Every Question begins with a Quest

God's not afraid of or offended by our questions, in fact, he welcomes them when he tells us in the book of Matthew (7:7-8)

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

I'm currently working through a bible study called "The Quest" (Beth Moore) and have been challenged to seek out answers to questions ... things that are hard to wrap our arms around and understand in our finite minds.  There is a difference between "questioning" God, and asking God questions.  One intones a lack of trust in his authority, and the other an inquiry of the only One who truly knows all there is to know.  I understand that I may not get answers to all my quirky questions (and this brain can ponder some pretty strange things sometimes), at least maybe not on this side of heaven, but I know he doesn't mind me asking, and one day ALL my questions will be answered (or maybe when I get to be with Jesus face to face they won't even matter to me anymore?).

One thing I do know for sure ... If I never ask, seek, or knock; I will not receive, find, or walk through the doors that God wants to open for me.  

Getting in God's word daily is crucial for our spiritual growth, to have open and honest dialogue with him about what we don't understand.  You aren't going to derail him with anything you ask, and you just might find out some pretty cool things you didn't know!

I highly recommend this study if you want to dig deeper with God - I'm not done with it yet, but so far it is an interesting journey - I'll keep you posted.    

Speaking of journeys ... our Journey to the Guad Squad is getting really close to home now.  We have been packing up, selling, getting rid of the things we cannot take with us (which is only 3 bags each! Yikes!!).  We had our first round of shots and will be going back soon for round #2.  We have shared in many wonderful churches these past couple months and even had some dear friends throw us a Going Away party to say Good-bye!

Thank you Bridget, Haley, and Laurie!!  

 


Greg keeps saying, "It's really starting to seem real now!" ... I agree :)

Our goal of 60% funding to get us to the "Pre-Departure Orientation" (PDO) class February 10-17th has been reached ... we are currently at 79% of our required budget for TEAM.  Once we reach 100% of our funding goal we can leave for Guadalajara - we are planning (Lord willing) the first week of March.  Thank you! to all who have pledged monthly and given sacrificially to the work God is doing in Guadalajara.  Please don't hesitate to call or message us if you need assistance setting up your monthly pledge, there is also a quick Giving link right to our TEAM account at the top of the blog page (Under 'Additional Info').

We also thank our awesome prayer team - you have truly kept us going during this process!

Our current Prayer Requests:

• For our house to sell in Anson
• To sell Greg's pick up
• Safe travel to/from our Pre-Departure Orientation
• God would call someone to take over the jail ministry at Jones County 

Blessings!!  Greg & Robin

Christmas in Mexico!

For the past 6 years we have worked with several churches to put together Christmas shoe box gifts for the kids in Mexico, primarily in and around Tepeyac (about 40 min from Del Rio).

We had the privilege of taking the boxes again this past weekend, it's always a blessing to see the kid's faces when we drive up and hand them a box full of love!

This year we took 3 other friends with us to deliver the gifts and it was a wonderful time of fellowship and fun.  Special thanks to Aspermont Community Church, Swenson Baptist Church, First Baptist of Eagle Pass, and everyone who helped pack and contribute to the boxes.  We took nearly 300 boxes and gifts with us, as well as several cases of Spanish children's bibles donated by 2 amazing families!!

Check out a few of our favorite pics below:

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and New Years Blessings!!

Quick update on our move to Mexico:  We are still planning to leave for Guadalajara after our Pre-Departure training in February.  We have been sharing about the mission in local churches each Sunday and have had the opportunity to reconnect with some wonderful friends along the way!!  

GOD IS SO GOOD!!

                                                                                                                                                               

What's Next? ...

So we aren't leaving until February (Lord willing), what's next on our agenda between now and then??

Well, our first order of business has been setting up meetings with churches and individuals to share our story and build our home support team.  Those whom God is leading to be part of our prayer and financial team here in the U.S.   We have started to fill our calendar with speaking engagements in churches all over the area (though there's always room for one more if you would like us to come share with your church or small group) and we are excited to have the opportunity to reconnect with so many friends and family before we go.

 We are also anxiously awaiting the birth of our 3rd precious grandbaby - any day now!! She is due on November 11th - I will definitely post a pic when I have that little bundle in my arms 💗.  Our daughter and son-in-law live in Dallas, so our bags are packed and ready to head over there as soon as we get the call!

At the end of the month we will also be attending a workshop on "Strengthening your Interpersonal Skills" as a requirement of TEAM before we leave for Mexico.  We are excited to go, as we have heard this training is critical for all missionaries going to the field.

As an update to our last post, the contract on our house fell through and we have it back on the market again (in case you know of anyone wanting to move to the Anson area 😊).  It's a wonderful place to raise a family.

God has definitely been teaching us a lot over the past few months, since we said "Yes" to his call.  Mostly in the area of faith in him, and complete trust in his sovereignty.  We don't always understand why things happen the way they do, but we can trust that he ONLY has our best interest in his sight, and that brings a peace that is unexplainable!  We hope that no matter what you are facing today, you allow God's sovereignty to reign in your life and totally trust his plan - it's the ONLY one that cannot fail!!

We love you all ~ Greg and Robin

P.S.  In case you are interested, here is a copy of a little visual we created to illustrate how we can get to the next step in our goal to be 60% funded by January 1st.

Getting Social

What on earth did we ever do before social media??  

It's been so long that I hardly remember life with out it.  Keeping up with the times is hard ... and quite challenging for us 50+ers!  
But for those who can keep up, we now have a new "Ministry" Facebook page called:  "Goza's Journey to the Guad Squad".  

This is a public Facebook page and open to all who would like to follow our journey along the way to Guadalajara.  We will attempt to link to the page from this blog (or vise versa), but just keep in mind the age limitations here ... we may need to bring in the kids for assistance! (Hey, I'm just pretty proud of myself for figuring out this blog thing 😊)

If you found our blog from Greg's link on FB, kudos to him - he's learning too!

We want to keep everyone up to date on our progress and post some cool praise reports in the process, and we want to hear from you too.  Let us know what you think ... we are definitely open to ideas and suggestions.

We truly value the friendships and "family" God has placed in our lives over the years and want to keep in touch.  I will create a sidebar with our contact info if you would like to write, chat on the phone, or be part of our "Guad Team" though prayer and/or support.  

PRAISE OF THE DAY:
We have a contract on our house!!  
(Please continue to pray with us for the sale to complete quickly and can check that off our Pre-departure to do list.)

Tenga un buen dia!!  
(have a good day)

Ready, Set, GO!

Hi Everyone!
This is our brand new blog spot for our journey to our new mission post in Guadalajara Mexico!
We are Greg and Robin Goza, currently from the small west Texas town of Anson, just north of Abilene.

This is us!

We have committed our lives to serving Christ where ever, when ever, and on whatever path He leads us.  After our 10 year assignment of pastoring an awesome church in Aspermont Texas, we are now being led to the mission field under His direction.  We are super excited about this new journey, but not without a bittersweet goodbye to all our incredible church family at Aspermont Community Church - we love every one of you!!

This call has been confirmed during the last several years serving in Mexico on short term mission teams, and through much prayer and seeking God's will.

We have applied and been accepted by a mission sending organization called TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission), a global mission agency that partners with churches to send missionaries to work in evangelism, church planting, community development, healthcare, education, and a host of other areas.  TEAM was founded over 125 years ago and has more that 575 missionaries and staff in over 35 countries.

It is our hope to be in Guadalajara by the end of February 2018, but before we can do this we have to engage a team of both prayer and financial supporters (because there is no way we can do this mission alone!) Philippians 4:15-20.
TEAM requires us to be fully funded (100%) before we leave for the field, and at least 60% by Jan.10th in order to attend the Pre-Departure training in early February.

It would be our honor to have you on our team in whatever capacity God would lead you ... It takes an army to win a war, and we need some warriors!!
We would love to come share our mission with you, your church, small group, or any organization you would like to join with the "Guad Squad", to partner with us and see lives transformed for Christ.
If you would like to be part of our giving team, you can use this link( Donate Now ) or the one at the top of the page.

Our main assignment in Guadalajara will be church planting and discipleship, along with outreach into the local communities, and a local orphanage.

We look forward to sharing our journey with you and possibly even our home if you would like to come visit and see the ministry first hand - Our casa es tu casa!!

We will post updates here on our journey into Mexico and progress of our goals, so please visit again soon and we can't wait to hear from you!

Dios le bendiga (God bless you),
Greg and Robin

P.S. This is my first attempt at blogging ... No judging! 😊