Happy New Year

We have so much to be thankful for. However at times we are quick to forget that anything "good" that we receive is only because of God and His great grace. How important it is for us to remember that we do not deserve God's favor. It is a gift. It is a demonstration of His glorious love. And it is all based upon the mediatorial work of His Son Jesus Christ.
Just these last couple of days, I have been rereading John Piper's book "Don't Waste Your Life!" What a novel idea he brings to the table. Our lives, if we are believers, have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and anything that we do with our lives that isn't for Him and His glory is a waste of the gift that we have been given. The gift that we have been given is our life. We not only have received the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, but as we read in various portions of the Scripture we have been saved that we might live a life that brings glory to the One who has saved us. He (Christ) saved us from our vain way of living. He saved us from the path of destruction. He didn't have to do this. But He did. He did this "to the praise of His glory" Eph 1:6-7. Thanks be to God the Father for His indescribabe gift of His Son Jesus Christ 2nd Cor 9:15. We are now new creatures in Christ through our faith in Him 2nd Cor 5:17. For that we are very thankful. May we seek to live our lives in such a way that they are not being wasted but may they be used for the glory of our great God! Remembering that one day we will give an account to Him for how we have lived our lives. May we be not left with mere stubble!
So here in Curaco we have a passion to communicate the truth that we are all sinners and the only One who can reconcile us with the Holy God, is the Son of Man Jesus Christ 1st Tim 2:5-6. We are excited about the potential of the coming year. We are excited about what the Holy Spirit will do through the preaching of the Word. May many call upon the Name of the Lord and be saved! Please pray with us as we seek to be faithful to the One who called us out of the darkness and into His glorious light. Remembering that "such were some of you" 1st Cor 6:9-11 is talking about people such as you and me. We are no better than the rest. We are saved by grace, through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. May we have opportunities to share the good news with those around us and may they respond to the gospel.
Thank you so much for those of you who partner with us in the preaching of the gospel. And thanks to those of you who although you might not yet be a Christ worshiper, you have taken the time to read this blog and show your concern and/or interest in what is going on down here in Curaco de Velez.
Again, we wish you all the best. Let us all recognize that what the best is......Jesus Christ. May He be your joy. May He be your passion. May He be your all in all.

Daniel and Ruth

Who's driving your boat?

On our Christmas day outing, it was little Captain Daniel. He sure got a kick out of driving the boat. What he really liked was pressing the accelerator. Where would he get that from? For those of you who know how I drive, he surely didn't get it from me!
But in all seriousness, what an important question that is. Who is driving your boat? Who is calling the shots in your life? Not because I am the one that has posed it, that's for sure. But I just as you need to make sure that the One who is on the throne is the One that is calling the shots. That He is the One driving the boat. I remember some time back when I had this awesome (well, I guess you could say terrible) 1980 Dodge Ram Van (and it wasn't in the year 1980 that I owned it) that blared its horn at every right turn. Probably the best thing about the van was the bumper sticker. It read, "If God is your co-pilot, you had better change seats." So many times in our lives we want to be the ones who call the shots. We want to be the ones who make the decisions. How important it is for us, rather to submit ourselves to the Lord and long to see His will done and not our own. As I read the Word of God, it is more and more evident to me that the Lord is sovereign over all His creation. Even when man thinks that he is in control, even when he thinks that he can make things happen as he wants, he is essentially incorrect. Reflecting on the sovereignty of God as displayed in the Scriptures, we can see that the Lord ultimately will see that His will is done. The question is will we be voluntarily submitting ourselves to Him and what He would have for us. We would be majorly foolish to think that we should be, or that we are the ones driving the boat. How much better it is when we submit ourselves to the Lord and His will for our lives. Would it not be better for us to do this and receive the Lord's blessing than to resist the Lord's will and lose the rewards reserved for His children?
How much we need to reflect on the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. The passage in Philippians 2:5-11 speaks beautifully to His humbling of Himself while here on the earth. Thinking about His birth as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, and the Apostle John's words about the Savior taking on flesh and dwelling amongst His creation. Colossians 1 talks about this Jesus as the Creator of all things. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us that although He humbled himself and suffered, that He is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. To think of the Savior's submission to His Father needs to be a sobering thought for us all. We read in Matthew 26 as Jesus is praying in the garden of Gethsamane, two times Jesus says to His Father, "not My will, but Your will be done." May we have the same attitude. May we not seek our own, but may we seek what the Lord has for us. (Matthew 6:33)
Whatever our venture may be, may it be with the desire to give God the glory that He alone deserves! For that reason we were made! For that reason we are still here on this planet. May we be as jealous for the Lord's glory as He is for His glory. (Psalm 115:1)
Maybe it is time for us to take our hands off the wheel. Maybe it is time for us to move back in the boat and let Him do the driving. Time to say, "Lord, not my will, but may Yours be done."

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and pray that you along with us will rejoice in God the Father's indescribable gift, His Son Jesus Christ. We will be out of contact for a couple of days due to the cyber-cafe's shutting down for the holiday. We will be seeking to reach out to our neighbors throughout these days and ask for your prayers as we do so. May the Lord God be glorified in what we say and do.

Daniel and Ruth

It's about time

After about a week, I have finally been able to get access to my blog. Of course I was able to read it just like anyone else, but I wasn't able to add anything to it. I was experiencing a problem with the login. Most likely it was my fault. I think I told y'all before that I'm not much of a technological genius (nor of any kind for that matter). Anyway, here's some words on what has been happening with us.
Obviously like many of you we have been reflecting quite a bit on the significance of the upcoming date of December 25th. Of course we don't believe that on the exact day of December 25 that our Savior was born here on the earth that He had already created. But we do see it as a point of reference for sharing just why He came, and what He accomplished during His stay here, and what He has promised to ultimately do. It still has me in awe contemplating just what the King of Glory was willing to do for us. What amazing love! What amazing mercy! What amazing grace! Thank you, Jesus! So having the opportunity to share just what this "holiday" symbolizes may we do it with passion and love. May we not share in a way that is dry and sterile, but may those who hear our words also feel our excitement and gratitude in who our Savior is and what He has done, is doing, and ultimately will do.
I wrote some time back about Ruth and the kids being a little under the weather. They seem to be doing a bit better. One of the problems is that the weather here changes quite dramatically (kinda sounds like Michigan, eh?) Are you reading this Dave Carpenter? Anyway, one moment the sun will be out then it will rain. The sun comes back out and then it rains. So what we have here is a lot of humidity and temperature changes. And this is known here to cause a lot of colds and respiratory infections. However we are trusting in the Lord of all and we know that He knows where we are and what we stand in need of.
This last Sunday night I (Daniel) had the opportunity to share the gospel in the Bible Center Church of Achao. It was a special service geared towards the parents of the children who attend Sunday School. Many of these kids have parents who have not professed faith in Christ as their one and only Savior. So it was a privilege for me to speak to them about the greatest gift of all, the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the texts that I spoke from were 2nd Cor 9:15; John 3:16; Romans 3:23;6:23; Mark 10:45; 1st Timothy 2:5-6. My prayer is that the Lord would graciously choose to save some who were in earshot of the message. As the Word says about itself, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Romans 10:17. May God be glorified as people respond to His offer of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:6,7
We are praying about a place in Curaco de Velez that we might be able to rent in order to hold Bible studies, prayer meetings, and weekly services. Properties are at a real premium here and there is some real competition for the "good ones." Please pray along with us that the Lord would lead us to the property that He has for us to rent. And for the people that will rent it to us. May the Lord be working in each one of our hearts.
Please pray for Ruth and I as we build bridges with the people in our community. We are upfront with them that we are evangelical believers and that our desire is to establish an evangelical church in the city of Curaco de Velez. Some are more excited about this than others. (obviously, kinda like at home) Again, please pray along with us that we might find good reception from the people and more importantly that the Holy Spirit of God would touch the hearts of the people as they hear the Word of our great God.
We thank you all for your prayers and all other support that you have passed on to us. We appreciate you all and your partnership in the gospel. May we all rejoice in the Lord's goodness toward us. May we rejoice in the birth, the death, the resurrection, and the victorious coming (which we are looking forward to) of our King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the King and His Kingdom,

Daniel (for Ruth and the kids)

It is still sunny!

For those friends of ours who are in the northland this might sound a bit boastful. We have had quite a string of sunny days. Again I say that this is way out of the ordinary. However we are not complaining. It could be snowing.
The other day we started up this blog and I was thinking that I have not been a very good blogger. I haven't been adding new things as I should. So today I will jot down some new lines of info.
For us down here and for you up there, opportunities to serve the Lord and testify as to His grace are abundant. The question is, "Will we be found faithful to share as we should?" Unfortunately we often miss the mark. Praise the Lord that are relationship with Him is not based upon our performance, but in our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. This by no means excuses us from our obligation, but puts things in the proper perspective. We must not forget that He who has began the good work in us will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ's return.
We have been able to share with numerous people over the past couple of days about the One God and the One Mediator between Him and us, His Son Jesus Christ. Please pray for those who have been hearing the message, that they would understand that their religion and their good works will never be sufficient to save them. Please pray that the Lord would take off the blinders from their eyes, that they might see the light of the gospel (2nd Cor 4:4) And obviously for us that we would be found faithful to share the gospel as we ought.
When we came to the island of Quinchao, big island of Chiloe, we came with the impression that there was no evangelical work in the town of Curaco de Velez. However, the other day we came in contact with some individuals who are realizing a prayer service in the house of some believers. These brothers are from a Pentecostal splinter group and we as of yet have not been able to talk to them in detail about their doctrinal beliefs, but we rejoice in the fact that there is at least one more family in town who is calling on the Name of the Lord. Please pray for us so that we would know what level of fellowship that we are to have with these brethren. We obviously do not want to take part in some fleshly turf war, but we do want to hold forth the banner of Jesus Christ and sound doctrine that must accompany the preaching of the Holy Word. So, please pray for conversations that we hope to have soon with these brothers and sisters. Thanks.
The kids are all under the weather, to one degree or another. It is most likely due to the extreme changes in weather that we have down here. It is cold, then it is warm. It is bleak,then it is sunny. And there is a lot of humidity. They are taking some medication and we are ultimately trusting in the Lord for their well being. And for that reason we ask God's people to pray for our little ones.
So, in order to not obligate you to read more and more of my babblings, I will sign off for now. Thank you to those of you who have taken time to read this blog and pray for us. Please leave your comment so that we might hear of how the Lord is working in your lives. So that we might rejoice along with you in His goodness, and pray for you as we should.

For the King and His Kingdom,

Daniel (for Ruth and the kids)

A day in Curaco

The sun has been out all day long. That is a rarity in these parts. An entire day without rain is not very common here on the island of Quinchao. But we are definitely not complaining. Today I and the other "members" of the Grace Baptist Church are embarking on a new journey into cyberspace. We're kinda scared! Well, not really. I am surprised how easy it really is to do this. But anyway, we hope that this blog will serve as a way for us to be in more direct contact with those of you who are in one way or another involved in the ministry down here. So without further adieu, here's a quick report on what's been happening.....

We have been down here for a little bit over a month now, and it is starting to feel like home. Well, kinda of. We don't have you down here with us, nor do we have all of that beautiful snow! Please at least send us a picture of it, now wouldn't you? And just to settle any doubts that you might have, it is not always sunny and balmy down here. The average for a spring day is about 55 degrees and at least an hour of rain, sometimes more. But that's what makes the potatoes and other cool crops grow. It also makes all those cute farm animals happy. So we all rejoice in the Lord's goodness. (Even though we get wet alot)
The Lord has been so gracious to us. First of all in His great mercy He has decided to save us. We all should consider the fact that we were one day totally dead in our trespasses and sins without the possibility of saving ourselves when God in His great mercy sent His Son Jesus Christ to this world that He had created in order that He might pay the penalty for our sin debt. Incredible, amazing grace! Thank you Father! So first of all we rejoice in our salvation. Then we rejoice in the fact that the Lord has counted us worthy to serve Him in the harvest field. What a privilege it has been for us to serve among the brothers and sisters of North Casnovia Baptist Church in Bailey, Michigan and before that with the family of faith at Trinity Fellowship EFC in Big Rapids, Michigan. Together working in the harvest field of the Lord! What a joy it is to see brothers dwelling together in unity, serving the Lord with the common purpose of spreading His glory amongst the nations!
The work here in Curaco de Velez, Chiloe has been very interesting. The Lord has given us many opportunities to share with many people about the great news that reconciliation is offered through the Lord Jesus Christ. I think that that is my favorite message to share. It is so simple yet so profound. The Almighty God, The Holy One of Israel offers sinful man the great opportunity to have a broken relationship restored. Why would He (God) do this? For the glory of His grace! (I love Ephesians 1:3-14) God, thank you that you are Who and How You are! And thank you that you have given us the opportunity to declare Your great works among the nations. What a privilege. What a responsibility.
The people with whom we have been able to share are numerous and for that reason we don't share all of their names. But we do ask that you would please pray for those with whom we have been sharing and for those with whom we will be sharing in the future. Some have shown some real interest in the things of the Lord whereas others didn't seem to give a rip. Please pray for both groups that the Lord would be glorified in and through their lives.
We have been talking with some people about the possibility of starting a Bible study. Interest has been shown in the idea but getting them from that point to actually starting the study has been a little difficult. We trust that this delay will help us be more prepared for the time that we will actually be starting up. God's time is always best.
A real blessing to the work here has been the addition of a ministry vehicle. For the first month we didn't have our own vehicle. We needed to rely on the public transportation which is not always very reliable and if one uses it a lot it ends up being quite expensive. So when I went north to Santiago in order to speak at a reunion for the missionaries of Baptist Mid Missions I also took advantage of the opportunity of the varied selection that the capital city offers and drove back in a new (to us mind you!) Chevrolet four door 4x4 pickup. Some of you might remember us telling you about our interest in acquiring a van for the ministry down here. But when we encountered some nasty roads and we looked around and noticed that about 75 of every 100 vehicles on the island is a pickup, that the pickup was going to be our best option. It is big enough that we can all fit into it. (Like sardines, but we can fit in) It has gotten a lot of use already, primarily for getting us around to different places and also we have been able to bless many people with free transport to different places that they need to go. Another cool thing is that when you have people in the truck with you there is a real captive audience for the hearing of the gospel. It has been cool to see the people that the Lord has placed along our path and the opportunities that we have been given to testify about His great grace. Please pray for those who have ridden in the truck (aka MM3, for those in the know) and for those who will sometime in the future.
Ruth is doing well. She has had a lot of opportunities to use her teaching experience in the public schools as well as use her musical talents to participate in some festivities here in our community. Through these opportunities she has become quite well known in our new town. She of course thanks the Lord for this and seeks to glorify Him with the talents that He has chosen to give her.
We have had many people show interest in english classes that I (Daniel) am offering and music classes that Ruth is offering. Of course we would not ever want these offerings to eclipse what is the most important thing that we can offer the people here... the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, we do see these classes as a great way to get to know people and also to be a service to the community, which is very important to the people here. So please pray for those that we have and for those with whom we will have classes with.
I (Daniel) am playing basketball with a group of young to middle age plus men in the city of Curaco. This has also been a really great opportunity to get to know more people and to build bridges to share the gospel. (Also it helps a middle age guy stay in some kind of physical shape)
Elizabeth, Daniel, Grace and Rebekah have acclimated well to life on the island. Elizabeth loves her new school and will be finishing up with her classes on the 22nd of this month. Then she gets the "summer" off, to be back in school the first week of March. We will be doing home school with her during this time. Daniel is going through a period that we call the "tremendous" two's. He is a real handful at times. Then he is a real sweetheart at others. Some would say that he is a chip off the old block, following in the steps of his father. Hopefully only the good things. Grace and Rebekah are both growing up. Grace running after her brother and sister, loving to play with pots and pans, stacking her plastic cups, and straightening up everyone's shoes. Rebekah has "transformed" into a little girl, her face doesn't look like a baby anymore. She loves to drink milk and be held. At this time she seems to have some kind of respiratory infection and she is on some medicine. Please pray for her.
So, I realize that my short report all of a sudden became a very long one. Please respond to our blog with some info of your own so that we can not only be praying for one another but we can also encourage each other on to love and to good works as we serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Daniel (for Ruth and the kids)