So Thankful

Church Growth

 The Lord has been blessing the work in Tierra Nueva. While my health is not what I would like it to be, my helper, Luis, is keeping the work going. Satan is still fighting and working in hopes of destroying believers, but God's power is mightier and His will is prevailing. The church is growing. 

Visitors

Please pray for Ruben and Veronica, pictured in the bottom right hand corner. They were invited by a family in our church and they have been coming on a regular basis. Neither one of them is saved. They listen intently to the Gospel message and they are asking a lot of questions. 

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Youth Ministry

We are working to get a youth program going. We have a good group that needs their own class. My hope is to work with them myself once I get to feeling better. The young ones are preparing for our annual Christmas program by making crafts for each family. 

Health Update

Please continue to pray for me. Since taking new medication, I have not felt well. The medication makes me light headed most of the time. According to the information sheet on the medicine, this is normal. I see the neurologist in February and I hope I can wait this out until then. I am able to drive some days. Rebecca and John drive me most places. 

I have started physical therapy for my back. It's painful! The therapist said that my back and hip muscles are very tight due to 'fighting' with back pain for so long. I see the therapist for another 2 weeks, then have appointments with a pain management specialist after that. With taking the medicine for the virus in my back and with physical therapy, I am hopeful that next spring, I'll be up and running with the big dogs...I mean the young men in our church that do so much for me while I'm 'down'. 

Thank you to all who pray for me and support the work here in Mexico. I could not do it without you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and may God bless you greatly!

Health Updates and More

As many of you know, I have struggled with my health over the last ten years or so. In the last year, I have had a lot of problems in my lower back which has put me in bed for days at a time due to extreme pain. My primary care doctor at the VA has been more active recently in listening to my needs. I have had appointments with a spine doctor who requested an MRI to be done on my back. I have also been referred to a neurologist for my memory problems and an MRI was requested for my brain. Both MRI's were done at the same time a few weeks ago. The MRI of my back showed arthritis and degenerative discs - which was no surprise. The good news there was that I do not need back surgery. The MRI of my brain showed no sign of Alzheimer's disease. The neurologist told me that I was just aging. 

The neurologist had also requested a lot of blood work that had to do with the immune system. Everything came back fine except for the Epstein Barr levels. The normal count for that is @ 20. Mine was over 500! Apparently, the blood work showed a pox virus still in my body. The neurologist believes it has settled in the weak points of my back and is causing the inflammation. I am on very strong medication right now that is making me dizzy, but that is supposed to be normal. The doctor said it was going to be aggressive. The medicine will keep the virus from spreading as well.  He has also ordered a sleep study to be done. Lack of sleep may be attributing to my memory loss. 

Physical therapy for my back has been requested and I am waiting on my primary care doctor to approve of a therapist. 

Ready to walk!

I was told I had to lose weight in order to keep my health under control, My daughter, Rebecca, and I have been walking a little over mile in the mornings. We were a little overzealous the other day and tried to walk 2 miles. We both agreed we weren't quite ready for that. The mornings have been beautiful weather for walking and so far, I have not had problems with my back after the morning walk. 

I have a good helper who is keeping the church running smoothly. Bro. Luis and his family are doing a great job. I do not have to worry about the church's well being in his care. 

The men are still visiting without my presence, and over 900 gospel tracts were given out last week! What a blessing. One woman they came in contact with said she had been looking for a Baptist church that preached the Word and was there visiting on Sunday. We have had other visitors as well as a direct result from visitation. 

In other news, our field director, Bro. Terry Jones, was here preaching Revival meetings

in both my son-in-law's church and in mine. We enjoyed the time with him and the services went well. 

I had asked for prayer for a little boy named Saul. He is the younger son of our helper, Bro. Luis. Saul had surgery on a hernia and is recovering well. 

My plans for this fall and winter is to do some repair work on the church building due to heavy rains. With the weather being much cooler now, we plan to get as many Gospel tracts out as we can before the cold winds of winter start blowing. 

Thank you for praying for me. Please don't stop. This new medication I am on makes me dizzy and sleepy but I have faith that it will do it's work in my body. I've been taking this medication for the virus for almost 2 weeks and I have a few more weeks of this treatment left. I was also prescribed new medication for nerve pain and that is working well for me at this time. 

Church Work

We have started remodeling the old part of our church building. Several men came to help. They were all excited and enjoyed learning how to lay tile. Previously, the kitchen had a cement floor that would tear up a mop in a month! It was time to lay tile on the floor. We closed in four windows, painted, and spruced up the area. 

Our church attendance has reached 65, and with more people there are sometimes more problems! We had to ask a family to leave due to causing division. That was a very difficult thing for me to do! We have stabilized and have started to grow. My newest helper, Jorge, is struggling with following directions, so I have had to 'sit him down' as he is not a benefit to the ministry right now.  My main helper, Luis, is a big help to me and to my son-in-law. Luis loves to learn and is a quick helper. He visits without being asked to and looks for things that need tobe done around the church building. I never have to wonder if he 'has my back'. 

Violence and gang activity are still a problem in our area. Doors, windows, wiring, house fixtures, even dogs get stolen! There is no respect of property. All around our church building, there is graffiti, trash, and destruction. Luis tries to keep our church building painted and looking nice. In this society, the children are not taught to throw their trash away and we struggle to teach our church kids to be responsible with their trash, but we fight culture on a regular basis on this matter. 

Our building has been painted 23 times due to gang activity! 

Prayer Requests:

* Pray for good health this summer

*Pray for our church, La Iglesia Bautista Tabernaculo

*Pray for my son-in-law, John,  and he is seeking a National to take over the work he pastors. 

48 Years in the Ministry

Ministry Update: This year marks 48 years in the ministry. I am blessed and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord. The church surprised me again this year with a celebration service. I was prepared for it one week, thinking that something just 'wasn't right' with the people, but the Sunday I thought they were up to something, nothing happened! Lo and behold, my son-in-law and his church and my associate and our church were planning something all along. My daughter even helped plan a video presentation of picture dating all the way back from my days in Peru! We had a wonderful time of fellowship and a great day of celebrating the ministry. 

The church is doing well and has been growing. I have a good group of men that go out each week on visitation. Every week, they hand out 800 tracts or more. I am not able to go out as much right now due to the wind, but my men assure me they are getting the work done. 

Several of our people have really gone through the trials these last few months. First, a young man who used to be in our teen group, was stabbed and near the point of death. Praise the Lord, he is doing well and re cooperating. Our song leader, Manuel,  and his son-in-law were physically attacked and robbed. Manuel suffered a mild stroke a few weeks later, but is doing better now. 

Health Update: Please pray for me as I have a few health issues due to the Agent Orange poisoning. I am learning that I need to stay out of the cold and the wind as it affects my lungs and also the degenerative disc in my back.  With nicer weather coming, I am looking forward to being able to visit more with the men.