Ministry Newsletter

Hebrews 6:12 says we should imitate those who “through faith and patience inherit the promises.” We tend to put all the emphasis on faith and then avoid the patience part. I don’t like to wait! Yet waiting is an important part of the process of receiving God’s promises. This has certainly been true in my work overseas.

I started visiting Guatemala way back in 2003, and the Lord connected me with a wonderful Pentecostal church there in a town called El Rosario. But after He gave me the burden to establish a women’s shelter for domestic violence victims, the building didn’t materialize overnight. The process was slow and painful.

And yet faith and patience were applied, and on July 2, 2022, we dedicated the facility to the Lord in a beautiful outdoor service. Below you can see the gorgeous sign that was installed on the front of the building the day before the dedication. The sign was donated by a businesswoman from Guatemala City who wanted to help when she found out about our work.

I spent a week in Guatemala in early July with a great team (see the photo below): Pastor Luis Roig and his daughter, Emilyn, came from Puerto Rico; my ministry assistant, Abdiel López, lives in Florida; and Rodolfo Bermudez, a disciple from Mexico, traveled with me to Guatemala once before, in 2019. Also in the photo is Pastor Otoniel Morales, who has been my ministry partner in this project since we began. Along with his wife, Ilma, “Pastor Otto” has become a dear friend and colleague. His church will provide the volunteers who will serve as counselors at Casa de Ester.

In the photo below, Pastor Luis Roig and I are cutting the ribbon at the dedication ceremony. Luis is on the board of The Mordecai Project and he also serves as our Latin American Director. He has traveled with me to Guatemala ten times and he loves the people there. In 2015 and 2019 he also sent a large team to serve in Guatemala from his church, Casa del Padre in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. We both wept as we poured anointing oil on the steps at the entrance.

During this trip I met the woman in the photo below, Sheyni Juarez. She found out about our women’s shelter from Pastor Otto, and she offered to help us. Sheyni is from an indigenous people group known as the Q’eqchi’ tribe, and she is the first indigenous woman in Guatemala to become a lawyer. She is Catholic, and she was very touched in the women’s conference we sponsored while I was in El Rosario during this trip. We hope Sheyni can help provide the legal assistance to women who are trapped in violent situations.

During this trip I preached at the church below, Iglesia Nueva Vision, in a community called Sunsapote. You can see me with the pastor, Mari Larios. This woman once owned a nearby bar, but when she got saved she became a powerful leader and she wanted to plant a church in her village. Pastor Otto helped her, and in 2019, during my last trip, someone sold her the land needed for a church. During the pandemic the congregation grew to 70 people, and we had more than that in attendance on the Sunday night when I spoke. Several children also gave their hearts to the Lord that evening.

One of my favorite moments of this trip was on Sunday night when Pastor Luis Roig and I preached at the congregation in a community called Pata Galana. There was a young man there named David (see below) who had just been in a serious car accident. David was under strong conviction because he knew he should not have been hanging out with some of his worldly friends, who were luring him into a life of drugs. He came to the meeting that night with a heart that was ready, and when I gave the invitation he stood immediately to give his life to Jesus. He is already being discipled by the people from Pastor Otto’s church.

Before we left Guatemala I also spoke in churches in the towns of Estanzuela and San Jorge, and the Lord moved powerfully. In both cases the pastors have become good friends and they want to help us with Casa de Ester. At the church in San Jorge I invited Luis, Abdiel and Rodolfo to speak, so we could do some tag team ministry. It was so special to hear the young guys preach. After the meeting, the pastor asked all the young children to come up and lay hands on us and pray. You can see this precious moment below. It was a powerful reminder that we are investing in the next generation as we sow seeds in this nation.

Now that we have finished the women’s shelter, the real work begins! In July we will be installing the furniture and getting the rooms ready. The house has five bedrooms, and four of them are designated for women and their children who are in crisis situations. Many other women will come to the center for counseling, Bible studies and special trainings. In August we are sending Dr. Nori Menendez (below) to Guatemala to train our staff, volunteer counselors and other team members. Nori will live in the center and set up all systems so that we can operate this ministry for God’s glory and with excellence. Please pray for Nori as she travels and ministers there. We are also looking for donors who can help cover the costs of her travel and time investment. We need about $4,000 for this, plus about $1,500 for additional furnishings, bedding, kitchen supplies and other needs.

Our Pakistan ministry continues to grow and thrive, as you can see from the photo below. We will be doing another outreach in the next two weeks to disciple the women and to provide groceries and vocational training. We need approximately $850 for this weekend event. The women are a bit concerned because a Pakistani Christian who was arrested in 2017 for “blaspheming Islam” has been scheduled for execution. His sentence was handed down on July 4. Please pray that the Pakistani Supreme Court will intervene and stay his execution.

In the photo below you can see so much joy in the faces of the women from Iringa, Tanzania. They are excited to hear that we have raised the funds to build a shelter for unwed mothers in the nearby town of Ileje. We are sending the first installment of these funds to our partner, Rev. Berrings Mlambya, this week. Please be in prayer for success with this project.

In August I will be taking my first trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I will be working with our partner, Pastor Udjasiri Wakahasha, shown below. I was supposed to visit Pastor Udjasiri in 2019, but the trip was canceled because of an outbreak of the Ebola virus. However during the coronavirus pandemic we were able to work together virtually, and we launched our women’s empowerment center in the city of Goma, where he has his church. Please be in prayer for this trip.

We have already built the women’s center in Goma, and it is equipped with 30 sewing machines to train women in tailoring skills. I will be staying there for 10 days to dedicate this center to the Lord and to host conferences for women, men and pastors in the Goma area. You can see some of the women from Goma using the sewing machines in our center. When we invest in educating and empowering women in Congo, we are breaking the cycle of poverty that has gripped this nation for centuries. Thank you for helping us!

Below you can see me with Brandon Brecht, a young student from the Global School of Supernatural Ministry in Pennsylvania. Brandon raised his own funds to accompany me on the trip to Goma, Congo, in August, and I am so glad he will be ministering with me. I do have a need of an additional $5,000 to cover the costs of the various conferences we will be hosting there. We are helping to bring pastors and leaders from the region to Goma for these important meetings. Please pray about helping us.

We had quite a surprise the day after I returned from Guatemala. Right after my daughter brought our grandkids over to visit, we were jolted by the loudest clap of thunder I have ever heard. It was so loud that my granddaughter burst into tears. About an hour later my grandson, Grady, said he smelled smoke. I went outside and realized that our house had actually been struck by lightning, and there was smoke coming from a hole on the roof of the second floor! I called 911 and the firemen came. There were no flames, but they had to spray water on the hole where the lightning had charred the wood and shingles. God protected us for sure, and the roof was repaired two days later. (In the photo below you can see that my grandsons loved watching the firemen do their job!) Now we are just getting some electrical things repaired that were damaged by the jolt. I think my nerves were frayed a bit by this experience, but we are so grateful there was no fire or serious damage. These are the times we are so grateful that you are praying for us! Please keep praying as we continue to spread the gospel in new territories.

Until I leave for Congo, I will also be doing events in Tennessee, Florida and Illinois in July and early August. Please pray for safety, provision and a strong anointing on all these events.

Thank you again for your partnership! We love you and thank God for your prayers and financial support. We could not do this without you. To give to our overseas work, just hit the “Donate” button below and follow the prompts. To give by check, mail it to The Mordecai Project, P.O. Box 2781, LaGrange, GA 30241.