later we located the machete he used to threaten us with (before we retreated indoors) hidden in the space outside the front door. [Not sure why it looks so much smaller in the photo.]

The morning after being arrested he returned to look for the machete he had buried. (8 seconds)

This was from last night...(on right side) (16 seconds)

FIRES STILL AT BACK DOOR

Some have asked how the fire situation continues…well, we did have a major fire incident last week, but thankfully the fire department was very quick to respond with two engines. With the weather getting cooler and darker we smell the fires burning more and more once again. We appreciate your prayers for safety.

 

CHURCH PLANTING – 100s of Churches for 2022

We had an international church planting school planned to help train key leaders from Bangladesh, India and some other nations in Africa and Asia, but it has proven very difficult for them to get visas right now with COVID still lingering. There is great need and great interest, and we continue building and training online, but pray for opportunities in the coming year for this gathering.

COVID also made us adapt our plan for a school in Mexico for this month, but we plan on being there in March to train up key leaders to lead their own church planting schools. They have a goal to plant 500 churches throughout Mexico and Latin America.

Continue to pray for Pastor Javier who I have been coaching as he has been working with 10 churches in Columbia as he trains them using the Evangel School of Church Planting that we did with him. We believe next there will be even more multiplication through him and his growing network!

A small network of churches reached out to us this last month looking for help bringing their churches that are over 75 years old and started in the city but have not been growing. It is such a privilege to come alongside and provide resources and teaching that can help plant or rebirth churches and ministries.

 

TRAUMA HEALING – A Growing Need; A Growing Network

I have just finished training 3 groups of new Trauma Healing Group Facilitators. These are 9-week courses that equip key leaders who will lead healing groups in their churches or ministries. It is encouraging to see how impactful this material is and how our community network is growing. Two of these groups were in Spanish with people across the US, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the other in English. Three of our facilitators are working on their advanced training (about a year-long process) and soon will be able to help us grow our reach even more as they can co-facilitate these trainings with us.

We already have several exciting groups lined up for the start of 2022 and plan on one of them training key leaders in much of French-speaking Africa.

 

REDEMPTIVE POVERTY WORK – No More Toxic Charity Work

In this holiday season a lot more attention tends to be given to giving and serving especially those in need which is great, but here at World Impact we have learned a lot over the years and are working on helping others understand that there are both helpful and harmful ways to help. We are having great conversations with churches big and small, rural, suburban, and urban about how we can help in a way that empowers and doesn’t hurt…this framework is called Redemptive Poverty Work. It is moving beyond ‘charity’, shifting our mindset from rescue to advocacy towards empowerment. If you are interested in knowing more for yourself or for a group (small group, church, missions team, etc.) let me know and I can send you some material or set up a time to dive even deeper. The last thing we want to do is offer help that makes things worse.

 

FUENTE CHURCH – Real Community; Real Impact

Our church continues to re-establish itself in the community that has been hit hard by COVID. Most families lost jobs, have been sick and have not fully recovered. We have provided a lot of physical resources thanks to churches and organizations (and individuals) that have partnered with us. We also take very seriously our call to minister spiritually and have started some new small groups in the community and are working on new ideas and outreaches to the community for 2022. For Thanksgiving we have given away over 100 meals and for Christmas, while we won’t have the huge production that we usually have we will be working with a handful of families to pour out blessings on them.

 

OUR CHILDREN – Our Co-Laborers and First Ministry 

Rebecca is a junior and on the Ministry Team and playing varsity softball.

Angela just got on the basketball team at her school, she is a sophomore. She is also doing a work internship at our church where gradually she is learning different practical skills that will help her in future job opportunities.

Justice was in his first play, Our Town, and is on the JV soccer team and really loving high school; he is a freshman.

Beniah is reading a lot and drawing great pictures and making comic books. He keeps us all smiling as he tells us all that he loves us constantly. He is in 2^nd grade.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving! We are blessed to serve Jesus and be able to do it with you!

Thank you,

Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca, Angela, Justice and Beniah