Pray for Juan and his Doctor

Juan Alvarez is the key leader in our Jefferson church.  Almost two years ago he was diagnosed with leukemia.  Not very many years ago his type of leukemia was fatal within 4 years.  Some 15 or so years ago new medicines were developed that gave hope.  Juan started taking one of these medicines in January of 2015 and it seemed to be working well for him.  At the time the doctor said that this medicine helped about 80% of all patients taking it and as long as he took one pill a day for the rest of his life he should be fine.

A little over two months ago the doctor was unsatisfied with some of the blood numbers and he changed Juan’s medicine to something different.  After two months on the new drug the doctor decided that the new drug was damaging Juan’s digestive tract in some way.  He asked Juan to stop taking the medicine for three weeks.  At the end of the three weeks the doctor will decide whether to start Juan on the original medicine or resume the second medicine.  I don’t know if there are any other options.  We are half way through those three weeks.  Juan has an appointment with the doctor in a week and a half and we will learn what the doctor’s decision is. 

Through this whole experience Juan has been a model of peace and confidence in God.  He has said that no matter what happens, God is in control.  The worst that could happen is that he will go to be with Jesus a lot sooner than he originally thought. 

Please pray for the following:

• Wisdom for the doctor,
• Continued peace and confidence in God for Juan and his family,
• For God to glorify his name and continue to use Juan in the lives of many people to draw them to Jesus.

Celebrating a Milestone

A couple of weeks ago Jerilyn and I attended a retreat for missionaries serving with InFaith.  While we were there we were presented with a plaque acknowledging 30 years of service as missionaries with InFaith.

Jon served as missionary pastor of Westwood Community church from 1986 to 1993.  Since mid-1993 we have been serving as missionaries to Spanish speaking people in the mid-Willamette Valley of Oregon. 

Jon is pastoring two churches, one in Jefferson and the other in Salem.  Jerilyn teaches children’s church in both.  We also are lead evangelistic home Bible studies and have had various outreaches during the year.

One of our main goals in our remaining years of ministry is to see some of those within our ministry actively leading ministries of their own.  We will be sharing more about that in the coming months.

The plaque commemorates our faithfulness, but we know that our faithfulness would not be possible without the faithfulness of many who are praying for us and supporting us in this ministry.  We thank you.  Please continue to hold us up in your prayers.

Emanuel’s Mom Denied Entrance to the US

Emanuel’s mom, Vicki, had her appointment with the US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez on June 3 and the officer denied her immediate entrance to the US.  She will have to apply for a pardon.  US law states that when a person is in the US illegally he or she has to go back to their country of origin for 10 years.  The pardon is from the 10 year ban.  What is hard to believe in this case is that Vicki has already been out of the country for 10 ½ years.  Why does she need to be forgiven the requirement?

This decision means several things.  It means that the family will have to continue to suffer a difficult separation for another 4-6 months.  Emanuel was devastated when he learned that his mom would not be coming for another few months.  He has never been away from his mom or his siblings.  He and his dad are living with people he never met before (our daughter and her husband).  They have been separated now for almost a year and a half.

The decision also means that it will cost us another $2,350 in application and lawyer’s fees.  It has already cost about $850 more in transportation as Vicki and the children had to fly back to Oaxaca to wait for the pardon to come through.  It will probably cost yet another $2,000 more in travel and staying in Ciudad Juarez again.  That is over $5,000 of extra expense just for a pardon that seems unnecessary.  If you would like to help with these expenses you can send a tax deductible donation to: ICDV, PO Box 240, Jefferson, OR   97352.  Designate the gift to Benevolent Fund.  Do not put Emanuel or any other name on the check as we cannot give a tax receipt for any gift to a specific person, only a ministry.  When we see Benevolent Fund, we will know what it is for.

The decision also means that Jerilyn and I will have to continue to transport Emanuel to his dialysis 3 times a week for several more months.  When we first brought Emanuel from Mexico to save his life we thought that his mother would be granted an emergency visa to care for her son and that our involvement (and that of Luis and Jessie) would only last a couple of months.  Yet, here we are a year and a half later looking at another 4-6 months.  If you would like to help take Emanuel to dialysis from time to time or on a regular basis please call me at 541-905-5255.  We are now finally getting mileage reimbursement so at least there is no cost involved.  Whenever we cannot take Emanuel to dialysis his father has to lose a day of work.  When he misses a day it really hurts the already stretched family finances.

Thank you for praying for this situation and thank you for your help.  Side note: Emanuel's birthday is this coming Friday.

- Jon

Emanuel’s Mom is in Juarez

Last December we posted a financial need to help Emanuel’s mother and siblings to come to the US.  For over a year we have been taking Emanuel to Portland 3 times a week for dialysis.  He and his dad have been living with our daughter Jessie and son-in-law Luis.  We have been doing this because someone needs to care for Emanuel.  If his dad had to take him to dialysis, how could he earn enough money to care for his family?  If they lived alone in an apartment, who would care for Emanuel while Dad is working?  The Bible says we need to love others as we do ourselves.  That is what we have been doing here.

Right now they need prayer.  After applying for legal residency in 2001 and waiting over 15 years Emanuel’s mom (Vicki) is now in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso.  Tomorrow, June 3, she has an appointment with the US Consulate.  Please pray for her to get permission to legally come to the US.

We believe that we have everything in order.  We hired a lawyer to make sure everything was done right.  We recruited someone to sponsor her.  As required by law, Vicki has stayed out of the US for more than 10 years (after her father brought her here illegally as a teenager). 

In spite of all this, everything depends on who is sitting across the desk from her in the Consul’s office.  He could grant entry; he could deny entry; or he could decide that Vicky must request a pardon, which our lawyer says could take another 6 months.  The “pardon” would be a pardon from having to spend 10 years out of the country – which, of course, she has already done.  She will be taking several proofs that she was out of the country this whole time but the person could still ignore them.  So PRAY that the family will be able to come up to Oregon right away!  They could be here as early as a few days from now if things go well.

We want to thank everyone who has prayed for Emanuel’s situation and for those who have so generously donated to the cause of both saving Emanuel’s life and bringing his family up here legally.  In all, we have received and spent over $6,000 in donations.  This includes bringing Emanuel up here in February of last year, the lawyer’s fees, application fees, and now the cost of getting the family to Juarez and home.  If Vicki and her other two children can come up now, we believe that we have enough money on hand to finish the job.  Pray for a happy ending!

A New Name for our Salem Church

After praying and talking and brainstorming and narrowing down our choices for over a year, our church in Salem decided last fall on a new name for our church.  Just this month it has become completely official.  We are now Esperanza de Vida, which means: Hope for Life.  Thank you to Linda Van Voorst for the suggestion during the brainstorming faze.  We have registered with the state, received our EIN from the IRS, and opened a new bank account with our new name.

Our old name did not convey that we are wanting to present ourselves to Hispanics as a non-denominational (neutral) church.  Below is our new logo that emphasizes seeking God together.  On our business cards and other material we also add Jerimiah 29:13 which says, “And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart."

Pray for Esperanza de Vida as we begin to reach out to the community to let them know that there is Hope for Life.