Hi to all of the Inca Link Family,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

1.2018 has been a fabulous year for Inca Link. We found a new country to open up – Honduras for 2019, as well as a Peruvian missionary who has been raising his support to go to Honduras in 2019. Daniel Ascencio grew up in an at-risk neighborhood; at 8 years old he heard from a short-term missions team about Jesus and the Bible, became a Christian, learned how to play the guitar, joined Corban as the guitar player, later finished his University studies in Economics, then became Executive Director of Inca Link Peru, went to study in Spain and is now going as a missionary to Honduras. When we asked him why, he said, “I want to be like those first short-term missions teams that came to my barrio when I was 8 years old and tell them about Jesus. Maybe some of them will grow up to serve the King like I am.”

2. Praise the Lord that we have almost reached our year-end goal of $20,000 for our second year of our 15 countries in 15 years goal! We are almost at $15,000! We just need $5000 more. Your money will be matched $1 for every dollar you donate! We think we can make it by December 31st with your help. To give, click here.

3. Last week Paul and Lineth Overmoyer arrived in Colombia  (the day Lineth got sworn in as a citizen of the U.S.) and hit the ground running. They took a long bus trip right after landing to help lead a short-term team in some remote towns. It went really well and they are now getting set up in Bogotá, Colombia. 

4. Bonsai in Manta, Ecuador, did the investigation and found 14 more kids to invite to the program. Now they have 35 kids attending since last Monday. These kids and their families are getting a chance to break the cycle of poverty, bad decisions, and get educated to make a difference in this world. See their new website https://bonsai-ecuador.org/

5. Mishayla Brown, our daughter, is arriving in Peru on December 31st to join the team in Trujillo, Peru and serve at-risk girls through the adventure camp – Inca Thakhi. 

6. Many of our kids programs throughout the region did big Christmas parties with hot chocolate, presents for the kids and sharing of the gospel. Amijai, Maná, Elim in Peru all celebrated well. Bonsai, 7.8 and Casa Elizabeth all celebrated in Ecuador. Even Oasis in Bogotá, Colombia had an amazing party to celebrate Jesus and serve the kids. The number one message to all of them is – “You are special, God has a plan for you life, how can we help you discover that plan?”

7. We did some scouting for our following countries where Inca Link can go into starting in 2020. Costa Rica, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil are all on the list. Maybe God is calling you to join us, help us open a new country for the kingdom of Christ. You can help us reach the 300 million youth in Latin America. Please contact us at brown@incalink.org. We’d love to connect you with what God is doing in Latin America. 

8. New staff members are welcomed to the team who started in December or will start in January – Luke Shriefer – Director of Ministry Development and Community and missional engagement; Rachel Forman – Intern Coordinator and Member Care; Stacey Pope – Short-Term Teams Coordinator. We are sooo grateful for Lindsey Fisher, who has served well with us over the last few years. She helped grow to where we needed two people to take her place. Pray for Lindsey as her family is growing and she is transitioning into other things. We were so fortunate to have her with us. 

Brown’s Praise and Prayer Requests

• We had an amazing vacation with all of our kids for Thanksgiving and following.

• We are looking forward to Christmas in Argentina with Elisa’s family still there, our kids – all except Josiah 🙁 – and Elisa’s mom who is coming from Canada. We will spend New Years in Peru as we get Mishayla set up as a missionary there.

• We praise the Lord for 45 women of Entrenosotras that came to our house for a Christmas get-together. 

• We praise the Lord for the 36 people that came to our house, played the Family Feud and went on a Chiva ride (an open bus experience, with music etc., as we go through the downtown of Quito, Ecuador). This is a tradition for the Inca Link Ecuador team. It was fun.

• Pray for Mishayla as she is still needing $450 of monthly support as she begins January 1st, 2019.

• Pray for the seminar on Parenting that we are doing the 5th of January in Trujillo, Peru.

Our family would like to wish you all the best Christmas ever, as you remember the One we are celebrating. We also pray for you – that 2019 would be filled with Christ’s love in your hearts as you share and serve others. Thanks for being a part of our team. 

Love,

Rich and Elisa Brown