April 2023
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth in me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” John 7:37-39
Our Lord Jesus said this would happen to all who come to Him and drink of Him – they would receive the Holy Spirit, and His Spirit of life would be a river of living water in them. That is, as a believer, and especially a drinker of His water of life–we should become fountains of living waters of eternal life to others! And the more we drink of Him the better our fountain will be!
Well, I (Paul) believe that, by God’s grace, this river of life has been growing in me during the past years and recent months. I think we’ve seen wonderful blessings in preaching and blessed fruits of the ministry of God’s Word over the last year and a half especially.
GRACE MISSION (in Chile)
Three dear core families have come to us since the beginning of 2020, and three more families have been “frequent visitors”. One of the latter is a very dear young couple we have known for years, from before their marriage (Rodrigo and Michelle), who now have two boys about the ages of our Faith and John-Baptiste. They travel a couple of hours to be with us all about twice a month.
Every Lord’s Day we enjoy wonderful fellowship at the morning worship, our meals together, in afternoon Bible classes, and an evening service. There are a lot of children around and we have sensed the Lord blessing and guiding Paul as he preaches the Gospel to them all and applied the Word. The fruit the Lord has given has been very good. When the desire cometh it is a tree of life. We truly thank each of you who have prayed for our ministry in Chile! Therefore, please continue to pray for:
– Rosita and her family (Alonso, Carmen, Renata, Alfredo, Kathy)
– Juan, Julio, Rodrigo, Gabriel, Pedro (messages)
– Jocelyn, María, Berta, Denise, Nicolás, Rubén and their families (salvation)
– All the brethren, adherents, and their children
SPECIAL VISITS IN GUATEMALA & MEXICO
As we traveled to the USA, seven of us passed through Guatemala and Mexico, where we taught N. T. Greek and ministered the Word on a daily basis for an entire month.
In Guatemala we visited the Rickers (Pastor Hal Ricker, with his son Stephen and his family) and their two churches (and others). Stephen is mainly taking care of the churches now, but Pastor Ricker (99 years old) still preaches weekly and attends their bookstore every day during the week. It was a great blessing to see him again and see the Lord’s blessings in the development and progress of their presbytery and its churches. On the Lord’s Day, Paul taught SS classes and preached AM and PM at the Montserrat, Los Angeles and Chimaltenango churches while Anna and Sarah gave violin duets accompanied by Samuel or Joshua Ricker, and helped with children’s classes along with Cheryl. On Thursday we had a special outing to visit a church near the coast where Paul lectured concerning Greek and the N. T. and preached during an evening service, and we all sang “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, which is so true of our great eternal Creator and Redeemer!
In Mexico we spent several days with each of three independent Bible Presbyterian churches (in Allende, Oteapan and Pajapan), speaking just about every evening with a great sense of the Holy Spirit’s blessing. This was especially Paul’s sense of our time in Oteapan (pictured at left) where we spent an entire week. In the morning, we had devotions with the people after we ate breakfast together; then one of the brethren would take us (Paul and Cheryl) to visit two or three people with whom Paul would read and expound the Word and pray, and often other family members sat in while he did so. It was interesting to go to Sunday School at 7:00 a.m. in Allende to avoid the hotter hours of the day! All the brethren responded very well to the ministry of the Word in Guatemala and Mexico. Would you pray for those who heard the living Word and for the pastors, elders and deacons of these churches.
Yes, we already miss our dear church family in Chile! They are very sweet brothers and sisters. We are also very thankful for abundant opportunities to testify to others of Christ near where we live. For example, a few months ago Sarah advertised to see if she might find anyone nearby interested in taking some violin lessons from her. Emilio, about 11, responded and became Sarah’s first student. Then, Emilio’s dad was interested in perfecting his English, so he met with Cheryl for that purpose. We have had him read several excellent Christian works (and lately, the N. T.), including J. C. Ryle’s Thoughts for Young Men and Duties of Parents, which he much appreciated! Please pray for the salvation of Reuben (Rubén) and his family (he seems really close)!
There is also great need for prayer for the country of Chile, as the president is a Marxist and the country’s leadership has insisted in forging ahead with a new constitutional convention process after the citizens rejected the recently proposed constitution last year. They will vote for delegates to the convention on May 11th and they plan to hold a new countrywide ratification referendum in December. Please pray for the safeguarding of liberty and independence which are eroding very quickly.
PRAY TO THE LORD OF THE HARVEST
Prayer is requested that the Lord will also raise up and send forth more laborers into His harvest. We rejoice in those our Lord has been calling and raising up. Yet we believe that there is great need for the maturity and preparation of young people who shall be willing to engage in ministry and mission work in an increasingly challenging world. Certain nations are ever more dangerous for families with children and there are greater obstacles in the way of reaching the needy and sowing the Gospel. We have need of finding new ways in which to continue serving others in love and proclaiming God’s Word as we adjust to a changing world, while at the same time seeking to preserve the means necessary for safely transporting those who go out, keeping them supplied and safeguarding their liberty and well-being. It all seems very daunting, but we can confidently assert that the Lord will guide and provide for the accomplishment of His purposes. Let us be sensitive to His guidance and thoughtful as to how to obey all His commandments as we seek to serve Him. May He grant true wisdom.
FURLOUGH
Finally, pray with us as we continue scheduling our travels and visits this year, and for journeying mercies. We have already met with four supporting churches, though two of these meetings have only been introductions to more complete visits in May, Lord-willing. Praise the Lord for a wonderful supply of our transportation need.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Paul and Cheryl,
Geneva, Isaiah, Josiah, Anna, Sarah, Katie, Faith and John-Baptiste