Goldfuss update (September 21)

Dear Praying friends,

It's wonderful when the Lord brings back people from the past.

During the past month, the Lord has given us good contact again with Esther and her three children and Alejandrina. Both have come back to church. Please pray for the Lord in His grace to work in both of them and to make them faithful, Christ-like believers. Both have had some very difficult times and would appreciate your prayers.

Tere has had a rough month since her husband died, but it's a blessing to see her continue to seek to trust in the Lord day by day. She is also having some health issues.

We have almost finished 3 months of messages on forgiveness. Many have commented on the help that they have been and others are still struggling with forgiving others who have offended them. It is always a wonderful truth to remember that no one has ever sinned more against me, than I have against God. So, if He has forgiven me ALL my sins, there is no one that I should not be able to forgive as well. Pray that the Lord will continue to use them for His honor and glory. If anyone has spanish neighbors who would perhaps benefit from this series, we would be glad to supply some cd's for you to give to them.

Some in the church are still struggling financially. Please pray for them not to get their eyes off of Christ and to be controlled by these debts. As well, please pray that we would all have wisdom in our finances so as not to become enslaved in the first place.

Please pray for two ladies in the church who have some friction between them. Pray that the Lord will empower both to be Christlike in their words and responses.

School has gotten started. We praise the Lord for the Crockers and their help in school each day. Please pray for the Lord to provide a helper/s for second semester in His perfect will.

Last Wed/Thursday, Mexico celebrated its Bicentennial. We got to go to Alejandro, Guille and Morgan's home to enjoy some of the best tacos in all of Mexico--around 11 PM. 11 tacos at 11 PM doesn't help one sleep the best, but they sure tasted good. Pray that God in His grace would truly give the independence that only comes through faith in His Son to Mexico.

In our children's SS classes, we have one adult who teaches and one of the young people who assist with verses and crafts. Cristi recently worked on different clay scenes for her activity in the class. I've enclosed some pictures so that you can see her handiwork. Please note the intricate flowers and even the braids in Pharoah's daughter's hair. Man, I would have the patience to do about 1/4 of one of her fruits or flowers before I went crazy. She is VERY talented in art. Hope you enjoy them.

Thank you again for your vital part in this ministry! We love you and thank the Lord for you!

Mike and Faith for all the Goldfii

Goldfuss update (August 19)

Dear Praying friends,

Thank you so much for praying for everything! Your prayers have been with us, and we have sensed them! May the Lord richly bless you for the time that you take uplifting the dear people here before the Lord.

1. VBS!!!! The Lord answered your prayers! We had an average of 35 kids each day with 47 different children over the course of the week. The Lord also answered the prayer request of using our teens. They really stepped up to the plate and taught verses, organized the games outside, and helped wherever was needed. Our goal is to have them organize and run the whole entire VBS in a couple of years. Livia, Faith's friend from gymnastics, brought her daughter Alexia--and then asked many questions later. Please pray for her salvation. Victor taught the Bible stories and Lourdes did the missionary story. They did a wonderful job! Carina organized the entire craft of making a treasure chest. Twenty different people from church participated and worked hard to make the VBS run smoothly. Our children now want us to have 2 weeks of VBS next year like we did when we were children. We'll have to see. Adults were skeptical due to a potential for exhaustion, but praise the Lord for their desire to be there and learn!
2. We had the Batorys from GFA near the end of the next week. Norma Helle and Diana Boss needed to get their paperwork done here in Mexico City and so they came from farther north to see the Batorys. It was so good to see them again. Dr. Batory gave an excellent message this last Sunday about viewing trials as a blessing from the Lord. He referred to the trials that they as a couple have passing during the past number of years. Since three of our church families are passing through serious difficulties, it was a tremendous blessing. Mrs. Batory was able to talk with Faith's friend Lorena from gymnastics. They have a common bond in an interest of nutrition. Mrs. Batory used that as a springboard to share with Lorena how the Lord has been guiding them as a couple. Lorena was very moved and opened up to Paula. We praise the Lord that she is now showing more of an interest in spiritual things. She is reading a book that Faith gave her and has called thanking her for the book. Pray for Lorena and her husband Pepe as we seek to help them with the only true help that they can have—God's Word.
3. Teresa's husband Alberto died on Tuesday morning. This began a series of events that allowed us to give the Gospel to around 200 people! Early in the morning, when Alberto was fighting for every breath, Teresa said to him, "Honey, if you are trusting only in Christ for your salvation, it is ok, then you can relax and go to be with him." It was then that he stopped fighting and passed away. This gave Teresa a small glimmer of hope that he was truly trusting in Christ.
   We arrived at their house at 10:30 am and stayed until after midnight for the wake--they bring the body the same day and family, friends, relatives and neighbors all come. Some come all day and stay all night with the casket right in the living room. Teresa is one of 10 brothers and sisters and Alberto was one of six. Almost all of those siblings are grandparents--so you can begin to see the quantity of people that the Lord brought our way. Teresa asked Mike to preach three times--at 2 pm, 6 pm, and at 10 pm. What was incredible was that these all have seen how the Lord has changed both Teresa and her sister Silvia. Some were very open. In between the services we had long conversations with more than 20 different people. Mike used those conversations to give him fuel for each time he spoke. People listened intently and respectfullly to those three different messages! Faith was sitting in the middle between Teresa's son Alan and Teresa herself when Alan expressed concern that most of the people there were probably expecting someone to do the rosary. Teresa's response: "Your father and I believe---in---the ---WORD, and THAT is suficient." She was kind but firm. When her little brother asked her if he could do the rosary, she said, "If you need to I will respect you, but it is not necessary. Nothing at all was done between the messages until we left. We felt God's presence and power as we were able to talk with so many. Oh, please continue to lift up these dear people before the Lord and ask Him to open hearts to respond to the gospel.

As I (Faith) was sitting there, I was overwhelmed with joy in thanking the Lord for this opportunity. Then I remembered that directly because of our baby Crystalyn's death, Teresa's relatives came to our church. I could honestly thank the Lord for taking Crystalyn to Himself. Her death began a chain reaction---nine years ago---that has allowed the Lord himself to look big in the eyes of man and in saving several for His glory. The praise goes to him. How can I begin to explain how exhausting yet how thrilling it was to be able to share the Gospel so freely for so many hours.

Many expressed to me how incredibly Teresa was responding and dealing with Alberto's death. I was able to say, "Tere is a wonderful person, but what you are seeing now is Tere's GOD sustaining her. His grace was so evident in Teresa that many were astounded.

In the midst of these two weeks since we last wrote to you, we were also able to put up a swing set that Westerville Bible Church (OH) and Trinity Bible Church (SC) went together to provide for both our children and our church family. We pray that this will be a tool used for the Lord. When we are counselling parents, our children know that their ministry is to take the children outside to play. We have a large window for the parents to be able to see exactly how their children are doing. This will give the children something extra to do while we are talking with the parents.

The other project that we were able to do was to install solar tubes that will heat our water. Gas costs about $100 per month. It is supposed to cut costs to $100 per year. Hopefully the solar tubes will pay for themselves in about 1 1/2 years. It is rainy season right now, so there isn't much sun, but the few days we have had sun, they have worked fabulously. We praise the Lord for this!

Please also pray for Nico. Last Thursday night he was in a very serious car accident in which he would have been killed except for God's obvious hand keeping him safe. He is in a neck collar at the present time and off of work. Please keep him and his unsaved family in your prayers. He's using this "forced vacation" to read and study God's Word even more. Praise the Lord.

Thank you again for your vital part in this ministry! We love you and thank the Lord for you!

Mike and Faith for all the Goldfii

Goldfuss update (August 1)

Dear Praying Friends,

Our biggest request is VBS this week from 3:00–6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The church people have done a lot of work to get things in order. Pray that we will do the Lord's will in each and every aspect of the week.

Teresa didn't come today for about the 4th week in a row. Please pray for her as she battles with discouragement in her struggle to help her husband.

Martha often makes it to SS, but has to leave to work. She was able to stay through for our worship service today. It was wonderful to have her and it was wonderful to see her spirit in the service. Please pray as she recently had some radiation treatment.

We do have a significant praise. The main books that Cristi needs to read for her coming school year from BJU press have already been recorded through Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic!!!! This will help her immensely and she'll be able to do a great deal more of her schoolwork by herself and it will also free up Faith to be able to teach other subjects to the little ones. Praise the Lord for helping us find this tremendous rescource.

Thank you for praying,

In Christ,
Mike for all the Goldfii

Goldfuss update (July 27)

Dear Prayer Partners,

You might be shocked, but we are freezing down here!!!! We have had to light the woodstove three times this week. In Mexico????? Well, we live in Mexico City where we are just about 10,000 feet--almost twice that of Denver. The rains have been very cold and the sun hadn't come out before today for about 6 days. We praise the Lord for a cozy home where we can take refuge from the downpours.

Praise:

We had a very good teacher training sesson last Saturday where 5 teachers received positive constructive criticism on their presentations by Victor Labelle and the rest of the listeners. We appreciate Victor's hard work helping our teachers develop their abilities. We are scheduling more training sessions so that the other 15 teachers and assistants can give their presentations and benefit from all of the feedback.

Prayer requests:

1. Wisdom in dealing with two difficult church situations.
2. Teresa--who is very discouraged. Her husband Alberto has a very serious lung condition. Teresa has been doing everything for him. He is very depressed and will not speak to her. He is also refusing to take his medicine. Pray for the Lord to give Teresa endurance as it is hard for her to sleep at night with his care giving. Pray also for her as she struggles because she so wants the Lord to save her huband. And lastly, please pray for Alberto's salvation. They are only in their late 50's. Alberto's brother died about 2 months ago from the same rare lung condition.
3. Jason and Danielle Boyle--as they are looking for a permanent home in the city. Right now they are staying with us above our garage. Their goal is to begin language school this fall. (In the meantime we are putting them to work in VBS!)
4. Reme and Juana as they have to move again. This will again be a temporary situation. Pray for permanent housing.
5. Jon and Andrea Crocker---(Our missionary co-workers that live in our cabin) They will be leaving tomorrow for about two weeks, travelling to California for Andrea's sister's wedding. Pray for Mike as he has additional preaching responsibilities. **Also, another church just called and needs a preacher for Sunday---so Mike will be going over there on Sunday evening. Please pray for endurance and wisdom in helping this church as they have had problems in the past.
6. Two of our teens who are helping in VBS---that the Lord would develop a love for teaching and serving Him.

Coming dates:

• July 31: VBS final preparation meeting from 2–4 p.m. We will also be giving out invitations in the neighborhood.
• August 2–5: VBS
• August 9: the Crockers come back
• August 11–17: Visit from the Batorys-our GFA director
• August 23: school starts
• September 4: teacher presentations

Family news: We are trying to be able to download some of Cristi's textbooks to be able to listen to audibly. She is reading well, but the amount that she now needs to do with entering junior high will be exhausting and give her a headache. Pray that we will be able to figure out exactly what she needs to study well on her own. We thank the Lord that BJU press is helping us in this process.

Thank you again for your prayers. We depend upon them.

In Christ,

Mike, Faith, Mikey, Cristiana, Carissa, Matthew, Cherith, and Caralyn Goldfuss

Goldfuss update (July 22)

Dear Praying Friends,

This has been a very busy time.

We were privileged to have good friends of ours, Dave and Marie Wickman, from our home church, visit us for an entire week. They were a great encouragement and a huge blessing in helping get some projects done and also just talking. Praise the Lord for great friends.

Please pray for a number of people who are discouraged about debt problems that they are having. Because of this, it is affecting other areas of their lives, including their worship and walk with the Lord. Please pray for encouragement and wisdom for them and for us.

Thank you for praying for the church discipline issue a couple weeks ago. The Lord worked in that situation and both parties appear to be seeking to do what God wants them to do in the situation. Keep praying.

Our Vacation Bible School is coming up quickly--it will be August 2-5. Please keep this spiritual endeavor in your prayers. Pray for visitors, and for God's Word to work in the hearts of our own church children who are able to attend.

You may have heard about recent violence here in Mexico. Mostly, Mexico City has stayed free of the drug violence that has been rocking much of the country (that is apart from all the normal everyday violence that is characteristic of a big city). :-)

1. However last week, Teresa, from our church, told us about the federal police agents/SWAT agents in front of her house. They told her to stay inside while they arrested her next door neighbor who has been involved in some kind of drug activity. She just thought he was a normal next door neighbor.
2. Just this morning as Mikey was on his way with Morgan to basketball practice, they were detained about ten minutes as three police trucks passed their taxi, stopped a man in a car, pulled him out, threw him down and stomped on him. Mikey said it was right before him. He came home talking non-stop about what they had seen.
3. Monday, Mike and Cristi made a border trip (735 miles) to McAllen, TX to pick up Jason and Danielle Boyle. Jason was our first intern about 10 years ago. They now have all their support and are coming down to live permanently now. We made it up Monday evening. Jason and Danielle came on Tuesday and we left McAllen for Mexico City yesterday (Wed.) morning about 6:30 AM. The Mexican border city with McAllen is Reynosa, Mexico where there has been a lot of drug violence in the past year. We praise the Lord that He kept us safe and that we made it home here last night about 9:30 PM. We got to stop in Monterrey to have breakfast with our wonderful friends the Zartmans. This morning Mrs. Zartman wrote with the news headlines from yesterday morning. I'll just give you the translation:

Three Die in Shootout in Reynosa
A heavy shootout between two groups of organized crime members left a total of at least 3 people dead and also paralyzed traffic on the Reynosa-Monterrey Highway around kilometer 21.
According to witnesses, the shootout happened about 8:00 AM and lasted about 45 minutes . . . dozens of people who were going to Monterrey or Gustavo Diaz Ordas were direct witnesses to the confrontation between the two armed groups.

From our calculations, we only missed that by 5-10 minutes—we went right through there. If you were praying for us on Wednesday, thank you very much. The Lord is good. When we get to heaven, it will be very interesting to see how many times He spared our lives here on earth because He was not yet done conforming us to Christ's image.

There continues to be a heavy amount of violence in Mexico. Please continue to pray for the Lord's protection and that we would be faithful witnesses of our Lord Jesus.

Please pray for Esteban, a tremendous contact that Faith and I had an opportunity to witness to in a taxi last week for about two and a half hours. Also pray for Olivia, a friend who execises with Faith. She had opportunity to witness to her today for about two hours as well. May the Lord find us faithful.

In Christ,

Mike for all the Goldfii