Dear Friends and Loved Ones,
We have a LOT to catch everyone up on and we need a LOT of prayer! These last few months have been nothing short of busy and taxing. It all started on October 1st when we broke ground on the new church building in San Pedro. Construction is never a simple process and there are always challenges, but by the grace of God alone we are moving along at a fast pace! If you can believe it, we already have the footers in, all the concrete columns of the sanctuary up, and the upper column supports! We should be starting on the roof within the next week or so, depending on if we take time off for Christmas or not. The majorly challenging part came almost immediately after breaking ground. We were moving along in Oct. and noticed that normal monthly support was not coming in. We were getting to the end of the month and WAY less had been given than normal. As a result, we started talking about sending the workers home and halting construction. I (Andy) started feeling like I needed to be praying more and depending on the Lord more than I had been (ALWAYS A GOOD PLACE TO BE)!
Oct. 1, 2024 (Initial excavation) Oct. 8, 2024 Oct. 10, 2024
The very day I went to tell the workers we had no more funds to continue construction, and while at the job site, I received a call from my wife informing me that my brother had unexpectedly passed away. He was only 49 years old and seemingly in great health. He left behind a wife and twin boys, only 8 years old. I can’t tell you what that feels like, but I’m sure some of you can at least imagine. These are the times that are extremely difficult to be half a planet away from family! A long story short, a church in Harrison, OH (CoF) stepped up and paid for us to travel to the USA on a last minute trip to Ohio to be able to attend the funeral and be with family. God has been way better to us than we deserve! We were there for almost 3 weeks mostly spending time with family and trying to comprehend what had happened. Please pray for my family as we suffer and grieve this tremendous loss.
On another note, CoF also informed us that they were just getting ready to call us anyway and let us know that they were sending some funds to continue building! So, the plan was made to keep the workers and contractor going while we went to the USA. They did a great job while we were gone and made tremendous progress! Please pray as we make thousands of decisions a day and do our best to stretch the available funds as far as possible! Some of the funds that would have normally come in in October eventually did come and we are so grateful to each of you who are making all of this possible! We felt like the Lord was trying to teach us a deeper reliance on Him, and to remind us that His plans are always the best plans. This little town, that is the gateway to our province, is going to have the first Evangelical church in all of human history, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise. By His grace we will overcome and prevail! Please continue to pray for us as we move forward in our calling to bring the gospel to the unreached people of Southern Ecuador.
Oct 23, 2024 Dec 1, 2024 Dec 4, 2024
One more big moment to share! Our little Sammy and Ellie have made it another year around the sun! We officially have all double-digit aged kids in the house! Sam turned 12 (on Dec. 4th) and Ellie 10 (on Nov. 27th). It’s a little hard to wrap our minds around, but we are so very thankful for our little family and the kind of young adults they have become! If you can believe it, Jude will be an official adult in 4 1/2 years and the other 2 not far behind! Please pray for us as parents, and for our kids, as children who don’t get the “normal” life. I honestly feel extremely grateful that my kids aren’t growing up in America as the average American kid, but our lifestyle definitely has its challenges.
These are incredible and unprecedented times to be alive. As I look around at all the world events taking place, watch as Israel becomes surrounded by her enemies, and think of all the prophecies about the end times, we need to be busier than ever at reaching people for Christ. Thanks for helping us and being part of that grand endeavor in southern Ecuador! We are so excited to see what the Lord has in store as we move into 2025 (if you can believe that!)! Please hug your family members a little tighter and never take for granted another day the Lord sees fit to give to you and your loved ones!
In Christ, Andy, Priscilla, Jude, Sam, and Elena
Please send all monetary contributions to:
Acts 1:8 Mission Society
PO Box 212
Harrison, OH 45030.
You can continue to make all checks payable to: “Acts 1:8 Mission Society” with “DVarga” in the memo section (All funds donated in this way will continue to go entirely to the DVarga family AND our mission work in Ecuador and are tax-deductible).
You can also write checks to Priscilla or Andy DVarga with "gift" in the memo section, but you will NOT receive a tax-deductible receipt at the end of the year for funds given this way.
If you need a quarterly tax statement or just want to contact us, please just write to the address above or call our phone #:(513) 334-8281
To donate through PayPal electronically please scroll to the top of the homepage at www.dvargamission.org and click the "Donate" tab.
Commenti