“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 1:4

As 3 of our 4 children are now adults this verse has been so close to our hearts recently.  We are humbled by God’s goodness and know our greatest contribution to their lives at this point is to always be available and to pray continually for them.  It is such a new season in our family, and we are continuing to learn and grow and trust the Lord for each one of our children’s hearts and stories that He has written for them as they enter   adulthood.  So many of you have seen our children grow up over our 24 years of ministry with Cru and we are so humbled and thankful for the prayers you have lifted up on their behalf over the years.  You have changed their lives and we are eternally grateful. Thank you. We wanted to share a blessing Jessica has for this summer and an opportunity for you to be praying for her and/or to give to her summer.

Dear Friends & Family,

This is Jessica Butlig, I’m a senior in high school and hoping to grow and transform my faith this summer. I enjoy photography, art, music, singing, and being around people I love. I am planning of attending Cal Baptist University in the fall to major in psychology & become a kids therapist! I have grown closer to God during my high school years and learned to take my faith more seriously. I adore worshipping our Father and learning more about the awesome things He has done. I pray during this summer that I am able to grow and deepen my relationship with God. I was given the opportunity to go on a summer missions trip to Fiji & New Zealand with Cru Ministry. I feel that I’ve been called to go across the world for a month (June 25—July23) to share my story and bring the good news to others. I am taking a huge step in faith to follow God’s plan for me to go on my first ever mission trip. I hope to grow my faith, gain new friendships, learn new cultures, and most of all help others come to Christ.

On my summer mission trip in Fiji & New Zealand, I will be given the opportunity to share the Gospel in high school classrooms. This will be done by presentations, assembly programs, meeting with students in common areas, and after-school outreaches. One of our mission   opportunities will be installing water filtration systems in homes of need, while the rest of the team will be connecting with the families. https://filterofhope.org  I will be able to connect with students throughout the community. I hope to build my faith with Jesus and build relationships with peers across the world by sharing my story and the good news. 

I am needing to raise $2,500 more of the $5,300 I needed to raise for my summer mission trip by June 12th.

I appreciate your time to read my letter and I hope you will join my team. I know that God has blessed me with great people who will walk alongside this new experience with me. I know that God will provide for my needs and expenses. I truly do appreciate any help that you can give. 

To donate to Jessica’s summer mission please go to: http://www.give.cru.org/1175472

Hello, my name is *Briella...

“On behalf of my experience with Ending the Game/EveryOne Free—I would say that they are some of the best ladies I have ever met in my life. The affirmation they gave me I keep up on my wall and it is super useful. And in that alone, I was help in finding self-value. The classes were super informational, the facilitators were understanding, sympathetic, and compassionate. I learned a lot from each class and each person, and I will remember this experience forever. Besides that, when I moved across the country I was searching for value and continuous healing. These ladies provided that when I thought I was going to have to go back home. Michelle helped me to ground and land safely beyond my expectations. I can’t thank them enough and I’m happy that it’s a program out there such as this I felt valued, I felt heard, I felt helped, thank you again!”

“Don’t let what you did define you.”

As *Sara graduated from our 24-week program she shared with the other women these words of wisdom.  “Don’t let what you did define you.” Sara has been through so much trauma in her short 23 years of life but it has been and continues to be such a joy to see her beginning to flourish. 

When Michelle first met Sara she was very guarded and had a very hard time showing any emotions.  She had been a survivor of sex trafficking for only 2 months and was in need of deep healing and restoration.  Over the months of connecting on the phone and our weekly Tuesday night classes Sara began to open up, seek help in areas of her life and take steps forward.  We were able to help her finish her GED requirements and take steps to find employment.  She recently began a job working for Disney!  She also began to take college classes at CSUF this Spring with dreams to pursue a job in the trauma department at a hospital one day.

Michelle is currently partnering with a sex trafficking organization nearby as their case manager.  She is training another woman to join her as the need has grown greatly.  She is currently connecting with over 20 women on a regular basis—to encourage, share God’s love with and provide resources for as they get back on their feet and find healing from being trafficked.  The pain and trauma she hears from these ladies is great but God is so good, and we rejoice in the praise stories as we see lives change.  Thank YOU for your prayers and support. 

Thank you also so much for your continual prayers for us and the ministry here in Los Angeles.  We are truly grateful for your prayers.

Evangelism Training

      One of the staff Joseph coaches, Steve, recently led an evangelism training time at a local church.  He brought together over 260 people from 14 different churches to do training sessions in Spanish and English on evangelism!  After the time of training the people separated into various groups and went out into the Santa Ana community to share Jesus with others.  That afternoon we saw 88 people from the community accept the Lord into their hearts and desire to learn more about Him! 

In a recent study, LifeWay Research found that most people don’t mind a friend sharing about their faith.

79% of 2,000 unchurched Americans agreed when asked:

“If a friend of mine really values their faith, I don’t mind them talking about it.”

For the past few years, Joseph has served on the national team of Cru Church Movements. Last year his team decided to restructure nationally and create regions throughout the United States. Joseph became the West Regional Director. Recently, his supervisors asked him if he would consider being the National Field Director and oversee all the Regional Directors throughout the US. After praying, seeking counsel and talking with one another, he decided to take the new role.  He also accepted another role being a part of a national team for mobilization and partnerships. Please be in prayer for him and Michelle as he begins this new role as it involves a greater amount of traveling throughout the year.

Joseph and Pastor Krishna are continuing to work together to help Nepali women start micro businesses and gain employable sewing jobs. Empowering the women to overcome poverty will help prevent the women from being lured to New Delhi, India into sex trafficking, as well as help our church planting efforts through women coming to Christ.

Please pray as we are strategizing and considering ways to start self-sustaining sewing factories that could hire 20 Nepali women for each factory.

The school year is wrapping up… Daniel is finishing his Junior Year of college; Jessica is in the midst of so many High School Senior activities and Aleeya is completing 5th grade!  Aleeya had an amazing chance to serve as an assistant director for a dinner theater show at out local church.  She absolutely loved learning how to be a director and we had a sweet time watching her shine.

Thank you also so much for your continual prayers for us and the ministry here in Los Angeles.  We are truly grateful for your prayers.

Y a ti Que? Valentines Outreach

This past month we partnered with Christ First Espanol to have a Valentines outreach to the community.  We had a nice dinner, raffles, a performance by Rabito and the gospel message shared.  The message was on change. Change is normal and all things change—time never stands still. We need to change also and we need the forgiveness of Jesus to be able to change. We were so encouraged by over 100 people from the community that came out for it and we saw 4 accept the Lord into their hearts that evening!  Please continue to pray for these new believers to be connected to Christ First Espanol and to grow in their understanding of God’s love.

Solid Rock 10 Year Celebration and Dinner!

Joseph met Pastor Ruben over 8 years ago as he was trying to replant a church in Claremont.  He began to meet with him regularly to help him think through evangelism, discipleship and the training of leaders. We celebrated with the church—Solid Rock—this past month for their 10-year anniversary! Over the past 10 years Solid Rock has seen 75+ leaders trained, 100+ baptisms, raised $300,000+ for church planting and seen 6 additional churches planted!  It has been an amazing work of the Lord.  A special highlight of the evening was how Joseph was honored again and again by the staff for all his dedication and support and leadership to them over the years. We are so humbled to see the Lord move here in the Pomona Valley and are excited to see what the Lord will do in the years to come!

Joseph with the various Pastors he has been blessed to develop and learn with at Solid Rock.

(Pastor Ruben, Pastor Hunter from Solid Rock, Shy and Michael from First Love Church, Pastoral Resident Hugo from Salvo Por Gracia Pomona and Stiven (Pastoral Resident)

Family Update…

We just celebrated Jessica turning 18 years old!  How does that happen?  We are so proud of the amazing young woman she has become and her heart and passion for Jesus.  She recently decided on college for the Fall (Cal Baptist studying ASL and Psychology—with dreams to be a child therapist).  She is also planning and preparing to go on her first mission trip with summer! These 18 years truly are a blink of the eye, but we are so thankful for the blessing of raising her.  

Thank you also so much for your continual prayers for us and the ministry here in Los Angeles.  We are truly grateful for your prayers.

Campus to Church Movements

We have formed a network of ministries within the Los Angeles area to bridge the gap of college ministry to after graduation. Our desire is to help graduates from college campuses transition well into post college life as a Christian and be connected and involved into a local church.

Representatives from Bridges LA, Destino LA, InterVarsity, Asian American Christian Fellowship, Navigators, Faculty Bridges, Cru Campus, and Cru City all joined together as one.  We spent the morning sharing about our local ministries and praying for one another.  We also created area maps to share where are respective ministries were located and have a way to view how we could come together in those areas.

Please pray for our continued unity in the Los Angeles area and for ways we can serve one another to help college students love Jesus in their workplace and be involved in a local church community.

Christian Foster Care Coalition

We are part of a network of ministries and agencies that help Christians come alongside kids and youth in foster care.

RIGHT NOW…
THERE ARE 21,000 CHILDREN IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

Our vision is to come together around the common goal of supporting, praying for, and   networking with each other. We also come together to educate the local church/Christian community about the kids in foster care who desperately need them and how to get involved. Our deeply held desire is to connect the family of Christ to kids without stable families, so that children and youth living in LA foster care can be protected, befriended, prayed for, guided, supported, mentored, encouraged, assisted, and most of all loved, as Christ loved us.

This February Joseph had the incredible joy of baptizing Aleeya! She has been growing and learning about Jesus for years now and is a sponge –always asking questions and desiring to know all she can.  When she came to us and asked if she could be baptized, we knew she was ready! She had told us many times before she only wanted to be baptized when she was confident that she wanted to follow Jesus all the days of her life.  We were so proud of her as she read her favorite verse to the church body and why she chose it.  Joseph had the blessing of baptizing her and we are so thankful for the many friends and family who came to be a part of this joyous day and celebrate with us!

Thank you also so much for your continual prayers for us and the ministry here in Los Angeles.  We are truly grateful for your prayers.

Christmas in Covina

This past December we partnered with Christ First Espanol in Covina to host a “Christmas in Covina Espanol” outreach. Joseph meets regularly with Pastor Marco to plan and design evangelism outreaches. 

The outreach had a drama/comedy skit “What if Jesus was never born?” that comprised of comedy and a gospel presentation. Pastor Marco also shared the gospel and we saw 10 people come to Christ!  One of the ladies that came to Christ was the mother of the stage manager (Julie) who serves on the outreach team.  Julie was so excited to see her mama come to know Jesus!

Please pray for our next outreach near Valentines in February focused on Friendships.

Church Planting Network Celebration

This Christmas we also had a great time celebrating with the Church Planting network that Joseph helped form.  There are now 3 churches in the network! Solid Rock Church, Salvo Por Gracia (a bilingual Spanish speaking church) and First Love Church (a church that meets on the Claremont Colleges reaching college students with the gospel).

We also rejoiced in the new members of the network who desire to plant churches in the future! Stiven is a pastoral resident who will plant another church in the near future. He is also a seminary student at Gateway Seminary.  Hugo is from Salvo Por Gracia and he desires to plant another bilingual Spanish speaking church.

We are so grateful for God’s blessing us to multiply churches that will reach   different people groups with the Gospel!

Family Update!

Another huge milestone for our family this December was the graduation of our oldest boy, Luke! He graduated in Business Finance from Cal Poly Pomona!  We are so proud of him and all his hard work the past 4 years and are excited for the plans the Lord has in store for him and his future.  It feels like just yesterday we were sending our firstborn to college—it is such a reminder to treasure the moments.

Thank you for your prayers for Joseph’s health—he is doing amazing, and his latest test showed the cancer as undetectable—Praise God! Thank you also so much for your continual prayers for us and the ministry here in Los Angeles.  We are truly grateful for your prayers.

Graduation & New Beginnings!

Through Michelle’s partnership with EveryOne Free (sex trafficking organization which seeks to bring awareness, prevention and restoration to survivors of trafficking) she was recently able to celebrate another survivor taking steps to a new beginning!  Michelle is the case manager for EveryOne Free and connects with the survivors to help them find the resources they need to start their new lives (housing, GED, resume writing, college, therapy, etc..). *Rachel is one of the ladies who went through the 20-week diversion program we run in partnership with a Pomona public defender and the Pomona courthouse.  After completing our 20-week diversion program they can apply for a grant from us to go to continue their education and start a new beginning.  *Rachel has been such a joy to work with and is so strong.  She is a mama of 2 and working hard to provide a wonderful life for her babies.  She recently completed her first set of makeup classes and is beginning the second semester of classes.  Her dream is to have her own beauty salon and be able to work her own hours in order to be able to be with her children as well. 

We are finishing up our second block of diversion classes for 2022!  Please pray for the 5 women involved with us.  They have been working hard in their healing.  The program covers an intervention curriculum, Strengthsfinder, Boundaries, Job skills, Resume writing, Personal Finance, Therapy and more.  There are definite ups and downs, but it has been so encouraging to see ladies seek help and healing and for Michelle to be able to share the love of Jesus with them as well as resources to serve them.  One woman *Emily recently shared with Michelle how she loves our weekly diversion classes, that it is the highlight of her week.  She has been overcoming so much.  She shared how her mom and sister recently told her how proud they are of her, and they have seen so many Big changes in her life.  It is wonderful to see joy restored and hope in the ladies’ hearts.

 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19

“Be Still and Know that I am God.”  (Psalm 46:10)

These past few months have definitely been emotional and a whirlwind.  This verse has been a constant in our lives recently.  Trusting and Knowing God is in control… that we can seek Him and Be Still when our hearts, worries and emotions are racing.  These words from the Lord have felt more real than ever before. Joseph is continuing to do well with his healing.  It has been a long 6 weeks, but he has regained most of his energy and has healed remarkable well.  We are so thankful.  He passed his first psa blood test with the cancer being undetectable!  We are continuing to meet with a couple more oncologists and he will continue to be monitored every few months through blood tests.  Thank you for all your prayers—our hearts and souls are so thankful.

In the midst of our Fall the kiddos have been growing up too fast for our hearts.  Jessica recently had her senior homecoming dance—and is now applying for colleges! Daniel was recognized at his college for earning one of the highest top 5 scores for Microsoft Office, was given an award and asked to be on a panel with students and faculty sharing wisdom with other business students.  Aleeya is enjoying 5th grade and her soccer team Brazils!  She is a fast little runner! And Luke is finishing up his last semester at Cal Poly!  Our boy is about to graduate!!! 

Our family has definitely grown closer to the Lord and one another through the trials this Fall. But we are thankful to see how the Lord has met each one of us in different ways and how He is working in all of our lives, we are reminded to continue to BE STILL AND KNOW HE IS GOD.  Raising children is a rollercoaster at times but He loves them more than we ever could, and we continue to place them in His hands and trust Him for their lives. 

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support to us.  We are so very thankful.

Many of you saw our recent email asking for prayers.  In August we received the news that Joseph has high risk/aggressive prostate cancer. As you can imagine our lives were turned upside down and it became a whirlwind of appointments, scans, bloodwork, research and numerous calls to find a surgeon who could see him ASAP.  On September 12th he had surgery to remove the prostate and is on the road to recovery. The pathology report done after the surgery showed the cancer had spread into the thin capsule covering the prostate and the right seminal vesicle but this capsule, both sides of the seminal vesicles and the lymph nodes were surgically removed. The margins/edges of the prostate were clear/benign, so the surgeon has removed all the cancer!  There will be regular PSA tests to monitor if the PSA is below the appropriate/undetectable level and does not increase at any time. We are sooooo thankful that the reports show the surgeon removed all the cancer and no radiation is needed!! Praise Jesus for His merciful love – He is healing Joseph and we are praying for no recurrence of cancer. 

It has been amazing to see the Lord’s very real presence through this all.  From finding the cancer, being connected with top urologists, surgeons, gracious technicians and nurses.  We have truly felt the prayers of so many carrying us through a time where we were in deep shock and sadness. We are so thankful for the love of family and friends in prayer, meals, help, gifts –we are blessed with love.  Thank you!

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love. Psalm 103:8

(Joseph’s thoughts) …. After the shock of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, an overwhelming fear of the unknown overcame me. 

1 John 4:18 says that perfect love drives out fear.  So, my focus was trusting in God’s love for me in this journey with prostate cancer.  In Psalm 103:8 the Hebrew word for love is “hesed”, which means faithful love, loyal love, steadfast love or unfailing love.  In my meditation and study, I learned that when Biblical scholars translated the Old Testament into Greek (The Septuagint), they did not translate the Hebrew word “hesed” into the Greek word “agape” with stands for God’s unconditional love.  But instead, the majority of time “hesed” was translated into the Greek word “eleos”, which means mercy. 

When someone is in need of forgiveness or acceptance, it is “agape” – God’s unconditional and sacrificial love that humans need.  But when someone is suffering and could potentially suffer more, it is “hesed” love or “eleos” in Greek—God’s merciful love that suffering people need.  This is exactly what I needed and received from God and from many Christian friends.  This meditation has ministered to me deeply and changed me from the inside. 

The love that I needed to face all the multiple circumstances and fearful unknowns was God’s merciful love that casts out my fears concerning my cancer diagnosis.  I am thanking God for his kindness and merciful love.  May God use me in the future when I interact with suffering people.  May God’s merciful love be manifest in me to bring comfort to them.

Cru22 Conference

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for us to travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin this summer for our Cru22 conference.  We gathered with over 5,000 staff and families from around the nation to be challenged, encouraged and trained. It was encouraging to hear and receive a larger picture of how the Lord was working around the world as well.  The main focus of the conference was our commitment to the Great Commission and reaching every person with the Gospel and love of Jesus.

Our girls loved being a part of the Cru Kids Program and reconnected with old friends from other states and made many new friends.  They also had worship, teaching and fun throughout the conference.

Thank you again for making it possible for us to be a part of this!

Joseph helped lead the Cru Church Movements days at the conference as well. There was also a panel he was a part of sharing about multiplying missional communities in churches and planting more churches.

Summer has come to an end, and we are transitioning to back to school.  Jessica is now a Senior in High School and I’m not sure we are ready for this! Luke is finishing up his last semester at Cal Poly, Daniel is starting his third year in college and Aleeya is now 5th Grade!

Sadly, we lost our 13 year old pup this month as well—which has been very hard. We are so thankful for the years God blessed us with her—as she grew up with the kids and was a large part of our family.

Thank you for your prayers, support &  encouragement to us! We appreciate you so very much.  Please let us know if we can be praying for you in anyway as well.

Olga Breeskin: Finding God at the Bottom

We continue to partner with Christ First Espanol church for outreaches to the community of  Covina.  We hosted the performer, Olga Breeskin, from Mexico.  Olga had a nightly act in Mexico City for years as well as her own show in Las Vegas. She is a renown dancer and violinist.  Through her success she fell into alcoholism and drugs and started having panic attacks, anxiety, nightmares and depression.  The day before she planned to commit suicide a friend invited her to a Christian retreat—where she fell in love with Jesus and was given hope once again. 

Olga came to share her story and music through our outreach.  We rented out the theater at a local high school and we saw over 150 attend—with 10 people accepting the Lord that evening!  Pray for the new believer classes that Pastor Marco has started utilizing Cru discipleship material.

Joseph recently had the opportunity to install a pastor at one church we work closely with, Solid Rock in Claremont. Pastor Hunter had been in charge of missional communities and leadership development the past few years but recently has become the lead pastor at Solid Rock. Joseph was able to help install him as he now is the pastor for Preaching and Vision overseeing preaching and the direction and vision of the church.  It has been encouraging to see Hunter developed these past years and grow in a position to lead the church.

FAMILY UPDATE!

The years continue to fly!  Everyone is on summer vacation from school now—Luke has only 1 more semester of college left.  Daniel finished his second year—Jessica is now a Senior in High School and   Aleeya will be in 5th grade!!  The boys are continuing with work this summer, Jessica is practicing for her driver’s license and Aleeya is active in swim lessons and has become FAST!

We are preparing for our Cru22 Staff Conference in Wisconsin in July soon.  Thank you for all your support, encouragement and prayers for us.  Thank you also for your gifts to help us raise the funds we need for travel, lodging, food and conference fees.  We are still in the process of raising the $4600 in special gifts if you are able to help in anyway.  Thank you so much.

How to Give:

Online

http://give.cru.org/0487483

Text

“Joseph Butlig” to 71326

Church Planting… According to Faithward, “New churches are the most effective means to reach spiritually disconnected people. Church plants are significantly more likely to draw non-Christians than established churches. A 2015 Lifeway Research study found that 42 percent of church plant attendees previously weren’t part of a church. By contrast, as high as 90 percent of new members in established churches are transfers from another congregation.” 

Joseph recently finished a time of church planting assessments with NAMB (North America Mission Board).  He is a coach overseeing the assessors of new church planters. Nine church planters were assessed over the weekend.  These planters had hearts to begin new churches in Anaheim, Nipomo, South Central Los Angeles, Los Angeles and other cities within Southern California.  The assessment gauges their readiness to become a church planter covering three main areas: their church planting capacity, personal character and marriage health (if they are married).  The planters learn about their strengths and weaknesses and through support and encouragement they talk through and are assessed in their calling, emotional and spiritual health, family dynamics, vision, leadership, communication, missional engagement, disciple-making and social skills.

One of the church planters assessed was Pastor Jofri and his wife, Michelle.  They live in Anaheim and have a huge heart to share the love of Jesus with MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters!  They have started a church at a local MMA gym through a partnership they formed with the owner of the gym.  About a week ago, at the Kings MMA Gym, Pastor Jofri and the gym owner did an outreach to reach out to the MMA community.    7 men gave their hearts to Jesus and 5 others were baptized!  2 additional men approached Pastor Jofri afterwards and said they wanted to be baptized as well.  It was a powerful night of worship, the UFC owner sharing his story and faith and Pastor Jofri sharing the gospel afterwards.  We praise God for these changed lives and that Joseph has been blessed to be a part of helping pastors like Pastor Jofri reach their communities and be encouraged and equipped as church planters.

Thank you for your prayers, support & encouragement to us! We appreciate you so very much.  Please let us know if we can be praying for you in anyway as well.