Don’t look now, but 2022 is over halfway done. And while that may be hard to believe, the fact is that in the busyness of our lives it is important to pause to recognize all that God has been doing through our missionaries.
If you were not aware, we at Harvest Christian Church LOVE missions! As part of our regular budget, we support eight fulltime missionaries located throughout the world along with other missions-related projects that come up from time-to-time. These efforts have led us to designate 12 percent of all general tithes and offerings that come in to support cross-cultural missions—something we have been blessed to do for many years now.
One of the main highlights we wanted to report on this time came at the hands, literally, of our very own Luke Scherler. Outside of being one of our regular drummers that plays on Sundays, Luke is also a gifted contractor. And in service to one of our missionaries, Pablo Martinez, who serves as a pastor and church planter down in Mexico, Luke was able to head south of the border last month to lead a house building project with some locals. While he was there, not only was Luke able to build a house for one of Pablo’s ministry coworkers, and retiring pastor, but he was able to provide work to a handful of local men in need of some extra work as well.
Pablo has been serving his people faithfully for many years. Check out some of the photos of what they did below.
HARRY DOUGLASS / TEAM EXPANSION
For the second time this year, Harry is currently down in Cuba for his 52nd visit to minister to the people he works with every day down there through church planting, ministry support, and other areas of need!
Harry loves the people of Cuba, along with the people in the countries he’s had the privilege of doing ministry with, including Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking locations. And in the months since the last report, he’s been busy serving everyone he can that comes across his path through these various serving opportunities. Harry spends much of his time in regular communication with numerous leaders who oversee other indigenous church plants and native-speaking groups they’re ministering to, along with food and medicine support wherever it is needed.
One of the more recent activities Harry was able to be a part of was Hispanic Family Camp that saw over 170 people all throughout the west coast gather at Wi-Ne-Ma Christian Camp on the Oregon coast. They were able to baptize five people during the week, provide some important opportunities for the youth to lead some of the events, and build up everyone that was able to come and be a part of the annual event.
For our VBS happening from July 18-22, the kids will be “Making Waves” and raising support for Harry and his ministry through Team Expansion as they gather “Coins for Cuba.”
JAFFET & NORMA PEREZ
Coming up on his 60th wedding anniversary with his wife Norma, Jaffett continues to serve wherever he can.
In January, Jaffett was able to travel to El Salvador where he spent time with leaders of three churches there discussing the future possibilities of starting a Bible Institute sponsored by Northwest College of the Bible in Portland along with the possibility of a new school structured in English and Bible that would be designed for elementary through high school ages.
Jaffett also recently made it over to Guatemala, where he was able to help a preacher named Miguel Leon with one of their former kids that had been taken from an orphanage they started in El Salvador get into safer surroundings, and into a much better situation than she was previously. This girl is now back and able to continue the education she had started while she was first at the orphanage. Jaffett doubled up his time there in Guatemala helping Miguel do some teaching and training of leaders and will be returning to help every three months or so.
He plans to travel to Haiti and Cuba with a couple of other members of his team over the next two months to help get things back to a healthy and stabilized place after being upended by the COVID pandemic and including providing locals in Cuba with some medicine that they have been desperately lacking.
DOUG & SHELLY KALLESTAD / IAM (IBEROAMERICAN MINISTRIES)
Like so many ministries everywhere, Doug and Shelly continue to dig their way out of the COVID pandemic with their fellow IAM workers throughout the world. However, through thick and thin, the good times and the bad, Doug and Shelly have been able to see people grow in their relationships with Jesus Christ and in their confidence of God.
After traveling to the Middle East last fall to preach and teach at their Bible Institute, Doug will be returning this month to do it again. Outside of teaching the last class of the two-year program while he is there, he will have the opportunity to celebrate the Bible Institute’s very first graduating class with everyone there as well.
Back on the home front in Chile, their local church has been able to open back up after being unable to meet for well over a year and a half. They are now holding two services every Sunday at Oriente. This, in turn, has led Doug to be able to mentor 20 young preachers who serve their local church along with other sister churches spread throughout South America. Each of these churches in that area are focused on planting new churches and replicating themselves as God wills. As they reported most recently, “the most difficult moments can surprisingly turn out to be the best if we are willing to be broken and trust God to do what He does best … transform lives.”
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Thanks so much for your ongoing love, prayers, and support for our local church family here at Harvest as well as for the missionaries we support overseas. We would not be able to continue to do what we are able to do without your regular tithes and offerings. With your financial contributions to Harvest, we can regularly bless and help provide for these missionaries above, as well as for all the people and families that come through the doors here at church every Sunday and beyond. Your donations are making a worldwide impact!
The other fulltime missionaries that we support are …