Dear Praying friends and Supporters;
Seeing growth is a very encouraging
thing. Every Sunday morning in July we saw the church building completely full
and overflowing a couple of times. Adults in Sunday School averaged around 20,
teens 12, children 60. Levi runs the 4-wheeler and had three seniors coming in
each Sunday. We are looking to begin building some pews or benches with backs
on them. They will be longer than our current benches, and will be able to
handle two or three more people each.
Also our
new church plant in the village of Tikuabila is continuing to grow. We now have
a pole frame that we put plastic over for meeting under. Salvado; the main man
there, is working on getting some braces set so that we can put some planks
down as benches for sitting. There have been as many as thirty come in for the
services, enough so that another denomination has gotten upset that we are
there. A couple of years before they had planned to start something near there
but never did. Now that we are there they are trying to raise a group of their
own. That, of course, is not my fight, but is the Holy Spirit’s job to work in
hearts and show them the truth. It is fun to see the Devil squirm when the Lord
starts doing something.
We had
expected to have record attendance the second Sunday of the month, because of
having a group from the US in. Five people came from Maranatha Baptist Church
in Saint Robert, Missouri, and one came from Houston, Texas. Six in all came
down to help us work on the house, visit, and to see a little bit of the area.
This is the
second group that Bro. Martin has brought down. Bro. and Mrs. Martin are missionaries
with the Bearing Precious Seed Bible portions ministry out of their church
there in Missouri. It is a unique ministry in that it utilizes “seed line churches”
to print and assemble the tracts and scriptures. They currently have more than
twenty churches from the mid-west and south-east working with them printing,
collating, and filling up containers with scripture to be shipped all over the
world. It is a ministry worthy of financial support, and is also a great way to
excite a church for missions with hands-on work getting the gospel out.
The group
made it out here on Tuesday and started work on Wednesday morning. The first
order of business was trying to start the flooring straight on a crooked floor
system. After getting started it was hammer down the rest of the way with the
flooring, post, rafters, tin, and steps. They also sanded, mudded, primed and
painted the walls of the kitchen and living room.
On Saturday
they went with us to Tikuabila to hand out tracts and New Testaments. There are
about twenty to twenty five houses in this village which are spread out over
about a one mile area. With their help, we were able to cover most all of these
houses and a couple of houses on into the next village of Sruji.
Sunday
morning I was able to interpret as Bro. Martin preached the morning message. In
the afternoon we went to one of the shut-in’s homes to hold service, and then
in the evening they practiced and sang a song in Miskito.
It was a great blessing to have these folks with us for
these days, they were a help and encouragement not only to us but also to the
folks here.
The first
week of August, Levi, Aaron and I will be headed near the Nicaragua border to a
revival meeting in the village of Auka. The last time I went to this village it
was an eight hour bicycle ride just to get there. This time we will be taking
our 4-wheeler over in the boat and taking it and the trailer there. Lord
willing, we should make it in three hours or so.
While we
are in Auka, Robin and Lydia will be in La Ceiba to meet Kayla who is coming to
visit us for the month of August till it is time for her to go back to school
in Pensacola. We are extremely grateful for those who have paid for her to come
visit us for this time.
The end of
August we will be headed to Krausirpi again, looking to hold several classes
there teaching in the book of John, as well as meeting with the leaders of the
village of Paisana to set a time for us to hold a revival meeting there in
their village.
We thank
you for your continued prayers for us and the ministry here.
In His Service,
Gene and Robin and family
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