Dear Friends and Family,
It gives me great pleasure to write to you about our upcoming missionary plans in South Africa starting next June 2014. As most of you know, South Africa has been on my (Joanna’s) heart for many years, so I am thrilled to have this opportunity. As you probably also know, Alberto is a born evangelist. For both of us, nothing gives us more joy than to be in a place where we can positively impact the kingdom of God. We have been doing that locally, but now we have the opportunity to do that in South Africa. What a privilege! We are excited to take the step of faith that God has been preparing us for.
The foundation of our calling is the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20:
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
South Africa is a nation full of potential, due to the natural resources of the land, and capabilities of the South African people; yet unemployment, AIDS and poverty are rampant. The gospel of Jesus Christ offers spiritual hope to those otherwise without any hope. As spiritual needs are addressed, physical needs are also addressed, and lives are transformed. This is why discipleship is key!
What better way to do this than with a group of Christians who are passionate about sharing the Good News? Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is an international volunteer movement of Christians from many backgrounds, cultures and Christian traditions, dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world. The purpose of YWAM is simply to know God and to make Him known. This is done through training, evangelism and mercy ministries.
YWAM has a base in the Cape province of South Africa where not only preparatory Bible classes are offered, but opportunities for service abound. We plan to spend our first year taking classes such as Family Ministry, Couple and Family Counseling and of course Bible! Our second and third years will be spent in one of YWAM’s ministries to broken families, and vulnerable youth. (Be assured that we will also be seeking out the special needs community!) We also have friends involved in prison ministry through the Andrew Murray Centre, so we will be praying about that involvement as well! After a few years, we will return to the U.S. for a reevaluation period with Park Street Church.
As self-supporting missionaries, we raise our own funds to cover our monthly living expenses. We depend on partnering with people who support our vision. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us? We need both prayer support and financial support. Our home church, Park Street Church, has generously committed to covering 10% of our monthly budget for which we are thankful. As for the remaining 90%, we now are reaching out to you, our friends and family, requesting that you partner with us by donating on a monthly basis. Any gift will be helpful! Please let us know of your decision by returning the postcard to us, or by emailing us at joanna@paradas.org.
We are enclosing a form which details how to make the donation, whether it be a one-time donation or a recurring donation. One-time donations go into our outgoing expense budget covering airfare, moving expenses, tuition, etc. Recurring donations are monthly donations which cover our living expenses. (All funds donated prior to our departure will go towards our outgoing expenses.) We are currently at about 5% of our goals. Please let us know if you would like a copy of our budget. More information is available on our website at www.paradas.org. As always, please contact us with any questions.
In His service,
Alberto, Joanna, Ana, Isaac, Margaret and Phoebe Parada