It is great to see God at work in our ministry and in the lives of people.  When we started the DVD project, we started it with just our team.  4 or 5 of us would go out several times a week and place the DVD in each home.  The Lord has blessed our work here and begun giving us faithful people that we can count on each week.  Little by little, God is working in their lives and they are growing spiritually each day.

As you can see in the picture above, our group of 4 or 5 has now become a consistent 6 or 7.  Each week we continue going out to deliver the DVDs.  We have 85% of the city done and lack very little.  We are excited to know that very soon, we will have given a Gospel DVD to every single household in our city. 

I wonder how many of us are truly happy.  With the circumstances in our life and all that is happening right now, can we say that we are truly happy? 
When you deal with people, it is amazing to find out the details of people’s lives and what they go through.  Our lives are so different then other people’s lives.  Over the last few months I have been able to sit and listen to the different struggles that Eduardo and Stefan are going through.  As they were talking, it hit me that two guys from two different places in the world, totally different backgrounds, have similar situations and God has brought them to us and wants to use us to be a help in their lives. 
I realized as they talked that I have never, ever one day in my life wondered were my next meal would come from.  I have always had the security of knowing that I would eat the next day.  As these two struggle for work, they both still have food, but wonder how long it will last. 
I have never lived in a place where I couldn’t pay my rent or mortgage payment, waiting for the bank to kick me out.  Both live in apartments that have a significant amount of debt left to pay and with no job, one of them has stopped paying altogether just waiting for the bank to kick them out. 
I have never had to deal with a spouse who either flat out tells me I am worth nothing and I need to leave, or who gets on me for little things when I try to help out around the house, only out of spite and bitterness.  Both of these men, who have given their hearts to the Lord, are now dealing with issues from their spouse.  This has made me appreciate Deanna more then ever and appreciate what God has done in our lives.  One of the men was telling me that he will make the bed and clean the house trying to win his wife over and she will complain that he didn’t make the bed right or clean the house good enough. 
With all of these problems and more, both of these men have stated that they would suffer the rest of their lives if they had to in order to please God and that they are truly happy.  They are truly happy because God has saved them and their lives are different. 
I wonder if we can say that we are truly happy. 

If you are a true Christian, then you have experienced a changed life.  When I trusted in Christ as my Savior at the age of 20, God, through His Word, changed my life.  We, who have experienced a changed life, can sit and talk about how God changed our life and we are continually amazed.  But it is also amazing when, through the ministry that God has allowed you to be apart of, God changes the life of someone else. 

Eduardo contacted us through the website that we set up for our ministry and requested a Bible. (www.estudialabiblia.com)  We took him a Bible and talked about what the Bible says about life, death, and God’s salvation for mankind.  We learned that he had been searching for the truth.  We assured Him that the truth will only be found in God’s Word.  We invited him to the special service that we were having and he quickly said that it was to far away and he couldn’t come.  We left his home with the assurance that God’s Word would not return void and the satisfaction of being able to share the Gospel with him. 

A few days later, out of the blue, Eduardo called and said that he would come to the special service.  He came and we immediately hit it off.  At the end of the service, Eduardo raised his hand when the question was asked who would like to give their life to the Lord.  A few days later, we visited him again.  He told us that he did indeed give his life to the Lord that day and explained to us how he had been reading and studying God’s Word.  His hunger for the Word of God was evident.  He asked the question that we wish every person would ask, “What do I do now?”  So, we began doing personal Bible studies (discipleship) with him and it was evident that God was working in his life and that he is growing. 

God has given us a good friendship and it is a joy to be able to study God’s Word with him each week.  The last time I was at his house, he was telling me about his “old” life, the things he use to do and jobs he use to have.  He told me that he use to put together concerts for a group and he helped write music with them. 

The next evening I got an email from him.  When I read the email, it reminded me and amazed me of the work that God is doing in his life.  Below is the email that he wrote me translated into english:

Good evening,

How are you all doing, thank the Lord, we are well.  Last night and this morning I was writing a song that I finished and I would very much like for you to look at it and see if it is ok. 
If you see something that needs to be changed, I am open to suggestions, so that the message is very beautiful.  Tell me please, what you think. 

I found the Path of my Life

“For a long time, I was walking without you
I thought that I was happy
but I felt something empty in my heart
Day and night would pass by
but still, I couldn’t find my way

Until that day after much seeking and asking
God showed me, along with Christ, that He is the only path to follow.

I found the path of my life
and gave my life to Jesus Christ.
With the light of your glory
light my path with peace and love
and with you Lord, I will walk in surety
forever and always without any fear
Because my life is in You
where I found the path to live. 
Thanks to You, I live everyday
without fear because now my heart knows that every moment you are with me, My God
My salvation today and forever
in Christ it is, in him it is
and one day
with Him safe I will be. 
My salvation today and forever
in Christ it is, in him it is
and one day
with Him safe I will be.”

With much affection and love.....in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Eduardo Sedoski in my new life

It is truly a joy to serve the Lord! 

This past weekend I was reminded of what a privilege it is to know Christ as Savior and to be able to serve Him and show others how they can know Christ.   My husband and I were privileged to travel to the Basque region of Spain this past weekend. We enjoyed the fellowship with fellow believers, and marveled at the beauty in that area of the country.  God allowed us to share with these believers our evangelistic project that we have been using here in Parla.  They wanted to know how they could evangelize their city and we showed them the DVD we have been using and how it works.  They liked the project and are planning on using it in the near future.  We were able to be in three churches and on Sunday evening my husband preached a message which included a clear presentation of the Gospel.  We also showed the Gospel DVD that we have been using.  After the service my husband noticed a lady at the back of the church that was crying.  After inquiring about her, he called me over to talk with her and try to help her.

She was visibly shaken and very moved by what she had heard in the message.  She told me she had never heard a message like that before .  She has been a Catholic all her life and even has family members who are priests and nuns, but that no one had ever explained to her about her sinful condition and need of a Savior.  I spent the next 20 minutes sharing with her the wonderful message of salvation using Scripture and my own personal testimony.  Afterwards I asked her if she would like to repent of her sins and turn her life over to Christ and she immediately responded that she would.  There was an urgency in her eyes and a desire to accept God’s precious gift of salvation.  After praying, there were tears of joy coming down her eyes as she realized that her sins were forgiven and she was saved!  Afterwards I showed her verses on security of salvation and encouraged her to read the Bible, attend church and grow in the Lord.  I also introduced her to a faithful lady in the church who promised to help her in her spiritual growth.  Her face was radiant and it looked like a weight had been lifted off of her.  This was the first time she had ever attended the church and it was her time to find Jesus.  What a miracle of God’s redeeming grace.  What a privilege to be used of God to point lost souls to Christ!  This lady’s name is Clementina.  Please pray for her spiritual growth in the days and months ahead.   

Dear Pastor, Congregation and Friends, 

 “...Ye sent once and again unto my necessity (Phil. 4:16) As we near the end of our  deputation journey I want to praise God for His provision in our lives. In the midst of this  recession the Lord has used many of you to meet our needs. We have lacked nothing and our faith in God has been greatly strengthened. Since our last letter we have had three new churches partner with us and we are currently at 87% of our needed support! We have another 17 churches to visit before our departure. 

We have wonderful news! Last month we received a call from the Spanish Consulate and they informed us that my visa has been approved. We are still waiting for Favi’s visa as well as the kids’ but mine was certainly the most important. That day we purchased our tickets and so we have an official departure date. We are leaving for Spain November 29, 2010. 

Every day our team members inform us about what God is already doing in Spain and we can’t wait to join them. Since we started the gospel DVD project in Parla we have distributed 31,008 DVD’s. We know that people are watching them because several have called or  visited our ministry website after receiving the DVD’s in their homes. Many have requested free Bibles which has allowed our team to share the gospel with people that are already      interested. It gives us such joy to realize that thousands have been evangelized as a direct result of this project. Please pray for Paco. He is a Spaniard that showed up at the church  because he had received a DVD in his mailbox. He is searching for the truth and is hearing the gospel every week. Since August, an average of 20 people have been visiting the church each week. The last Sunday in October two new converts will be baptized. Continue praying for Eduardo. He is a young man that contacted my parents after searching on the internet the phrase, “What is the true religion?” That search led him to our gospel website. He visited the church and trusted Christ as his personal Savior. He is a sponge and is growing in the Lord every day.  

We only need approximately 15 more supporters and we will reach our goal. What’s     awesome is that God called us so we know He will provide. We are leaving for Spain in 47 days regardless of our level of support. It will be exciting to see how God provides. Would you consider partnering with us as we attempt great things for God in Spain? “Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that  may abound to your account.” (Phil 4:17) God Bless.

We are amazed at how God is providing for our Setup Fund. Last month we recieved gifts from two churches and two individuals. So what we still need to raise is as follows:

Container: $3,500.00 ($2,500.00 already raised. Praise the Lord!)

3 Airplane Tickets: We bought the Tickets! 

1 month of rent: $1,200.00 (We have found a home to rent and have put 2 months down already but we still need to pay one more month in advance when we arrive in Spain)

Vehicle:$6,500.00 ($500.00 already raised. Praise the Lord! We found out that cars are not as expensive as we first thought so we have reduced the total amount we need)

If you would like to be a part of helping us with our Setup Fund please send all gifts to:

David Velasquez

c/o M.W.B.M

P.O. Box 519

Braselton, GA 30517

Designated to:

006 Shipping/Travel

Written by: Jeffrey Andrews

#7: Immigrants come for work, but find Christ!

The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century due to the spectacular demographic boom in the 1960s and early 1970s. The birth rate then plunged by the 1980s, and Spain’s population became stagnant, its demographics showing one of the lowest sub replacement fertility rate (s) in the world, only second to Japan’s.

Spain currently has the second highest immigration rates within the EU, just after Cyprus, and the second highest absolute net migration in the World (after the USA).

According to the Spanish government, there were 4.5 million foreign residents in Spain in 2007; independent estimates put the figure at 4.8 million or 15.1% of total population (Red Cross, World Disasters Report 2006). According to residence permit data for 2007, around 500,000 were Moroccan, another half a million were Ecuadorian and Romanians, 260,000 were Colombian. Other important foreign communities are British (8.09%), French (8.03%), Argentine (6.10%), German (5.58%) and Bolivian (2.63%).

However, there are certain factors that must be taken into consideration with these numbers.

Immigrants from South America can obtain Spanish nationality after residing 2 years in Spain, that is why they stop being counted as immigrants.

Spain automatically grants Spanish nationality to the children of immigrants born in Spain who do not ask for the nationality of origin of their parents, unlike other countries of the EU that do not do it. It is for this reason that although the South-American immigrants of origin are most numerous, the Romanians or the Moroccans surpassed them in the official statistics.

Considering this data, there are many in Spain that affirm the true number of immigrants in Spain is 10-11 million, or about 25% of the total population.

HOW HAS IMMIGRATION AFFECTED OUR CHURCHES?

Instead of giving my personal perspective or statistical research to answer this question, I want to list “real live situations” from a few churches in Spain.  These missionaries are answering the question, “What is the ratio of immigrants to Spaniards in your church and how has immigration affected your ministry?”

Kent Albright, Pastor and Missionary of the Iglesia Evangélica Bautista de Tormes (Evangelical Baptist Church of Tormes) writes, “We have about 20 nationalities in our little church of 80—about 30% Spaniard and half of those from Salamanca.”

Pastor and Missionary, Marvin Robertson, of the Iglesia Bautista Bíblica de Mostoles (Bible Baptist Church of Mostoles) writes, “Our church has been somewhat affected but not overly affected by the most recent wave of immigrants. We have some immigrants that have been here for 20 years or longer along with several that have come in the last five years. Except for the two sisters that I baptized recently, all of our baptisms have been immigrants. Some saved before they came to Spain while others have been saved in Spain.”

Bill Williams who is a Missionary and the Pastor of the Iglesia Bautista de Leganes (Baptist Church of Leganes) one of the larger independent Baptist churches in Spain writes, “Immigration has greatly affected our ministry. If it weren’t for the immigrants, we wouldn’t HAVE a ministry. Displaced persons are always more open to the Gospel, but those who come out of poverty seeking economic gain seem to be even more open as they are in a difficult situation. I would say more than half of the immigrants come from churches in their own country although many are not truly born-again or have definite spiritual-moral issues which are in themselves a full ministry. I fully enjoy our international ministry and would prefer to always have a multi-cultural ministry instead of the normal state-side single culture. It certainly makes things more interesting. It has given us an insight on the differences in cultures and the effect that governments and economic situations have on the character and temperament of cultures.”

Every day, an immigrant will try to enter Spain and pass through the invisible door that he/she believes will lead to a better way of life and a more comfortable economic situation.  This kind of opportunity, for the immigrant, is one that compels them to leave everything behind, even children, in search of financial gain.  However, although many have come to Spain looking for money, in turn they have found forgiveness of sins and eternal life through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  God has commanded us to go into all the world, but here in Spain, much of the world has come to us.