Dear Praying Friends,
In this update, I’d like to share some of what has been going on in our ministry, some blessings since our last update, and some prayer requests and needs. I am very passionate about reaching Northern California with the Gospel, and doing it God’s way. I hope that you will join us in prayer.
Blessings of God’s Provision
In October of last year, the Lord provided for us to attend the Home Missions Conference at Yakima Bible Baptist Church in Yakima, WA. There, I was graciously encouraged to give an update and present a couple of needs that we had. Through the generous giving of others, including church planters and pastors, the Lord provided a vehicle that was an exact answer to our prayer, and about one-third of the need for electrical power. I’ll share more about this need in a moment. We are very grateful that God used his people to meet these needs. Outreach In November, we had a Thanksgiving-themed outreach – An Old-Fashioned Day of Thankfulness. We had several visitors, and were able to present the Gospel to some new faces. One family that came had received some of our invitations on their door, and the dad told me that he had been watching us meet in the park for over a year, but wanted to see if we would stick around before he visited. We continue to make contact with most of these visitors.
Our theme in December was giving, in this spirit of the great Gift (Jesus Christ) that we celebrate at Christmas. In conjunction with each service, we had a special outreach focused on giving. One Sunday, the Lord lead us to a homeless encampment, where we gave some baskets of food that we had prepared, along with a gospel presentation in each basket. Several were eager for prayer and we were able to visit with several of these forgotten people. One elderly man told us that he worked all his life, but his retirement barely covered food now, and he lost his house due to taxes. Now he lives in the homeless park in a tent. Some were there because of poor choices or drugs. Many were there because the fires have wiped out everything they had. Without a home, they were fired from their jobs for instability. Without a job, they lost their place on a waiting list for a home. Regardless of the reason that they got there, Jesus is the solution. Without hope that is only found in a personal walk with God, drugs and alcohol often take over, perpetuating the problem.
Around the end of the year, we as a family, and also some of the men in the church, helped an elderly couple with some much-needed repairs on their home to get them through the winter. We did this in obedience to Matthew 5:16 (“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”). The wife has a salvation testimony, and tells all she meets about the Lord. The husband, however, was raised in paganism, and was not open even to a conversation in the beginning. The last day that we were there in January, I was able to overcome some of his barriers, and pray with him. Hopefully soon, he will receive the Lord as his Saviour.
Please pray for those we visited with through these outreaches: Les, Pam, Allen, James, Philip, Pancho, Liz, Derrek, Harleen, Sarah, Aiden, Ezekiel, Clarence, Carla, Dani, Jason, Jason Jr, Shawna, Lupe, Alex, Luna, Raynna, Rose, Mindy, Treasure, Harmony, and Shane.
We have had some bad storms and flooding that has wiped out one of the mobile home parks that adjoins the park where we meet for services. Dozens had to be rescued from drowning with the flash flooding. Several moved their trailers to an area of the park to wait out the flooding. The flooding has given us the opportunity to reach out to more people, especially some we had met through previous outreaches. We also took the time to knock the doors of the trailers on Sunday, trying to encourage those affected by the flooding and look for an opportunity to share the Lord with them.
Our Needs
I am constantly amazed to see how God answers prayer in every aspect of life. I am absolutely convinced of the need in California, and am passionate about doing whatever it takes to establish well-rooted, Biblical churches here. The fact is that it is an expensive endeavor, and here are some of the most important needs that we would like to ask you pray for us about:
Electrical power – one of the great blessings that God has provided is a farm on which we live and for which we are caretakers. This presents many opportunities that cut our costs of living down tremendously, as well as give us the ability to reach out to others. And, it is the direct answer to prayer in many, many respects.
The farm is in a very rural area, and completely off-grid. This alone saves us thousands every year in power and water bills in the most expensive state in the country. However, it requires a combination of solar power and a generator. Part of the agreement of us living on the farm is that we rebuild what was destroyed by the drug dealers who lived here before us. Part of what they destroyed was the electrical setup. I have some experience in solar power, and so I am able to rebuild at a much lower cost since I can do the installation and configuration myself. We raised about one-third of this expense at the Yakima Home Missions Conference, which has allowed us to have most of the power that we need during sunny days.
At night, however, and during the long storms of winter, we require a generator. We have had some trouble with our generator, mostly due to sabotage from the aforementioned druggies who keep coming back to cause trouble. I’ve rebuilt it a number of times, but this last week it has broken down beyond repair. I have put what “band-aids” I can on it, but it desperately needs to be replaced.
Having reliable power would go a long way to accomplishing what God has called us to do here. It is also essential to my business. To complete the power projects (solar and generator), I need to raise about $8000.
Consistent income – we did not go on deputation and do not receive any regular monthly support. God has put on the heart of several individuals and churches over the last couple of years to help us from time to time; most of the time these gifts have come in when we did not know how to move forward. God is faithful.
When I moved down here, I had a ministry-related job offer which fell through when I had to take a Biblical and ethical stand (with the prayer and counsel of my sending pastor and others). I also had some long-time clients in my website, graphics, and printing business. The economy has tightened spending everywhere, and I no longer have sufficient client income.
While God has never ceased to care for us, and has made it abundantly clear that we are ministering where we need to be, I am praying that God will provide consistent income to keep going.
If you need graphics, website, or printing work, I would love to help you out. For local church ministries and bi-vocational pastors, I offer my services at steep discounts.
Safety – When we first moved onto the farm 1 ½ years ago, we helped to evict a drug trafficker. We have since done extensive cleanup (we have removed over 25 tons of garbage and destruction). The drug dealers and their clients have not gone away peacefully, and we still face regular threats and sabotage. We have lost two guard dogs, four pigs, about forty chickens, and four rabbits due to poisoning and strangulation from these guys. We have had to rebuild our solar and generator countless times and repair destroyed water lines. I have been in the hospital due to poisoning. We have had our well tampered and gas lines cut. Our brakes have been tampered with, and our vehicle has had multiple instances of cut tires and other sabotage. In the last couple of months, we have come home on three occasions to our door kicked in and every bit of food we had emptied into the middle of the living room. On two occasions, those who destroyed our water and power then called in the police and child services, telling them that we had children out here without adequate power and water (thankfully, I had just finished the repairs when they showed up to investigate and nothing came of it – Praise the Lord!)
Drugs have a strong hold in our county. The state police told me that it is the poorest county in California, and the one with the least police presence. The particular area where we live in the county is known for its manufacturing and distribution of drugs.
It is understandable why many ministries have packed up and left. Here is the reality – there is a huge, ripe mission field. Never have I been a place that is so receptive to hearing the Gospel. With prayer and God’s provision, we can make a difference in this difficult place.
Attached are some pictures of our events and outreach over the last few months.
If the Lord lays on your heart to help with some of the expenses, or if you have a graphics or website need, please contact me. You can give directly to our family, or through our church website. Please contact me for a giving link. Either way, you will receive an appropriate receipt. Most who have helped us prefer to give through an electronic link that accepts debit / credit / ach. I can provide you a link or send you to the online giving page of our church website. You can mail a check to us or our sending church if you would like, but the mail here has proven very unreliable. Thank you for praying for us!
In Christ,
Jared & Krysta Watkins
Enoch, Ezra, Ezekiel, and EdWord
EDIT:
I was asked to make it clearer how to give. If you want to give directly to our family, here is a link:
Donate to the Watkins Directly
If you want to give to us through our church for tax purposes, use this link and choose "Watkins Family Support" from the fund drop-down at the top:
Donate through Grace and Truth Baptist Church
Old-Fashioned Day of Thankfulness
A church work day helping an elderly couple.
Flooding
