I pray all is well and that the Lord's blessings are upon you.  I am doing good.  In many ways, I am enjoying the calm before the storm.  The storm is my 2011 schedule as I get ready to dig into it and pray once again that the Lord blesses my efforts to do what He desires of me.

I pretty much dedicated 2011 to be mostly among our Indian people.  I will not be taking an international tour somewhere in the world with the exception of a two week vacation Iris and I were blessed with in Switzerland and Germany.  An anonymous donor gave almost enough money to buy two airline tickets to relax in Switzerland.   She did not know we were praying and planning a vacation to Europe but felt in her heart to donate the money in case we ever decided to come.  I think God is good and when He gives you clear direction to do something, He takes care of the need.  As soon as our friends from Switzerland and Germany heard we were coming, they started to offer hosting us for the two weeks so we are now working on relaxing with some friends for two weeks in Europe.  We will be there the last two weeks of August.  I plan to go on vacation but I am also open to any ministry the Lord might open for us as we travel.

So pray with me today as I make plans to visit our Indian people and communities in Texas, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Florida (already happened) Missouri, Michigan, Massachusetts and maybe New Mexico/Arizona.  Last year I saw the Lord provide in a miraculous way and I am praying for His provision and direction once again as He directs us to do His will in our lives.

Pray for our four ministry points.  We are now meeting in Brownsville once a month with about 25 Indian people.  It is always a blessing to be among them, to worship and praise the Lord as Indian people.  So I ask you pray for our four churches among our people: McAllen Grace Brethren Church, Native American New Life Center, Chief of Chiefs Christian Church (San Antonio) and our new Indian Fellowship in Brownsville.  Pray for helpers who will help keep these ministries going and for the Lord's provision as we travel from place to place.  There is another possibility in a small town just 115 miles north of here.  It is in the praying stages and waiting to see what the Lord tells us to do.

I am asking you to pray for a few financial needs that are coming up very soon.  My thought is that I give it to God and He takes care of the need, but God wants us to pray for one another and so I am asking you to pray for the following needs.  First of all, pray for our personal needs.  We are coming very short this month and need to pay off several of our monthly financial needs that come to about $2400 in the next week or so.  We also decided to bring John and Gerri GrosVenor to speak to us in March and need about $1100 to pay for their airline tickets.  I have been wanting to bring them down to bless our people and I feel this is the time.  Finally, we need about $550 to pay off the building for our annual family gathering, our pow wow on March 12.  The facility requires that we pay off the building a month earlier, though.

Along with our personal needs I would like for you to pray for the following people.

Pray for Bernie and Katrina.  Bernie was diagnosed with two brain tumors and is not expected to live six months. He is the father of three young children and they are taking it badly.

Pray for Mark Fielding, a good friend of mine, pastor and one of our intercessors who needs healing from an old injury to his leg.

Pray for Hank and Nancy. Hank and Nancy are faithful participants in our Native churches in Texas.  Hank has a brain tumor that is interfering with his eyesight, besides also having a lot of problems with his hearing.

Pray for Rachel, my daughter who is in her sixth month of pregnancy, as we are expecting another grandson in May.  Pray for her financial needs as she will have to stop working soon.

Pray for Iris and I as we seek God's wisdom and understanding, and as we seek His will for the ministry He has called us to do.  Pray for strength and provision and protection.

Pray for the border wars that are happening in Mexico. Things are really getting rough.  We had our first missionary murdered this week and it is only a matter of time before our border towns like McAllen start getting direct hits from the drug lords.  We are already seeing small pockets of violence.

Pray for wisdom as to how to help our tribal members who live in Mexico.  In the 1940s our people had dual citizenship.  That was taken away from us and forced people to have to choose sides.  Those who lived in Mexico stayed there and those of us who lived in Texas stayed here.  They are now suffering and we are trying to find a way to help them.

Pray for me today as I travel to Lake Hughes  CA for a Pastor's retreat.  Pray for the Lord provision as I am traveling on a shoe string budget. Pray for an uplifting time with about fifty other pastors from our fellowship.  I will be gone from January 30th through February 2nd.

Thank you so much for your time and your ministry in our lives.  God is good and He always gets us through each year in spite of ourselves and shortcomings.  I pray for you all often.  Drop me a note or two to see how you are doing and how I can better pray for you.

God bless,

Robert Soto Pastor