Jan
29
Jan
28
Jan
28
Let it Snow
It is Thursday January 28, 2010 and I am writing my article. On the minds of many people is the impending bad weather that is suppose to start late tonight and continue on throughout the day on Friday. The weathermen have been talking about the possibility of accumulating snow all week. While there are some who are skeptical about this actually taking place, there are others who are convinced that bad weather is a reality and we better prepare to hunker down. When you read this article you will know whether or not we had the predicted 3-4 inches of snow. Some will make special trips to the store to stock up on items just in case they are unable to get out. School systems are keeping an eye on the weather. There just seems to be a heightened awareness of the frozen precipitation.
The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica and gave them some advice that we need to reflect on. “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” I Thessalonians 5:6. When we believe a warning, it affects our behavior. It’s true in every area of life, including our walk of faith. When Paul wrote to these Christians, he was reminding them that the day of the Lord would come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night (I Thessalonians 5:2). His call to them was a call to action. He urged them to avoid spiritual lethargy. He also felt compelled to remind them to be alert and self-controlled. It is interesting to note that Paul’s challenge echoed Jesus’ own words when He urged His followers to watchful and ready, “for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). In essence, Christ as well as Paul by inspiration forecasted the return of our savior. It makes me wonder how many of us are heeding this forecast, or have we grown like so many who say it is not going to happen today. It is to the point that if we believe our Lord’s word about His coming, will it affect our thoughts and our actions today. Will we better prepared for his coming. One writer stated that it is time “every Christian should be an expectant uplooker, not a sleepy onlooker.
I ask myself this Thursday morning, am I going to be ready for the snow that has been forecasted? Then I need to ask myself and even more important question, am I getting ready for Christ return. Maybe, just maybe, I need to spend more time in His word and talking to Him in prayer
Jan
22
January 2010
Greetings to you all and Happy New Year! We hope that this Newsletter find you well. Our 2009 ended on a great note, the
addition of Salter Rodriguez to the family here in Pohnpei. The day after his baptism Rebecca wrote an e-mail to a few of her friends
about Salter and I thought it was so good that I wanted to share it in our newsletter so here is the account of Salter’s baptism in Rebecca’s
words*..
A little over a week ago, I got a phone call from someone who could barely talk who wanted to speak to Scott. Scott wasn’t home, so I
told him to call back after one hour. He did and Scott found out
that this man, named Salter, had listened to our radio program
and wanted us to teach him. Come to find out he is only 35
years old. He had a stroke when he was 31. He barely gets
around and is very difficult to understand. However, his mind is
incredibly sharp and he can see well enough to read his Bible.
He just can’t turn the pages.
Anyways, we studied with him a couple of times and immediately
felt close to him. He is just one of those people that you
fall in love with the minute you meet them. Scott gave him a
ride home from the hospital last week and Salter told Scott that
he wanted to be his brother in Christ.
Last night Salter came to church with us for the first time. I
wish you could have seen how helpful the members were with
him getting him into and out of our truck, especially one 17
year old brother named Alidger.
Scott’s sermon was on the plan of salvation and during
the invitation
song Salter raised his hand. He wanted to be baptized right then.
We spent a couple of hours last night carting the brethren around looking
for a good spot to bring Salter into the water. It is difficult here in Pohnpei
because we don’t have a lot of places where you can just walk into the ocean,
especially for a stroke victim. Eventually, the Lord provided us with a good
spot. We had to make sure it was clear of sea urchins first and then two of the
men, Charlie and Velerio, very carefully brought Salter into the water and baptized
him. We didn’t even need a light to see because God provided us with a
very bright moon last night and a clear sky full of stars. All of the brethren were
beaming from the awesomeness of this man’s determination to be saved and
in my short 4 and a half years here, this might be the most beautiful thing that I
have seen.
It just goes to show that people who are truly searching for truth, will find it.
Contact Information:
Scott & Rebecca Shanahan
PO Box 2467
Kolonia PNI 96941
Federated States Of Micronesia
scottshanahan
rebeccagrace22
Overseeing Congregation
McDonough church of Christ
Jan
22
December 2009
Greetings in Christ our beloved brothers and sister,
We can all praise our Lord and Father in Heaven for His love and many blessings as we strive each day to walk according to His will. Thank you for your continued love, support, prayers to help men and women who are hungering and thirst for righteousness.
Fourth aniversary 2009 has been a really blessed for the church here in “City Real” Santa Ana, El Salvador. Since January to December we have had 29 baptisms. We are so glad because the church has started again to grow. The attendance is increasing and now we are gathering about 90 people every Sunday. This encourage us a lot since in the few past the attendance was very low, but now the church is willing to invite their friends and family to the worship and the several activities we have had. We don´t have enough space, and we need to move another place.
To reach more people were some seminars for couples and we have invited many friends to come and they have liked the way they have heard the message and some of them have stayed. So, we had Evangelistic Campaigns, Community Dinner at Park, and small group at house, Knocking on the doors our neighborhood, Biblical Studies.
The meeting in the house of our brothers have given us many results and several families are attending this small group at “La Reina”, in this place living families have a few possesions, for example some of them don´t have water, electricity, houses, education, jobs, etc., but they have hope, faith, love and salvation in Jesus
We shared with brothers from Una Church of Christ our plans and dreams about to have our own building where the church can congregate. They were praying for it. In the pictures you can see the place where we will want to build. We already have US$ 3,000 that the church here was been able to raise. If you could help us that would be wonderful, or if you know about somebody who would be interested in helping us with this project please let me know. We need a wisdom and some ideas to build.
My personal job
In City Rreal I am working with the leadership to give some responsabilities to preach, teach, sing and pray. Every Tuesday I have the blessing to lead “Day of Singing and Prayer”, and I am visiting, encouraging, preaching, teaching and doing something to the Kingdom of God. So, I was teaching in the Bible Shcool of San Salvador the Capitol of El Salvador, where I had 40 students. Classes taught were for the Basic Year; Chronology of the Bible and History and Geography of the Bible. Also, I have meeting with the leaders of 16 churches, and we are working to have many different activities, for example in November 8th we were praising together and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. So, I am a member of the Committed to do The National Conferences to Leaders of Churches of Christs. The same way I am the Vice President of the Asocciation of Kidney Transplant , and I am visiting to patients will be have received a kidney to pray and said positives words.
Our Supporters
By God’s generosity, we have been blessed to have met all of our annual
expenses during the last year including your help to repair our car, help to buy some medicines, and help to pay the surgery of kidney transplant. We sincerely thank you for continuing to be partners and supporting the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please keep us in your prayers, and pray for our Country because the number of homicides has rirsen butcher.
Specials Needs: Sunday School materials, Resources to evangelize (pamphlets), Have our own building, Resources for the families of poores (Scholarships and a program of “Beans and Rices”). So, We would like to get a Projector (new or that is second hand).
We continue praying for all our brothers and sister of Maple Hill, and your Country.
God has assisted us and he is good all the time. Thank your Lord!
For His Cross,
Mario&Seily Lara
Jan
22
2009 December
Dear Brothers and Sister at Maple Hill,
It is a joy to report you the work what we have done through all this month. God has blessed a lot Guanacaste Church with so many blessings and we trust God that this New Year 2010 will be better than last year.
In this month the main topic to be preached was: The obedience
Activities:
• December 2
Brother Joe and Brothers and Sisters from U.S.A. arrived to Tegucigalpa for Baxter Graduation, I went to the airport to receive Brother Joe, by afternoon Brother Joe invited Ericka, Andres and I to dinner with him, and we had very good time with him.
• December 5
We were at Baxter’s Graduation sharing very good time with Brothers and Sisters from different places, Mario Lara and his family came and they stayed in our house, we were so happy to have them with us.
• December 6
We worship at Baxter, the place was full of Brothers and Sisters from different countries and also cities of Honduras, and we had wonderful time praising the Lord.5t
• December 7
We said good bye to Brother Joe, Juan Carlos Santamaria and his family and my family and I as always it was hard for us to say good bye but we were so happy that we had the opportunity to share very good time with Brother Joe.
Jan
22
2009 year end
MISSION WORK REPORT
Marvin Tercero, Bogotá – Colombia
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Hope that our God and Lord is blessing you with all spiritual blessings from heaven we greet you with a hug from the distance. This is a new year and with this one, new blessings, mercies from our God and opportunities to be better. We thank Jesus Christ, for let us end another year and be able to start another one. Last year was full of blessing and great manifestations of God in our lives and the church.
Marriage Seminar
One activity that was a great blessing to the Church was the Marriage Seminar. We invited the brother Pedro Sanchez from Santiago Chile. He is an elder of the Church of Christ in that city. He was used in a powerfully way by God to teach us great lessons about marriage life and how to build our homes over the Rock. We had four days of seminar; two of them we were in Veraguas Church of Christ, and the other two in our congregation at 13th avenue Church of Christ. We got about 20 couples for the four days. The brotherhood who attended this activity said that they were very blessed with the Word of God and it had been very helpful for their marriages. We thank God and the brother Pedro Sanchez for this opportunity of sharing.
Farewells
As you may know, for this May 2010 will have spent seven years since we arrived in Colombia with the mission of establishing a new congregation of the Church of Christ. Time has passed so quickly. The departure time has come for some of our mission-mates. Luis and Claudia Betanco left on November 16th, to Leon, Nicaragua where they are from to continue serving God at a small congregation of the Church in that city.
For us, as a team, and the Church itself was a time of great joy the time the Betancos were with us. They left an indelible mark on the life of the congregation. Certainly their teachings and example will remain in the memory for many of our brothers who welcomed them as their own families. And the time to say good-bye was a very sad day for the team and the Church. The Church organized a little activity for them to express their gratitude and affection for many years of service.
Same happened with Samuel Diaz who left on December 14th. Undoubtedly, Samuel will be remembered for the whole congregation for his special personality; but above all, for his honesty and his desire to help and support those most in need. Samuel is now in Honduras the country where he was born and his plans are continue the serve to the Lord in a congregation of the Church in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
We pray for the Lord bless them as much as they were blessed here in Bogotá. And hopefully we will see each other soon.
Let me tell you that my family and I have decided to stay until November 2011, since we have seen the need of the Church, and that is not healthy for the Church to leave them now. Please be praying for the development of the leaders and the whole congregation.
Ibero-american Preachers Encounter in Costa Rica.
I thank God the opportunity that He allows me to be part of the XXVI Ibero-american Preachers Encounter in Costa Rica. It was a wonderful time of sharing and opportunity to getting to know many of our brothers and sisters around Ibero-America, since about 17 nations were represented in that event. I was invited to lead and teach songs which I really enjoyed. You cannot imagine the joy I had when I saw many of my friends I had not seen for almost seven years. I thank God for that and because God spoke to my life during those days in a very special way through some of the preachers and their speeches.
Graduation
I had the blessing to be part of the second grade of the Music School where I am teaching now as a teacher. God has been so good to me for letting me increase my experience working with the chorus of the school and teaching Vocal Techniques. I also received an international degree in Art, Music and Choirs. I thank God for all He has done in my life.
Raquel’s Graduate
Little Raquel graduated from Kinder-Garden and now she will pass to the grade that here they called “transition”. It is a year before go to elemental school. Thank God for her life and the achievements she is getting in her life.
Thank you very much for all your love and kindness to my family. Thank you for each prayer for us and the mission here in Colombia. Please continue doing it, we need it so much, since we have seen God’s hand in our lives and the Church. I hope this New Year brings a lot of blessing and happiness to every one of you.
Because He lives,
Marvin Tercero and Family.
Jan
22
December 2009
DICIEMBRE
The wish of this congregation for you is grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is of much joy to inform you of our activities in this month, which the Lord helped us to do.
We had the privilege, while having a thanksgiving service at our sisters Maria Luisa and Alejandrina, widow of Gomez, for her son’s first year of life. Because of the time of the year, different activities were organized for children, which were of great blessing and uplifting, they had a contest on all they had learned during the trimester.
According to the program we made for this year, during this month, every week end we went to visit hospitals to pray for the sick and their families, and take them some coffee and bread. This we did after 10 p.m.
Such activity was motivational for our brothers, and being aware of spiritual and material needs in those places, we decided to continue with the commandment of James 1:27 the last weekend of each month. We ask your prayers so that the church may not faint in this purpose.
Also, the last Sunday of December, the ministers signed a pact of work with God. We send attached the work program for 2010, and pray to be able to apply it.
In Christ,
Mario Tobar Dubón
Church of Christ work plan 2010
We will have a prayer book to write down petitions to have them in mind on prayer nights Fridays and in fasting
Every first Sunday of the month we will begin with prayer and fasting
- For new ministers
- For unity
- For projects
- Specific situations
- Book of prayer.
We will have printed cloths to remember fellowship principles
Do not criticize, do not condemn, do not complain, show sincere appreciation, smile, avoid discussions, be friendly, accept your mistakes (one per month.)
We will be ending the month with a pact. We’ll start February 28 with a pact with God, on march 28 with married couples, and the other months with the brothers, looking forward to stimulate fellowship.
We will organize a retreat for march 13 & 14
The Purpose driven life seminar will be given from January 18 until February 26 (every day). A certificate will be given to each one that finishes the seminar.
We’ll start Monday meetings for motivation looking forward at work and being ongoing. We’ll start Monday, march 1st.
The new work group will be formed by the following ministers: Marleny, Marto, Zonia, Telma, Mario, Mauricio and Freddy.
There will be another work group in charge of organizing all the activities that the ministers plan: Jaime, Douglas, Iris, Estuardo, Ernesto y Jorge Mario. We’ll call them “The Motor”.
In august we will be having as guests at our congregation 9 other congregations with the purpose of unity (approximately 1,500 brothers).
Having in mind the beautiful experience of sharing in hospitals, this year we will be putting to practice James 1:27’s commandment, the last Saturday of each month. One minister being in charge each month.
Taking advantage of traditions on the calendar, we want to turn them into opportunities to preach the gospel. Two ministers in charge of this.
With the purpose of evangelizing and planting the word of everlasting life, we will be organizing an evangelistic campaign in June 19 & 20 with the theme: The end of the world. Another campaign will be in October 16 & 17, with this theme: Heaven or Hell.
We will be having evangelistic house meetings starting
March 6 in Satelite with Pu family
April 10………………
May 1 ………….
June 5 ………..
July 3 …………
August 7 ……..
September 4………..
October 2 ………….
November 6……..
December 4 ……..
Being aware of the necessity, we also will be having a seminar for preachers and new preachers to prepare more brothers in this area. Sisters will also be invited to participate. The seminar will be given by an invited brother on April 17 & 18.
Wednesdays and Fridays will be prayer meetings throughout the year. Beginning Wednesday, March 3 and Friday, March 5.
The ministries of visitation, benevolence and evangelism will be on the go.
In Christ Jesus:
Yoee Rodríguez and Zonia de Rodríguez.
Noviembre
Dear brother
Receive our Greetings in the Lord, from the Church of Christ in Lo de Coy, Mixco.
It is a pleasure for me to tell you about the work that is being done in the church here thanks to the blessing that you share with me.
In November I decided to strengthen the message that the church receives, by visiting the brothers in their homes, dividing my time among reinforcing the brothers and evangelistic work, using Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Thanks to God I was able to visit 12 homes. Working on Wednesdays and Saturdays, I was able to meet and evangelize: Juan Guillermo Gómez, Julio Oroxon, Sebastiana Canel, Pedro Tambriz and Alexander Vásquez. I ask your prayers for them, so the Lord my give the growth of His Word in their hearts.
We had a thanksgiving service at the home of our sister Alba Marina widow of Martínez, because God protected the life of her grandson after falling from 20 meters. To God be the glory.
It was also of great joy for the church that young Luis Fernando Vásquez came to our worship service the first Sunday of November, since he was absent for health issues during a whole year.
With help from God and other brothers we were able to have a special activity in the home of our sister Norma Vásquez de Alonso, after finishing the study we gave her. We trust and hope in the Lord that this family may turn to the Lord.
In Christ Jesus,
Mario Tobar Dubon
Octubre
It is a great blessing to be able to greet you once more in the Lord, asking Him to always protect and bless you.
Thanks to God’s blessing, we were able to share on October 4th with different congregations a special worship service for unity among churches in Mixco. This activity was held in a park, and our children and teachers also had participation.
We want to share the news that in the Lord we have new brothers:
Brandon Santizo,15 years old was baptized on october 4,
Jaime Hernández, 60 years old, was baptized the 14, and
Paulino castellanos, 94years old was batized the 25th.
Please keep them in your prayers.
Our children had their Bible school season’s end, in which an exam was made to the congregation regarding what they had learned during the period of classes.
To maintain harmony and fellowship among the members, we had a recreational activity on the 18th; it was a great experience for children, young ones and adults.
It is also a pleasure to tell you that our ladies are active in their ministry; they had a special trip to an ecological park, and both single and married women participated, and some of the men helped to take care of children.
Having in mind the program for the year, the church visited the orphan’s center with children that are HIV positive. This was a memorable experience, and we were able to share benevolence with this center. All of the groups of our congregation participated.
By God’s blessing, we continue to study the evangelistic course with 6 people, and we are visiting and encouraging members in general, and giving follow up to those who where baptized with the “My first 40 days” course.
We always thank you because it is thanks to the Lord and your effort that this congregation is being blessed.
We already installed the gate from the side of the street, so now our children and our belongings are a little safer.
In Christ Jesus,
Your brother
Mario Tobar Dubón.
Jan
22
Jan
21
When Things get worse
During the past couple of weeks, I have received numerous phone calls, visits and emails from people who are deeply moved by the tragedy that has struck Haiti. When hearing of the destruction, my first concern was for our missionaries family who still live there. Two days latter, I received word from Desil Besias that his family was all OK. There has been one story after another of a dramatic rescue followed by a story of the human tragedy that continues to unfold.
In Jeremiah 12:5 the weeping prophet had this to say; “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” In chapter 12 we find the prophet of God complaining about matters. Then the Lord told him that what was currently experiencing was like running with the infantry. But what lay ahead for him would be like trying to keep up with the cavalry. In Jeremiahs situation, treachery on the part of his own countrymen, as well as famine, natural disasters, and invasion by ruthless enemies were in store for him and his people. To say the least, the future did not look bright for Israel. There was however a ray of hope that penetrated the darkness of the day. If the Israelites (and even the cruel Pagan invaders) would repent and put their trust in God, they would be restored and be able to bask in the sunlight of God’s favor.
I don’t know why things happen as they do. I do know that God is still in control. I do not know what it is like to suffer as much as those of Haiti are suffering but I do know that God still loves each and everyone. I do not know all the good that will come from this tragedy, but I do know that the hearts of many throughout the world are reaching out to help. I do not know what impact our helping will make in Haiti, but I know that God has touched our lives to help those who are unable to help themselves. Let each of us continue to resolve in our hearts to run not only with the footmen but also the horses. Let us resolve to never grow weary of doing good. Let each of us never forget that troubles no matter how large they are, seem smaller when you remember the greatness of God. We need to be reminded daily just like those of Haiti need to remember that the final outcome will be glorious for all who trust in God.
Prayer Thought: Help us to be generous in our prayers and giving to the people of Haiti