30

We have been praying about our Thursday evening Bible study, especially for the participation of young people in our community. What a joy it was for us today to have appx. 30 young people in attendance! I couldn't find my camera, but it was a beautiful sight to see. The message was fro John 6:35, Jesus is the bread of life. Please pray for the Spirit to work through the Word. Please pray for the Lord to be glorified. Grace to you all.

Back

So what's my excuse this time? It seems like I do well for a time, then I fall off the wagon. To qualify that statement, I am referring to blogging. Let's hope I stick with this a bit more faithfully. Grace to you all.

What's up?

Will this work? I hope so. I am so thankful for God's goodness towards us in Christ. How are you doing? Please give a shout out and let us know what's going on and how we could pray for you. Chao.

I'm not Joel Osteen

"But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain"(1st Corinthians 15:10a ESV) Truly I give thanks to the Lord for His work in my life. Why not? With amazement I look back and reflect on what He did to draw me to Himself and place me in the gospel ministry. I am thankful for the unique way in which He has equipped me to serve Him and His people. (Romans 12:7-8; 1st Corinthians 12:7,11; 1st Timothy 3:1-8)
So, what's up with the title of the post? There have been some comparisons made as to the way we minister the gospel. The comments range the gammut of "why don't you talk more about this?" to "I need to feel more of the Spirit", "more emphasis needs to placed on"..... Ay yay yay! At first when one hears these comments, it can be a real head-scratcher. Where did this come from? I thought that we were preaching the word (2nd Timothy 4:1-5) and seeking to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24, 6:63; Galatians 5:25, 6:8; 2nd Corinthians 3:6; 1st Thessalonians 5:19) The answer to where this is coming from....... Christian radio and satellite tv. Now, before you think that I am advocating the tossing out of radios and tv's, hear me out. Whereas I believe there are some edifying programs and ministries on the airwaves, there are also false prophets and false teachers. (1st Timothy 1:3, 2:14, 6:2; 2nd Peter 2:1) I believe that mainly new and/or immature believers fall for these false teachings due to a lack of biblical knowledge and discernment. With one individual we had the opportunity to sit down, open up the Scriptures and pray for the Spirit's illumination of our hearts and minds. This individual was conforted by the truth of God's Word. (John 17:17) There are still a few others with whom we need to share. It is my prayer that the Lord would draw us closer to Himself and closer to one another as a body of believers. This work is the Lord's. It is His church. He bought it with His blood. (Acts 20:28; 1st Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 5:21-33) May God be glorified in and through all things!

Update and prayer

I apologize for not having written sooner, but we are all a-okay. Friday night saw its way to Saturday morning as I awaited the final word that the tsunami alert wouldn't materialize into anything more than an alert. At about 2:30 am I was finally able to hit the hay. We had bottles of water, sleeping bags at the ready, a backpack stuffed with food, and my toolbox filled with lots of helpful "tools". Fortunately we were prepared but didn't need to put our preparation into action. Oh well, in case there is a next time, we will keep these supplies close by.
We are mindful that we can always lift our eyes to the Lord and find help in our time of need. (Psalm 121:1-2; Hebrews 4:16) God is our refuge and strength. (Psalm 46:1-3)
Thanks again for your prayers and concern. Please join us in praying for the people of Japan. May the Lord show them mercy and shower them with His grace.

Tsunami Alert

We have been informed that it would be in our best interest to evacuate by 11 pm Chilean time. (9pm EST) There is really no way to know if we will be affected by the waves or not, but as the saying goes here "mejor prevenir que curar"= better safe than sorry.
Hopefully I'll be able to post an update tomorrow.
Philippians 4:6-7

Rain

Today feels as if the fall is "falling" upon us. Lots of cold rain showed up this morning, and was enough to get our students soaked on their one block journey to school. With the school being so close, they would get just about as wet if they walked out to the vehicle, drove down and then got out. However they dry out eventually and they definitely aren't made of sugar. (even though they are really sweet!)
I have a good lead on a mechanic who might be able to help me with the transmission in our car. Please pray that this would all work out and the Custom Cruiser would be cruising once more. Thanks again to our friends (you know who you are!) who helped us out with the replacement parts. You are greatly appreciated.
Today has already shown some interesting ministry opportunities. But don't all days? Sometimes we just don't notice them and/or make ourselves available to them. May we be sensitive to the Spirit's leading and may God use us for His glory.
"Give ear, O Heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain on the tender grass, and like showers on the herb. For I will proclaim the Name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!" Deuteronomy 32:1-3 (ESV)

Baptism

Hola

It has been so long since I have posted anything here. Why? Again, it's not that there hasn't been a lot going on. I think I just got thinking that no one was taking the time to read what I was posting. That conclusion came as I noticed that I didn't have any comments for weeks on the posts that I did leave.
But just in case anyone is out there, wanting to know more about us and what's going on.....
God has continued to be gracious towards us. His faithfulness is great and His mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23) We have seen His hand working in and through our lives for His glory. Yes, there have (and will be) times of discouragement. (I just had one of those, as a matter of fact). But we are being led forth in victory by the Lord. (Romans 8:37; 2nd Corinthians 2:14)
Please pray for us and the ministry of the gospel here in Curaco. May those who oppose the gospel be transformed by the Spirit into proclaimers of the Word of God. And may those who have received the Word be faithful witnesses to the Truth. We are counting on God and trusting Him for the results. (Psalm 27)

Greetings from the Sunday School children

Christmas's pics.

New pictures

A view of the house in the back and materials in the
foreground

It's going up!

The weather has not been on our side, but we knew that going in. It is still winter down here, and that normally translates into cold and wet. However, our team has been diligent and taking advantage of the breaks in the weather to advance as much as possible. This week is forecasted to be nicer and if that be the case we will have some nice photos to display later on in the week. But until then, here are some new ones.....

Day ???

I am not sure what day it is, of the construction project. I do know that it is Saturday. This past couple of weeks have been crazy, but have not sent me there yet.

Today the Lord blessed us with the opportunity to visit and encourage a sister who is struggling in her physical body. Her name is Miriam and we would ask you to please pray for her, her husband and daughter. Thank you.

As we were gone the majority of the day, 9 am to 5:30 pm we didn't know how much construction had gotten done throughout the day. It was nice to come home and see what we have been looking forward to seeing; wood going vertical. Forever the optimist, I say "we are one day closer to being done with this project." Please continue to pray along with us for this work to bring glory to God, because that's what it's all about! (Psalm 115:1; 1st Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17)

Day 4

One more day closer to completion! (Optimism intended) Another beautiful day allowed for some good advances in the construction. Hopefully tomorrow will bring the same.

Day 3

If there is anyone out there checking this out, we are now on Day 3 of the construction. The weather was beautiful today and there was lots of productivity. Tomorrow's forecast is for more of the same (weather wise) and we trust that the productivity will be the same if not better.

Progress

In our last newsletter I had announced the purchase of the property and our plans to start construction in the next week. Well, we have begun! And as promised I am publishing some progress pictures. (The first picture shown is from day 2, and the second one from day 1) Due to some technical difficulties the going has been slow but we trust that in the next couple of days we will be able to see more done. For us it is very exciting having lots of supplies on sight, with the hope that one day soon they will be transformed into a new home for our family. Of course this will give us a much more comfortable living situation, but it will also establish us as members of this community which counts for much to the people we seek to minister.

Thanks again to each and every one who prays for us and partners with us in ministry. As always, to God be the glory! (Psalm 115:1)

Convenience

It's funny some things that you miss when they aren't around. Tonight @ around 8 p.m I was thinking that I miss convenience stores. You know those places where you can go in and buy a gallon of milk, a cup of coffee, a pinwheel and a full tank of gasoline. Especially that last item: the gasoline. I have milk in the refrigerator, there is (instant) coffee in the cupboard, I don't really need or want a pinwheel, but I was almost out of gas and there isn't a gas station in my town. The closest gas station, which is by no means a convenience store, is about 11 km (6.5 miles) down the road. This time I wasn't on the south side of empty, but there have been times when I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the station without winding up with an infamous "pana de tonto", aka "the dumb man's breakdown". My trip to the gas station was not very convenient but I did remember to be thankful for a vehicle to drive and the ability to fill it up with gas. Sure, it would be nice to have a gas station closer and even a "real" convenience store in the area, but if there were I would probably forget to appreciate the convenience anyway.