Dear friends, One of the things that motivates us most is to hear how God is working in the lives of the university students. We asked Anita, a 4th-year student in Business Administration and one of the student leaders at BUAP, to tell us the story of how she met Jesus and how God has used CRU to help her grow spiritually. “Hi, my name is Ana.  When I was 15 years old, my family and I went through many difficult situations, including the death of a very beloved aunt, a period of financial stress, finding out some troubling secrets about my dad, struggling in school, and a hostile relationship with my brother.  All of these brought on a serious depression, physical self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts. As I was trying to survive all these problems I couldn’t believe that a God could exist, and honestly, I didn’t consider it too important of a question.  At that time I was taking some computer classes, and the teacher invited me to attend a conference.  She never told me what it was about or anything, only that it was for young people like me.  When I got there, I realized that it was a Christian church.  I sat down and listened to the message, and at the end a girl stood up and shared the Gospel.  That day I put my faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. When I started at the university, my first year was hard because it was a very different atmosphere.  It wasn’t until my second year that I learned about the ministry of CRU through a friend who invited me.  It was great to get to meet so many young people who want to serve God within the university and who were facing the same situations and pressures I was.  Something I really like to do together with the other students is to share the gospel with my classmates and help them grow in their relationship with Christ.  God has used CRU to help me grow in my love for God and for the Great Commission.” Since we first met Anita 3 years ago, we feel very privileged to see her spiritual growth. Liz has had the chance to disciple her and to grow alongside her.  Right now, Anita is discipling several girls, including Paola (a third-year Political Science student) who recently accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior. Here is a picture of Anita, Liz, and Paola. Thank you so much for teaming up with us to continue bringing the message of the Gospel to the university students.  Every year we are seeing students who want to disciple new Christ-followers at their university.  It is a privilege to serve alongside you. As far as our family goes, our children are really enjoying school.  Now Ian is very happy to go to school with his sister and likes making new friends. Prayer requests: For Ana’s life, that God will continue to use her at her university to share the Gospel with her classmates. In one week, we’re going to have our fall retreat with the Puebla students.  Pray that God will use that weekend retreat to speak into the students’ lives. That we can continue to help the students we serve to know Jesus better. Gracias! Luis, Liz,Leah, & Ian Pomares "The Gospel for every student, A movement for every campus, Leaders for every nation"   Make a donation to our ministry: Online: https://give.cru.org/give/View/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to 'Cru' and attach a post-it note with "Luis  & Elizabeth Pomares" account # 2805380, please do not write anything in the for / memo line. The check should be mailed to CRU, PO Box 628222 Orlando, FL 32862-8222.

July 2016 Dear friends, From June 21st through July 4th, I had the opportunity to direct the group from Mexico that will be attending the National Congress of Korea Campus Crusade for Christ. All together, there were 19 participants: 15 university students and 4 staff. From the very beginning, the students had a great attitude.  We were able to develop a very strong connection among those in our group and the students experienced a conference filled with opportunities to learn. The conference included teaching sessions, workshops, and a missions fair where we shared with the Korean students about our ministry in Mexico and how they can get involved on a short-term or long-term basis in our country. Also, during one of the main talks, Andrés (a Medicine student at the UNAM) got to share his testimony about how God has been using him at his university. About 9,000 Korean university students participated in the conference. One of the most meaningful things for me was a day when we heard a talk about how the students can serve God as part of Campus Crusade.  They were challenged to serve God full-time once they finish their university studies.  Of all the students, 11 of them made a commitment to serve God full-time with us.  Personally, I was very encouraged to see this commitment, since we have been praying for new missionaries to join us in our ministry.  Some of them are ready to jump in right away, while others can’t start yet since they still have to finish their studies.  No matter what, we’re going to work hard so that those whom God has called who have a desire to serve with us will be able to do so. During the final night of the conference, the Mexican students got a chance to perform a traditional Mexican dance.  They spent a lot of time practicing before going to the conference, and they did a great job when it was time to dance. It was a unique experience for all of us.  The Mexican students are returning home with a greater vision, a stronger desire to share their faith with others, and a bigger heart for God and the Great Commission. We believe that this trip to the conference in Korea with the student leaders from Mexico was one of the best investments that our ministry has made this summer. I also thank God for taking care of Liz and the kids during the 14 days that I was gone.  Without a doubt, there were some very challenging days for Liz at home, and thank God we have friends who were able to help her through some of the days I was away. In the family side, we are very thankful because Leah finished her second grade of kindergarten! we are very proud of her and also this past july 18 we celebrated Ian 3th birthday! we celebrated with cake, piñata and some of Ian´s friends.   Thank you all very much for supporting us throughout this adventure of bringing the Gospel to the Mexican universities.  Without your prayer and financial support, it would not have been possible. Prayer requests: - That the students who went to Korea would not lose the vision, and that they would fervently desire to reach their university with the message of the Gospel. - That we, the staff, can do a good job following up with the new commitments the students made at the conference. - That we will see more full-time Mexican missionaries here in Mexico. Gracias! Luis, Liz,Leah, & Ian Pomares "The Gospel for every student, A movement for every campus, Leaders for every nation"   Make a donation to our ministry: Online: https://give.cru.org/give/View/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to 'Cru' and attach a post-it note with "Luis  & Elizabeth Pomares" account # 2805380, please do not write anything in the for / memo line. The check should be mailed to CRU, PO Box 628222 Orlando, FL 32862-8222.

May 2016 We send you our warmest greetings and hope you are doing very well. In December of 2015, via Skype I met Erick, who is a 3rd-year Systems Engineering student at the Technological University of Chihuahua, Mexico. Erick had the opportunity to spend time as an exchange student in Arizona, U.S.A. from September to December of 2015, where he got involved with CRU at his university. CRU helped him grow tremendously in his walk with Christ during the time he was there.  He also met wonderful friends at CRU in that university.  (While he was there, he went to a conference with CRU in California and met a friend of ours who is a CRU missionary in California and she helped us get in touch Erick and I )  So went we talked in December, he told me that when he went back to Mexico at the end of his semester, he wanted to launch a new student movement at his university, since there was no a CRU ministry there.  So since December, he and I began talking, praying, and dreaming together about what God could do through him to begin a new movement at his university in Mexico. In March of this year, we had the opportunity to meet Erick in person at our National Conference.  He and Marisol took a long 24-hour journey by bus to attend the conference!  (Marisol is a 2nd-year student in Biomedical Engineering at a different university in Chihuahua who is a friend of Erick.)  When he shared about his experiences at CRU, it motivated Marisol to launch a new movement at her own university!  Now both of them are leading a student movement at their home university.  It was very encouraging for us to meet them at the National Conference and hear how God is using them to reach their university classmates.  I am in regular contact with them via video call in order to encourage them, to pray together, and to serve them as much as I possibly can.  Here is a picture we took together at the National Conference. Also, last week I had the opportunity to go to Costa Rica for a work session with other Latin American and Caribbean missionaries, where we focused on the areas of discipleship and the development of ministry partners.  Our foremost commitment is that every one of our missionaries in Latin America and the Caribbean is able to raise 100% of their finances in order to better focus on the Great Commission.  It was a very productive time for us.  We were able to share our experiences and plan together how we can sharpen and serve the missionaries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Liz and I are very grateful to all of you for being part of our ministry team.  Without you, we would not be able to obey the call that God has put on our lives.  We really do consider you to be an essential part of the team as we serve side by side to fulfill the Great Commission in our generation. Here is a picture with the participants in Costa Rica. As far as our family goes, we’d like to share that Liz went to a follow-up visit with the endocrinologist, and we’re grateful to God that her thyroid levels are finally where they should be!  Thank you so much for praying for her health.  Without a doubt, the past few months have been a major learning experience for us, but we have seen the hand of God moving in ways we’ve never seen before! Also, thank you very much for all the help you’ve sent to help meet the extra medical costs we have had recently. Here are some recent pictures of our family. Prayer requests: - That God would continue to use Erick and Marisol to reach their universities with the gospel. - That God would continue using our family to better serve the students and our fellow Latin American and Caribbean missionaries. - We still need another 800 usd for my trip to Korea next month with the students leaders from Mexico please pray that God can provide the rest. Gracias! Luis, Liz,Leah, & Ian Pomares "The Gospel for every student, A movement for every campus, Leaders for every nation"   Make a donation to our ministry: Online: https://give.cru.org/give/View/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to 'Cru' and attach a post-it note with "Luis  & Elizabeth Pomares" account # 2805380, please do not write anything in the for / memo line. The check should be mailed to CRU, PO Box 628222 Orlando, FL 32862-8222.

April 2016 Dear friends, Warmest greetings from Mexico.  We hope that you are doing well. Three weeks ago we had our national student conference with CRU, MULTIPLY, with students from the different cities in Mexico where we have movements.  They were 4 exciting days with talks and training sessions like, How to share your faith, How to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, How to start a movement on your campus, etc.We also had an afternoon of evangelism where the students were able to put into practice what they learned from the session on How to share your faith.  For some it was their first time sharing their faith, and for others it was the first time someone had received Christ as their Lord and Savior as a result of evangelism. One of the most emotional mornings was watching several students get baptized.  It was amazing to see how they desire to obey Christ and to do this act of faith with their CRU family. Our children thoroughly enjoyed the “Student Conference” as they called it, they played with the other CRU missionary kids or their “best friends”, and had so much fun they didn’t want to go home. Thank you so much for your prayer and financial support to not only cover our monthly costs, but also special events such as these that are crucial in our goal to see more students know Christ as their Lord and Savior. Prayer requests: - That the students would put into practice all that God had taught them during the national student conference. - That we would continue to challenge and encourage the students to share their faith on their campuses. - That God would use the students to start new CRU movements on universities where there are none. If you have time, click here to watch a video with more pictures from our conference! Luis, Liz,Leah, & Ian Pomares "The Gospel for every student, A movement for every campus, Leaders for every nation"   Make a donation to our ministry: Online: https://give.cru.org/give/View/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to 'Cru' and attach a post-it note with "Luis  & Elizabeth Pomares" account # 2805380, please do not write anything in the for / memo line. The check should be mailed to CRU, PO Box 628222 Orlando, FL 32862-8222.

February 2016 Dear friends, Of all the activities we hold every week, one of the most enjoyable ones is that every Friday I meet with 5 students who lead a missional community in their faculties.  Their areas of study are as follows: Josué - electromechanical Engineering, David - Physics, Gabo - Electrical Engineering, Uriel - Environmental Engineering, Israel - Electronics.  I get together with them for our discipleship study, which is a chance to invest in their lives, pray for one another, and encourage them to keep touching the lives of their university friends.  It has been really cool to see how they’ve been growing in their faith and how much they want to reach their university in the role of leading a missional community through which they invite other students to know Jesus. In the picture from left to right is Uriel, Israel, Gabo and myself, Josue is not in the picture this time.

As far as our family goes, we had an excellent end-of-year vacation, where the kids enjoyed visiting with our relatives. They just got over the sniffles, that may be because it’s been pretty cold here lately.  Liz has had a few health setbacks, too: sometimes she has tried to eat a food that she thinks is safe but turns out not to be.  Accidentally eating gluten has made her sick, so we’re still continuing treating her thyroid issues and the celiac disease with the help of doctors. The last 3 weeks she is feeling so much better, she recently went to a doctor appointment and her doctor said she is doing great.  Thank you so much for praying for her health.

We are grateful for each and every one of you.  Thanks for partnering with us to continue bringing the message of the gospel to the university students in Mexico. Prayer requests: - That we would be able to continue investing in the lives of the student leaders that we are meeting with regularly, that we would be given deep wisdom as we help them to know and serve Christ better. - That God would continue raising up student leaders in the universities in Mexico. - For Liz’s health, that God would strengthen her body and her immune system. Also we are very close to our National Student Conference for Vida Estudiantil (CRU) in Mexico. The name for this year is "MULTIPLICADOS" or Multiplied, will be from March 20 to the 24 in Puebla Mexico. We are very excited about the conference and we want a lot of students to come but some times the money is a issue for many of them so if you want to support a student to come let us know, the price for each student is 130 usd. Thank you!   Luis, Liz,Leah, & Ian Pomares " The Gospel for every student, A movement for every campus, Leaders for every nation"   Make a donation to our ministry: Online: https://give.cru.org/give/View/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to 'Cru' and attach a post-it note with "Luis  & Elizabeth Pomares" account # 2805380, please do not write anything in the for / memo line. The check should be mailed to CRU, PO Box 628222 Orlando, FL 32862-8222.

Dear friends, As the year comes to an end, Liz and I are very grateful with all the things God has allowed us to see in our lives and the lives of the students.  Our greatest joy is to see many students put their faith in Jesus and to also see many student leaders start movements on their campus or faculties.  We pray that God will continue using us to see this things on more universities in Mexico in 2016. We finished the year off with a small Christmas celebration in our home with some of the students.  We had a great time praying and giving thanks for the things that God has done in their lives, reflecting together in the Bible about what it means to be a disciple of Christ, singing worship songs to Jesus, and eating a nice meal together.  Here is a picture from our party.   On the family side, Liz is feeling much better with her Celiacs.  Thank you for your prayers for her.  On December 15th we celebrated Leah’s 4th birthday.  We had a little party in our house with her friends from school and church.  She had a wonderful time. We thank God that we can count on you with your prayers and financial support month after month to continue serving together to bring the message of the Gospel to the university students.  We truly consider that together we are a team in this work. Prayer requests: That God would allow us to see more students come to know Christ personally. That Liz would continue to have good health. We have a need to raise an additional $400 monthly, that God would provide this quickly. Next year we have a few additional conferences to attend as a family; our national student conference, and our national staff conference.  If you would like to give a special end of the year gift to help us cover the costs of these conferences we would be incredibly grateful! Merry Christmas! Luis, Liz,Leah, & Ian Pomares " The Gospel for every student, A movement for every campus, Leaders for every nation"   Make a donation to our ministry: Online: https://give.cru.org/give/View/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to 'Cru' and attach a post-it note with "Luis  & Elizabeth Pomares" account # 2805380, please do not write anything in the for / memo line. The check should be mailed to CRU, PO Box 628222 Orlando, FL 32862-8222.