Dear friends, I hope that you are all doing very well.  One of the things that we really love sharing with you is when a student puts their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  In this letter, we’d like to tell you the story of Adolfo. Adolfo is a freshman at BUAP who is majoring in Applied Biochemistry.  He is from a city that is 2 hours away from Puebla, which means he has to rent a room near the university. When he began his university studies, he felt lonely because he didn´t have close relationships here.  After only a week he wanted to quit his major because he felt alone, but before he left he decided to ask the university for help.  By God’s grace and the positive presence of the Cru students at our university - the Cru group has a very positive reputation with the university administration - Adolfo’s phone number and his request for help was given to a Cru student leader named Israel.   Israel decided to call and invite him to one of our Cru meetings, so that hopefully Adolfo would feel encouraged to continue with his studies and meet new people.  Israel didn’t specifically mention on the phone that in our Cru meetings we study the Bible together or that we would talk about the life of Jesus.  Even so, Adolfo decided to check it out and kept coming every week. Two weeks ago, we studied the topic of “Jesus as King” and we asked him if Jesus was the Lord of his life.  He said no.  We asked him if he knew how to begin a personal relationship with Jesus.  He said no.  That day, the students shared the gospel with him using a booklet called “Would you like to know God personally?”  That day, Adolfo put his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Israel and Adolfo are currently going through a follow up material to help him grow in his new faith in Jesus. In the picture, Adolfo is wearing the blue sweater, behind Liz.

Thank you so much for your prayers that help students like Adolfo come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.  We are certain that God is working in powerful ways among the university students in Mexico. As far as our family goes, Leah and Ian returned to school after it was closed for two weeks due to the September 19th earthquake.  They are very happy to see their classmates again. Prayer requests: - That Adolfo continues to grow day by day in his relationship with Christ. - That God will allow us to meet more students who are ready to receive Christ. - That we continue to be faithful in sharing Christ with the university.

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/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to "CRU" and attach a post-it note with "Luis and 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 you probably already know Mexico was hit with 2 strong earthquakes only 11 days apart.  The last one on Tuesday the epicenter was close to Puebla, were we live, and it was felt very strong. Everything shook very hard. Our kids were in school during the earthquake but thank God they were fine. Right now our family and home are fine and safe. Thanks for praying for us. Up until now 245 people have died and many people are still trapped in the collapsed buildings, many children among them. Mexico city was hit very hard with more that 40 buildings collapsing and others places around Mexico city and Puebla were hit also.   Prayer Request:   - You can pray for the families of the people that lost someone. - Pray for all the people that are still trapped that they could be rescued soon. - Pray for all the reconstruction efforts in the followings weeks. - Some students from Cru in Puebla are going to do some volunteer work in some places near by, pray for them while they help and talk to people in these areas. - Other students who study medicine at UPAEP have been serving wounded downtown Puebla where out city was most affected. Thanks for keeping Mexico in your thoughts and prayers. 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/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to "CRU" and attach a post-it note with "Luis and 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, We hope that you are all doing very well. We are very glad to share with you that at the beginning of this school year we have given out around 10,000 welcome kits to students at more than 10 universities throughout the country.  Students and staff have worked very hard over the past 3 weeks to give out these kits to new students and to use them to engage in conversations with thousands of students. At BUAP, the university where we do the majority of our work, we gave out 2,000 welcome kits to new students, and we have also had the chance to talk with hundreds of students who are further along in their studies. Two weeks ago, on a day when we were giving out the kits, I had the chance to share the gospel with Zabdiel, a freshman, who put his faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord that day.  God has used this effort to reach incoming students so that student leaders and staff have been seeing more students coming to know Christ, and we've able to talk to them about who Jesus is and how the goal of Cru is to give every student the opportunity to hear the message of the gospel.

I thank God for touching Liz's heart to lead this initiative starting way back in April, and now we are seeing the fruits of her labor as we see students putting their faith in Jesus, more and more students joining discipleship groups, and a greater presence in the universities where Cru has student movements.  Thank you so much for your prayers and for contributing to these efforts.  Without your support, none of this would be possible. As far as our family goes, Leah and Ian have just started a new school year.  Leah is in first grade and Ian is in his second year of preschool.  They were happy to see their friends again after summer break. Prayer requests: - For follow-up opportunities with the students who indicated an interest in joining a small group. - That the staff and student leaders can work together to make sure the new students connect with Jesus in a personal way. - That God would raise up a new generation of students who are passionate for Jesus.

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/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to "CRU" and attach a post-it note with "Luis and 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.

Kits update

Dear friends, We are getting ready to give away 2000 kits over the next 3 days for freshman students at Buap. Please pray with us for good conversations and students interested in knowing Jesus.

Dear friends, We hope that you’re all doing very well.  We’re writing to you to share the wonderful news that more people are joining the full-time staff of Cru in Mexico. Right now 3 married couples are in the process of becoming full-time staff.  I was part of a team of 3 staff who taught them how to invite others to invest their finances and prayers into their life and ministry.  That way they will be able to dedicate themselves full-time to reach college students for Christ in Mexico. Their names are: Alan and Cristina, Jaime and Myrna, and Fernando and Nancy. We had the training in the city of Monterrey in May. I am especially encouraged to see Fernando and Nancy join the full-time staff.  I had the opportunity to disciple Fernando when he was a university student, and for many years he and his wife have been faithful volunteers with Cru, assisting with directing the ministry in the city of Xalapa.  They are trusting that God will give them the resources they need in order to win, build, and send others into the world to spread the Gospel, now on a full-time basis. Please spend some time in prayer for these three couples, that God will bring people who will join their ministry support team as soon as possible.  That way they will soon be able to report to their assignment and take their New Staff training.

At the same time, we are finishing up the school term in the various universities throughout the country that have student movements.  We’re already starting to prepare for the opening of next school year.  A big campaign we’re launching is to assemble and give out 10,000 freshman survival kits to freshman students who are just starting out at the universities where we have a presence.  At the BUAP, we want to give out 2,000 kits.  Each kit contains a Cru Mexico folder, two pens, an evangelistic article, a 4 Laws booklet, and information about different activities that we have going on at the university.  Liz is coordinating this campaign, and our desire is to maintain a larger presence at the university.  We would like to be able to share the Gospel with each student who receives a kit.  We would like to see more students join discipleship small groups and eventually be able to launch movements in even more universities.  If you would like to give a special donation to support this initiative, just send us a message to let us know. As far as the family goes, Leah and Ian just finished the school year this week. Leah had a small party to celebrate the end of pre-school. Next year, Leah will start first grade and Ian will start his second year of preschool.  We are very happy to see them learning and growing.   Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and financial support.  We thank God for having you on our team to continue bringing the message of Christ to the university students of Mexico.   Prayer requests: - For next school year, that God will use us to share the message of Christ with thousands of university students. - That we will do a good job organizing the campaign for the kits. - That God will provide the resources we need for this campaign.

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/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to "CRU" and attach a post-it note with "Luis and 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, Three weeks ago we had our Mexico’s CRU National Student Conference.  We had students from 7 different states representing 15 universities. Our theme this year was “GO” based on Matthew 28, where Jesus gives the Great Commission.  It was a great time of learning and training for the participants.  It really encouraged me to see the students getting serious about their responsibility to share the Gospel and make disciples at their university.  I had the chance to have many good conversations with student leaders from different universities and to listen to them talk about their dreams and plans for their campus ministry.  It was incredible! Our children had a ton of fun with the other children of Mexico’s CRU staff members.  Normally, they don’t get to play together very often.  It was also great to see the children interacting with the students from the university ministries. We’d like to finish this letter by sending you more pictures this time so you can get an idea of what the conference was like (large-group presentations, training, team-building, small groups, baptisms, and others).

Thank you so much for partnering with us to continue bringing the message of the gospel to the university students and working together with us so that each person may meet a true follower of Jesus. Without your prayers and financial support, we wouldn’t be able to witness all these incredible things that God is doing in the lives of the students.  You are all important pieces of the work we are doing. Prayer requests: That the students apply what they learned during the conference. That we would see spiritual multiplication in the various universities that were represented at the conference. That we can launch new movements in other universities over the next few months.

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/2805380 Check: Make your check payable to "CRU" and attach a post-it note with "Luis and 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, We send our warmest greetings and hope that you are doing very well. We’d like to take this opportunity to share with you that one of our ministry goals for 2017 is to start two new movements in two different cities in our country where there is currently no ministry to college students.  One of the universities in our expansion plans is the University of Guanajuato.  It is located in the city of Guanajuato, which is 6 hours away from Puebla and 5 hours north of Mexico City. The University of Guanajuato has a student population of approximately 23,200 university students, divided among 4 distinct campuses.  It is the most important public university in Guanajuato state. From January 25th until February 7th, a team of 6 people from our area of Latin America and the Caribbean came here to help us start a student-led movement at the University of Guanajuato.  One of the main goals was to find students committed to God and to the Great Commission, students whom God has been preparing ahead of time to lead a movement in their university.  I had the opportunity to spend 3 days with them during their time there, and we met several Christian students that wanted to share their faith with others, they want to help others grow in their faith in Jesus and partner with us to start a movement in their university.  During the time we were there, they spoke with hundreds of students and took advantage of many opportunities to share the Gospel with their peers.  Now I am in touch with students who are committed to God and to their university to help them continue the work of leading the student movement.  I am very happy about this new ministry venture.  It has been very helpful for us, and we hope that many students from the new university will be able to come to our national student conference in the month of April.  Here are some photos: one of the student leaders whom we met during our time in Guanajuato, one of the local team members who came along, and one showing me sharing the Gospel with Karla, who received Christ as her Savior that day.

We are also signing up for the national student conference which will be held from April 9-12.  This year I am the team’s Design Director for this conference.  The name of the conference is “GO” and our focus is that each student becomes a true follower of Jesus who invests His life into the lives of others through evangelizing and discipling others at the university.  We are very encouraged by this upcoming conference, which is almost here! As far as our family goes, we went through weeks when all of us were sick with the flu, but thanks to God we are doing much better.  Our children are really fun at this age and we thank God for them.

Thank you for your constant prayers for us and for your financial support.  Without you, we would not be able to do everything we do.  We are very grateful to partner with you to continue taking the message of the Gospel to the university students of Mexico. Prayer requests: For the students we met in Guanajuato, that God will use them to reach their university with the message of Jesus. That several of them will be able to attend the national conference in April. That we will be able to help these new students as best we can in order to carry out the work at their university. That our national conference helps the students to become better disciples of Jesus for when they return to their university. Note: Our national conference is drawing near.  If you would like to support some students who would like to come but don’t have the resources to do so, please reply to this message and I will follow up with you. 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.

Dear friends, We hope that you’re doing very well.  May this year that we are beginning together be a time we can continue seeing God move in incredible ways in the lives of the university students in Mexico. We began the year with our national gathering of the CRU missionaries from all over Mexico.  We had a wonderful time with our ministry counterparts from the different cities where CRU Mexico is active.  During our time together, we worked on our goals for this year and were encouraged to continue working hard for our Lord Jesus Christ.  We prayed that this year God would allow us to see many Mexican people come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Here are some pictures of the participants.

The students from BUAP have already been back in class for two weeks.  We kicked off the year with a small party where we ate the traditional Rosca de Reyes and chocolate, prayed together, and talked about the things we’ll be working together on this year so that more students at BUAP can meet Christ.

As far as our family goes, our children are back in school and are happy to see their friends again.  Also, at the ministry conference they had a great time playing with the other missionary kids who were there.  Their favorite part was the day they all took a field trip to the pyramid of Cholula. Thank you so much for partnering with us so that many people in Mexico may hear the message of the Gospel. Prayer requests: That God will use us this year to continue training and encouraging students to keep sharing their faith at the university and helping introduce their friends to Jesus. That God will help us to fulfill the goals we have for this year as a national ministry and that we will work hard week by week to do everything with excellence. For the different projects that we have this year, so that we may plan them well and that they will help us go further in our mission. 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.