October 5, 2009
One solid month of tremendous blessings! We had five straight weeks that deaf were saved in our services, several of them "special." One such salvation was Juan Manuel. JM came for the first time about a week after Christian Carlos got saved. He is one of Carlos' best friends but he had no interest in hearing the Gospel. When he arrived home, he was chastised by his mother since the "Bible came from the United States." He has come for a couple of special services in the last three years but eventually became so hostile that he told Carlos he never wanted to see him again (after shoving him - Carlos is about 5 feet 4 inches and JM is about 6 feet 4 inches). He had not come for over two years.
JM came three Sundays ago and listened carefully to John 4 and our need to worship God in spirit and in truth. After the service, Carlos brought him to me and asked if I would talk to him. I was happy to do so. I shared with him the plan of salvation with Carlos present. When JM bulked a little at his guilt of sin, Carlos provided several good examples from their personal lives. As he understood, I suggested he pray and ask the Lord to forgive him. He was a little embarrassed, but decided it was worth it to get rid of his sin (remember, the deaf do NOT normally close their eyes for prayer and it causes them great stress when they can neither see nor hear what is happening). He prayed, "Lord God, I didn't know about sin...." A long pause followed while he was thinking. I was worried that maybe he had not understood any more than that. He then continued, "I have many sins and I can't go to Heaven. I ask you to forgive me and cleanse my heart. I open my life and heart to you and ask you to forgive me." When he raised his head he had a large smile on his face and was obviously aware that the Lord has heard him. Carlos started a dance probably similar to David's rejoicing before the Lord. This was a friend he had witnessed to, prayed for, been roughed up by and now was able to contribute to his understanding salvation. "Special."
Armando is still in Monterrey with his family. His father was operated on twice and the incision reopened spilling bodily fluids into his abdomen. He has battled back to better health, but still must be carried from one place to another. Armando is hoping to return to Guadalajara for a visit, but I think the family knows that his father could lose this battle. Please pray for the family.
All great blessings come with attacks from the Devil and he is still alive and well here. Some of our saved group have allowed strife to enter in between them, obviously affecting others around them. A comment made by one of the newer Christians in which he made a public statement correcting some of the older Christians. Please pray that these good folks will see how the Devil has gotten in and is desirous of stopping the flow of blessings we have been seeing.
Jonathan is doing much better, but will be a while totally recuperating from dengue fever. An old name for dengue is "break-bone fever." Jonathan was knocked down to almost zero and has been battling candida and a type of ulcers brought on by the strong medicines. He is definitely on the way, but may have a few more setbacks before he is 100%.
Ann is awaiting better health to have her next test run to see if the cyst has changed. The doctors she has worked with have totally opposite opinions about the approach and have basically only given her confusion instead of direction. At present she has a cold and sore throat, so as soon as she is healthy again, she will go for her tests. Thank you for praying.
Pray for our folks in this time of double whammy sicknesses. This morning's paper states that such high levels of Influenza (H1N1) and dengue fever together have never been seen "in the history of man." We personally know many who are suffering from one or the other. It is very real but God is very good, also.
Thank you for being personally involved in this ministry. Our goal in life is to help our deaf friends and neighbors come to the same wonderful knowledge of our Savior as we have, not just salvation, but to see Him in His beauty. The deaf need a little more help than most of us, not because they are stupid or of low mentality, but because they lack the depth in education that most of us found very easy. It takes the simple process of learning a new word and turns it into an eight step process, that may never be complete. Imagine if every new thought or word required eight times more effort, how much would you learn? Thank you for caring and helping us to remain involved in the spiritual lives of many.
JM came three Sundays ago and listened carefully to John 4 and our need to worship God in spirit and in truth. After the service, Carlos brought him to me and asked if I would talk to him. I was happy to do so. I shared with him the plan of salvation with Carlos present. When JM bulked a little at his guilt of sin, Carlos provided several good examples from their personal lives. As he understood, I suggested he pray and ask the Lord to forgive him. He was a little embarrassed, but decided it was worth it to get rid of his sin (remember, the deaf do NOT normally close their eyes for prayer and it causes them great stress when they can neither see nor hear what is happening). He prayed, "Lord God, I didn't know about sin...." A long pause followed while he was thinking. I was worried that maybe he had not understood any more than that. He then continued, "I have many sins and I can't go to Heaven. I ask you to forgive me and cleanse my heart. I open my life and heart to you and ask you to forgive me." When he raised his head he had a large smile on his face and was obviously aware that the Lord has heard him. Carlos started a dance probably similar to David's rejoicing before the Lord. This was a friend he had witnessed to, prayed for, been roughed up by and now was able to contribute to his understanding salvation. "Special."
Armando is still in Monterrey with his family. His father was operated on twice and the incision reopened spilling bodily fluids into his abdomen. He has battled back to better health, but still must be carried from one place to another. Armando is hoping to return to Guadalajara for a visit, but I think the family knows that his father could lose this battle. Please pray for the family.
All great blessings come with attacks from the Devil and he is still alive and well here. Some of our saved group have allowed strife to enter in between them, obviously affecting others around them. A comment made by one of the newer Christians in which he made a public statement correcting some of the older Christians. Please pray that these good folks will see how the Devil has gotten in and is desirous of stopping the flow of blessings we have been seeing.
Jonathan is doing much better, but will be a while totally recuperating from dengue fever. An old name for dengue is "break-bone fever." Jonathan was knocked down to almost zero and has been battling candida and a type of ulcers brought on by the strong medicines. He is definitely on the way, but may have a few more setbacks before he is 100%.
Ann is awaiting better health to have her next test run to see if the cyst has changed. The doctors she has worked with have totally opposite opinions about the approach and have basically only given her confusion instead of direction. At present she has a cold and sore throat, so as soon as she is healthy again, she will go for her tests. Thank you for praying.
Pray for our folks in this time of double whammy sicknesses. This morning's paper states that such high levels of Influenza (H1N1) and dengue fever together have never been seen "in the history of man." We personally know many who are suffering from one or the other. It is very real but God is very good, also.
Thank you for being personally involved in this ministry. Our goal in life is to help our deaf friends and neighbors come to the same wonderful knowledge of our Savior as we have, not just salvation, but to see Him in His beauty. The deaf need a little more help than most of us, not because they are stupid or of low mentality, but because they lack the depth in education that most of us found very easy. It takes the simple process of learning a new word and turns it into an eight step process, that may never be complete. Imagine if every new thought or word required eight times more effort, how much would you learn? Thank you for caring and helping us to remain involved in the spiritual lives of many.
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