A Public Proclamation

We hope and pray for each of you that this update finds you doing well, reflecting on Jesus life, death and resurrection this week. We would like to update you on what's the latest happenings in the Montoya family.

Big news for Emilia. She has dreamed of becoming a chef since she was a little girl and now she has been accepted into 3 top culinary schools here in the U.S. She is in the process of deciding which one to go to. Please pray for wisdom and discernment in picking a school and also for provision as she awaits to hear about grants and financial aid. Congrats Emilia!!!

Gabriel is working hard studying Mechanical Engineering at Tafe University in Perth, Australia and also working part time. He is seeking work through an internship which will help offset his expenses and extend his visa in Australia. He is adapting well with school, friends, and the Aussie way of life. Well done Gabriel, we miss you!

Congratulations Isabelle!!! Isabelle has worked hard during spring break and completed her Red Cross Lifeguarding Training course. She hopes to work in Charlottesville area pools this summer. Isabelle is also doing well at school and looks forward to graduating from middle school and onto high school. We are proud of her.

Betty is working hard as an ER nurse and loves the challenge it brings. We know that this time and experience will be very valuable when she serves in healthcare overseas.

Richard has been getting some freelance graphic design work. He has devoted much of his time developing relationships in the art community and continually creating art work as he expresses his desire to know God and make Him known. Please pray for more work for him.

We also continue to share about our ministry with churches, groups and individuals in hopes to encourage others into missions and to raise financial support. This summer and fall we plan to be sharing more about what's next for us as we prepare to head back to our base in Perth and serve by January 2012.

We want to express our love and appreciation for the support we have received during our furlough here in the states. We are learning to trust God in all things.

His Kingdom Come.

The Montoya's

Coming to a Close

3 out of 4

http://www.megacities.org.au/

¿Es Posible!

warm-up exercise

Teams photography of capturing the beauty of God's heart of the city.

our team

MC Video Journal 1

Our first day was into the city to get a feel, flavor, and fervor of one of the largest cities in the world. I will update this blog as often as I can to communicate through the making of a video journal of our journey here in the next 4 weeks.

on our way...

"In the Face of the Stranger"

Film by Richard Montoya

Montoya Mission UPDATE #22

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 6 weeks already being here in the United States. These past few weeks we have been sharing our story of the last 18 months with YWAM to our church, family, and friends. We have been blessed with so much love and support from everyone.

Our re-entry into the western world has been a difficult one and hard to explain. We had adapted better than we had imagined to our missionary life as we lived in developing nations. This made it more difficult to enter our blessed homeland. Through many prayers, and talks, our family is working through many different thoughts and emotions.

God continues to remind us of the verse He gave us in Isaiah 61, "The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." He has sent us and has been faithful throughout our journey.

OUR FUTURE PLANS:

• We will return to YWAM Perth, Australia which will be our base. We will be working as staff, serving the Indian Ocean Gateway which includes Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
• Betty, Emilia, and Isabelle will be leaving the U.S. for YWAM Perth on August 31.
• Betty will join Doctors Reach School that trains and equips medical professionals to work and function in developing nations.
• Emilia will be getting a part-time job and applying for college. Emilia has successfully completed her GED and will receive her High School Equivalency Diploma this July.
• Isabelle will be home-schooled.
• Richard and Gabriel will remain in Charlottesville till Sept 20 and will go on a mission trip to Mexico City, joining Media Boomerang led by YWAM Perth. They will be capturing on film and print, stories of individuals whose lives has been transformed by God’s grace.
• Richard and Gabriel will then head back to YWAM Perth by the end of October.
• Gabriel will be getting a part-time job and applying for college. Gabriel successfully completed his High School Equivalency while in Africa and India.
• Richard will be serving on staff, using media and the arts to bring beauty and truth to the nations.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT:

In finishing up our 18 months of training with YWAM we are now eligible to become full-time staff. Because of this transition, YWAM will now be handling our finances. (See sidebar "How You Can Partner With Us") We are so thankful to Blue Ridge Community Church and Sandy Payne for handling our contributions the last 2 years.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Safety in our travels
• Quality time with family and friends
• Finances for Richard and Gabriel’s mission trip to Mexico, need $2,000.
• Financial support for our family, need $3,500 monthly
• Finances to pay for our roundtrip tickets, $7,000
• Isabelle’s home-schooling
• Health for our family
• Peace and wisdom

We couldn’t be where we are now serving the nations for God’s kingdom to advance, if it were not for you loving, praying and partnering with us.

Salaam Alaykum (Peace be upon you)

The Montoya’s

____________________________

A short film "Rasoolpura" by Richard Montoya

Montoya Mission UPDATE #21

CONGRATULATIONS BETTY!!

with school leader Darcy Thiel at graduation.

We are back in Perth!

We have been through a processing time of debriefing and sharing with our team and have had our graduation ceremony. Betty has successfully completed the Birth Attending School!

We look forward to being back home in the states as we arrive next week. During our time home we will be visiting family and reconnecting with friends and churches sharing what God has done and where He is leading us next.

View our pictures from Narnia (Central Asia) by clicking on the sidebar photo.

Salaam Alaykum (Peace be upon you)

The Montoya’s

Montoya Mission UPDATE #19

In Memory of Our Dearest Friend

DAVID GEOFFROY WARD

1963-2010

David Ward was Jesus to me and my family. He reproduced Jesus. Starting with his wife Joanne, his children, Danielle, Karisa, Caleb and Nicole and then with all the people he has touched, that's because a life well lived has much influence. In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. We reproduce who we are, so lets look like Jesus.

We are going to miss you Dave, but will see you again soon!

Love,

The Montoya's

Montoya Mission UPDATE #18

Barbara is in the HOUSE!!!

We are excited to have our dear friend Barbara Greb from our church in Virginia here visiting us. She is a blessing and an encouragement to us and has hit the ground running. As you can see from the pictures she fits right in with our team and the BAS girls love her. First day at the hospital she got a good taste of the antenatal clinic as hundreds of women line up for check ups. She was able to observe and help us examine the women. She immediately looked so natural in the newborn baby room where we take the babies straight from the labor room to examine and bathe them immediately after delivery. We are so thankful to all who sent us letters, cards, books, coffee, pictures and GOODIES!!!!!! It’s like Christmas in March. Thanks heaps!!!!!!

The Montoya's

Montoya Mission UPDATE #17

So much has happened these last weeks it’s hard to pick what to share on our blog.

This week I was in the first stage room which is where pregnant women labor until they are close to delivery, then they are moved into the labor room. While I was doing my rounds of vital signs, I came across a woman who was worried and crying. She started speaking to me in Telegu (many women often talk to me in Hindi or Telegu because they say I look Indian) and I gave my normal response, “English?” She did speak a little english and she shared with me her fear of having a C section. After taking her vitals I continued to talk with her and finally before I left I asked if I could pray for her. I did and she thanked me. I looked for her the next day in the first stage room but she wasn’t there. As we were getting ready to leave the hospital after our shift I saw one of my teammates in the hallway taking vital signs of a woman in a stretcher. She had just delivered her baby. As I approached the woman in the stretcher, she grabbed my arm and I recognized her as the woman I had prayed for. She was so excited, she told me that she had a healthy baby boy and that her delivery went very well and she thanked me for praying for her and said that God answered my prayer.

During our time in the hospital we have had countless opportunities to pray for women and their babies. They are always amazed that we would take the time to care for them, but even more, that we would ask to pray for them. I have not had a woman say no to prayer. We have also had student nurses who are christians say that they feared sharing the gospel with muslim and hindu woman but seeing our team do it has encouraged them to be bold in their faith. I feel so privileged to be able to give healthcare, comfort and prayer to the women of India.

Thank you for loving, praying and supporting our family.

View our pictures from Hyderabad, India by clicking on the sidebar photo.

Peace+

The Montoya's

Montoya Mission UPDATE #16

To protect the identities of workers in sensitive areas and the integrity of their work, as well as our protection, we will be adopting a new coded method of communicating in our updates. We will be using code names for some countries so we can avoid showing up inappropriately in internet searches. If you are having trouble figuring out the code, just contact us directly and we'll help out.

The Montoya’s are together again as a family! It has been an adjustment for all of us, especially Betty, Gabriel and Emilia adjusting to change of food, living conditions, climate, language, and culture after being in Africa. We are excited to say that in Africa our team has delivered over 200 babies and have assisted other midwives and nurses in probably double that amount. We have given hats (helmets of salvation) to each baby praying over them and their mothers. Through our ministry we have planted many seeds and have seen many come to know God.

This week YWAM Perth will be celebrating 25 years in ministry. It is also the 50^th anniversary of Youth With A Mission International and the founder Loren Cunningham and his wife will be speaking here at our celebration. There are 46 nations represented here for the celebration. The base is overflowing with YWAMers present and past. This will be a time of teaching, encouragement and hearing God’s voice.

After the celebration, our entire family and the team will leave Perth, January 30, and arrive in Hyderabad, India February 1^st. We will be in India until end of April. In Hyderabad Betty and the team will be working in the top government hospital in which other hospitals refer their patients to. We will also be doing home visits, teaching and ministering in churches. Rick has been asked by the leaders of YWAM Perth to work on a documentary film on injustice issues (poverty, sex trafficking, HIV Aids etc…) while in India. He will be collaborating with Richard Simmons, who also works at Create International and whose wife is one of the leaders on the Birth Attendant School. This film will be used to mobilize individuals, groups, and churches into missions. We are also excited that our dear friend Barbara Greb will be coming to Hyderabad for 2 weeks in March to visit us and shadow Betty in the hospital and see the ministry of the BAS. In the beginning of April the Birth Attendant School will split into 2 groups. One group will be going to Philippines doing the same type of work and ministry. Our group will go to Siliguri, India for 3 weeks to do Simple Health Care Clinics which involves training community leaders in primary health care. Then we will travel to Afgh*n*sn to be part of a pioneering team. While we are there we will be going to clinics and hospitals, making contacts, teaching and hopefully delivering babies. This is the first time the Birth Attending School has been in this area and we hope to open opportunities for the future.

Also at the end of March, Create International in which Rick has been working with for the past 6 months will be having a staff conference in Jaipur, India. Rick will attend the conference and then join us in Siliguri.

Many have asked what is next after we come back from Afgh*n*sn. We return end of May to Perth with the team where we report back to the base. Sometime in June we will return to the United States in which we will spend time with our family and friends and share what God has done and where he will be taking us next. At this point we are trusting God for finances for our tickets so we do not have dates for when we will come home.

We are so grateful for your prayers and support for our family. There are many times when we are sick, tired, discouraged, weary or just homesick and we get strength from God to push forward so please continue to pray for us. We love hearing from you, so let us know how you are doing and how we can better pray for you.

Bless you all heaps,

The Montoya’s

Montoya Car Wash Fundraiser

See video for a financial update.

Montoya Christmas Reunion!

Isabelle was awakened by Betty, Gabriel & Emilia Christmas morning from their arrival from Tanzania. Our family is back together again!

Merry Christmas Everyone and a Happy New Year!

The Montoya's

Montoya Mission UPDATE #15

Greetings from Tanzania!

We are doing well and working hard. As you can see in the picture above of the clinic there are many mama's laboring on cots and on the floor. The need for midwives is great in Africa. We are privileged to stand at the gate of life as babies are born, welcoming them with our hands and our prayers. There have been many moments of joy, frustration and sadness every day as we rejoice with birth, are fustrated with lack of equipment and healthcare workers and we mourn with women whose babies are either stillborn or die.

We stay on the YWAM base in Tanzania and their are some pictures of our state of the art kitchen, our luxurious outdoor squattys and the base grounds. Gabriel is about to finish taking the GED for his high school diploma and Emilia is still working hard with her homeschooling. We are able to participate around the village doing healthcare teaching, womens groups, working in the local village clinic and attending local churches. As we walk thru the village people still point at us and call to us "Mzungo" (white person). The natives are very welcoming and the color of our skin has opened the door to many opportunites and conversations in which we share why we are here and Who sent us.

My first delivery.

Africa is an amazing place with abundant opportunities for us to show and share God's Love. Please continue to keep us in prayer, as well as our team. Especially during the holiday season, we miss all of you our friends and we wish we could be with you. We hold you tightly in our hearts and prayers.

Betty

Montoya Mission UPDATE #14