Our First month in the States
God has been very good to us in our first month of furlough here in the States. Our goal is to be able to raise more support. Praise the Lord God is answering that prayer and already we have had a church taking us on (Faith Baptist Church in Canoga Park, CA, Pastor Tim Rasmussen) and some others praying about it. We praise the Lord for that.
We enrolled our kids in the Christian school near Oceanside, CA at West Coast Baptist Church in Vista, CA. This is the school were my wife Nicole used to be a teacher. The Pastor always reminds me that I took his “best” teacher. Our kids are happy to go to a “regular” school and have friends to play with!
David and Hannah getting saved!
One of the most exciting things about the trip so far was on Sunday night September 2nd when our twins got saved! Both of them have been insisting for a while to get saved. I always like to wait until they are six and know how to read. (They will also remember this special time better at this age). I like for them to read by themselves John 3:16 and then go through the Bible and explain how to be saved. This time we did it few weeks before they turned six. They were very happy to know that Jesus now lives in their hearts and that they are saved!
Also, we just celebrated our twins birthday on September the 29th. David and Hannah had their own cake. This is their “big” birthday! We have a “big” birthday every 3 years for our kids. (When they turn 3,6,9,etc.) That way we don’t have so many expenses when it comes time for their birthday. Normally in Mexico we have a pinata and invite the whole church family. We have a cook out in our backyard and have some inflatables. This time we just bought some “extra toys” for them and invited the family over. Their grandpa bought passes for the whole family to go to Lego Land and they were happy with that. We were too! David said to me: “This is the best birthday every!!!” Praise the Lord for that.
Our Church in Puebla
Last Sunday night I preached to our church in Puebla using Skype. Our church family misses us tremendously. What a blessing to know that they love us so much and that they can’t wait for us to return. They all paid attention to the screen while I preached about the family from Luke 19:9. They actually pay more attention when I preach from far away than when I am actually there! Many say that it is like TV 🙂 So, I might stay here in the States and preach from here every Sunday. Just kidding.
Also, last Sunday night our church got flooded with water. It rained so much in Puebla, in the area were the church is, that some blocks were 6 feet under water! (one person died near the church) Our church is on higher ground and only had about 3 inches of water inside our classrooms and the office. Only carpet and some books got wet. On the street the water rose to 1 foot.
Our Bible Institute
Our Bible Institute continues strong.This semester we moved the Bible Institute to morning classes. From Tuesday to Thursday 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. We have 12 students and they are all faithful to the many classes that we have. Praise the Lord for the help we are getting from Pastors in the area and Bro. Alejandro and his brother that help in the church while we are gone. Tuesday they preached on the buses during the time of soulwinning. They had never done this before, so they were all scared, but God blessed them and gave them boldness to preach the Gospel. Many people heard and we hope many made decisions and consider the direction of their souls.
Our Missions Conference
This November 1st we start our annual missions conference in our church in Puebla. We have 4 missionaries that are coming with their families and we can’t wait to see what God will do this year. Lord willing I am flying to Puebla to preach during the missions conference. Please pray for travel safety and that God will use me for His honor and glory. We are also planning to go the different cemeteries in Puebla to give out 25,000 tracts during the day of the dead on Nov. the 2nd. Please pray that many of this tract will be read and that many will get saved. If any of you would like to make plans and visit us this year or next year, you are welcome to come! It is amazing to see thousands of people going to the cemeteries and taking flowers and food to the dead. This is a great opportunity for a missions trip in Mexico!
Also, if your church will hold a missions conference and would like me to present our ministry in your church, please let me know. It will be a blessing and honor to present to your church what God is doing in Puebla, the fourth largest city in Mexico, with over 2 million people that need to hear the Gospel!
God bless you! And lets pray for America and the coming elections!