January 2009
" You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance"
Psalm 65:9-11
Mexico
The children had a wonderful Christmas. Between donations from the U. S. and Mexico the Children's Home received 8 Turkeys for the Christmas season. As you can imagine, the freezer is full of Turkeys as they were only able to have part of them over Christmas and New Years. The children all received new shoes thanks to a generous donation from here in the U. S. The following are some of the photos of our children who are proud of their brand new shoes.
Viridiana is so happy with her new shoes. Her smile is enough to light up my heart.
As we move forward in 2009 we are continuing the construction at the farm and hope to have the walls up on the new buildings soon. The children are excited about having a great place to live.
They love being out of the city and in the country. There is so much more room to play and naturally they love all the animals. They are good about doing their chores and helping at the farm. Our directors like the peaceful atmosphere at the farm. Next month we will give a detailed report on the building
At this time the violence in Mexico has increased to such a degree that it is not considered safe for work teams to enter the country. Most of the ministries that operate in Mexico are not taking teams into the country until the violence and kidnapping has abated. Mexico seems to be out of control and the northern border regions are suffering the most violence. Last year there were 1,600 drug related deaths in Juarez and over 5,000 drug related deaths throughout the country. The city has become very lawless because the Police have either quit or are corrupt. So, until further notice Refuge Ministries will not be taking any teams into the country. Please pray for Ron as he continues to travel and visit in Mexico. It is becoming more dangerous as we travel in our car with Texas plates into Mexico. Many have been kidnapped and held for ransom once the ransom is paid they are killed. We need your prayers and support.
Because so many Americans are not taking aid to Mexico it is much harder for the people. We still take as much as we can. It is safer to have the Pastors come to us and pick up what we have than for us to go there. We still go regularly but not as often as we used to.
There is an ever growing need for help among our brothers and sisters in Mexico. We need your support to flow through us to help the poor in Mexico.
Philippines
The pastors and leaders of Refuge New Life Ministries in the Philippines are asking for Ron to come and visit and encourage the workers and members of the churches. It was his plan to go in January but the money just was not there. So, plan B is to begin a fund raiser to raise $5,000.00 for a trip to the Philippines in June or July. We pray that this will not take away from any regular monthly giving to RM as the budget has been tight lately. Please pray for God to supply as we will not go in debt for the trip. We have always operated RM on cash and have not gone into debt and this is not the time to start. We believe God for all that comes in and know that He cares about the Philippines and the ongoing work there.
These precious pastors and workers operate in the most poverty stricken and dangerous area of the Philippines. This is an area where rebel groups are constantly attacking civilians and military alike. Many of our pastors have had threats and attempts on their lives but bravely go on advancing the work of the kingdom. Ron would like to be able to go and encourage these brave leaders and church planters. In the last two years they have planted several new churches and a new campus ministry and are training leaders to take the gospel to their people. The following is a photo of college students who are part of a leadership training program to learn to reach and teach their people about Christ.
Ron and Bernadette Gartner
Your Evangelists to the world.
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About Refuge Ministries and the Gartners
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Africa - Philippines - Mexico
Click Here for Ron & Bernadette's 2005 report from their trip to Africa.
