Ups and Downs

First of all, I would like to thank each of you who have sent me Christmas cards and offerings. I am overwhelmed by your love and generosity. Thank you so much! 

Life and ministry have been like a roller coaster ride lately. Up and down you go, feeling as if you are about to lose your stomach. We've had people leave the church, then come

back. We've had illness and hospital visits. Near death experiences, even. My associate's son, Saul, has been in and out of the hospital with kidney infections. He has been so ill, he has not been able to be in school much. His parents are waiting on test results on why his kidneys keep getting affected. My son-in-law John and my daughter Rebecca who work with me, have been talking on and off to Luis and Mary about homeschooling because of this. A young lady who was in our church as a teen took an enormous amount of pills with alcohol trying to end her life. Within one day of her mother having to decide to 'pull the plug' on life support, she became awake. Many people were praying for Teresa during this time. I was able to visit with her for five minutes here and there. In those five minutes, I prayed for her and talked to her about getting back in church and letting the Lord take control of her life. She is home now and, as far as I know, she will be able to lead a normal life. Second chances don't come like this often. We are fervently praying not only for physical healing, but spiritual healing as well. 

My family has not been exempt from sickness. We were dropping like flies with a terrible cold. It has taken weeks to recover. Now that I don't have a cold, I have other health issues that are on-going and are at the forefront of my mind. Ever since the El Paso VA received a bad rating last year, I have had doctors appointments one right after another. Health concerns I have been telling my doctor about suddenly seemed to matter and I found myself having appointments for by back, my brain (for memory), and even for my 'psyche'. I had mentioned to my doctor that my back problems made me a bit depressed, and before I knew it, I had an appointment with a VA psychologist. She declared me 'just fine' after talking with her. Amen. I've had cat-scans and MRI's. Appointments with a neurologist. Physical therapy, which was very painful and did not help. On Monday (January 26), I have another cat-scan. On Tuesday, I am going to have a shot in my back that will hopefully help with pain level for three months. I am to avoid pain medication for a few days. I had not realized how much pain I was in and the intensity of my back problems until I came off the pain medication. Pray for me. I have a few days left without much 'help'. I have a TENS machine that I use that is alleviating pain a bit. 

Prayer Requests:

1) The health of our church - both physically and spiritually 

2) My health - Pray that the shot will work for me and relieve the pain in my back

3) The health of my family - It seems that we all get well, then have another round of the cold return. We are all feeling weak and struggling to regain momentum. 

4) Teresa - who really needs the working of the Holy Spirit in her life

5) My associate, Luis, and his family - He is working hard in the church and is a faithful servant of the Lord. I do not know what I would do without him. He is also trying to take care of his family. His son, Saul, has kidney infections. His other son, David, has adenoid problems, and his wife, Mary, has frequent lymph node flare ups. His daughter, Rebecca who is the youngest, is the strongest one of the bunch! 

May God richly bless you for your continued support and prayers! 

Romans 8:26 

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

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. 

A Wedding, A Revival, and a Soul Saved!

A Wedding 

Whew! Things have been busy around here. Bro. Terry Jones, my director from BIMI, came down to Mexico to preach a revival in my church and an organization service for my son-in-law. During the revival, we had a wedding ceremony for Jorge and Griselda. They have lived together for close to 9 years and have four children. In the last year, they have been saved and baptized and have been growing spiritually in our church. This wedding ceremony was a beautiful thing to see and I feel privileged to be a part of their lives! 

A Revival

Bro. Terry preached the beginning of the revival with heart stirring messages. We had services Friday through Tuesday night.  Due to some health issues, the end of the revival was preached by a young man from another local Baptist church. He didn't know he was going to preach that night, but when I asked him to preach for us, he was ready. The message he preached was one that went right along with what Bro. Terry had started with and the Lord had His hand in it all.  We had special music every night. Some of our people have never been in special meetings like this and it was a joy to have the fellowship and God working through each one of us. We had some visitors come through, even a dog! You just never know who is going to show up!

...And a Soul Saved!

An elderly man had visited a few nights and one night, he brought his grandson. He said he wanted to bring his grandson to get saved. After speaking with him, I felt in my heart that the grandson did not fully understand the message of salvation and was not ready. The man came another night and came forward after the service so he himself could be saved. Now, he was ready and said he couldn't wait to talk to someone and get his eternity settled in Heaven. What a way to end a Revival!!! I was so excited!  

After the Revival service at my church, we had an organization service at La Iglesia Bautista Ortega where my son-in-law is pastoring. My grandson leads the singing over there. I keep offering to pay him to come work in my church, but his parents aren't too accommodating!

  I helped start that church over 20 years ago and it has had it's bumps in the road. In the last year and a half, I've had to make some changes in the church and this was a

 re-dedication of sorts for this work. John has a good group of people working with him and will soon be looking for a national to take over the work. 

*My 'Photos of the Week' page has been updated. 

Investing in a Cause

One of my favorite phrases is this: Invest in a cause that will outlive you. I live by this. I strive for this in the ministry in which God has given me. It's hard sometimes. Many times. Sometimes the reward for the investment is not seen. Here lately, God has been blessing over and over. Back in June, Jorge and his wife were baptized. He is now helping in the services and going out on visitation each week. With my associate, Luis, and another man named Juan, last week 420 Gospel tracts were given out. Each week, the men pass out

hundreds of tracts and are out inviting others to our church services. Jorge has been witnessing to his uncle and his uncle has been coming to the services and has been listening to the Gospel message being preached by the different men in our church. Last week, he came to me after the service and said he couldn't wait to be saved. He said he waited all day for the church doors to open so he could talk to me. I was grinning from ear to ear! I told him he didn't have to wait, but I sure was glad for the privilege of winning him to the Lord! That's cause for shoutin'! I was rejoicing with the angels over the one soul saved. 

My associate is above and beyond what I could have asked for in a helper. If he sees the church needs painting, he finds the paint in storage and does it himself. If trash is on the property, he and his wife clean it up. He e-mails me every morning and tells me what a blessing I am to him and his family and he is glad to be of service this day. What can he do to help? He's always watching out for me and won't even let me work! I am so thankful for this family and am trying not to get a big head! This family was on the verge of destruction two years ago, and here they are in the ministry. He has said from the pulpit that he is only here because of the investment my family has put in their lives. Only by the grace of God... 

Coming up soon, Jorge and his wife will have a wedding celebration. They've been together for 9 years and have 4 children. They would like to be married under God and with the church there to witness it. They are also going to be married and recognized by the government as a married couple. Lives transformed! I'm so glad I get to watch this family grow in the Lord. 

My mission director is coming down in September. We are having revival services in our church and my son-in-law, John Gilbreath,  has enlisted Bro. Terry's help in officially organizing the church he took over last year. He has been teaching the church constitution over the summer months. 

We are investing in a cause over here in Juárez. The cause for Christ. Are you investing?