Mario and Seily Lara

El Salvador

Mario is a native of San Salvador, El Salvador. He is part of a two man team that is currently working in Cuidad Real, near Santa Ana, El Salvador. Santa Ana is the 2nd largest city in El Salvador. He is a graduate of Baxter Institute. After serious health problem and a kidney replacement in 2008, Mario has recovered nicely and continues to work diligently for the Master.

Email Mario Lara at mariocruzlarahemandez

March 2010

BUILDING A BEST PLACE TO PRAISE TO GOD
The walls of our building are ready, and we hope  to get our main door on April.   Just, we are wating some contributions to  rise to pay it. So, we hope to have our firts meeting there a soon as possible, because we don’t have enough space where are renting. We know that we lack to the roof, floor, and others areas to our building.We are really blessed because one church gave us $50 but the specialy help is that they are building too.

WE ARE GROWING
God is blessing us. Every Sunday we have  specials meetings because have full place to praise to God, some times  we have 95 people coming. The  size of the area that we have our meeing is 5 meters by 10 meters. So, we are so happy because  this church we are celebrating five years since was stablished. The picture show praying for young couple.

CHILDREN
All the children our congretation were celebreting theirs birthday.  Some of them dont have a party, gifts, or positive word, because some of  them are poor, and some case the kids came alone to our church without theirs parents…Every tree month we have a cake, and natural juice. We will giving to next tieme a piece of pizza and coca-cola. My wife is helping to give the best all the children, and we are sure that they enjoying everyting, but specially a smile and love.

YOUNG PEOPLE
We have  guests staying at home praying, singing, playing scrabble, and spending a good time. This day a girl told us that she has cancer, and now we are looking how to help her. Seily and I will visiting, and encouraging to persuade toprach the gospel because she isn’t christian.

VISTING
Is a great blessing to visit to our brethren. Some of theme are sick or they need to be encourage.

HELPING
My mom and my wife always are triying to get clothes and food to brothers ans sisters that have hungry or needing clothes. This month we gave a family that they dont have water, electricity, and that they  dont have own house. I see Jesus when are doing something to them.

ABOUT THE NEW JOB
The 1st Wednesday  we started new group at home, with the purpose to feed to our brothers and sisters. They can’t to come to our meetings in between of the week. because they live so far from building church,  25 adults and 10 childrens were meeting to learn and about Jesus. All  group are family of my wife, and some of them were lukewarm, now they are happy because the Word of God is close of them.

CHURHES CHRIST UNIT
Friday 12th we  had a common meeting where preachers and leaders  have a meeting to think about  of most important meetings (National Seminar to Leaders and Preachers and The National Convention of Church of Christ)  and how we can to do something for sixteen churches. For example we are helping to preaching where don´t have a preachers full time…this month a preacher was helpin to open to other preaches their own email becuse some don´t have computer.

SPECIAL VISIT
This month we are so blessed with some visit our brothers from Honduras. Brother Ivan Martinez who was missionary here for five year and his family were encouraging us with the purpose of teaching and help our congregation. So, the director  of admissions from Baxter Institute was talking with a couple that I am promoting to be students the next year.

SEEKING AND TRIYING TO DO SOMETHING WHAT WAS LOST
The last year I was preaching the gospel to  man who was gangster…the last week he was killed for others gangsters, we have our meeting at home of his family. I pick up the  corpose, and helping his family.

ON MAY
I will teaching in the Biblical School located in San Salvador city.

ASKING YOUR PRAYERS AND HELP
The Lord will bless us to be able help to mission for a few more years to see numerical growth, but spiritual as well. So, please pray that we will be able to raise our budgest concerning our financial needs. So, we would like to have a Great Mission teaching the Good News of salvation brought by our Lord, Jesus Christ; provides medical care for the sick; builds houses and church buildings; distributes clothing, food, and other necessities; and seeks to improve the lives of people who are in need. I have share it with friend and brothers like Dean Sutphin from  VCOM and Blackburgs ChurchofChrist VA, and a preacher from UNA churchofchrist Nasville TN, and we hope to do something very soon.
May God Bless All Of  You Richly,
Seily&Mario Lara

February 2010

Dear Brethren,
I wish you grace, peace and love from  our God and Jesus Christ. I want to keep in touch with you and to inform you about the activities done by the church where I serve.

From the 7th  of February to the 2nd of March
Now in El Salvador the life is critical, and somehow has affected the normal development of our lifes. First of all the economy it is not so good because  the changes of new goverment are not so good (The hospitals don´t have medicines, the food and everything are very expensive). In the second hand the number of homicides in our coutry has risen, becasue many they cant´t to pay the extortions.  Some members our Church are paying to the criminals, others are members are intimidating to pay the extortion. The last year I received a call of the criminals to pay…but thanks to God, I and my family are ok.

But, God always have a goods news to us, and my country have the name of our  Jesus Christ (Saviour and spanis is “El Salvador”). The first Sunday of February the ladies group celebrated the baby shower of our sister Marlene. I am sure that this baby will be a member of the Church of Christ. Seily was giving some verses of the Bible and encouraging to our sister, Marlene was reciving gifts, a green container to take a shower of her baby.
 

So, this Sunday we were praying for our future building, and we started with walls. Just, we have for it, and a main door. We spent all our budget $2,700 to the walls, and $900 to the main door. But, we hope to continue giving constributions, and we hope recieved some help or friends, brothers and churches from out our church.
Sunday 7th we are prayin                      Wenesday 10th we beginning to build the walls
 
  
The second  week of Frebuary I was visiting to a lady who was transplanted a kidney
 
This a really blessing to me because I have been blessed, so I have the mission to talk about my experience, but the great blessing that I have is: “Pray and talk about the Almighty God and really so good”.

 Saturday 13th The Association of Transplanted Renal of El Savador celebreted the “The Kidney donors” I was saying some spiritual words to the doctors, nurses, transplanateds, and donors”. So, my sister Rubia donor was sharing and saying words about her experiencie and ecouraging to be “kidney donor”.
 

Sunday 14th I was preaching to couple of church of Christ (central church and founded by missionaries from United States in the sixty years). It was my first time that  I have preached a wedding.
 

The Third Week I was visiting two sister are sick they live 1oo miles from Santa Ana , they have cancer and kineys…with my mom, brother in law and my wife were praying for them and trying to help with somehin to them.
 
The fourth week  and the whole month I saw Jesus, and I was really blessed when I was visiting to members of Church. My mother got some clothes to our brethren. They don´t have basic needs, and they don’t have enough food to meet their needs… One family gave  us “bananas”, and a widow gave us some coins of 25 cents. She was celebrating her birthday, now she has 60 years. 25 cents per every year ($15) this money is to help to build our building.
 

On March we wil have a meeting in home of one family that have problems to come in the middle of the week. The purpose is to teach and feed to our brothers, and the future have one new church there.

Needs we would like to have a program to give food to the hungry, scholarship to our kids and youth, and someday a medical brigade. The last year brothers from Una ChurchofChrist  from Nashville, Tennessee and it was their first time that they were visited us.

Thanks God I am doing well. Just, I ask your prayers for my family and needs.
 
Through Him your brother,
Mario&Seily Lara

January 2010

I send you all Greetings filled with the wonderful love of Jesus Christ. Our prayer is that He blesses you all with peace, joy, and love.
 
DECEMBER 2009- Ivan Martinez and his family have finished  their missions here and they come back to Honduras. The whole church last Sunday of the year had a “Community Dinner”, where some church members gave some gifts recognizing to Ivan his family for their work done here in City Real. The whole church showed how much love them and shown them that their efforts were not in vain.
 

JANUARY 2010- New Year and *New Plans
*Seily and I begun  working with “Youth Group”. This group was under leadership of  Ivan Martinez.  This month we had a activity just across the street from a member of group, and we were invited some the neighbours. Every Saturday we will  are meeting in the church building, young´s houses, on the streets.
             

*So, I begun the Bible Studie at the Church. Every Thursday I am  teaching the book of “Colossians”. This is my first time that I am teaching this book and it is great blessing to me, and I hope that to the church too.

My Schedule: 
Monday: Take rest, and spend time with my wife and Geovanni.
Tursday:  Leading the “Day of Pray and Praise to God”. 
Wenesday: Helping in the meeting in the house of our brothers
Thursday: Teaching the Bible Studie to the Church
Fridays: Meeting with Preachers of Sixteen Churches to work and help us to preach the gospel
Saturday: Leading the Youth Group
Sunday: Worship  where I am preaching or teaching, and some times singing

Sunday afternoon: We have a meeting of Ladies Group, Leaders (Mens), Marriages, and with the whole family

The last activies:

On Sunday 31st we had the meeting to marriages, and we are discusing the movie “A Fire Proof”; I was taking and given four purpose to live day by day about the movie.

On Sunday 1st of Frebuary we begun with *the dream to have our building church with just a budgest of $3000, just to do the walls to close our property. We hope to have the meeting there a soon as posible. First of all we were cleaning the area where we want the walls.
 

On Sunday 7th We had a special meeting, I was preaching about “The plans that God have us” Jeremiah 29:11. Afeter our worship we let us to pray and bless the place wehere we want to build.
 

This day  was really blessed to see the children, youngs, adults, a woman has nine months pregnant, handicaps and elderly poeple, and we had a hot sunny day about 95°F. We want to remind you that we need a builiding to meet in, if you can help or  if a congregation or individual are interested in helping us reach this goal please let me know.

I would like you pray for our nations becasue we need more work to preach the gospel of salvations, many people are dying every day, and the number of homicides in our coutry has risen.

So, I ask your prayer about my needs. I am so happy because God is good always, my health is sood good, my wife is helping me and Geovanni is a blessing to me. So, the church is doing well. Just, I would like to share about a little worry about our budgest how family.

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

September 2009

I constantly praying for you, tha our God may count you worthy of His calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of the faith with power. I am praying for you,  Elane, and all brothers and sister of Maple Hill Church of Christ. Well, I apologize because you asked about the sermon that I had to preach…and I talked “A church nike”  based in Romans 8.37  say: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  The expression we are more than conquerors  is a traduction of Greek “hupernikomen”.  These expression are combined huper (huper) and nikomen the  meaning is: that we have the victory). I am so sorry if is dicult read my English. I would like if you see the cd with the reports? So, if you are OK? How is your daugther, Elane and all members of Maple Hill?.

About me, I can say that I am fine. The last appoint was satisfactory, just a result of the test showed a little alteration with my liver, but We need to hope the next appointment to know if I am OK. Seily, is so happy to help me. She is finishing his Thesis in the University. About Geovanni the Seily´s son, he is very good and every day growing. About him we had a process to adoption, please pray for it.

I want to ask special petition, if is possible. It is if we get the magic boxes to the children of El Salvador? The last year we didn´t to get it.

So, I want to ask special petition: Pray for our country because every day  the shadow of the darkness is affecting many souls.

Seily, say hello and that appreciate you.

May God bless you!

in Jesus,
Mario Lara

PD: I am working to share the next report.

–
“known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything” 2 Corinthians 6 :9-10

Cuidad Real, El Salvador, Update

From 1st of February to 31st of March 2009