Follow up - A la carte items

Allow me to mention some things sporadically to also bring you "up to date."

Sunday School
Yesterday for Sunday School, Rick lead a group of 9-11 year olds, Billy and Rachel worked together with the younger kids (and also in children's church), and I taught the Adults and teenagers together. In our class we finished going through the "Dos Formas de Vivir" (Two ways to live) tract. After we finished this tract (which we have been working on for a few months now), we began to turn our attention to question #2 of the Baptist Catechism. Having already discussed question #1 about What is the "fin principal" or "chief end" of man, we turned our attention to "What rule has God given man by which we may know how to glorify and enjoy Him forever."

The answer to the question "The Word of God contained in the Old and New Testaments is the only (unica) rule that God has given man by which we may know how to glorify and enjoy Him forever." Here are two quick thoughts on why this resonated so much with me already this week.

First, we discussed in class that if one is to know and be a follower of Christ, one must do so, only through the Word of God as mentioned in the lesson. It is impossible for a person to come to the knowledge of the True and Living God apart from knowing Him in the Scriptures. The Scriptures alone are sufficient to make one "wise unto salvation." Therefore we cannot understate the need and priority of getting the Word of God in the hands of all peoples of all languages. It is also important that we teach them to obey "everything" that the Lord has commanded us. (Matthew 28:18-20).

Secondly, in an effort to explain in greater detail that the Scriptures alone are sufficient, we looked at what is going on in the context of the Valley community. Brothers and sisters, please pray because there are many that are teaching "Jesus+" or the "Bible+." I can assure you as I assured the hearers on Sunday morning that this is no Gospel at all, but is a teaching of the enemy and enslaves people. For example, while we were driving around Saturday we found that many streets had the presence of Mormon missionaries. There were people absent from the congregation on Sunday morning because they have (since the last time we were here) been lead to a "Jehovah's Witness" service. Though I advocate that we must treat both camps mentioned above as people created in the image of God, we must at the same time tell them and others that they teach a foreign God and not the True and Living God that is mentioned in the scriptures. We can be friends, but we are not brothers in Christ. We must love them, but we do not love their teaching that enslaves people. The camps mentioned above do not believe that the Scripture alone is sufficient. They do not believe that Christ alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. These, my friends, are non-negotiable for those who desire to know the True and Living God. They are essential, not because I said so, but because this is the plain teaching of Scripture.

There is so much more to talk to you about. Please pray for our team, please pray for Olivia as she has a little bug bite that we are watching for infection. (Hey, I told you that the information included in this post is going to be sporadic).

In Christ,

Aaron

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Mission Update

Buenos Dias everyone!

Here were are in the Rio Grande Valley again and I would like to bring everyone up-to-date on a few things and specifically ask for prayer in a few different areas.

Here are some thoughts about a few of the days.

Thursday
On our trip south we ran in to a little problem of tornados crossing the highway in front of us. Though we did not personally encounter a tornado, it caused us to stop and wait for the storms to cross before heading south. We later stopped at a familiar place along our normal travel route and spent the night.

Friday
Friday we arrived at the Valley and made contact with the people from the congregation. Rick began a "Sound Technician" class with two people. His impressive training program was developed by him personally and he is now translating the details in Spanish.

Saturday
Saturday proved to be an event-filled day. Billy and I completed our morning jog to the local coffee shop. (I say jog, but it was more like 40% jog on the way there only and the rest was walking). Rick continued with round two of the sound Technician class. In the middle of the day a man who we refer to as "Hermano Solis" was working, cutting trees, when he was cut by a chainsaw, down to the bone. He had surgery later that evening. We were able to be with the family and pray with them, encourage them. Hermana Solis (the wife) was such an encouragement. As we were sitting in the hospital (knowing that the family has been through a lot lately), she asked if we could give her some scripture that she could cling to and find strength and encouragement. It was a joy to see her with her copy of God's word each time we visited.

Sunday
Sunday we all got a very early start and had a full day of plans. We ordered tacos for the congregation for breakfast and fired up the coffee pot for those who would come early. Billy ran the bus route at our previously established stops. We had a great service (about 40 or so in attendance). Enrique completed his first assignment as new "Técnico de sonido" and did a great job, I might add. In the message Sunday, we looked at the subject of baptism and how this relates to a visual reminder of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The day ended up with us resting for a while, then picking up Hermano Solis from the hospital and taking him home to be with his family.

I am writing all of this things to you, now on Monday. There are many other things that I would like to share with you, and by God's grace will do so perhaps in a follow-up post. Thank you all so much for reading, praying, sending, and going. Never forget that those who stay and support us in going are just as much part of the mission as those who go. We love you all!

In all things...Christ preeminent!

Aaron


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Update from Iglesia Cristo El Rey

It is now Friday morning and we are preparing for our last teaching day with our Bible Study "Dios Siempre Gana" or "God Always Wins." Last night it sounds like there was a record set with attendance as, with counting our team (of 11), we had 96 people in attendance! Yesterday's study was "God Wins in the End - The last battle." Today we are going to ask the question "Who's side are you on?" Please pray as today is the final teaching of the series.

Other items of interest include:

• The workers and muchachos have been challenged to learn 5 memory verses. Many have done so!
• We have also challenged them with learning the Baptist catechism question "Are there more Gods than one." The answer to the question is "No. There is only One True and Living God." (Of course they are learning this in Spanish).
• We have handed out books by John Piper called "Para tu gozo" or "For Your Joy" and the Mathaias Media tract "Two Ways to Live." From your generous support of Psalm 67 Missions Network we have been able to make these purchases.
• Two young men (Mario and Enrique) have been helping us on a daily basis with translation when passing out flyers in the community, please pray for them.

There are many more points to mention, stay tuned!

In all things...Christ preeminent!

Aaron

Mission Report 03/12/2012

Well, our team has arrived in Texas and we have had our first day of Spring Break Outreach to the community in the Rio Grande Valley. I would like to share with you some highlights of the trip as well as leave you with some prayer requests.

First, I would like to personally thank each and every one of you who have prayed for and financially supported this current endeavor. I would also like to personally send thanks to everyone who has participated with Psalm 67 Missions Network in the past. We praise God for the work that he has done along the US/Mexico border. We pray that this might continue and increase as the Lord allows. 

First, here are some highlights so far from this current endeavor:

• There were approximately 55 people in attendance for church this past week. After discussion with several following the service, there are at least three individuals that would like counsel regarding being baptized. There were several new attendees this week, including a retired Anglo couple from Mississippi who have relocated to a retirement community in the Valley.
• We had a total of 43 students and approximately 25 adults during the first afternoon/evening of VBS. Approximately 40% of those in attendance were new contacts for the congregation.
• The members of this current mission team visited many new neighborhoods and invited them to come. This brought about new attendees on Sunday as well as contact with approximately 3 families that are interested in connecting with the congregation.
• Through your generous giving, we were able to purchase approximately 400 copies of "For Your Joy" in Spanish. Current church members here report enjoying this resource and have cited that they are using copies of this resource to have Gospel conversations with their coworkers, family members, and amigos. In addition to this, we were able to purchase many other books and resource for the congregation.
• Sunday night we had a discussion on "what does the Bible say about Church Membership." Part of our meeting included watching a "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church" presentation (In Spanish) on the subject. The members in attendance were very much encouraged and would like to continue discussion on this topic.

Here are some prayer challenges for this week:

• The unity of our team. I know that this may seem small, but could you pray that we find Craig's camera? He would really like to have it to help him tell his story to others. He hasn't been able to locate it for a few days.
• Pray for a young man named Humberto. The Lord knows the need, and this is an urgent matter.
• Pray for the unity of the true believers. They are dealing with several issues that need to be addressed. It is very exciting to see the opportunity that they have to address several important issues and the Lord is showing us how he is graciously answering prayer.
• Billy and many others will be visiting the Language School today. Billy is going to be discussing with the school about an employment opportunity.

There is so much more to talk about. Feel free to post any questions or comments. We will try to stay in touch here and on Facebook. You can always follow Psalm 67 Missions Network on Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.

In all things...Christ preeminent!

Aaron