Merry Christmas from Agape Missions

This has been such a fantastic year for our ministry. God is moving in Oaxaca! I had the privilege of returning to Mexico the first of October for a short visit to many of our missions.
In Lachiguiri I arrived in time for their Gran Fiesta in the Town Center. On the last day of this event, the churches marched down the mountain Shouting JESUS, JESUS and singing with floats etc. It was awe inspiring. Most of the youth of Lachiguiri and the surrounding 16 villages are now born again Christians. WOW!!Pastor Nely led this event where they killed three cows to feed all the guest who came.
The next two days were sponsored by Pastor Pepe's church where our own Israel Lopez was the pastor when we first went to Lachiguiri to translate the Bible. They had two days of conferences. Attendance for both events was great.
Pastor Israel does need our prayer support as the doctors in Oaxaca City said, as a diabetic,  he is anemic and his kidneys are functioning at only 40%. God has provided some funds for his expensive medication. Israel thanks you for your prayers.
On our Coastal ministry, where Pastor Damian is the director, so much has happened in the last couple of months. New missions, Many Bibles given out, expanding of new missions, Youth events, Women's Prayer Warrior conferences, and we are already making plans for the upcoming ministry in the Spring with Children's Ministries and conferences for all our coastal ministries. I hope to take several teams down this coming year.
God protected pastor Damian when he had the back of one of our vehicles loaded with 15 road construction workers he was giving a ride. As they were slowly moving down a steep incline on the mountain the back tire came off the truck rolling down the mountain. God protected all. Earlier that day we had to have new brakes put on. I have a feeling the mechanic didn't get the tire back on securely.
Check out the post below for a short video Chalo, Pastor's son, put together of highlights from some of our recent events with the Children's  ministry, new missions, the Women's Prayer Warrior conferences etc.
If you would like to still give before the end of the year to help back this great move of God you can also give by clicking Donate today on PayPal. Our link had been broken and is fixed now. Be sure to wait until it shows your receipt or it hasn't finished the transaction. 
Thanks to people like you who believe in this ministry and are helping to spread the gospel.


Merry Christmas


Sheri Burk

Our Coastal Ministry

Here is a short glimpse of some of the activities in 2011 of our Coastal missions with Pastor Damian and his team. Our newest missions are deep in the Sub-tropical mountains off the coast of Oaxaca. This includes scenes from 10 of the missions, Children's activities, Youth workers and events, Our Women's Prayer Warriors, Bibles given out, individual ministry etc. 4.30 min.

San Isidro, Potchutla, Oaxaca Mission

Pastor Damian and his family take a needed vacation

Pastor Damian and his family finally were able to take a long needed vacation.
They decided to take their son Chalo and Damian's helper to Oaxaca to enter a Bible School training program for the next six months.

So the whole family went and after getting the guys settled and attending church services at Cristo Por Su Mundo they headed into the City of Oaxaca (a tourist city) Some friends helped out with some of the expenses and some said they are sending funds to help with the nice hotel. Not the one in Chiapas as they went a different direction.

Today Pastor Damian sent some  photos with he, wife Rosa and their youngest children, Josue and Daniela. They went to a zoo and I see it looks like a lot of fun.

The whole family
    said to tell 
      you-all
Gracias!! Gracias!!

What is now happening at our Coastal ministry

Many of you are aware that Sheri has spent most of this last month in and out of hospitals with TIA's and a Stroke. God has been in the process of a healing of her body and she is regaining her ability to walk and use her right hand again. We give God the Glory.
Much has been happening with the missions on the coast. God sent a group from a church in Oaxaca City to minister with a Youth Rally. 


Over 50 youth came for the weekend. Two  were baptized that Sunday.



When that group left another group of 20 Mexican young people from "Cristo por su Mundo" came to hold a four day Daily Vacation Bible School. Because Sheri was sick she didn't know in advance so we could help defray the cost of feeding all these groups, providing drinking water and housing. Also last month Agape's funds for the mission work dropped drastically.


This coming weekend, Damian's son Chalo who has been helping his dad with the ministry and Damian's young sidekick Darwin will head to Oaxaca to spend six months in an extensive Bible training course so they can better work with the mission in the ministry.


This leaves Damian with very few workers with the 12 missions and prison ministry he has under his care. 
But God has sent two young men, JUAN ALBERTO and VÍCTOR JESUS, who both graduated from Foundation for His Ministry in Baja California to work with Damian for one year. Our own Garett Jackson was director of this Bible College for a couple of years before he came to Oaxaca and now is serving as director of our Bible College for Pastors in Lachiguiri. So they have had excellent training to help the mission work.
We are so thankful for these two men. But they are depending on Pastor Damian to feed and house them during their stay, so they can be available daily for ministering with Damian at the different missions.  


A couple of  the missions do pay for their mission's basic needs such as lights etc but most of the missions are in villages of extremely poor families. None of the missions has funds to help with Pastor Damian's salary for his family. It has been very rough on them as he has so little time to work a secular job and still maintain the missions. God has preformed many miracles but it is becoming a strain for him physically and hard on the family. 


Please hold up Damian and these two helpers, Juan and Victor that God will give them wisdom as they work for the Kingdom.


One special need on Sheri's heart is for Pastor Damian and his wife Rosa to be able to take a couple days vacation next week before school starts for their youngest son Che-che. They had planned to go for a couple of days after the Children's fiesta earlier in the year but Pastor Damian became very sick and they weren't able to go. 


Possibly some of you will send a little extra for this needed vacation time for the family. You can give by sending a special offering designed for them to Agape or even give through the Agape Webpage by clicking here on Donations. This is a secure PayPal account where you can use your Visa or Master Card


Thank you so much for your help in this ministry where God is bringing many new people to Himself through Pastor Damian's faithful ministry.

Bible Study of Book of Romans

In our mission of San Agustin, some leaders from “Cristo Por Su Mundo” have come to help us teach a study on the Book of Romans. In truth this has been a wonderful blessing with this study. This will help the believers to grow strong in the Lord. They are also teaching this course in our La Cruzacita main church. This has freed Pastor Damian to go to the mountains to work with the new missions there.

 Damian’s son Chalo desires to return to Oaxaca and take another class in Evangelism, so he can be of more help to his dad in the many ministries God has given them.

Monday morning Pastor Damian called needing additional funds to buy even more Bibles for the Copalita mission, where he is teaching a new believers class in the afternoon.  He returns Tuesday to the mountains and more Bibles are needed there. Plus he needed gas money for the truck.

 I had to inform him there wasn’t sufficient money to send him yesterday but I said to him, "let’s pray and if God desires you to proceed,  He will send the money, today." I told him to call me back later even though he was already in the town where he can purchase the Bibles. So we prayed. Then I had to leave it up to the Lord to supply.

Well, only a short time elapsed when our gal, who deposits the checks that come in for Agape Missions, called to say she was making a deposit. Oh my, That helped cover the cost and other needs to. Isn’t God good!! I called Damian while he was still in that area and he was extremely happy to see how God handles our needs in His way and His timing…

It’s easy to get caught up in today’s economic panic but “They that wait upon the Lord” well… He takes care of. Sometimes I’m just amazed but I shouldn’t be as He has never, never failed to take care of the needs. Yes we have had to cut way back but not where it counts the most. 

Mission San Francisco Loxicha

Dear Brothers and sisters,

This is one of my reports of the last two weeks that we made into the mountains. We came to San Francisco Loxicha. This is a beautiful work here and we had a wonderful time with God, preaching the Kingdom of God and praying for all that were sick and suffering.

We prayed for a lady called Petra, that had a strong hemorrhage but thanks be to God she is now healed.  This lady of forty five years was the helper to the Catholic priest in this pueblo for many years. Thanks to God for the miracle of her healing, for now all of her family have accepted Christ as their Savior.

We also prayed for the daughter of Petra who has an open wound on her foot. We believe that she will soon be healed. She also has found Christ.

Your friend and brother, Damian Cruz