Thursday, February 19, 2009

new videos, pics and an update

Sorry it's been a while since the last post. Things have been well but pretty busy. We had a good service this last Sunday. The attendance was good the first week but went down for the 2nd and 3rd weeks but shot back up again last week. We were really kind of blown away. It was mainly one extended family of Cubans that made the attendance higher but there was also another new family, a couple of new young guys and another new single lady. All in all, we had about 32 adults and 10 kids, excluding the 'gringos' that were there to help out. I know numbers aren't the most important thing in the world but it is good to have people coming. I also felt the service went well. Well, I don't have any church pics but I do have some videos and pics of Evan for all to enjoy. So, here they are- These first three are of us hanging out in our sweatshirts. .
You might think that was me making that clicking noise in this video but it's actually Evan. This is one of his new 'tricks' that he's been doing quite a bit here recently.


This one is of Evan sticking out his tongue. This is another one of his tricks. This video isn't the greatest but he's been doing this quite a bit recently and it's pretty funny. He'll also slobber a lot when he does this.

This last one shows him clapping, yet another one of his new tricks. You can't hear it much on here but he actually makes sounds when he claps and has been doing it like crazy here lately.
Here are some new prayer requests related to what I had already written.
1. Pray for the new folks that came to service. There were quite a few new ones, especially a good group of Cubans. There were also a couple of young guys that left before we could get info on them. There was also a young Mexican family and a single Mexican lady.

2. Pray for Iveet (Sidar and Brigida's daughter). She is moving to Los Angeles this next Saturday to be with an aunt there. Pray that God would work in her life and draw her to Him.

3. When we asked for prayer requests during the service, several people mentioned a desire for family unity. Pray that God would unite these families in his love.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

pics, videos, prayer requests and my day job

Here's some recent pics that were taken from my cell phone, mostly this last Saturday. Here's Evan wearing a bowl. He loves to play with this bowl and a big cooking spoon. A beautiful Missouri sunset.
Here's a couple of Evan in his Uncle Paul's new truck. Look in the reflection of the truck- who is that guy taking the picture?
Here's Evan and Audrey playing tug of war with a book. Following are some videos Evan for you all to enjoy.
Here's a couple with the spoon I was talking about.

He sounds like he's purring or that he's full of bubbles.
Lastly, I want to close with some prayer requests related to the ministry here.
1. Pray for a neighbor named Maria. Her mother just died on Monday in Guatemala. She hadn't seen her mother since she left about 3 years ago. Pray for her in this time and for her family. Maria also has some other unmentioned requests as well.

2. Pray for Rafael and especially for his son. I visited Rafael on Sunday and found that his son has Leukemia. Pray that God will work in Rafael's life and in his family's life.

3. Pray for Teresa, an Ecuadorian friend I met at Grace House. She is really open to God but hasn't made a commitment yet. Pray that God would work in her life. Also, pray for her family in Chicago and in Ecuador.

4. Pray for another neighbor named Benjamin that has expressed an interest in studying the Bible. He hasn't come to the church yet and may not be open to this, so we may need to start a study in his home.

5. Pray for Nancy, who is a member of the church. She recently fell at work and has been injured. I still don't know all the details yet but it seems that her company isn't helping her at this time, so there may be a legal issue involved here.

6. Pray for the church in general as we get established in everything. Pray that we would grow spiritually and in numbers.

7. Pray for the children's ministry as it gets organized and established. Pray for children to come and get involved and pray for volunteers to help out as well.

8. Pray for the worship and preaching time. Pray that I'll preach God's word clearly. Preaching doesn't come real easy to me but is something I enjoy. Pray that God will develop this gift in my life.

9. Pray for a friend named Barbaro to come to believe in God and follow Him.

10. Pray for a team from our sponsoring church (Frederick Blvd Baptist church) that has gone to Guatemala for the first trip. There is a part of the team that are doing free medical clinics and there's another part that is mapping the city. Pray that God would use them in all they do and say. Pray for the people that they come into contact with.
I just wanted to wanted to close with a couple of 'kids say the darndest things' items that I have heard at my part-time job at HeadStart. One boy came up to me one day and let me know that he got 2 brand new shoes (with an emphasis on the 2!). There was another boy today that looked outside today as it was snowing hard and said, 'man, it's getting serious.' Lastly, there's another boy that calls me Mr. Man instead of Mr. Ben. I'm really like the job overall and I get a lunch everyday that I eat with the kids. However, it makes me feel like a giant cause I have to sit at their table.

I guess this is all for now. I hope you enjoyed the pics and videos and will pray for these requests.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

pics, videos and update

Sorry it's been a while but I have some pics, videos and an update to make it up. These first couple of pics were taken when my family came here after Christmas. Here is Evan's Aunt Laura and cousin Audrey.
This is a smart boy (reaching for the bbq sauce!)
These pics were taken around the house the last few days. This 2nd one shows us in our Ecuador soccer shirts.



We think he's going to take off flying any day now, as these videos attest.
As for an update, we want to let you know that things are going well. We had our 2nd service this last Sunday and are getting ready for our 3rd this Sunday. We didn't have as many people this last Sunday but things still went well. I have a special testimony to share. One is about an Ecuadorian lady that I met. Since we had come back from Ecuador last September, we hadn't met any Ecuadorians here in the States. Well, the day before our first service, I ended up going to Grace House (which is a clothes donation place). I hadn't planned on going there but they ran out of invitations and so I decided to stop by and drop some off. I ended up staying longer than I had planned but in that time, I met these two ladies and found that one of them was from Ecuador. The Ecuadorian lady lives with a lady from Mexico, who is already a believer. They both have come to the church these last two Sundays. I know this is kind of a long story but tell it to show some ways that God works and I also ask you to pray for our new friends, especially our new Ecuadorian friend. She is very open to God but is yet to make a commitment to Him, please pray for her in this process. Thanks again and keep praying!