Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Music School Concert

The Lord opened a tremendous opportunity for sharing the Gospel tonight through the Maranatha Baptist Bible College mission team. The music school where our children attend on Saturday mornings eagerly opened their doors to the mission team for a classical and sacred music concert. The music school took care of invitations, set-up, and even a reception afterward!

Members of the MBBC team did several classical numbers. Then, the second half of the program was sacred, with the Gospel interwoven in the presentation of each piece. We estimate that there were 75 people there who probably heard the Gospel for the first time! Many asked questions afterward. All received more literature at the door, with an invitation to our church and another concert this Friday evening.

At the end of the concert, the director of the school (I believe she's Catholic) stood up and shared her personal reflections from the concert. She said, "We are a secular institution here and there are many faiths represented. My personal opinion of this group of students is that they demonstrate love in the message of their music and in their facial expressions. There is definitely a difference in these young people, and I believe it's because of their faith." ...Wow! She could not have underscored the Gospel message any better!

Please pray that those who are interested would come to the concert this Friday night and the Holy Spirit would prick their hearts with the words they heard tonight.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

August Prayer Letter

Pilar Centro

“The house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth” (1 Tim. 3:15) is the theme verse for our church in Pilar. We know that the church is not the building, but it is certainly nice to have an adequate “house” in which to worship! After a full month of renovating, the building is a much more suitable place to meet. Because of its central location, many have found us just from passing by, and there have been visitors every week. This past Sunday, a mother and teenage daughter who found the church through our Spanish website visited and both accepted Christ! Please pray as we follow up with Edit and Cecilia.

Praise the Lord for His protection one evening before the midweek service when we almost walked in on some thieves! They bent the metal bars on the porch enough to get in and steal a lawn mower, welding machine, and large extension cord. They left their jackets behind when they hurriedly escaped out the back. Thank the Lord they didn’t have time to do any more damage! (Maybe next time they should read the sign in the front with the service times so they don’t try to break in 30 minutes before the service starts!)

Looking Ahead

Please pray for wisdom as we make important decisions for the future of the church. The people are ready to formally organize the church. Therefore, we will offer another new members’ class starting in September. Shortly after that is the projected “charter day” to formally organize the church. This involves the signing of the church constitution, joining of charter members, and officially calling the pastor. After that, we can begin practicing the Lord’s Supper and baptisms. There are at least three who desire to be baptized! James is already meeting with Benjamin Leonov to prepare him to become the first deacon.

Fruit for our Labor

We stand amazed at how God continues to use the ministry of teaching English to reach others! Please continue to pray for the salvation of Amy’s students. The daughter of one of the students went with our family one day to visit a ranch. Lauren used that time to talk about Christ to her little friend, Luli, using tracts for children. We believe Luli put her trust in Christ that day. She said she wants to learn more about God and how to pray.

Patricio (the student who got saved last month) and his family have begun to attend church. Amy and his mom, Laura, began a Bible study together this week.

Thank you for praying!

Serving the King of Kings,
James and Amy