2020 - GOD HAS DONE SO MUCH.

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The year 2020 will stand out in history. It has been a year of change, of rapid response to circumstances, of quiet patience in Jesus. And in the midst of so much turmoil, the Lord has seen fit to bless the work Mountain Gateway is doing and launch us farther into His destiny for us. 

We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for your prayers and your financial support. 

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COVID 19 dramatically impacted our ability to minister in Mexico and Nicaragua. Legal barriers and official regulations reminded us of our utter dependence upon Jesus. We work in very rural areas, often without internet access, serving impoverished communities. The pivot to “online church” was impossible. BUT GOD. In spite of all of these challenges, we have seen the Lord do great things in the hearts of believers! We will continue to send more detailed updates, but here is an overview of what Jesus has done in MG Missions:

MEXICO

We have an active ministry presence in 17 villages in Mexico. In those villages, 12 people gave their hearts to Jesus!! 6 Mexican families have dedicated themselves to Gospel work. The national leaders are taking more and more responsibility to see the Gospel advance in their nation. (This is the goal!)  We experienced a miracle of racial reconciliation. Bathrooms were constructed on the church property. We purchased a used truck for the ministry in Mexico and assigned it to a national leader who is working in 6 villages. He’s been walking to all these villages faithfully for years. Please pray for us as we navigate gathering for worship while remaining compliant with the county’s regulations. 

​This summer, we went to minister with our missionaries who founded the Village Global to celebrate the graduation of 12 Village children. It brought tears to our eyes to watch children who had been tortured receive their diplomas in beautiful dresses and clean suits. We will send out a more detailed update from Nicole, but here is a quick recap:
 
Over 30 children were rescued this year. We helped the Village Children's Home buy a van, cover school tuition for children, buy books and uniforms, and build a 6 bedroom boys dormitory, a small bridge, an iron entrance gate, and a kindergarten classroom. We were also able to build 2 homes for families in need and build dorms for The Village Drug and Alcohol Rehab. Over 40 men and boys have received help this year from the Village Drug Rehab. We help cover the national missionary costs for house churches that continue to make disciples in a total of six states.

NICARAGUA

We have an active ministry presence in 8 villages in Nicaragua. In those villages, 62 people gave their hearts to Jesus!! 6 believers chose to proclaim their belief in Jesus through baptism. 5 new villages were opened to the Gospel in 2020. Discipleship groups are growing. A Bible School for pastors was started in the villages, equipping them to disciple in the surrounding communities. A Bible School teaching the importance of marriage (most practice common law marriage, we teach the importance of covenant under God) was started. We were able to buy a tin roof for the home of one of the believers. 
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2 CAT 4 hurricanes hit Nicaragua in November. We were able to help Missionary Aviation Fellowship enter the nation to help canvas the damage. We will send out a more detailed update soon, but here is a quick recap:
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We have a three-fold strategy: Relief, Recovery, Relationship. Immediate relief in the form of food and shelter, recovery by supplying farming tools and seeds, and relationship building within the community to introduce them to JESUS. You have overwhelmed us with your generous response to this tragedy. We have been able to feed 100 families, buy a boat and a truck to deliver supplies, and we are now able to help over 1,000 families begin the recovery process. Drinking water is contaminated and malaria is spreading. A donor gave enough water filtrations systems to provide clean drinking water to 1,000 families. Please pray that these systems will arrive in Nicaragua quickly and will clear customs with no issue!

HONDURAS

There are four new connections with ministries in Honduras that are opening up and we feel the stirring of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for us as we navigate the future with anticipation for what Jesus is doing. 

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COVID 19 dramatically changed our plans for Cohort 19.  Because of the unknowns of the virus and the changing legal and social dynamics, we decided not to travel from church-to-church for our Prayer and Bible Semester.  Yet even with all of the changes, we have seen incredible transformation in our students. 

Here is an overview of what Jesus has done through MG Training this year:
2 families graduated from the Great Commission Academy and transitioned to the next step in their callings, one into business and the other into full time ministry. 

Cohort 19 successfully completed Technical Skills Semester 2 and Prayer and Bible Semesters 1 and 2. Here are some testimonials from their time:

Lakeisha:
I was unsure about how to spend time with Jesus when having a busy travel schedule, but now I am confident that I can spend time with Jesus in any situation.

I used to think my value was attached to how much I could do directly with my team, but now I know I am valuable no matter what I do. I used to struggle to stay positive when I struggled to keep up mentally, but now I know my speed is not a measure of my intelligence. I have the mind of Christ, in my own personally created way. 

The Lord took the time to tell me that I can and do hear from Him. 
I am confident in Christ that I hear clearly from the Lord, and I am right. I am a builder of people, and my words will shake lives for the glory of the Lord.

Matt:
I felt like I wasn’t a capable leader until we set off on our own and I could see my group and our potential in that. I was immature and now I am a man of God.

I believe the way that I was impacted the most during this prayer journey was how much closer I got to the instructors… when you drive over 15k miles with people, you tend to get to know them more than just by their surface level convictions and desires. You get to know their personality and find out more about the little things that make the biggest difference in a relationship. I am closer to my leaders and friends. I am more confident in the Holy Spirit to take care of this Nation.  I am more confident because of people we saw joining us in prayer. Whether that be people who joined our prayer journey or started their own. It reflected to me that Jesus is touching this nation more than I thought.

Layne:
God revealed how capable we were on the [course]. I used to think that what I accomplished determined who I was, now I am leading with WHO I AM. 

The year for me didn't start great and as March rolled through, then April, the theme for the year continued to spell disaster. I went through some hard depression, but God was with me and through an amazing community and family in Mountain Gateway, He brought me through one of the hardest times in my life and took me on an amazing cross country adventure by praying for all of the nation's state capitols. We truly interceded for the nation with all we had and God provided everything for us the whole way. I can honestly say that I used to have a more grim outlook on the world, and even on myself, but now I am filled with more hope than ever because of the amazing power, healing, and relationship with Jesus that was cultivated this year above all other year

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As Britt was praying about the changes to the Prayer and Bible Semesters, the Lord directed Mountain Gateway to pray in all 50 state capitals in 50 days, ending in Washington D.C. on election day. The 50/50 Prayer Journey was born. We traveled to all 50 states, praying a blessing on each one, calling for righteousness and wise decisions based on the Word of God. We prayed the same list of life-giving scriptures in each capitol. You can read what the Lord showed us about each state in previous blog posts.
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At the beginning of the 50/50 Prayer Journey, the Lord told Britt, “Remember your old confidence in prayer.” We have known that Jesus wanted us to build a network of strategic prayer warriors since 1984.  But the Lord has given us many tasks - and we have been doing our best to faithfully walk them out one-by-one. But now we know the time has come to establish Mountain Gateway Prayer. We know that the finger of God has moved to stir His people to righteousness and to prayer. 

Ezekiel 22:30 says, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”  

We are committed to standing in the gap, to be the ones who are found faithful when He searches for allies on the earth. If you feel the hand of God stirring your heart to join with Mountain Gateway in prayer, if you believe that your prayers are powerful and effective, we would be honored to have you as a part of our strategic prayer network. 

join the prayer team

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Through a series of miraculous events, the Lord has given Mountain Gateway the ability to use business to advance the Gospel in the nations. 

While Britt and Audrey were building a prayer ministry in Auburn, Alabama, the birthplace of Mountain Gateway, Jesus started speaking to Britt about the true meaning of standing in the gap and being an intercessor.  He said, “Do EVERYTHING that is in you to fill in ALL the gaps that there are. You see a gap… YOU fill it. Give missionaries the raincoat off of your back. Pray. Equip. Enable.”  

This led them on a journey of prayer and giving that went from full-time intercession to foreign missions to Mountain Gateway.  Mountain Gateway was the original command and in that command there are many assignments. Over the years, Britt and Audrey have accumulated mountains of information on international co-ops, trade schools, sustainable energy sources, construction companies, and farms with the purpose of creating businesses that would fund the spread of the Gospel to all regions of the earth. As we dreamed of a way to economically empower national leaders who are RICH in faith, but very POOR by the standards of this world, we knew that agriculture was the key.  

God did a miracle. A donor gave Mountain Gateway a 122-acre coffee farm we named Esperanza de Gloria (Hope of Glory) in Jinotega, Nicaragua. Vertical Bridge Works, LLC  was born. We will send more detailed updates, but we had to give you an recap of the miracles that have occurred this year: 

We launched EDG Coffee, selling ethically sourced, specialty grade coffee that is transforming communities. Our harvesters are paid 48% above the national minimum wage, provided with housing, clean water, and daily meals. Our coffee ranks in the top 3% worldwide. We built a road to the community, are transforming views on environmental care, and cultivating relationships among the workers. Our farm is completely bug-free without using pesticides. A fungus called “coffee rust” or “roya” hit our neighboring farms and we didn’t have the funding to spray organic fungicide to protect our plants; so we prayed. And Jesus supernaturally protected our farm. 

Our business (launched during a pandemic!) has grown every quarter. We have 4 roast profiles and are developing blends from single origin coffee (this is unheard of!). We are launching an EDG Coffee Trailer in Austin, TX early next year. In Nicaragua we have a new wet mill, a new bridge, water filtration system, and new housing and bathrooms for our workers. We have a cow that gives fresh cream and cuajada cheese for our employees. The surrounding farms were tragically damaged by the 2 hurricanes that struck in November - miraculously, not a single coffee plant on our farm was damaged, and not a single coffee bean fell to the ground. ONLY JESUS.  Our plants are thriving - we are praying that our harvest is multiplied!

The most stirring miracle is what is happening within the hearts of our employees. We held a discipleship group on the farm where workers met together at 4 am for a week of prayer and intercession. The fact that we care about them as humans, not numbers, is breaking a mentality of poverty and scarcity. They are transforming from self-protection and selfishness (which drives corruption in the industry) to generosity and peace. They were shocked that we cared more about them than our harvest during the hurricane. They overflowed with generosity as a response, volunteering their time and money to help those in need around them, instead of hoarding their resources in the midst of crisis. This is the transformation we pray for! 

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