Monthly Reports...
- Wimbledon
/ London ( England )
James Orten
9005 N 134th East Avenue
Owasso, OK 74055
918-274-3797
jdorten@aol.com
- Report on the
Work in London, England
2-15-04
- Brother James Orten
recently returned from a trip to Britain to visit with a congregation in
the Wimbledon section of London that worships just as we do. Wimbledon is
a nice southern suburb of London that is famous for its international
tennis matches. Brother Orten said this group of about 20 adults meets in
a nice conference room in the YMCA. When these brethren do not have
Sunday night services, they meet with the oldest Church of Christ in the
city, which is in the Kentish Town section of London. Brother Orten was
able to preach at Kentish Town on Sunday evening. He reports, "These are
folks I have known for a long time. They worship as we do except that
they break the bread. Billy and I studied with the main brother in
Kentish Town back in 1988 when we were on our way to Ghana. The Wimbledon
brethren think Kentish Town may be amenable to change on breaking of
bread."
- The following is a
brief history of the Church at Wimbledon as reported by Brother Orten.
- "As I understand it,
these folks have been in contact with American brethren for many years.
The senior couple in the group was converted from Catholicism about 25
years ago by an American preacher of the group we call ‘digressive.'
Through the years, they soured on that group because of what they
perceived as looseness on Biblical matters. About ten years ago they got
in contact with a brother who is no-exception on the marriage question.
They still have contact with him occasionally and appreciate his
conservative views. Much more recently they contacted us via the website
operated by David Risener. Then about seven months ago, on their own as
far as I know, they changed their communion to one cup and one unbroken
loaf. I don't think they ever had Sunday School. At the time of their
change, they removed their listing from a digressive church website and
asked David to list them on NewTestamentChurch.org. The church is led by
the senior couple mentioned above, and they are strong and devout. There
are several young couples and single adults. The husband of one of the
young couples is a new teacher. One of the young adults is a regular
reporter for a London newspaper."
- Brother Orten was
well-received by these brethren and urged to come back and work with them
on a short-term basis. He found them to be enthusiastic about personal
spiritual growth and the need for good, strong teaching in the Church.
One of the young women acknowledged she had not been faithful and made a
commitment to change her life toward the Lord. Several of the young
adults also were very enthusiastic after hearing a sermon on spiritual
growth.
- The Wimbledon
congregation is now listed in the
&ID=1038&State=Other Countries&Area=London">Church Directory on NewTestamentChurch.org. There is also a link to
Wimbledon's website, which contains directions to their meeting place.
You are urged to worship with this faithful congregation when you are in
the London, England, area.
- In His Service,
David Risener P. O. Box 57 Sulphur, OK 73086 817-710-4291 voice 817-473-6164 fax
gospel@NewTestamentChurch.org
http://www.NewTestamentChurch.org
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- History of Work [not currently available]
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Ballard, Randy
14811 Shadway Drive
Houston, TX 77084 USA
1-281-656-2612 home
randyballard@sbcglobal.net
Member of: Fairbanks Church of Christ-
Final report
on recent trip to South America
Brother David,
Thanks for sharing these things
with folks on the email list. Below is my final
report on the recent trip to South America:
Surprisingly I am writing this
from my own home! I say surprisingly because we
were not scheduled to return until Monday, but on
Friday afternoon we received word that Brother
Juan's father was in the hospital in
Mexico following a heart attack and was in very
serious condition. There is only one flight per day
on Continental from Quito Ecuador to Houston, and if
we didn't come home today we would have had to wait
until Monday. We decided to come home so that he
could make arrangements to travel to be with his
father. Thankfully, we have heard that his
condition is greatly improved!
In my last report we were about
to leave Cajamarca for Lima, where we spent several
days. On Saturday night Pablo Paredes, a neighbor
of one of the sisters in the church there, obeyed
the gospel. Brother Pablo is 90 years of age! On
Sunday morning the husband of that same sister was
baptized, so we rejoice with the Alamedes
congregation as they welcome these new members to
their family. These were the seventh and eighth
baptisms since our trip last October.
Sunday afternoon Brother Juan
preached at the Zancudo Alto congregation in Lima.
A sister there had requested that he teach on the
Lord's Supper as she had invited some relatives who
worship with individual cups. We found out later
that night that eight baptized members of those
families had been convinced of the truth and will be
meeting with the Zancudo congregation!
We had intended to go to a town
in the Amazon jungle called Tarapoto and visit a
group of Christians there, but an uprising of
indigenous people was under way and a number of
people were killed. Flights were even suspended for
a couple of days. I called the American Embassy and
they strongly advised me against travelling there.
In fact, they told me it was in their restricted
zone and if I were kidnapped they would not be able
to do anything to help. So we decided to postpone
that trip until another time.
Perhaps that was for the best as
we wound up studying with several denominational
folks in Lima and good progress was made with a
couple of them.
On Wednesday we left for Ecuador
and spent a couple of days in Portoviejo and
Ambato. In each place we had the privilege of
meeting with several of the members as well as
outsiders, and we discussed the work with preachers
in the area, answering questions and offering
suggestions.
The brethren in Ibarra, which was
our final stop, had planned a study involving
members of three congregations for Saturday
afternoon, and rather than cancel that in our
absence they decided to carry on and conduct it
themselves. We will probably try to return in the
next few months to give more time to that area.
A final request: In Ambato we
studied with a young lady, 29 years of age, who has
epilepsy. She is very bright and was easily
convinced of the gospel, but she is discouraged and
feels alone due to her illness. I got her mailing
address (she doesn't have email) and promised to
find some folks to write her. If you would be able
to write or send a card let me know and I'll send
her information to you privately.
Thanks for your prayers for the
work of the church all over the world. I am humbled
to have had the privilege to witness first hand some
of the good things that are happening. May the Lord
bless His people everywhere.
Randy
PS It sure is good to be home!!!
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South America Report
6-11-2009
I just wanted to send a quick update on our
trip. Juan Rodriguez and I arrived in Lima Peru
Monday evening and flew to Cajamarca the next
morning. This is a place we visited back in October
and met a lot of good folks. One group was meeting
in a home several miles outside of town and were
Pentecostal. We visited back then about numerous
subjects (ie mechanical instruments, the Lord´s
Supper, etc). The young man who moved here from
Lima in January, Angelo Morales, has also been
working with them. Some of their members had been
baptized scripturally many years ago but wandered
off into denominationalism. Others had not been
scripturally baptized. Last night the man who owns
the house where they meet was baptized, along with
his wife. He is 73 years of age. What a joyful
sight to behold!! They now have a sign on their
house that reads, in Spanish of course, the church
of Christ meets here.
Another young man here was a Pentecostal preacher
and worked at the local radio station. He became
convinced of the truth by listening to some of the
sermons preached on the air by Brother Angelo. The
station management refused to let Angelo preach any
more on the radio and fired the other young man.
That fellow was Ronal, the brother of the cab driver
we met last year. Today HE was baptized for the
remission of his sins, so the church here is
beginning to grow. We visited in the home of the
taxi driver, Julio, today and met his family. They
have also been attending the worship services but
have not yet obeyed the gospel. We have great hopes
that they will very soon.
We will be leaving for Lima in the next few minutes
(they just told me the cab is waiting outside now)
but please remember this work when you pray. We are
also seeking a congregation that would be willing to
help with some of their expenses. Angelo receives
$450 per month in support and he pays $60 per month
to rent a building to meet in. He has printed his
own tracts and song books. We also met with the NEW
management at the radio station and arranged for him
to have a one hour program every Sunday for about
$35 per month. As you can see, $100 or so would go
a long way here. Please let us know if you can
help.
Hasta luego,
Randy
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Rodríguez Jr., Juan
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Nellie Rachel, daughter
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Juan III, son
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Joshua, son
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Daniel, son
- 2104 Guaymas Ave.
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Laredo, Texas 78046
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(956) 729-8638
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juanjr2005@sbcglobal.net
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- TRIP TO SOUTH AMERICA
ECUADOR AND PERU
May 17-28, 2007
Brother Wayne McKamie and this writer went to South America, to visit the
congregations in Ecuador and Peru. We met in the Mexico City airport on May
17th and went directly to the Copa Airlines counter to get our boarding
passes to fly to Ecuador. The lady asked me for my visa to get into Ecuador.
I told her that I would get it in Ecuador, as I have been getting it that
way in past trips to Ecuador. But she said no, the laws have changed and you
need to get a visa before going to Ecuador. She says you need to go to the
Embassy of Ecuador in Mexico City and get one, but you have to do it
tomorrow because today they are closed. She said, but don’t worry it is very
simple, you may get it tomorrow and come back at this same time and you can
board the same flight, at this time, going to Ecuador.
I don’t know what she meant by “very simple”, because it was not very
simple. We had to make calls everywhere, and calls to the Embassy to get the
information, go to a public Internet service and get the information from
their Web page. We had to get pictures made, ask the brethren in McAlester
to send me a letter stating my support, copies of my passport, bank
statements from my account in the States, etc, etc. The next day we were in
line at 6:45 a. m., waiting for the Embassy to open at 9:00 a. m. to get a
number and apply for a visa. Thanks to the good Lord we got the Visa that
same day, Friday 18th. We called Copa Airlines telling them that we were
ready to travel to Ecuador Saturday morning, but they told us that our
reservation for the whole trip had been cancelled, and that if we wanted to
make the trip they had to reschedule our trip, and that we had to pay $
200.00 dollars fine for changing the date of departure. (That was OK, as we
had changed the day). And that we had to change the day of returning back
from Lima to Mexico City from the 28 to the 29. And of course we had to pay
another $ 200.00 for that change in Lima. And then we would have to pay in
Mexico City another $ 200.00 for our connecting flights back home. Can you
imagine, having to pay $ 600.00 extra!
Well, we got on the phone and for almost two hours, I talked to different
people from Copa Airlines trying to convince them that they were wrong, that
their system was wrong. Three ladies hung me up until finally I talked to
the supervisor and explained him our mission and the reason for our
traveling to South America. He told me that he realize that the system or
policy of the company was unjust and not fair, but those were the rules, but
that he would do his best to help us. Well, he helped us all the way, as
they did not charged for the change of day in Mexico City and he sent us
from Guayaquil to Panama City and from Panama City to Lima on first class.
And he kept the day that we were supposed to leave Lima for Mexico City. The
Lord helped us through this good man!
Ok, finally on Saturday morning, May 19, we left Mexico City and arrived at
the Quito Airport in Ecuador at 3:00 p. m. We got a taxi to take us to the
bus terminal in Quito to get a bus to take us to Ambato, about two and a
half hours ride. We went to the hotel and called brother SegundoVillacis,
the preacher in Ambato, to let him know that we had finally arrived in
Ambato.
On Sunday, we worshiped with the brethren in Ambato. We had a good service
and Brother McKamie preached a great sermon to encourage our brethren.
Brother Villacis is blind but he does a good work with the small
congregation. But he really needs somebody to help him as he is limited
because of his blindness. But at least there is a faithful congregation in
Ambato, where the work in Ecuador started several years ago.
After services, we went back to Quito, as we had to go to the Embassy from
Peru in Quito, on Monday. (Oh no, another Embassy, no more please!)
Sunday night, we met with Brother Eloy Alfonso Moreno from Ibarra, Ecuador,
at the hotel where we were staying. We were planning to visit him in his
town, Ibarra. But we had not time to do it because of the visas problem. So
we called him to meet us at the hotel. I remember that we had another
interviews with Brother Motta and Villacis, several years ago, in this same
hotel.
Brother Eloy Alfonso was converted from digression several months ago and is
now meeting in his home at Ibarra. He helped to establish the church in
Portoviejo, along with brother Motta, when they were with the cups. Brother
Moreno has a lot of Bible knowledge, is very active, and wants to preach
full time in Ibarra, Ecuador. Brother Motta recommends him as a good
preacher.
On Monday, we went to the Embassy of Peru and after a day’s hard work at the
Embassy we got my visa to get into Peru. Again, we had traveled before to
these countries and we could get the visa upon arrival. But the laws have
changed and we did not know about it!
After we got the visa, we went to a travel agency to purchase our tickets to
fly from Quito to Manta in Ecuador, to visit the brethren in Portoviejo. We
paid a little extra so that we can be sure and secure our flight for the
next day at 6:00 a. m.
On Tuesday, we got up real early to be on time for our flight for Manta. We
were on line at 5:00 a. m. just to found out that we had no reservation for
that flight. They told us that we had to be put on waiting list. We argue
and argue but we were put on the waiting list. Finally we board the plane. I
remembered Brother Waymond B. Coleman from San Antonio, who would say that
he would get things done but always the “hard way”. We arrived at Portoviejo
and visited with the brethren in that city. There are basically two families
left in this place. They have a real nice building, chairs, pulpit, and
these two families, but they really need somebody to go and work with them.
There is a brother, Victor Quiroz who wants to preach, but he needs a lot of
training. We had a good service with the church in this place. I presented
the lesson and they were encouraged to continue faithful. They are meeting
regularly.
After services, we took a bus to Guayaquil, in Ecuador, about 3 and a half
hours ride. There are a lot of curves on the road, and about half an hour
after we left Portoviejo Brother McKamie felt bad because of the curves,
with upset stomach and vomiting. I felt terrible, but I guess he felt worst.
Finally he went to sleep and felt better. We arrived at Guayaquil at 9:30 p.
m. and went directly to the hotel and to bed, as we had to leave real early
for Peru.
On Wednesday morning we left for Lima, Peru. We arrived at the airport in
Lima at 2:30 p. m. Brother Motta, his son Hernando and a young brother
Heaven, were waiting for us. We took a taxi and went to a hotel that Brother
Motta had chosen for us. But it was in a bad neighborhood, we had to climb
the stairs to the 4th floor, and it did not have a bathroom in the room. So
we decided to go and look for the hotel where we stayed two years ago. After
resting for a few minutes, we got ready to make the trip, of one hour, to
the building as they had services at 6:00 p. m. I had the privilege of
presenting the topic. We had a nice crowd with several visitors. Even the
taxi driver attended services. After services he took us back to the hotel
and we had the opportunity of preaching him on the way, for an hour!
Thursday morning we went to visit with brother Motta in his home. He has a
real fine family. He has a good wife and good kids. According to him, he is
the problem! Ha! He had been sick with some kind of nervous problem, but he
is doing better. He is a great asset to the work in Lima. He is very active
and a good preacher! He is doing a good work with one of the churches in
Lima. They have built a nice building and have a real nice group of people.
They meet in an area called Alameda.
After lunch with them, we went to visit some people; one of them was a young
man with terminal cancer. We studied with him and his mother. She attended
services that night. That night brother Mckamie presented the lesson. We had
a great service! After services, wee took another taxi back to the hotel and
preached to this young taxi driver. He was our driver for the rest of the
trip.
Friday morning we went to visit the other congregation in Lima, Zancudo
Alto, where brother Anyelo and his father Pedro Morales are in charged of
the congregation. We visited in their home and had lunch with them. Anyelo
is a very active young man and dedicated to the cause of Christ. They have a
good congregation. In the afternoon we visited with sister Maribel and her
family. She is a very dedicated Christian woman who has a large family, most
of them members of the church. They have been in the church since we started
it several years ago. Brother McKamie preached that night. We had a nice
crowd of people. On the way back to the hotel, we preached again to the taxi
driver. Brother Juan, a Colombian member of the church, had to go with us to
kind of protect us, on our way to the hotel. When we will get to certain
parts of town, the taxi driver had to lock all doors and roll up the windows
and drive with care because of the danger of being robbed.
Saturday morning, we went back to Zancudo Alto to visit people and study
with several members that had gathered at the Morales home. I did the
preaching that night. We had another good crowd and good service.
On Sunday, we preached at both places, Alameda and Zancudo Alto. We had a
complete day!
On Monday morning, we took the taxi to the airport but stopped at Brother
Motta’s home to eat a bowel of soup. We board our plane back to Mexico City
and arrived there at 11:30 p. m. The next morning we took our planes back to
our homes. Well, Brother McKamie flew to Houston and then to Waco. And I
flew back to Nuevo Laredo, where I took a bus to Monterrey, as we had a
meeting with the church at Santa Catarina, to help them with a problem that
they were facing. Some were trying to introduce classes for the children and
women. The Lord helped us and they understood that there is no teaching in
the Word of God for classes for children or to divide the assembly. After
the meeting, I spent the night with Brother Sergio Correa and his family and
the next day, Wednesday, I left Monterrey to Nuevo Laredo to get my car and
drove all the way to San Antonio.
We had a great trip to South America! The Lord blessed us in this trip! We
trust that much good was accomplished. As Brother McKamie said it: “On this
trip, we were able to preach publicly, from house to house, and from taxi to
taxi”.
We want to thank very, very much, the church in McAlester, Oklahoma and
Brother Bill Verner for helping us with the expenses of this trip.
Pictures: Click
HERE
In His service,
Juan Rodriguez Jr.
Wayne McKamie
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- Cuba
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Rodríguez Jr., Juan
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Nellie Rachel, daughter
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Juan III, son
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Joshua, son
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Daniel, son
- 2104 Guaymas Ave.
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Laredo, Texas 78046
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(956) 729-8638
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- REPORT ON THE TRIP TO
CUBA
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January 17-29,
2005
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By Juan Rodriguez Jr.
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On January 17, Brother
Leobardo Gaytán, member of the San Pedro congregation in the Monterrey
area, and this writer left for Mexico City to spend the night and meet
with Bro. Jaime Contreras, preacher in Mexico City, to leave the next day
to visit the churches and preachers in Cuba. On Monday night we had a
meeting with the three preachers in Mexico City, as they were having some
doctrinal problems concerning the marriage situation. We studied with them
for three hours and solved the problems.
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On Tuesday morning
Brethren Jaime Contreras, Leobardo Gaytan and this writer left for the
Island. We got to La Havana, where Bro. Orlando Dago, preacher at Puerta
de Golpe congregation, and Juan Carlos, a taxi driver, were waiting for
us. We traveled to Pinar del Rio for two hours where we spent the night.
Before going to the hotel we stopped at Puerta de Golpe and had supper
with Bro. Orlando Dago and his family.
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The Lord blessed our trip!
We were able to visit 15 congregations and visit all of the preachers in
Cuba. There were 6 baptisms and two more that were going to be baptized
when we left for the airport. We were able to take them 120 bottles of
grape juice and their support. We lost almost $ 200.00 in the exchange
rate. The Cuban Government decided that they were not going to use dollars
in the Island. So, once you get to the airport you must exchange your
dollars for their money – “convertible dollar”, but you have to pay 10%
for that. We had a Study with the 16 preachers in the Guantanamo province,
in the city of Baracoa. We believe that the work was strengthened by our
visit and we are happy to say that the work in Cuba continues to go
forward, in spite of the oppositions of the devil, and the conditions in
the Island. Each preacher is doing his best to preach the Gospel. Of
course they have their problems and needs like any other work on the
earth, but they are on the right track. We lost one preacher; he went back
to the cups. We had to stop his support. Now, I will explain how we use
our time in the Island:
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On Wednesday 19, we spent
the whole day studying with the three preachers in the Pinar del Rio
province: Orlando Dago, Osmani Planas and Jesus Marrero. We discussed
about the work in their area and made plans for the good of the work. We
also were able to visit two congregations: Finca Tirado and Puerta de
Golpe. At night we had services at Puerta de Golpe. We had a good crowd. I
preached “The New Birth”.
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On Thursday 20, we rented
a car and left on our trip to visit the congregations on the East part of
the Island. Bro. Osmani Planas was able to go with us on this trip. We
drove 6 hours and got to the Ciego de Avila province, where Bro. Reynaldo
Planche lives. We visited with him and his family and made plans to go and
visit the brethren at Ceballos, a congregation in a rural area, about 30
minutes out of the city of Ciego de Avila.
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On Friday 21, we all went
to visit the brethren at Ceballos and had a good service. Bro. Jaime
Contreras preached a good sermon. The Lord blessed our efforts and we
baptized two ladies. We went to a little dam and asked permission to
baptize them. We all rejoiced and sang songs of praise to the Lord! From
Ceballos we went to eat lunch with Bro. Reynaldo and his family and on the
afternoon we continued our trip. We spend the night in a place called
Bayamo. It was getting late and we were tired.
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On Saturday 22, we
traveled to Jiguani, in the province of Granma, about one hour form
Bayamo. In Jiguani, there were three preachers waiting for us: Enrique
Mora, Javier Pelegrino and Ramon Mongui. In this area there are four
congregations: Jiguani-Centro, Jiguani Arriba, Jiguani-Abajo and Baire. We
visited the preachers and went to visit the congregations. In this place
we lost one preacher. He went back to the cups, and was teaching the
congregations in this area to go back to the digressive worship. We
studied with them and decided to stop support to this preacher. From
Jiguani we drove to Santiago de Cuba, about 2 hours, to spend the night.
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On Sunday 23, we drove to
Palma Soriano, about one hour from Santiago de Cuba to worship with the
brethren. In this area there are 5 congregations: Reparto 8 de Marzo, Nito
Ortega, Irijoa, Bam Bam, and Reparto 13 de Marzo. There are 5 preachers:
Rafael Leiva, Raul Romero, Primitivo Garcia, Luis Verdercia and Jose Raul.
We all worshiped at Nito
Ortega at 10:00 a.m. Jaime did the preaching. From there we went to Bam
Bam to another service at 12:00 p.m. I preached and three decided to be
baptized. We all went to the river and Bro. Raul Romero baptized them.
After lunch, Jaime and Leobardo went to Reparto 8 de Marzo to meet with
the brethren there. Osmani, Luis, Raul and I went to Santiago de Cuba to
meet with the newly established congregation. This congregation was
established back in November 2004. Brethren Luis and Raul are taking money
from the contribution in their congregations in Palma Soriano to come to
this city to preach the gospel, and now there is a faithful congregation
in this city. There are six members in this place. This was the old
capital of Cuba. It is a big city! After services in Santiago de Cuba we
went back to Palma Soriano to pick up Jaime and Leobardo and drove back to
Santiago to spend the night. It was a long day; we were tired but happy!
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On Monday 24, we drove to
Baracoa, in the extreme of the Island, about 6 hours. We got to the home
of Bro. Juan Carlos Samon in Baracoa at 6:00 p.m. We had supper with them,
planned the work for the next day and went to look for a room to spend the
night. There was not lights in the city and we could not find a room.
Finally we found one, but Osmani could not stay with us, as he is Cuban
and they are not allowed to stay where tourists stay. So, we had to look
for another place for him. Finally he spent the night with Bro. Juan
Carlos.
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On Tuesday 25, we had the
Preachers’ Study with 16 preachers in this area. We had a good Study. I
presented the topic “the Work of an Evangelist”. It was well received and
there were a lot of questions. It was a great meeting. Sure was good to
see a lot of preachers willing to carry out the great commission to the
lost. In this area there are 16 congregations: In the cities of Guantanamo
and Baracoa, and around this city and up in the mountains of Baracoa. At
night we had services at one of the congregations in the city of Baracoa.
Bro. Jaime did the preaching. Again lights went out and he had to preach
with the aid of a very little petroleum lamp.
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On Wednesday 26, we left
Baracoa early in the morning to go back to Pinar del Rio. On the way back,
we stopped at Palma Soriano and had lunch with them. We also stopped at
Jiguani, to visit the brethren there. In this place, we studied with one
lady and she was baptized by Bro. Jaime. She will be meeting in
Jiguani-Centro. We left Jiguani and drove to Camaguey to spend the night.
This place is kind of half way between Baracoa and Pinar del Rio.
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On Thursday 27, we left
early morning and drove to Ciego de Avila, where we visited Bro. Reynaldo
Planche again. We had a good visit and continued our trip across the
Island. We finally got back to Pinar del Rio at 8:00 p.m., just in time to
return the car and receive our deposit and go to services at Finca Tirado,
where Bro. Jesus Marrero is the preacher. We had a good service, two came
forward to be baptized. Bro. Jesus Marrero is doing a great work in this
area. He established this congregation in March 2004, and baptized 10
people during last year. He also baptized three more at Ovas, another
congregation in this area. We had supper with them and went to the hotel
to get ready for the next day to leave the island.
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On Friday 28, we got up
real early and packed everything and met with the taxi driver, Juan
Carlos. He took us to Puerta de Golpe, to say goodbye to the preachers in
this area. Again Bro. Orlando Dago went with us to the airport in La
Havana. We took our flight at 3:30 p.m. and got back to Mexico City at
6:30 p.m. From the airport we went to the hotel to spend the night.
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On Saturday 29, we took
our flight back to Saltillo at 9:45 a.m. and were in our home at 11:30
a.m.
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We want to thank the
Almighty for allowing us to work in His vineyard, and for helping us in
this trip. We also thank the brethren who make possible this work and
supported us to make the trip (McAlester, Oklahoma and Irving, Texas). May
the Lord richly bless them is our prayer. The work in Cuba needs our help.
They need song books, Bibles, printed material, grape juice, support for
preachers. Please let us help them! We are planning to go back in June of
this year to take them grape juice and visit them again. Please pray for
the work in Cuba!
|
Trip to Cuba
June 30-July 12, my brother Elías and I went back to Cuba and were able to visit
the work in the Island. And we are happy to report that the Lord is blessing the
work in Cuba. There are now 30 congregations and 32 preachers. There were 10
baptisms during the trip. We are now working in six of the provinces in Cuba.
But, like in any new work, there are many needs. One of the main needs is to be
registered with the Cuban Government, in order to be a legal Church in the
Island. They also need tracts, Bibles, songbooks, grape juice, etc. But we pray
that the Lord will provide. We are very grateful to the Irving, Texas
congregation for coordinating this work and for their financial help, but the
work is growing more than what we expected that we need your help. If you are
interested in supporting the work in Cuba, please let us know. You may write to
Bro. Bruce Bailey of the Irving congregation or me.
-
|
- New cong. in Baracoa.
|
-
|
- Congregation at
Baracoa, Guantanamo,
CUBA. Bro. Juan
Carlos Samon is the
Preacher in this cong.
|
-
|
- Group of Baptist (8)
that were baptized
during the trip, at
Jiguani, Granma.
|
- -------
- First Preachers' Study in Cuba
July 2002
- We held the first Preachers’ Study in Cuba on June 13–14,
2002. We preached for eight congregation. There were ten baptisms during the
trip, and three congregations were converted from the cups. There are now
sixteen congregations in Cuba! We thank the Irving congregation for sponsoring
this work. Pray for the work in Cuba.
- Juan Rodriguez, Jr.
-
- The Work in Cuba: 3rd Trip to the Island
January 2002
- December 4–14, my brother Elías and I went to Cuba. We were
able to visit the preachers in the Pinar del Rio and Guantanamo provinces. We
also had the opportunity to visit with five new preachers in another province,
Granma. We studied with them and they decided to accept what the Bible teaches
on the Lord's Supper and other subjects. These men represent three more
congregations that were converted. One has 75 members, Dos Palmas, another 25,
Jicotea; and the other 15 members, Jiguani. So, at the present there are
thirteen congregations in the Island with nineteen preachers and leaders, and we
are now working in three of the fourteen provinces of Cuba. The Lord has really
blessed that work. We had the opportunity to study and visit with all of the
preachers and six congregations during our trip. We were able to baptize five
people into Christ, one at Baracoa, and four at Puerta de Golpe. The work is
going well and is progressing despite opposition from the digressives and the
oppressive economic situation of the country. We are really happy that the
Irving, Texas congregation is sponsoring this work and is supporting all of the
preachers (except for three that are being supported by Bro. Burd from San
Diego).
- We want to thank the congregations at Atwater, California and
Irving, Texas for helping us with the expenses of this last trip. Elias was a
great help during the trip. He is a hard worker and wants to go exactly by what
the Book says. I really enjoyed traveling with him. One of the urgent needs is
grape juice for the Lord's Supper. We are not able to get it into Cuba. We have
talked to the Cuban Embassy and they are supposed to help us on this problem.
The Church also needs tracts, song books, and Bibles. The only problem is to
know how to ship it into the Island. Please pray so that the Lord supplies these
needs.
- We are planning to go back sometime in May or June. We are
thinking of having a Preachers' Study with all of the preachers at one place. I
think that at this stage of the work it is necessary to study with all of them
and try to seek unity among all of the Churches. They need a lot of teaching on
many subjects. But they are very sincere and want to do what it is right. Please
pray for this work!
- In His service,
- Juan Rodríguez Jr.
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
-
Dominican Republic
-
Murl R. Helwig (contact)
-
7446 Saddlewood St.
-
San Antonio, TX 78238
-
(210) 523-1864
- No current report
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
- Ecuador
-
Ecuador Report 12-19-03
-
-
Jonathan Bunner
Mary Cruz (wife)
Apartado Postal #18-01-241
Ambato, Ecuador
011-593-342-0096
-
Dear Brethren,
It is hard to believe that Marycruz, Sarai, Abraham, and I have been in Ecuador
for a year. On December the 10th we celebrated our first anniversary here in
Ambato.. Time really does fly!
In a year four families were converted from the "cups" church and three people
were baptized. In January brother Segundo Villacis was converted from the cups
group and along with him came his radio program. He and his program have been a
great help for the work in Ambato. I admire brother Villacis because he is blind
yet every morning he does the radio program live from 5 am to 6 am. Besides
brother Villacis, brothers Segundo Chiliquinga and Vicente Villafuerte and their
families were converted from the cups church. All three of these men are good
teachers and have been an excellent help to me and the work in Ambato. Also in
January brother Hernando Motta, who is a full time preacher, was converted from
the cups church. Brothers Juan Rodriquez, Mike Criswell, my father, and I met
brother Motta in Quito in November of 2002. We studied with him and he took some
time to think about what we had studied, and in January made his stand with us.
Brother Motta is now starting a new work in Machala, Ecuador.
Here in Ambato we have Bible studies with 33 people. The interesting part is
none of these 33 adults are Christians. Of the 33 adults, only 11 have attended
worship service at least once. The number of people with whom we have been
studying for more than six months is 17. These 33 people come from different
religious beliefs, and some do not practice any religion. For example, we have
studies with Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, Pentecostals, and one Nazarene
preacher.
We just finished our first gospel meeting in Ambato. Brother Juan Rodriquez from
Mexico did an excellent job preaching God's Word. Brother Juan preached on
Friday December the fifth through Sunday the seventh. The meeting was very
uplifting to me and all the brethren here in Ambato. We had visitors from the
community and a brother from the "cups" church visit us on Saturday. We were
very happy that brother Juan, Irma and Amy could come to Ambato. After the
gospel meeting, brother Juan stayed in Ambato a few days to help us in our
weekly home studies. He was a great help to us in Ambato.
On Thursday, the 11th of December, Juan's family and mine left Ambato for
Machala, which is an 8 to 9 hour bus ride. (Machala is 45 minutes from the
border with Peru and is the banana capital of the world). That same evening we
held a Bible study with three young people who attend a Pentecostal
organization. Juan presented an excellent study for them to meditate on. Brother
Motta invited other people to a Bible study, but they did not accept his
invitation. On Sunday morning our three families worshipped in Machala.
While in Machala we worked hard to get the homepage going once again.
Thankfully, Brother Motta's oldest son helped us to get that back online. For
several months the homepage was offline, but is back for good.
Please feel free to visit the homepage:
www.iglesiadecristolatina.com
...Even if you do not speak or understand Spanish, there are several pictures of
the work in Ecuador, Peru, Cuba, and Mexico. We are blessed to have several
homepages all working together to spread the gospel to a lost world. Thanks to
David Risener and many other brethren, the truth is finally reaching places that
were neglected before. Two years ago we did not know of any faithful
congregations in South America and now there are at least three congregations.
Keep up the good work!
We pray that 2004 will bring more lost souls to the truth. Please pray for us in
Ecuador and the work all over the world. May God bless you!
In Him,
Jonathan Bunner
-
--------------
-
Rodríguez Jr., Juan
-
Nellie Rachel, daughter
-
Juan III, son
-
Joshua, son
-
Daniel, son
- 2104 Guaymas Ave.
-
Laredo, Texas 78046
-
(956) 729-8638
-
VISIT TO THE CHURCHES IN ECUADOR:
February 14-17, 2003
On February 14, we arrived to Quito, Ecuador at 11:30 p. m. from Cali,Colombia,
where Bro. Jaime Contreras, preacher in Mexico city, and this writer had been
for two days studying the word of God, with several families that had invited us
several months ago. The word of God was sowed and we trust in the Lord the it
will bring forth fruit according to His will!
Bro. Motta and his wife Rocio were waiting for us at the airport and from there
they took us to the hotel and later they invited us to go to their home to drink
some Colombian coffee for Jaime and some tea for me. We talked till 1:30 a. m.
and they took us to the hotel.
On Saturday morning we had a real good study with the family of Carlos and
Teresita, members of the cups church in Quito. We studied about the Lord’s
Supper and they understood very well what the Bible teaches on this subject. So
they decided to meet with us on Sunday, at Bro. Motta`s home, as the cups church
had disfellowshiped him. Sister Teresita was very sick with bronquitis and I had
to give her three shots, Saturday, Sunday and on Monday
morning.
After lunch we took Jaime and Bro. Motta`s family to the monument "the middle of
the world", in the outskirts of Quito. It was interesting to put one foot on the
North Hemisphere and other foot on the south Hemisphere.
After this, we continue studying and talking with Bro. Motta and his family, to
encourage them to continue faithful and be strong against the attacks of the
"conservative brethren". We believe that our visit was a great help to them. We
made plans for the next day, the Lord’s Day and we went to hotel.
Sunday was a beautiful day as we were able to worship in Spirit and in truth, in
Bro. Motta`s home with his family and the family of Carlos and Teresita. We had
a real good service. I had the privilege to preach for them! The Church of the
Lord is in Quito! We give Him the honor and glory!
As soon as finished the morning service, we left for Ambato to visit the
brethren in that city. After their morning service, they had planned a meal with
the Church and were waiting for us. It was good to be with the brethren in Ambato and a great pleasure to see our dear Jonathan and Marycruz and their
family. We miss them in Mexico! It was good to see the complete Ortiz
family to continue faithful, and others that we had met in other trips. And even
new brethren that have been converted recently.
After the meal the brethren wanted to have another service. So Bro. Motta and
Jaime did the preaching.
Jonathan and Marycruz are doing an excellent work in Ambato. He has his hands
full. And if Bro. Motta moves to Peru, Jonathan is willing to go to Quito every
Sunday to take care of the brethren there, until we can send another preacher.
During our trip to Peru with Bro. Motta, Jonathan went to Quito to preach on
Sunday.
Bro. Jonathan is preaching on the radio every Saturday, for two hours, from 6:00
to 8:00 a. m. in the morning. Bro. Segundo Villacis Torah is in charged of this
program on the radio. He preaches every day from 5:00 - 8:00 a. m. This brother
is a Lawyer and is blind but it is working hard for the Lord, preaching on the
radio and helping Jonathan. He was converted from the cups.
>From the meeting place we went to visit with Jonathan and Marycruz, in their
home, had a cup of tea and left for Quito after dark. On the way to Quito we had
a flat. We finally arrived to Quito, very tired but happy as we had enjoyed the
Lord’s Day with the brethren in Quito and Ambato. The next day we left for Peru.
May the Lord continue to bless the Work in Ecuador and please pray for our dear
brethren Jonathan and Marycruz and their little ones!
- ---------------
-
Billy Dickinson
(contact)
-
2850 N. Oakland
-
Springfield, MO 65803
-
(417) 864-8879
- New Congregation Established
July 2002
- We are pleased to announce the establishment of a congregation in Ecuador
that worships according to the Bible pattern. On July 13, three precious souls
were baptized into Christ due to evangelistic efforts by Juan Rodriguez, Jr.,
Danny Crooks, and Paul Ortiz. Paul Ortiz, a native of Ecuador, is a student at
Southern Missouri State University. Paul lives with one of our members, Danny
Crooks, and he obeyed the gospel in August of 2001. When some of Paul's family
showed interest in knowing more about the Lord's Church, we asked Juan to
correspond with them, and he did.
- Believing that we had received a modern-day "Macedonian call" (Acts 16:9), we
began to lay plans for a mission effort. The Northside congregation in
Springfield, MO asked Paul and Danny to make the trip because Paul would provide
contacts with family and friends, and Danny is fluent in the Spanish language.
We had no doubt that Juan was the right preacher for the job, and we were
convinced that Danny and Paul would aid him in this work.
- Paul arrived in Ecuador on July 1, while Danny's arrival was on July 5. They
worshiped for the first time in Paul's parents' house on Sunday, the 7th. In
total, there were eight people present. This was a good beginning. Juan flew in
on July 9, and the next evening they had their first home study. Paul's parents
invited some people over to study the Scriptures and 30 people showed up! After
renting a building across the street from the bakery owned by Paul's mother,
they began to hold services from July 11-14. Danny wrote the following in an
email to me: "We went to the local radio station to see about getting some
commercial spots to advertise the meeting and they sent us directly into the
room with the guy who was doing the news live. Juan gave him a copy of the
announcement that he immediately read on the air and without any notice, put
Juan on the radio to interview him about the Church and what subjects will be
discussed during the meeting. Turns out (without any of us knowing beforehand)
that Paul's Dad is the station's accountant and because of that, they would let
us put the announcements on the air and let Juan talk live on the radio." They
also advertised the meeting in the paper with great results. Thursday night, 16
adults were present. Friday night, the number grew to 25. Saturday night, 35
people were in attendance. Sunday morning, 22 adults were present. The best news
is that Paul's mother, one of his sisters, and his 84-year-old grandmother
obeyed the gospel on July 13. Please pray for these babes in Christ and that
this will be the first of many congregations in Ecuador! Juan and Danny have
returned home while Paul is still there.
- Paul is scheduled to return to the States on July 30. The following is our
tentative plan for the near future: Randy Tidmore has agreed to go the first
part of August and will be with them the first two Sundays of that month. Then,
Juan Rodriguez, Jr. will return on the third weekend of August. He plans to have
a preacher from Mexico with him who will move to Ambato and work with the new
congregation for an extended time. Brethren, we are expecting and praying for
great things in Ecuador. There seems to be unlimited potential for growth in
that part of the world. Juan also had contact with a cups church in the area,
and a man from that congregation worshiped with our brethren last Sunday (July
21). Please pray for this new work! If there are congregations that might be
interested in helping financially (if that should become necessary), we would
like to hear from you.
- Billy Dickinson
-
- History of the Work [not currently available]
-
-
-
Tony Melton
-
Norma (wife)
-
Joshua (son)
-
James (son)
-
P.O. Box 1241
-
West Chester, OH 45071
-
(513) 860-3308
- El Salvador Report
January 2002
- The work in El Salvador began after we were contacted in
Honduras by a brother from the Salinas congregation in California. This brother
is from El Salvador. He had family members who were associated with the
digressive church in and near San Martin. After visiting, San Martin, and
visiting with these people, we decided that God had opened a door of opportunity
for us. Brother Jose Molina moved there in early 1995.
- Many members came out of digression and others obeyed the
gospel while Jose worked there. Now seven Churches are meeting there. All the
congregations worship in Spanish. If you want to know more about the work,
please contact Tony Melton or Raymond Fox.
- Tony Melton
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
-
Tony Melton
-
Norma (wife)
-
Joshua (son)
-
James (son)
-
P.O. Box 1241
-
West Chester, OH 45071
-
(513) 860-3308
- Guatemala Report
January 2002
- After receiving a lead from one brother in El Salvador, we
visited Escuintla Guatemala. After arriving, we were put in contact with a
leader of a digressive congregation. He allowed us to meet and preach in his
congregation one Wednesday night. After hearing about our differences on the
Lord’s supper, one leader, who was visiting that night, stood up and said that
he had believed in using one cup for years. That night the leaders told us that
they were interested in following the Bible pattern. During the next few months,
we continued to speak with them by telephone, and decided that this would be a
great opportunity to take to truth to that country.
- The work in Guatemala began around May 1998 when Juan Aguilar moved to
Guatemala and began working with the congregation in Escuintla. Since then he
has had several baptism and five other congregations come out of digression with
one later returning. We now know of four faithful congregation meeting there.
- All the congregations speak in Spanish, and none are able to communicate in
English. If you would like to know more about the work, please contact Tony
Melton.
- Tony Melton
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
- Honduras
-
Tony Melton
-
Norma (wife)
-
Joshua (son)
-
James (son)
- P.O. Box 1241
-
West Chester, OH 45071
-
(513) 860-3308
- Honduras Work Report
January 2002
- On December 17, I returned from a visit to Honduras. The brethren there are
all doing well and send their greetings to the Churches here in the United
States.
- After arriving in Honduras on Thursday, December sixth, the brethren asked me
to preach at services that night; then on Friday we visited several members,
some of which were out of duty. We endeavored to encourage them to return to
Christ. Also, I was blessed with the opportunity to preach the gospel while
visiting.
- Saturday, we traveled three hours to Julticalpa, a city in eastern Honduras,
and visited with the brethren. While there, we attended the wedding of Angel
Lagos, the preacher who works there. That night after the wedding, we traveled
on to the city of Catacamas, and spent the night, and on Sunday we met with the
Church. We had a good crowd with visitors, and the brethren asked me to preach.
We left after lunch, and arrived back to Tegucigalpa late on Sunday afternoon.
- On Monday, we spent the whole day buying food and preparing for the
Preachers’ Study. Two preachers came from El Salvador, two preachers and one
leader came from Guatemala and eight preachers came from Honduras along with
several leaders. This was one of the best studies we have had. We heard 13
topics presented on important Bible subjects. The topics were very well
delivered, and the question-and-answer sessions were very productive. I could
see lots of growth and spiritual maturity among the preachers. The study lasted
until late Thursday evening, and then all the preachers stayed for the worship
service in Tegucigalpa.
- I spent the next three days visiting with the brethren. Then on Sunday I was
able to preach at both congregations in Tegucigalpa, and visit in the homes of
three families.
- This trip was very encouraging to me, because I was able to visit and study
with the preachers. I appreciate the Church in Joplin, Missouri and the other
congregations who helped make this trip possible. May God bless you all. Please
pray for the work in Central America.
- Tony Melton
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
-
Jim Rogers
-
- 5962 Deerfield Road
- Milford, OH 45150
-
1-513-722-9499
|
-
Brian Burns
-
- 6891 Goshen Road
- Goshen, OH 45122
-
1-513-722-0728
-
|
-
Tony Melton
-
P.O. Box 2681
-
McKinney, TX 75070
-
1-972-736-6964
|
- Greetings to all,
-
- Having just had another
opportunity to visit the brethren in India, I am happy to
report that there is much good work being done, and good
results are being seen. The work is truly prospering as God
blesses their labors…with more than 50 congregations now
worshipping according to the New Testament pattern.
- This trip was a chance to see
firsthand what changes have occurred since my last report
(in 2004), so I was especially interested to see progress on
the issues I mentioned back then: preacher’s support (from
their own finances as well as U.S. help), meeting places,
baptisteries, Bibles, & long-term faithfulness in the face
of Hindu opposition.
- We were excited to see 34
people baptized while we were there, demonstrating the
diligence with which the message is being spread. More
encouraging is the knowledge that these are not exceptional
events - baptisms don’t occur only while we are visiting,
but are something that continues all year long.
- On this trip, I was especially
blessed to have my youngest daughter, Elizabeth, join us.
After I visited back in 2004, she began corresponding with
the daughter of one of the Indian preachers and determined
to one day visit India in person. She was able to save
enough money to join us on the trip this time, so she not
only got to see a country and culture halfway around the
world, but also meet her “pen pal,” Neal (daughter of
preacher Luke mentioned in my 2004 report). Brother Lazarus
told us the brethren let him know she was a blessing and
encouragement to many sisters in showing her love by
traveling so far to meet them, but I think it was definitely
a two-way street as she received a special blessing from the
wonderful people of India! In fact, she was asked to choose
the name for one dear sister’s new baby, truly a wonderful
honor!
- As I mentioned, the work has
grown to more than 50 congregations spread over a relatively
large area. The state of Andhra Pradesh was the beginning
point, but now there are also congregations in the
neighboring states of Karnataka and Orissa. Given road
conditions in many places, it is best to measure distances
in hours rather than kilometers or miles. From the main
“metropolis” city of Hyderabad/Secunderabad (population
about 5 million) it’s about 10-12 hours south by train to
Bangalore, where a congregation now meets. On the other
extreme there are congregations out of Hyderabad about 10
hours in the other direction. So, a “travel time” distance
of about 20-24 hours separates these brethren.
- This growth into new states is
a mixed blessing – bringing challenges as well as
opportunities. The biggest challenge within the country,
believe it or not, is language. In Andhra Pradesh the
principal language is Telugu, whereas in the neighboring
state of Orissa it is a completely unrelated language called
“Oriya.” In the state of Karnataka it is “Kannada,” which
is related to Telugu but with significant differences.
There are, in fact, some 22 languages spoken throughout
India, and many of them are so unrelated to each other as to
make communication between fellow Indians nearly impossible
unless they each know a common second language!
- This presents some unique
challenges, as illustrated by the preacher’s Bible study we
participated in for 3 days at Secunderabad. When a visiting
preacher from Orissa state (brother Hanok Nayak) was asked
to conduct one of the services, he could only do so by
speaking English and having someone translate into Telugu
for him! In other words, the language barrier makes it very
difficult to communicate between states within their own
country.
- As a result, the level of
cooperation between brethren in neighboring states will
likely be somewhat limited. In effect, it means that as the
Gospel spreads from state to state the overall work in India
will tend to become several “regional” works only loosely
related to each other. This will be a good problem to have,
though!
- What we saw this trip was an
encouraging level of cooperation among the brethren, with
those from great distances still sharing in the work
whenever necessary. As I alluded to earlier, for 3 days we
participated in a series of studies on various topics.
Preachers from many places made the trip to Secunderabad for
them, and we even had some preachers from the multiple cups
congregations attend all three days.
- One of my favorite memories of
this trip happened on the 3rd night, while I happened to be
teaching. About 15 minutes into my talk the electricity went
out all over the neighborhood and we were plunged into the
dark. Brian and Tony (being seasoned veterans and prepared
for such things) each quickly pulled out a flashlight, so I
borrowed one and continued preaching by sharing the light
with my translator, brother Rajasekhar. At that point,
several preachers let it be known they were upset they could
no longer take notes and would miss what I was saying, while
others pulled out their cell phones and took notes by the
glow of the display! Such devotion to the Word was truly
exciting to see, though at the time I thought only of how
difficult preaching by flashlight can be!
- As I inquired about men so
devoted as to take notes by cell phone light, I found that
many are only able to preach part-time since they must work
at other jobs to feed their families. As in the U.S.,
everyone’s situation is slightly different. I did find that
some are now being partially supported by their local
congregations, which is wonderful to see. Even if only a
very small amount, it is an encouraging step in the
direction of congregational maturity. We’ve been emphasizing
for several years the importance of becoming financially
independent from the U.S. for preacher’s support, and the
brethren are diligently working towards that goal.
- They still need financial help
and will for a while to come. Many congregations are still
growing in number but are not yet able to support a preacher
on their own. We look for a day in the future when that will
no longer be the case!
- Upon investigation what we
found repeatedly were cases where the preachers were holding
down a job and still doing what they could to preach the
gospel in their area. In that economy, $25-$50 per month is
a great help to supplement one’s income in areas outside the
large cities. Right now, there simply is not enough
money committed to helping these brethren for everyone to
receive even a little support, so there are many who receive
no U.S. help at all.
- If you or your congregation is
in a position to offer support to these men for a limited
period of time, it would be put to good use!
- As I mentioned in my 2004
report, these brethren have a unique challenge due to the
tremendous influence of Hinduism in their culture. Just like
the city of Athens from Acts, the presence of idols
everywhere is simply overwhelming.
- In the past year that
misguided devotion has begun to manifest itself in violent
ways. Nationally, there is a political movement opposed to
any attempt at converting Hindus. In some states of India,
they’ve actually pushed through laws making it illegal to
evangelize within so many meters of a Hindu temple (which
seem to be everywhere), or for a person to convert from
Hinduism without first getting government permission! While
these laws are being attacked in court, the cases will drag
on for some years, I suspect. This means our brethren must
be extra careful as they share the Word of God.
- In the past year these
anti-Christian people have waxed bold in some areas further
north of Andhra Pradesh, attacking denominational church
members and preachers, destroying places of worship, having
preachers jailed for “forced conversions of Hindus,” and the
list goes on. Even one of our own preachers (brother Hanok
mentioned earlier) was attacked last year in Orissa state by
some Hindus, and hospitalized as a result. The persecution
possibilities are very real for our brethren in such places,
and still they preach the word.
- Brother Lazarus responded to
the question of persecution by quoting Jesus, that we all
must be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” So, they
spread the Gospel in a way that tries to keep the peace
while being effective with the truth – concentrating on home
studies with friends and relatives of existing members. So
far, the violence has spared our brethren for the most part,
but please, keep them in your prayers!
- Also, as we’ve mentioned
before, many Hindus have the mistaken idea that baptism
washes away sins in a literal sense - leaving them behind in
and polluting the water. So, in their ignorance they have
consistently tried to block access to any water source that
might later be used by themselves or their animals.
- A plan to ease that situation
by constructing what the brethren refer to as “baptism tubs”
has begun to bear fruit. These are basically concrete tanks
about 2 ½ feet deep, built wide and long enough for two
people to climb into for baptizing. Wells must be drilled
for the water supply since there is no running water in most
places. Several of these are being constructed as funds are
available, in locations where they can be a shared resource
for those congregations within reasonable driving distance.
As we traveled the country we saw several recently
constructed ones put to good use. It was easy to see what a
blessing they are and how grateful the brethren are to have
them available. It not only prevents the possibility of
offending any Hindus (always a sensitive issue) but makes
the most efficient use of available funds to benefit as many
as possible. More of these are needed, though, as funding
permits.
- A continuing need is for what
they call “prayer sheds”. This is a general term meaning any
structure designed to get them out of the weather. Part of
the year, brethren can meet outdoors if necessary. When the
monsoon season comes it gets pretty difficult to worship
since most live in homes that cannot accommodate much of a
crowd inside. Other congregations have constructed thatched
roof structures that are fine part of the year but leak in
the rain, leaving the dirt floors covered in mud or standing
water. There is therefore a need in many places for a
permanent, weather-proof shelter for worship.
- Most permanent structures in
India are made from concrete and brick – wood is simply not
available for building construction. A typical prayer shed
will have concrete and/or brick walls with a corrugated roof
made from some sort of asbestos-based material. The floors
may be compacted dirt or poured concrete. Windows are
usually without glass, but allow air to circulate. The
people will sit on the floor so chairs are unnecessary.
Usually, individual brethren at each congregation contribute
their own labor to the task to save on the cost.
- Even with all that, by local
standards, they are not cheap; so getting a prayer shed
constructed is a challenge. If anyone is interested in
partnering with one or more congregations to help them get a
prayer shed constructed, this is an opportunity to help! I
have found the brethren to be very conscientious about using
whatever funds they are given, and commend their needs to
your prayerful generosity.
-
- The question now is what can
be done to help the Indian work for the long term?
This is a great and growing work that we must be diligent to
support. While we at the Goshen congregation believe the
wisest course is to avoid creating artificial
reliance on “foreign aid” from American brethren, we
recognize the reality that confronts us. The next few years
looks to be a period of time where our help is essential to
them, as they are simply unable to provide certain things on
their own. The congregations continue to grow, but are not
yet able to be “self-supporting” financially. Their various
needs (preacher support, baptism tubs, prayer sheds,
communion sets, etc.) have already exceeded our ability to
supply over the next few years.
- The brethren in India share
with us a common goal of establishing a brotherhood of
fellowship within their own country that can meet each
other’s needs, but that time is yet in the future. Until
then, if anyone is able to help, please contact one of us
for more information. The brethren in India send their
greetings and covet your prayers for blessings on their
labors.
-
- In Him,
-
- Jim Rogers
- 5962 Deerfield Road
- Milford, OH 45150
-
jim.rogers@thomson.com
-
- Brian Burns
- 6891 Goshen Road
- Goshen, OH 45122
-
bsrbsb@juno.com
-
- Tony Melton
- P.O. Box 1211
- Princeton, TX 75407
-
Tonym81@hotmail.com
-
|
-
-
- Here is a forward of the November 2006 work report on the work in AP
India from brother Lazarus. Please continue to pray for this great work,
and prayerfully consider helping if you can. There are now over 35
congregations in this area in India, and several in other areas in need
of financial help for the preaching brethren.
- Greetings in the name of Jesus we are all
doing well and conveying thanks for your prayers and help. I would
like to bring the progress of the church work in India.
- 1. We are very happy to inform you that we had very good
preachers meeting in the last week. Many preachers from different
places attended this and discussed some of the books in the New
Testament like 1,2 Thessalonians and Galatians. We had also
discussed some of the needs and development of the church work in India.
- 2. By the grace of God and Power of Gospel one soul
baptized into Christ. Please pray for the spiritual growth of this
new sister Venkata Ravamma about 65 years old.
- 3. I had received good church meetings report from our
preaching brethren Aseervadam (Vinukonda), Rajasekhar (Kadium), George (Karbataka),
Immanuel (Gangannapalem) and Rambabu (Chintalapudi). There are
some Baptisms also in these places.
- 4. The two preaching brethren at Cherlapalli(Vandanam)
and Pathamaguluru (Suresh paul) informed us the prayer shed construction
work is going on. Please pray for this work.
- 5. One of our preacher brother Elisha conducted a big
Gospel meeting on the occasion of his daughter Sarah's Birth day and
around 100 people attended this meeting and we had an opportunity to
preach the Gospel to many.
- 6. We have been planning to have Gospel meetings and
preachers Bible studies at Chintalapudi, Patha maguluru, Chimmiribanda
villages, please pray for these coming meetings.
- 7. Please pray for the sick brethren Chinna, Prakasam,
and Aseervadam.
8. Our preaching brethren expressed a need for a monthly
magazine so that every one can be informed the coming meetings and will
have some articles printed and will inform the places villages, towns,
states in India that we have churches and to reach many houses with the
word of Truth. Please pray for this work for the coming new
year-2007.
Once again thanks for your prayers and encouragement. All our
preaching brethren conveying their prayers and greetings. Greet
all the saints in the church. Please pray for me and for my family
and the church at Secunderabad.
- Your brother,
SAGANTY LAZARUS
- April
2004 Trip to India
Jim Rogers ~ Brian Burns ~ Doug Edwards
Complete Set of Pictures Below Report
Also Report from Saganty Lazarus (from India) at Bottom of this Page
- Greetings to all,
- The work in India
continues to grow in spite of the tremendous difficulties faced by the
members there. The Goshen congregation has been involved in this work
for 4 years now, but this was my first opportunity to see it myself.
Brothers Brian Burns and Doug Edwards had made three previous trips, and
I was glad the brethren thought it wise for me, a local teacher at
Goshen, to join them this time. This trip opened my eyes to the many
blessings we in the U.S. take for granted, and reinforced a desire to
help these brethren in any way possible.
- I especially wanted to
meet brother Lazarus, our original contact in India, and see firsthand
what conditions are like there. I came away with a strong feeling of
respect for brother Lazarus – he is truly a blessing to the work. His
dedication to the cause of Christ is beyond question, his tireless work
ethic commendable, and his knowledge in the scriptures excellent. I was
able to record two short messages of greeting from him.
[See Pictures: “Lazarus
and Wife”, View Video: “Lazarus
Greeting #1” and “Lazarus
Greeting #2”]
- Since we don’t hear much
in the news about India, I thought I would present a little background
about it. This is one of the most populous countries on earth, with more
than a billion people. The current work is centered in the southeastern
part of the country in a state called “Andhra Pradesh” (Ahn’-dra
Prah-desh’). This state
alone has a population of more than 75 million people. The average
income for a well-educated person is only around $200 per month, with a
“day laborer” earning about half that. Poverty is a real problem here,
though I was surprised at how few people came up to us begging for
money. I think that most were too busy working to beg!
[See Pictures: “Poverty”,
“Working
Poor”, “Harvesting
Chili Peppers”, “Selling
Beans”, “Selling
Bananas”, and “Carrying
Wood”]
- In a country so vast, it
isn’t surprising to find that many different languages are spoken. The
official language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu (Tel’-uh-goo).
Their largest city is really a metropolis of two cities, Hyderabad and
Secunderabad, with a combined population of more than 5 million people.
- These brethren have a
daunting challenge due to the tremendous influence of Hinduism in their
culture. Just like the city of Athens from Luke’s account in Acts, the
presence of idols in every nook and cranny is simply overwhelming. One
cannot behold it without being overwhelmed like Paul, as “his spirit
was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.”
Such misguided devotion to a stone carving is truly sad to see.
[See Pictures: “Idol
#1”, “Elephant
Idol”, “Snake
Idol”, and “Bull
Idol”]
- There is also a strong
Islamic presence in this part of India, which has led to conflict and
violence between Hindus and Muslims over the years. The mixture of the
two makes for an interesting visit. For example, the Hindus won’t eat
beef but the Muslims have no problem with it. The dominant political
party currently supports the construction and maintenance of temples and
mosques, but offers no support whatsoever for Christianity.
- Thus, the official
government position offers no assistance to spreading the gospel, while
actually proving a hindrance at times. For example, it is difficult to
enter the country on anything other than a “tourist” visa, which limits
the ability of foreigners to evangelize openly. We have therefore been
forced to limit our visits to meetings with the existing brethren and
whoever may attend those worship services.
- Many of the existing
converts to Christ are women whose husbands will ‘tolerate’ their wife’s
defection from Hinduism, but will not support it in any way. We saw
women come to worship and leave before services had concluded because
their husbands had forbidden them to be gone more than a certain amount
of time. Their dedication to attending worship services in spite of the
difficulties made me think shamefully of how often in the states we must
admonish our members about regular attendance!
[See Pictures: “Cherla
Palli Inside”, “Begumpet”,
and “Surya
Nagar”]
- Although there is no way
to know for sure, it seems likely that these same women have a difficult
time contributing financially to their congregations since their Hindu
husbands forbid it. Combined with the poverty many of them also live
with, it is difficult for the congregations to support preachers who
labor among them. As a result, most of the preachers have regular jobs
to support themselves and do their preaching work as time permits. To
address this issue, we emphasized the importance of personal giving as a
means to congregational self-reliance in the future. Still, there is a
difficult road ahead for these congregations to become truly
self-supporting.
- In spite of these
obstacles, the work continues to grow numerically and spiritually. Their
spiritual strength is demonstrated in the commitment they have shown in
the past year. For example, during Brian and Doug’s last trip (in 2003)
there were 43 baptized in a village named “Nadigadda.” During this trip,
we had opportunity to visit that place again. We happily found that 38
of the original members are still faithfully meeting. An additional 3
were baptized from that village while we were there, as well as more
than 40 others from a nearby village. For the past year, the brethren at
Nadigadda have been meeting under a large tree in the village and have
need of a permanent, sheltered meeting place.
[See Pictures: “Nadigadda
Baptizing #1” and “Nadigadda
Baptizing #2”]
- Given their young
spiritual age and their Hindu background, there is much need for basic
Bible knowledge among these babes in Christ. These are people for whom
the story of Daniel & Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, or even the story of Ahab
and Elijah, is a new thing. There is much work still ahead to ‘grow the
Church’ and truly ground these young Christians in the faith. Doug was
able to spend some time offering guidance to the leaders as to how best
to get that done, but more guidance is needed.
- Numerically, the Church
has grown as well. There are now 11 faithful congregations meeting
throughout the state of Andhra Pradesh. The number of members in each
congregation varies from around 20 to more than 50, but while we were
there visitors from the community were common due to the good influence
of the brethren. Most places we visited had attendance in excess of 60,
with crowds over 100 not unusual. Part of such interest is probably due
to the fact that Americans were visiting, but it was obvious from the
reactions we received that there truly is an interest among these people
in hearing the word of God preached!
[See Pictures: “Nadigadda”
and “Krothaluru”]
- Another exciting
development is the growing awareness among several “cups” congregations
in Andhra Pradesh that these new faithful congregations even exist.
Those people had never heard the one-cup position before, and this new
awareness has provided opportunities to discuss the issue with them.
Several of our brethren have studied with interested members and found
them receptive to adopting the New Testament pattern when it is shown to
them. We are hopeful that within the next year there will be some
positive news to report regarding this possibility.
- There have also been
some problems along the way. For example, in one of the congregations in
the Hyderabad metro area they encountered a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
This was a man who joined their assembly and became a leader among the
group. He later introduced various innovations in the worship, which led
to a split in the group. About half of the 40 members embraced the error
and left. Lazarus has been studying with several families in hopes of
restoring them to the fold. The work of Satan is truly untiring!
- Some of the continuing
needs for the work are Bibles and songbooks in the native Telugu
language. We were able to purchase locally 50 Bibles for distribution
throughout the various congregations. We were also able to see the good
use that recently-purchased songbooks were being put to; such things are
scarce, and people treated them with respect similar to their Bibles. I
was also interested to see that their ‘songbook’ contains words only.
You see, they sing in unison only and learn each new song by hearing the
melody sung to them a few times.
- Due to scheduling issues
with me, it was necessary for us to travel while the Indian national
elections were being held. They don’t have them all the same day as we
do in the U.S., but will hold them in stages one day a week over several
weeks. Because of fears about violence related to those elections,
Lazarus planned our itinerary to make sure we were far away from where
the elections were being held each week. This proved to be a good idea –
in one village we had visited, political violence erupted a few days
afterwards and people from one political party killed a man from a rival
party! As it was, with the Lord’s blessings we traveled extensively and
without incident, visiting several congregations and holding services
each evening.
- Towards the end of the
trip we were back in Hyderabad and had a chance to worship with the 3
congregations that are there. We also got to see the progress being made
on construction of the Church building. Completion of the structure is
expected within 3 months. It has been well-designed, making efficient
use of all available space. The location was well-chosen, too. It is
within a block of a regular bus stop, so travel to worship will be
easier for the many who have no other means of travel than walking or
riding the bus. I came away from an inspection of the place with the
satisfaction that the Lord’s money has been well spent in this effort.
[See Pictures: “Building
#1” and “Building
#2”]
- Of course, the major
blessing of the construction is already in use – there is a baptistry
available on site. In the past, the Hindus caused problems if they saw
anyone baptizing in local water sources (ponds or watering troughs),
believing that somehow the ‘sins washed away’ were polluting the water!
Having a baptistry available at the Church building site has completely
solved that problem.
[See Pictures: “Building
#3”]
- After this trip, I have
a great respect for the brethren laboring in India. Altogether, 54
people were baptized while we were there, demonstrating the diligence
with which the message is being spread. While traveling from place to
place and seeing the dedication of the Lord’s people in spite of their
many adversities, I kept recalling the passage in Acts where Paul saw
the vision of the Macedonian crying “come over and help us!” for
these brethren are seeking the same thing.
- They are not asking for
handouts, they are asking for help. These brethren are doing what they
can, but need our assistance to meet those challenges that are too great
for their financial means. One of the preachers, brother Luke, put it to
us like this on our last day there, “we are very poor, and ask for
help like a brother asking a brother. Understand that we are committed
first to the Lord’s work, and will continue in it no matter what, but
any help that our brothers in the U.S. can give will be put to good use.”
After seeing for myself what they are doing with the resources they
currently have, I believe their dedication is beyond dispute.
[See Pictures: “Preachers”
and “Luke
& Family”]
- The question now is
merely, what can be done to help the work for the long term? If anyone
is interested in helping, contact one of us for more information. A
congregation may want to help support brother Lazarus or the other
preachers. This year brother Lazarus asked if 6 of the preachers might
be helped $30 each (as a one-time amount). We were able to help them
with $50 instead, which lifted their spirits greatly. Ongoing support
for these men of any amount would be an encouragement to them. Other
continuing needs are the purchase of Bibles and assistance with building
construction in Secunderabad or one of the small villages. It would also
be a great blessing if ten or more congregations would commit to helping
finance the annual work trip each spring.
- Brethren, this is a
great and growing work that we must be diligent in. The brethren in
India send their greetings, and covet your prayers for blessings on
their labors.
- In Him,
- Jim Rogers
5962 Deerfield Road Milford, OH 45150
jim.rogers@thomson.com
- Brian Burns
6891 Goshen Road Goshen, OH 45122
bsrbsb@juno.com
|
- INDIA WORK REPORT-APRIL 18th TO 27th,2004
Tue, 04 May 2004 12:35:18 -0400
- Dear beloved brethren,
Greetings in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. My name is SAGANTY
LAZARUS working as a Preacher in The Church of Christ, Surya Nagar
colony, Old-Alwal, Sec-Bad, INDIA.
In the month of April our beloved brethren BRIAN BURNS, JIM ROGERS (from
Goshen Church of Christ) and DOUG EDWARDS (from Norman Church of Christ)
came to INDIA on 17th early morning hours. We were very happy to see,
greet and welcome them to Our country INDIA at the Sec-Bad Airport for
the work of the Lord in INDIA. This is their 4th visit.
In this trip we had General Elections and Hot Summer. But by the Grace
and Love of God good things happened during this critical time. We are
always thankful to our LORD for His peace.
Our meetings started on 18th onwards and continued up to 27th. We have
conducted Bible studies, Gospel meetings, Preachers Bible studies and
also visited some houses, visited Hospital and Question hour with some
preachers. We have traveled around 1500Kms and attended meetings in
around 15 villages and Our brethren proclaimed Gospel to many people in
different parts of our country and By the Saving Power of Gospel 55
souls were added to the Lord’s Body in INDIA this time and many
Christians are encouraged and some restored. Once again I am very much
thankful to our brethren for sharing the Gospel in INDIA with great
interest and zeal for the Lord and His Church. We are thankful to God
for such talented brethren. This time we are blessed with preaching and
teaching of another brother JIM ROGERS.
We have received wonderful lessons from our brethren about Life of
Christ, Church, Old and New Testaments, God’s plan of Salvation, Giving,
Lord’s supper, Second coming of Christ and After Death what?, etc. Some
people raised some questions regarding these topics and some took the
copies of the lessons so that they can teach the same in their
congregations. We all really rejoiced in the Lord with teaching and
preaching and fellowship and help of our brethren. We invited Church
people, preachers, people and preachers from denominations and other
friends, relatives and other people from different places to hear the
word of God.
I can openly say that the resulting fruit of this great work in INDIA is
because of the efforts of Our three brethren from US and translators,
hard work of Local preachers and the kind help and love and prayers of
Goshen congregation, Norman congregation and other congregations in USA.
I am also thankful to the individuals who prayed and helped for this
work.
Dear brethren, congregations are growing and becoming strong
spiritually. Two more new congregations were established in two places,
KROTHALURU and UPPALAPADU, in this trip. Please pray for the Newly
converted people. There are some needs requested by the congregations
and preachers. Please pray for them and their needs.
There is a great burden and responsibility laid on our Indian preachers
as the work spreading into new places. Please pray and encourage our 7
co-preachers who working with me in different places for the Lord’s
Vineyard day and night. Please continue your prayers for us to followup
the work.
Finally, our three brethren spent some time with the preachers and
encouraged them to be strong in preaching and in teaching.
Our meetings ended on 27th afternoon Bible study with Love feast.
All Glory and Power goes to our God. Please pray, encourage and help for
the Lord’s work in INDIA.
Your brother, SAGANTY LAZARUS
saganty@rediffmail.com
|
-
-
Rodríguez Jr., Juan
-
Nellie Rachel, daughter
-
Juan III, son
-
Joshua, son
-
Daniel, son
- 2104 Guaymas Ave.
-
Laredo, Texas 78046
-
phone direct dialing:
-
01152- (867)-715-63-75
-
CAMPECHE TRIP AND STUDY
-
May 19-25, 2004
-
By Juan Rodríguez Jr.
-
-
Dear Brethren:
-
-
It
was a privilege to travel to Campeche, Campeche to participate in the
IV Study in the Yucatán Peninsula at Campeche. Bro. McKamie was able
to travel with me and work together in the Study. He was a tremendous
help in many ways. We really enjoyed the trip and the Study!
-
-
Brother McKamie and I met at the airport in Mexico City and after much
trouble, as they had cancelled our flight and wanted to send us until
the next day, we finally made it o Campeche almost at 1:00 a. m.
Brethren Jaime Luna and Bartolo Tut were waiting for us in the airport
and took us to town to look for a hotel. We checked at least seven or
eight hotels and they were all full. The State Police were having a
convention in town and took most of the hotels. Finally we found a
hotel and spent the first night (just few hours).
-
-
The next day we started the Study at 9:00 a. m. We studied for two
full days. Two topics in the morning, then we had lunch. Two topics in
the afternoon and then we had supper. Eight topics in total: Unity,
The Preacher and his work, Discipline, The Collection, The Hair, The
work of the Woman in the Church, Music in the church, and Immodest
dress. The preachers suggested these topics. We had all of the
preachers in the Yucatan present, except one, Brother Abel Trujillo
from Suchiapa, Chiapas. There were present Bre. Eduardo Heredia from
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas; Esau Trujillo from Ocozingo, Chiapas; Jose
Eguan from Seybaplaya; Santiago Heredia from Campeche-Samula; Quintin
Morales from Campeche-China (This was the hosting congregation);
Bartolo Tut from Castamay, Cam.; Jaime Luna from Campeche-China; Julio
Heredia from Merida, Yucatan; Armando Heredia from Cancun, Q. Roo; and
several leaders of the various congregations in the Campeche area. We
had at least 20 preachers and leaders in attendance. We had good
participation from the preachers in attendance. It was a great
meeting!
-
-
The next Study will be at Cancún in November, during the Thanksgiving
holidays, if any of you are able to come to Cancún. If not, it will be
held the first week of November.
-
-
We
were able to distribute 80 songbooks and 61 Bibles, along with copies
of the studies presented, and several tracts about the Lord’s Supper
and Sunday School. The church at Stockton, California paid for the
Bibles and Bro. McKamie’s trip. We also bought 40 sacks of food for
the needy members of the congregations in Campeche. The congregation
in McAlester helped with the sacks of food! The Deer Park Congregation
in Pasadena, Texas helped with my expenses.
-
-
The Lord has really blessed the work in this area. Since Bro. Jaime
Luna moved to Campeche there have been 19 baptisms, at the different
congregations in the Campeche area. A new congregation has been
started at Colonia Siglo XXI in Campeche. Brother Jose Adan Morales is
the preacher in this place. Also, a congregation of 8 members from the
cups was converted recently. We had talked to Bro. Roman Rodriguez
about the true worship in Mérida last year, and he promised to study
with the congregation. Now they have accepted the Truth. They worship
at Colonia Jardines in Campeche. Bro. Marco Antonio Marin is preaching
in this place.
-
-
Even though the Lord has blessed the work in this area, the devil has
been working hard to destroy it. Brethren Santiago Heredia and Jaime
Luna had some problems between them. Most of all misunderstandings
about the work and personal matters, to the point that the work was in
danger. The Lord helped us to deal with these problems and help to
resolve them. Now they are working together and happy! Please pray for
them as they labor for the kingdom.
-
-
Bro. Javier Rodriguez is moving to Champoton, Campeche, between
Campeche and the Island of El Carmen. He is going to attempt to start
a congregation in this place and at the same time will take care of
the congregation at the Island of El Carmen. The congregation in the
Island continues to be there, but it needs a lot of work to make it
grow and correct a lot of problems. We trust that Brother Javier can
do this.
-
-
During the trip, we were able to preach at Seybaplaya on Saturday
night. One young man was baptized at 9:30 p. m. Bro. Jaime Luna did
the baptizing. After services we all went to the ocean and with the
truck’s lights and a little lantern we baptized Eliazar Eguan into
Christ. On Sunday morning we worshiped at the new congregation at
Siglo XXI. One lady came forward wanting to be baptized. After
services we went to preach at Castamay, Campeche, where Bro. Bartolo
is the preacher, and after services in this place we went to the ocean
to baptize this lady, now our Sister, Aide. I was privileged to
baptize her!
-
-
On
Monday, we talked to Brethren Jaime and Santiago and at night we had a
good worship service at the new congregation at Colonia Jardines. We
preached about the Lord’s Day. Also, after services, we had a time for
questions and answers from all of the preachers present.
-
-
On
Tuesday, we left Campeche at noon for Mexico City. Once we got to
Mexico City we found out that the plane of Continental had left
already and Bro. Mckamie had lost his flight. The people at the travel
agency did not allow enough time between the two flights. So Bro.
Wayne had to spend the night with Jaime Contreras in Mexico City and
left for his home the next day. I arrived to Saltillo at 9:00 p. m.
-
-
We
want to thank Bro. Mckamie for coming to help us in Mexico. We also
want to thank the congregation at Deer Park in Pasadena for overseeing
this work, and the congregations that support the preachers in the
Peninsula of Yucatan, the Mayan World. Please continue to help this
great work!
- Tel. Casa (867) 715-63-75
Tel. Cel. (867) 735-76-74
|
-
- Preachers Study in Yucatan
July 17-21, we had our second Preachers study in the Yucatan Peninsula, in
Mérida, Yucatán. The work in Mexico has expanded to this area in the
southeastern part of the Republic. The Country of Mexico is so big that
sometimes going to a new area seems like you are going to another country.
From Nuevo Laredo, where I live, it takes three full days to drive to the
peninsula. There are now 11 congregations and 9 preachers. Brethren Jaime Luna
Jr. and Juan III went with me in this trip. They were a great help during the
trip and the Study with the preachers. The congregation in Merida and Brother
Julio Heredia did a great job in hosting the meeting. Our next meeting with
these preachers will be in Ocosingo, Chiapas, during the month of November of
this year. Several of these preachers have been converted from “the cups” and
they need a lot of teaching, in certain areas. The Deer Park congregation in
Houston, Texas is overseeing this work. We appreciate very much their help and
leadership!
-
|
-
|
- Preachers' Study in
Merida, Yucatan
|
- Congregation in
Merida, Yucatán
|
-
- VIII YOUNG SPEAKERS MEETING
July 23-27, we had our VIII Young Speaker Meeting in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon,
Mexico. It was great meeting! There were large crowds, good preaching and good
singing. It was a great joy to see a lot of our young people coming to a
meeting such as this. Brethren Juan III, Jonathan Correa and Samuel Esparza
Jr. were in charge of the meeting and did a great job! There were ten young
people who preached during the meeting! Brother Sergio Correa and the San
Pedro congregation did a superb job in hosting the meeting. This is one of the
strongest congregations in Mexico. During the mornings there were studies for
the young people, in the afternoons different activities for them and at night
we had the worship service. We really enjoyed the meeting! After the meeting,
many of our young are very active in their home congregations, participating
in many activities and helping the local congregations. We thank God for our
young!
-
|
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- Young people in
Bro. Leobardo’ home.
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- Young people who
preached during the meeting!
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- Trip to Mexico City
August 1-4, we made a quick trip to Mexico City. We had to go and pick up the
deeds of the Church’s property in that city. I had the opportunity to preach
at the Maria Isabel congregation on Sunday. Bro. Jaime Contreras is the
preacher in this grand city of over 20 million people, and preaches at two
congregations: Minas and Maria Isabel. He is doing a good job! There is
another congregation in this city, Tlahuac, where Bro. Abel Salinas is
preaching.
- Gospel Meeting in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas
August 6-10, we were in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas in a meeting with the
congregation in this place. It was a great meeting. There were 3 baptisms
during the meeting! Bro. Samuel Esparza Jr. is doing a good job with the two
congregations in this area: Lazaro Cardenas and Cd. Victoria. He has baptized
several since he move to work with this congregation in January of this year.
He and his wife Jesenia are the proud parents of a baby boy, who was born
September 21.
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- Bro. Samuel Esparza Jr.
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- Congregation at Cd. Victoria
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- Gospel meeting in Saltillo, Coahuila – Virreyes
August 13-17, we were in a meeting in Saltillo, Coahuila-Virreyes. We had
large crowds every service. Bro. Jaime Luna Jr. is the preacher in this place.
He also preaches at a village Guadalupe Victoria, an hour South of Saltillo.
This is one of the oldest congregations in Mexico and it has several men
serving as leaders. In this congregation we have the Annual Preacher Study
every year. We thank God for this congregation!
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- Monthly meetings in the Northern Area
We have been having this kind of meetings for almost seven years. Members from
several congregations get together one Saturday each month to worship God and
to study His word. After the Study we all eat together and spend the afternoon
visiting with each other. This activity has really helped all of us as members
in this area. This writer has been in charge of this meeting and is the main
speaker in these meetings. August 30th, we had one of these meetings at the
Santa Catarina congregation. The subject was: “What Does the Church needs
today?” We had large crowds and great singing! September 27, we had our
monthly meeting in the Villa de García congregation. The subject was:
Establishing elders in the congregations”. Bro. Jaime Luna Jr. presented this
topic and did an excellent job. Our next meeting will be in Nuevo Laredo,
Tamaulipas, our home congregation, November 8th.
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- XXVII PREACHERS STUDY IN MEXICO
September 10-12, 2003 we had our XXVII Study in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. It
was a great Study! We had some 50 preachers and leaders from México and Texas.
There were seven preachers from the States: Wayne McKamie, Tony Melton, Randy
Tidmore, Brian Burns, Brendan Wallace, Carlis McKamie and Bro. Bill Verner.
For three full days we studied 12 different topics: What Does the Bible says
about lying, What constitutes an assembly of the Church, Should a Christian
celebrate Christmas? Is it right for Christians to vote or participate in
Politics?, What is the Way to support a Preacher?, Calling and Election, What
are the Biblical uses of the Church treasure?, Are we predestinated?, What
does the Rapture and the Millennium mean?, What Does the Church needs today?,
Is the Doctrine true that says: once saved always saved?, and It is a sin for
a Christian to Marry an unbeliever? We thank God for the men who presented
these topics. This material will be a tremendous help to us in Mexico!
The Virreyes Congregation in Saltillo did a great job in hosting the Study.
They opened their homes to all of us. There were homes that we did not use but
they were open for us. Sisters Nohemi Luna, Josefina Ramirez, Petra and a
sister from Zacatecas prepared food for us for three days.
We want to express our appreciation to the congregations at Farmerville,
(Fairview), Louisiana, McGregor, Texas and Brother Bill Verner for their
support to hold the Study in Mexico. Without your help we could not have
accomplished what we have. Thanks, many thanks, from the bottom our hearts!
The next Study will be September 15-17, 2004!
After the Study, we went to visit our brethren in the villages, in the
Saltillo area. We were able to visit Guadalupe Victoria, El Mezquite, Los
Muchachos, San Juan del Retiro, and Las Mangas congregations. Two Sisters from
San Antonio, Texas: Golda Burns and Lorene Fowler made quilts and blankets to
give to the needy widows and old members of these congregations. Thanks, many
thanks!
From the villages we went to Visit the congregations in Zacatecas, San
Francisco del Rincon, San Roque de Montes, San Luis Potosi and Matehuala
It was a joy to visit our brethren in these places! Brother Samuel Esparza M.
and his wife Nohemi are the proud grandparents of a baby boy, son of their
daughter Erika in San Francisco del Rincon. In San Luis Potosi we visited Bro.
Daniel Alvarado and his wife Julia. There we saw their daughter “Toñita” who
is sick, since she was born. She is now 5 years old but cannot breath by
herself and she needs to have a tube in her throat. She cannot hold her head;
she needs something around her neck. We pray for them and Bro. Verner is going
to help them. We also visited with Bro. Filiberto Martinez and his family in
Matehuala. They are planning to start building their meeting place.
On the way back, we had problems with our van on the highway between Saltillo
and Monterrey, but we finally made it back home. Really enjoyed the Study and
the Trip!
Please continue to help the Work in Mexico and to pray for us!
In His service,
Juan Rodríguez Jr.
juanjr@globalpc.net
- ~~~ Pictures ~~~
- -------------------
- “REPORT ON THE TRIP TO CHIAPAS, MEXICO”
- June 13-16,
2003
- On June 13, we left on a trip to the south of Mexico, my
son Juan III and I, to visit the newly established congregation in Tuxtla
Gutierrez, the capital of the State of Chiapas.
- During the month of February Bro. Eduardo Heredia, a
graduated preacher from the Church of Christ that uses “cups” in the Lord’s
supper, was converted in Campeche, Campeche. Since that time he has been working
hard to convert the congregation, where he was meeting, to the true worship. But
he has been rejected and ridiculed, to the point that he had to leave the
congregation and start meeting in his home with his family.
- We were invited to visit them since the month of March,
but because of lack of time we could not visit them before. On Friday 13th, we
arrived at the airport in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas at 1:30 p. m., where Bro.
Eduardo was waiting for us. We went to his home where we had a good meal with
his family. After that he took us to a hotel downtown and we started to work. We
visited three leaders of the cups church and studied what the Bible says about
the Lord’s supper. Two of them accepted and one rejected the teachings.
- That night we went to visit Bro. Abel Trujillo in his home
in Suchiapa, Chiapas, about 30 minutes from Tuxtla Gutierrez. Bro. Abel
has been using one cup in the Lord’s Supper for the last 5 years. He came up to
that conclusion by studying the Holy Scriptures by himself. He preaches to a
small group of 6 members in this little town. We visited for a while and made
plans to go to Ocosingo, Chiapas, to visit his brother Esau Trujillo, the next
morning.
- Early the next morning, Saturday at 6:00 a. m., Bro.
Eduardo and Bro. Abel came to the hotel to pick us up and go to Ocosingo. We
took a taxi to San Cristobal de las Casas, about one hour and a half, with a lot
of curves, high mountains, but a beautiful scenery: Green, everything is green,
tall pine trees, real cool. We got to San Cristobal de las Casas and took
another taxi to Ocosingo, about two and a half hours. (according to the taxi
drivers in this road there are 95 “topes”, bumps to make you slow down; and 365
curves). We got to Ocosingo around 10:00 a. m., where Bro. Esau and his wife
were waiting for us. This brother Esau had written me a letter back in 1994,
requesting information on the Lord’s Supper, and asking for Bibles, but because
of the uprising of the gerrilla at that time, we lost contact with him until now
that we finally meet. These brethren have been using one cup in the Lord’s
supper for 5 years. They studied the Bible by themselves and were convinced that
this is what the Bible says. They are a congregation of 30 members and they have
their own building. We had lunch with and went back to Tuxtla Gutierrez.
- It is really wonderful, that when people take the Bible,
the word of God, and do just what it says, they are going to use one bread and
one cup; because this is what it says. It is necessary to have the ruses of
Satan to start using breads and cups and many other strange things to the Word.
- On Sunday morning we met for worship in the home of Bro.
Eduardo and his family and other brethren. Juan III was in charged of the
singing and I was invited to preach. Sure was a beautiful reunion!
- We had lunch with them and then we left for this town
called Guadalupe Victoria, Villa Flores, Chiapas, where we had been invited to
present the lesson about the Lord’s supper. All of the congregation of 15
members was convinced except for one brother. They are going to study for
themselves and decide what to do. We will inform you of the results later. We
ate some tamales from Chiapas, very good, there came a big, big rain that even
the electricity went out; but finally we were able to go back to Tuxtla in the
middle of the rain. We left Bro. Abel and Suchiapa and we continue our trip to
Tuxtla. We were very tired but happy for the opportunity to work for the Lord!
- The next day, we went to downtown, took several pictures
and walk around the main plaza, and waited for Bro. Eduardo to pick us up and
take us to the airport. We left Tuxtla Gutierrez at 3:45 and arrive at
Saltillo at 8:00 p. m. the next day we continue our trip back home to Nuevo
Laredo.
- Thanks to the good Lord, there are now three congregations
established in the State of Chiapas: Tuxtla Gutierrez, Ocosingo, and Suchiapa.
And with good possibilities that another one will be converted in the near
future. For God be the honor and glory!
- Really enjoyed the trip with my son Juan III. He was a big
help during the trip.
- We appreciate the support to make this trip to Bro.
William Verner. And the congregation responsible for this work is the Deer Park
Church of Christ in Pasadena, Texas. Please pray for this new work and for this
writer and his family! Please visit us in our web page:
-
www.iglesiadecristolatina.com
- We are leaving fro Cuba, June 30-July 12. We are going to
visit most of the congregations and preachers, specially the new ones.
Please pray for us in this trip.
- Juan Rodríguez Jr.
juanjr@globalpc.net
phone direct dialing:
01152- (867)-715-63-75
- -----------------
- Preachers' Study
October 2001
- The Preachers' Study in Mexico was excellent this year.
There were about 50 preachers and leaders present. The theme for the
study was "The Home As God Wants It." The preachers did a superb job in
presenting their topics. We really appreciate the brethren in Saltillo,
Mexico, for making this study possible. Also, we appreciate the tireless
efforts of brother Wayne McKamie and Juan Rodriguez Jr. who arranged the study,
and for brother Bill Verner who constantly helps in the Latin work.
- Brethren, please remember the work in Mexico in your prayers.
May God bless all those who are diligently laboring in His kingdom.
-
- Our Trip to Cuba
July 2001
- Dear Brethren:
- June 20-29, we had the privilege of going back to Cuba, to visit the newly
established work there. In this trip Bro. Juan Castellanos, a leader of the San
Pedro congregation in Monterrey-San Pedro, was able to go with Jaime Contreras
and this writer. He was able to stay with us the first part of the trip, as he
had to returned to his job. He was a great help to us! We are happy to say that
the Lord blessed our visit to the Island. We were able to visit the first
congregation that was converted during our first trip back in January, PUERTA DE
GOLPE. This congregation has 25 members. Bro. Orlando Dago preaches in this
congregation. When they were converted from digression, there were 15 members
but since that time they have baptized 6 and others have been restored. We also
were able to visit the new congregation that was established back in May, BAHIA
HONDA. At that time they baptized six and established the congregation. During
our visit Bro. Jesus Marrero, the preacher there, baptized 2 and I baptized 3.
So there are 11 members now in this new congregation. These two congregations
are in the province of Pinar Del Río.
- From there we traveled to the other extreme of the Island, to the Guantanamo
province in the west side, about two days traveling. We rented a car and a man
helped us to drive during our stay in Cuba. Bro. Dago had made arrangements for
us to visit a cups preacher, Bro. Juan Carlos Samón. This brother was waiting
for us and had invited 8 more preachers to study with us. We studied with them
about the Lord's Supper for a whole day. They understood what the Bible says,
were convinced and promised to study with their congregations about this
subject. They said that they wanted to study with the members in private, and
convince them before they start using one cup, so that there were no division
among the congregations. They said that there are some members that they are
waiting for something to use as an excuse to divide or cause problems. We saw
the wisdom of that procedure and encouraged them to study with their members and
to start worshiping scripturally as soon as possible.
- We studied with 9 preachers and leaders which represented 8 congregations and
about 170 members. These preachers are very humble men, well educated, and hard
workers in the Vineyard of the Lord. They want to do what the Bible says.
- After we got back, two congregations: SAN LUIS, 15 members, and EL MOSQUITERO,
12 members decided to worship according to the pattern, and on July 1st, they
used one cup in the Lord's supper. Bro. Wilmer Lobaina preaches at the San Luis
congregation and Bro. Aroldo Lobaina at the El Mosquitero congregation.
- Since we got back from Cuba, we have been in contact with these preachers by
phone calls and emails. We've been encouraging them to obey what the Bible says,
and last Wednesday, July 25th, Bro. Juan Carlos called me and tells me that on
July 22, two more congregations started to worship scripturally: NARANJAL DEL
TOA, 41 members and EL PINO DE DUABA, 10 members. Bro. Jose Luis Samón preaches
at Naranjal del Toa and Bro. Alexis Rodriguez preaches at El Pino de Duaba.
- So, at this time, there are six faithful congregations in Cuba with some 114
members. For all this we rejoice and give God the honor and glory!
- During our trip we were able to talk to an official of the Government about
registering the Church in Cuba. According to him it will take some time before
we can get the registration, but he was willing to give us a temporary permit.
So at this time, at least, the brethren in the province of Pinar del Rio have a
temporary permit to worship. They require that we have a building and other
things that we can meet with time, Lord willing.
- We want to thank, from the bottom of our heart, the congregations and
individuals that helped us to make this trip possible and are helping the Cuba
Work: Irving, Texas; Springfield, Mo., Atwater, Calif. and Yuba City, Calif.
Bro. Bill Verner helped us during our first trip. Bro. Donald French has helped
us in getting support from the California Churches. And Bro. Robert Burd from
San Diego, California is sending $
- 100.00 per month for the work in Cuba. May the Almighty richly bless you for
your good works, is our prayer. You can be confident that your support is
bringing much fruit for the Lord in Cuba.
- We are planning to go back to Cuba the last week of November or the first
week in December. If possible we want to visit them three times per year. We
feel that the brethren there need a lot of teaching in many subjects.
- If you have any questions or comments about this great work, please feel free
to call or write this writer. Please continue to help us and to pray for the
work in Cuba.
- In His service,
- Juan Rodriguez Jr.
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
Rodríguez Jr., Juan
-
Nellie Rachel, daughter
-
Juan III, son
-
Joshua, son
-
Daniel, son
- 2104 Guaymas Ave.
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Laredo, Texas 78046
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(956) 729-8638
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- REPORT ON THE TRIP TO PERU
March 11-22, 2004
- Dear Brethren:
- First of all I want to apologize for not sending this
report before, but have been awfully busy and out of town. Forgive me for
this. I will do better in the future, Lord willing.
- Brother Jaime Contreras and this writer left Mexico
City, March 11th, for Lima, Peru. Brethren Julio Valverde, Hernando Motta
and other members of the Lima congregation were waiting for us at the
airport. We arrived at 11:30 p. m. after a long trip. But it was good to
be back in Peru. The next day we met with Bre. Julio and Motta and several
leaders to plan the work for the next 11 days. That same afternoon we
studied with several members of the congregation at Ingenieria.
- The next day, Saturday, we held a home study at the
home of Mrs. Sully at a new location in Lima. Several people were present
during the Study. The next week we came back to this home to hold a
worship service with more people that this lady had invited. Plans are to
continue to study with these people, hoping to establish a congregation in
this place. Several of these people attended services the next Lord’s Day
at Ingenieria, where the church is established. That same afternoon, we
studied with Bro. Augusto Yance, a cups preacher that was almost converted
to use one cup and no-Sunday school. We made an appointment for the
following week, to study with him and his family.
- On Sunday morning we worshiped at Ingenieria, where
Bro. Motta is the preacher. I had the privilege of presenting the lesson.
In the afternoon, we worshiped at the other congregation in Lima, at 2 de
Agosto, where Bro. Julio Valverde is the preacher. I preached at this
place too. After services we went to study and sing songs with the
relatives of Omar, a member of the church. A long day, but very productive
in the Lord’s work!
- March 15-19, we held a training session program with
the leaders of the two congregations: Ingenieria and 2 de Agosto. This was
during the mornings. Bro. Jaime Contreras help us teaching the rudiments
of music and I presented doctrinal subjects and how to prepare and deliver
lessons, lead songs, wait on the Lord’s table, etc.
- In the afternoons, we studied every day with
different people: Catholic, Pentecostal, cups and classes. And at night we
held two Gospel meetings at 2 de Agosto, Monday 15th through Wednesday
17th. And at Mariategui, Thursday 18th through Sunday 21st. This
congregation at Mariategui was converted from the cups and classes, during
the week that we were in Peru. We studied with Bro. Augusto Yance and his
family on Tuesday 16, and after a long discussion with his son in law, who
is a leader of the cups congregation, him and his family were converted,
and invited us to hold them a meeting March 18-21st. His son in law got so
upset that he left the house very mad with Bro. Augusto.
- Saturday 20th was a great day! We may call it the day
of reaping, as 3 young people were baptized, one restored and 9 converted
from the cups and classes persuasion. We started the day going to the
beach to baptized two of Bro. Motta’s sons: Carolina and Mauricio, and
Gustavo, a young man that we had been studying with all week. After the
baptisms we went to eat and in the afternoon we studied with two cups
families of 8 members. Several of these young people attended our training
sessions during the week and wanted us to study with their parents in
their home. After a long study, they all accepted the Truth and were
converted! It was a great joy. We rejoice and cried for their conversion.
And at night, during services, one more young man, Paolo, was converted
from the cups; and Hernando Jr. was restored. What a day!!!!
- On Sunday 21, we worshiped at four congregations:
Ingenieria, 2 de Agosto, and the two newly converted congregations, during
the trip, Mariategui – 8 members, and Motupe – 4 members, where Bro.
Augusto Yance is the preacher. I preached at two congregations: Mariategui
and Motupe and Jaime Contreras at Ingenieria and 2 de Agosto. After
services we met again with the preachers and leaders of the congregations
at Bro. Motta’s home to discuss about the work in Peru and to make plans
and to pray for the work and for our trip the next morning at 6:00 a. m.
- Now Bro. Hernando Motta is preaching at Ingenieria,
Bro. Julio Valverde at 2 de Agosto, and Augusto Yance at Mariategui and
Motupe. And they are doing a great work!
- On Monday morning, we got up at 3:30 a. m. to be at
the airport at 4:00 and leave at 6:00 a. m. We arrive at Mexico City at
3:30 p. m. and I waited my flight for Saltillo at 6:00 to be in Saltillo
at 8:30 p. m. We were very tired, but very, very happy!!!!
- So, the Lord blessed our trip to Peru, as three were
baptized and 9 converted from the cups, besides 2 small congregations of 8
and 4 members were converted with their preacher, Brother Augusto Yance.
Now there are 4 congregations in Lima, Peru. We give God the honor and
glory! And we thank you very much for your support and prayers!
- If you have any questions about this trip or about
the work in Peru, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.
- In His service,
- Juan Rodríguez Jr.
P. O. Box 430027 Laredo, Texas 78043-0027 Phone Direct Dialing: 011-52-(867) 715-63-75
juanjr2003@prodigy.net.mx
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TRIP TO PERU!
February 17-25, 2003
February 17, Bro. Jaime Contreras, Bro. Hernando Motta and this writer left on a
missionary trip to Lima, Peru. Bro. Motta had traveled several times to Peru,
when he was with the cups. So he invited us to go to Lima to study with a
brother Julio Valverde and other cups brethren. Bro. Randy Tidmore from El Paso,
Texas also gave us several contacts in Peru, and among them was this brother
Julio Valverde.
On Monday 17, we arrived to Lima, at 5:30 p. m. Brehtren Julio Valverde,
Alexander Contreras and a young man Marco Yhon Espiritu were waiting for us at
the airport. They took us to the hotel and then we went to visit Bro. Julio’s
family. It is a big family but they attend to different
denominations. Some of them are members of the Church of Christ, as they were
baptized several years ago.
The following days we were very busy. During the mornings we studied with
brethren Julio Valverde, Alexander Contreras, Roberto Pedroza, and Pablo Calzada,
members of the cups church in Lima. We studied about the Lord’s Supper, Sunday
school, Women speaking during service, etc., etc., subject that they needed to
know. It was also a good teaching session for Bro. Motta. We also studied with
two young men: Marco Yhon Espiritu and Jesus. They were not members of the
Church.
In the afternoons we were making copies of the studies and the material that we
wanted to leave with them. We made copies of a songbook that we had and printed
several. We made invitations for the short Gospel meeting, Friday, Saturday and
Sunday. We made a seal for the Church. We bought Bibles; we pass out tracts and
knock doors.
At night, we had two home studies in the home of Juan Espinoza, Tuesday and
Wednesday. We studied with several families, there were 14 people present every
night. They are Pentecostals and are good prospects.
On Thursday night we went to the home of Bro. Emilio Larzundi, to study about
the Lord’s Supper. They are members of the "conservative" group in Lima. They
are very nice and sincere, very good workers in their Church, but they rejected
what we presented to them, because of the danger of aids and tuberculosis. We
left them material on the subject and they promised to study it.
From Friday to Sunday we had our weekend meeting. The Lord blessed our efforts
and one young man, Marco Yhon Espiritu was baptized on Saturday morning. It was
a great joy to go to the beach in Lima to baptized this young man that we had
been studying with him during the whole week. On Friday, Bro. Julio Valverde had
accepted that he had been worshipping in error and had asked us to pray for him.
And on Sunday morning, brethren Alexander Contreras and Roberto Pedroza came
forward accepting their doctrinal error and requesting to pray for them too. And
on Monday night, just before we left Peru, Bro. Pablo Calzada took his stand for
the Truth and we prayed for him. we rejoiced with the angels in heaven for these
results! To God be the honor and glory! During the meeting we had good
attendance: Friday 15 adults, Saturday 14 Adults, Sunday morning 20 adults and
Sunday night 16 adults!
The Church of the Lord has been established in Lima, Peru!!!!!!!!!!!
Bro. Julio Valverde and the brethren that have been converted from the cups,
Alexander Contreras, Roberto Pedroza and Pablo Calzada will be working with this
congregation. Bro. Julio Valverde will be the preacher in this place. He is a
graduate from the Sunset School of preaching in Lubbock, Texas. He also studied
in San Antonio, Texas. He is bachelor and is 57 years old. He speaks some
English and teaches private classes and helps in an orphan home for very little
money. He needs to be supported. He needs your help and the Church in Lima needs
this man.
Please pray for this new work! The North Area Church of Christ from Springfield,
Missouri is sponsoring this work in Ecuador and Perú, and we thank God for their
vision to evangelize South America!
We want to thank publicly the Churches that made this trip possible! Also we
want to thank our families, wives and children, for their unconditional support
so that we be able to take the gospel to the lost, in other countries. Without
their support and understanding this could not have been possible. May the
Almighty bless our brethren and our families!!!!!!!!!
In His service,
Juan Rodríguez Jr.
-
Venezuela
-
Murl R. Helwig
(contact)
-
7446 Saddlewood St.
-
San Antonio, TX 78238
-
(210) 523-1864
- No current report
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
-
June, 2012 Mission Trip to Mindanao,
Philippines
Two separate trips to the island of Mindanao, Philippines
have been completed this summer with great success for the Glory
of God.
Brother Glenn Ballard completed one trip to part of
Mindanao and the Visayan Islands.
And Mike Whitworth and Bret Jones from Wichita traveled
through over half of Mindanao on the other one.
This report is about the second trip mentioned.
First of all we give glory and
thanksgiving to God, our Father, for the wonderful results and
safety in travel all throughout the trip.
We also want to give a huge gratitude to
the Churches and individuals in the U. S. who funded this trip.
It was a blessing for us and a great encouragement to our
brethren there for us to go all that distance and travel within
to be with them.
The purpose and goal of this trip was to
actually visually see as many places of worship and meet as many
Christians there as we possibly could.
There were also three half-day preacher studies and eight
half-day gospel meetings held during the 13 days we were there
on the ground. And
we actually visited over 60 congregations.
Our thanks again go out to our Father who
added some 71 people to His church through obedience to baptism
while we were there.
And there have been close to half that many baptized in just
this first week after our return.
Mindanao is an odd shaped island with a
mass of land with approximately the same amount of square miles
as the state of Indiana.
So it is not a large area.
But it is difficult to get around in.
Even though the area is not large, it is estimated that
there are over 200 faithful congregations meeting at this time
with growth being accomplished at a steady rate.
Some of these congregations have been in existence for
more than 15 years as a result of the Church being established
many years ago in the north island of the Philippines, Luzon,
where Manila is. But
the vast majority of these congregations in Mindanao and the
Visayas began as a result of one man in 2001 or 02 contacting
the web site of Gospel @Newtestamentchurch.org kept by David
Risener here in the U. S.
That one man, Nestor Naldo, who is now
very ill due to six strokes, began to spread the news of true
worship to others until it has spread throughout the island.
We discovered how these
men even knew who to contact from other areas.
Most of the preachers now are converted from
denominations and had classmates from whatever Bible colleges
they received their degrees from.
Once they found out the truth, they contacted these
former classmates and converted them as well.
Thus, the work has grown.
The majority of congregations are in the
south part of the island where Nestor Naldo lived.
But the church has spread north where we spent 8 of our
13 days visiting relatively new churches most of which have been
established within the last 3 to 6 years.
We had not visited any of these areas in previous trips
over the years. It
was very encouraging to see the faithfulness, joy in working for
the Lord that these people and preachers displayed.
We rented a van and driver who took us
and four native preachers all over the covered area.
Two of the evangelist, Vicente Vallar and Ireneo Talangin
organized the whole trip for us prior to our going.
They did an outstanding job.
We had sent them and a handful of other evangelists to
the north over the last 3 years to follow leads and help
established churches to stay strong.
The other two preachers who traveled with us were Elmer
Panes and Julito Ditan.
All four of these have been preaching in the Church of
Christ there for several years.
The Church as a whole in Mindanao is
young and experiences typical growing pangs, but as a whole, is
doing very well. We
at the congregation is Wichita have been extremely blessed to be
a part of this work for the Lord for the last nine years.
The work has grown so much that we could
and would accept any type of assistance from any who might be
interested in taking over part of the work area or who could
help support preachers.
If you have any questions regarding this
report or the work there, please contact Mike Whitworth of the
Heartland Church of Christ in Wichita, KS.
The cell phone number is 316-617-2028.
May God continue to bless His work
wherever in the world the harvest is ready.
Matt 28: 19-20.
Regards,
Mike Whitworth and Bret Jones
mlwhitwor@aol.com
|
-
-
Athens Church of Christ, Athens, TX
Glenn Ballard
Rebecca (wife)
11291 F.M. 346
Flint, TX 75762 USA
1-903-894-3391 home
1-903-312-0371 h-cell
gballard@brookhill.org
-
July 2007
Report from Philippines by Glenn Ballard
I am writing tonight, Thursday, July 19, from Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines.
We have just returned to our hotel at 9:30 pm after observing a moonlit
baptizing in the Davao Gulf. I had the privilege of preaching tonight at the
Boulevard congregation here in Davao City where brother Wilfredo Canas and his
son Melchor Canas are the preachers. After the service, two persons, a young man
and a young woman, expressed their desire to be baptized so about 16 of us
walked through the market to the place where we could rent a jeepney (Filipino
mass transit) and we rode together to the public dock where the brethren do
their baptizing. It was the same place that I had the privilege of baptizing
Camilo Samson just last night. Anyway, it was memorable to be riding down Quezon
Blvd in Davao City in a jeepney singing "Oh Happy Day" at the top of our lungs.
Brother Melchor Canas did the baptizing and we sang another verse and prayed
before heading back to the Canas home where services are also conducted. Since
we began our work in Ormoc City on the island of Leyte last Wednesday, we have
been blessed to be a part of 16 baptisms. Our studies in Ormoc and in Davao City
have been very well attended and we shared very emotional fairwells with the
brethren in both places. Tomorrow morning we will leave our hotel at 6:30 a.m to
journey north to the town of Laak and then will visit the churches in the
vicinity of Carmen before returning to Davao late in the evening. This will be
the first time I have visited the churches in these areas. On Saturday we will
spend the day visiting and preaching in several new congregations in the greater
Davao City area. This is a metropolis of several million people and since last
year four new congregations have been started bringing the total to seven in
this major city. On Sunday, Jimmy Vannoy will preach in three of the
congregations in Davao City while Randy and I will travel to Bacungan and to
Kidapawan City to preach for congregations where we have not visited before. We
are tired but full of joy for a very successful journey, and a little homesick.
Pray for us as we wrap up our mission and head home next Monday. Special thank
you to all the congregations that have a part in supporting this work.
Brotherly love,
Glenn Ballard
*************
- (These baptisms are taking place by local native
preachers... if you can help support a preacher in Mindanao, Philippines,
please help the Gospel effort) Contact Mike Whitworth
mlwhitwor@aol.com or Glenn Ballard
gballard@brookhill.org
- Brgy Basag T'boli South Cotabato, Mindanao,
Philippines 11-29-05 7 Baptized
|
- Sitio Tagaytay Brgy, New Aklan Glan Malungon
Saranggani Province, Mindanao, Philippines 11-28,29-05 37 Baptized
|
-
|
- This is an isolated, huge mountainous area
where the preachers had to ride horseback from 11am to 6pm just to get to a
side of a mountian where the Gospel Meeting took place. The 2 day meeting
had 165 adults in attendance even though both days had heavy rains.
|
- Brgy,Banawag Kababcan North Cotabato Province,
Mindanao, Philippines 11-26,27-05 14 Baptized
|
- Dona Soledad General Santos City,
Mindanao, Philippines 11-23-05 8 Baptized
|
- St. Cruz Church of Christ,
Mindanao, Philippines 2 Baptized
|
- Barili Poblacion, Mindanao,
Philippines 25 Baptized
|
- Esperanza Sultan Kudarat Province,
Mindanao, Philippines 5 Baptized
|
- Lamlifew, Mindanao, Philippines
6 Baptized
|
- Salafan, General Santos City,
Mindanao, Philippines 2 Baptized
|
- Laguilayan, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat,
Mindanao, Philippines 71 Baptized
|
- Margus Glan, Sarangani Province,
Mindanao, Philippines 2 Baptized
|
- Soledal Purok 17, Malogong, Koronadal City,
South Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines 8 Baptized
|
- Sitio
Atbilang, Brgy. Aflek, T’boli, South Cotabato,
Mindanao, Philippines 3 Baptized
|
- Dona Soledad F1D2, Mindanao,
Philippines 21 Baptized
|
- Bago, Mindanao, Philippines
7 Baptized
|
- Purok Pag-Assa Davao Sur, Mindanao,
Philippines 3 Baptized
|
- Also... West Bengal, India reported
11-25-05 7 Baptized
|
- Purok 7 Congregation
Laguilayan, Isulan Sultan Kudarat Minadanao Philippines
--------------------
History of Work
-
-
-
Kazakhstan Work
Fox, Raymond
753 Saucito Ave.
Salinas, CA 93906 USA
831-443-6238
Salinas, CA, Congregation
fmly4jc@sbcglobal.net
Reporter: Carney Briggs
carneyb@sbcglobal.net
209-854-3429
Leads In Kazakhstan (former USSR)
1/31/2005 8:22:04 AM:
Raymond has had some fantastic leads while in
Kazakhstan. He has had an opportunity to work with educators, designing
curriculum to help troubled youths. This is what he had to say about one of
the couples involved: "Our talks with Oleg (from the human rights group) and
Svetlana his wife have been fastastic. Oleg has changed a lot of his thinking
just by getting new information about what Jesus taught. Some of his ideas
reflecting eastern religion have come from some articles he has read from the
internet. But he sees now how unreliable the information of those articles is.
He believes in God, in the resurrection of Jesus and the miracles. I think his
main problem is with organized religion. But he is beginning to see that the
church of Christ is not like most organized religions. We are really trying to
practice the Christian life and do not have all the rituals and traditions of
other religions. We have talked every day and for the last two evenings in
their flat with Svetlana. Last night Svetlana invited two women who are
teachers and long time friends of hers to come for dinner and conversation but
we really did not talk about religion until they left. It was great to meet
them and we had a great first time visit. Last night Svetlana talked about
having wanted to come to God so she could become better physically since she
has been sick. But she now sees this is not a sufficient reason. So we talked
about sin and spiritual healing from sin. At the end Oleg raised some
questions about reincarnation but we are going to talk about them today. Today
we plan to go for a drive outside of town and then meet again in the evening.
Keep praying!" Raymond strongly believes that Oleg and his wife are very close
to becoming dedicated Christians. Please pray for them!
-
-
-
Moscow, Tambov, Michurinsk
-
Raymond Fox (contact)
-
753 Saucito Ave.
-
Salinas, CA 93906
-
(831) 443-6238
- October 2001
Trip to Moscow and Penza
- I just returned from a trip to Moscow and Penza, Russia and am very thankful
to the Lord that the trip was successful in many ways. Before reporting on the
condition of the work in Moscow, I would like to say a few words about the
meetings in Penza.
- First we conducted lectures every evening for two weeks on subjects the Penza
brothers and sisters asked me to teach on. They requested studies on family
issues such as choosing a mate, marriage, the roles of husbands and wives, and
the discipline of children. So we spent the first week addressing these themes
in addition to answering some other questions they had on individual topics such
as ways to encourage congregational unity and the issue of social drinking. We
devoted the second week to evangelistic themes focusing on realizing a living
relationship with Jesus Christ. The Penza brethren invited many people to attend
the lectures and as a result of their efforts we had several visitors. We were
very thankful that one woman, a friend of a member of the congregation, was
baptized at the end of the week. The Penza congregation is growing in number and
maturing spiritually. They have capable leaders who are devoted students of
God’s word.
- For the past year or so the Moscow congregation has experienced serious
difficulties due to the instability of the man who has been the main leader,
Sergei. Due to Sergei’s dominant spirit and his insistence on promoting and
practicing his opinions that do not have authority in the Scriptures, many
people have left the congregation to attend denominations. However three young
people in their twenties, Sasha, Vladoslav, and Natasha, have struggled to
remain faithful to the word of God throughout Sergei’s vacillations. Now these
three have determined that the only way to continue to honor the authority of
Jesus and his word is to establish a new congregation without the leadership of
Sergei. I must say I deeply respect them for their faithfulness to Christ and
their enthusiasm for the gospel. They have been tried with fire and have proven
to be pure. To assist them in their purpose I spent a week studying with them
about the responsibilities and practicalities of establishing a congregation.
Vitali Syrkin, who had traveled with me to Moscow from the Penza congregation,
provided invaluable help translating during these studies. This past Sunday,
October 28, was to be their first Sunday meeting together. Sergei was present at
one of our studies and had nothing to say in opposition to the plan of beginning
a new congregation. Apparently he plans to find a denomination that agrees with
his ideas.
- If you plan to visit Russia and pass through Moscow on your way to another
congregation, please consider stopping to meet with these young Christians.
Their focus and enthusiasm will inspire you. Vladoslav has a car and may be able
to pick you up at the airport. Vladoslav and Sasha presently share a two bedroom
apartment but they would like to find a furnished apartment with three bedrooms
in order to have a room ready for preachers who visit Moscow. It would be best
for you to arrange to have your interpreter meet you in Moscow so that you can
spend some time studying and worshipping with them. Vitali from the Penza
congregation also plans to travel to Moscow when possible in order to study and
worship with them. Lord willing I will return to Moscow the first week of
February to hold a series of evangelistic meetings with them. Please pray for
this work.
- Yours in Him,
- Raymond Fox
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
- Penza
-
Vitali Syrkine
-
David Gilley (contact)
-
2701 NW 19th
-
Oklahoma City, OK 73107
-
(405) 943-1463
- September–December 2000
- This is a report about different activities of the Penza
Church for September–December 2000. I am glad to say that we, as a Church, have
continued to grow in number and in our faith in Jesus Christ as our only Lord
and Savior.
- Our activities were mainly focused on the work in our
congregation so that each brother and sister could grow in knowledge of the Word
of God and be able to share the Gospel with other people who have not come to
God yet. Volodya, a leader of the Church, Nikolai, one of the first members of
the Church and the eldest man in our congregation, and I prepared sermons on
different topics that were considered to be extremely important and most often
requested by the brothers and sisters.
- I spoke on all elements of Sunday worship, trying to deepen
our insight into the Bible in regards to such questions as Why We Get Together
on Sunday, Why We Have the Lord’s Supper Every Sunday, Why We Sing Psalms and
Hymns Without Adding Instrumental Music; Why We Give Our Contribution on Sundays
and How Much We Are Supposed to Give. Though the majority is familiar with these
subjects, it was beneficial for us to have a deeper insight and understanding;
and it was necessary therefore to compare the Old Testament and the New
Testament.
- We continue having our Bible studies every Wednesday. I want
to state that more people show interest in these Bible Studies and are
habitually coming every Wednesday. It is sad to say that Volodya had to
temporarily stop his lessons on Colossians due to his being busy with his small
daughter. So we have studied 2 Timothy and started the epistle of Paul to Titus.
We are blessed with our newborn Sister Irina who is a musician and who helps us
learn new Christian songs every Wednesday, a practice we began with Jimmy Cutter
and Jillian during their recent one-week stay in Penza.
- As always, we devote much time to our work with congregations
outside Penza. It has become a good habit to visit our sisters and brothers in
Saransk every month as the Church is small in number and therefore needs
encouragement and help in any way.
- Moreover, we maintain contact with the Christians in
Ekaterinovka Village and I am happy to say that the family is doing much better
now as Vasily, the head of the family, has stopped drinking and has a permanent
job now. We plan to visit them but meanwhile we just correspond with them on a
regular basis.
- I went to Moscow in September, October (with Raymond Fox),
and December. It was really my pleasure and I felt encouraged to be with the
Christians in Moscow, especially in December. I spoke on the necessity and
importance for each Christian to participate in the Lord’s Supper every Sunday.
To my mind, the Church was doing better after our visit in October. In December
I found my brothers and sisters uplifted and strong in following our Lord Jesus
Christ. The Church in Moscow has a computer now which makes it easier and
considerably cheaper to keep contact by email with Sergey and Olga.
- We were very happy to have Raymond Fox with us for two weeks
in October 2000. First of all, I would like to say some words about our
preparations for Raymond’s visit as it was a nice experience for all of us. We
started to make preparations well in advance. At Raymond’s request, I asked the
brothers and sisters to make a list of all their questions and so in a week we
had a list containing more than 20 different questions on different aspects of
the Bible. Furthermore, we decided that each of us would invite at least one of
our relatives or friends. We also put ads in our local newspapers and printed
announcements that were spread out in different areas of the town. Raymond
presented a very interesting series of lectures in which he did his best to give
answers to almost all our questions, uniting his talks under one theme, "Christ
in Us." I admired how all those different topics (e.g., the Worship, What We
Must Do to Be Saved, Why We Suffer, Why People Interpret the Bible in Different
Ways etc) were nicely presented and logically connected under the common theme,
"Christ in Us." As a result, two people were baptized during the meeting and
other guests were challenged to think about Jesus as their own Savior. Some of
the visitors, particularly Irina, Nelya, Valentina, and Nina were later baptized
by Volodya on December 10, 2000. Moreover, on his way to Penza, Raymond stayed
in Moscow for awhile and discovered that the Church in Moscow needed help as
some Christians had quit the Church due to being confused on some Bible matters.
Thus he also decided to shorten his stay in Penza in order to spend a couple of
days in Moscow on his way home during which he spoke to several Christians and
studied the Bible with them. Raymond also had a lengthy talk with Sergey about
his responsibilities as the leader of the congregation. We are very grateful to
the Lord for the encouragement the Church received from these visits to Penza
and Moscow. We have expressed our sincere desire to have Raymond return to Penza
once a year.
- We were also happy to have Jimmy Cutter and Jillian in Penza.
We had not seen Jillian for several years after Jimmy’s family left Penza in May
1995 and all of us were glad to see her again. Jimmy and Jillian stayed in Penza
for a week and we met every night to listen to Jimmy’s preaching. He spoke on
different attributes of love (1st Corinthians 13:4-7). Jillian invited her
Russian friends to attend the Bible studies; thus we had a great number of
visitors. I know that Jimmy will make a more detailed report on his work in
Penza and we would be glad to read it too.
- We bought Bibles and Bibles for children and gave the books
to the Christians’ children and grandchildren as our New Year gifts. We also had
a very nice tea-party the last day of 2000.
- On behalf of the Church in Penza, I would like to express our
appreciation to those preachers and their families who come to Russia and devote
their time, efforts, knowledge, and love to the work in Russia and,
particularly, in Penza. We expect that other American preachers would like to
join this great work and come to Penza—please know that each will be welcome in
Penza.
- We are thankful to all the Christians in the U.S.A. and other
places for your spiritual and financial support you have been kindly rendering
to us for several years.
- My personal thanks to those Christian families who support my
activities with their words of encouragement, books, phone calls, emails,
prayers, and money for our trips. My special thanks to the Church in Moore, OK.
Please know that many of our aforesaid activities would not have been possible
without your help. God bless you always!
- With Christian Love,
- Vitali Syrkine
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
- Saransk
-
Keith Thompson
(contact)
-
Anne (wife)
-
Jamie
(son)
-
c/o John Halls
-
P.O. Box 152
-
Armadale W.A.
-
6112
-
Australia
- No current report
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
- Tula
-
George Battey (contact)
-
Peggy
(wife)
- No current report
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
-
-
Alabama (Dothan)
-
Kevin Presley
-
Rt. 2 Box 166
-
Kinston, AL 36453
-
(334)898-1301
- No current report
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
- Alabama
(Opp)
-
Greg Fleming
-
221 Nevins Street
-
Kinston, AL 36453
-
(334) 565-3747
- No current report
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
-
California
(Covina)
-
Josh Miller
-
P.O. Box 764
-
Glendora, CA 91740
Reporting Period: From: 08-2001 To: 02-2002
Updation Plan: Most likely, no future reports are planned
for this work.
Report: Update February, 2002 Phil and Rachel (the couple
that I met from the Covina Farmer's Market)attended the
Covina church again when I gave a lesson on the fruit of the
Spirit, and we visited together and had another Bible study
after the service. They may come again this next Lord's Day.
I was pleased that Angie also came to the service that day,
and hope to study more with her as well. I have also been
studying with a lady named Guillermina, whom I met when door
knocking for the Wayne McKamie meeting last year. She speaks
very little English but the Lord has helped me with my
Spanish, and we have been able to have studies out of the
Reina-Valera Bible (the Spanish equivalent of the King James
version). I am continuing to work with Andy Alarcon
(baptized in April of 2001) to help him to grow in Christ.
By God's grace he has really grown in his Christian walk,
and has been glorifying God in the midst of ongoing
hardships in his life. Andy is a real encouragement to me. I
had another uplifting first Sunday with the Hawthorne
congregation, which has already grown since my last visit,
as some of the people that they were reaching out to have
put on Christ in baptism. In Christian love, Josh Miller
Quarterly Update December 2001 August I have really good
news to share from the month of August - we have a new
brother and sister in Christ! We met Amber Brown, sixteen
years old, through the Glendora Farmer's Market outreach.
After we studied about the Deity of Christ, the gospel, and
Biblical repentance, Amber stated that she was baptized as a
baby. During our next study we watched a video about Bible
conversions and looked at some additional passages on
baptism, and Amber recognized her need to obey the gospel. I
took her confession and immersed her into Christ, and when
she came up out of the water she joyfully declared, "I'm
saved!" Just three days later Don McCord baptized Norman
Smith, the boyfriend of the young lady that I baptized in
June. Please pray for his new walk in Christ. Because of how
well the Glendora Farmer's Market outreach went, we also
started manning a booth at the Covina Farmer's Market, which
is held on Friday nights. September/October George has been
very ill for years, and seemed to be taking a turn for the
worst. Though he had previously been closed to the gospel,
in a recent conversation he expressed an interest in
salvation. After many key Scriptures were shared with him I
took his confession of faith and baptized him on October 8.
I freely admit that door knocking is my least favorite form
of outreach, and believe that the Jehovah's Witnesses and
Mormons have caused many people to be defensive at the door.
However, I've recently felt convicted that I need to make
more of an effort to reach out to my neighbors. I got to
have a Bible study with a couple of Azusa Pacific University
students (a religious school) at the first door that I
knocked on (in a while), and have gotten to meet some
neighbors that will hopefully be willing to study in the
future. I was honored to preach at the Labor Day meeting in
Lodi, which I believe was the biggest crowd that I've ever
preached to. I got to meet many wonderful brothers and
sisters and was very encouraged by the preaching, worship,
and fellowship. Sadly, the Glendora Farmer's Market closed
for the year on September 6, but the Covina Farmer's Market
has remained open, and the outreach there has been going
well. In fact, we have made so many contacts from both
farmer's markets that I have had to put the college
outreaches on hold in order to follow up with all of them,
but the campus outreach will resume this month(October),
Lord willing. I have been asked to preach on the first
Sunday of each month at the Hawthorne Church of Christ, a
small congregation meeting near the Los Angeles airport that
has a sincere desire to grow. They are a fired up assembly
of Christians and I enjoy the time that I spend with them.
Don McCord was back for a while from his summer meetings, so
we have been able to have some edifying times of Bible study
and prayer in September. It is a blessing to have one on one
time with a great brother like Don. November On November 2 I
went door knocking with a number of young people from the
congregation, inviting the residents to the Wayne McKamie
meeting. We were disappointed that none of them showed up to
the meeting but we have the names and addresses of people
who seemed at least semi-open to studying the Bible. I was
pleased that my friend Robert, whom I met at the gym, came
to one night of the meeting. Robert also came to church once
when I preached and we discussed different Biblical matters,
including New Testatment baptism, and why we commune with
one loaf and one cup. Please pray that he will be open to
having a regular Bible study. The preaching of Wayne McKamie
was excellent, and one brother responded to the invitation
by making a confession of faults. I have been able to meet
semi-regularly with Ron, whom I met from the Covina Farmer's
Market outreach. He is a member of a Church of God that
believes in Saturday worship and keeping a yearly Passover;
please also pray for my studies with him. I still have
plenty of follow up to do with contacts from the Farmer's
Markets, neighbors, and residents near the Covina church
buidling. I am still seeking out open college students (in
the campus outreach), but they are focused on finals at this
time, and then there will be a winter break through the rest
of December. It is sad that while some students appear to
have a certain level of curiosity about God's word, very few
seem to be making it the number one priority in their lives
(and the ones that I've met who are have been tragically
indoctrinated with false teachings). Please pray that God
will give the increase from these efforts to share the truth
with college students. Don McCord and I have been having
studies on different Biblical issues with some of the
sisters on Wednesday nights before the evening services;
these have been informative and edifying. Don and I have
also been having one on one Bible studies and discussions on
ministry related matters which have been very helpful. In
Christian love, Josh Miller |
-
History of Work [not currently available]
-
-
California
(San Diego)
-
Asunción Rodríguez (Elías)
-
603 E 19th Street, #D
-
National City, CA 91950
-
619-474-1796
- No current report
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
- California
(Tehachapi)
-
Brian Elliott
(contact)
-
661-833-6818
-
Gerald R. Barrett (contact)
-
22150 Old Well Road
-
Tehachapi, CA 93561
-
(661) 822- 4970
Sunday
March 27, 2005 10:57 PM
-
Time is so fleeting. It doesn't seem like
it's been so long since we last gave a report on the work in Tehachapi. We've
had a few changes since our last report. Alan and Melissa Herrin have since
moved to Maryland and are meeting in their home with another family. We believe
they are doing a good work in that area. Alan and Melissa are very zealous
workers for the Lord. Their address and telephone number is 5011 Mallard Lane,
Frederick, MD 21703(Phone #) 301-696-2012. They would love for you to attend
services with them if you can. Won't you consider worshipping with them when you
are in the area. We have had several leads and have invited them to the worship
services and have had Bible studies with with some. Ryan Terwilliger and Jimmy
Downum have continued to bring wonderful lessons to the brethren here. We are
approaching our fifth year here and they have from the beginning helped us on a
monthly basis for which we thank God for them. Brian Elliott and his family (of
Bakersfield, Ca.) and Charles Oriaro and his family (of Orange, Ca.) continue
also to bring us wonderful lessons from God's word. You would do well to contact
these men if you need someone to preach the Gospel. They are very able brethren.
Joe Barrett, Matthew Barrett and Dave Payne continue to be a great asset in the
work and worship here in this community. The congregation here is at peace and
continues to work in the cause of Christ. We solicit your prayers for the on
going work here. If any are passing through the Tehachapi area won't you
please stop by and worship with us. May God bless the faithful wherever they are
working in the Cause. Gerald Barrett
|
- History of Work [not currently available]
">Reports Archive
-
-
Kansas
(Lawrence)
- Denton, Tony E.
Thursday July 03, 2003 07:02 PM
Since the work here in Lawrence, Kansas, is the best work in which I've ever
been involved, and since David Risener encouraged me to send in a report for the
website, here it is.
Summarily, we've had 17 conversions connected with this work since we moved here
six years ago. The longest I had ever been anywhere before was 3.5 years. I
think this goes to show that one of the reasons why some works (especially in
America) don't go as well as we wish is because we quit too quickly.
I send a report to every congregation which supports the work here on a
quarterly basis; and the fourth one (the annual report in December) is perused
and signed by the male members as well.
I hope the following (out-of-the-ordinary type of) report encourages you
concerning American works and perhaps even causes more support of such great
works. Blessings to you and the work in your respective areas.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
June 23rd, 2003
Dearest Brethren:
I'm delighted to send you this (second quarterly) report, because this has been
a very good year so far! Instead of going through the routine outlined report, I
thought I'd provide you with some great highlights of recent weeks. Thank you
for reading these reports; I especially love to hear about the congregations who
read them out loud.
Do you remember how that in our last (March) report I mentioned that we were at
a high point in the work, having various studies going on and having just
baptized another person? Well, we're still at a high point because our 16th and
17th Converts were just baptized yesterday! But before I talk about them, let me
tell you a little about our 15th Convert of the last report.
He's what I call "a firecracker." I think he's the most enthusiastic new
Christian I've ever had the privilege of converting; for examples: (1) he wants
to be (and has been) at every service of the Church to learn all he can and to
worship and thank God--he truly appreciates what God has done for him; (2) he
insists on studying with me at least three hours a week; (3) at this early stage
and even if he went alone, he attended every service of a week-long meeting
about 40 miles away (except when we had services here); (4) he already has a
lead for us in one of his life-long friends that he has brought to Church here,
as well as to the meeting I just mentioned, and to the baptisms yesterday; (5)
he's already very involved in evangelism and anything else he can be involved
in, such as painting our building; and (6) he's purposely trying to come up with
ways to rub his enthusiasm off on others whom he recognizes as not having the
same fire he does; he wants them to see what he does--that they should be so
thankful to God that they can never do enough. Now to our new couple:
A husband-and-wife team that I've been studying with obeyed the Gospel
yesterday! The wife is the sister of the husband of the last married couple I
baptized 18 months ago. (Don't you just love how new blood opens doors for more
new blood?) Just as with the couple baptized 18 months ago, this new couple has
been very thankful that we came into their lives. They really enjoy studying the
Bible, and we hope and pray that they will, in turn, open yet other doors of
opportunity via the children and friends; after all, such is partly why we're in
our present high point in the work here.
Further: ...I have a few online studies going with folks around here as well as
with folks who don't live around here. For example, a cups/classes fellow in
Mississippi who found my website visited our congregation when he came to visit
friends; he did so realizing that we're different, wanting to see it for
himself, and asking for more information. Since then we've been corresponding
online, and he has mentioned the idea of speaking to his congregation concerning
having me come to Mississippi to present our positions publicly (not in a debate
format, but a discourse/question-and-answer format).
Well, I could share more with you, but I hope this is satisfying to you,
relative to the idea that your prayers, concern, and support are not going for
naught here in Lawrence, Kansas. If you want more information, please feel free
to contact one of the leaders here as listed below, and, Lord willing, we (as
has been our custom) will send you an annual report from the congregation
itself.
Blessings to You and on the Work in Your Area,
Tony Denton
Illinois
Chad
Cranfield
13272 State Hwy 96
Pleasant Hill IL 62366 USA
615-306-3016
rachlvschad_ro@yahoo.com
Mozier Church of Christ
Reporting Period:
01-2011 to 08-2011
Report:
I am thankful for the opportunity to write this report for the
congregation here in Mozier, IL. We have had three baptized into the Lord and
been able to get five fallen back into the fold. The work here continues on with
studies in the community and some interest starting to show. We thank the Lord
daily for such a harvest. We have had two meetings this year, Bro Reggie Kinser
in April, and Bro Duane Permenter the first part of August. Both went well with
wonderfull preaching and uplifting the congregation. Pray for the work here,
that if the Lord wills it may prosper. Yours in Christ, Chad Cranfield
-
Oklahoma
(Blanchard)
-
Glen Osburn
-
Rt. 4, Box 918
-
Blanchard, OK 73010 USA
-
405-392-4400
- New Congregation
- It's time to begin! April 19–22 has been scheduled for the
"Grand Opening" meeting of the Whispering Pines congregation. Please come join
us as we celebrate the completion of our facilities, and the beginning of our
work. Worship will begin at 7:30pm on Thursday & Friday, and 6pm on Saturday.
Sunday worship will begin at 10am & 4pm. For maps or other information, email
Glen Osburn: glenreba@email.com
- Glen
-
-
Oregon (Salem)
- No current report
-
-
History of Work [not currently available]
-
-
Texas
(Corsicana)
-
Jimmy Vannoy
-
105 Sunset Circle, Corsicana, TX 75110
- 903-872-5419
- No current report
-
- History of Work [not currently available]
-
-
Texas
(El Paso)
-
Randall (Randy) M. Tidmore
-
10681 Birthstone Drive
- El Paso, TX 79935
- (915) 590-5774
-
History of Work [not currently available]
-
-
NewTestamentChurch.org
-
David Risener
-
PO Box 57
-
Sulphur, OK
-
580-993-0531
-
Letter Address to
Contributors Who Support this Evangelistic Effort
07-15-2014
|
Dear Contributor,
Most of my reports are posted at
NewTestamentChurch.org website and can be printed for the
congregation to view. This time, I am also mailing a card to
each contributor. I don't do this often because reports are
available on the website and many of you have told me to spend
my time in communications with our evangelistic efforts because
you can read the progress reports on the site. However, please
contact me anytime if you ever need additional information.
Since the beginning of this effort we have had over Nine
Million visits to our site (avg 1,314/day). The site mainly
consist of Bible Study Articles/Material, Sermon Outlines,
Gospel Videos, Gospel Audios, Bible Correspondent Courses and
Bible translations. Most of these pages have a "Contact Us" link
and has the potential to generate soul saving leads. You are
welcome to view the Evangelist Efforts page on our site where I
have provided a description of my normal daily tasks.
Sometimes "normal" turns into many other responsibilities that I
need to attend to, such as a disaster or foreign preacher
problems.
The following are a few things that might be of
interest to you: (1.) From time to time I receive a request from
a family in the U.S. asking my help in locating a Christian
couple to adopt a child. I play a small part in the
introductions, but am extremely happy when a Christian home is
found for a child. (2.) We have helped connect U.S. Christians
with needy Christian families in different 3rd world countries.
Example: A family in the U.S. helps provide for the physical
needs of a child from a Christian family in another country. For
about $25/mo a U.S. Christian can take on most of the needs the
family is having major difficulties providing a child. In this
report there is a picture of such a needy family. A U.S. family
wanted to support one child for $25/mo. Once they obtained more
information about the needs of this special family, who had 3
precious children (see front cover picture), the loving U.S.
members decided to support all three. (It thrills my soul to see
such compassion one Christian family to another.) (3.) From time
to time a disaster devastates the lives of some of our Brethren.
Not only do we email prayer requests for our fellow Brothers and
Sister in distress, but at times we also gather money to supply
necessities. An example of this is the recent Typhoons that hit
the Philippines where 20 church buildings were damaged or
destroyed. Two of our children and three adult Christians lost
their lives and several members were hospitalized. Many
Christian homes were totally demolished. To the best of my
knowledge the needs of the Brethren there were lovingly provided
by Christians/Congregations here in the United States (see cover
page pictures). (4.) I continue to work, to the best of my
ability to find support for faithful preachers here and abroad.
IF you can help with this, I will provide you additional info
and references. (5.) In regards to directly spreading the Gospel
there are major and timely Communications taking place in India,
Countries in Africa, Philippines, U.S., and South America. There
are also New Contacts we are in communications with in
Indonesia, Japan, China, Turkey, Germany, and Cuba. If you are
interested in volunteering to study with some of these contacts,
please let me know.
Because of your support, these tasks
continue. I cannot express enough the constant need for your
support and I thank you greatly for all the past contributions.
A financial report is also posted for contributors in the
password protected area of our site. With your help, Souls are
being Saved, Needy Brethren are being cared for, and Spiritual
Babes in Christ are provided Edifications and Encouragement.
Please pray that this work continues and my spiritual, mental
and physical health withstands the work before me.
In His
Service, David Risener ~ Gospel@NT-C.org ~ 580-993-0531
PS... Comments Also Available (Example): I am happy to work with
the leads from Newtestamentchurch.org. We have been contacting
these people and inviting them to our studies to know and learn
more. By this site we are able to reach and contact many in
India. Thanks to Brother David Risener for his efforts. We hope
in future may reach many people by this web work- Saganty
Lazarus, INDIA 6-7-14 |
To View Pictures of Support Provided to
Philippine
Brethren During the Typhoons and
Earthquake
CLICK HERE