God's sovereignty is so evident in how He has positioned CHF Southwest (CHF-SW) to assist our relief efforts to Haiti. Many of the containers of food and other much needed supplies are leaving from our Southwest distribution center, and we are thankful that God has allowed CHF-SW to grow and flourish. Paul Ryan, CHF's Ministry Development coordinator for the Southwest, will share about the recent launch and training of our Mercy Network launch in Austin, Texas.

Mark Rodriguez
Ministry Development Executive Director

We are so excited about what God is doing in the Southwest! Though CHF has only been in San Antonio for a year, God has brought together a group of motivated churches in the Austin area who love Jesus and are reaching out to the poor in their communities. In the providence of God, Hill Country Bible Church of Pflugerville contacted CHF-SW last year after one of their pastors read Crazy Love by Francis Chan. This led to a series of discussions and the excitement spread to other churches in the Austin Area. Late last year, Crossroads Community Church began delivering Food Paks to families and experienced the blessing God has for those who care for the poor. As these pastors began to network and the word spread about CHF, it was clear that God was moving much faster than we anticipated, and an Austin Mercy Network would soon be up and running.

Thus far, all of these churches are part of the Hill Country Bible Church network. The HCBC network's goal is to give every person in the greater Austin area multiple opportunities to hear and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To accomplish this task, they are committed to planting more churches, and each church adopts a specific geographic area called a "circle of accountability." Targeting that area, the churches strategically plan events and ministries to reach every person living there with the Gospel. In every one of these areas, there are pockets of impoverished people who respond gratefully to a Food Pak being delivered to their home.

This past weekend, CHF trainers from San Antonio and Los Angeles were able to help church teams complete CHF's Compassion Ministry Essentials Training (CMET). Following the training, those teams are now putting together their own Compassion Ministry Plans and solidifying their part in the new Austin Mercy Network.

Paul Ryan,
Southwest Ministry Development Coordinator

Pray for the churches who completed CMET and are putting together their Compassion Ministry Plan. Pray that God would raise up team members, and would bless their efforts to reach out to impoverished children in their area.

Pray that more churches in Austin would catch the vision of CHF, so that the love of Christ would be shown in a tangible way to the people of Austin.

Thank you for praying.