That All May Know Ministries Blog

June 2009

Dear Co-laborers in Christ,

T

These past two months have been busy, hectic, frustrating, but for the most part exciting and blessed. We arrived in Spain on April 1 and were met at the airport by our team members and family, the Andrews. It was a joy to see them again and especially our 6 yr. old grandson Aaron. We stayed with the Andrews for one month while we worked on paperwork for the final approval of our visas, opened a bank account, found an apartment, submitted papers to get permission to rent the apartment and purchased a good used car. All of these things take time and patience. On May 5 our container arrived at our apartment and several missionaries came to help us unload and carry our belongings into our apartment. It was a real blessing to finally be in our own home again.

We have been visiting several  churches on Sundays in the Madrid area and renewing old friendships with missionaries and believers.  Last Sunday we were able to visit our former church in Alcala de Henares and it sure brought back a lot of wonderful memories of the 14 years that we spent there.  Most of the members that we left, are now in other places serving the Lord as missionaries and pastors.  It is a real blessing to see that our labor for the Lord is never in vain.   We would ask you to pray in particular for Manola and Belen, a young couple who were saved years ago in our church, but have been away from the Lord for many years.  They invited us to their home last week and we had a great time of fellowship with them.  They went to church with us and we could see a spark of desire to serve the Lord again.  Pray that they will come back to God and serve Him with their lives.

We are living in the city of Parla, about 30 minutes from downtown Madrid.  It is a city of over 150,000 people who need the Lord. I have walked the streets and had the opportunity to witness to several people, and I notice how hardened their hearts are to spiritual things.  I would ask you to pray for a couple, Valentin and his wife,  who own a small store close to our apartment.  They  are from Ecuador.  They are very friendly to us and we want them to be saved.  Besides Spaniards, there is a huge population of immigrants.  There are Latin Americans, Romanians and a large group of Muslims.    We have begun preparations for our first evangelistic project to reach them for Christ.  We plan on producing 20,000 DVDs with an illustration and a short salvation message.  Our son David will be recording the DVD this week and then we will be making copies of the DVDs,  and  putting them  in the mailboxes of 20,000 homes.  Please read the enclosed  flyer on how you can help with this project.

Make note of our new mailing address and our Vonage phone number at the bottom of this page.   Thank you so much for your prayers and support.

Total population, as of January 1 2009, was 46,661,950

Spain, on January 1 this year, had a total population of 46,661,950 according to a report just published by the INE, the National Statistics Institute. The number, based on those registered at their local town halls, shows a population growth over 2008 of 504,128, and reveals that 12% of the population is foreign. National growth was 0.4% over the year, while the number of foreigners was up 6.3%.

Romanian citizens saw the greatest growth in 2008 with a population of 64,770.

The data also shows that 43.3% of the population is aged between 16 and 44, 41.2% is aged 45 or more, and 49.5% of the population is male.

Biggest population growth was seen in Cataluña, followed by Madrid, Andalucía, and Valencia, with no region of the country seeing a fall in population over the year.

God is good and still saves.  A young Colombian lady who is here studying to be a Doctor has been coming to the church for the past several months.  Mrs. Joy was able to sit down and talk with her several weeks ago and although she understood her need for Salvation, she was not ready to trust the Lord as her Savior.  She continued coming to the services and even came one Friday night when we showed the movie "Fireproof" which has a wonderful Salvation message.  This past Sunday night, Joy Loveday was able to sit down and talk with her again and she told Mrs. Joy that she was ready to place her faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Her name is Lia.  Pray for her.  She has had a rough life and wants God to work in her life as a Christian.  

It still amazes me when an immigrant places their faith in the Lord.  Even though they came looking for work and money, instead they were able to find the true and real treasure of this life, Jesus Christ.  Continue to pray that the hearts of the people here will be softened and receptive to the Word of God.   

 

I watched as this car parked and it was impressive.  I didn't stick around, but what was going to be more impressive was how she was going to get out. 

 

On Friday, we had our first "official" team meeting.  We hooked up the webcam to our TV in the living room and we had a live feed with David, Favi, and Ian who are in the States.  We talked for a little over 2 hours about short and long term plans and goals for the work.  It was very exciting and we were able to nail down some ideas and details for our first project.  Over the next couple of months, we will be posting details about the plans we have for our first major project.  We want to inform all that we can so we can have an army of God's people praying for these efforts.  There will also be opportunities for those who want to get the gospel to the people of Spain through giving and also opportunities for those who would like to make a trip to Spain to personally and physically get involved.

Please stayed tuned for more details about this exciting new project.  

Today is Deanna and my 8th Anniversary.  I want to wish my forever sweetheart a wonderful 8th anniversary.  Deanna is truly the one God has for me and I love her with all my heart.  I am blessed to have her as a wife.  I look forward to spending the rest of my life with such a wonderful woman.  There are still days that I am around her that I get the same feeling in the pit of my stomach as when we were dating.  Honey, I love you and may the next 8 years be better then the first. 

8 Years Later and she is still as beautiful as ever!  
(That guy she is with could use some work though!) 

When you are learning a language, you learn to humble yourself while people correct you.  In fact, I am constantly asking people to correct me because I know that that is the best way to learn.  I guess it is ok until your 6 year old son begins to correct you.  Aaron, like myself, is learning Spanish.  He has been in school this year and has really learned a lot of Spanish.  I picked him up from school yesterday and it was one of those days where when you walk outside, you immediately start sweating.  So I told him in Spanish, "I am dying from the heat."  He said, "Daddy, you don't say it that way, this is how you say it."  After he told me, I was humbled to realize that...he was right!  :)  Out of the mouth of babes! 

The third campaign video for the European elections shows a selection of European Conservative voters

The new campaign video from the Socialist party has raised some objections in Spain. The video shows a cross section of right-wing voters from several European countries, speaking in their native language but subtitled, in which they give their opinions on several political subjects.

A German skinhead says that homosexuality is an illness, A British woman pictured shopping says she thinks health care should be private, and a priest says that there is only room for one religion in Europe. Another person comments that ‘immigrants steal our jobs’, another that climate change is a big lie, another that she believes in the death penalty, and a businessman says he believes in free sackings.

The video then says that the problem is not what they think, but the fact that they are all going to vote.

The Socialists have been accused of using scare tactics in the video which will be shown in Spain in the free airtime space made available to the parties ahead of the poll on June 7.

Dear Pastor, congregation and friends,
 
    “But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” (Romans 8:25) Although we may not have reached the end of our deputation quite yet, we have faith and patience and we look out into the horizon knowing that the prize is near. We are encouraged to know that with every new church that takes us on for support we are one step closer to our goal. Since our last prayerletter we have had five new churches partner with us and we are now at 46% of our needed support.

Praise the Lord! We are praying to have all of our support raised in one more year. For those of you who may be wondering we are still driving our 1990 Cadillac Deville and it’s still going strong. We have put 70,000 miles on the car and I really believe that it will be with us till the end. What’s funny is that the car is only two years younger than my wife. Next year it will be a classic.

One of the things that burdens my heart as I travel and visit different churches across America is the lack of laborers to reach the Hispanic community with the gospel. Time and time again we have heard from pastors that desire to reach the Hispanics but simply cannot because they are unable to communicate with them in Spanish. Please pray that God would raise up men and women to learn Spanish and be used of God to evangelize the vast Hispanic community of America. I was so blessed as I visited a church in Ardmore, Alabama that had a Spanish ministry. The man that was in charge of the ministry was a man that had taught himself Spanish and with the little Spanish he knew was being used of God to reach souls for Christ. He invited me to preach to the small congregation that was gathered as a result of his labor and after the service I was able to lead a young man by the name of Armando to Christ. What went through my mind as the young man announced to the church that he had trusted Christ as his Savior was that had it not been for this faithful laymen in the church he would not have his name written in the Lamb’s book of life today. How many young people like Armando have come to our nation and never heard the gospel. Thank you once again for your faithful prayers and financial support. To God be the glory. We love you.

NEW BABY

Well, I am excited to announce that we are going to be having another baby. Last year around this time Favianna had miscarried our second child and we had been praying faithfully that the Lord would bless us with another little munchkin. Favi and I have always loved children and we are excited about raising them to love God and serve Him with their lives. I know that God has a special plan for them and I would sure love to see my children serving on the mission field.  But more than anything I pray that they will love God and put Him first in every decision that they make. Our baby is due on November 15th. So please pray that God would protect our child and that the pregnancy would be smooth for Favianna.
 

Dear Praying Friends, Family, and Churches,

W

e have so much to report that we won’t be able mention everything in one letter. Please go to our home page abd read our weekly blog. You can stay informed with much of what is going on in our ministry.

The current “crisis” is the topic of discussion in every corner. I personally know people who have lost everything because of the current crisis. For missionaries on deputation, churches have seemed to slow their support for new missionaries. Veteran missionaries are beginning to feel the crunch as some of their supporting churches are starting to lower their monthly support. However, in every crisis, we can see God’s hand at work. God took the children of Israel through many a “crisis” to teach them certain things, but especially to trust in Him.

One of the advantages of the “Crisis” here in Spain has been that the cost of living is slowly decreasing. In the past 4 or 5 months, the cost of goods and services have started to come down. Apartments, cars, food, etc. are getting a little cheaper. When we first came to Spain, not only were we taken back by the exchange rate, but by the prices of what things costs. Even if the exchange was equal; 1 Euro to 1 Dollar, the prices of items here in Spain were more than what they cost in the States. So a gallon of Milk that cost $3.50 or less in the States, would cost around 4 Euro or more here in Spain. So even with a 1:1 Euro/Dollar, our purchasing power was less. Then when you added an exchanged of $1.60 to 1 Euro, it was at an even greater deficit. Now, the prices have started to subside a little, so with a 1:1 ratio Euro/Dollar, the prices are comparable. Some things are still more expensive here, but now, some things about equal. So our purchasing power is a little less or equal, if we had an equal exchange of 1:1. However, with the exchange, we are still at a great deficit. But we are thankful for the slight decrease in prices of somethings.

Another blessing of the “Crisis” is that people are becoming more tender to the things of God or at least looking for answers. In a society that has “had it all” for some many years, people are beginning to lose their jobs and their sense of security. Over 3 million people are unemployed here in Spain (a country of 41 million) and 1 million of those 3 million lost their jobs in 2008. During this year, in the ministry here, we have seen 5 people come to Christ. 3 of those 5 people have been adults. Another lady wanted to talk more, this past Sunday night after the service, about spiritual things and is very close to trusting in the Lord as her Savior. So even in times of “Crisis” God works and glorifies Himself. We praise the Lord for His goodness.

The second week in April, we had special meetings for “Semana Santa” or “Holy Week.” My father-in-law preached on Saturday night, Jack Loveday preached Sunday morning, and I preached on Sunday night. Then 2 weeks later, we had a mission’s conference. The people were challenged to do more for missions. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Don’t forget to visit our website www.thatallmayknow.net to learn more about what is happening here in Spain.