September, 2005

Dear Friends,

Sandy, David and I have been back in Guatemala since August 15th, and the Lord has been gracious to allow us to relatively quickly get back into the flow of things here. David started his senior year of high school on August 20th and is busy with a full schedule of classes and extra-curricular activities. The Christian Academy is a blessing for us and the other missionary families, providing an excellent academic program with teachers and administrative staff committed to seeing that a biblical world view is the basis for the students learning environment. Please keep David in your prayers as he seeks God's plan for his life after graduation.

The highlight of our three month furlough was Melissa and Andrew Sturgeon's wedding on June 25th. They were married at the First Baptist Church in Fullerton, California, where Sandy and I were married 30 years ago. It was a beautiful wedding, with Jesus as the focus for everything. Derrill Sturgeon, Andrew's father, was the officiating minister along with Dave Metsker, the pastor of the Four Square Church where Melissa and Andrew attend. We are very thankful for the support of so many of our friends that made this wedding happen, and in such a God honoring way.

Wedding photo of Andrew and Melissa with the Kadera family.

We know that you have seen the news reports about the damage that hurricane Katrina did to the New Orleans area. That is where VERBO Christian Ministries has its headquarters and one of our US congregations is there also. Fortunately, the church building and our office is still intact and none of our people were injured, but many have lost their homes and personal possessions.

James Jankowiak, the Director for VERBO Christian Ministries, has been keeping us informed about the situation. The city of New Orleans is still uninhabitable, but some of the surrounding areas are experiencing positive changes quite quickly now. In the suburb of Kenner, ten miles to the northwest of New Orleans, where VERBO Christian Ministries headquarters is located, along with one of our congregations, some of the people are being allowed to return to their homes.

Three of the church families were able to enter the church building this week and found it in very good condition, just lacking electricity and phone service. They held a prayer service, giving thanks to God for His mercy and praying for the less fortunate. On Sunday, they will hold their first Sunday service since the disaster there in Kenner and another in Laplace (20 minutes further west).

As soon as they have electricity in the church facility, they hope to begin reaching out to the needy with food and clothing. They also want to make the building available to other churches that may need a place to meet. God is good and greatly to be praised!

Mail delivery has been affected by the disaster, but the postal authorities have assured us that the system is secure and that service will be normalized very soon in Kenner. That means that you can continue to send your contributions to the same post office box that you have always used: P.O. Box 190, Kenner, LA, 70063-0190.

However, we would also like to suggest that you consider making your contributions electronically by way of the Automated Bank Draft (ABD) system. VERBO has been using this for over a year now with great results. Sandy and I have also found ABD to be a very reliable and convenient way for us to pay certain bills and make donations to the ministries that we support. In the event of a disaster that caused the postal system to shut down, your support of our ministry would continue unaffected.

**With ABD you can send your donations electronically through your regular checking account, saving both time and expense.

**You can specify the monthly amount that you want your bank to withdraw from your checking or savings account and forward directly to VERBO ministries, designating it for the "KADERAS".

**You select the date on which the withdrawal will be made each month from your account. The transfer will automatically take place on that date, or the first banking day thereafter.

**Each month the transaction will appear on your bank statement. You can also request that a receipt be mailed to you via US mail or email. Annual statements will be mailed each January.

If you would like to begin using ABD for your donations to our ministry, please fill out the enclosed form. As you will note, it will require enclosing a voided check for the account that the funds will be transferred from.

Thank you for your prayers and financial support which makes our ministry possible to the poor and needy here in Guatemala.

   In Jesus,

   Dr. Mike, for the Kaderas