Yes! It’s true. We have to learn Spanish in order to do the ministry that God has called us to do in Mexico. We’re planning on attending language school at Cuauhnahuac Spanish Language Institute in Cuernavaca, Mexico. We’ll probably spend about six weeks there, living with a Mexican family and attending classes for a large part of the day. It will be a total immersion experience for us. We’ve begun a little Spanish learning right now, using the Rosetta Stone program on our computer. It was recommended to us when we were studying at the Center for Intercultural Training last year. Janell found a pretty cool website to learn some Spanish, too. It’s Learn Spanish: A Free Online Tutorial. Hopefully, with all this help, we’ll be speaking Spanish in no time! We’d like to begin language school by September, so please pray that we will be able to do that. Thanks.
We had a good weekend of ministry at New Hope. I had the opportunity to preach on Romans 10:9-15 about the mission tree. The mission tree is just like any other tree. It is planted in soil. It has a trunk and roots, and, when healthy, it bears fruit. In missions, it is the same. The soil is God’s Heart for the Nations (Genesis 12:1-3). The trunk that gives it strength is the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16). The root of successful missions is the prayer of God’s people. And the fruit of successful missions is the glory of God. Those who pray for the ministry are just as important as those who proclaim the gospel. Both are needed in order for a tree to bear fruit. Please be a part of this ministry by praying for us. Thank you! You are important!
We just returned from a trip to Charlottesville, Virginia. We were there this weekend to be a part of a wedding for an old friend from Liberty University. We enjoyed spending some time with friends we haven’t seen in years, and traveled all over Virginia, including Manassas and Richmond. The weather was beautiful, and all of the trees and flowers are blooming now. We’ll try to post some of the pictures up here soon.
Coming up this week: This week brings a few new opportunities to share God’s Word. I’ll be speaking in chapel at Grace Christian School where I graduated from high school. Then, on Sunday, May 4, I will be sharing the latest updates from the ministry in Mexico at New Hope Community Church. Please pray for these opportunities.
“And he said to them, ‘Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him’.”
We had an awesome time today worshipping the risen Savior, Jesus Christ, on the Dunedin Causeway. We’ve put up some pics from the day in this gallery. I had the chance to give my testimony about really knowing God. “Interest in theology, and knowledge about God, and the capacity to think clearly and talk well on Christian themes, is not at all the same thing as knowing him. We may know as much about God as Calvin knew…and yet all the time, we may hardly know God at all. (J.I. Packer) It is more important to know God than to know things about Him. Take some time to get to know God this week. It will change your life.
This is the day we set aside to remember the suffering of Jesus for our sins. I have spent the morning studying the gospels and reflecting on just what Jesus went through because of His love for the world. He was willing to undergoe extreme pain for the sins of the world. Did you know that we get the word “excruciating” from the Latin word meaning, “Out of the cross?” There is an article published in 1986 by the Journal of the American Medical Association called On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ that details the medical aspects that Jesus endured for us. I’ve read it before, but it has special meaning today. Take some time to remember the cross of Jesus.
