Nobody ever said it'd be easy, and it hasn't been, not by any fair reckoning.

But it kinda takes our breath to think that seven years have passed since wheels-up. It comes out to about 365 Sundays, more than 200 mens' meetings, the same for our ladies, plus another 250 or so Friday nights in Vista Marina (followed by 250 or so futbol games). Hundreds more, including youth, baptisms, marriage seminars, Bible studies, team days, outreaches, prayer meetings, weddings, movie nights and beach hangs. A thousand one-on-ones, meals and errands. Seven crazy years. Two churches. One purpose.

We've lost track of how many -- must be at least a buck-fifty -- have come to know Jesus. And many castaways, Mexicans deported here from the States, have found a place to start over. A strong family of faith is being built. A new generation impacted.

But YOU are the one who's put air in the tires and under our wings. So at the seven-year mark, the first thing on our list is "thank you." 

Without you, there would be nothing to talk about. All the good stuff mentioned above, well, erase it all, because none of it happens.

We came here with three daughters. Seven years later, they've each grown up and flown the coop.* We've stayed on, through thick... and not-so-thick. But our heart is strong, and standing on the threshold of Year Eight, what we want to say is: We hope you're ready for more, because we're just getting started!

With that, we hope you'll take a few minutes to check out the rest of this email.

 

 

That's us... summer 2008.

 

We came to Mexico to plant an English-speaking church. With so many retired gringos living here, we expected our congregation to made up of, well... mostly retired gringos. Seven years later, that sure isn't what we got. 

We've seen many people and families restored from scratch. Two of our deported couples have even gone on to plant their own churches here in Mexico. There are so many great stories. Glory to God for all He has done!

Near the end of this email, you'll see a picture of us standing in front of a wall that has the word "HOPE" on it. The letters themselves are made up of hundreds of tiny photographs. Those are some of the people we've helped, you and us, together. Moms, dads, couples, kids. To us, it looks like a trophy case.


Take an extra few minutes to watch our 7th anniversary HCR video:

 

Remember the famous line from the animated film "Monsters?" "We SCARE because we CARE!" Think about it: We really do scare the enemy when we care about the lost. In fact, we believe this work SCARES the DAYLIGHTS out of the Devil. We know that because our last two years have been our hardest here. Our enemy doesn't want us to do this. But we believe the Lord does, and with your help, we will. 

Over the course of this year, we've lost $1,000 in regular monthly support, phased out by one of our primary supporters. Yes, we do still have some faithful monthly givers (including several wonderful churches), but we are now truly feeling the effects of that loss.

We never want to seem like beggars, but the truth is, our bank accounts are empty.

 

Listen: We ALWAYS appreciate one-time gifts. And we know that it's hard to make 'yet another' monthly commitment in these fiscally difficult times. We get it. If that's you, we understand. But if you're able to consider partnering with us on a monthly basis, if you can step up and say, "I'm on the team," then you'll be the one keeping us on the job.

If you are one of those who already support our ministry with monthly giving, know that we are so very grateful for your partnership. But if you aren't, would you consider becoming part of our team? Wanna help us keep 'scaring' the enemy? 

 

 

Our home phone:619-754-4157

see our church website

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(Facebook is where you'll see pictures of us... such as our HUGE camping trip this summer with all our kids and grandkids!)

Mailing address:
Don & Sandy Godwin

PO Box 121570

Chula Vista, CA 91912