December 17 — Max & Samantha Herbert

Dear Grace Church Family, 

      As we reflect on this past year of ministry we are so grateful for all of the ways that we have seen and experienced God's faithfulness!  What a blessing it is to be able to share the love of Christ with teens in our community and see God at work in their hearts.  Thank you for partnering with us, you have been such a blessing to our family.  

      We have officially wrapped up our meetings for the year and will take a break from club until February.  Even though we will not be officially meeting in January we will still have some events to keep the kids together.  We will have a night out ice skating, a hot cocoa party, and of course leaders will still continue to spend time with kids.  

     We would love prayer for our leaders, kids, and our family as we continue to prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of Christ. 

     Specifically for the ministry we would love prayer for continued growth in depth and in number for our teens.  We would love prayer for an increase in volunteers so that we can expand our reach into surrounding towns.  We would also love prayer for greater involvement from adults in our community, for adults to jump in with us on committee and also for our donor base to grow. 

     For our family we would love prayer that we would draw close to each other in this season and that we would draw close to Christ.  We are planning a trip out to visit relatives in Arizona and would appreciate prayers for safe travel during that time.  

    Thank you so much for all that you do to walk along side us and support this mission of sharing Christ's love with teens on the West Side! 

For Christ and kids, 
Max and Sam Herbert

December 10 — Jody Collinge

November 30, 2024

Travels:
November 18- December 3: To Syracuse and Rochester, NY

December 4-19 To Kenya

Prayer and Praise:

1. We have much to give thanks for! First of all, I thank the Lord that he is good and his steadfast love endures forever. Thank God for all he is doing in Zihuatanejo, Kenya, and around the world. I thank God for my friends and family, and for their gracious hospitality in New York. Thank the Lord that he will guide us and protect us in our travels in Kenya. And I thank God for you--for your prayers, your support, your encouragement, and your friendship.

2. I have enjoyed visiting Syracuse and Rochester, New York--visiting friends, family, and a few churches. Thank God for your warm fellowship and ample food. (I will have to roll onto the airplane.)

3. Next stop: Kenya (Dios mediante). We will visit several ministries where Jo and Ben Kijabe have been working. Jo, Ben, Sammy, Simon and I have worked together for several years, both online and in person. Jenna and Guido Schmid will be sharing about disability ministries. We will be visiting several ministries--near Nairobi, in Nakuru, and near Narok (see the map). And the Bridge Ministry of Kenya has invited us to train their leaders in CHE/ Children's CHE/ and CHE with Youth, as well as GameLife training. Praise God for all he is doing in Kenya! Please pray that the Lord will oversee all of this--our travels around Kenya, building relationships, developing a vision for disability ministries, visiting the Kenya ministries, and our training and outreach with Bridge Ministries and GameLife. Here are some images of Jo's ministries in Kenya:

4. Finally, I thank God that we have finished the first part of the Women of the New Testament online Bible study. We will be starting again in January with Part Two. I hope you will join us! Let me know if you are interested.

¡Muchas gracias!

I thank God for each of you. Let me know how I can be praying for you.

Dios les bendiga. (May God bless you.)

Jody

November 26 — International Friendships, Inc.

The mission of International Friends Incorporated is “To extend life-changing hospitality and friendship to international students out of reverence for Jesus.” This focus on service to the international community opens many doors for sharing the Gospel with young people who have never heard it before, including many Fulbright scholars who will return to their home countries and assume significant leadership roles. Most of the international students on the RIT campus are in graduate programs, so these are often young men and women in the twenties and early thirties, a different demographic than most other campus groups. The IFI program also provides support to young Christians from around the world who come to RIT to study. IFI volunteers provide hospitality in many forms: greeting new students as they arrive at the airport in Rochester for the first time, offering rides to the supermarket, helping students earn their drivers licenses, hosting them for meals. Many international students participate in small group Bible studies. Young Christians in IFI are given opportunities to serve and lead on the RIT campus. 

Mason Pell (m.pell@ifiusa.org) is the IFI campus representative at RIT. He organizes the Bible studies and other IFI small groups at RIT. He also provides IFI supporters with opportunities to meet and host international students while they are studying at RIT. You can learn more about IFI by watching this video (https://youtu.be/ebIyZkToFN8?si=_XolkD3H2HYMZOAf) or visiting the IFI Partners website (https://www.ifipartners.org/). 

Would you like to attend an IFI event to learn more about their activities? Would you like to host an IFI guest for a meal at Christmas or Easter?  Are you interested in teaching someone how to drive? Please talk with Dave Beinetti or Paul Craig and we can help you connect with IFI. 

Please continue to pray for IFI

• That the IFI team, which is classified as a club at RIT,  would have effective communication with the Campus Life office at RIT, and especially that they would receive prompt responses to their emails and phone calls.

• That more international students would attend IFI events and desire to follow Jesus

• That the international students will find companionship while they are studying at RIT, especially during the breaks and holiday times.

November 5 — Max & Sam Herbert

Dear Grace Family, 

Thanks so much for all that you do to support us!  We have had a great semester of ministry and we are looking forward to finishing strong!  We are so grateful to see a new young crop of students in both our High School and our Junior High clubs.  Connecting with new students both in club and at the school has been such a joy for our team.  We would love prayer for:  

    1. For increased opportunities at the schools for our leaders to connect with students. 

    2. For our clubs to continue to grow in depth as we share the Gospel. 

    3. For an increase in support, we are trying to raise an additional $10k by the end of December so that we can end the year in a positive cash position. 

    4. For health for our family, we have had some struggles over the past couple of weeks. 

    5. That our family would continue to grow closer to each other and to Christ. 

For Christ and kids, 
Max and Sam

October 29 — Matt & Jenn Irvine

Family Corner (First this time, with Ministry Praise & Prayer to follow below):

The Lord is always answering prayers, but the title of this update relates to some recent and very dramatically answered prayers on the family side of things that have been a deep encouragement to us, and we want to share that encouragement with you. (It's not "life or death" stuff, but it's still very real for our family.) You know, there are times when the answers are just so clear that we need to stop and mark it in an "Ebenezer Stone-like" way. And so, we are going to lean into a "family story" this time around because it has been deeply encouraging to us. 

As of 21st August, quite unexpectedly, both Malachi (20) & Arielle (18) found themselves facing pretty big unexpected complications that could have meant disorientating changes in their immediate plans. Long stories short, Malachi found himself needing to change "majors" at Edinburgh (something that is very tricky to do in the UK), and Arielle - though thrilled to have heard of her acceptance at Durham University the week before - found herself strangely with no offer of promised student housing and thus contemplating the need to take an unexpected gap year.

Three long, long, long, long weeks went by. Many people prayed. We meant to write to this bigger loop but just didn't manage it. The complications weren't going away. We were wondering if the Lord was prompting big changes? Would both kids be home in the Autumn? It was difficult to wait on many levels.

We were feeling pretty weak and needy. Lord, what are you doing? We found some encouragement in these words: "Jesus's prayer life is driven by his experience of sonship. As a son, he can do nothing on his own. He is the most dependent human being who ever lived. All too often, Christians see prayer through the lens of discipline, as in, "If I were more disciplined, I'd pray more." But dependence, not discipline drives Jesus's prayer life....Luke's emphasis on Jesus' exterior prayer life, combined with John's focus on Jesus' interior dependence on his Father, gives us a remarkably coherent picture of what it is to be human."  [emphasis added], Paul Miller's _A Praying Church_ p. 124-125.

It was encouraging to be reminded that uncertainties that just felt so destabilizing and that - amongst other things - was helping us to be more truly human through prayerful dependence. Nothing new. Perhaps another way to re-state Romans 5:1-5. But just an encouraging way to think about it. And so counterintuitive. (Even as I type this I'm thinking how quickly this sort of perspective leaks out of me). 

And maybe the result of this could have been a loving "No!" God would still have been good. But on 10th September a pathway to a new major opened to Malachi (and to a major he'd already been considering before the complications, but had hesitated to pull the trigger on) and on 12th September Arielle was granted housing at the 11th hour (after a gracious intervention by a senior administrator). Both are thrilled. We are feeling pretty thankful. The Lord is merciful.

A brief attempt to capture some of this just doesn't do the actual story justice. Just know - WE. ARE. THANKFUL. AND. ENCOURAGED. BY. THE. LORD'S. GRACIOUS. ANSWER. IN. THIS. SITUATION.

Pray for Malachi and Arielle in their new steps and Jenn and Luke and me as we settle in to "3" at home as it were. Luke is starting the equivalent of USA 9th grade (UK 10)! A strange mixture of happy and sad. Many of you will know what this is like. Pray for good new rhythms for all of us. Pray for more daily prayer-ful dependence.

Ministry Praise & Prayer

1. Please continue to pray for the autumn ministries starting up. We are seeing the Lord open doors even as we continue to walk by faith as a small church plant who has endured much transition! The Lord continues to enable us to be a fruitful and frontline loving and witnessing presence in  NW London’s diverse religious context and we are so grateful for this. Praise God. 

2. In addition to regularly getting to share the gospel with unbelievers on the street and in our local networks, we do see a small stream of visitors attending various outreach events and sometimes our weekly worship meeting.  What an honor to be able to share the good news of Jesus with friends who really have never heard it. We are praying for a special outreach event on the 27 October (Celebration of The Light): https://www.nlss.org.uk/events. Would you please pray for these outreaches?

3. Toward the end of encouraging church planting that is culturally appropriate in diverse largely South Asian contexts,  we are playing a role in organizing this conference coming up on 18/19 October: https://www.advanceinitiative.org/london2024

Please pray for the Lord to use this.

4. Please continue to pray for the Lord to bring more committed followers of Jesus to help the church plant to grow and sustain these great ministry opportunities and to exercise good servant leadership. Pray for the existing committed leaders to be sustained as they pour out in so many ways and so sacrificially.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer and partnership! 

with love in the Lord from all of us,

Matt for Jenn and the fam

October 22 — 441 Ministries

Entertainment and Notoriety

If you were to ask me the dominant idols of this moment, those would be my answers. It so often seems to me like the driving force of so much of this cultural moment is driven by boredom and a perceived need to be known.

I think it’s at the forefront of my generation, with our Netflix binges and desperate attempts to build legacies. And I think these impulses grow stronger with each subsequent generation. It fuels restlessness and discontent. It fuels car thefts by teenagers (the thrill of the event and the celebration on social media platforms like Tik Tok). It fuels so much of the tension and violence that can seem so senseless.

My favorite word these days is reconciliation. It captures every dimension of the Gospel’s work. Salvation is reconciliation with God. Community is reconciliation with others. A right identity is reconciliation with myself. And whole health and flourishing is our reconciliation with the rest of creation. And this need for entertainment and notoriety, at its root, is about a brokenness in these fundamental relationships. When we live without purpose and without the missional understanding of our relationship with God, others, ourselves, and creation, we will chase what we need to pass the time and find cheap, short-term satisfaction. When we live without the understanding that we are most fully known and loved by God, and have a place within his body and people through the reconciling work of Christ, we will chase whatever fleeting fame we can find.

I’m so excited and encouraged by what’s next for the ministry, especially as we develop and grow our apprenticeship and mentorship program at the Cafe and relaunch teen outreach. At the core of everything we do will be this drive to share the reconciling power of the Gospel of Christ!

Please pray with us for:

• Strong fall/winter fundraising

• Good connections for Jaime Soto and his volunteers with neighborhood teens

• Progress in bringing the New City Cafe toward profitability

• Guidance and wisdom for the Board for best use of the old Laundromat space

October 15 — Jody Collinge

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 
-Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)

Travels: (Dios mediante)
September 20 to 28: To Seoul, South Korea
September 30: Back to Zihuatanejo

Prayer and Praise:

1. This has been a wonderful relaxing summer in the new cabin at the base of the Christian Health Service Corpsin Grand Saline, Texas! And the cabin is finally finished! Thanks to each of you who have helped out. But there have been some adventures ...

2. Mowgli, our very friendly black community cat, returned from his roaming, looking sick. When I tried to help him, he bit me and died shortly later. Thank God that my thumb seems to be healed. And we have been adopted by another community cat. What would you name him? Mufasa? Mostaza? Mozzarella?

3. This Friday I head to Seoul, South Korean for the Fourth International Congress on World Evangelization. This is the fourth in a series of world congresses, beginning in 1974 in Lausanne, Switzerland. About 5000 people from nations worldwide will attend the congress, along with another 5000 online. Please pray for:

• That people of many nations, cultures, languages and races may unite together in strong fellowship

• For new and renewed friendships

• For many connections and a continuing effort to work together

• For strong teaching and new ideas to put into practice

• That the gospel will penetrate every people group and that we may be faithful as we "go and make disciples"

• For safety in travel

4. After returning from Seoul, I look forward to heading back to Zihuatanejo! Please be praying for:

• A joyful transition back to Mexico

• For renewal of community ministries

• For God's direction for our church

• For wisdom for me--how shall I divide my time between Mexico and Texas

5. On October 1st, our online Bible study will begin again. We will meet on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm Central time. I hope you can come! Write to me if you are interested.

¡Muchas gracias!
Thank God for his faithfulness!

And thanks to you for your prayers, encouragement, and support! Let me know how I can be praying for you.

With love,
Jody

September 17 — Max & Samantha Herbert

Dear Grace Church, 

Thanks so much for all of your support; we are so grateful for all that you do to partner with us in reaching teens and their families!  We have had a full summer and are off to a great start to the school year.  

In June, I had the opportunity to share the Gospel at Saranac, serving as the camp speaker for the first two weeks of camping.  What an incredible joy to be able to experience the Lord at work.  Each week held about 400 teens so I was pretty nervous, I had to keep reminding myself that it was not about me but it was about the Holy Spirit at work!  We are grateful for that experience as a family, and it is a memory we will treasure. 

In July, we had two camp trips, one with high school students and the other with junior high students. Both trips were to Saranac, and again, it was such a joy to see the Lord bring teens from death to life!  One young lady on our junior high trip was our neighbor, Skylar.  She has been friends with our daughter Madi for years, and she is like a third daughter to us.  This year at camp, she gave her life to Christ!  Watching her continue to grow in her faith has been such a gift.  We bought her a Bible, which she has been using, and her family is attending church with us.  

We have been running Campaigners so far this Fall. At Campaigners, we take a deeper dive into the Bible, as opposed to Club, which is more of an introductory message. We have been focusing on "being a good neighbor" to those we interact with. My hope is that when we start Club in a couple of weeks, our Campaigner kids will use that as an opportunity to reflect the love of Christ to their peers. 

Thanks again for holding us up in prayer, helping us meet our financial needs, and cheering us on!  

For Christ and kids, 
Max and Samantha Herbert

August 27 — Jody Collinge

1. The missionary house at the Christian Health Service Corps base (near Dallas) is nearly completed, and I will be living there part of the year. Thanks to all my friends who helped with the construction, plans, and furnishing of the cabin. Pray that the cabin may be a blessing to many missionary families.

2. I am feeling completely spoiled! There is a dryer! And a dishwasher (though I haven't used that yet). And cabinets and drawers! Praise God for his bountiful provision.

3. At CHSC, we recently finished a board meeting and an orientation for new medical missionaries. With their kids, we explored the property—mostly hiking through the woods and fields but one day exploring in the Polaris. I also helped teach one day of CHE (or community health evangelism) and a bit of tropical medicine. Thank God for the new group of medical missionaries! Pray for the new mission hospital that will open in Honduras.

4. Praise God for the audio Bibles distributed in remote areas of Kenya. Many people do not read or write and are hungry to hear God's Word. Jo reports, "They said it is the best gift they have ever received." The need for audio Bibles is great, and they are received with great joy. Pray for the ongoing fruitfulness of this ministry. 

Please be praying:

1. Please pray for the CHE traing that will be given in Malawi soon. Pray that the new ideas will be well received. I will not go this time, since Sammy and Jo can do it well. Please be praying for them.

2. We have been asked to give a Children's CHE training with the Tarahumara people near Samachique, Mexico. Please pray for God's direction as we plan this.

3. Please pray for the Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization to be held in South Korea in September. I am getting excited! Pray that this will be a time of strong fellowship with people from all over the globe. Pray that we may be encouraged and equipped to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:18-20

¡Muchas gracias!
Thank God that He is sovereign and powerful in all these ways.

Thanks to you for your prayers, encouragement, and support! Let me know how I can pray for you.

Much love to you,
Jody

August 6 — Souls Winning Ministries

 Here is a link to the Reformation Hope 7/29/24 update of the work in Haiti:

The Seminary in Jacmel is going strong. It just finished another week of teaching for 23 students, many of them pastors around the south of Haiti.

We just sent them their own printer and spiral binder-making supplies so they can print Seminary Materials themselves.

Pray for clarity for Osseille Joseph about planning for the future. We submitted an application to USCIS for him and his family to come to the US, but it is pending after 17 months.

Pray for Wisnel, his home and belongings were taken by gangs. He moved to Mirebalais and is supporting a lot of local kids who are hungry and unable to go to school.

Pray for Ancelotti’s life direction once finishing law school. He has a friend who has a terrible case of Lupus and not finding treatment,

Pray for the kids of the New Joy House orphanage, their physical safety, that school starts, and they learn, for their spiritual nurturing and growth.

July 16 — Max & Sam Herbert

Here are a few ways we can be praying for Max & Sam Herbert, serving teens through YoungLife on the west side of Rochester.  

1.  Please pray for our camp trip with HS students July 15-20 and MS students July 27-31.  Both trips will be at Saranac.  Please pray for students that the Lord would use these trips to bring many students from death to life. 

  2. Please pray for our annual golf tournament fundraiser taking place July 22nd at Ridgemont Country Club.  We pray that this tournament would glorify God and that we would be able to raise the support needed to meet our operating budget. 

Thank you so much for all of your love and support over so many years.  We are so grateful to be in this mission with you!

For Christ and kids, 
Max and Sam Herbert

July 9 — Jody Collinge

Travels:
June 19 - To CHSC, near Dallas, for a board meeting and orientation of new medical missionaries
July 25 to August 5 - To Malawi?

Prayer and Praise:

1. Praise God that the International Wholistic Missions Conference and our Children's CHE/GameLife pre-conference went well. Thanks to all the speakers and all the organizers who worked hard on this.

2. We also had an enjoyable CHE Service Team retreat in the mountains of Arizona after that.

3. Greyson and Ruth have an amazing ministry in Malawi, rescuing 18 orphan children. They have asked us to give community health evangelism training to enhance their ministry. But Malawi is hard to get to, and costs are high, so we have struggled to meet the budget. Josephine and Sammy (and perhaps Rhodessa) may lead the training instead of me going. Please be praying.

4. Josephine has been coordinating the Kenya flood relief and also worked with the audio Bibles. She has marvelous ministry, working with women, children, and families with CHE ministries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and several other countries. Jo and Ben also raise cows as a way to support their family and feed their neighbors. I thank God for Jo and Ben and their ministries!

5. Sammy describes his ministry: "Thank you for support in expanding God's kingdom in this part of the world. Because of your support the following major ministries milestones have been achieved as of today. In March, over 50 pastors were equipped on effective outreach to muslims here in East Africa. Likewise 50 Sunday school teachers were equipped for ministry and over 100 kids reached out for Christ. I could go on and on, but for now, I want to say a Big Thank You to God FOR YOU for obeying the call of God in your life and letting God use you in a special way."

6. Simon, who is living in the Kamuli district of Eastern Uganda and is married with four children, is serving God in Uganda in the hard-to-reach areas of Karamoja, Patongo, and around Lake Victoria, doing community health empowerment, Farming God's Way, stewardship training and Foundations of Faith training for local missionaries.
Simon is a key part of our Africa CHE teams, but he won't be traveling to Malawi this time. Pray for Simon't healing. He has hip and joint pain, and will be having an orthopedic evaluation and possibly surgery.

Please be praying for each of these ministries. Read more about their ministries at Palm Ministries.

¡Muchas gracias!

Many thanks to God for the gift of his Son. Praise God for the hope we have in Christ.

And thanks to you for your prayers, encouragement, and support! Let me know how I can be praying for you.

With love,
Jody

June 19 — Matt & Jenn Irvine

1. Our friend R (former priest) came on June 9th and gave a wonderful talk. Some new friends from the community came along and were able to hear the gospel. Pray for the seeds that were sown during this time.

2. Our dear friend Ma - a long time leader in our church almost from the beginning - went to be with the Lord on May 29. We were very involved in the week after in organizing several events surrounding the funeral and many friends and family who don't know Jesus were able to hear the good news of the hope we have in Jesus. Pray for the seeds sown and for family and friends who mourn her loss. Pray for our church too as we absorb her loss that the Lord would raise up new labourers to pick up the ministry "batons" she carried so well. She was such an example on so many levels. We praise God for her! 

3. Our friend "D" was baptised yesterday and today found out that he has been offered a fairly permanent job! A number of folk who don't know Jesus were at the baptism service and were able to hear and see the good news play out. Pray for the seeds sown.

4. Thankful that  our mission's leader's gathering went well and my plenary talk was well received. Grateful that Jenn and our daughter were able to join me and the two boys at the last minute for at least half the week!

5. Praying for our upcoming "LEAP Outreach Week" first week of July. We have 100 short term guests from usa coming to participate in training and worship as well as outreach and prayer. May the Lord use it!

6. Praying also for a summer kids club we are running in last July.

7. Grateful for our 2 year apprentice and 2 months summer intern who are with us. Pray for open doors for ministry for them and encouragement as they are far from friends and family.

All for now,

Matt

June 13 — 441 Ministries

- Pray that the community garden and bike clinic would be sources of community and improved health. 

- Pray for our search for a Teen Outreach Director and ministry to youth. 

- Pray for increasing opportunities to share the Gospel and invite those we serve to connect with the local church. 

- Pray for safety and boldness for our 441 Ministries team as we enter summer.

- Praise God that our partner in ministry, New City Fellowship Beechwood, is now a Particular Church, and pray for Pastor Chris and his new church officers.

May 28 — Max & Samantha Herbert

Dear Grace Church Family,

We are so grateful for a great second semester as we get ready to roll into summer.  We have recently had the opportunity to host both our Wyldlife and Young Life meetings outside the past few weeks.  It is so nice to be able to have some room to run around and to play some games that are better suited outdoors (the messy ones haha).  We have had a great semester sharing the love of Christ with our friends, what a gift it is to be able to see God at work in their hearts.  

As we approach summer we would love prayer support for a few things: 

     1. I will be heading to Saranac June 17th - July 2nd with Luke (my oldest).  I have the privilege of being the camp speaker during that time and Luke will be serving on the waterfront as a lifeguard and possibly as a boat driver.  Please pray for us in this season, that we both would clearly communicate the Gospel in word and in deed and that we would experience God in deep ways.  Please pray for Sam and the girls as they are unable to join us until school is out on/around June 24th. 

     2.  Please pray for our camp trip with HS students July 15-20 and MS students July 27-31.  Both trips will be at Saranac.  Please pray for students to continue to sign up and that the Lord would use those trips to bring many students from death to life. 

    3. Please pray for our annual golf tournament fundraiser taking place July 22nd at Ridgemont Country Club.  We pray that this tournament would glorify God and that we would be able to raise the support needed to meet our operating budget. 

Thank you so much for all of your love and support over so many years.  We are so grateful to be in this mission with you!

For Christ and kids, 
Max and Sam Herbert

May 21 — Jody Collinge

May 6, 2024

Praise and Prayers

Pray for God's protection during flooding. Matthew 7:25 (ESV) "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock."

Kenya, May, 2024

Travels:

May 12-14: To Mexico City

May 14-17: To Phoenix for IWMC

May 18-21: Service team retreat, near Payson, AZ

May 22: Return to Zihuatanejo

Prayer and Praise:

1. Jo Kijabe wrote from Kenya, "Kenya is experiencing terrible floods. I have never seen such floods before. Our ministries in Narok and Garissa also are affected. They have lost lives and property. I cannot access my home in Narok thou we are hosting our neighbors whose mud houses were destroyed by water and floods. Farms and crops are destroyed and are looking like an extension of lakes. Roads and bridges are swept away. Generally the entire country is affected in one way or the other. "

‘So far my family is safe in Nairobi. Let's pray for my mother in law who is in our Narok home. Pray also for the families affected and our nation in general. The rains predicted by the meteorologists are to continue beyond May 2024.’

Today, Jo added, "Our home area became worse from yesterday. We had very heavy rain with thunderstorms that scared everyone. We are in need of food and blankets to help those who are displaced. We are also praying against any disease that might arise from flooding. Some people are having swollen legs and we don't know what might be the cause. In Garissa they are in need of food and tents."

Thanks for your prayers for Jo and Ben Kijabe and for Kenya! Would you like to help with the flood relief? Give online through Palm Ministries. Mark your donation Jo Kijabe--Kenya flood relief.

2. Are you coming to the International Wholistic Missions Conference, held in Phonix from May 15 to 17? Be sure to come to our GameLife and Children's CHE pre-conference on May 15th, led by Pastor D.J. Bosler and me. GameLife uses games to help children learn Bible truths and apply those truths to their own lives. As in Children's CHE, the children share what they learn with their families. Pray that lives and communities may be transformed by Christ. 

3. Please pray for our Zihuatanejo churches and ministries. Pray that the Lord will send a new pastor to work alongside Ron. Pray for unity as our English-speaking churches work together this summer.

4. Our two online Bible studies, God's Amazing Creation (with children) and Women of the Old Testament are finishing their season. Let me know if you would like to join us this fall.

¡Muchas gracias!
Many thanks to God for the gift of his Son. Thank God that he will never leave us or forsake us.

And thanks to you for your prayers, encouragement, and support! Let me know how I can be praying for you.

With love,
Jody

May 7 — Matt & Jenn Irvine

Hello Grace Church Family!

Please pray for the following:

1. The Easter Outreach Sundays in late May were well attended by about 70 different visitors at different times. Pray for those who heard the gospel (some for the first every time) to come to know the Love of Jesus.

2. Our friend (who used to be a  Priest from another faith background) is coming to give another outreach talk on June 9. Pray that invites would get to those the Lord would have come and that many would encounter the Good News of Jesus on that day.  Pray even that the opportunities to invite friends would prompt opportunities to "gossip" about the good news of Jesus.

3. Praise God that our monthly "church core planning" meetings have continued to be well-attended and encouraging times of sharing and prayer. Moving forward, pray that during these times that the Lord would renew our vision and lead us as a church plant. Pray also that the Lord would raise up some spiritual mature followers of Jesus from outside the church who would want to join in with what God is doing in and through us and lend a hand. The Lord is at work. Pray that he would continue to nurture and grow this small church.

4. The Lord has continued to provide in very concrete ways for "D", a new immigrant from South Asia. As we have seen God answer his & our prayers it has built our faith. Pray for the gospel to run through him in the context of his workplace. He is also being discipled and wants to be baptised so pray for that to happen soon.

5. Continue to pray for our daughter Arielle as she prepares for her final cumulative high school exams, which start the second week of May and continue through third week of June. Her results on these exams will determine which UK university she can attend in September (though she won't find out these results till mid-August). Continue to pray for the Lord to encourage her as she studies and to provide for her and direct her and be present and near her with His love.

6. Pray for ongoing times of spiritual renewal and encouragement and refreshment for each member of our family. We need fresh grace each day.

7. Pray for the Lord's guidance as I'm preparing a plenary talk for our Mission's leadership gathering at the end of May.

Blessings,

Matt

April 30 — Souls Winning Ministries

Please pray for the people and work of Souls Winning Ministries in Haiti
-The kids of the New Joy House orphanage. They have remained safe, but school has been canceled more weeks than not due to gang violence. Pray for the kids' mental health and educational development amid the chaos. 

-Osseille Joseph and family, for their safety and ministry opportunities, and if it is God's will, for the application for coming to the US on a USCIS parole status to be granted

-Pray for Wisnel and family, who were displaced from their home by gangs, that they get food for themselves and the neighborhood kids that depend on them for food. 

-Pray for Ancelotti, who is studying to be a lawyer and would eventually like to enter politics to become a Senator. 

-Pray for Maxito Raphael, the director of the seminary in Jacmel, that the church and seminary thrive in these chaotic times, for safety for the seminary students, and their growth in the knowledge and wisdom of the Lord, as they approach graduation in the Fall of 2024. 

Alex Jean-Baptiste, a graduate of our first Bible college class, who has planted a church in Cap-Haitian in the north of Haiti. This construction has begun and will allow us to open Bible college location up north.

Pray for the ongoing efforts to restore a functional government in Haiti. 

April 16 — 441 Ministries

At 441 Ministries, we celebrate new beginnings and fresh starts!

In January, we welcomed Rogelio to New City Café as our newest employee. He and his young son Noel were eager to get out of a difficult housing situation, when someone connected them to 441. At that time, thanks in part to a grant from Connected Communities, we were renovating a 2-bedroom unit in one of our buildings. For Noel, who has been attending Kids Club each Saturday, this was almost too good to be true! Father and son have moved in and Rogello now meets regularly with his mentor, John. Father and son are happy to be part of the 441 community.

Katelyn has been an apprentice at New City Café since September, working about 20 hours a week. When a 441 Ministries' apartment was vacated unexpectedly in January, Katelyn was thrilled to move into the unit. She and her mentor, Vicki, plan to visit Monroe Community College in the coming days to enroll Katelyn in college coursework for the fall semester.

And speaking of new beginnings, our Mentoring Director, Alicia, just began Health & Wellness Wednesdays which gathers mentors and mentees to talk about issues influencing spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, and financial health. There is also a "team building" activity being planned for March that will allow the group to enjoy an activity together, like bowling, ice skating, or hiking. These activities will take place every 3 months, providing more opportunities to learn about healthy living, build friendships and have fun.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.

A fresh start is a wonderful thing. Over the years, some of our tenants have gotten behind on their rent. Whether due to a lost job, health issues, loss of transportation - they have found themselves in a hole they were unable to dig out of. This debt is a weight on their shoulders that they carry daily. Earlier this year, we requested a grant from the City of Rochester to establish the Beechwood Loan Forgiveness program. This program allows eligible tenants behind on rent to receive a designated amount off of back rent with each on-time rent payment. The Program was extremely well-received by our tenants and we have several who working hard to shed the heavy weight of debt.

Thank you all at Grace for supporting the work of 441 Ministries and New City Cafe!

April 10 — Max & Sam Herbert

Dear Grace Church Family, 

I know I mentioned the El Salvador trip in our previous update but I can't help but share this picture of our teens on the beach (both Grace and YL).  What a gift it is to be able to see the ways that the Lord has been working in their hearts over so many years.  

Our past month has been a full schedule of cheering kids on at musicals and sporting events, hanging out with teens on Target runs, and having fun at club.  It has been such a gift to work with our team of volunteers sharing the love of Christ in word and in deed.  Prior to every club meeting on Monday nights our team pulls together to cover any details and to pray for our teens.  To help move us into the right mindset we often remind each other that one of us gets to share the message verbally and the rest of us get to proclaim the love of Christ through our actions and attitudes.  Would you continue to pray for us as we develop and strengthen the relationships we have with students and that the Lord would guide us towards encounters with new students.  

Thank you for lifting up our Basket Auction Fundraiser.  It was a great day with over 200 women attending.  Our speakers did a great job of sharing our theme and the heart of our mission, Christ is our solid rock and our foundation!  Our favors for the guests this year were hand painted rocks, each one unique just like our students.  On the back of each rock is the name of a student or leader, our hope is that our guests would place the rocks somewhere in their home and join us in praying for our teens.  

Thank you so much for partnering with us as we reach out to teens on the West Side with the love of Christ!  We are so grateful for all that you do to encourage and support us in our mission!

For Christ and kids, 
Max and Sam Herbert