(May 30, 2004) In the midst of so much going on, we again pause and ask you to join us in seeking the Lord’s blessing.

1. Tonight we will hold another Lighthouse meeting and conclude a two-part study on God’s plan for our salvation. Please join us in praying for attendance and for the Lord’s working in hearts of those present.

2. This has been a great year for Sabado Aventura! With just one month to go, all the children are now busy reviewing their memory verses with the hopes of receiving a new Bible. Please pray they would all do well and God’s word would remain with them forever. Another exciting develop-ment is that a nearby church has recently expressed interest in joining us for Sabado Aventura next year. It would be wonderful to work together and to have other children as part of our group.

3. Many thanks for your prayers on behalf of Luis, Loida and their baby. In spite of the fact that many encouraged them to have an abortion, they have decided to keep and to love this new little life God has given them. Another note of praise is that contrary to what they had previously been told, there is an operation that can be performed which should allow the baby to live a fairly normal and healthy life. As the Lord brings this family to mind, please continue to remember them in prayer.

Again, our many thanks for your love and partnership in ministry! It is so evident that we are not alone!

(Nov. 9, 2003) The recent months for our family have been long, hot and difficult where we have felt exhausted, seemingly sidelines from any "significant" ministry opportunities and feeling of very little kingdom value. Through it all, however, the Lord continued to be at work - not only by sustaining us with grace sufficient for each day but by also reorchestrating our steps and repositioning us in the places of His choosing. After such a dark and discouraging time, how wonderful and humbling it was to finally see how God's hand had been at work all along - how we had still been given a small part in His plan.

My parents came for a four week visit but three weeks into their visit my mother suddenly became very ill which led to emergency surgery due to an infection in her intestines. So began a discouraging four week stay in the hospital. While caring for my mom in the hospital all of Karen's and my formal ministry involvements necessarily came to a sudden standstill. As I sat with my mother in her hospital room, David and Noemi (one of the couples with whom we are working in the evangelistic Bible study) stopped by for a short visit to see how we were getting along. As we quietly talked in the corner another person entered mother's hospital room to connect the television set. This lady recognized us since our daughter, Sara, had been hospitalized earlier this year for a week with salmonella. Also this lady recognized, Noemi, from riding the bus together. She asked if we were all part of the same family. We told her yes - that we were all members of God's family - and with this a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ unfolded - right there in the hospital room where I had begun to feel so removed from the rest of the world. My tiredness and feelings of discouragement were instantly erased by the excitement of sharing God's love with someone in need! This encounter was not by accident. I knew immediately that the Lord had used my mother's illness and the circumstances surrounding it, to place David, Noemi and me in the path of the television lady. Friends, through all of these things I have again been reminded, that it is all God's work.

Along with moving to a new home and all of the extra activity that this in itself entails, life has continued to move ahead on several fronts as well. There is so much to share with you. Thank you for keeping us and all of these things before the Lord in prayers.

On Sunday, June 22, I had the privilege of baptizing four people who have completed a 7 week baptism class and also shown evidence of their love for the Lord and desire to follow Him in obedience. This was the first baptism in Salamanca in over two years. The four people being baptized were Marcos, a young Spaniard who grew up in the church but wrestled greatly before deciding to commit all to the Lord. Jorge, was also baptized who is the new Romanian immigrant who placed his trust in Christ last fall. Then our own two boys Joshua and Samuel were baptized. Please join us in prayer for each of these individuals. May their baptisms speak clearly of our Lord to those around them and also be a significant milestone in their own personal walks with Him. Please also pray for the non believers that attended Sunday night's baptism. May the message and testimonies that they heard, fall upon freshly opened ears and hearts prepared by the Holy Spirit. Pray that the Lord would use that evening in the process of bringing them and others to Himself.

Over the next two weeks I will be finishing a study on the Holy Spirit with the adults of the Salamanca church. As we consider our own relationships with the Person of the Holy Spirit and what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, pray that we would not only learn new things but also be changed within. Pray that we would all allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in us and begin to experience the fullness of the power and riches that are already ours in Him.