Dear Pastor:
We are so thankful for your partnership in the Gospel and for constantly interceding for us before the throne of Grace. As you know, the last couple of months have been very challenging for our family and we would not have made it if it wasn’t for your prayers. We are still on this side of the world but we hope to be back in Zambia sometime around the third week of November.
Birth of Our Boy
As many of you know, Paola and I prayed for God to give us biological children for almost 10 years. We went through treatments and surgeries but nothing worked out. A couple of years after the Lord blessed us Asher, we stopped trying and we trusted that the Lord had a better plan. In December of 2018 we had already decided that we were going to adopt a little girl, but the day before Christmas (2 weeks before we would apply for adoption) we found out that Paola was pregnant, and after much prayer, we decided to come to Mexico to have the baby. We praise God that he led us to do that because we found out how risky the pregnancy was (as we explained it in our previous letter). Nonetheless, by God’s grace, he gave us the joy of meeting our baby boy Everett David Garcia on the 19th of July, 5 weeks earlier than expected. He weighed 5 pounds and just under 19 inches long.
Physical Struggles and God’s Grace
Since Paola experienced a very risky pregnancy, her cesarean was just as dangerous. Not only was it an operation to give birth to our son, but the doctors also removed her uterus, worked on her bladder (which was damaged because of the placenta) and removed a small hernia she developed during the pregnancy. By God’s grace, the Lord protected her and after 2 days in ICU and 4 more in the recovery area, she was discharged.
Our trials continued when we were told that Everett needed to be in the incubator and ICU for 10 days because of some problems with his lungs, but by God’s grace he also got better and is now a happy, healthy boy. However, all of this happened while I was also hospitalized with a severe stomach infection, in fact, I was discharged just about one hour Paola went into surgery. But in all of these situations, we saw that Lord’s hand of protection upon us.
Finally, our son Asher had been battling severe tonsillitis occasionally (among other things), and after running some tests, the doctors realized that his adenoids were extremely big and his tonsils also were an issue. So we deiced to have them both removed just a few days ago; he is still recovering from the surgery but everything went well. Once again, we are so thankful for all your prayers and for all those who assisted us financially with all the many expenses. We just ask you to pray for us as we return to Zambia, particularly for Everett, that he would adjust easily to the environment in Zambia, especially now since we are going back during malaria season.
Our Ministry in Mexico
Even in the midst of all the difficulties, our Lord has given us many opportunities to serve him by evangelizing some and counseling others, as well as the many opportunities we have had to promote his work in Zambia.
I am particularly thankful for the opportunity I had to travel to the city of Huancayo, Peru to share what the Lord is doing in Zambia. The church I visited is a very young congregation whose pastor has a great vision for global missions. He began contacting me a few months ago and we developed a good friendship, so he invited me over to Peru to preach and to share the burden for Africa. I was so impressed with the warm hospitality and the love I experienced from the brethren there, especially since they had never met me. However, what was most encouraging is the zeal and passion they have to see the gospel preached to the ends of the earth, something fairly new in Peru. But it is a blessing to see how the Lord is also raising a new generation of churches in South America that want to pray for and support global missions.
Over the last few weeks, we have also been able to visit and promote the work in Zambia among some churches here in Mexico. We have attended several conferences in the last couple of months and it has been a real blessing to see many more Mexican missionaries going out to different fields. There were at least 10 missionaries in each of the last 2 conferences we attended and it is a joy to be part of this new generation that the Lord is raising up in Mexico for the spread of the Gospel among the nations.
However, over the next 4 Sundays, I will be visiting churches in America to give a report of what God is doing in Africa. Please pray for me as I will travel many miles in less than a month. Also pray for my family as they stay behind. They will not be able to travel with me since Asher is still recovering and Everett does not yet have his US paperwork; it will hopefully come out soon..
Crisis in Zambia
Finally, we would ask you to please pray for our return to Zambia and the overall situation of the country. Zambia is currently undergoing a very difficult crisis. First of all, there is a severe drought that has hit southern Africa the last 2 years, which in turn has created a famine in different parts of the country. This drought also means that we lose power about 12 hours in average daily (some areas even more than that), which makes it very difficult not only to carry out your daily activities, but also almost impossible for businesses to function. This has created massive unemployment, as well as crime and an accelerated increase of prices of most of the basic stuff, such as fuel (over $5 per gallon) and the staple food. Therefore, most people (who already live in poverty) are desperate and are struggling to survive. In short, we ask you to pray for the country and for our brethren that are struggling to make ends meet. But most importantly, pray that the Lord would bring many people to the cross, and that we would have many more open doors to share the hope of the Gospel
Prayer Requests
• Pray for us as preparations are underway to return to Zambia in November
• Pray for the crisis in Zambia and for all our brethren there
• Pray for the trips we have to take before we go back to Zambia
• Pray for our family’s health
