PLEASE PRAY
pray that God would provide a miracle
pray the people would come to know God during this time
pray that westbrook, and Neil [my friend and a pastor who was consuling her], would be able to shine as lights in the darkness of this mess.

Emergency in Tabasco…
Dear Friends:

We are writing to you today for something different. The state of Tabasco is one of the poorest in Mexico. On Tuesday, October the 10th, the rain flooded 70% of the state. 15 out of 17 of their municipalities are under water and more than 1 million people have been now affected. This corresponds to 50% of the state’s population. Most of their homes have been either partially or totally destroyed

We have organized ourselves along with several friendly churches, to be able to bring material and spiritual relief to the brothers in Christ in these communities in the south of Mexico and the population in general as well.

The situation has been labeled as catastrophic by the authorities of the country. The damage caused by the floods exceeds any kind of forecast. The situation of the population is really serious.
We believe that the moment to bring love to the needy is now. It’s the moment to bring relief to the people living this terrible tragedy.

We are collecting all kinds of help for these people, both goods and funds:

This is a list of what’s needed:

GOODS:

* Milk in powder
* Medicine and pills
* Bottled water
* Food in cans
* Can openers
* Blankets
* Diapers
* Repellent
* Anti-fungus cream
* Cotton
* Pills to purify water
* Plates

Collecting centers:
Handal Raudales family’s house
Carlos Pereyra 1228
Colinas de San Jeronimo

Contact Eric Havinga
(011 521) 81 80152335 from USA
(00 521) 81 80152335 from Latin America
(0052) 81 83152862
(0052) 81 83780938

CASH:

We are receiving cash donations in the following banks:

1- Banamex (bank)
Name on the account: Gran Comisi�n AC
Account number: 678 7396702
SWIFT: BNMXMXMM
ABA: 02100089

Clabe: 002580067873967022

2 CHECKS- GCLA
Great Commission Latin America
12905 SW 132nd Street
Suite 2
Miami, FL 33186
USA
Pplease write on the memo: Monterrey Church/Tabasco

3- Paypal in the following websites:
http://monterreynews.blogspot.com/
http://www.grancomision.org.mx

We invite you to support and to show solidarity in this opportunity. Something you contribute may mean a great deal for one of these families in need. This is a golden opportunity to promote evangelism and to be a good testimony before the community.

God bless,

Sergio Handal
Pastor
Iglesia Gran Comisi�n
Monterrey, M�xico
(521)(81) 8029-9111

A group of people are standing at a river bank and suddenly hear the cries of a baby. Shocked, they see an infant floating–drowning–in the water. One person immediately dives in to rescue the child. But as this is going on, yet another baby comes floating down the river, and then another! People continue to jump in to save the babies and then see that one person has started to walk away from the group still on shore. Accusingly they shout, “where are you going?” His response: “I’m going upstream to stop whoever’s throwing babies into the river

yes, its a trick question

the answer is 3.

why? because the frog only made the decision yet he failed to take action.

*********

It’s hard to believe it’s already been one year! On November 2nd I will celebrate the one year anniversary of my arrival to Monterrey. And I couldn’t have done it without you. I really can’t describe how greatly God has used each of you to further His kingdom here on Earth. I have truly had an amazing experience here in Monterrey, and God has done many amazing things – many of which I have shared with you through my monthly updates; but there are hundreds of stories that I will share with you when I arrive back in the States on December 15th. As I have previously mentioned, I am planning to stay an additional six weeks here in Monterrey. I have taken on many projects, small groups, etc; and it is best that finish out the school semester to bring better closure to it all. Two of my main focuses here are the high school youth group and the college group. In both of these groups I have leaders in training to accept the responsibility after I am gone. I am very confident in them. However, it would be very awkward to leave in the middle of the school year for these two groups. After much prayer, consultations, looking at dates/schedules, number crunching, etc, etc; I feel it is best if I stay until December 15th. For me, that was the easy part – I am confident this is what God wants me to do. But it doesn’t end there. It gets a little more complicated. As I only had a one year contract with my sending agency (GCM) I will be remaining here on my own. After November 2nd I will no longer be on staff with GCM. This may raise a few questions in your mind. And rightly so. Questions like why do you need to stay six more weeks? How will you get paid? Will you still be at the same church? Etc, etc… All very good questions, and I will attempt to briefly explain that now, but as always – feel free to email me any thoughts, comments, concerns, advice and I will happily respond.
Nothing on the Mexican side of the border is changing. Not my attitude, job description, living arraignments, or anything of that nature. Everything in regards to my ministry will remain the same. The only difference is for the final six weeks I am trusting in God to provide financial support from those of you who feel lead to continue supporting me. There will be one major difference on the American side of the border. If you are considering continuing to support me I will no longer be receiving support via GCM. So all you need to do is change who you write the checks to, and where you send them. All support for the final six weeks will have to be given to me directly. My mom is going to be handling the depositing process. It’s actually going to be very easy. I have easy atm access to my checking account back in Palos Heights (it only costs me 75cents per withdrawal, regardless of the amount). So my mom is willing to make a weekly run to the bank and deposit any checks/cash donation she receives for me. [THANKS MOM!] The only down side I can’t find an answer to is the fact that this is not tax deductible. But again, this is only a six week deal. I plan on sticking to the same budget I have been living on here for over a year, which means I will only need around $1,500 (including money for airfare to return home) to eat, sleep, and live here in Monterrey for an additional six weeks.
I know this sounds really complicated, but it is not a big deal. We serve an amazing God and I’m confident He has planned this all out in advance. I can’t thank you enough, and everyone here in Monterrey thanks you too!
I will continue to be in touch with you throughout the next several weeks, and look forward to seeing you all after I return to the Chicago area soon. Please let me know if this is at all unclear, or if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.

************

ok, to clear a few things up: GCM is my sending agency, I had a one year deal with them - that year ends on November 2. I want to stay with this church to finish the school semester with my high school and college groups that i am involved in. GCM and I could not come to an agreement on how much money was necessary for this six week extension. Not a big deal, we still love each other They are a great organization with a great vision. a vision that I love and hope God continues to bless them imensly. all this really means is that after Nov2 I am a “free agent” and they aren’t responsible for anything that happens to me.
anyways God always provides, as I will share in my next post .
email me at: HavingaE (at) yahoo (dot) com if you want more info. or for whatever.

~ Thanksgiving for a great time with my parents visit.
~ Continued support for the last 3 months, that I will finish strong and stay focused
~ A smooth transition for the church, orphanage, and my friends in my absence
~ Thanksgiving for God opening new doors to serve in Chicago, and continued prayers that the details would all fall into place with Gente Unida Ministries (Westbrook), and Moody Bible Institute.
~ Peace concerning financial issues for my future
~ Spiritual maturation and/or Salvation for (these are all people I am trying to strengthen, encourage, disciple, teach, build up, and love on): Claudia, Adie, Cristy, Betty, Alondra, Lalo, Ramon, Eli, Eduardo, Lizbeth, Andres, Oscar, Loyda, Erick, Hector, Alex, Arnoldo, Sandra, Roberto, Luchenta, Nancy, Claudia, Nelly, Mary, Monica, Melissa, …
~ Praise for a great first year of this church here in Monterrey. And praise for a great 2 years Gente Unida Ministries (my home church). And may God bless them both with many more years in His grace.

~~ thanksgiving for a great trip to Saltillo (a city about an hour from here) to visit with Primo, and his family. Primo and his whole family were super nice, and welcomed me in to their homes and to celebrate the wedding of Primos sister. [photos to follow soon..}
— Primo is a friend of mine from Gente Unida Ministries in Bolingbrook, IL.

***I have posted new photos of my parent’s trip (and more!) click HERE to check them out.***