Hello Family & Friends! I bring back greetings from the churches in Uganda to all of you! I can’t thank all of you enough for your support and prayers that helped send me to Uganda a few weeks ago. I never realize how fruitful one of my missionary trips is until I arrive and see how blessed our missionaries are to be visited and loved by our presence there. After a few long flights, Isaac and I arrived near Kampala, the capital of Uganda, where we stayed a few days with the Kanyike family. Jill was one of the first missionaries sent out of our home church, Calvary Chapel Saving Grace. Her husband, Brian, a Ugandan national, pastors an amazing church called Arise Christian Fellowship there in Kampala. We got to hold a men’s conference, go to the slums, visit the marketplace where Brian started the church, and I even got to teach the Sunday service! But on top of seeing their amazing ministry, the best part was just spending time with their family. ...
Uganda, Finally! - Garcia Family Update May 2025
Hey Friends and Family! The time is finally almost here! For about the last 4-5 years, we have made plans and then had to scratch those plans for Joel to travel to Uganda, Africa. Last year, we went so far as to purchase tickets even, just to have the Lord change our plans yet again! SGWM has three amazing families serving in Uganda: The Anikus, the Harrises, and the Kanyikes. Joel will be traveling with Isaac Douglass (who assists him with missionary care) with the goal of visiting these families, seeing their ministries first-hand, and to just be a blessing to them. This makes a HUGE difference in the lives of missionaries, to have their “senders” from back home visit them and see what their lives and ministries look like. ...
Garcia Family Update March 2025
Hello Family and Friends! As always, we pray you are doing well. I’m not sure all of you realize this, but you are a vital part of the ministry we get to do for Saving Grace World Missions. The fact that you read our updates blows us away; we are so grateful! For those of you who give financially, that partnership allows for this ministry to be a part of my full time work, so that missionary care can get more of the attention that it needs! And every time that I hear of someone praying for us, I am reminded that prayer is the engine that keeps our ministry moving and effective. Without your prayers, there is no power behind what we get to do for the Lord. So, from the bottom of our hearts, we want to say thank you! ...
Will You Pray With Us? - Garcia Family Update January 2025
I love January! I’m always looking for a fresh start, a blank slate. It excites me to think about all of the things the Lord may have for us in the year ahead! It’s been a great holiday season. October through December is a busy time for our church, with Halloween Front Yard Party Outreaches, our annual Thanksgiving Potluck, and Christmas services (which means dusting off the old Christmas songs for the worship teams I lead!). But it was so great to celebrate all of these things with our church and family. ...
What A Trip! - Garcia Family Update October 2024
Hello Friends & Family! One of the reasons I do what I do is that I LOVE missionaries. God has not called me to be a missionary (not yet at least!), but I know He has called me to send them, care for them, and love them well. This last trip I went on for 21 days in September was such a great opportunity to do just that: loving and caring for our missionaries well by having time with them face to face, worshiping with them and talking with them and sharing experiences with them. ...
Walking for the Nations! How YOU Can Get Involved! - Garcia Family Update August 2024
Hey Friends and Family! I pray you are all doing well and enjoying these last days of Summer! Joel had an amazing time in Mexico teaching a workshop on raising up and leading a worship team, leading a night of worship and prayer for our School of Missions students, and then teaching a class for them on the theology of worship. We are looking forward to a BIG month starting this week; here are some of the things going on that we would ask you to be in prayer for us over: ...
New States & New Countries - Garcia Family Update July 2024
While my (Joel’s) travels typically take me internationally, every once in a while I get to travel to a new state. Back in May, our whole family went on a road trip to Pagosa Springs, CO, where we hiked to waterfalls and along rivers, saw historic little towns, and spent time swimming at the beautiful resort we were blessed with a free seven night stay at! On the way back, we also got to visit the “Four Corners,” where you can stand in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico all at once. A novelty for sure, but the kids loved it. ...
God's Good Hand - Garcia Family Update May 2024
Most of you may know that I’ve been the Young Adults Pastor at my church for about 8 years now. The Lord has done amazing things in this group over the past year. We are currently going through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and one of the recurring themes in those books is God’s good hand being upon the work that these great men of God did (Ezra 7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31; Nehemiah 2:8, 18). As I think about our ministry, and in particular about what’s to come this Summer, I see God’s good hands all over it! ...
Praise God for Answered Prayers! - Garcia Family Update February 2024
Hello Friends and Family! I pray you are all doing well! The last couple of months have been so exciting for SGWM, and especially for me as the Director of Missionary Care. We have sent out FIVE new missionaries straight to the field for me to care for: one couple to Japan, and one couple and a single gal to the Middle East. It is so exciting to be a part of loving and shepherding these teams as they develop. I get to lead the team who does a lot behind the scenes to support these missionaries well by processing their finances, sending their updates out to their supporters, and providing pastoral care. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing than SENDING these amazing men and women of God! ...
A Prayer Request - Garcia Family Update January 2024
Hello Friends and Family! As we near the end of the first month of 2024, we look back on last year with gratitude for all that the Lord has done, and for your faithful partnership in prayer and support; and we also look forward to what the Lord has for our family and ministry through the rest of 2024 ahead of us. Please see below for an important prayer request as we begin this year! ...