The Comfort of His Presence 

"The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
(Psalm 23:1-4)

Psalm 23 has been God's voice of comfort and strength to Danielle and I these past few weeks. There is so much blessing packed into just a few verses. The psalm starts with a declaration of who God is, and the personal relationship David enjoys with the Lord. God protects and cares for his people despite the fact that we are sheep. He blesses us for His own name sake.

Then David declares that even if he walks through the valley of the shadow of death, he will fear no evil because He has learned by experience that God is with Him. God has delivered Him from the mouth of the bear, from the sword of Goliath, and from the spear of Saul. He has been with David every step of his journey, and David could look back and recognize God's hand even in the most difficult of times. 

David enjoyed God's presence, and when the pressure and trials of life reached a boiling point, the Lord calmed David with his rod and staff gently placed upon his back. It was a reminder to David that God had not left. The Lord is still right beside him. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, God speaks, comforts and reminds us that He is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Therefore we need not fear any evil that may come our way.

About 3 years ago I has small discomfort in my side and after a few months I decided to go get some tests. Sonogram, endoscopy, bloodwork, etc... but nothing came up. I was concerned but everything seemed ok. I even had 3 surgeries to remove different masses in my arm, neck and head over the past couple years. They were all benign, and we moved forward.

We started CBI Peru alongside Calvary Trujillo, the pandemic hit, the world changed, and we went through many hardships, BUT GOD did amazing things every step of the way. It has been a season of extreme difficulty, but extreme blessing.

In the past few months the discomfort turned into a pain that eventually became severe. It started to spread into my chest and we decided to go back for the full range of tests again. This time they found something.

I have a mass near and possibly in my liver. After more testing I was told it is a mutation of cells, and I was recommended to an oncologist. The doctor didn't want to look at me or say the word cancer. He just said I need to go to an oncologist, and that he couldn't help me anymore.

That night we sent the tests to a doctor in the USA who specializes in reading and diagnosing tests. He said it appears I have cancer. Most likely lymphoma, but possibly a type of colon cancer. Obviously, we were devastated.

The doctor in the USA said the results were pretty old-school, and that I need more and better tests. We have decided that after possibly missing the cancer originally, and now struggling to get a clear answer that we should return to the states for testing and treatment.

We leave Peru on Tuesday the 19th, and we do not know what the future holds, but we know the One who hols our life in His hand. 

There have been moments of bold faith and trust, and others of doubt and tears. Telling our children that I was sick was definitely the hardest. One of my greatest desires in life is to be there for my children. It's hard to even write about this aspect as I love my family so much. God has given me something I never experienced growing up, and I am so thankful. Pray that we would keep our eyes on Jesus and not dwell on the unknown.

We are truly thankful for so many things. We have seen so much blessing in this pandemic season, and in our lives. Even now, we can see God's hand guiding, protecting and providing for us.

God has been with us every step of our journey, and we know He will never leave us. His love, faithfulness and presence give us the confidence that even now we are in God's will and He will bring much good from this. To God be the glory.

• We ask that you pray for a miracle, for healing, for our family, and for the ministry in Trujillo.
   
• Please pray for our ministry team as they will be challenged and forced to step up much sooner than they expected.
   
• We are so thankful for all the support and love we have already have begun to receive as we have started to share the news.
   
• Bob and Mary Ann Wagner from CC Joshua Springs will be coming to Trujillo for a month to take care of the school.
   
• Pastor Ronny Breen from HCF Harrisonburng is coming to speak at our first ever graduation at CBI Peru.
   
• Pastor Drew Macintyre has offered to come and take care of things for a while if needed. 
  
  Many friends and churches have begun to write and offer any help we may need. The love of the body of Christ is truly amazing and we are so thankful.
  
  Thank you, thank you, thank you!
  
  Love,
  Cory and Danielle

Send checks to Savings Grace World Missions here:

Saving Grace World Missions
Please put "Kilgus" in the memo
17451 Bastanchury Rd #203
Yorba Linda CA 92886 

(714-993-4801)

Now onto the good stuff..

Calvary Trujillo

It is an honor to pastor Calvary Trujillo, and see all that God has done and continues to do. The church is growing in number, but more importantly in depth. People are falling in love with Jesus and His Word, and recently we have young leaders from other churches attending our Bible studies, listening on line, and attending our classes and seminars.

I love our small group ministry, and seeing people grow together. I love our attitude of service and thinking of others. I love the zeal for evangelism and the lost. I love our desire to reach Trujillo, but also the nations. Please pray for this precious fellowship.

CBI Peru

We are amazed by what God has done. We are about to have our first graduation ever with 9 amazing students. Lives are being transformed and true disciples of Jesus are being prepared for the harvest. We have young people from other churches coming now as well, and then preaching and starting Bible studies in their churches because they are understanding the scriptures like never before. Pray for these precious servants of the Lord.

Small group "Casa a Casa" Ministry

I just love what God is doing in our small groups. Friendship, discipleship, encouragement, and much love. 

"46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."
Acts 2:46-47

IBS Seminar

We had an amazing turn out for our IBS seminar at Calvary Trujillo. There were over 40 people learning to study the Word of God all weekend. Pastor Drew Macintyre came to teach the seminar as well as a class on being a disciple of Christ, and God did miracles.

We had one young man who came to the seminar from a church that leans towards prosperity doctrine. After the seminar he asked his dad (the pastor) if he could preach that Sunday, and he gave a sermon on what it truly means to follow Jesus. The church was blown away, and now he will be a full time CBI student next semester. Praise the Lord!

Kids Outreach

We deliver 70 kids kits each week to underprivileged kids that include snacks, Bible studies and activities. We were finally able to go and visit them. and to a VBS with them. They live in a former trash dump, and these are always very sweet times.

City Outreach with CBI 

The students organized an amazing outreach where they used everyday items like garbage cans and pieces of wood to do musical shows, and then preached the gospel and shared testimonies. It was amazing!