March Prayer Letter

Taking the Next Step

Before we ever arrived in Pilar, God had already been working in the hearts of believers here. There were several families who were seeking a Bible-believing, conservative Baptist church. There are now eight families (married couples) regularly attending our weekly Bible studies, and it is time to begin Sunday services! Whether or not we have a larger meeting place, we will begin Sunday morning services March 22. Please pray this will bring even more folks out who cannot attend on Wednesday nights. With the beginning of a new school year this month, we will also begin a ladies’ discipleship group and regular visitation.

This work is well on its way to being established as a church. However, there is no one in sight right now to stay on as the permanent pastor. (Remember, we are church-planting missionaries.) The ideal situation would be to start training someone now to take our place. Please pray for God to raise up His man for this precious group of believers!

A Lesson in Statistics

When God called us to work in Pilar, he clearly showed us that we need to evangelize the unreached people group” that represents 64% of the population in this city – the upper class living in gated communities. This is a challenging task, but it is also exciting as we think of the potential impact on this country.

This year, we will be hosting a monthly evangelistic home Bible study and various outreaches in our neighborhood, as well as other gated communities. The Lord has brought along excellent Christian families to help with these efforts. (Pictured above are two CFOs, two accountants, and a surgeon.) Please pray for boldness and wisdom in our witnessing.

You may be reading this letter and wondering if we actually have two church plants going on at the same time. Yes. The first one is called “Pilar Centro” (Central Pilar) because it consists of the middle class who live in or near the city center, and the other is “Pilar Nuevo” (New Pilar) because it will be comprised of upper-class families who have moved to Pilar in the past ten years. We must begin this way because, before conversion, these two socio-economic classes do not intermingle. That is another reason why we must depend on God’s wisdom and strength!

Family Matters

On Wednesday, February 11, James’ grandfather went home to be with the Lord after a short battle with a rapidly-growing brain tumor. He had a wonderful impact on James’ life in many ways. It was a privilege for James to be asked by the family to go to Arizona to preach the graveside service. There were about 80 in attendance. James clearly presented the plan of salvation, and we know of at least one young lady who put her trust in Christ that day!
James took advantage of the trip and got to spend a week in Tampa with family and friends there.

Update on Lauren – Dr. Lopez, Lauren’s urologist, said she does not have to go through any more testing for now. We will continue to observe her infections and decide on further testing at that time. (We did get to invite him to our next home Bible study, so pray that the Lord will work in his heart regarding that!)

“The future is as bright as the promises of God!”
-Ann Judson (wife of Adoniram Judson)