That All May Know Ministries Blog

Tonight was a memorable night, one I will never forget. The Lord allowed 2 great blessings in my life. I was able to administer my first ever baptism and I was also able to baptize my own son. On top of that, it was our first baptism in our infant ministry.  There will be many more baptisms in our ministry but I will never forget this one.

We thank Missionary Marvin Robertson who allowed us to use his baptistery. My father-in law preached and gave a clear message on Salvation and Baptism, explaining that Baptism is not a requirement for salvation but instead, a step of obedience in following the Lord. Later, I had the privilege of baptizing Isabel and my son Aaron.

You can watch the video of the Baptism below.

I saw this a week or so ago and have been meaning to post in on our blog. This is great. If you haven't seen it, you don't want to miss it.

I read this article on Dave Ramsey's Website and thought I would share it.

"No matter what your budget is this Christmas, remember to be thankful. Take a deep breath in the middle of all this craziness.

You might have a lot. You might have a little. If you are driving a beater, be thankful for that beater. You would rather drive that than walk, wouldn't you? There is always something to be thankful for.

That's what contentment is all about. When you understand and really grasp contentment, it becomes easier to save money and invest. Stress slowly disappears. Budgeting is easier. Relationships improve.

Be happy with what you have. More than three billion people, almost half the world, live on $2.50 a day. Sometimes we need a little perspective to become content with our current situation.

Without contentment, it's easy to be bitter and apathetic. Happiness is sold to us, especially during this time of year. We think if we can just get one more piece of stuff that "true" happiness will be right around the corner.

We say things like, "I'll be happy when I get that house!" or "I'll be happy when I get that new car!" But happiness cannot be bought. Sure fun—in the form of a house, a car, a new LCD television—can be bought, but fun is temporary. True happiness, or contentment, is lasting.

You can get out of debt, save money, and get on a budget, but until you realize that stuff doesn’t bring contentment, you will always feel stressed and unhappy. Contentment brings peace. And isn’t this time of year about bringing "peace on earth and good will toward men"?

Remember what this deal is all about. It's not about trees, lights, gifts, baked hams, and shopping malls. It’s about a little child who was born in a manger and grew up to die on a cross. It’s about peace on earth and good will toward men.

So if the Christmas frenzy is wearing you out, you've missed the point of Christmas. Make a plan with your money, and make a plan to get back in touch with the true meaning of this special day.

You are invited to Dave's Give Like No One Else Christmas at DaveRamsey.com. Daily giveaways and great articles will make you want to check back every day to see what's new."

I got this off of Travis Snode's Blog and I wanted to post it. It was a message preached by J.B. Buffington on raising children.

HOW TO LOSE YOUR CHILD BEFORE HE IS FIVE YEARS OLD

The following is edited and adapted from a message preached by the late J. B. Buffington (1923-2009) at Calvary Baptist Church, Lakeland, Florida, in the early 1970s.

Rearing a family ought to be a thing of joy. You ought to sit down at home and laugh about all the little things that happen. You ought to be happy.

I can talk about teenagers because I have had four of them. My youngest daughter is 23 years old, so I know a little bit about teenagers.

I’ve heard people say, “Everything went along alright until my children became teenagers and then something happened.” But I beg your pardon, that’s not the case. Most of it happened before five years old. That’s why I exhort mothers, “Don’t let anybody be a baby sitter of your children except you and other godly people.” Those first five years, attitudes, security, goals, and many other things are already developed, and they will come into full blossom in teenage years. A child is like a computer. What you put in comes out. You can put something into a computer and pray that something else will come out, but it won’t happen.

I urge you not to waste time, to start early.

Following are some of the ways that parents can lose their teenagers before they are five years old.

1. Use worldly counsel instead of God’s Word about rearing children.

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,” (Psalm 1:1). The world can’t tell you how to raise your boy or girl. I don’t care how well they are trained; God knows human nature better than anybody else. He made the children, and you need to stick by the Word of God. It works! Following worldly counsel is the way to lose them.

Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Hosea 8:12 says, “I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.”

Why do teenagers smoke marijuana? They do it to escape reality, to enter a fantasy world. Now ladies, that soap box opera on the television in the afternoon is not reality, and if you expect to rear your children and to be the kind of wife that you ought to be, you better turn off those programs and forget those things. That is not reality. That is escapism; that’s dreaming. That is much a flight from reality as a kid on marijuana.

2. Consider children a burden, a blight, a curse, a robber of your time and pleasure.

A child knows how you feel toward him and reacts toward you in the same manner. Even a baby knows whether you love him or not.

If you think your children are a blight and a burden and that they are in your way, the best thing you can do for them is to give them away because you will have many heartaches when they get to be teenagers. You program into their hearts that they are in your way, that they take your time, that they are just trouble, that they aren’t valuable, and when they get to be teenagers, all of that resentment comes pouring out.

We need to consider our children “an heritage from the Lord” and “his reward” (Psalm 127:3), because they will live and act like what we have told them they are by our attitude toward them. If I have told them that they are the joy of my life, that is the way they will live.

3. Make your possessions more important than your children; don’t make the home a place of fun.

You tell them, “Get out of the house; get off my carpet!” and then you wonder when they are teenagers that they don’t want to come home. Now, I don’t believe that the children should break things and I believe they should learn how to clean up their messes, but there is something more important than the home and the furniture and the carpet and the piano, and that is the people who live there. I like to live at home. That is where I can kick off my shoes in the living room. That’s where I can relax and enjoy myself; and Mom and Dad, you need to make sure that your children feel that way. There have been very few nights that my children have asked to stay away from home. If the home is a place of joy, they will bring their friends there. Before a child is five years old, he knows if the home is a place of happiness and a place where he can enjoy himself.

Now, I don’t believe in a dirty house. There is a difference between a dirty house and a house that is comfortable and a bit “messed up.” A house that is dirty hasn’t been cleaned, but a house that is messed up is lived in.

When your children become teenagers, what will they think about the place called home? Laughter? Joy? Home ought to be the place where you can bring your friends and have fun. The most important thing for parents to do is assure their children that they are more important than anything in that home. Sure, you teach them how to take care of things, but they must understand that they are the really important things to you.

4. Compare one child unfavorable with another.

“Why can’t you be like sister?” “Why can’t you be like that boy down the street?” I’ve got news for you, that’s the last thing they will be. If that other kid is an A student, your child will say to himself, “I’m not going to be like him; I’m going to be a failure.” If you don’t know that, you better wise up. You never compare children. The only Person we are to compare ourselves with is Jesus Christ. He is the comparison.

5. Make a federal case out of them being children.

Paul said, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child” (1 Cor. 13:11). Children are children, and there are things they do just because they are children. Don’t make a federal case out of it. Don’t try to make an adult out of a child. Children like to play. It’s not natural for them to sit still long. Some of you Sunday School teachers think that a little kid is going to put his feet on the floor, fold his hands, and focus his eyes on you while you teach him for 30 minutes. You better wise up. The child’s attention span is short.

I think of one of my girls pushing crayons up her nose. I think of another of my girls taking her shoes off at Highland Park Baptist Church and throwing them over her shoulder. I stood up to preach one night and had the various texts marked with paper clips and one of the kids had pulled all of the paper clips out. Another time I stood up to preach and instead of pulling a handkerchief out of my pocket I pulled a pair of little panties out. I caught my boy trying to put the dog in the dryer. He was wet. The kids took a pound of bacon out in the yard and fried it in the sand, playing house. Kids do things just because they are children. They aren’t doing it in rebellion, but just because they are children. There is a vast difference between a child being a child and a child being a rebel. Now, you deal with rebellion, but don’t make a federal case out of a child being a child.

6. Threaten constantly and discipline ineffectively.

Keep on threatening to whip them, but don’t do it. And when you do whip them, just tap them enough to make them angry. I watch parents do that. If you are going to spank them, do it right and you do it until they are happy. When you discipline, you discipline until they are submissive. And if they are still in rebellion, you didn’t do it right. Either your attitude was wrong, or you didn’t keep it going until the plate got warm. If you’re not going to do it right, don’t do it. If you do it right, you won’t have to do it so often.

7. Belittle them.

“You dumb thing; you can’t do anything right; why don’t you get out of the way and let me do that.” So they grow up with an inferiority complex the size of a mountain because you belittled them. There are many kids that learned to be a failure before they were five years old.

8. When they do wrong, talk about how they are killing you and ruining your reputation.

When a parent does this, the child understands that he is not important, that the parent cares more for himself, for his own image, than for the child. His concern is only selfish. When a child discerns this, he will definitely ruin the parent’s reputation!

9. Husbands and wives quarrel in front of the children.

When husbands and wives fight in front of the children, they learn that marriage is a duel rather than a duet. And when they get married, they will fight.

10. When you discipline a child, argue about it.

If the husband starts to whip a child, the mother says, “Do you really think you should do that?” The child quickly learns to manipulate the situation. He or she will risk getting into trouble just to see mom and dad have a fight. When you discipline, the parents must be in harmony and must show the child that they are in harmony. The mom must say, “If daddy said it, that’s right.” The dad must say, “If mommy said it, that’s right.” They must support one another and work out any differences in private.

11. Brag on their talents but not their character, and constantly show them off in public.

The wise thing to do is to brag on character, not talents.

12. Turn on the television or radio or stereo and let worldly music play constantly.

Worldly music produces a worldly environment and creates worldly attitudes. On the other hand, you can program temperament and stability and peace and quietness in your home if you get good sacred Christian music. You can play Bible stories in a room where a little baby is sleeping, and you are programming Bible stories into his little mind. Kids don’t have to learn things formally; you just put it there and they are like a blotter. They absorb it. Put soothing, Christ-honoring, soul-stirring Christian music on and just let it play in your home, and you are programming something of security and tranquility and peace into the children’s hearts. (A list of “Suggested Sacred Music Recordings” can be found at the Way of Life web site.)

13. Teach them to be afraid.

When lightening comes, when storms come, even if you are scared, don’t show it. When a kid falls down, he looks up at his parent to see if he should cry. If he falls down, don’t make a big issue of it, or he will expect that all through life. Every time he has a little trouble he will expect someone to make a big issue of it and fuss over him, and that is not real life. When he falls down, just treat it lightly and encourage him to get up on his own and move on. I know a mother that when her child fell down, she would run and get an aspirin for him! There are many fears that people have that their parents taught them.

My friends, we must face our fears. One of my girls was scared to death of dogs. One day she came into the house screaming, and I thought a tiger was after her, but it was just a little dog. You can’t talk fear out, so I got a dog. I didn’t necessarily want a dog; I got a dog in order to help a little girl face her fears. One of my boys learned to swim but was afraid to swim across the deep side of the pool. One day I said, “You are going to swim across there before we go home.” He swam across and got rid of his fear. Had I ignored that, his fear would have grown. Fear dwelt upon can paralyze. Don’t run from your fears; face them. Don’t instill fear in the heart of your boy or girl. When they look up at you, they need to see confidence and assurance (but not pride). Many parents have taught their child that they can’t go to sleep without a light on. If they are afraid of the dark, go in there with them in the dark and show them that there is nothing to be afraid of.

14. Don’t take time to listen to them and talk with them.

If you are too busy to talk to them when they are little, when they get older they will go to someone else for counsel. By the time they are five years old, they already have an idea about you, whether you take the time to listen to them or you are too busy. Take time to listen to them when their little conversation doesn’t mean anything, so that when the conversation is serious they will talk with you and listen to you.

15. Be a duel personality.

If you are one personality at church and another personality at home, the children know you are a fake and they don’t like it. That hypocrisy will ruin them.

16. Criticize the preacher in front of them.

If you do criticize the preacher in front of them, you shouldn’t be surprised when the children refuse to obey authority and refuse to take the preacher’s exhortations to heart.

17. Mother, teach your little girl rebellion.

We teach by action, and the mother teaches a daughter rebellion by her own stubbornness and disobedience to her husband and to the preacher and to other authorities. She teaches rebellion by not caring how she looks for her husband. Mother, the little girl gets an idea of what a lady is like from you. If the mother is in love with her husband and devoted to him and in submission to him, her daughter will grow up to follow that example and she will follow her husband to the jumping off place, and not shove him off but jump off with him. Many men that God has called to the ministry are having great problems because their wives are not in submission. Their wives are more committed to their mothers than to their husbands. They are not willing to leave their relatives to go to the place of God’s calling. One question I ask every young woman that sits in my office for counsel before a wedding, “Do you love this man enough to leave your mother and father?” I ask the same thing of the young men. If you can’t answer yes to that, you aren’t old enough to get married. Mother, look in the mirror, because the little girl that grows up in your home will probably be just like you in her attitude toward authority and men in general and in her attitude toward her husband in particular. If you are thinking about marrying a girl, you should take a look at her mother and her attitude toward these things.

18. Dad, treat your wife disrespectfully.

Treat the wife with disrespect and a lack of compassion, and you will raise a boy that does the same thing. Before you marry a young man, you had better take a long look at his father and at the attitude of his father toward the wife. If a dad talks about other women all the time, about blonds and brunettes and red heads, the little boy will follow that example. The dad needs to teach his son that he is committed to his wife and that he would die for her, and then when the boy grows up and says at his wedding, “till death do us part,” he will mean it. The dad must teach his son how to be treat girls with kindness and how to be a gentleman toward women and how to have a proper respect for the opposite sex. And it must start early.

19. Dad, teach your son to be wimpy.

Do you know that there is difference between how you raise a girl and how you raise a boy? With a girl you treat her with gentleness; with a boy you trip him when he walks past! A boy needs roughness. You want to grow him up to be a man, not a sissy. Get a pair of boxing gloves and swap licks with him. Wrestle with him and let him get the best of you sometimes, but sometimes put a scissor grip on him so he can learn reality. Life is rough, and a man must learn how to deal with it. He must learn that life has pain, that there is give and take, and he must know how to take. Teach him to walk like a man, work like a man, think like a man. The predominate figure in a boy’s life needs to be his father. The predominate figure in a girl’s life needs to be her mother. There are boys that have gotten so attached to their mothers that they can’t have a successful marriage.

20. Teach your children that you don’t trust them.

We know that foolishness is bound in the heart of a child and that children are children and that they have to learn how to be dependable and honest, but we need to have the objective of letting the children know that we trust them. Early in life we need to tell our children that we don’t want them to break our trust. “I trust you son; I trust you daughter; don’t lie to me. If you lie to me I can’t trust you.” Teach them from the earliest age, “Tell the truth; tell the truth; tell the truth.” My daddy died when I was in high school. When I would get ready to go somewhere, my mother would say, “Son, I trust you.”  Boy, that kept me out of a lot of things. Now if she had said, “I don’t trust you son,” I would have acted out her distrust.

Conclusion

In the book of Proverbs, the ideal woman is not a businessman; it is a mother and wife at home. The home is not the woman’s dungeon; it is her throne. Daddy, in Psalm 128, God talks about the home in this manner:

“Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD” (Psalms 128:1-4).

The thing that God gave to Job after all his travail was his home re-established and letting him see his children to the fourth generation.

I know parents that are just looking forward to when their kids get old enough to get out of the house. You know why that is? Because before the children were five years old they programmed the wrong things into their hearts and modeled the wrong things before them.

I wanted to comment on Jeff's (my brother-in-law) blog entry that he posted yesterday about working with resistant people. I recently heard a message in one of the missions conferences that I was a part of last week and the main speaker was talking about sowing and reaping. He said that some missionaries are in reaping countries and others are in sowing countries. Being a Missionary to Spain I understand that it is a sowing country.  However, I really believe that a harvest is going to come as long as we continuing sowing, maybe not in our generation but it will come.  God does not reward us according to the number of souls that we lead to Christ. He will reward us for our motives, our heart, and our faithfulness. While on deputation, the Lord has given me a message about what missions is all about. The main premise of this message is that the core responsibility of missions is to make the gospel available to every person on earth, not to save the most amount of people, like many think. This really transforms what we consider as success. This principle will give us perspective for our ministry in Spain and help us to have the right outlook.   The question is: "How do we measure our success?"  Do we measure it by the number of souls saved or by the amount of people that have had access to the gospel through our efforts.   In my opinion, if more missionaries would understand this concept than less would leave the field because of discouragement. That doesn't mean we won't have discouragement but as long as we keep the right focus we should make it just fine. Jesus never commanded that we save people but only that we evangelize them. That is the challenge of missions.  

My friend Aaron wrote on his blog about people working with "hard" or "resistant" people. He made some very good points and I wanted to share a few. As most people know, Spain is a country with very resistant people. It seems that more missionaries are coming and then leaving, then coming and staying. I have been here for 2 years and I have already seen at least 3 families that I know of leave the field. So what is to be done in a country with resistant people? Here are some things Aaron pointed out on his blog...

"2. Every people group is resistant until they hear over and over and over…

Did you know that India had no Christians when William Carry arrived? He labored preaching and translating for six years before the first convert. Today there are millions of believers in India. The same story is told of Adoniram Judson of Burma.

Places where the gospel has never been planted are hard. They must be plowed, planted, and watered over many years. The first missionaries one hundred years ago that served in the Muslim country I am in during the push of the Student Volunteer Missions Movement served for sometimes 10 to 20 years with no converts. Just fifteen years ago the number of believers here was around 100 after almost a century of sowing. Today the number is in the thousands and growing faster than anyone really knows though it’s still less than .01%.

A friend who is a missionary in China asked me the other day how long it takes for someone here to accept Christ on average after hearing the Gospel for the first time. The answer was years, not days or weeks. Actually the quickest I had known someone here to believe on Christ was after two years. The average is a lot more. That being the case, if I drop into a city where few have ever heard the Gospel and there is massive pressure against conversion, I can expect to sow more than I reap in the first few years of ministry. So what can I do? I can sow like a wild man. I can be creative and throw the seed out in as many ways as I can imagine. I can use internet, TV, mailouts, DVDs, booklets, New Testaments, friendships, …and a hundred ideas I haven’t thought of yet."

He makes a valid point here.  Sometimes as missionaries, we come to a country with preconceived ideas of what it is going to be like.  We see others who have thriving ministries in other countries and we desire to have the same. The desire is not a bad one as it is great to set goals in our life and ministry to strive for. However, it takes a mature, well-informed laborer to understand his/her field. Every place is different and understanding where you are is imperative. When you understand that you are in a place to sow and to sow and to sow, you will understand your purpose for being there and when you don’t have a church of 50 to 100 people in the first year, you won’t be discouraged, give up, and leave. Does that mean you suppress your desires for a thriving work? Of course not. But we must not be naïve or disillusioned and we must understand the field in which we work.

Deanna and I are part of a team here in Spain. Before the team came together and we knew that God was leading us to Spain, we understood the field of Spain and the need for sowing and sowing and more sowing. So God had placed on my heart various ministries and outreaches in order to sow the seed such as printing, mailouts, CD's, booklets, internet, etc. Right now we are working on the Gospel DVD project that will sow the seed in our city. 150,000 people will hear the Gospel on DVD. We are excited about this project. But what about the other cities of Spain? Who will sow? We all want to be reapers. But who will be the faithful sowers?

"5. Examine your methods

Here are some questions we all must ask ourselves: What could I do to get the Word out more? I’ve never seen a fish jump in a boat. But I have sat in a boat all day with my dad with only two strings in the water and caught just a couple fish. Could I put more poles out? Could I use a net? Am I utilizing every possible tool in the search for what works best in this culture? We have found that internet is a great way to find those interested in the Gospel here in North Africa. It may not be necessary in China but here it has catapulted our ministry years ahead of where it would have been otherwise. We’ve seen people saved and baptized and churches started through the internet outreach alone. What might work in your country? Maybe those little pink and grey tracts aren’t cutting it in your culture? Maybe?"

What works in America doesn't mean it will work in other countries and cultures.  God gives us the principle in his Word to spread the Gospel to all the World.  The interesting thing is that he doesn't set guidelines for "how."  Everything we do is a method.  This DVD project is a method.  Passing out tracts is a method.  Going to a park to talk to someone is a method.  Going door to door is a method.  We have to examine our methods and understand what is working for us.  When I say "working" I don't mean how many people are coming to Christ through what we do.  We must never forget that someone comes to Christ because GOD is working in his or her lives, not us.  God may give us the privilege to be the one who is present while they make their decision for Christ, but He is the one who has done the work, not us.  We never know who seeded and who sowed in that person's life to get them to the point where they are ready to accept Christ.  So when I say we must examine our methods to see if they are "working" what I mean is are people having the chance to hear the Gospel through what we are doing.  For example, if we found out that 99% of the people who received the DVD from this DVD project did not watch them, then we would seriously have to reconsider this method.  I have heard some preachers say that you aren't fulfilling your personal evangelism responsibilities if you aren't witnessing to people face to face.  This is simply not true and an unbiblical statement.  This places more emphasis on the person being a "soulwinner" instead of the word of God being the power of God that works in the hearts of people.  The pastor I was saved under was saved because someone placed a Gospel tract on his desk.  He read it, went home that night and accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior.  The Word of God penetrated his heart and did an eternal work.  Was that person, who placed the tract on his desk, not fulfilling his personal evangelism duty because he did not talk to him face to face? Of course not.

One man got saved after watching our Gospel DVD presentation. Was it any less valid that this man was saved by watching the DVD instead of someone personally talking to him face to face? Of course no; because it was the power of the Word of God that penetrated this man’s heart. God did the saving work. This man was saved, not just because of seeing our Gospel on DVD, but because of countless emails and letters from a friend who became a Christian 11 years ago here in Spain. God used all of these things to plant a seed and sow in this man’s heart to prepare it for His salvation.

The point is, we must examine our methods and get rid of all the “traditions” we have been taught about spreading the Gospel. Don’t’ misunderstand me. I am not saying that we should not talk to people face to face or spread the Gospel through traditional ways. I personally believe one of the most effective ways is being able to talk with those “in your world” i.e. your workplace, school, etc. What I am saying is that so many are caught up in the idea that the Gospel has to be spread “this one way” or we are not fulfilling our duty as Christians. This idea is false. As my friend stated, the Muslim world is coming to Christ heavily through Internet, TV, radio, etc.

So what will it take here in Spain? What ways can we think of to spread the Gospel and to sow and to sow and to sow even more to spread the Gospel to the 44 million people here in Spain?

If you would like to read the full post on my friends blog, go here.

Many people ask how they can pray better for missionaries. As I was reading in my personal devotions this morning, the following passage jumped out at me. This is not only how to pray for us as Missionaries but how we can pray for our fellow Christians in general.

Paul writes in the book of Colossians in chapter 1 verses 9-10:

9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

10That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

He starts by saying that they “do not cease to pray” for the saints and faithful brethren at Colosse. He goes on to say that they are praying for and desiring that that they might be filled with the knowledge of the will of God in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. We may know the direction that God wants us to go. We may know that God wants us to be a preacher, a missionary, serve in a ministry, etc. but are we “filled with the knowledge of his will” having all wisdom and spiritual understanding to daily walk the road that He wants us to walk.

Paul goes on to explain just what the knowledge of His will, all wisdom, and spiritual understanding is for.

“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

1. That we may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. Do we walk worthy and please the Lord in all we do? Is our focus more on pleasing men then pleasing the Lord? So much of what we do many times in the ministry or in life is done because of what others may think about us. It is done for the pleasing of man instead of the pleasing of our Lord.
2. Being Fruitful in every good work. If we are filled with the knowledge of His will, all wisdom and spiritual understanding, and we are walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, then we can be fruitful in every good work. When are works are done to man or for self gain, they are in vain. May we be fruitful in every good work.
3. Increasing in the knowledge of God. This should be our daily desire. We have been put on this earth to serve and glorify our God. He has sacrificed His life, the life of His only begotten Son to give us salvation from the bondage of sin. He is our Savior. We should desire to increase in the knowledge of God.
   

May we pray for one another, as Paul and Timothy did for the saints at Colosse, that we will be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

This past Saturday and Sunday we had our missions conference.  This little church supports 12 missionaries at 75 to 100 Euro a month.  They gave over 11,000 Euros to missions for 2008.  On Saturday, we had an international dinner with some great food from many different countries.  Spain, Peru, Columbia, Equador, Paraguay, the USA, and more were represented.  The food was great and Bro. Jack challenged us from the Word of God about our responsibility for missions.  The most exciting part was that we had 8 first-time visitors during the two day conference.

In Spain, this week is Semana Santa or Holy Week.  Most of the people will be off from work and will use this week as vacation.  Here in Spain, there will be many processions and religious events depicting the death of Christ.  Lord willing, I will be getting some pictures or video of some of it and will be posting more about this in the next few days.  It is sad to see this because most of this signifies the work that they feel they have to do as penitence for their sins.  Some will even afflict themselves physically as punishment to themselves.  What we are here to tell them is that they can have forgiveness for their sins through the work that Christ has already done on the Cross.  By trusting in Him, they can have eternal life and eternal forgiveness of sin.  

Pray for the special meetings that we will be having this weekend.  They will start saturday night.  My father-in-law will be preaching Saturday night.  Then Bro. Jack Loveday will be preaching Sunday morning and I will be preaching Sunday Night.  Please pray for these services.   

Each month, we meet one Saturday for a couples meeting.  No kids are allowed so that each couple can be encouraged in God's Word and think of the relationship they have with one another.  The meeting is also used as an outreach so that the couples of the church can invite other couples to come and learn how God wants us to live as husband and wife.  These meetings are a great blessing to all who come.  We usually do some singing, have some sort of game, someone teaches a bible lesson, and then we gather around a table to have food and fellowship.  This past Saturday, we had 10 couples (20 people) come to the meeting.  3 of the people, that we know of, do not know the Lord as their Savior.  We had a great time of fellowship, the Word was clearly taught, and the food was great.