Dear Reader,
What is it that can keep the drive and determination in the hearts of Christians around the world? What are young people as well as adults lacking in our lives that allows us to fall prey to our weaknesses and temptations placed by the Devil? I believe it is the fight characteristic, the very attitude of survival against impossible odds. There are so many things in today’s world that can tear us down and even apart unless we fight back with what we know is right. Our Christian lives mean nothing if we are not even a small threat to Satan and his evil plan. As a threat he will do all he can to destroy us, but just as a flower can grow through concrete and survive, we too can break through the Satan’s strong forces.
Our next conference was in San Antonio, TX, only about four hours away from our home in Dallas. Beautiful Gate Baptist Church, pastored by Pastor Carrizales, invited us to present in their Tuesday opening service of their conference on February 7th. What a great church filled with loving people with hearts for missions. As they came by our table they shared such interest and made us feel right at home. We were able to also run across another fellow missionary who we had seen in another conference in the area and have some great fellowship! Bro. Cox preached the beginning sermon opening it up with a great and encouraging message! You can always see his heart for mission work as we have heard him preach at many mission conferences already. After a few specials done by the people of Beautiful Gate, Pastor Victor Alvarez was up next. What a great sermon as he preached also on the importance of faith promise and the importance of giving. He always seems to have a way with people and usually has the crowd laughing with his many jokes and stories. It was a great night followed by food and fellowship where we were able to speak with other pastors and Pastor Carrizales’ family. Gabriella made her appearance as usual having with her little smile and jumping into the hearts of those present. She has truly been such a blessing to our family, and we are so happy to have her in our lives.
The next morning, Wednesday February 9th, we traveled to Beeville, TX where we were scheduled to be with Pastor Tim Stowe and his people. We arrived early and were able to sit down and enjoy a nice lunch and fellowship with Pastor and his wife. We had a great time and really enjoyed getting to know them even better. We were able to talk about years past as their church has brought their young people to our youth revival for many years. After some time at the hotel Elyssa, Gabriella, and I headed for the church for service that night. We were looking forward to it, even more as we heard Pastor Swope was the guest speaker for this first night of their conference! He too was a pastor we had known from youth revivals past. We had a great time as we sang mission songs, heard testimonies of other countries, watch the church honor the Swope family, and allowed us to present our field. They treated us with such great love and generosity that we felt very overwhelmed with their support for us for simply coming and being there. There is no way we could ever thank them enough for being such a blessing to us on our journey in God’s will. Bro Swope preached a great message and the altar was filled. After services a large group met at the local Subway and we enjoyed fellowship with the church members and reminisced of times past! The more I have traveled the more I have seen the importance of relationships made throughout the years! We have gone to churches that because of friendships made we have come to find many whom we have known. It has shown me the value of every minute you have with those around you even for a short time, for you never know if one day your paths will cross again.
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| Beautiful Gate Baptist Church |
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| Singing Group |
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| Young people at the Altar |
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| Pastor Swope Shooting |
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| Mrs. Swope Special Music |
Our next conference was in San Antonio, TX, only about four hours away from our home in Dallas. Beautiful Gate Baptist Church, pastored by Pastor Carrizales, invited us to present in their Tuesday opening service of their conference on February 7th. What a great church filled with loving people with hearts for missions. As they came by our table they shared such interest and made us feel right at home. We were able to also run across another fellow missionary who we had seen in another conference in the area and have some great fellowship! Bro. Cox preached the beginning sermon opening it up with a great and encouraging message! You can always see his heart for mission work as we have heard him preach at many mission conferences already. After a few specials done by the people of Beautiful Gate, Pastor Victor Alvarez was up next. What a great sermon as he preached also on the importance of faith promise and the importance of giving. He always seems to have a way with people and usually has the crowd laughing with his many jokes and stories. It was a great night followed by food and fellowship where we were able to speak with other pastors and Pastor Carrizales’ family. Gabriella made her appearance as usual having with her little smile and jumping into the hearts of those present. She has truly been such a blessing to our family, and we are so happy to have her in our lives.
The next morning, Wednesday February 9th, we traveled to Beeville, TX where we were scheduled to be with Pastor Tim Stowe and his people. We arrived early and were able to sit down and enjoy a nice lunch and fellowship with Pastor and his wife. We had a great time and really enjoyed getting to know them even better. We were able to talk about years past as their church has brought their young people to our youth revival for many years. After some time at the hotel Elyssa, Gabriella, and I headed for the church for service that night. We were looking forward to it, even more as we heard Pastor Swope was the guest speaker for this first night of their conference! He too was a pastor we had known from youth revivals past. We had a great time as we sang mission songs, heard testimonies of other countries, watch the church honor the Swope family, and allowed us to present our field. They treated us with such great love and generosity that we felt very overwhelmed with their support for us for simply coming and being there. There is no way we could ever thank them enough for being such a blessing to us on our journey in God’s will. Bro Swope preached a great message and the altar was filled. After services a large group met at the local Subway and we enjoyed fellowship with the church members and reminisced of times past! 
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