Dear Friends in Christ,
“… I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Matthew 9:13
We trust you all had a Merry Christmas with your churches, family and friends. Thank you so much to those churches that sent us special Christmas offerings!! They came at just the right time. Amen!
Camargo: The attendance of the Iglesia Bíblica Bautista has been up and down. For the New Year we have an accountability campaign, for everyone to read the New Testament through in 2015. There have been 9 saved since the last letter. The daily tract distribution to a local hospital is also yielding fruit. I was able to lead 2 older men and the mother of one of them to the Lord. I met Maria who said she had been looking for a Bible preaching church. She and her grand-daughter Fernanda almost never miss a service and still she says things like, “we Catholics believe basically the same thing”. Please pray for them to understand and be saved, and for wisdom to know how to more effectively show the truth of the Bible and of salvation by grace through faith. We met some of the family of Carlos, who had a 21⁄2 year fight with a rare cancer. Someone had studied the Bible with them before, so I was able to lead Carlos and his parents to the Lord on the Saturday before he passed away on Tuesday. Praise the Lord for the sowers and for His salvation! We met Lupita and her 17 year-old daughter Mónica at their restaurant. Monica has a brain tumor and they have been going to Chihuahua City, about 2 hours away, for weekly treatments. For months we tried to get in to talk to the family and Mónica in particular, about their salvation. Recently we were able to lead both Lupita and Mónica to the Lord, as well as Ricardo, a 13 year-old brother of Mónica. We had a Quinceañera (15th birthday party) for Naomi, with 42 in attendance. We preached the gospel to several lost family members and friends, and showed the beauty of purity. Naomi’s dad, Mario was saved and discipled in an Independent Baptist church years ago. He, his wife and 3 kids have been attending with us faithfully for several months and just recently joined. He is very capable and has even filled the pulpit for me. We had a simple Christmas program, with a time of food, fellowship, and gifts for the kids. There were 35 in attendance, with one new family for whom we have prayed, for over a year! Amen!
Family: We were able to make a quick trip to Missouri for the 80th birthday of Connie’s Mom, Madelyn Carroll. All 4 of our kids and 9 (soon 10) grandbabies came to the birthday celebration, as well as other family and friends, so that was a special blessing. Less than a month later, Connie’s Dad found her Mom unconscious and she was rushed to the hospital. It seems it was dehydration and low blood pressure. Please pray for her health. Connie just had another blood test and most of the counts are a little better. Praise the Lord!
Praise: People saved; Quinceañera & Christmas celebration & visitors; Family; Connie’s blood tests
Prayer: Salvation of souls – María and Fernanda; Spiritual growth for the church; Mrs. Carroll – health; Mónica – health & family – spiritual growth; Birth of 10th grandbaby (coming soon)
In His Service,
