“Faithful and True” (By Ivan)

After I gave my life to Jesus, God spoke to me as an inmate in a CA state prison. He

told me to study hard because he was going to send me to college and use me

powerfully in my city. Almost immediately however, I became discouraged. My

Christian brothers just didn’t see this promise becoming reality. So, I just studied,

passed my GED, and upon release in 2006, began school at Fresno Community Col-

lege.

Then it happened. My pastor and mentor, Jaime Evans, shared with me that an

anonymous donor wanted to sponsor my education at Fresno Pacific University! I

wept. Never had I experienced so much confirmation that God was real and that

the promises He made, He kept! I graduated in 2009 with double Bachelors in Pre-

Law and Religious Studies.

The past few years have been lived with joy: marriage, life-fulfilling work with FI-

FUL, and a church full of community. I have been ever grateful for God’s faithful-

ness to His promise. But then, it happened again… After two years of prayer God

made it crystal clear by His remarkable provision that I should pursue a MA in The-

ology at Fresno Pacific Seminary! Fulltime seminary, here I come!

“Lord God, I thank you for your faithfulness to us. Your love is so obvious in our

lives, in our suffering, and even in our communities of faith. Be with us, and bless

those who are generous and great stewards with their resources. I will praise you

for your grace. Amen.”

Updates: URBANA 2012! Ivan and I were grateful to participate in the Urban Poverty Track at Urba-na. We helped students process what God was showing them through art! Check out these inspirational messag-es at : https://urbana.org/urbana-12/videos

96—1st time commitments to Jesus

3740—recommitted lives to Jesus

7058 committed to serve and learn in a global or cross-cultural setting

5744 committed to short-term ser-vice (1 yr or less)

4224 committed to long-term ser-vice (2+ years)

Best message:) vimeo.com/56562419

Pink House Reflection My name is Carlos Huerta, and I am a

21 year old Senior and hail from

Caruthers, CA. In making this transi-

tion to the Pink House, my world has

been rocked and I’ve been really

challenged to become impartial to all

of God's people; though it may be

tough at times, it is easy to go from...

Spring 2013

Join us at City Summit Fresno!

You don’t want to

miss hearing Dr. Per-

kins! This is a super

way to get national-

scale teaching right

here in our city. City

Summit is connected

to the national CCDA

movement. We will be

there, hope to see

you! Details and reg.

www.fresnocitysummit.org

Encuentro // 2013

Fresno hosted “Encuentro” a conference put on by LaFe, InterVarsity’s ministry

for Latino students . Ivan was blessed to lead a workshop entitled “Justice in the

Latino Community” and Beth was blessed to facilitate Saturday night’s dinner for

all 400 participants! Whew!

Noemi Vega, Conference

Coordinator writes, “In

addition, 40 people re-

committed their life to

Jesus, and four people

chose to follow Jesus for

the first time. One student

boldly stood on Sunday

morning to testify to her

first-time commitment to

follow Jesus. With great joy she recalled the overwhelming, beautiful feeling of

the Holy Spirit as it filled her with a peace she’d never known before. One life

changed, one life significant to God, one life that will make an impact on her cam-

pus and change the lives of others now through the power of Jesus.”

“But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are

they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to

hear without someone to proclaim him?” Romans 10:14

God is using IVCF’s National Speak-

esr’s cohort to train and equip me

(Beth) in using the Word of God to

exhort both believers and those who

are seeking. Both Ivan and I spoke to

FPU students this month. If you're

interested, those messages will be

uploaded for you to watch here:

http://fresno.edu/osfstream

Coming up are further opportunities to listen in and/or be praying for!

(Ivan) Gang Workshop @ City Summit (see front page for details)

(Beth) InterVarsity large group @ UC Riverside April 3rd

Pink House Cont... ... the oppressed to the oppressor. This year, I had the opportunity to be-come the first intern at the Center for Community Transformation and I am currently finishing my Faith and Finance training through the Chalmers Institute to teach Financial Literacy courses here in Fresno! Pink House has really allowed me to embrace the gifts the Lord has given me, through the affirmation and uplifting community that I live with. It has also played a huge role in develop-ing my leadership skills, not only in my workplace and school, but also in the community.

701: United

Praise God for a total of 11 young boys

who have given their lives to Christ

through our “Bible Study & Boxing” Sat-

urdays!

Pray for a new Martial Arts volunteer to

be raised up to assist Ivan.

Jephthah Prison Project Our 2 pilot projects were successfully

completed in Avenal and Coalinga. Now,

2 more projects are starting up with

new members. Also, one inmate, “LN”

was transferred to Chico State and is

launching this month on Wednesday

nights a “Yard Dirt Church.” He writes,

“The Jephthah Project has revolution-

ized my life and ministry. It has caused

me from bearing much fruit to seeing

more fruit that remains.”

Friends… we are SO grateful for your prayers and partnership!

If you would like to give an extra gift towards the Paz’s continuing education, please contact us about tax-deductible possibilities.

For giving info:

www.InterVarsity.org/donate/to/Beth_Ivan_Paz

Ivan & Beth Paz: 2704 E. McKenzie Ave. Fresno, CA 93701 559-283-3509 ipaz@fiful.org bpaz@fiful.org