Moth Balls??

   My hands smell like moth balls. Went to the valley last week and the car didn't sound quite right. Discovered pack rats had gotten under the hood and chewed all my wiring. Plus punctured a hole in the axle. The rats supposedly don't like the smell of moth balls... I waited at the Deer Valley Airport while my car was "in surgery". Four hours. So hope the moth balls keep them far awayyy. 
   I guess this is the time for looking at our mission vehicles. The Ford 4X4 pick-up is 18 years old and has a long list of needed repairs. My Jeep Cherokee is in worse shape. Both of these vehicles each have well over 200,000 miles and have traversed heavily rutted rocky trails in the mountains. Even our little Volkswagen bug, affectionately known as "the Cuckaracha" had failed brakes. We paid only $300 dollars for the "Bug" so I felt we should take care of the repairs. BUT... the other two vehicles, I don't think we should put any more money into either of them. They are at the age when you just get one thing fixed and something else goes out. 
   Just spoke again with Pastor Damian. He took the pick-up to Goodyear where he can charge the work for a month. He said they had to have this vehicle. He just got the minimum work done on the truck. Our cost is $150.00. (oops was informed it was $350 dollars for all they had to do) Here are the photos of them working on the truck.  

Here is a email from Pastor Damian: Hello brothers, I send these photos of the mission Ford.

 what happened is that we broke down (and right now they are working on the "baleros". We have no resources 

to pay for this repair. You know that with the mission vehicles we have always been very careful but this time it just gave out on us.  Dear brothers if your heart is grateful to support this we would be very grateful  as this vehicle is very useful to us for missions around here in Huatulco. Attn: damian cruz, God bless you much.

   We have four teams going in different directions every day to two or more missions each day. It is time to start praying for replacements for these two old worn workhorses. Even I am in better shape than they are, and that is saying a lot.
   Daily I have been getting wonderful reports as to what is going on in the various missions. Chalo, Pastor Damian's son and a friend has been blessed in composing some new songs. They now have an invitation to sing at an event in Oaxaca City yet this month. Rosa, Damian's wife each month has a conference for the women of the coastal churches and they had a great turnout at Una Esperanza last Sunday with Pastor Solomon, from another church in Huatulco, who was the keynote speaker. Both Rosa and Pastor Damian are needing more complete Bibles for their Bible studies. Rosa told me that the next conference will be in one of the remote villages, San Jeronimo.
  As you can see we need wisdom as to our next step. Prayer is the KEY to what we need to do at this time. Please be in prayer with us!!

So enjoyed going to one of our remote villages. Beautiful people who have fallen in love with our Lord, Jesus Christ  o Thursday Pastor Damian went with his personal family to the San Geronimo Zanica mission. Nohemi, one of the sisters of this mission had prepared a fancy meal and invited other church friends from other communities to celebrate her birthday. After the beautiful meal, Damian’s wife Rosa greeted everyone and Nohemi’s husband Paul gave some words of encouragement. Then they prayed for Nohemi. She was presented some gifts and Yami and Chalo sang. Pastor Damian preached and Chalo and Yami taught the children. It was a beautiful moment in which all sought and praised the Lord. The Holy Spirit touch hearts, and everyone danced, worshiping the Lord with all their heart. Damian and family took a birthday cake for the celebration and when the program was over they distributed food and clothing to the mission families. So enjoyed going to one of our remote villages. Beautiful people who have fallen in love with our Lord, Jesus Christ!

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.