[{"content":"Hi family and friends,\nIt’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since I joined the Missions Training School . It’s truly been a rollercoaster of emotions. Filled with highs, lows, breakthroughs and a whole lot of stretching. I’ve been learning so much about myself. My strengths my weaknesses, and the personal traits I’ve needed to surrender in order to properly serve the Lord. It’s hard, and honestly it hurts my pride. But I don’t want to be prideful. I want to be humble before the Lord and before His people.\nIn this season, God has been gently breaking down old ideas and comforts I used to turn to when I was in the world. Things that simply don’t work anymore now that I’m in Christ. I’ve learned that real transformation requires letting go. And letting go hurts.\nI entered what feels like a season of mourning. God began to bring up past trauma things done to me, and things I brought on myself through sin. It’s been deeply painful, but necessary. I’m learning to surrender that pain to Jesus and trust Him with my healing. It’s not easy. It’s messy. But I’m so grateful He’s given me the strength, awareness, and conviction to walk through it.\nRight now, I’m walking through my life starting from childhood with the Lord. We’re in constant dialogue as I’m processing events, connecting dots, seeing how one hurt led to another, and how sin slowly crept into my heart at a young age. And even in this hard place, I see His hand. He’s placed godly people around me. Members of the Body of Christ who are walking with me, speaking truth, and helping me navigate this healing season.\nI’ve lost friendships because of my faith. The truth is, the gospel is offensive. Just living it out can create distance with those who are comfortable in their sin or who don’t yet see the need for repentance. But at the same time, it’s drawn me closer to nonbelievers. My worldview has shifted. I no longer see the lost with judgment, but with the same grace and compassion God has shown me, because I was once lost too blinded by the world. I’ve learned that not everyone is in a place of full surrender yet. God has people in different places. My role is to be present, to be the light. Not to affirm sin, but not to condemn either. Simply to love and leave the rest to Him.\nGod has given me the privilege of going on small short- term missions trips as well serving in both the children’s ministry and social media ministry. It’s been a refining experience. He’s growing me in ways I didn’t know I needed, and I’m so thankful. Just last month, we held our Vacation Bible School. It was such a sweet time to minister to the children of the congregation and to many from the surrounding community.\nThank you so much for taking the time to read this update and for walking this journey with me. I’ve committed to another year of the Missions Training School, and I’m beyond excited to see what the Lord has in store for me.\nPraise Report\nJesus has redeemed my relationship with my parents. It is now the best it has ever been. We tell each other “I love you,” we show affection, and it’s only because of Jesus, who has transformed my heart and the way I view my parents and family.\nI’ve now been saved for over a year and a half, and I’ve been praying that the Lord would make me more like Jesus. He’s answering that prayer but not in the easy way. He’s doing it by teaching me to die to myself, to surrender, and to walk in humility. And I’m truly thankful.\nPrayer Requests\n• That I would continue to daily surrender my life to Christ\n• That my family and close friends would come to know Jesus and be born again.\n• That the Lord would reveal in His perfect timing where He is calling me to serve long-term\n• For financial provision as I carry some debt. I know and trust the Lord will provide\nIf you feel led to support me, I’d love to invite you to partner with me most importantly through prayer. Your prayers truly make a difference in this walk of faith and obedience. If the Lord puts it on your heart to support me financially as well, that would be a blessing and help further the work He’s doing through me in this training and ministry.\nWith love and gratitude\nFor His Glory,\nKatia\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/2025/07/21/beauty-in-the-breaking/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHi family and friends,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since I joined the Missions Training School . It’s truly been a rollercoaster of emotions. Filled with highs, lows, breakthroughs and a whole lot of stretching. I’ve been learning so much about myself. My strengths my weaknesses, and the personal traits I’ve needed to surrender in order to properly serve the Lord. It’s hard, and honestly it hurts my pride. But I don’t want to be prideful. I want to be humble before the Lord and before His people.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Beauty in the Breaking"},{"content":"Hello Family and friends! A million thank you’s for all your support! It truly has made all the difference.\nThese past four weeks have been truly life changing. I can’t empathize enough how God has been working within. I really do feel like a different person. And although it saddens me that our time here in Mexico is coming to an end. I’m very excited to go back home and apply everything I’ve been learning in my everyday regular life. I am also super grateful for everything the Lord has been teaching me while I have been here.\nThis past week has been challenging for me. I’ve experienced a lot of spiritual warfare. So I must be doing something right haha. I just keep clinging to our wonderful God, who is incredibly merciful and is always my source of comfort. As He has been reminding me of these things I have become more grateful for everything He has given me and the opportunities I have had here. This week has also been extremely busy! We had the wonderful opportunities to serve the congregations of CC La Mina on Tuesday and CC Rancho Libertad on Wednesday. It was a pleasure serving in the children’s ministry and seeing how knowledgeable the young children were about the gospel.\nThe team and I are getting ready to leave to Culiacan tomorrow morning. We will be there for a week. Please keep us in prayer for we are going up to an unreached tribe to minister to them. A local Calvary Chapel Church plant nearby has been working with them, but they are currently still unreached. They don’t have a Bible in their native language. So please keep them in prayer as well. That they soon will be able to have a Bible translated in their language.\nAgain thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support. If you would like more details on everything that has been happening, please feel free to privately message me and I will be more than happy to update you.\nIf you’d like to partner with me, I would deeply appreciate your prayerful financial support. I am currently still in need of paying off my full tuition for CSOM. The need is $1,350. Thank you for your continued prayers. I am praying for you all as well!\nFor His Glory,\nKatia\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/2024/08/06/are-you-grateful/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHello Family and friends! A million thank you’s for all your support! It truly has made all the difference.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese past four weeks have been truly life changing. I can’t empathize enough how God has been working within. I really do feel like a different person. And although it saddens me that our time here in Mexico is coming to an end. I’m very excited to go back home and apply everything I’ve been learning in my everyday regular life. I am also super grateful for everything the Lord has been teaching me while I have been here.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Are you grateful?"},{"content":"Dear family and friends,\nWe have officially hit the halfway mark of our 6 weeks here in Rosarito. I\u0026rsquo;m beyond grateful to God and my church for this opportunity. I\u0026rsquo;m also very grateful for all your support.\nThese past couple of weeks have been truly life changing. The Lord has opened my eyes and with all this information I now know, I can\u0026rsquo;t not share. So I will share it with everyone who will listen.\nIt’s been an honor to be able to serve the Lord by doing outreaches with the local church plants. We traveled to Ensenada to CC La Familia. We set up at the park and had a service for the adults and had activities with the children. We also went to Rosarito beach, set up tables with activities for the children and went out evangelizing. It truly has been the Lord working through all of us when going out to spread His word. I’m beyond grateful for every moment I’ve had to evangelize.\nThis past week has passed by in a blink of an eye and I’ve been trying to absorb as much as possible. If you read last week\u0026rsquo;s newsletter, I shared with you a little about the unreached. There are 17,000 people groups on earth and 7,000 of those people groups are unreached. They’ve never heard about Jesus, they don’t know a Christian, or have the Bible translated in their native language. On top of that, most of these people groups are under heavy oppressed, religious governments.\nBeing born in a country where I have the complete freedom to openly practice my faith in Jesus Christ makes me feel convicted. I ask God, “Why me?” Why was I born in a country with so much freedom. However, I realized the question to ask wasn’t ‘why me’ because if I truly believe that our God is perfect, then ultimately He has a plan for everything and nothing that He does is in vain. I realized, of course He chose it this way! Knowing myself, and knowing that God knows me better than I know myself. Of course, He chose to place me in this country at this time. He knew that when I came to Him and became born again, I’d be desperate to know Him. As my eyes were truly opened, I would long to have a deeper connection with Him. I would do as He commanded me and that’s why I’m here at the School of Missions learning about the unreached. He knew that I would go in a heartbeat! Without thinking twice. That I would believe and stand in the truth that He is our One and Only Perfect God.\n“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”\n‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭\nI look back at every moment God used to prepare me, to the moment I realized He was calling me to the mission field. It didn’t make sense then when I couldn’t see the bigger picture, and I still can’t fully see it now. But, knowing everything God has revealed to me, I would be disobeying Him if I was to spend my life doing anything other than His will and calling for me. So, even though I’m still not sure where exactly He is calling me to minister, He has opened the door for me to join the Missions Training School (MTS) to further my understanding of God’s word. Until God closes the door, I will continue to walk through every door He has opened.\nIf you’d like to partner with me, I would deeply appreciate your prayerful financial support. I am currently still in need of paying off my full tuition for CSOM. The need is $1,350. Thank you for your continued prayers. I am praying for you all as well!\nFor His glory,\nKatia\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/2024/08/05/119/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDear family and friends,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e    We have officially hit the halfway mark of our 6 weeks here in Rosarito. I\u0026rsquo;m beyond grateful to God and my church for this opportunity. I\u0026rsquo;m also very grateful for all your support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese past couple of weeks have been truly life changing. The Lord has opened my eyes and with all this information I now know, I can\u0026rsquo;t not share. So I will share it with everyone who will listen.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"God Knew Before I Did"},{"content":"Dear Family and Friends.\nThank you once again for your support. Thank you for replying to my newsletters with your kind words of encouragement. I appreciate you all so much. This week at the School of Missions has been a mix of all types of emotions for me. As we continue to study the Bible, I feel God clearly speaking to me: GO!! Share the Gospel with all NATIONS!! But I ask him, Lord how? How can I, a twenty-three-year-old California girl, share the gospel with those billions of people who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ? I feel extremely convicted to go and do so, and I understand that it’s my command from God to go share with those Nations. This at times, overwhelms me. Praise God, He has placed me in the perfect place to be trained and equipped to do so!\nThroughout the week we have approximately 20 hours of class time. In these classes, we’ve had the opportunity of learning from our pastors and missionaries who are currently serving in those unreached countries. It’s refreshing to hear them share their experiences serving in those countries. For many of these missionaries, it took years of God preparing and equipping them to be sent out before they actually bought that plane ticket. We have also spent time partnering with the local Calvary Chapels, doing outreaches with the local communities. At these outreaches, we share the gospel and plan activities with the children and families.\nOne of the biggest things we have been learning about these past few weeks is what we call the Unreached. This is name we use for the 3 billion (with a \u0026ldquo;B\u0026rdquo;!!!) people living in many countries all over the world with little or no access to the Good News of Jesus. This is made up of Muslims in the Islamic Block, Hindus in South East Asia, Buddhists in central Asia, and Atheists in Northern Asia. In many of these countries it is illegal to convert to Christianity and restricted to share the gospel.\nTo all the believers, I want to ask you this question: Do you believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation?\nIn John 14:6 it says \u0026ldquo;Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.\u0026rdquo; If your answer is yes to the above question, I have another question. How do you think those who live in countries where the name of Jesus has never been heard will come to salvation?? “How then shall they call on Him on whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?\u0026quot; (Romans 10:14). Paul here is making the argument of how in the world can people who have never actually heard the gospel be saved? On top of that, how can they hear the gospel if no one is going to them to tell them? I could go on, but I hope you get the point I’m trying to make. I feel heavily convicted to reach the unreached. How will I do it?? I won’t but God will through me. In the meantime, I’ll keep surrendering daily, continue to study God’s word and patiently wait for the next step God wants me to take.\nIf you’d like to partner with me, I would appreciate it. I still have the need of paying of this schooling the total is $2,700 half of that which is $1,350 left to complete the total cost of CSOM.\nPrayer request.\nTo keep surrendering daily to The Lord\nFor the health and safety of our team\nTo keep dying to myself daily.\nFor His Glory,\nKatia\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/2024/07/25/waiting-for-his-next-command/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDear Family and Friends.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThank you once again for your support. Thank you for replying to my newsletters with your kind words of encouragement. I appreciate you all so much. This week at the School of Missions has been a mix of all types of emotions for me. As we continue to study the Bible, I feel God clearly speaking to me: GO!! Share the Gospel with all NATIONS!! But I ask him, Lord how? How can I, a twenty-three-year-old California girl, share the gospel with those billions of people who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ? I feel extremely convicted to go and do so, and I understand that it’s my command from God to go share with those Nations. This at times, overwhelms me. Praise God, He has placed me in the perfect place to be trained and equipped to do so!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"WAITING FOR HIS NEXT COMMAND"},{"content":"¡Hola familia y amigos!\nUna vez más, quiero agradecerles por todas sus oraciones y apoyo. Realmente significa mucho para mí saber que tengo familiares y amigos maravillosos que me apoyan en esta nueva vida y viaje de caminar con Jesús. Oro mientras continúo en obediencia al plan de Dios para mi vida, que aunque lo entienda o no, sigas apoyándome, pero sobre todo que confíes en que Dios sabe más y sus planes son más grandes de lo que cualquiera de los nuestros pueden ser.\nEs una locura que en los últimos nueve días el Señor me haya cambiado por completo. Ahora sabiendo todo lo que sé, ya no puedo volver a la vida en la que antes me sentía cómoda. A medida que he estudiado la Biblia más a fondo, ha sido muy evidente que Dios no solo envió a Jesucristo para morir por nuestros pecados y mostrarnos quién es. Parece ser un humano perfecto. No estamos llamados a vivir cómodamente en nuestras comunidades porque sabemos que somos salvos. A través de las Escrituras, está claro que nuestro mandato como creyentes en Jesucristo es compartir el Evangelio con TODAS LAS NACIONES.\nEn Mateo 28:19-20, Jesús nos ordena la misión global de difundir el Evangelio. Marcos 16:15 enfatiza la seriedad de nuestra misión: llegar a todos los rincones de la tierra con el mensaje de salvación. Hechos 1:8 nos da la promesa del poder del Espíritu Santo, y esto es clave para nuestra capacidad de difundir el Evangelio. En Romanos 10:14-15, la pregunta de Pablo resalta la importancia de predicar el Evangelio para que la fe surja en el corazón de las personas. Romanos 1:16 nos anima como creyentes de Cristo a compartir el Evangelio con valentía. Puedo seguir adelante, pero espero que entiendas el punto. Es sumamente evidente que debemos compartir el Evangelio, pero no confíen sólo en mis palabras. Te animo a que leas estas Escrituras por tu cuenta.\nLa Katia que salió de Calvary Chapel Saving Grace la tarde del 7 de julio de 2024, ya no es la misma de ahora. Esa Katia estaba muy emocionada de tener una relación con Cristo, pero no estaba aplicando todo lo que había ido aprendiendo en su caminar con Cristo. No es que no le importara la salvación de las personas que amaba, pero tenía miedo de perder a sus seres queridos si quería compartir el Evangelio de Jesucristo. ¿Por qué? Porque el Evangelio es ofensivo. Hace que las personas que viven en pecado se sientan incómodas; personas que no están preparadas para reconocer que anteponer el dinero, las cosas materiales, la estabilidad, antes que a Dios, es pecado.\nEntonces, ahora me pregunto: ¿elegiré pasar mi vida persiguiendo el \u0026ldquo;sueño americano\u0026rdquo; (que de todos modos nunca se me cumplirá) o daré mi vida para proclamar el reino de Dios? En otras palabras, ¿elegiré seguir a Jesús sin importar el costo? Créame, seguir a Jesús tiene un costo. ¿Elegiré obedecer a Jesús y confiar en que Él me ha puesto en esta tierra con un propósito? Mi respuesta es un rotundo ¡¡SÍ!! Elijo a JESÚS!!!! Ahora te pregunto lo mismo. ¿Estás dispuesto a calcular el costo y seguir a Jesús? Nunca lo lamentarás. Él es tan digno.\nRecuerdo el día que elegí entregar mi vida a Cristo. Realmente no sabía a qué me estaba apuntando, pero creía en Jesús. Sabía que Él era real y sabía que la vida que vivía sin Él era deprimente, triste y vacía. Así que di ese gran paso de fe y, gloria a Dios, ¡estoy agradecida de haberlo hecho! La vida que tengo ahora caminando con Jesús es absolutamente hermosa. Digo esto porque en realidad no hay palabras para describir la gracia que el Señor me ha mostrado. Jesús es real y la Biblia es verdadera. Si supieras la persona que yo era antes, las cosas que hice y el pecado en el que viví, entonces creerías que el poder de Dios puede cambiarte a ti también. Este es el testimonio de mi vida. Si Jesús pudo salvar a un pecador como yo, ¡puede salvarte a ti! Así que pasaré el resto de mi vida proclamando Su nombre, aunque me cueste la vida. Jesús dio su vida por mí, así yo daré mi vida por Él.\nAquí hay algunas fotos de las actividades de evangelismo de esta última semana y con los otros estudiantes. Si desea recibir actualizaciones con más frecuencia, responda a este boletín para hacérmelo saber.\nPeticiones de oración:\nPor la seguridad del equipo de CSOM y la mía. Para seguir entregando mi vida al Señor diariamente Por todo miedo en mí por ser llamada al mundo musulmán. Agradecimientos a Dios:\nMi salud mental ha ido mejorando y he tenido menos momentos de incertidumbre Gracias por tomarte el tiempo de leer esta actualización y por sumarte a la obra del Señor en mi vida y en todo el país de México. Significa mucho para mí. Si te sientes movido a colaborar en la obra de Dios en mi vida a través de apoyo financiero, puedes hacerlo dando clic en el botón azul que aparece al final de esta actualización ( “Become a Financial Partner”). Por favor, manténme a mí y al equipo en oración. Estoy orando por todos ustedes también. Siéntete libre de responder con cualquier petición de oración personal, ya que me encantaría saber cómo está. ¡Nos vemos la siguiente semana!\nPara su gloria,\nKatia.\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/2024/07/17/la-katia-que-conocias-ya-no-existe/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e¡Hola familia y amigos!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUna vez más, quiero agradecerles por todas sus oraciones y apoyo. Realmente significa mucho para mí saber que tengo familiares y amigos maravillosos que me apoyan en esta nueva vida y viaje de caminar con Jesús. Oro mientras continúo en obediencia al plan de Dios para mi vida, que aunque lo entienda o no, sigas apoyándome, pero sobre todo que confíes en que Dios sabe más y sus planes son más grandes de lo que cualquiera de los nuestros pueden ser.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"La Katia que conocías.   Ya no existe!!"},{"content":"Hello Family and Friends\nOnce again, I want to thank you for all your prayers and support. It truly means so much to me to know I have wonder family and friends supporting me through this new life journey of walking with Jesus. I pray as I continue in obedience to God\u0026rsquo;s plan for my life, that whether you understand or not you keep supporting me, but most of all that you trust that God knows better and His plans are greater than any of ours can ever be.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s crazy to think that in the last nine days, the Lord has completely changed me. Now knowing everything I know; I can no longer go back to the life I once was comfortable in. As I\u0026rsquo;ve been studying the Bible more in depth, it\u0026rsquo;s been very evident that God didn\u0026rsquo;t just send Jesus Christ to die for our sins and to show us what it looks like to be perfect human. We are not called to live comfortably in our communities because we know we are saved. All throughout scripture it is clear that our command as believers in Jesus Christ is to share the Gospel with ALL NATIONS.\nIn Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commands us to the global mission of spreading the Gospel. Mark 16:15 emphasizes the seriousness of our mission- to reach every corner of the earth with the message of salvation. Acts 1:8 gives us the promise of the Holy Spirit\u0026rsquo;s power, and this is key to our ability to spread the Gospel. In Romans 10:14-15, Paul\u0026rsquo;s question highlights the importance of preaching the Gospel for faith to arise in people\u0026rsquo;s hearts. Romans 1:16 encourages us as believers of Christ to boldly share the Gospel. I can keep going, but I pray you get the point. It\u0026rsquo;s extremely evident that we must share the Good News, but don\u0026rsquo;t just trust me words. I encourage you to go read these scriptures on your own.\nThe Katia that left Calvary Chapel Saving Grace on the afternoon of July 7th, 2024, no longer exits. That Katia was very excited in having a relationship with Christ, but she wasn\u0026rsquo;t applying all she had been learning in the world around her. It\u0026rsquo;s not that she didn\u0026rsquo;t care for the salvation of the people she loved, but she was scared to lose those close to her if she was to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Why? Because the Gospel is offensive. It makes people who are living in sin uncomfortable; people who are not ready to recognize that they are living in complete sin by putting money, material things, stability, etc. before God.\nSo, now I ask myself, will I choose to spend my life chasing the \u0026ldquo;American dream,\u0026rdquo; (which will never fulfill me anyways) or give my life to proclaim the kingdom of God? In other words, will I choose to follow Jesus no matter the cost? Trust me, following Jesus comes with a cost. Will I choose to obey Jesus and trust that He has put me on this earth for a purpose? My answer is a resounding YESSS!! I choose JESUS!!!! Now I ask you the same thing. Are you willing to count the cost and follow Jesus? You will never regret it. He is so worthy.\nI remember the day I chose to give my life to Christ. I didn\u0026rsquo;t really know what I was signing up for, but I believed in Jesus. I knew He was real, and I knew that the life I was living without him was depressing, sad, and empty. So, I took that big step of faith, and oh man, am I grateful I did! The life I now have walking with Jesus is absolutely beautiful. I say this because in reality there\u0026rsquo;s no word to describe the grace the Lord has shown me. Jesus is real and the Bible is true. If you knew the person I was before, the things I, did, and the sin I lived in, I hope that you also believe. This is the testimony of my life. If Jesus could save a sinner like me, He can save you! So, I will spend the rest of my life proclaiming His name, even if it costs me my life. Jesus laid down His life for me, so I will lay my life for Him.\nHere are some pictures of this last week\u0026rsquo;s outreaches and with the other students. if you\u0026rsquo;d like to be updated more frequently reply to this newsletter to let me know.\nPrayer Request:\nThe safety and health of my team and I To keep surrendering my life to The Lord Daily For all fear of possibly being called to the Muslim world Praise Reports:\nMy mental health has been improving and I\u0026rsquo;ve had fewer moments of uncertainty Thank you for taking the time to read this update and for joining in on the work of the Lord in my life and throughout the country of Mexico. It means so much to me. If you feel led to partner with me through financial support, you can do so by clicking the blue button down below. Please keep me and the team in prayer. I am praying for you all as well. Please feel free to respond with any personal prayer requests as I would love to know how to be lifting you up to the Lord. Until next time.\nFor His glory,\nKatia\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/2024/07/16/the-katia-you-once-knew-no-longer-exists/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHello Family and Friends\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce again, I want to thank you for all your prayers and support. It truly means so much to me to know I have wonder family and friends supporting me through this new life journey of walking with Jesus. I pray as I continue in obedience to God\u0026rsquo;s plan for my life, that whether you understand or not you keep supporting me, but most of all that you trust that God knows better and His plans are greater than any of ours can ever be.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Katia You Once Knew.  NO Longer Exists!"},{"content":"Hello Family and Friend,\nI\u0026rsquo;m finally in Mexico!!!! I\u0026rsquo;m beyond grateful and excited to be here. I want to start off by saying thank you so much for all your prayers and support. I appreciate each and every one of you deeply.\nOn Saturday, July 6th we had orientation. I was able to meet the rest of the team and our leaders explained in more detail what was to come for the next six weeks. We spent some time in worship and sought the Lord together. I personally asked the Lord to help me mentally prepare by removing any distractions or temptations I would face while in Mexico.\nThe following day, we attended Sunday service at Calvary Chapel Saving Grace as the congregation prayed over us before we left. We made it to Rosarito that afternoon. To my delight, we were welcomed with delicious authentic tacos. I was beyond excited because this is not my first time in my parents\u0026rsquo; home country and I missed the food.\nI started my Monday morning around 5:30 am with devotionals. I chose to get up early and spend quality time with Jesus. I was going through one of my favorite Psalms. Psalm 63 - “A psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.” I love this psalm because it reminds me of how much I need the Lord and how His lovingkindness is better than life and therefore I will praise him forever. If you knew me before I came to Christ you would agree that I lived in so much sin. Knowing what life is without Christ and what life is now with Him, I can 100% say that His lovingkindness is better than life. The peace I have found within His presence is unlike anything you can find in the world, the unconditional love I was longing for I have found in Jesus. There is power in the mighty name of Jesus. The person I am becoming is all by the Grace of God.\nOur pastor\u0026rsquo;s first teaching was about complete surrender. I want to succeed in the call God has for me, therefore I must first surrender what I now think God has for me. Any plan I have that starts with me will end with me, while any plan that starts with God will end with God.\nI intend to allow the Lord to work through me. Everything that I willl be doing will be by the power of the Holy Spirit.\nPlease pray for my team and I’s safety while we are here in Mexico doing God\u0026rsquo;s work. It means so much to us.\nI would also like to ask you to pray for my mental health as I have been having moments of uncertainty.\nPlease private message me if you have any prayer requests. I would love to keep you in prayer as well. I would also love to be able to keep you updated in real time on what is going on here.\nFrom the bottom of my heart, I thank you. If you feel led to partner with me and the work of the Lord going on in Mexico, my current need is $2,300. Thank you for all your support! I\u0026rsquo;m excited to keep you all updated.\nFor his Glory,\nKatia\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/2024/07/10/im-in-mexico/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHello Family and Friend,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m finally in Mexico!!!! I\u0026rsquo;m beyond grateful and excited to be here. I want to start off by saying thank you so much for all your prayers and support. I appreciate each and every one of you deeply.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn Saturday, July 6th we had orientation. I was able to meet the rest of the team and our leaders explained in more detail what was to come for the next six weeks. We spent some time in worship and sought the Lord together. I personally asked the Lord to help me mentally prepare by removing any distractions or temptations I would face while in Mexico.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"IM IN MEXICO!!!!"},{"content":"","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/financial-support/","summary":"","title":"Financial Support"},{"content":"Since a child I struggled with depression. I thought something was wrong with me and felt this void with in. I never had a relationship with Jesus Christ. I was raised a Catholic and going to church was something we just did. I never understood why we believed what we did, it was just something my parents did therefore so did I. At a young age I walked away from Catholicism. When I was asked what I believed in I\u0026rsquo;d say, \u0026ldquo;I believe in God I just don\u0026rsquo;t practice any religion\u0026rdquo;. Although I grew up Catholic, I have an uncle who is Mormon and some family that is a Jehovah\u0026rsquo;s Witness and most recently a close friend who converted to Islam. I made a small effort to learn about their beliefs, but they just didn\u0026rsquo;t sit with me. I\u0026rsquo;d always say that I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to be a hypocrite and practice a religion I didn\u0026rsquo;t fully believe in. So, I continued living in the world simply believing there was a God and convincing myself that was enough.\nAt the beginning of this year, I had finally had enough of the way I was living. I was constantly trying fill myself with things of the world. No matter how hard I tried I always felt empty. One day in January after having a mental breakdown I started praying out loud, which was something I had never done before. I asked God for help. I told him I was lost, and I needed him. I told him how I felt weird about religion, but I wanted to get to know to Him. I just didn\u0026rsquo;t know how.\nLater that day I was running errands with my mom. We were at Walmart about to check out when my mom decided to look at the shampoos and I walked into the card aisle. I remember walking in and there was no one else there. I was just minding my business when this girl I didn\u0026rsquo;t know walked up to me. She started talking I thought it was a little odd, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to be rude. It all happened so fast. She asked, “I\u0026rsquo;m not sure if you\u0026rsquo;re religious but I was wondering if you wanted to get to know God”. I got very emotional in that moment, and I didn\u0026rsquo;t say anything I felt like if I spoke, I would burst out in tears. I thought to myself, \u0026quot; no way God would answer my prayer this fast\u0026quot; We ended up trading contact information and agreed to meet up for lunch someday. A couple weeks later we met for brunch, and she shared her testimony with me, and we talked about God and got to know each other a little.\nIt wasn\u0026rsquo;t until March that I saw her again. She had called me one day and asked to hang out and I gladly accepted. In March I had decided I was going to get my life together I even got a planner to organize myself. She invited me to a believer\u0026rsquo;s event at Cal State Fullerton.\nThe message of the event was “making time for God”. I remember thinking.. “that thought had not crossed my mind when trying to get my life together”. Not once did I think of making time for God. At that event is where I met my now close friends Maribel, Serena, Caleb and Joshua. They invited me to their church the following day and I went.\nThat service our pastor had mentioned how powerful music is and how the devil uses people in the industry to push his agenda. I had a ticket to Rolling Loud ( a r\u0026amp; b music festival) which I was planning to attend the following Sunday. Music festivals and raves were a big part of my life it was an environment where I went to feel connected to others.\nOur Spanish ministry hosted a worship night I attended. I had never been to anything like that before. I was amazed to see people just simply worshiping God. I remember feeling almost uncomfortable, it was just a new experience but it’s was truly beautiful. Although part of me felt uncomfortable because it was new. Most of me felt this incredible peace. It took me a while of fighting my flesh but I eventually got on my knees and started worshipping God. I thanked him for answering my prayer. I thanked him for my life, I thanked Him It didn’t have to take me losing everything to find Him. I felt extremely grateful that I had finally found him. I felt his presence and I never wanted to leave. I later decided not to attend the music festival. After feeling the presence of God. I no longer wanted to be in an environment that wasn\u0026rsquo;t glorifying Him.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t remember the exact date but a week or so after I fully gave my life to Christ. I was in my room all alone. I got on my knees and I fully gave myself to Him. I stopped living for myself and started living for Jesus Christ. I finally understood that any plan that I have for my life would never compare to the life that Christ has for me. Our God is almighty and all loving and although at times I feel unworthy of his Grace and love. He still loves me. I often catch myself thinking of ways to try and pay back what Jesus did for me on the cross, but I\u0026rsquo;ve learned that His love is not transactional. No amount of money or good works can buy our salvation, salvation is a gift from God. God loves us and he simply wants a relationship with us. He wants us to honor Him, love Him and share His word so others can come to know him just like I am.\nThe Lord is continually working in my heart. He’s helping me clean up the mess that used to be my life. Helping me work through traumas that I didn’t even realize I had. He’s redeemed the relationship I have with my parents. He has completely transformed me from the inside out. I’ve come to understand that I’ll never be sinless yet He loves me anyways. Giving my life to Him was the best decision I ever made. My life isn’t perfect and it’s not like all my problems went away the moment I gave Him my life. But life did get 1000 times better. I no longer suffer from depression. I no longer desire not to live anymore. His word says “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”\n‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37‬:‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ And so I have and His desires for my heart have been incredibly amazing. \nJesus loves me and YOU!!! :)\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/my-testimony/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSince a child I struggled with depression. I thought something was wrong with me and felt this void with in. I never had a relationship with Jesus Christ. I was raised a Catholic and going to church was something we just did. I never understood why we believed what we did, it was just something my parents did therefore so did I. At a young age I walked away from Catholicism. When I was asked what I believed in I\u0026rsquo;d say, \u0026ldquo;I believe in God I just don\u0026rsquo;t practice any religion\u0026rdquo;. Although I grew up Catholic, I have an uncle who is Mormon and some family that is a Jehovah\u0026rsquo;s Witness and most recently a close friend who converted to Islam. I made a small effort to learn about their beliefs, but they just didn\u0026rsquo;t sit with me. I\u0026rsquo;d always say that I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to be a hypocrite and practice a religion I didn\u0026rsquo;t fully believe in. So, I continued living in the world simply believing there was a God and convincing myself that was enough.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"My Testimony"},{"content":"Hola, mi nombre es Katia.\nDesde pequeña he batallado con la depresión. Siempre pensé que yo padecía de algo. Al no saber lo que era, sentí un abismo dentro de mi ser del cual no sabía cómo confrontarlo. Como soy de primera generación, y mi familia siendo católica, ir a la iglesia no era opción, aunque yo nunca comprendí la razón o el porqué lo hacíamos. Por lo tanto, eso era lo que simplemente se hacía. Pero después a una temprana edad, me despegué del catolicismo. En alguna vez cuando se me preguntó de mi creencia de fe respondí, yo creo en Dios, pero no tengo ninguna ni practico la religión. El haber crecido católica, el tener parientes quienes practican el Mormón, Testigos de Jeova, y más recientemente, una amistad quien practica el Islam, hice un pequeño esfuerzo para aprender de sus religiónes y creencias; pero no me llenaban ese vacío que sentía. No quise ser hipócrita al practicar una religión de la cual yo no estaba en completo acuerdo. Y así con ese pensamiento seguí viviendo mi vida convenciéndome a mí misma que él simplemente creer en Dios bastaba.\nAl comienzo del año, finalmente me cansé de la manera en que vivía, y un día de Enero, después de sufrir un colapso mental, comencé a orar en voz alta. Algo que nunca antes había hecho. Le pedí ayuda a Dios diciéndole que estaba perdida y que lo necesitaba, pero sin estar segura de que era lo que yo necesitaba. Le hablé diciéndo que me sentía rara en respecto a la religión y que yo deseaba acercarme a Él pero no sabía cómo hacerlo. Después de mi oración continué con mi día. Más tarde, andaba de compras con mi mamá. Estábamos en Walmart a punto de pagar cuando mi mamá decidió ver los champús de pelo y yo entré al pasillo de tarjetas. Recuerdo que al entrar no había nadie más allí. Me ocupaba de mis asuntos cuando una chica se acercó a mí y empezó a hablar. Fue un poco extraña la situación, pero al momento no quise ser grosera. Todo sucedió muy rápido, pero ella luego me preguntó diciendo “ no estoy segura si eres religiosa, pero me preguntaba si querías conocer a Dios”\nMe emocioné tanto en ese momento pero no dije nada porque sentí que si hablaba, yo iba a romper a llorar. Bueno. Terminamos intercambiando información de contacto y acordamos en reunirnos para almorzar algún día. Un par de semanas después, nos reunimos a lo que acordamos y ella compartió su testimonio conmigo. Hablamos de Dios y nos conocimos un poco. Fue en Marzo cuando volvimos a encontrarnos. Y es entonces cuando yo ya había decidido ordenar mi vida, incluso, conseguí un cuaderno de agenda para organizarme mejor.\nEl nueve de este mismo mes asistí a un evento en la Universidad de California Fullerton, titulado Cómo Hacer Tiempo Para Dios. Fue allí donde me di cuenta que el hacer tiempo para Dios jamás se cruzó por mi mente al intentar ordenar mi vida. Fue también allí, en ese evento donde conocí a mis ahora amigos , Maribel, Serena, Caleb y Joshua quienes me invitaron a su iglesia al día siguiente al cual asistí. Allí en ese servicio escuché al pastor mencionar cuán poderosa es la música y como el demonio usa a la gente de la industria musical para envolverlos. Había obtenido un boleto de entrada para ir a escuchar un evento musical al siguiente Domingo, pero después de oír el mensaje del pastor de la iglesia ese día, yo decidí entonces no asistir a un ambiente en el cual no era para glorificar a Dios. No recuerdo la fecha exacta pero un par de semanas después rendí mi vida por completo a Jesús. Paré de vivir mi vida para mi y comencé a vivirla para Cristo. Finalmente comprendí que cualquier plan que yo tenga en mi vida, no se compara a la vida que Cristo tiene destinada para mí. Mi Dios, mí todo amor y mi todo poderoso, aunque a veces sienta que no merezco Su Gracia y amor, sé que todavía me ama y me demuestra mucho de ella. Con frecuencia me pongo a pensar en qué manera podría yo devolver a Jesús Lo que hizo por mi en la cruz, pero he aprendido que su amor no se puede comprar porque no hay dinero suficiente, ni buenas obras mayores para comprar mi salvación porque la salvación es un regalo divino. Dios nos ama y El simplemente quiere que lo honremos, lo amemos y proclamar su palabra para que otros lo conozcan como yo. Jesús te ama!!!\nQueridos familiares y amigos,\nEn marzo de este año entregué plenamente mi vida a Cristo. He dejado atrás a mi “viejo yo” y he decidido seguir a Jesús. Mi futuro está lleno de incertidumbre, pero estoy construyendo mi fundamento en Cristo y tengo el deseo de que Él me use. Siento que el Señor me está llamando a las misiones y estoy más que agradecida de que el Señor me haya traído a Calvary Chapel Saving Grace.\nMi iglesia tiene un programa increíble al que asistiré llamado Calvary School of Missons. Este es un programa de seis semanas en Rosarito, México del 8 de julio al 18 de agosto. En estas 6 semanas nos enseñarán el fundamento bíblico de las misiones, mientras continuamos estudiando profundamente la palabra de Dios. También aprenderemos sobre plantación de iglesias y cómo cumplir la gran comisión para llevar el Evangelio a las más de 3.200 millones de personas que nunca lo han escuchado. Durante este tiempo estoy buscando la dirección de Dios para descubrir Su propósito para mi vida.\nEstoy sumamente emocionada de ver lo que Dios tiene para mí en estas próximas 6 semanas. ¡Les pido por favor que me mantengan en sus oraciones! Estoy aprendiendo a confiar completamente en el Señor en todos los aspectos de mi vida. No ha sido fácil para mí, pero estoy aprendiendo. Si también lo deseas, puedes considerar en oración el apoyarme financieramente para pagar el costo de la escuela. El costo total es de 2,700 dólares. Cualquier monto de apoyo sería muy apreciado. Si deseas recibir información actualizada sobre lo que el Señor hará en mi vida, ¡suscríbete a mis actualizaciones! Te agradezco mucho todo tu apoyo. ¡Muchas gracias!\nAtentamente,\nKatia Álvarez\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/en-espanol/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHola, mi nombre es Katia.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDesde pequeña he batallado con la depresión.  Siempre pensé que yo padecía de algo.  Al no saber lo que era, sentí un abismo dentro de mi ser del cual no sabía cómo confrontarlo. Como soy de primera generación, y mi familia siendo católica, ir a la iglesia no era opción, aunque yo nunca comprendí la razón o el porqué lo hacíamos. Por lo tanto, eso era lo que simplemente se hacía.  Pero después a una temprana edad, me despegué del catolicismo. En alguna vez cuando se me preguntó de mi creencia de fe respondí, yo creo en Dios, pero no tengo ninguna ni practico la religión. El haber crecido católica, el tener parientes quienes practican el Mormón, Testigos de Jeova, y más recientemente, una amistad quien practica el Islam, hice un pequeño esfuerzo para aprender de sus religiónes y creencias; pero no me llenaban ese vacío que sentía. No quise ser hipócrita al practicar una religión de la cual yo no estaba en completo acuerdo. Y así con ese pensamiento seguí viviendo mi vida convenciéndome a mí misma que él simplemente creer en Dios bastaba.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mi Testimonio"},{"content":"Dear family and friends,\nIn March of this year, I fully gave my life to Christ. I have left my old self behind and have decided to follow Jesus. My future is full of uncertainty, but I am building my foundation on Christ and have the desire for him to use me. I feel the Lord calling me to Mission work and I am beyond grateful the Lord brought me to Calvary Chapel Saving Grace.\nMy church has an amazing program I will be attending called Calvary School of Missons, it\u0026rsquo;s a six-week program in Rosarito Mexico from July 8th to August 18th. It lays a foundation for mission work. In those six weeks we will deeply study God\u0026rsquo;s word. Learn how to church plant and how to fulfill the great commission and bring the Gospel to 3.2 billion people who have not yet heard it. I also hope to discover the purpose God has for my life.\nI am extremely excited for these next six weeks, to see what God has for me. I ask for you to please keep me in prayer. I am learning to completely trust the Lord in all aspects of my life. It has not been easy for me, but I am learning. If you would also, please consider financially supporting me to get through this schooling. The total cost is $2,700. Any donation amount would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to be updated on what the Lord will be doing in my life, please sign up for my newsletters. I deeply appreciate all your support. Thank you\nsincerely,\nKatia Alvarez\n","permalink":"https://archive.sgwm.com/kalvarez/kalvarez/2024/06/21/hello-world/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDear family and friends,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn March of this year, I fully gave my life to Christ. I have left my old self behind and have decided to follow Jesus. My future is full of uncertainty, but I am building my foundation on Christ and have the desire for him to use me. I feel the Lord calling me to Mission work and I am beyond grateful the Lord brought me to Calvary Chapel Saving Grace.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"CSOM 2024"}]