Training Up Leaders
Bond came back from Mussoorie, India after a two-week trip in Summer 2011 with a desire to return to the area and train future Pastors to plant churches. Over the past several months, Bond has had the privilege of investing into the lives of several men and is now seeing this desire become a reality. We have appointed pastors in several villages, who have a heart to teach God’s word and see the lost won over to Jesus. Please keep these men in your prayers for the harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few.

High School Youth Conference
We invited 35+ high school students from the surrounding villages that are part of the Promise Child program to attend a youth conference on Friday, May 4th. Many of the children walked several hours to attend the conference. It was a great honor to share with them that are individually loved and prayed for by a family in the states and it is the love of God that compels them to provide for their school fees and other basic needs. Without Promise Child support, these students would not be able to attend high school and would have to work in the fields. Bond was able to teach from Genesis and share the Gospel and many responded to make a commitment to follow Christ. Due to the faithful support of so many who have partnered with us in ministry, we were able to serve all of the students lunch with chicken, rice, vegetables and an extra special treat…soda! We were blessed by this opportunity to raise up the next generation of leaders here in Northern India.

Preaching, Teaching & Baptism
This past month, Bond was invited to preach on several Sundays at two churches in the area. It has been a sweet time encouraging the believers in the Word and worshipping together with them in their native language. It is just a picture of what heaven will be like one day!

Bond and Manoj braved the cold waters in a nearby creek and had the privilege of baptizing for 4 new believers. It was amazing to see their lives that were fully surrendered and their desire to be obedient to the Word.

Women’s School of Ministry / Discipleship
Each week Heather meets with the women on Tuesdays to teach the Word. It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to encourage the women to continue to press on. Then on Wednesdays, the team of women heads out to the surrounding villages to serve together, share the Word with other women and pray for those women who are hurting. It has been a fruitful time and we thank God for answering so many prayers during our times of outreach.

Transformed Lives
The Lord has poured out His Spirit and the Gospel is transforming many lives. Heather had a beautiful time with three teenage girls a few weeks ago. Our friend Vinita had invited girls in her neighborhood to church and also to her home for tea and cookies. We met on a Sunday afternoon and both Deanna and Vinita shared. The Lord led Heather to share how she made the decision to follow Christ as a young girl. After sharing the Gospel, Heather asked if they were ready to make s decision and looked to Vinita who responded with tears streaming down her checks…”they are ready”. We were able to lead them in a prayer to accept Christ. Please pray for Monika, Swati and Manjee to grow in their relationship with the Lord in the midst of much opposition.

Bond too has had many opportunities to pray with men and women who are searching for truth. The first week of our arrival a man from Dehradun named Vinod (an hour drive from where we stay) gave his life to Jesus. We hadn’t seen him for a few weeks because he lives so far away. But this weekend he showed up to let us know that his conversion was real, but he had family obligations to take care of. Bond believes God is going to use Vinod in a mighty way. Pray for him as is the only one out of his family and community that is a Christian.

Requesting Prayer
Please pray for the Pastor’s & Wives Conference this week on May 15 & 16 that we are hosting. Pray that it would be a time of refreshment and training in the Word of God for those who attend. We will both be teaching, so pray for the sessions and all of the other details that go into hosting a conference.

With Love From India,

Bond and Heather

A month ago, we arrived in India and there were many unknowns as we entered into a different culture, to live in an unfamiliar place, to work amongst Indian nationals, with the hope of reaching this nation one soul at a time. One thing we were certain of was that God had called us and impressed Jeremiah 33:3 on our hearts, which says “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

We are thankful to have such wonderful partners who pray and support us. It is with great joy that we desire to share with you about the fruitful time of ministry and outreach that has taken place over the past month as we co-labor together.

Reaching Remote Villages

We had the privilege of traveling to the remote area of the Garhwali mountains to camp for several days. We were able to hike for many hours into various villages that scatter the hillside. Many of the villagers welcomed us into their homes that consisted of one room with a dirt floor and a small open fire that they cook on. It is an honor to share the Gospel message with those who have never heard before. Just a few years ago, there were no believers in this area and now there are two house churches that are meeting to study the Word of God.

Let The Little Children Come To Me

Throughout the week, Heather has been traveling to the villages to meet with each of the Promise Children in this area. This month she has been able to meet with 55 children individually to see how the support is impacting their lives by providing for school fees, a uniform, a hot meal each day and other basic needs. The children share stories of hardship, struggle, sickness and trials and just when you think your heart can’t handle anymore they share their hopes, dreams, goals and prayer requests.

The support through Promise Child makes it possible to meet the physical needs of these children and has opened many doors this month to share the message in Matthew 19:14 when Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

When Heather met Swati, she seemed like an average 11 year old girl who likes to draw and wants to be a teacher one day. That is until you learn that Swati walks two hours each way from her village to attend Sainji School, has to tend to the goats daily in hopes of having enough milk for their family and her mother has ongoing fevers and doctors cannot figure out what is causing them. Please pray for healing for Swati’s mom and that Swati would do well in her studies and continue to grow in her relationship with the Lord.

School of Ministry / Bible College

Each weekday Bond gathers with 10 – 12 students to teach the Word of God verse by verse to prepare leaders for ministry. The goal of the School of Ministry / Bible College is to equip the students to return to their own villages throughout the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. We know that these students can reach their own people far more effectively than we ever could. The past month has been a tremendous blessing for us, as we know that lives are being transformed by the Word of God. We have covered areas of the scriptures that many of the students have never studied before. It is exciting to train future Pastors that will be sent out throughout the region.

Women’s Outreach

Heather heads out every Wednesday to neighboring villages with a team of Indian women who don’t think twice about hiking 2 hours to visit widows, those who are sick, and share the Word house to house. The team is amazing and Heather has been blown away by the opportunity to serve alongside of such dedicated and committed women. James 1:27 says “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” What a beautiful reminder of the importance of reaching out to widows and orphans in their time of need.

With love from India,

Bond and Heather Gaona

Dear Family and Friends,

After several months of sharing, preparing, praying and seeing God’s provision for the ministry He has called us to…we know that it is time to GO! We have been overwhelmed by the love and support of so many who have decided to co-labor with us for the sake of the Gospel.  As we read in Matthew 9:37 it says, “The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few” and we are excited to be laborers that are sent out.

By the time you read this email, we will have arrived in Mussoorrie, India by plane, train, and automobile. We are planning to spend the next several months in Northern India in the foothills of the Hamaliayan mountains. Our team is made up of our friend Deanna Carver who will be spending several months with us and Pastor Mike Thiemann who will be traveling with us for the first two weeks of our time. Our team is grateful for your prayers as we seek to establish a new work here in Mussoorrie and come alongside those who are ministering in the surrounding villages.

The goal is to establish a School of Ministry that will train up Pastors and Leaders in the Word of God, so over the next few months Bond will be spending the majority of his time doing this. He will be investing in the lives of the nationals to equip them for the work of the ministry. We will also be traveling to the surrounding villages to share the love of Christ with those who have never once heard the name of Jesus.

In addition, we have partnered with Promise Child that has 96 children in two villages in this region of Northern India where we are working that are receiving education, hot meals, uniforms, books and other basic needs through the child sponsorship program. Heather will be working at the schools, meeting with and ministering to the Promise Child families, and doing women’s ministry through various outreaches.

We are very humbled to have been called and given this opportunity to serve the Lord in this way to reach the nations. We are thankful for your support and prayers and we look forward to keeping you updated. We will have access to email and skype, so please send us a note as we would love to keep in touch with you while we are away.

With love,

Bond and Heather Gaona

Dear Family & Friends,

We recently spent two weeks in Northern Uganda during the first half of December. It was so amazing to be able to return to Midigo, which is the place where our hearts first fell in love with Africa several years ago. We vividly remember thinking that our missions trip to Uganda and Tanzania in Summer 2009 was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Little did we know that God would use that once in a lifetime opportunity to stir a passion in our hearts to reach the nations with the Gospel and alter the course of our lives forever.

We had an incredibly fruitful time of ministry with the team from CC WestGrove and had the privilege of teaching at two Pastor’s and Leader’s conferences that were attended by over 375 leaders from throughout the region. It was amazing to teach the Word of God and hear it translated into 3 different languages and witness the powerful effect on people’s lives and the ministries that were represented.

One of the men that attended the conference has a weekly radio program on a Muslim owned station. He was given this opportunity through a series of circumstances that are nothing short of a miracle. At the conclusion of the conference, he invited Bond and Joe (our nephew) to share on a Sunday morning for one hour during the live broadcast. In this region, the radio is the primary means of communication as majority of people do not have television or the internet. We were able to share openly about the authenticity of the Bible and present the Gospel to listeners throughout Northern Uganda, Congo, and Southern Sudan. It was a wonderful sight to see the phone lines light up from those who had prayed to receive Christ as their Savior during the radio program. We stand in awe of how God works unexpectedly through ordinary people to accomplish His purpose.

In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Several hundred Promise Children did indeed come and we were privileged to be able to serve lunch to all of the kids and to their parents. We loaded their plates with millet, rice, soup, beef and cabbage. They were so blessed to have such a banquet prepared for them as many of the kids never get to experience the sense of being full (made possible by funds donated at the Girls Night Out ~ Bunko With A Mission event in November).

While we had planned to feed the children lunch, what we were not prepared for was that Bond and Joe were chosen on the spot to perform a puppet show. They were asked to share a Bible story that is kind of hard to describe. Bond had a bearded knight puppet on his hand, and Joe was gloved with a pink ballerina. Their respective translators used a mustached policeman puppet and a blonde cheerleader puppet. Somehow, between a goofy Spanish accent, various animal noises, and lots of hysterical laughter, the Word of God was preached and the Gospel was clearly presented to tons of smiling African children and adults. The puppet show was definitely a first for Bond, but something tells me that it won’t be the last!

During our time in Northern Uganda, many of our team members got to spend time with our individual Promise Children. We were able to reunite with Helen who is the precious little girl we met two years ago. When we met Helen’s mother during our first visit to Midigo, she was brewing alcohol to provide an income for the family. I (Heather) told her that if she would stop brewing alcohol and follow Christ, the Lord would provide for her in other ways. She committed her life to Christ on that trip, and promised to stop brewing alcohol and trust the Lord. Upon returning home, we began supporting Helen through Promise Child so that her mother would not have to brew alcohol any longer. Helen’s mother approached me during the Promise Child day and said through tears, “I have kept my promise, you have kept yours and God has been so faithful to bless our family.”

We were able to provide clothing to many needy women and children, visit and encourage widows and orphans, bless many youth with new soccer jerseys and balls (donated by Sports Gift) as Matthew 25:40 says “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” These are just a few of the tangible ways our team was able to bless the people in this region, which opened the door to share the Gospel with those who are in desperate need both physically and spiritually. Please continue to pray for CC Midigo, Yumbe and Arua and for the people in this region.

What’s Next – We are currently in the process of moving out of our home in San Diego this week. God faithfully provided renters for our house starting January 1st and has also provided a place for us to stay in Orange County with our dear friend Michelle, which is just more confirmation of His perfect plan. We are in the process of securing our visas for India and praying that we will be able to purchase our plane tickets in the near future. We will be traveling between San Diego and Orange County as we try to finalize our schedule, attend missions training and make final preparations to GO!

Thank you for co-laboring with us ….as together we were able to share the good news and show the love of Christ in Northern Uganda this Christmas!

Bond and Heather Gaona

bond@sgwm.com or heather@sgwm.com

Over the past month, we have had the opportunity to share the vision with many of our family and friends throughout Southern California. We are so thankful to all of you who were able to attend one of the Sending Dinners / Dessert Gatherings and to our dear friends who hosted them for us throughout the month of October. We are grateful for those who have made a commitment to partner with us in the ministry God has called us to in Asia and Africa. We are currently at 50% of our monthly financial partners and we are confident that God will provide the additional partners and finances needed for us to become full-time missionaries in the near future. Many of you have expressed interest in supporting our ministry and you can do so by visiting our website at www.sgwm.com/gaona and clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button.

I (Bond) had the privilege of traveling to Haiti with a medical mission’s team from Oct. 17 – 25. It is always an adventure to take the MAF flight into Hinche on   a small plane where there are goats running across the dirt landing strip. As we descended upon the Caneille region, we were able to transform the church building into a make shift medical clinic where the team of doctors and nurses was able to see over 1,000+ patients throughout our time in Haiti. I am sure   that everyone would say that they had the best job on the team. But, I think I truly had the best job because everyone who came through the medical clinic was funneled to me and our friend Debbie, where we were able to pray for each individual and to share the Gospel with them. There were many who gave their lives to Jesus and many more that were encouraged.

One of my favorite stories was when an older man came in saying he couldn’t see. We had a donation of glasses given to us right before we left. Doctor Kym asked the man if he could read the writing on the bottle of rubbing alcohol and he said no. She grabbed a pair of glasses, put them on the old man’s face, put  the bottle back up and he shouted “alcohol, alcohol!” They both raised their hands and hysterically laughed with each other. Then the man said “I am so happy, now I can read my Bible!” I had the great honor of praying with this man and many more like him who received glasses and have been given back their sight.

Heather and I have so much to accomplish in the upcoming month and we are requesting your prayers that we would be able to sell most of our possessions, list our home for rent, secure renters, move and prepare for our short-term missions trip to Uganda that is scheduled for November 29 – December 13. Please also pray for the provision of the remaining monthly finances that are needed so that we are able to purchase tickets soon to leave early next year and begin serving as full-time missionaries.

If you were not able to attend one or our Sending Dinners / Dessert Gatherings and would like more information about the ministry God has called us to, we would love to set-up a time to meet with you to share more.

With Love,

Bond and Heather Gaona
Email: bond@sgwm.com or heather@sgwm.com

Dear Family and Friends,

In 2008, God began stirring in our hearts a passion to reach the nations with the Gospel and love of Christ. At this time, we had been leading weekend trips to Mexico for 15+ years, meeting physical needs with clothing, shoes, food and toys as a means to share the good news of Jesus Christ. However, our hearts became burdened to reach those who were unreached with the Gospel and to train up pastors and leaders in third world countries. We began to pray and since that time, God has provided opportunities to serve in Uganda, Tanzania (twice), Kenya, Nepal, India, and Haiti (three times) on short-term missions trips. We have had the privilege of teaching at pastor’s and leader’s conferences, women’s and youth conferences, hosted medical outreaches, soccer outreaches, school outreaches, food distributions, vacation bible schools, and shared the Gospel with those who are lost and without hope throughout the world.  God has done exceedingly abundantly above all we could have asked or imagined!

After each short-term missions trip, we would return to the states and talk about the “if onlys.” If only we had more time…

• to invest into the lives of pastors and leaders who desperately desire biblical training
• to encourage the nationals that hosted our team and disciple the believers
• to reach out to the Promise Child families
• to share the Gospel with more people who have never before heard the name of Jesus

Well the “if only” has turned into “IT IS TIME”. We have heard the call of God upon our lives and IT IS TIME. It is time to step out in faith, it is time to sell most everything we own, it is time to quit our job, it is time to move out of our home in San Diego, and it is time to do what God is calling us to do and become full time missionaries. We believe that God has called us to GO and our response is “Here we are Lord, send us.”

Answering The Call
We have become missionaries with Saving Grace World Missions (SGWM) serving primarily in Asia and Africa. We are also working with Promise Child ministries, which meets the basic individual needs of children to provide food, clothing, shelter, and education, which brings an open door for the Gospel and hope that does not disappoint.

The Purpose
Our primary goal is to train and equip pastors and leaders in the Word of God to minister the Gospel in unreached areas. In addition, we desire to build up local believers through discipleship, and share the gospel with those who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ.

Ministry Schedule
We plan to spend approximately three months in each location and minister in several countries each year. In 2012, the tentative schedule will be India (winter/spring), Uganda/Sudan (summer) and Nepal (fall). Much like the missionary journeys of Paul in the bible, we feel that spending extended periods of time in several locations each year will allow us to be most effective for the ministry God is calling us to.

Partnering With Us

PRAY - Most importantly, we covet your prayers. We know that a vital part of our ministry will be developing a team of people who will faithfully pray for us.

GIVE – SGWM has no central funds for paying missionaries and ministry expenses. Like many other mission organizations, SGWM missionaries are dependent upon the consistent financial monthly support of individuals and churches. Would you prayerfully consider becoming a financial partner and supporting us at $20, $50, $100 a month, or some other amount that the Lord puts on your heart? Any financial gift will help. SGWM is a nonprofit 501c3 organization, so all support is tax deductible.

To Support Us Online ~ Visit www.sgwm.com/gaona and click on “Become a Financial Partner.” For your convenience, a monthly Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) can be arranged from your checking, savings or credit card.

To Support Us By Mail ~ Send checks to Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886. Make checks payable to SGWM and write Gaona Family in the memo line.

RECEIVE UPDATES – To sign-up to receive our newsletter that will be sent out via email on a regular basis, visit our website at www.sgwm.com/gaona. There is a section entitled Sign-Up for Ministry Updates and you need to enter your name and email address and click submit.

We appreciate your willingness to invest in what God is doing as we train pastors and leaders to plant churches and share the Gospel with those who are hurting, helpless and without hope. We would love to meet with you to answer any questions you may have. If you are interested in getting your church or home fellowship involved, we would love the opportunity to share more.

With Love,

Bond and Heather Gaona
Email: bond@sgwm.com or  heather@sgwm.com
Website: www.sgwm.com/gaona