Support Update

Friends,

Some have expressed interest in our support situation. The following gives that. If you just want to know the "bottom-line." skip to the end. Thanks for taking the time to come to this blog and read this.
We feel like we need to explain a little bit about how we ended up in the financial situation we are presently in. When Chris left for Mexico 10 years ago, he was not 100% supported. Prior to moving there we had been traveling to Mexico every two months for about 10 days to lead the missionary team while working at the Iglesia Emanuel in Waukegan. The Church in Tenancingo was ready to launch at the end of the 3 years and everyone we felt it important for him to get to the field as soon as possible. He had a number of contacts and believed he could finish raising the rest of his needed monthly support from the field, but he found out that was more of a challenge than he had anticipated.
When we married 8 years ago, our joint support was almost enough…for about 6 months. Then Chris’ father fell, was hospitalized and then placed in rehab in a nursing home. We began a crazy time of traveling back and forth, selling his parents home home, caring for them in the nursing home, etc. until we moved them to Mexico with us in 2001. World Team at that point had been asking us to do a furlough and raise support because we had not increased our salary in many years and the cost of living in Mexico continued to rise steadily. We were unable to do a furlough (or home assignment) while Chris’ parents were living with us. When they passed away we spent a great sum of money when they on shipping their bodies, burials, etc.
When we received our 3 children in September of 2005 it overlapped the death of Chris’ mom by 3 weeks, and we were promised by the government agency a THREE-MONTH processing time. Well, that turned into 18 months! The kids’ biological parents showed up and threatened the lawyer in charge of the case with a gun causing everything to shriek to a halt. The birth parents had abused the children, locking them in closets, beating them, leaving them tied up for days on end. They, and all family members, had disappeared for two years and probably returned for them now with the thought to put them to work. The authorities explained the danger we could all be in with this volatile man. They asked if we would be willing to relocate because the parents lived only 20 minutes away. So we were forced to leave Tenancingo during vacation times, which required more money for travel expenses. Our children were unable to go to church with us for about 4 months!
So, then not only were Chris and I under-supported, but our family grew exponentially, and we were all terribly under-supported but unable to leave Mexico for any length of time because of the legal aspect of the adoption and the children were unable to leave with us. The adoption also had many expensive hidden costs. So we had to use credit cards to buy our food, using our salary for utilities, school things, gas, etc. thus, our rising debt. We figured out that for the past 2 years, we have been approximately $1,700.00 to $2,250.00 short EACH month to just pay for our basic needs.
We have also had a young woman living with us for the past 4 years. The daughter of a godly woman with 6 children whose husband left her to come to the US. He cut off financial help when she refused to deny Christ. We have the philosophy of teaching one how to fish so as to supply them with food for the rest of their lives, instead of giving them fish on a long term basis. Jeanett, the oldest, had excellent grades and wanted to continue studying “prepa” or high school. She came to live with us because her family lived very far away from all schools, and she needed some financial help. That also become more expensive than originally anticipated, but last summer Jeanett graduated from high school with a degree as a nurse’s aid and just finished her year of free social service.
World team will not let us return until we have the needed support. We respect their years of experience and wisdom, and have seen personally how the stress of a difficult financial decision, coupled with the spiritual atmosphere of targeting and living in dark, unreached cities and trying to minister to all first generation Christians can take it’s toll on a family physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We must have the money needed to care for the children God has called us to raise.
We have tried to be pretty careful to not discuss money a lot in the past 10 years, but felt we needed to be upfront and clear on how we got to this point, and why we were unable to return to Mexico in August as we had hoped. Our organizations, and we, believe it is unwise and unhealthy for our family to return to how we were, unable to make basic monthly needs. So we are praying for the rest of our needed monthly support to come in. We are still
We have witnessed God pierce one of the darkest regions of Mexico with the light of His Gospel. You may have been a partner with us, through prayer, giving or serving. We thank you. You also have the reward and joy of having given, and even sacrificed to see the birth of this new life. So many of the new believers in Tenancingo, Tonatico, Ixtapan de la Sal are grateful for your faithfulness to God. You are trully storing up treasures in heaven.
We are on our first home assignment (furlough) in ten years. Two convictions have surfaced during this time. First, we are called to see the dark and abandoned cities and towns of the Tenancingo region filled with the hope of His gospel. Secondly, God has some who will be special monthly partners.

We are looking for monthly partners who will commit to pray on a regular basis, and/or give the following amounts:
5 partners to give $50/month
5 partners to give $100/month
*Donations can also be given tri-annually, bi-annually, or annually. Direct withdrawal is also available.
All donations can be made to
World Team.
(Get Gouzoules' back to Mexico fund)
1431 Struckert Rd.
Warrington, PA 18976