The birthing of a church!

Last week I wrote about the home Bible study in Otto's garage. Tonight we had a larger crowd than usual, probably 40 people. The Spirit of God was moving tonight and there were several tears being shed early on in the Bible study.

The scripture memory verse we worked on tonight was Revelation 3:20. I talked about the fact that this scripture was written to a church and how sad it was that Jesus was on the outside knocking, wanting to come in in to fellowship. Well, the Lord was welcome amongst us tonight.

Bro. Walter taught on how to face temptation and, as I said, the tears were flowing pretty soon. I remember services in my childhood when the Spirit of God was moving in great conviction. This service tonight was exactly as I remember those services.

At the end of the study, Bro. Walter spoke directly to all who were there about the need for each of us to personally confess our sins to the Lord, repent of those sins and trust Jesus for salvation. There was open sobbing and three gave there lives to Christ.

What is especially exciting is that besides Otto's family, there were several neighbors there as well. Some of those saved were the neighbors. The Lord is birthing a church in San Rafael Arriba! Keep praying!

. . . and your household. Acts 16:31

Bible Study Group

For the past couple of months, I have been going with our pastor, Bro. Walter to a home in San Rafael Arriba for a Bible study on Thursday nights.  What is remarkable about this Bible study is that its members are basically from one family.  There is a closeness in this group that is sweet to behold and an eagerness to learn and understand the Word of God.  Bro. Walter is discipling this group and allowing me to be a part of it (and practice my Spanish).  I am leading the group in learning a memory verse every week.

Otto and me

Otto is the owner of the house where we meet and we meet in his garage.  He is a mechanic and so are most of his brothers.  A year or two ago, Otto was saved and shortly after that most of his family began to put their faith in Christ.  Now there are as many as 35 or so new believers meeting in Otto's garage and they are mostly from his family.  He has a sister and brother-in-law who live in Cartago and are members of a Baptist church there and have known several IMB missionaries, some that I know myself.

Bro. Walter "Chino"

The past several weeks we have been studying topics like "the birthmarks of the believer," "the security of salvation," "the meaning of baptism," and tonight, "the consequences of sin in the life of the believer."  Bro. Walter presents solid biblical studies with passion and love for these new believers.  I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in the kind of studies that will be taking place in Mexico in a year from now - si Dios quiere (if the Lord wills).  What is so amazing about this Bible study is that it is a living testimony of what Paul promised the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31.  I am praising God that He still works like He did when Paul was taking the gospel to the world as one of the first missionaries with a world vision.  Please pray for a repeat of this story of family salvation many times over when we arrive in Mexico. - Tony

Livingstone, Lidieth and Rafael

Beltran

These are some of Otto's brothers and a sister-in-law

Chicatitas preciosas

Otto and wife, Giselle

Hermanas

Brian - a nephew

God keeps calling!

We have had the privilege of serving as "Big Brothers" to two families coming to the language school here in Costa Rica. Our responsibilities include finding them a place to live here, picking them up at the airport and helping them get settled in to life here in San Jose.

Our families include one with 5 children who are heading to Honduras to work with a medical team and another family of 5 who are going to be doing church planting in Peru. It is great to see that God is still calling and His called are answering. We are also grateful that we are beyond child-bearing age. There seems to be a correlation between missions and large families.

Keep praying for more laborers in the harvest!

One trimester behind us!

We are at the end of our first trimester of Spanish study at the Spanish Language Institute in San José, Costa Rica.  Yesterday, we attended the graduation of many of our friends and fellow students who are now going to countries like Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panamá, Perú,
Taiwan, Uruguay, Venezuela and, yes, México.  We are grateful to have known them for these few months and to have begun relationships that we know will last for eternity.  We are grateful that God is still calling.  We are hoping and praying that all of the called are answering.  Beverly and I are grateful for your prayers and financial support as we proceed toward God's effectual working in and through us in Zacatecas.  Please continue to hold the ropes.  We hope you will continue to follow this blog as God continues to work!