Goldfuss update (January 20)

Dear Prayer Partners,

1. Thank you for your prayers. The people are working well together on the new place of worship. (Kid-power is a wonderful resource rarely used in this day. We are making good use of it, and the men are amazed with all that the children can accomplish!) We are enjoying the non-permanent home that Sra. Gaby is providing for us. There has been pretty good attendance and wonderful fellowship.
2. On a very sad note, Jeorge and Cecilia lost the other baby that she was expecting. This has been very sad for all, but it has also helped to unite the church as several have sent food and a few ladies have spent the entire day with Cecilia (on different days). Jorge needed to leave her alone to attend his classes as he is working on his doctorate.
3. The Lord has opened doors through the use of MP3 players! First of all, the Lord began burdening Mike's heart to purchase several MP3 players for our church people. As many travel on buses sometimes as much as 3 hours one way to work, he thought that it would be an excellent way for them to listen to Scripture and / or messages. It has been a tremendous tool. We have a steady stream of people coming by the house to get more messages downloaded onto their MP3s. Well, it occured to us to try this with our unsaved friends. The idea was to loan and not give them the MP3s; and then if they wanted more messages, we could keep putting more on for them. If not, then they could just give us the MP3 player back for us to use with someone else. We were surprised at the results! We have been so happy that we wanted to share this idea with you so that you could do the same with your co-workers and friends. People's problems can lead them to the Person who is the solution to their greatest --a Savior from sin! Please pray for Lorena and Jadiel, 2 unsaved friends who are listening to messages. Pray especially for Jadiel who came to the house with several specific comments last Friday night--several questions about the messages and about salvation.
4. We are plowing along with school. Rachel and Jessica are worth their weight in gold--they actually aren't very heavy! Rachel has taken over the Crockers' school responsabilities and Jessica is helping the older 3---especially Cristi. This leaves Faith free to mainly help the little ones. We are really enjoying their joyful personalities, and Mikey enjoys teaching them about Mexican culture although they are not sure whether they should always follow his advice.
   The last 8 days have been difficult for Cristi. She has not be sleeping well. We are sure that it has to do with the dyslexia, growing, and possibly trying so hard. A childhood friend and also a missionary here in Mexico, Deborah (Gassman) Perez is helping us get some supplements that have really helped her son with his neurological problems. We pray that this will work! Please pray that she will be able to sleep in the meantime.
5. We have taken over the Crocker's couples ministry. We had an excellent turnout on Sunday with eight couples present and we started the book When Sinners Say I Do. Please pray for a new couple, Josue and Lupita. Josue grew up in our church, but has not attended for about 3 years. The other couples were very welcoming. Pray that the Lord would meet all of the spiritual needs there.
6. In the Crockers absence there have been more responsibilities. Adding to the work days on the church, there have been different problems that have been draining. The constant need can be overwhelming if we don't keep our eyes on the Lord. For example, two nights ago, a lady arrived at our home with her two children. She had been living out of her car for several days. Her extended family locked her out of her house because she is helping her father who is dying of cancer. Evidentally, he abandoned the family when they were young. She does attend our church, but is still in need of salvation. Please pray for Lydia. We have opened our school room to her when she needs a place to stay.

We have another work day on Saturday and please remember to pray for the Crockers as they are on deputation to come back here to Mexico. We have felt their absence. Although we are very tired, it is wonderful to know that, as Mike preached last night, we do serve the King of Kings! This is a humbling privilege!

In Christ,
Faith for the family------Mike, Mikey, Cristi, Carissa, Matthew, Cheri, Caralyn ----Jessica and Rachel.

p.s. The pictures are from last Saturday's work on the new church and of our new school teachers.

Goldfuss update (January 6)

Dear Prayer Partners,

We have two serious prayer requests:

1. Marta Garcia----(the nurse who attends our church and has had health issues). She called yesterday morning and her brother, who was a policeman in Cuernavaca, was shot to death by one of the cartels. (Cuernavaca is a city about an hour south of us.) Please pray for the family---and pray for Marta --that the Lord would use this even in her life to make her more faithful to Him.
2. Jorge and Cecilia----are a lovely couple who has come to us from Peru. He is getting his doctorate here in Mexico. The church was so excited to hear last month that they were expecting. Well, today was a very sad day for all of us when we heard that the baby's heart had stopped. She was 8 1/2 weeks pregnant.
   As she was arriving at the hospital, she did miscarry. They were then planning on doing a complete D&C. Evidently the hospital has a policy of doing their own ultrasound before any procedure, Jorge asked them NOT to waste their time because she had already had 2 ultrasounds---but the hospital insisted. Well, they found ANOTHER baby! This baby is over 5 1/2 weeks old and already they can see a strong heartbeat! How unusual! Please bathe these dear ones in prayer--as they have really been through it today. Praise the Lord for his preserving of this new little one---and please continue to pray as Cecilia is still very weak and things are still unstable.

Our work meeting last night was not well attended as many were sick or otherwise busy. But the ones who came worked hard (all 22 of us) and joyfully. We finished at 11:15 pm with all of the work completed and we are completely out of our former location. We will be temporarily meeting at Senora Gabby's home until the new location is finished. Please pray for all who are working---for wisdom and endurance.

Praise: the girls that the Lord has sent our way---Jessica and Rachel --are joys to have. The first week of school has gone really well!

Thank you so much for uplifting us in prayer,
The Goldfi
Mike, Faith, Mikey, Cristi, Cari, Matt, Cheri, Cara, Rachel, Jessica, and Shadow:)

Goldfuss update (January 3)

Dear praying friends,

The meeting with the men about the building situation/move/fixing up did NOT take place. The main men did not come to the service. Several of them have been really struggling.

1. One man's family (wife and children) stopped coming entirely. We know the wife is unsaved, but she has come pretty faithfully with her husband. Now she and the oldest son (about 15) are being openly antagonistic. Needless to say, this man has been very discouraged. We were thankful for the opportunity to have him for dinner yesterday and to be able to talk and encourage him with God's Word. (This really has nothing to do with the building project.) :-)
2. Another man is shirking the responsibilities of leadership--that does have to do with the building project.

We had good services yesterday. We have mentioned several times our series on Spiritual Warfare and can constantly see this in our own lives and in the lives of the people to whom God has called us to minister. The atmosphere yesterday was a bit uneasy due to the work to be done and the lack of leadership. We could very easily do this ourselves and have everything look very good--and we have at times in the past. BUT, that is not the point. Please pray for the men to step up and lead this project as they offered to in the beginning. They are more than capable of taking leadership in this. Pray that they will by God's grace. Please also pray that the Lord will give Mike much wisdom as he seeks to train faithful men to train and teach others faithfully. The progress seems painfully slow at times, but we know that God's church here is His, He has started a good work ,and He will continue to perform it. Please keep praying for His work to progress in His way and His time.

In Christ,
Mike for all the Goldfii