Ministry Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Mordecai Project:

People sometimes ask me if it really matters when people pray for a ministry. I can tell you for sure that it does! Just today I was reading in 2 Corinthians where Paul thanked people for their prayers. He asked them to continue praying “so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many” (2 Cor. 1:11). God’s favor is released through prayer!

People ask me how I am able to travel so much without getting sick or exhausted. My answer is always the same: “Because I have so many people praying for me!” I am eternally indebted to the prayer warriors who stand in the gap for this ministry.

I had a wonderful two-week mission trip to El Salvador in late January and early February. This was my tenth visit there, so I am able to see the fruit of what we have been accomplishing since I first came in 2005. Below you can see me with my friends Roxana and Fernando Perez. They have hosted me in their home on almost all of my visits, and Roxana runs a ministry called Sendas that is providing counseling for abused women.

Over the years I have been hammering away at the spirit of male cruelty that has caused so much abuse among women in El Salvador. I learned years ago that the only way to stop this pain is to heal the hearts of men and encourage them to repent for their hurtful attitudes. This continued to happen during my recent trip. Below you can see men repenting publicly in front of women for the violence and abusive words and attitudes. The man with the microphone was weeping as he prayed during a special service I did at Iglesia Fe y Poder (Faith and Power Church).

I spoke at some women’s events on this trip, but I also did several men’s retreats. I have seen that when I am able to disciple younger men in Latin countries, they embrace a new way of seeing women. They are learning to value women as equals. I know that when these guys get married they will not be abusing their wives. The curse is being broken with this new generation! Below are men who came to our retreat in the city of San Miguel. The man standing on the far left side is my friend Pastor David Alvarado.

In the photo below you can see a retreat I did for young men from Luminaries Church in San Salvador, a congregation pastored by Ricardo Quinteros. There was a lot of deep healing during this event, and men were also freed from various addictions. I stay in close contact with many of these young guys.

One of my favorite leaders in El Salvador is this woman below, Maribel de la Rosa. She and her husband have pioneered a church in a very poor area of the city, and they are reaching mainly teenagers. Maribel is raising up a lot of women leaders, but her emphasis has been on discipling youth. That’s why I decided to give her a box of my book on the Holy Spirit, “Enciende Mi Corazon en Fuego” (“Set My Heart on Fire”). She told me she planned to use the book to train her youth leaders.

After I got home from El Salvador, Maribel sent me the photo below. It is of her youth leaders meeting for their first class on the Holy Spirit. Each of these kids was so happy to get a copy of the book—they normally cannot afford resources like this. Please pray that each teen will be filled with the Spirit, discover their spiritual gifts and learn to use their gifts to impact others.

Speaking of youth, I was so blessed to have not one but two young men traveling with me on the El Salvador trip. Eugene Kolomoytsev (below, left) is a young Russian brother who lives in the state of Washington. He has wanted to travel with me for a while, and this was his first mission trip. He loved helping me pray for people at the altar, and the Salvadorans loved it when he prayed for the church services in Russian. The young man on the right is Esdras, who serves as a children’s pastor at a church in the city of San Miguel. Esdras translated for me in my services in San Miguel. Both Eugene and Esdras received valuable mentoring during this trip and I am so proud of them.

Before I left El Salvador I was invited to speak on a Christian TV show that is broadcast nationally. I was able to share the vision of The Mordecai Project and why Jesus cares about the issue of abuse. This TV show opened the door, unexpectedly, for me to preach in one of the largest prisons in the nation. Below you can see the meeting I did with women inmates, where I shared about how Jesus set the Samaritan woman free. Women were saved and healed in this service. I also did a special service for the children of these women. (There are 125 kids from 0-5 who attend a special school in the prison so they can stay with their mothers.)

Later that day I also preached to 600 male inmates, all of them former members of gangs. Some of them had faces covered with tattoos, but they were full of God’s love because so many prisoners have been giving their hearts to Christ there. (I wish I could show you a photo of the men but we were not allowed to take pictures there). I preached to the men about the prodigal son, and how the Father’s love is unconditional. They were cheering by the end of the message!

This week we hit a milestone when we sent funds to our project directors in three cities in Africa to begin our Mordecai Project work there. Below you can see pastors Charity and Tony Mkamanga from Mzusu, Malawi; Pastor Fanny Injaidi from Lilongwe, Malawi; and Pastor Elijah Wafula from Moi’s Bridge, Kenya. In each of these cities we are launching projects to help protect girls from abuse. The funds we sent this week will help build a dormitory for girls, pay for school fees to keep girls in school, provide feminine hygiene supplies for girls so they don’t drop out of school, and protect Kenyan girls from female genital mutilation. Your gifts have made all this possible!

Here are some important prayer requests:

** Starting this Thursday, Feb. 20, we will host our next Bold Venture men’s discipleship retreat in Deland, Florida. Men are coming from several states and four foreign countries. Please pray for each man to have a powerful encounter with God.

** A donor has offered to give us a $4,000 matching grant if we can raise $4,000 for our outreach to Sri Lanka this spring. Please pray with us for that amount. The event is Sri Lanka is going to make a huge difference in discipling the younger generation of leaders.

** Please also pray for the remaining funds needed for our projects in India, Guatemala and Peru. And pray for my friend James who is busy working on grant proposals!

** I will be taking a trip to an Asian country in April. There are some dangers involved and we are currently waiting on all the necessary travel documents. I cannot say much more than this. Please pray that God will grant favor and protection.

Thank you again for believing in this ministry. We are so grateful for your love and support, and we really need your prayers. We appreciate your commitment to us. We are here to serve you!

Lee and Deborah Grady
The Mordecai Project
P.O. Box 2781
LaGrange, GA 30241

Lee and Deborah Grady

The Mordecai Project
P.O. Box 2781
LaGrange, GA 30241