Safe In Our Father's Arms

 Dear Reader,

      Throughout our travels thus far, we have truly experienced the meaning of the phrase, "Safe In Our Father's Arms". Although we may not be able to see God, as Christians our faith has allowed us to rely on our Heavenly Father who embraces us each and every time we ask Him. With every step of the way I have seen how God has protected my family and I from harms way and has placed a hedge of protection around us while on the road. It is truly a great feeling to know that when all else seem to fail, we have a Father who is there to catch us.

       Sunday, October 23rd, we were able to be in the service of Pastor Ross at Open Door Baptist Church. It was truly an honor to meet Pastor Ross and to be able to hear him preach a fiery sermon on "Heaven or Hell, What Will It Be?" Many were saved and baptized as the excitment was high! We were able to present our work and sing there in the service and thoroughly enjoyed our time spent there with the members of Open Door.
     That afternoon we headed to lunch and prepared to return to be able to be in Open Door's Spanish church. As we walked into the doors again we were greeted as before with kind smiles and welcoming hand shakes. We headed up stairs and began to meet many of the people there under Pastor Mendoza. Many young people greeted us and welcomed us in. Service began and we had the opportunity to present our work and burden for the ministry. After the presentation and with the help of an interpreter I was able to preach a sermon, "Turn Up The Heat".

In Daniel chapter three we are able to see the story of three Hebrew young men who stood for Christ inspite of the worlds threats. In fury the king commanded the furnace to be turned up so as to condemn these men to a fiery death. Even though bound and cast into the fire, God intervened and they lives were used as a testimony to change the hearts of all those present. As Christians we too have a fire in our hearts to serve God but when that fire begins to die down and our excitment becomes dim, we allow the world to get ahead and consume us as well as those around us with their spreading flames of evil. Satan will stop at nothing to consume as many lives as he can into the world and the evil it contains. We can fight back keeping ouselves on fire for God and turning up the heat in our own Christian lives.
    The altars were filled and 25 people raised their hands surrending to keep their fire for God high and giving their lives to Him! Was a very exciting time and enjoyed meeting many of the people and teenagers while signing Bibles and talking with them.

PREACHING TIME

MRS. STEVENS AND ELYSSA
(Mrs. Steven's 93rd birthday that day!)

ALTAR FILLED

Reality of God

Dear Reader,
    I often wander how a person can go through life without belief and without faith in God, the One who created us and the world we live in today. If we just simply step back and think about the magnificence of creation, our very existence, and the wanders that life brings we cant help but acknowledge the God who created it all. Many times when people state their difficulty in believing in God's existance, my heart begins to hurt for them never having the opportunity to feel that love, the peace, and the comfort in knowing that God is there for us. What is most important is that we all have the faith in knowing we have a home in Heaven through our faith in God.

Wednesday, October 19th, we had the opportunity to be in Victory Baptist Church in Cleveland, Texas! It was great to meet up with Pastor Bolton yet again and his sweet wife who took great care of us while we were there. We were able to present our work, sing, and then was time for preaching. God had laid a sermon on my heart intitled, "God Knows", a simple truth, yet carries a great power in time of hardship and trials. It is hard to face everyday struggles and problems, many times feeling as though there are too large to carry; however, we tell ourselves God knows. Those two words can give us the comfort  and the drive it will take to get through any battles we are faced in our lives and in our Christian service for Him. God knows each and every one of or needs, He is there with for our failures and success, our ups and our downs. The Lord did a great work that night and hearts were encouraged!

        After returning home that week we had planned on taking pictures for updating purposes. We have a been able to set up at home and take our pictures there, allowing us to take our time and have fun doing it together. This time we invited my good friend Saint, a young man from Thailand presently enrolled in our college at Parkside, to be the photographer. We enjoyed ourselves as we spent time with Saint and took pictures as a family! Gabriella has truly been a joy and an encouragment to us and we are very happy to have been blessed with such a beautiful little girl.




PICTURE WITH MOM AND DAD!!








"AS PRETTY AS MY MOMMY!!"





DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL!!



Dear Reader,
     God has truly been a huge blessing to my life and the lives of my family. I have often wandered how people go through life without believing in the very existance of God and having the opportunity to go to Him whenever in need. How empty their life must be and how sad it is to see a life being thrown away. God has given us the life we live and it our choice wether to live it in His service recieving the blessings in Heaven or to throw life away to end our existance here on earth with regret and lost opportunities.

     Friday we set out for Harlingen, Texas, a good eight hour trip south of Dallas to the very tip and near the border of Mexico. We were scheduled to be in Central Baptist Church pastored by Pastor Matt Schumacher for their Sunday morning service. They graciously allowed us to stay on property of the church while there and also allowed me to be a part of their bus ministry! Saturday I was able to go out soul winning and lead four to Christ on the bus route meeting many children who attended childrens church there at Central Baptist. Sunday morning brought me the chance to ride the bus and help with the program singing and spending time with the children who rode to church with us that day. We were allowed present our work once again to the kind people there and I was able to preach, "To Lose is to Gain Through God".
    Sacrifice is hard to do at times when we are afraid to lose what the world has and give all to Christ. What we do not realize is that when we lose the worldly pleasures of this world we gain the treasures in Heaven that last for eternity! Yes we may lose what we think is valuable here on earth but we gain much more through God! Mark 8:36 "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

Harvest Baptist Church was our next stop, located in Edinburg, Texas! Pastor Dale Yontz allowed us to present our work and burden for the mnistry. What a great church of kind people and young people eager to know more about our college at Parkside Baptist Church. I was able to preach a sermon, "New Vision", based on II Corinthians 4: 18 "While we look not at the things which are see, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

    It is very easy to comprehend, follow, accept, believe in, or commit to those things that we can see with our eyes. It is those things that we cannot see that test our faith and loyalty to God. As a Christian we have been given a new vision, a new way to look at things through the faith we found in God. Our lives have new meaning as we now can see what God could do with and in our lives! Have we allowed this new vision to flourish in our lives and push us to do more for God or have we forgotten the vision that we have the opportunity to use?

   Many decisions were made as 10-15 people raised their hands, committing to use the new vision to see how God could use their lives in His service! What great opportunities we have had as we have allowed God to use our lives. We thank each and every supporter for their love and support allowing us to continue on this road to God's will in our lives.

God's Answers to Life's Questions

Dear Reader,
    Life brings many questions that many times require answers that are hard to find on our own. These questions soon become a concern in our minds and if we are not careful become the very cause of perhaps confusion, fear, doubt, anger, bitterness, and much more in our lives. The Bible is where we can turn to for the answers, given to us by God to be used for our benefit and those around us. The answers to all of lifes questions can be found in the very Word of God that we have the priviledge to hold.



JEREMIAH 17:8

      Emory, Texas is where we had the privilege of being on Wednesday, October 12th, at Bright Star  Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Jerry Jackson. We were able to meet his sweet family and very talented children as we were able to see how God had blessed them with musical talents and a wonderful zeal to be used of God! It was an encouragement to me to see the excitement in their voices as they asked many question and were able to get to know them very well. After presenting our field, Pastor Jackson requested that I preach. I was able to preach a sermon entitled "Root of You", a sermon on the heart of a Christian being the very root that keeps them alive in their Christian life.

Just as the very life and very source of existance in the life of a small plant is in its root giving it the means to continue on, so is the heart of a Christian not only to live physically but to live spiritually for the Lord. Many a Christian began as a young plant, determined to serve Christ with every ounce of strength and determination within them, but as the years go by Satan begins to attack our spiritual root, the heart, that soon begins to turn its loyalty to yet another. Without the health of the root this plant will die. A Christian whose heart is not totally given to God will soon begin to see the excitment and enthusiam he once had fade away and what could had been accomplished by God through him will be gone. We have to determine to keep our root, our heart, fed with the love for God and the determination to do more for Him with our lives, if we are to live our Christian life in fulfilment of God's will.
    As a family, I pray we do all we can to exceed expectations in the service of Jesus Christ. Accomplishing the unexpected is accomplishing the expected twice over!

Life Is Precious

Dear Reader,
    Life has a great value, with every child born comes a new life with the purpose to bring honor to the God who created him. How is it that this value is lost when we as humans chose to go our own way and give no regard to the difference we could make with our lives for the glory of God. What will we do with the life that has been given us for the Creator who created us after His image?

    Our journeys took us to San Antonio, as we left friday afternoon to be in the services of Texas Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Keith Bell. After some time of driving we arrived at the Airforce base where we had been given the opportunity to stay with a very kind young couple Matt and Kim. They were very kind to us as they did every thing to make our stay as comfortable as possible. It was a blessing to get to know this fine couple as our friendship grew quickly. Saturday I was given the opportunity to go soul winning on one of the church bus routes and was able to see seven people bow their heads and accept Christ in their hearts, four of which came the next Sunday morning. Praise the Lord for the many opportunities to spread the Gospel to those who have never heard. Sunday morning we set up the table and began to greet many of the church members as well as the many bus kids that came with such curiosity and questions. How exciting it was to see their excitement, pointing picture to picture asking about each child in the photos posted on the mission board. Pastor Bell asked for me to preach in Sunday School and present our work. What a great honor it was as I preached the sermon, "Live for Today", on the subject of how live too short to not live

"Live for Today", life gives us an opportunity to make a difference in the world around us; however, we aslo have the choice to make our own decisions. These decisions, unfortunately, allow us to follow our own desires, our own goals with no thought of what God could use our lives for. We have to realize that just as vapor that exist and soon is gone, our lives here on earth is also temporary, giving us little time to do what God has for us to accomplish. The time is now, for why must we wait while time quickly goes by?

Many decisions were made by those there Sunday Morning as twenty-five people raised their hands wanting to give God their lives to serve Him. Pastor Bell preached the service and brought a great message on how trials should be used in our lives to draw us closer to God and prepare us for God's will. What a great encouragment it was and great message. Sunday afternoon we spent with Matt, Kim and their little boy, Matthew, and soon we were again at Texas Baptist Church for the night service. I was able to preach once again and preached about "Priceless Value".

"Priceless Value", the value of every one of us who have been given a life to live in God's service. Despite what value we place on ourselves and what value others may place on us, we have to realize the value our lives have to God. Each person has a value given to him by God that despite our past and our short comings, He can use us in a great way to fulfill His purpose through us. For we are bought with a price the price that Christ died for to pay for our sins, for this we must give Him our all.

   It has been such a great blessing to travel and be a part of many churches and many lives along the way. With every opportunity we hope to present our family, our church, and our ministry but most importantly the Lord Jesus Christ.

MISSING MAN MONUMENT

AIRFORCE BASE

Dear Reader,

    Decisions, decisions, decisions, life is filled with them as we go about our daily routine. It is amazing to realize how many times one decision made will lead to yet another decision and soon the outcome that consequently follows. There are times in everyone's life that the wrong decision is made and we find ourselves paying for that decision in the end; however, there are those decisions that we make that allow us to reap the blessings of seeing lives changed and a work done for God.

    I have seen how God has used us as we made the decision to follow Him in the area

 of mission work. What a great feeling it is when you are given the opportunity you always looked forward to as a boy to serve God as a missionary. We have thoroughly enjoyed deputation thus far and look forward to the many other churches and friendships that will be made in the months to come. Saturday we were in town and I was able to go soulwinning once again with Parkside. How exciting it was to be able to be in the soulwinning meeting and cheering for my team as we are in the middle of our fall campaign!  While out soulwinning, God led me to a couple who were able to accept Christ in to their hearts and will be coming to visit soon! Sunday, I was told that I had six visitors in the service and what a joy it was to know that even while away we could play a part in the ministry at home.

    Sunday morning took us to a church, Iglesia Bautista Del Calvario in Fresno, Texas! We were able to present our work and I was given the opportunity to preach. "The Choice" was the title of the sermon that morning using the example of Ruth and the choice she made to follow God in her life. After the making the choice to accept Christ into one's heart, the choices to follow as far as God's will is concerned will require sincerity, sacrifice, strength, and surrender. Each are qualities that we must keep strong in our lives as Christians and the choices of life come before us each day. Are we willing to follow God as Ruth did, sacrificing her family, her friends, her comfort zone for what she knew was God's will for her life? We see the outcome and how God blesses her and her life and can anticipate the same result in our lives if me make The Choice to do the same in our lives.
   After the service we fellowshipped with many of the members and then we were on the road once again on our way to Unity Baptist Church in Corsicana, Texas pastored by Chad Owens.  We met many kind people as they shook our hands and welcomed us to the church! There were many young people who greeted us with their smiles and asked us many questions which gave us the opportunity to make many friends among them. I was asked to preach after our presentation and the Lord once again did a great work. Using two candles for illustration purposes I preached a sermon entitled, "Let Your Light Shine

", Matthew 5:16.  With darkness already present the candle being lit brakes through the darkness and allows light to shine all around, so should a Christian life in the world of darkness shed the light of the gospel for all to see their need of salvation. If we are not careful this light could be blown out by Satan and the influence we could have had as a Christian would not exist and darkness will prevail once again. The alternative to this is that as we shine for Christ others could be reached and as a candle can light another candle providing more light, the Gospel could be shown even more through the other lives we are able to reach for Christ. Reproducing Christians who will follow God with their lives is the best reward to any Christian allowing their lives to be used in His service.

PICTURE WITH DAD

PICTURE WITH MOM

  

 

We look forward to doing our part in spreading the light of the Gospel to other countries as well and we covet all the prayers that are begin given for us each day. You too are having a part in our lives as well as our ministry as you pray for us each day. Would like to place a special prayer request in for us as we are in search for a larger vehicle to travel in as the family has had a added member. : )  Most importantly, continue to pray for God's will to be fulfilled in our lives, and we have faith that all will fall into place.

Dear Reader,

     With Satan doing all he can to destroy Christianity today we must remember that battle that we all must fight. That battle against the force that strives to take us away from all we know is right using its deceitful and wicked ways to infiltrate homes and families. We have been armed with the very sword that can be used to fight off such a force, the King James Bible, and it is our responsibility to keep ourselves prepared for each attack that may occur daily. Together we can do our part in getting the victory over Satan and the world around us.

    Monday we headed to Kansas City, Kansas, three housrs away with miles of farm land and beautiful country side in between. You cannot help but admire God's work in creation as you see the roling hills and land filled with green grass and sparkling ponds. We were blessed with beautiful weather as the sun shined welcoming in a day that included a cool breeze giving it that touch to make it the perfect temperature the few days we were there. We were able to spend time time with Elyssa's grandparents and enjoyed our visit with them. Wednesday brought us to Grandpa Dominguez's church, Amazing Grace

Baptist Church, as we had the opportunity to have a combined service of english and spanish. God did a great work once again as I was given the opportunity to preach a sermon entitled: "Crossing the Line". Many listened intently as I spoke of the importance of Christians crossing that line of complete surrender in their Christian lives. I used the example of the men of the Alamo who were given the choice to stay and surrender their lives for America by simple crossing the line, the line that would mean complete dedication. As Christians we too have that line drawn in front of us that many times is hard to cross and when we decide to cross many look back and retreat from their surrender. We are encouraged by God to choose who side will we take, the world, the between ground (whatever feels comfortable at the time), or the Lord's side? The blessings of God could very well be waiting for us but will not come until we decide to give Christ our all and cross that line of complete surrender. Only then can God use us in a great way to influence others for Jesus. Many decisions were made that night as 15 adults and young people raised their hands surrendering their lives to God, crossing that line of surrender. Praise the Lord for His mighty hand moving in the service that night. After the service we were able to meet many of the members and answer many questions. 

FAMILY PICTURE AFTER CHURCH




SIGNING BIBLES
















   I would like to thank each and every person that is following us on the road through this blog and for many who are praying for us. There is no better encouragement than knowing that many people are thinking and praying for us each day. Together we all can make a difference in this world if we only strive to meet our goals for God's will in each of our lives.