Thank you for praying for Arturo & Marisol!  Marisol finished her 9 months of difficult treatment for renal Tuberculosis.  The Dr's say that she is free from the illness.  Sadly, one kidney did not recover function.  This coming week she is scheduled for surgery to have the bad kidney removed.  We would appreciate your prayers for this family, pray that this operation would be the last of this problem for Marisol.  Pray for peace for them through these trials.

A Sabbath Rest? Today? NOW?

Encouragement for the Weary,

Often I feel like we are scourged & chased through the fleeting checkpoints of time.  Although, it's not an oppressive dictator that relentlessly forces us on, this taskmaster seems to reside within us.  I believe that our propensity for extremes, either pointless business or mind numbing sloth, reveal the desperate need that we have for frequent breakaways with our maker.  In either case, intimate worship & communion with God corrects and fine tunes our life's navigation, purposes, & priorities. As we get to know God, he brings balance (wisdom) to our work/rest/play, agendas.   In Israel the call of gainful enterprise often eclipsed the command to take 1 out of 7 to get to know Jehovah; even the religious leaders blew it!  Under the law Israel was commanded to keep the Sabbath holy.  Now, in the church age we are encouraged to continually, draw near.  1 Pet 3:5  As you keep on coming, returning, to him, that amazing Living Stone, censured and brutally cut off by man, but precious and joyfully promoted by God!  (Paraphrased LRC)

Jeremiah 17:19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand in the gates of Jerusalem, first in the gate where the king goes in and out, and then in each of the other gates. 20 Say to all the people, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and all you people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem. 21 This is what the Lord says: Listen to my warning! Stop carrying on your trade at Jerusalem’s gates on the Sabbath day. 22 Do not do your work on the Sabbath, but make it a holy day. I gave this command to your ancestors, 23 but they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or accept my discipline.

My friends, PLEASE!!!

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.

Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,

Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;

Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.

By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;

Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;

And run not before Him, whatever betide.

In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,

And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,

Each thought and each motive beneath His control.

Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,

Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

William D. Longstaff

MINISTRY NEWS

There is good news to share with you!  we have had a full building for the past few Sundays.  Our maximum capacity is 105, and at that point I believe we may even be breaking some fire code. We are challenged by having so many new people and young believers.  Our five ministry leaders, are straining to keep ahead of the needs.  This is really a good problem because it is causing us to break with some traditional ways that are less effective at producing growing believers that stick around, in exchange for some new solutions that are beginning to lead us to lasting results.  This growth is also forcing us to seriously consider finding a new place to meet by January when our current lease is up.  We are convinced that if we stay here, the building size will limit the growth the Lord is indicating for us.

Linda & I have been increasing our pastoral visits to help with those questions about our assembly and why some of our practices are a little different than other churches.  I am working on a small publication that will summarize our Values, Doctrine, Practices and Thought.  Please pray for us, the next 6 weeks are going to be very busy! 

*Please pray for the Lord to provide the building/property to accomodate our growth, 

*Linda & I are organizing Family Camp

*Two college students (Peter & Allison Thomas) will be living with us for a few weeks

*Linda & I have a heavy teaching and traveling schedule

Trust & Obey; or Succumb to Fear

Moses and the children of Israel were resting by the Red Sea, just beginning to enjoy their new freedom when suddenly they saw the approaching Egyptian army.   Isaiah 43:16-17 tells us that it was not Pharaoh, but the Lord that drew the Egyptians out against Israel.  This amazes me!  God does, and permits things in our lives that are beyond our comprehension.  But ultimately, if we remain faithful and submit to Him in the process, we end up praising Him even more for the glory of his power, love, provision and protection at work in our lives!  Praise the Lord, he is an ever present help in all our troubles!  Do you see enemy hosts approaching?  Are you overwhelmed with problems, run to that place of prayer, call out to Him; submit to his Word and… “don’t fear, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord!”  Exo 14:13

An Amazing Sunday!

We had a pretty intense and joyful day today.  Some of those baptized last week took part in the Lords supper for the first time!  The brother that received the Lord at the baptisms last Sunday came today and was warmly welcomed by the believers! 

Just as our group Bible Study Dynamics class started Jose came up to me and said “Leon, you need to come outside, a visitor wants to receive the Lord!”  We both met the man outside, he was distraught.  His marriage and family was being torn apart.  He said, “I can’t take it any more, I have ruined my life and the lives of those I love.”   “I need to be forgiven, I need a new life, I need what you all have been talking about, this… Salvation.”  We shared the Gospel with him and he told us that he believed that Jesus died for him!  We prayed with him and stayed to encourage him.  While we were praying with him some of the believers came out and stood around us praying quietly for our new brother.

As were gearing up for the song service, Pedro comes up to me and announces, “Aaron received the Lord this Thursday at our home Bible study!”  We have been praying for Aaron for more than a year!  This is such great news! 

The leadership asked our sister Isabel to share about her trip to Mexico City and how God gave her the privilege of sharing the Gospel at a funeral.  There is a lot more to this story than I can share here, but in brief, more than 50 people stood up and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!  Praise the Lord!

This Sunday was my turn to speak and the theme was on family.  I was struggling to keep myself from crying tears of joy with so much answered prayer all coming together at once.  The message was titled, Are We Going to Fight With, or Fight For our Family?  God blessed and everyone was moved to take steps for building UNITY in their marriages and families, and instead of arguing, envy & selfishness they are determined to get on their knees and in prayer FIGHT for their marriages, children, and for our brothers and sisters in our church.

It’s late, and I am tired, this has not been a very easy week for me.  But, as I think it through, I can see how God has been working, blessing & encouraging!  Even when things get rough, all that we do in the name of the Lord Jesus is definitely worth it!  I hope this encourages you my dear friends, what you do for the Lord will not be in vain!  Thank you for laboring in prayer with us for the work here in Ensenada!

March 9, 2012, A tribute to a good and gentle brother

Celia & Hector

A friend passed away a couple of days ago.  Hector was notably gentle and kind.  He was always very enthusiastic about greeting and expressing sincere friendship with a big smile and a full opened arm hug.  He was a delight to be around.  He loved the Lord Jesus Christ.  We celebrated his 'graduation' last night at Iglesia Cristiana Familiar with sadness and peaceful joy.

The night before, at prayer meeting, I shared about comfort.  In 2 Corinthians we learn that we have been most effectively comforted by God, so that we can be ministers of comfort to those around us as they are buffeted by the storms of life. The most significant comfort for mankind comes to us through the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  God forgives our sins and sends the Comforter to live in the believer, never to be alone.  The believers were encouraged to be ministers of comfort to Hectors family in the this time of grieving.

After the memorial, Hectors daughter thanked the whole church for being so loving and supportive to her family.  Yes!  God answered my prayer!  "He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." NLT 2 Cor. 1:4  Thank you Lord the opportunity to be used by you to bring comfort to the hurting!  Please pray for Celia and the family in this time of grief.

Dec 9, 2011

We talked with Arturo & Marisol today.   Im glad we called.  They were really dragging through some deep waters with all the pain from this illness.  She has suffered with pain for so long that it is beginning to take a heavy toll on them, emotionally.

Marisol is struggling with fear now, fear that this may be a terminal situation without remedy.  But as Linda talks with her they can confirm her objective response to the treatment and Linda was able to encourage both of them.  Please pray that the Lord would help Arturo & Marisol to hold on to hope for the duration of the treatment specified for this kind of Tuberculosis, the Dr's say that she may continue with pain for another 9-12 months.

Nov 22, 2011

We had a good conversation with Arturo & Marisol a few days ago.  Marisol is still having back pain, but the Dr's expect this to continue, and gradually diminish, over a period of many more months.  A second opinion and lab work confirmed that what she has is Renal Tuberculosis (affecting a kidney and the ureter).  Since this falls under the class of a public health concern, the Bolivian government covers her treatment for this specific disease.  Any operation that Marisol may need is still under debate.  Her kidney function seems to be gradually improving on the affected side.  One physician wants to install another catheter, but the specialist is concerned that this would only increase her chance for infection in the weakened kidney.  The catheter (as well as previous hospital visits and procedures) would not be covered under the government Renal TB care program.

The greatest trial for Arturo & Marisol is coming from well meaning family.  They want Marisol to be free from pain NOW.  But the prognosis for recovery for this disease is very slow.  This requires a lot of patience for Arturo and Marisol.  The family is insisting on everything (White magic, etc.) and blaming this illness on Marisols Evangelical husband with his strange "Chrisitan" beliefs.  The Drs have told these people that judging by the spread of the TB, Marisol was probably infected 10 years ago, long before she even knew Arturo.  But that didn't go over too well with them.  Please pray for widsom for the Dr's, pray that the family would stop being so hard on Arturo & Marisol.  Thank you!