Hello to all of my family and friends, following along and supporting through prayers and partnership… grace and peace to you! I’m going to start this newsletter with a passage that the Lord gave me yesterday. You better believe that the Lord has called upon every single one of us down here for such a time as this; through valleys and mountains, peace and warfare, He is our God and His promises are our reality. Never have these truths felt so tested in my own walk than right now; praise God for such pressing and testing of our faith. This passage from Isaiah is an affirmation and a promise that I hope each and every believer can cling to, as I have and will continue to;
“You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts and said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
– Isaiah 41:9-10 –
Through the first half of this week, we had some incredible classes and zoom meetings from familiar SGWM missionaries, on the field, and on furlough. One piece of information (from many) that I gleaned during these classes was the concept of our very lives being our mission field; the way we go about everything we do should reflect the gospel. One family, working in a closed country overseas, shared that that very idea is what they so often use to share the gospel. Its through Christlike living, Spirit-filled living, that we expand the Kingdom. In addition, we had multiple nights of worship and intercession for the nations; always a powerful time to put our faith on this world that we so love as Jesus did/does; in a sacrificial way.
We also spent some time partnering with Calvary Homex again to do a park outreach. We provided games, a bounce house, food and as always worship, messages and gospel presentations, for the adults and the children. These opportunities are coming about multiple times per week, and though they are certainly wrought with warfare, they are sustained and blessed by our God, guiding every opportunity that He has ordained.
The second outreach we did was to Calvary Tecolote, partnering with them to do a Saturday event at the church. It’s an incredible congregation, and the Lord has provided so much in the five years that they’ve existed. I had the opportunity to serve in the children’s ministry, playing some worship songs, and acting in a skit (the story of Adam and Eve). My Spanish singing is rough, and my acting rusty, but the children were engaged and it was a sweet time. Marcelo gave an excellent gospel presentation and led a prayer after the skit.
This week ended with myself and a handful of team members catching a stomach bug. Though not fun, and somewhat painful, this is nothing unexpected; in addition, the mental warfare has increased. The Lord is our sustainer, and He is redeeming this time that we’re giving back to Him. He alone is worthy of all this work; beyond worthy. In fact, as our morning devotions have started in Acts, I was hit with this awesome reminder. After being tried before the high priest and the council, thrown into prison, delivered by the Lord, brought before the council again, then flogged and released with a warning, the apostles, “…went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.” (Acts 5:41); the name of Jesus, the name above all other names. I pray that this is an encouragement for all of us believers; whatever your ‘council’ is that He has delivered you from, or that you’re in the midst of; He is greater, and it is an honor to bear witness to Him in the midst of all of it!
Praise Reports
- The successful and fruitful outreaches, despite the sickness.
- The awesome classes and testimonies from the SGWM missionaries.
- The Lord sustaining each and every one of us through this special time.
- Keeping up with the assigned reading!
Prayer Requests
- Renewed, steadfast hearts of faith through the expected mountains and valleys to come.
- Healing for those who are still sick/getting sick.
- More and more opportunities to speak the name of Jesus to all we encounter, including each other!
