ANNUAL CHRISTMAS LETTER
Dearest Family and Friends,
We pray that 2017 has been a year full of joy and grace for each of you. Our year has indeed been full of both, and while we have endured some hard things this year, we have continually been reminded of God’s love, grace, and mercy.
God’s gift of grace was evident throughout this past year, possibly more than ever before. Two family members received Christ as their Savior in less than a year before leaving this world to join the Lord. Just as we began to grow weary of persevering in prayer and to lose hope that they could
understand the gospel message as their minds deteriorated, the Lord stood firm on His promises. His love was received, salvation was granted, peace was bestowed, and eternal life with Him was given. First, a year ago at this time, Vival’s step-mom, Pat, left this world and entered the arms of her Savior whom she had met only a few months earlier. Then just this past month, Vival’s dad/Dustin’s grandpa, George Conder, at 93 years of age stepped into eternal life with Christ - whom he had trusted for salvation just a few months prior. My friends, as long as there is life and breath, it is never too late. The message we long to share with you this year is to persevere in hope that your loved ones will receive the Lord. More importantly, if any of you are unsure, if you question whether you yourself have been granted forgiveness by the Lord for your sins, please know that He longs to reach out His hand to you, to draw you into His arms, to wash you white as snow, and to give you peace in knowing that your eternity is secured in heaven. If you need someone to talk to, someone to walk along the journey with you, please call Dustin or myself, or reach out to a pastor or friend. Dustin had the privilege of walking that path with another dear friend of ours, Kenneth, a few years ago. Now Kenneth, too, has entered into our Savior’s rest this past month. Being at peace, knowing that we will see all of these loved ones again brings us joy and allows us to have hope in the midst of grieving their absence from our present life here on earth.
The trial of losing loved ones has been hard, and yet, as we all know, those of us that remain must continue living day-to-day. Dustin, along with his team, has expanded the work of Strategic Impact
primarily in South Africa and Lesotho this year. He has diligently sought out faithful workers to join the SI team and who are responsible for carrying out the process in between his journeys to be there in-person. The Business As Missions effort has taken off, and is beginning to provide a way to grow in self-sustenance for African pastors and leaders so that they can more easily further the training of other pastors/leaders in their area. Overall, the Lord has blessed the work of SI in all the regions where it is present, and new regions in the world that are ready to join the SI team are becoming evident as well. Dustin has also been involved in local outreach in Denton to the homeless community, and has enjoyed getting to know some repeat attendees to the gatherings. Please remember those who are less fortunate as our weather turns colder. In addition, Dustin continues his roles as Missions/Community Pastor at Denton Community Church and as a teacher at Denton Calvary Academy.
I am continuing in the daily teaching and oversight of the girls during their home days from DCA, even though they are becoming more independent as they grow older. My work as Head Riding Instructor at Born2Be has been exciting as we see growth not only in the number of students we serve, but also in the development of our students’ abilities and skills. My other involvements include being a co-assistant manager for the Silver Saddle 4H Club, and volunteering at DCA.
Dakota is a mere 5 months away from graduating with a doctoral degree in Physical Therapy! She has spent a large part of this year working in various clinics and is gaining insight into which area of physical therapy she hopes to
work once she does pass the exams next July. Cody’s faithful work ethic with Moore Supply has brought him much success in his job as well. We are so proud of him and his new position overseeing an onsite Moore Supply warehouse at one of their large client’s offices. He has organized the plumbing supplies so well that the time for taking inventory has been reduced from days to hours.
Our sweet 16-year-old daughter, Trinity, radiates joy when she performs with her drama team, the DCA choir, or in leading worship in chapel. She loves to sing and has been granted a spot on the All Region Choir, which will practice and perform in Abilene in January. She was selected as a cast member for the DCA Drama Club’s one act competition team this fall, which advanced from regionals to the state competition in Kerrville. While they did not place at state this year, several of their cast members earned All Cast honors. Trinity was also bestowed the honor of being a leader for one of the four new “houses” at DCA. She and the other leaders for the Adino House have done a phenomenal job of encouraging the 6th through 12th graders, leading them in game competitions, and being an example of how to lead with a servant heart.
Remington Skye, at 12 years old, loves volleyball, is working on being coordinated while playing basketball, is on Student Council, is a secretary for her 4H club, and is part of an IEA equestrian competition team. She grew so much this year that she is now taller than I am and is presently around 5’6” (the tallest of all the McCarty girls)! She dives wholeheartedly into whatever she does and is known for taking risks for the sake of competition. She has begun voice lessons and can now be heard singing throughout the house every day.
Our (not so little anymore) youngest daughter, Sierra, is in 4th grade this year. She was very
nervous about being elected a County Council member for her 4H club, but she overcame her fear and has been diligently attending county level 4H meetings, functioning as a liaison between it and the Silver Saddle club. She is learning how to take notes, speak up in front of a group, and how to be brave in situations that are new to her. Her artistic abilities are growing, too, as are her guitar and vocal skills.
Our entire family is excited that Vival has officially retired! After spending much of the past year caring for aging parents, she is now enjoying getting to be home, helping us with the girl’s crazy schedules, and attending all of their events. Having her home more has been a blessing to all of us, and we are grateful for all she does for the McCarty tribe.
As this year draws to a close, and we look forward to celebrating Jesus’ birth, our hope is that you will find rest in Him this Christmas. We pray that He blesses you beyond what you could ever imagine in the coming year, that you will make sweet memories with your families, and that you will search for ways to be a blessing to others around you.
May God continue to bless you and others through you!
Love,
Dustin, Tracy, Trinity, Remington, Sierra and Vival McCarty
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” - Ephesians 3:14-19
MINISTRY SUPPLEMENTAL
A Brief Update...
In addition to our ongoing (and more established) works in the countries of Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, etc - our newest expansions have been in Lesotho and South Africa. It has proven quite challenging to get things going in these two nations, but God has been gracious. Here are a few screenshots of testimonies which came through our WhatsApp group this past weekend. These all came within a 24 hour period of time!
From Maseru, Lesotho:
From Soweto, South Africa:
"Christmas List"
It is humbling to receive individual testimonies like these of lives and eternities being changed! It is even more amazing to see this happening over such a broad area - We are truly seeing multiplication at every level across Sub-Saharan Africa - Thousands coming to faith as nationals are equipped to train and reach their own with the gospel! Hundreds of cell churches being planted as leaders are equipped to disciple and multiply the next generations of Christian pastors and leaders!
It is imperative that we see the work through to saturation. Right now we have a presence in 9 of the 20 nations of Sub-Saharan Africa. Each location is at a different stage of our training process - moving toward maturity and autonomy. Just 11 more nations to go!
So here are 3 Christmas wishes for Strategic Impact we would ask you to consider:
1. PRAY - Please pray for the McCartys… but ALSO pray for our National Leaders and their Teams! You can meet many of them right here (also, make sure you are subscribed to our newsletter)
2. GIVE - As you contemplate your year end and first quarter giving, please keep Strategic Impact in mind! You can even give by text now! (it will walk you through the process):
By Text:
To give toward the McCartys, text to: 817.799.6161
(we need to raise an additional $500/mo in personal support)
To give toward our Field Ministry in Sub-Saharan Africa, text to: 817.799.6464
(We need to raise $8000 by end of year in order to start 2018 strong!)
Online:
To give toward the McCartys, click here
To give toward our Field Ministry in Sub-Saharan Africa, click here
By Check: Mail a check to Strategic Impact - SSA
PO Box 1901
Denton, TX 76202
3. SHARE - One of the greatest needs we have is advocates - People to share with others what we are doing or to create an opportunity for us to share about it. This could be with your church, small group, or just gathering some friends for a dessert to hear how God is working through Strategic Impact. You can also bring someone to our Celebration Dinner on March 01, 2018, (Registration will be opening soon!) to experience authentic African dance with Bandan Koro and bid on hand-crafted African items!
None of this would be possible without YOUR continued partnership in prayer and giving.
THANK YOU so much! Have a very Merry Christmas!
-The McCartys