2018 was an amazing year. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support.

I know Jack would be proud of all we’ve done together in his absence these last three years. I miss him so much, and I’m grateful for all of you who continue to partner with us to bring the good news and His love to those in need.

The Lord brings people to this ministry who genuinely show how the body of Christ should function. People full of love and compassion, kindness and faith and hope. People who hear His call and walk out their faith with action. Thank you for joining us in this great adventure!

Here are some of the things we’ve accomplished together this year:

• Our Children’s Church in India turned one, and it keeps growing. During Spring VBS, (which was also our first visit to India!) our 20 (outcast) kids brought 80 new kids. After months of showing them the love of Jesus, many of those kids are still coming each week to our church, and telling their families how much Jesus loves them!
• Together, we protected a tribe from typhoid and water-borne illnesses by providing two water tanks which we keep filled all month.
• We sent each child from our Children’s Church to school! They’re the first generation in their families to attend school and learn to read. We covered every hut in the village with new tarps to give them their first rainy season where they can stay dry.
• In Mexico, we fixed and replaced 20 roofs. If you’ve ever had a leaky roof you couldn’t fix, you’ll know how big a blessing this is! See weekly updates here, here and here.
• We began an Adult Literacy Center when the moms saw their children learning to read and were inspired to do the same.
• We prayed and provided medical care for all who needed it and saw healings from leprosy, malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis, epilepsy, a brain tumor, and more!
• We gave goats and tools to families to earn a living without the dangerous conditions that are usually available to the outcasts in society.
• We met and gained the trust of refugees in Mexico. We make sure they have food and medicine and diapers and know they are loved and not alone.
• We provided a safe place for kids in Mexico to go after school and on weekends where they learn about Jesus, love, friendship, and giving! These kids, who are the poorest in their colony, now regularly ask to help us prepare the food distribution for the refugees. Love and generosity always multiply!
• We held our 11th VBS for the persecuted Christians in India. This is the outreach that began all our work in India. 200 children walked miles to attend. They are asking us to plant a church there for them in the coming year. Please pray with us about this!
• We published Jack’s book, Bible Stories for Adults this spring, with both volumes in one! It’s available as a free ebook or as a paperback on Amazon.
• On the site, we read 135 articles and 780 of Jack’s Q&A that I reposted during the year!
• Our little Joel, whom many of you are still praying for (thank you!!) successfully had a grapefruit-sized tumor removed from his brain! He continues to do well and just turned 5! The Lord is so good! Joel is a testament to all of the love and power and kindness of the Lord. If you don’t know his story, you’ll want to search for it on the site. It’s an amazing example of the goodness of God.

During all this, the site and readership continue to grow! Thank you for sharing this ministry with your friends!

Looking forward

Website: While we continue and grow our many outreaches, we’re putting a special emphasis on how this site works for you. This year, the site redesign will turn two! I’m looking at refreshing it using suggestions and ideas from you. I’d like to organize the homepage better, giving easier access to the previously featured content. What would you like to see? What frustrations or suggestions do you have? Let me know here.

Community: You’ve been asking for several years for a gathering place online for our little community. I’ve been looking for a solution that would let us foster fellowship among our readers while discouraging the unkind behavior we’ve all seen in forums and message boards online. I would love to provide a supportive, loving place for you to hang out in where you can fellowship with others. A safe place behind a log-in where you can ask for prayer and pray for others. Not a place to debate theology, or talk about how much better we are because of our right beliefs. There are plenty of those already. I would love it to feel like I’ve invited you into my virtual living room. I’m looking at options for this right now. If you have a suggestion, either for the platform we could use or for making a community like this work, please let me know.

Donations: There are a couple of options I’m looking at that will let you manage your donations easier. Letting you update, change, cancel cards. I’m excited to get this going in 2019.

Please continue to keep us, this ministry, our volunteers, and those we serve in your prayers. I pray the Lord blesses you abundantly beyond all you can ask for or imagine!

With love and gratitude,

♥ Samantha