The Hastings Family

Hastings Family Changes

This is a copy of the letter that we are sending this week to everyone on our mailing list. We have also sent a copy out using our email list. Sorry if you have received it in one or two other forms, we just want to be sure that everyone gets this information.

Dear Friends,

Greetings from New Hampshire from all the Hastings family! We trust that you are all resting and growing in God's grace.

These past several months of furlough have been a blessing to us as we have been able to reconnect with so many and also begin to develop relationships with some of you who we didn't know previously. We look forward to being able to do that with more of you as our time here continues. What a joy it is to form and forge relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ...a special blessing from our loving God.

We are writing with a few purposes in mind. First, we as a family would like to thank you, although this seems such an inadequate way of doing so, for all of the support we have received these past 5 years while we have served in Guatemala with AMG International. Your love, prayers, financial support and involvement in the ministry have all been living examples of the many ways that God has demonstrated His faithfulness and kindness to us. What a privilege it has been to have so many partners in ministry, and what a blessing it has been to have been sustained and supported by all of you. Words fail to describe our thankfulness and gratitude. God knows.

We are also writing to inform you of a decision that we have made regarding our future. A short time ago, I informed AMG International that I would be resigning from my position with AMG Guatemala. Along with that, I will also be moving on from the family of AMG International and have accepted a position with another ministry – Mission ONE. As the details and transition can be worked out, I will assume the responsibilities of being in charge of US operations for Mission ONE. Over the next several months, we will be working on our transition that this type of change entails. Our home is in Guatemala and we have lived there for the past 5 years, so we will begin the process of moving back to the US. Mission ONE's headquarters is located in Scottsdale, Arizona, and we will be relocating to this area as part of this change.

Please know that this change is a result of much consideration and prayer. We would like to make a few things very clear:
We know this is a big change and we take that very seriously. We count it a privilege and a blessing to have been able to work with AMG these past 6 years. We have the greatest respect for the work of AMG in Guatemala and in many other countries. We love the people of Guatemala and will miss the work of the ministry and the relationships that we have developed there. We urge you to continue to support AMG Guatemala through their child sponsorship program as many of you have for so many years. We also ask you to support and pray for the Dennett family, our co-workers in Guatemala, and the Wilson family as they continue to raise their support to serve with AMG in Guatemala. You can read more about these two families at: www.amgguatemala.org

I'm sure many of you may be wondering why we have made this decision. First, as we spent time on furlough these past months, we began to sense that God may be leading us in a new direction. At this point in life, and the stage that our family is in, we believe it is the best decision for us to live and work somewhere in the US. At the same time that we began to consider these things, the Lord presented the opportunity to work with Mission ONE. Mission ONE is a mission organization that operates by serving and supporting national workers throughout the area of the world known as the "10-40 window". Mission ONE operates very effectively and efficiently through 15 strategic partnerships with organizations who oversee national ministry workers(most of whom are evangelists, pastors and church planters) throughout countries in the 10-40 window. This strategy is a very cost-efficient way of furthering the work of the gospel.
Also, Robin and I have known the President and Founder of Mission ONE, Bob Schindler, for more than 20 years. We have the highest respect for him and the passion that God has given him as an evangelist, teacher, and leader of this ministry.

If you are interested in learning more about the 10-40 window, or have never heard of that term, you can visit this website and others to learn more:
http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/1040.htm

You can also learn more about Mission ONE at: www.mission1.org

These past several months, God has been working and laying the groundwork for growth at Mission ONE. There are several new positions and staff members joining the Mission One team. These things have created the need that currently exists for additional administrative leadership. We believe that God has shown us this need and is providing the opportunity for us to work with Mission ONE.

There are many things that still need to be worked out to define when we will move to Arizona and begin working with Mission ONE. You are aware that our home is in Guatemala. We purchased a condominium there in 2008 and have most of our belongings there, so over the next months we will work to begin planning to close out our lives in Guatemala and make decisions about our home and belongings.
As is common with most mission organizations, we need to continue to have financial supporters in order to work at Mission ONE. Many of you have supported us through AMG and we would ask you to prayerfully consider if the Lord would have you continue to do so as we begin working with Mission ONE. We would welcome the opportunity to talk with any of you regarding this and want you to know that whatever you decide, we are grateful for your support during our time with AMG. If possible, we would very much appreciate hearing from you either way. We know each one of you will personally and prayerfully make such a decision and we certainly respect that process. There are several ways that you could let us know about your intentions:

· Email us at: bobhast@gmail.com
· Send us a note at our current mailing address (86 Derry Rd. Chester NH 03036)
· Call us (cell 603.315.7926)

For now, our support can continue to be sent through AMG International. They have graciously offered to continue handling our support while we finish our time of furlough and begin to work on our transition. We will let everyone know when this changes.

As we say in Spanish this is a time that is “agridulce”(bittersweet) for us. While we will miss the family and ministry of AMG International, we are very excited about this new opportunity and are waiting expectantly to begin serving the Lord through the ministry of Mission ONE.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have. Again, thank you for all you have done for us and with us in ministry. May the Lord's grace continue to guide and uphold us all as we serve Him together.

Thanking God always for all of you,

Bob, Robin, Adam, Melody and Bethany Hastings

Hastings Prayer Requests:

Please pray for Melody as she has begun her first semester studying Music and Missions at Moody Bible Institute, Chicago Ill.

Please pray for God’s provision for our family as we begin making plans to transition from serving with AMG International to Mission ONE. God knows all the details and we are trusting Him to continue to lead and guide us.

Please read over the “updates, praises and prayer requests” below and pray for God’s provision for those who are in involved in His work around the world.

AMG International Guatemala – Updates, Praises, Prayer Requests:

January 1st 2009 – Brian and Mary Dennett and their children arrived to work in Guatemala. Please pray for Brian as he assumes the role of Director of AMG’s ministries in Guatemala.

In 2009, AMG expanded its network of Christian Schools by partnering with La Palabra Baptist Church in Monjas, eastern Guatemala. This church now has a Christian School, the only one in the area, where more than 200 children will attend on a daily basis. Please pray for growth, new sponsors and the testimony of this school.

January 11th, 2010 – all of AMG Guatemala’s schools and daycare centers reopened for another school year. Over 7,000 sponsored children are being cared for, fed, clothed, educated and taught the Bible in 28 locations throughout the country.

In 2009, Over 20,000 patients were ministered to in Guatemala at AMG’s Hospital, 2 Medical Clinics and 2 Dental Clinics. Also, hundreds of malnourished children and their mothers were treated at AMG’s 2 Nutrition Centers. All of these patients hear about the love of Christ as their physical needs are being met.

In 2009, hundreds of children made professions of faith in Jesus Christ while being cared for at one of AMG’s many locations. Please pray for their growth and spiritual guidance this year.

Please pray for new sponsors for children in Guatemala, hundreds are needed.

Mission ONE - Updates, Praises, Prayer Requests:

Chansamone Saiyasak, director of Mission ONE partner Mekong Evangelical Mission (MEM) in Thailand, reports that 48 Buddhists were led to faith in Jesus Christ during the last six months.

God is working in Africa - Negash Gemeda, team leader for three Mission ONE partner ministries in Ethiopia, reports 268 conversions to Christ, including 54 Muslims, during the last three months. One of Negash’s dreams is to have more Bibles in the Amharic language to aid in the believers’ growth. He also prays for God to “give us financial support in order to send missionaries to the countryside.”

Please pray for Mission ONE’s partners throughout the area of the 10/40 window as they spread the gospel to those in need.

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from New Hampshire! We trust and pray that you are all well and that you are looking forward to this Christmas Season. This year the Hastings family is thankful to be together in New England during our furlough after serving 5 years on the field with AMG International, Guatemala. As we look back over these 5 years it is hard to believe how blessed we have been to have shared in seeing how God is working through the ministries of AMG in Guatemala. Watching Him work through programs such as Child Sponsorship, Medical Care, Bible Training and so many more areas, we realize just how amazing our God is and how much He has given us in His Son Jesus. It has indeed been a privilege to serve Him as a family in Guatemala.

We arrived back in the states in August and our plan is to be here through June of 2010. This fall we have enjoyed spending time with family and friends, visiting supporters and we have all have seemed to keep busy in new areas. Please visit our entry about our furlough by clicking on the "our furlough" tab at the top of our blog. to read more about what we are doing.

Our most recent news is that Melody has been accepted to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago to study in their music and missions programs. We will be taking her there the first week of January. She is excited about starting this new chapter in her life and would certainly appreciate your prayers during this time of transition.

Our son, Adam, has recently started a new job working at Sears. Bob spent 19 years working there as well so he and Adam are having fun sharing about all the similarities and differences that exist after so many years. Believe it or not there are still a handful of people that work there from when Bob did!
We are enjoying being back at our home church, Fellowship Bible Church of Chester, NH. There are opportunities to minister and to be able to get to know new people.
We also want to share with you that on October 10th Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, who served as President of AMG International for many years, went home to be with his Lord. It was through the dedication of his life to God’s service that AMG International grew to be what it is today. You can read more about his life on AMG’s website at: http://www.amginternational.org/
So many of you have supported our family these past 5 years and we want to take a moment to say “thank you” for your thoughts, prayers and financial donations.
May God richly bless you for giving.
We hope you have a blessed Christmas. We “count it all joy” to be able to serve our Lord together with you all. May the truth of God’s love bless you and keep you as you celebrate the birth of our Savior this Christmas season.
Much love from all the Hastings family!

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Furlough Update

Hello Friends,

We know, way too long since we have posted! Sorry about that.

We wanted to write to give you an update about what we have been doing on our furlough. As you might remember, we came to the US in stages this summer. Melody came back in July, Robin and Bethany at the beginning of August, and Bob at the end of August.

You might be wondering what missionaries do for housing during a furlough. Well, some live in a few different places as they travel during their furloughs, some live in missionary guest homes if they are available, some with family and some with friends. Us? We are so blessed to be living with friends (who are like family). Most times that we have come back to the states, we have based ourselves in Chester, NH, where our home church is at the home of Frank and Kathi Camillieri. Frank and Kathi are as close to family as you can get without sharing a gene pool! Robin has known them as her "second set of parents" since she was a little girl and our family has enjoyed our relationship with them for as many years as we can remember.

The Camillieri's live in a beautifully restored home near the center of Chester and have opened up to us every time we need a place to stay. Even with the length of our furlough this year, they graciously offered for us to base ourselves from their home. What a blessing for us to be on the receiving end of I Peter 4:9 which says "offer hospitality to one another...".

Here's what we have been up to:

We have spent quite a bit of time with our families. It has been great to see everyone and catch up with everyone's lives. Besides visiting with family and friends, we have been:

Bethany - is homeschooling this year. She doesn't like it quite as much as going to school with all her friends, but she does do school with some of her friends here a few days a week and enjoys that very much. She is also enjoying "Impact", our home church's friday night youth group program.

Melody - is taking correspondence courses through Moody Bible Institute and hopes to attend there in 2010. Mel works three mornings a week tutoring a 1st grader, teaches Spanish classes to 25 homeschooling students, and babysits for a few local families. She is also part of our church's worship team and youth leadership team so she is keeping very busy.

Adam - just started working a new job at Sears selling in the electronics department. Bob worked for Sears for 19 years and there are still a few people there that Bob worked with. Adam is also serves on the worship team at church and recently started a second part time job.

Bob & Robin - We have attended two mission conferences, one at our home church and a second one this past week at a supporting church in New York. Every missions conference is a little bit different and we enjoy the variety. We are always glad to reconnect, be fed (physically and spiritually!), and be able to share about the ministry we are involved in.

We will be traveling to Pennsylvania to participate in AMG's annual banquet there next month and are planning visits to other supporters and supporting churches.

Bob is working on starting a masters degree program in Biblical Studies and hopes to get several courses done during this time of furlough.

All of us are enjoying taking part in the ministries at Fellowship Bible Church. Adam, Melody, Bob & Robin are all singing in the choir. Its fun to share in this ministry together.

We'll share some pictures soon so you can see our home town and some of the things we have been doing.

Thanks for all of your continued support and prayers.

Love from all the Hastings

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Growing, growing, growing...

Here at AMG Guatemala, one of the things we have been working on this year is "Life Skills" training. We have challenged all of our childcare centers to help the sponsored children develop skills that they can use to help provide for themselves and their families. Below are a few examples of how some of our centers have carried out the challenge!

Verbena School, Guatemala City - "We have been working this year to teach our sponsored students gardening and planting concepts that they can share with their families, creating opportunities for them to grow their own food and/or sell in their communities. The students have been given plots of land near their classrooms to grow different vegetables that they can bring home and enjoy. They have been so excited about this new program and were thrilled with the results shown below. They were all so proud of their work!!"

Also, a few weeks ago Robin and I took a trip to western Guatemala to visit some of our childcare centers in that part of the country. In some of these centers, they are teaching the children Life Skills such as sewing and weaving. Here are a few pictures of our visits and some of the "life skills" that are being taught.

Nahuala childcare center in western Guatemala - "we are teaching weaving, embroidery work and knitting to mothers of sponsored children to help them develop skills that can help them provide for their families."