Tuesday, March 30, 2004
[3:50 PM]
Weekly Update
Hello Everyone,
Let's start out with Margarita. She had an ultrasound today and got to see her baby for the first time. Doctor said looks like a girl but couldn't be sure. Everything looked good and the baby is healthy. Please pray for Margarita, the baby, and her medical costs. Her baby is due the beginning of June and the bill could get pretty high.
Yesterday Mary was coming home from taking Alison to her choir practice. She saw an older gentleman on the side of the road, not that unusual. But she said he looked so sad that she had to stop the car, turn around and give him a tract. An older lady on the other side of the road waved at her and introduced herself as the elderly gentleman's wife. She said they had been waiting for 2 hours for someone to give them a ride to their rancho, but they never showed up. Mary said that if they were then when she returned that she would ask permission to take them home. She came home, told us the story, and we were able to take them home. They live in a rancho that we've never been to before and we're excited to go pass out tracts and scripture there. Please pray that God will open up new opportunities with these folks, Julio and Consuela. By the way, they said they both read the tract Mary had given them while they were waiting.
Last Saturday some of the older kids at the orphanage went out "door knocking", inviting folks to the service on Sunday. Two people did show up and paid very close attention. He (Jose, also known as Bartolo) is one of the very influential people in the rancho close by. Please pray that God will touch his heart and that he will be saved.
A big "Thank-you" is in order for those of you who have donated things, especially the shoes. It was really nice to see the kids in clothes and shoes you all have sent. Also once again, a huge thank you to those that have helped with medical needs. God has used you to touch the hearts and lives of those that you have helped. It is very hard being here, seeing the needs, and not being able to take care of each and every one of them. But, thanks to you, we have been able to help out in ways that wouldn't be possible without your faithfulness. And of course, a big thank you to those of you who contribute financially, whether it's monthly or as God directs. Without the "team" we have in the states it would be an almost insurmountable task. Thanks!
Steve, Amber & Kids
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Tuesday, March 23, 2004
[10:47 AM]
Weekly Update
Hello Everybody,
Another beautiful week in sunshiny Jerez. The only day we had rain was, of course, the day of the soccer game. They still played and had a good time. Miguel, one of the boys who comes regularly to our house, scored two goals. "Our" team won 3-0. Thanks to Chris Jaquess, we have a new link on our web site called "futbol". We passed out tracts to every player on both teams with our web site address printed on them and told them they could see their pictures there. We handed out 53 tracts in less than 5 minutes. Pray that God will use this seed to grow mighty plants here in Jerez.
We've been having a lot of fun out at the orphanage. The kids there are great! They behave like ladies and gentlemen, but they also know how to have a really good time playing. We went out on Saturday and played water balloons with them. After that we played soccer for a little while. They had some really good soccer players and some extremely wet kids!
We asked you last week to pray for Enrique, the young man that Alison had shared the Gospel with. He was planning to go to church with us Sunday, but had to work. We were able to take two other boys with us. They seemed to enjoy the service. There were 38 kids and 8 adults, a pretty good ratio in my opinion. The Gospel was presented very clearly, now just pray that it takes roots.
In case you're noticing a theme here, the last few Sundays we have been studying Mark chapter 4. It's a very good chapter and if you haven't looked at it for a while, I can highly recommend re-reading it.
We've been busy this week trying to get missions trip packages in order. We have one tenatively scheduled for this summer, and if you have been thinking about taking a missions trip, Jerez is a beautiful place. For those of you who have been on missions trips before, you'll understand when I tell everybody else, "It will change your life!"
Please take a moment right now to pray for us and your ministry here in Jerez. God is taking the seed that you are sending us and letting us sow abundantly, but He's the only one that can make that seed bring forth fruit. Pray that it will bring forth "some 30, and some 60, and some 100." (Mark 4:8b)
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Thursday, March 18, 2004
[8:47 AM]
Weekly Update
Hello Everyone,
I'm not sure where to start. How 'bout with Sanida, the little girl that needed the medical help. We finally finished up after the CT with an EEG of the H.E.A.D. (sorry about that we just got in a rut!)
The results; CT normal, EEG normal, head normal
Diagnosis; Febrile Seizures due to high fever.
Medicine Needed; None.
Praise the Lord, she should only have seizures if she runs a really high temperature. If they are able to keep the temperature down, she should be fine.
This morning we had an elderly man come to our gate and ask, "Is this the house that gives out food?" He had six grandchildren at home and no food for them to eat. He is a field worker and right now there are no fields to work. We started to give him the dried beans and rice and he asked if we had anything ready to eat that wouldn't take long to cook (THAT'S HUNGRY!!). We just happened to have refried beans and rice with chicken in the refrigerator and heated a lot of it and sent it home for his family. We put a couple of John/Romans (thanks to our home church), a New Testament (thanks to Turning Point Prison Ministry), and several tracts (thanks again to the kids of Wilson Creek Baptist Church) in a bag (thanks to those in Kokomo who donated nice canvas bags) with fruit, vegetables, dried beans and rice, and a nice hot meal of beans, rice and tortillas. He was extremely grateful. It's fun being on this end, but we sure couldn't do it without all of you back home.
We also had the opportunity this week to find out what it is like to be taken advantage of. A lady came to our house asking for help. She said her husband was paralyzed from the waist down and they had no money. We gave her $10 for her husband to get medical treatment and the next day they were back asking for more help. We went to their house to get the "real story". Upon arriving at the house, her husband walked down a very long flight of stairs to see what was going on. She had been asking for about $170 to pay their bills for the past two months. Helping them out with food is not a problem, and if we were able to help him with medical needs so that he would be able to work, that would be great also. What they were looking for was a free ride. The reason we are telling you all this is we don't want you to think we are handing out God's money without researching each need. When you put us in charge of spending the money that God has given to you to give for missions, that is a very serious thing to us. Please continue to pray that God will give us wisdom in discerning the needs presented to us.
We've been privileged to have Steve's mom & dad here for the past week. We have really been enjoying the fellowship and making them have a "working" vacation. They've been great, helping out in any way they can.
Please continue to pray for us, particularly for a young man named Enrique. Alison had the opportunity to share the Gospel with him this past week. He, as well as a couple of the other teenage boys, wants to go to church with us Sunday. I think we'll be able to find room for them!
In Christ,
Steve, Amber & Kids
"That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations." Psalm 67:2
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Thursday, March 11, 2004
[9:41 AM]
Weekly Update
Good Morning All,
Sorry this is a couple of days late, but it's been a busy week. We went to the border to pick up our folks and we were on the road Tuesday. They were able to bring with them a case of Spanish Bibles (36 of them). We've been having fun passing them out.
Speaking of passing things out, since we've been back we have given out over 400 New Testaments, over 400 John/Romans, and countless tracts, thanks to those of you who supply us these materials. The tracts we were able to purchase because of a group of kids in Missouri who wanted the children of Mexico to know their God. We're having a great time!
We talked to you last week about Jose, the gym owner. Two days ago he came to us for more printed materials to pass out. Wow! We went yesterday to take him some of the whole Bibles we had just received. He was extremely excited. He told us God is calling him to be a pastor, but he wasn't sure what to do next. It just so happens we have a whole set of seminary video tapes in Spanish! When we told him he got so excited he could hardly stand still. These tapes teach doctrine, how to put sermons together, as well as going through many of the books of the Bible. He got so excited he ran over to the cooler and grabbed out bottles of juice to give us! I think he was so happy he had to celebrate somehow. He started the videos last night. When he gets done with the first few, he'll come and swap them out for others. Isn't this fun? There may be another man, just outside of Jerez that God may be calling to preach also. Please pray with us that God will show these two men exactly what he has for them to do.
We're still not completely finished with the medical issue with Sanida (the little girl who needed the CT scan). We have an appointment today at 2:00, so please be in prayer that she will be able to see the doctor then and get this medical need taken care of.
Please take a moment right now to pray for us and these needs. We love you all and thank God daily for each and every one of you for your willingness to reach the people of Jerez, Mexico.
In Christ,
Steve, Amber & Kids
"That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations." Psalm 67:2
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Tuesday, March 02, 2004
[9:15 AM]
Hello again,
I said yesterday that we were one day early this week on our update, and I guess I should have waited. Let me tell you about our evening yesterday, and our morning today.
Last night, Margarita came over to tell us that both her kids, Carlos and Lupita, were at the hospital. They were very sick children. She needed money to pay the bill. We told her to come over after she was done and we would take them home. Then a little while later, her husband, Arturo, dropped by to tell us they admitted the children, and they wouldn't be going home.
This morning, around 10:00 a.m., they all showed up at our door, needing a ride home. After a little prodding to make sure they had everything they needed, we found out they still needed prescriptions filled. So we took them to the pharmacy, bought the medicine, and took them home.
Remember the new work we talked about yesterday - the one we were taking New Testaments, tracts and John/Romans to? Well, it's right next door to the house Margarita has been living in for the past week-and-a-half. When we dropped off Margarita and her family, we went over to give them the material. The lady (sorry, I'm terrible with remembering names) said that last night at 1:00 a.m., they had to take their baby boy to the hospital for the same type thing as Carlos had. Her husband was out trying to find a job so they could pay the bill and get the necessary prescriptions filled. We took her back to the pharmacy, bought the needed medicines, gave her the $3.50 (can you believe that?!) for the bill, then brought her by our house so she knew where we lived. We told her anytime, day or night, if they needed help to let us know. Part of their problem is drinking contaminated water (Margarita says it comes out of the tap white), so we took purified water to her home.
The lady we helped has been saved for a little while. A while back, she had an accident that caused her hip to become dislocated, almost sticking out of the skin. She went to the doctor, who said she needed two operations, one for her hip and one for her lower back. She couldn't stand or walk, but had no money for the operation. That night she went home and started reading her Bible and praying. She told God, "You know I don't have the money for this operation, but I need to get better." She said she knew with all her heart that God would take care of her. The next morning, she woke up and could walk. She still walks with a limp, she still needs the operations, but she is able to get around.
She went on to tell us that her husband was a drunk and drug addict. She said he has been clean and sober for a year now, because of God's answers to her prayers. She said he's been reading and studying the Bible for a year now. She's not sure if he's saved, but it looks that way.
Last night, she said, when they needed to take the baby to the hospital, she knew they didn't have the money for it, but she knew God would provide for her need. When we got to their house, she said it was a "beautiful moment" for her, as she had forgotten all about us, but now God had used us to meet her need. All of this, she explained, was her testimony of God's hand in her life. Her hip, her husband, and her baby. What an awesome thing to see & hear! We told her that this was way bigger than what she could see, and went on to tell her about all of you folks back home who sacrifice to allow us to do these things. I guarantee you have a very dear Mexican lady thanking God for all of you today. And that is added with our thankfulness to God for you and your commitment to His children and His work throughout the world.
There was an amazing God at work here. Margarita told us this morning that she was moving back to her old place where they have electricity and are near all her relatives. But if she hadn't moved for the week-and-a-half, we might never have met these other Christian people struggling to survive, struggling to start a ministry here. And if those of you who sent money for the little girl that needed the CT scan hadn't followed God's direction for you in this matter, these are needs we would have really struggled to meet! Remember, we told you some extra money had been given towards that need, and we would use it for other medical needs as they arose. As it turned out, the money that came in was almost to the penny what we needed to meet not just the CT scan, but these other critical medical needs also! Isn't our God incredible??? For those of you to whom God impressed the need to give, He knew all of this ahead of time, and sent exactly what was needed. Thank you for being in tune with the Saviour! And for those who weren't compelled by God to give for this need at this time, now you know why. And don't feel like you were left out. Your prayers were also answered, and then some, as God met all these needs you brought to Him, plus more that we didn't even know to pray for. Thank you, thank you, one and all! I'm sure glad God put us on your team to reach the world.
Your Partners in Christ,
Steve, Amber & Kids
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Monday, March 01, 2004
[9:13 AM]
Weekly Update
Hello Everyone,
I know we don't usually send out our updates until Tuesday, but we figured we better send it out a day early.
Thanks to everyone who prayed as well as those who gave towards the need we sent out last week. The money came in (plus some extra) for the CAT scan. We went over this morning to check on the little girl (we would tell you her name if we could spell it or pronounce it) and she seems to be doing better. Her appointment is scheduled for Wednesday morning. We'll let you know the results as soon as we find them out. The extra money that came in will be used for extra expenses deeling with this. Any money above and beyond that will go towards other medical needs as they arise (and they always do). Thanks again everbody.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit a new work in the area. The folks there were very poor in wordly possessions but were rich in spirit. They had a total of 4 Bibles and 2 New Testaments for the whole church which generally runs about 30 people. Tomorrow we are going to be taking them more New Testaments, John/Romans, and Tracts.
There's a Christian man down here, by the name of Jose. He owns a gym. We have put tracks and John/Romans at the gym on the counter for anybody to take if they would like one. For the past couple of weeks we've been wanting to take him New Testaments but it just seemed like our paths wouldn't cross. Last week we finally did meet up with him at the gym and we had 20 New Testaments in our hands when we walked in. You should have seen his eyes light up! He said, "How did you know that I needed these? I just gave away my last two that I had yesterday to two men who had just gotten saved!" We left those 20 with him and the next day returned with 100 more. When I saw him a couple of days after that, he said he had already given away 20 of them. This is fun!
A couple of the soccer players were here last night to tell us the uniforms are in and they should have them by next Sunday. They said that they are gold with black letters and they are the best quality that they could have. They were very excited! In other related news, Juan Carlos, one of the young men who hangs out at our house and whom we've had the opportunity to share the Gospel with, has taken on the job of translating our web site for us. What he's working on right now is Steve's testimony and the "How to get to Heaven" portion of it. One more opportunity for him to be reached with the gospel. Isn't this fun?
Thanks again to everyone who participates in this ministry. Please take a moment right now and pray for us, for the sick little girl, for Juan Carlos, and also for Jose. Don't forget the new group of Christians we just met either.
God Bless.
Steve, Amber & Kids
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