I wanted to share some wonderful news with all of you!  The Lord has answered our prayers. I got a call from the Spanish Consulate today and the lady told me that they have approved my residency visa. I have until December 30^th to leave the country (we are planning to leave much sooner than that). Believe me, I’m ready to go! Don’t get me wrong I have enjoyed deputation but everything has a time and a season and right now I am in Spain mode. I have 32 wonderful churches to visit from now till then and we have complete faith in God that we will have all of our support raised by our departure date. As a matter of fact we are currently at 86% of our needed support. They haven’t approved everybody’s visas yet but the lady told me that they should be ready in about two more weeks. I am so amazed at how God has opened every door for us. During the end of March of this year we really felt the Lord leading us to step out by faith and set a departure date. At that point we were at 66% of our support. In just 5 months our support has increased by 20%. Also, we have been praying that the Lord would supply the money that we need for our Setup Fund. Just in these past two days we have had 2 churches and 1 individual give towards our Setup Fund. The amount that they have generously given is exactly what we need to purchase our tickets. We are seriously considering leaving for the field November 29^th, 2010. That is 2 days earlier than we had originally planned. You can’t imagine how excited we are. I would ask that you pray for the rest of the visas to be approved shortly. We really feel great peace in our hearts because we know that right now we are in the center of God’s will. Amen. 

I wanted to remind everyone of some good Christian Music.  My wife, (Deanna) Brother-in-law, (David Velasquez) and Sister-in-law (Deborah Velasquez) have recorded 2 CD's, one in English and one in Spanish.  They did a great job and the music is just beautiful.  Most of all, the message of the songs are uplifting and glorifying to the Lord.  If you haven't purchased your copy, please head over to their website and make your purchase.  They are still offering a special if you buy 2 or 3 CD's.  They also offer discounts for missionaries, churches or book store who want to buy in bulk (10 or more).  So check out the site, listen to samples, read their testimonies and indulge yourself with Christ-honor, uplifting, Christian music!

www.alltheglory.org

     This week we celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary.  During these 31 years we have moved 12 times.  Some of the moves have been from one house or apartment  to another one in the same general area.  But four of those times have been major moves to another country. 

     Our first move was to Spain from the USA in 1982.  We shipped only a few boxes and bought everything else there.  The next move was from Spain to the USA in 1996.  Again we sold almost everything we had and only shipped a few boxes.  Then one year later we shipped a container to the country of Venezuela.  It was amazing how that in one year we had accumulated enough things to fill up a container.  When we left Venezuela in June of 2007, we sold almost everything again, except for a few sentimental items, photos and books.  Now we are ready to move again.

      In one more month we will be leaving  for the country of Spain.  Again we are packing up boxes and purchasing furniture and small items to fill a container.  Moving is a real hassle!  It can drain you physically and emotionally.  But at the same time it is exciting.  We know that new and exciting things await us in Spain.  We are excited about renting an apartment, getting settled in and beginning a new ministry there.  But right now we are in the process of packing.  We have to pack boxes, type up a manifesto of everything we have in the boxes and prepare for the day that they arrive at the house with a large container that we will have to pack in one hour. 

    Even though selling, moving, packing and moving again is very stressful, we are determined to do it with joy knowing that through it all God is going to use us for His glory on the mission field!  Every time we have sold all of our personal belongings, it is hard to see people walk out the door with things that bring so many memories to us.  But once everything is gone, we have also felt a sense of freedom.  Things can bog you down in your life.  We have learned that all of our belongings are just things.  They can be replaced.  We are taught in the Bible to not love the world, nor the things that are in the world.  Yes, we need things in order to live, but we shouldn't get attached to those things such as cars, houses, furniture.  We should not let those things stop us from serving God.  He has always provided for our needs.  We know He will continue to do so as we prepare to return to Spain.  We have truly enjoyed our time of furlough and raising more support, but we are ready to go now and get busy in the ministry.   So for the next few weeks we will have our noses in boxes!  Praise the Lord!