MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Greetings from the Powell family! We hope and pray that this holiday will be special for each of you. It will be special for us, even if it will be different. Elsa has been in Venezuela since Thanksgiving working with our churches and Project Joseph Ministries. And she will be able to spend Christmas with her mother and family. This will be the first time in 4 years. She is looking forward to it. Gaby and I will travel to Bucaramanga on Dec 23 to spend Christmas. She will have the chance to go horseback riding in the mountains and she is very excited. 
As the year ends let us say "Thank You." You have no idea how blessed we are to be able to serve the Lord on the mission field. You have been a  part of everything accomplished.... every person saved and every person healed. You helped serve thousands of meals to people in need and 20000 Bibles are in the hands of people who previously had none. And thousands can now see to read and work because of the glasses you provided. "Thank You."
With 2020 coming we are getting ready to do even more. 

Wishing you the best Christmas ever!

John, Elsa, and Gaby Powell

Bogota, Colombia

DAY BY DAY! BOX BY BOX!

It's not the Berlin airlift or a government operated disaster relief program. Here's the inside story of one aspect of Project Joseph that most never hear about. In addition to the feeding programs in Venezuela, we operate a transport program of medicines, food, formula, rehydration packs, Bibles, clothes, and supplies. The Venezuelan government refuses to allow the entry of humanitarian relief so it's up to a dedicated army of workers to ship the aid by box or suitcase by courier, taxi, canoe, foot, and finally by bus. Here's the story of some meds donated in Bogota that ended up in Calabozo just in time for a child with a broken arm. 
It starts with a donation and preparation for shipping. The supplies are shipped by courier or carried by bus from Bogota to Arauca, Colombia which is on the border with Venezuela. They are picked up by workers who carry them by car to the river. They are then taken across the river by motorized canoe. There is a kilometer hike with the boxes to a small Venezuelan village where they are loaded in a car or bus. After a 14 hour trip, they finally arrive in Calabozo at 2 am. The supplies and meds are delivered to a young boy with a broken arm. Patients with diabetes, seizures, hypertension, along with others receive their meds. There might be formula for babies, clothes for children, or Bibles. Day by Day. Box by Box. Unknown heroes are transporting humanitarian aid to the needy in the midst of a crisis in Venezuela. 

It's worth it!!

Thanks for your support and prayers.
The Powell Family
Bogota, Colombia

GSI MINISTRY UPDATE

GLOBAL STRATEGIC INITIATIVES - WHAT A YEAR! (so far)

4500 people fed each month
25 feeding programs in 6 states
Centers in hospitals, churches, and barrios
Also clothes, medicines, school supplies





20000 Bibles given to Venezuelans
 2000 Bibles to Venezuelan Military
   500 Bibles distributed in prisons


6 evangelistic crusades
4 healing crusades
1 Evangelism Training Institute established
 Prison Ministry in 8 prisons
2 churches planted in Venezuela



4 Revival Force Youth Campaigns

New Children's Ministry - FUERZA KIDS!

Vision 2020 Ministry formed
Glasses and the Gospel
6000 patients in 12 projects
Colombian teams trained

BY HIS STRIPES!

In August I had the honor of training a healing ministry team at El Tiempo de su Gloria in Bogota. I taught for 5 hours each week for 4 weeks and preached 6 messages in services. We then held a 3-day Healing Campaign on the last weekend. Each service I preached but then the newly trained ministry team prayed for the sick. And there were many healings reported. In the 3 weeks since the campaign testimonies continue to be shared at each service. Healings of arthritis, limitation of movement of shoulders and elbows, heart problems, and more have been reported. We are waiting for doctor confirmation of several more. 
Let me tell you about Camilo. This young man suffered a cerebral bleed that resulting in a 96-hour coma. When he regained consciousness he was unable to walk and use his left arm. Over the previous 3 months, he had no improvement. His family heard about the Healing Campaign and showed up on Sunday morning. Elsa and several other team members ministered to him. Elsa said, "Stand up" and he did. He then walked, which started a great celebration in the church. 
That was not the highlight of the story. When the altar call was given, Camilo WALKED to the altar and gave his heart to Jesus, along with his father and mother. 
Over 150 people came to Jesus during the campaign and other services. To God be the glory!
The ministry continues as we will now be opening a healing school at the church to train new prayer teams and will also develop a healing center for people from Bogota and surrounding cities to come to receive healing.

Thanks for your prayers and financial support.

Elsa, John, and Gaby Powell

ktaven@gmail.com 

GLASSES, FOOD, AND THE GOSPEL. LET'S DO IT!!

VISION 2020

Watching someone receive new glasses and read for the first time in a long time is a thrill. Vision 2020 is an expansion of our eyeglass clinics. We have arranged shipments of new close vision glasses from the States and have a team of Colombians trained and eager to begin. Our first project will be on August 24 with a second one on Sept 7. Soon we should be able to do 4 or more projects monthly. 

PROJECT JOSEPH
The ministry continues to add new feeding programs, but more could be done. The need is overwhelming and the opportunities are increasing as more churches are beginning to get involved. We are praying to double our current monthly budget, which is $2500. ProJo is more than just feeding children as we have programs for the elderly, prisons, hospitals, and families in extreme need. 

PREACHING 
I had been praying for doors to open for me to preach and teach in the Bogota area. And doors have flung wide open. In August I am preaching every Wednesday and Sunday and I am already booked for the first 2 Sundays in September. I am also preaching an evangelistic/healing campaign at the end of August.

OCTOBER
I will be in the U.S. in October to preach, visit donors, and raise funds for our ministries. I look forward to seeing many of you and sharing in your church or group. If you would like to contact me about speaking or getting together please contact me at ktaven@gmail.com 

FAMILY

Elsa is once again busy teaching at CELCO, the language academy at our church. Gaby is on a 1-month vacation from school. She will be a junior starting Sept 9. I am so proud of her work in missions. A team visited the church (not one of ours) this month. Gaby served as the coordinator for the project and did a great job. 

GRATEFUL
Elsa, Gaby, and I are grateful for your prayer and support. You enable us to be here to do the ministry God has called us to do. I just started year 26 in missions and am more excited than ever at the open doors of ministry before us. 

ELSA, JOHN, AND GABY POWELL

ktaven@gmail.com

BIBLES, PLANS, AND SURGERY

BIBLES AT THE BORDER. We saw God do great things at the border. We had a team of Americans, Colombians, and Venezuelans that conducted services in a prison, at the border, 3 churches, and 2 large barrios (ghettos). Additionally, the team did street ministry at the border bridge by engaging people in conversations about Jesus and offering free New Testaments. When the week was over we had handed out 5000 New Testaments at the border and distributed 5000 Bibles in the prison, churches, and campaigns. Most importantly we witnessed almost 2000 people make public professions of faith in Jesus Christ. At the end of the project, we sent 2000 Bibles to Venezuela for use in ministry to the military and we were able to provide 1000 Bibles for distribution through churches in Venezuela. And we left 2000 Bibles at the church located by the International bridge for continued evangelism ministry.

                                                                                              PLANS.
I have been asked to minister at a healing campaign at a church in South Bogota the last weekend of August. I am very excited because the church is making a great commitment to this project by allowing me to conduct 15 hours of training in the church to prepare a ministry team and prepare the church. We expect healing and many salvations!

PLANNING VISION PROJECTS
A donor in the U.S. has stepped forward to provide our ministry with 5000 near-vision glasses so that we will be able to do 2 vision projects in August and 2 in September. These will be the first projects we have done with teams of Colombians we have trained. Every person receiving glasses will also hear the Gospel. We are excited about this ministry

SURGERY.
The day after Gaby returned from the border project she had dental surgery to remove her 4 wisdom teeth. She is recuperating nicely, but this definitely wasn't something she enjoyed.


Gaby, Elsa, and I thank you for your continued support and prayer. You share in every victory, every leader trained, and every person led to Jesus. Our desire is to be good soil for the seeds you plant so that not only is the Kingdom advanced in Latin America but also you are blessed. You are in our prayers.

                                     Blessings,
                                     Elsa, Gaby, and John Powell

GREAT PROJECTS!

MEDICAL MISSIONS
June has been a very busy and productive month with 2 major projects. In the first week of the month we hosted a Mercy and Truth team from Kansas City. The project served as a foreign mission project for students of St. Lukes Nursing School. We saw over a thousand medical and vision patients with 700 pairs of glasses dispensed. We also hosted a health fair for children. The project concluded with a tremendous Evangelism service. 
Mercy and Truth Medical Missions plans to return to Bogota next year with a vision team in May and a medical team in September. 

LOVE WORKS.....ALWAYS

Pastors Gregory and Jackie Pope along with Kyle Negrete came to Bogota to present the LWA Conference. What a powerful conference! It truly impacted the lives of the 10 pastors and Project Joseph leaders who traveled from Venezuela to attend the conference in Bogota. For 2 days before the LWA Conference, I was able to teach our leaders on Grace, Faith, and Revelation. After the conference 2 pastors, Juan Pablo and Gerson Veloz stayed for 4 days of planning for ministry in Venezuela in 2019 - 2020. 

COMING SOON
In July Mission20 will work with a group from Alabama to distribute 10000 Bibles and 5000 New Testaments on the border of Venezuela and Colombia. We will be working with various churches and foundations who minister to Venezuelan immigrants and refugees. Also, we hope to send Bibles into Venezuela for an evangelistic campaign with the Venezuelan military. 
In August we will conduct 4 vision clinics using glasses shipped from the States and working with teams we train in Bogota churches. 

ELSA IS IN VENEZUELA
Elsa traveled back to Venezuela when the team returned. She will visit family, friends, and our churches. She is excited to see family and many friends. Keep her in your prayers.

Elsa, Gaby, and I thank you for your prayers and support. 

 Elsa, Gaby, and John Powell

ktaven@gmail.com