Mexico Message from the Hendersons:  Winter greetings from warm, sunny México!  The “Give Ye Them To Eat” program staff and we jumped into 2009 with as much energy as possible to meet the challenges of this year!  It is more vital than ever to strengthen the capabilities of marginalized people and communities so that they can meet their basic needs during these difficult times. At the “Tree of Life” Training Center we continue to offer classes, courses and workshops in health, agriculture, livestock practices, and technologies appropriate to the needs, available resources and economic situation of impoverished families and communities. Your help is desperately needed to facilitate the GYTTE staff in assisting people in their struggle to move from subsistence to sustainability.  As we pray for you, please pray for the GYTTE program and the people of Mexico. 

What were you and GYTTE able to do in 2008 to improve the lives of disadvantaged people in south-central Mexico?  Together we produced and provided Christian Education materials for Methodist Churches.  Together we hosted 86 workshops and courses in the six program areas of service.  Together we built a new addition to the Training Center. And together, you and GYTTE, touched the lives of almost 15,000 people through instruction, training events, spiritual growth opportunities, community health and first aid care.   Join us in mission again in 2009!

We thank God for your mission interest and involvement.  We are grateful to you and for you.

Terry and Muriel Henderson
 

Terry and Muriel Henderson, UMC Missionaries

¿ ¿ ¿ 2 0 0 9 ? ? ?

When we reflect on 2009 and realize we have no idea what the future holds, we are grateful to know, as the saying goes, who holds the future!  Even when the world seems out of control, we know God is in control.  Of course, there are many things we can do to help the world, those whom we serve, the GYTTE  ministries, program donors and staff as well as ourselves to move through the uncertainty of the days, weeks, months, and, possibly, years ahead.

First of all, we want to recommit our lives to God, put our future in God’s hands, and seek God’s will for our world, ministry and lives. Then we want to invite others to do the same.  Most people in this world live out their lives with few economic guarantees or incentives but they do acknowledge the importance of family, community and believing in and belonging to something greater than themselves. When you combine this with the opportunity to reach out in service to others the result is a life of joy and fulfillment.

¡ ¡ ¡ GOD   IS   SUFFICIENT ! ! !

    
Here is a partial list of actions the GYTTE staff has taken and will take in the future, here in south-central Mexico, in response to the instability of the world-wide economic situation.

In 2008, we …
…prayed for the people of the world in general, the USA and Mexico specifically, the church, missions, and ministries, laity, clergy and missionaries, the “Give Ye Them To Eat” program, and the resource-poor rural families we serve,

…reduced the breeding stock of milk goats and hair sheep at the livestock unit,

…invested the funds from livestock sales in training events at the “Tree of Life Training Center,

…evaluated all program purchases before they were made,
…sent frequent Internet updates to donors, whose e-mails we had, instead of mailings,

…asked trainees to identify their most urgent needs that we can address together,

…responded to the generous donors to the GYTTE program who made it possible for this ministry to continue to offer development opportunities to peasant families in 2008,

…and we praised God for permitting us the privilege to serve God and neighbor.

In 2009, we are …
…continuing to pray,
…continuing to evaluate program expenditures before making purchases,
…evaluating each program area to increase efficiency and decrease expenditures,
…evaluating each outreach project for effectiveness in the village setting,    

…evaluating the ripple-effect of training programs to increase the number of people reached,

…asking potential trainees to prioritize their most urgent family & community needs to address,

…requesting that trainees give a small donation towards their learning experience,
…encouraging donors to send us their e-mail addresses to enable communication via the Internet instead of GYTTE having to finance costly newsletter mailings,
…encouraging churches to access the GYTTE web page frequently, www.gytte.org,  so  their congregations are informed of program advances of the mission they support,
… adopting John Wesley’s advice. as a mission program: Earn all you can, give all you can, save all you can”,
…thanking those who can make donations to GYTTE so vulnerable families can progress with the hope of achieving a life of dignity within their own community, culture and country,
…and we are grateful for God’s guidance and faithfulness that inspires hope.

¡ ¡ ¡  GOD   IS   GOOD ! ! !