Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the One who has promised to be with us always until the very end of time!
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MY TRIP TO MEXICO |
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The Lord in His kindness arranged everything in a wonderful way so that I could travel to attend the wedding of my niece Diana and her husband Manuel in Los Angeles, California, in February. It was such a gift of God to spend time with all of my family after more than a year of not having seen them. Thank you, Father, for this precious gift! |
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In the same trip, I had the blessing of participating in a project organizing part of a team to investigate the future of the Life and Truth Bible Institute (Instituto Biblico Vida y Verdad in Torreon, Coahuila). The team was comprised of Bill Walker, Hector Vidal, Paty Anchondo and myself. Together, and for the glory of our God, we worked shoulder to shoulder in the work to which we’d been assigned. It was a wonderful time of both hard work and warm fellowship in which we could see the hand of God working in every detail of our work. It was necessary to make some visits so we could talk with a good number of churches and individuals to fully complete our work. Personally, I thank my God for the blessing of participating in this work in favor of the IBVV and in conjunction with my team members, and it gave me the opportunity to greet beloved sisters and brothers in the churches I visited. I was able to thank them for the support given to my ministry and share as well the wondrous deeds that the Lord has doing here in Spain. I ask that the Lord grant me subsequent visits so that I can visit the other congregations I wasn’t able to in such a short time. I ask that we all be in prayer for the ministry of IBVV, as the Lord Jesus Christ said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Luke 10:2). Through our prayers the Lord we serve will stir up the hearts of all who have been called. And these, without hesitation, will say “Here I am, Lord! Send me!” |
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We give God all the glory for the Institution he has given our Church as an instrument of preparation for the saturation and extension of His Kingdom in all of Mexico and the World. We will never cease to pray! |
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MY RETURN TO ALBACETE |
| With the help of our God, I returned to Albacete in the first few days of April. The next day, our brother David Guillen began a month-long trip to Ecuador with his wife Gardenia to take care of some work necessary for their ministry here. It was a real blessing for me to take on the responsibilities in their absence, and I rejoiced in meeting new people whom the Lord had been drawing to His church in Albacete. |
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JAVIER and NADIA |
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Perhaps you remember Javier? When he arrived in our group, he was separated from his wife and family. But the Lord, in His infinite mercy, has brought him to a couples discussion group that has really made a difference in his life. And now he has reconciled with Nadia and she too has received Christ as her Savior; together with their children, they now attend as a family our house church. Is there anything too difficult for our God? Truly, He is marvelous |
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| GLADIS and IGNACIO |
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Another couple benefited from these conversations. The Lord is working mightily in them and now both, with their family, are attending our house church with hearts ready to learn and inclined to serve the Lord. They have opened the doors of their home to have discipleship meetings for new converts. They invited a friend of theirs to the studies and after three visits, Gloria accepted Christ as her Savior. What a mighty God we have!
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WE CONTINUE SOWING |
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We continue throughout the streets, spreading the seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we’ve had beautiful encounters with people who have shown an interest in the message. I ask your prayers for Carmen and Maria from the Dominican Republic, Rosita from Ecuador, and Elizabeth from Peru. We pray that during our frequent encounters with them they will soon make decisions for Jesus.
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| ROSITA |
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We pray for this woman who has been the medium through whom the Lord has come to be known by a good number of person. Her place, with its own telephone booth, has become an important point of prayer, meetings, and fellowship with other immigrants who so desperately need the power of the Lord in their lives. |
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TWO HOUSE CHURCHES! |
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| We thank God for the blessing he has given us by now forming, for His glory, TWO house churches here in Albacete! Every Sunday at 10:30 a.m., the first group meets in the home of Victor and Mery, and the second at 5 p.m. in Ninfa’s home. All three are Ecuadorians. It has brought us so much joy and gratitude to our God to see how he is forming each day His Church of those whose souls have been saved! Once a month, the two groups meet in a central location to have a worship service and join together in the Lord’s Supper. It’s a wonderful event when we as brothers and sisters feel within us the unity and love of the Church of Jesus Christ. We pray for those homes in which Sunday services take place, asking the Lord that in each of these house churches, there would be multiplied the strength and growth needed to form even more groups – this is the desire and prayer of our hearts every day! |
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LEADERSHIP COURSE |
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In the two Sunday gatherings, we had extended to us an invitation to encourage the brothers and sisters to participate in a leadership course that would, in a short time, enable them to be ready to help specifically with one person or group. We were very pleasantly surprised when eight of our sisters and brothers began attending ever Tuesday to receive more intensive instruction, and we ask your prayers for this group. |
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SHARING THE WORD |
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We rejoice in the Lord to see these future leaders preparing themselves and opening their hearts to take part in the Sunday services preaching the Word. Only God can raise leaders up for such a task, and to Him we give the glory forever. These brave people need our prayers so that through the taking on of their responsibilities, we can help them identify their spiritual gifts and guide them into using them to serve in the church. |
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DISCUSSION GROUPS FOR COUPLES |
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David and Gardenia have a series of discussion groups once a month in Albacete and Madrid. We pray for their wisdom and strength and that the Lord would continue using them so that each discussion time would bring new couples to Christ and help them build homes that are a testimony to the Gospel. |
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THE CHILDREN |
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Our children, of course, have their place in the Sunday services. As immigrants, it’s been very hard for them to adapt to Spanish culture, and I ask your prayers that their understanding of the Bible and its message of what the Lord Jesus is doing in their precious hearts would strengthen them, making easier their adaptation to their new home. It’s a real joy to see them growing in the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
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YOUTH GROUP |
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Also in our calendar of activities is a special time for our youths. It hasn’t been very easy to meet with them, but we give thanks to the Lord for the good number of young men and women who have attended these meetings, which have as their goal bringing them to Christ through the Word, fellowship and Christian love. The youth in Albacete and all over Spain need our prayers. Only God can do the work needed to open their hearts and complete His perfect work in them. He has all power! |
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MADRID and CARTAGENA |
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| We continue as a team to travel once a month to these cities to equip and encourage our brothers and sisters there. Please pray for the pastors and church workers in these groups and for the continued faithfulness of our Lord in gathering together His people in these cities. I hope that very soon we can see house churches there, multiplying and extending themselves in these regions that so need the Lord. | |||
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PRAYER WALKS |
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In May, we were overjoyed to receive ten brothers and sisters from the United States, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland who joined us in a prayer walk for Albacete and Cartagena. It was such a wonderful time, such a blessing, and it impacted my life greatly to see Christians of different ages and countries willing to travel so far to unite themselves with us and walk the streets praying to God for Spain and its cities. Yes, God loves Spain! May He richly bless the lives of these beloved sisters and brothers, and pay them back for the effort it took to come to our country. And if you would like to come and do the same with us, you are more than welcome! |
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INVITATION |
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I have received an invitation to travel to Ecuador as part of the group of churches called “Peace and Hope” (Paz y Esperanza) and spend July 29 ‘til August 13 in its Youth Congress. I’ve been offered room and board, but not travel expenses, which are 1300 Euros. I am praying for the Lord’s will in this. I don’t have any doubt that if it’s the Lord’s will, in His perfect plan, He will touch, as only He can, the hearts of those who will collaborate with Him in this goal. It’s His work, and He is our provider! Thank you, my friends, for your prayers and support. |
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OUR TEAM |
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As a team, we have a full calendar of activities, and as servants of the Lord, we need a double portion of the Holy Spirit in our lives. May the Lord continue giving us health and strength to complete with joy the work before us. Please don’t forget to pray for our dear brothers and sisters, who need your prayers in all areas of their lives. Yes, “the harvest great and the workers few.” Would you like to come and be part of our work? There’s always a place for those who want to work in the vineyard of the Lord! |
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“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message,
so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ.”
Colossians 4:3
