Men’s retreat

We had our first men’s retreat recently. Twenty-one men spent time together and fellowshipped, fished and learned about God’s Word. Jaime is a young man who is part of our church, faithful in attending Sunday service, part of a house group and also part of the literacy class. Since he made the decision to give His life to the Lord and was baptized, he has become more involved with coming alongside of other disciples to evangelize! John Hendee, the founder of Project New Hope, came to Ecuador to spend time with us and taught about “Dragon Slayers,” how we can kill our sins. It was really special to worship our Lord together. We also got to know each other more as we shared our experiences. It was a pleasant surprise when we arrived at church to find our wives there to greet us. Several men expressed how glad they were that they went on this retreat. We pray that it will change their lives and they will be transformed to become the men Jesus wants them to be.

John Hendee, founder of Project New Hope, spoke recently at the church in Santa Martha, Ecuador.   

Juan Carlos and Erika

This couple started serving the Lord after they heard and understood the gospel. Although they were only baptized a year ago, they have grown so much in their spiritual walk with Christ. They are evangelizing and making disciples! They are also leaders of the pre-teen ministry. Even though Juan Carlos works, he makes sure that he has time to serve our Lord and help grow His Kingdom. They both were very shy and had a hard time talking to others, but they have worked through this fear and it is very encouraging to experience their journey with them. They got married September 13 with the help of the whole church. A lot of people had expressed that they have never experienced a Christian wedding and thought that it was awesome. These two are another example of how God is transforming lives in Santo Domingo.

Horacio and Jessenia

We met this couple in a barrio close to Santa Martha named Patria Nueva. In the beginning, Horacio did not want to have anything to do with us when we would knock on his door! He would even get angry when he saw our van and he did not feel peace in his heart. But through lots of prayer we were surprised when he decided to do the Peace Treaty with us! Horacio, Jessenia and their three children lived with Horacio’s mother. She had pictures of the Virgin Mary and other idols all around her home. Their oldest son ran away and Jessenia at this time was giving birth to their daughter. Jessenia had a very difficult delivery and the doctor didn’t know if the baby was going to make it. The whole church was praying for this situation and God answered our prayers! Their son came home and they now have a healthy and happy baby girl. They moved out of Horacio’s mother’s house and actually live in the same barrio as the church. They have completed the Peace Treaty and both have given their lives to Christ and were baptized on August 28. They also wanted to obey God and they were married September 5. God is good all the time and all the time God is good! They are a good example of disciples of Christ and have compassion for others and teachable hearts. 

Irly and her son

Irly is the mother of Miguel, an active member of the church. We got to know her through their family. She always said that she would not change her ways of how she was brought up about God. But after a lot of prayer she decided to go through the Peace Treaty with her younger sister, who also is a disciple of Christ. When Irly was able to read the truth about Jesus she accepted Him as her Lord and Savior. She is now in the process of growing her faith and knowledge about the real God. Miguel did not have a good relationship with his mom and has been living with his grandparents, who have raised him since he was a little boy. Miguel was in tears when his mom got baptized and said that he has been praying for this for a very long time. Irly and her son Miguel are trying to better their relationship with each other. Please pray for the father of Irly’s three other children, that he will see the truth through Irly and that she will be a blessing for her family.

Miguel hugs his mom Irly following her baptism.

Joselyn

Joselyn is a young women with two small children. She lives with her grandma next door to the church. Joselyn’s grandmother does witchcraft and several people go to her for various reasons. Joselyn has always been interested in joining the activities that were held in the church. She is shy and, after a lot of encouragement, she finally entered the church to attend our women’s group. She has always felt alone even though she was surrounded by a lot of family members. When she was offered the Peace Treaty she gladly accepted and we started teaching her inside her home. Her grandmother did not approve and actually started bullying her granddaughter with the help of her aunt and uncles. When Joselyn wanted to get baptized her grandmother was very cruel towards her. But through the help of the Holy Spirit, Joselyn did not give in to her grandmother’s abusiveness and was baptized on Sept. 11, 2016. Even through it has been a very short time, Joselyn wants to help out with the pre-teen ministry, attends the women’s group, prayer night and is being discipled so she can be prepared to go and make more disciples! Pray for Joselyn’s grandmother, Fabiola, that God will touch her heart and mind so she can also have peace with God. 

Joselyn was baptized in September.

Patricio

We have been praying for Patricio for about four years. Doris is the mother of his son and she also has five other children. Doris and her children have been in the church since the beginning. Patricio has always struggled with his life and wasn’t living in peace. His friends have a huge influence on him, and when he would get close to knowing Christ it seemed that something would always tempt him to regress. He went through the Peace Treaty three years ago and out of the blue he said that he wanted to go through it again, so of course we did, and he made the decision to get baptized! He started coming to church and coming to prayer night. He is also going through more lessons and being discipled. He is still struggling with going back to his old life and being tempted by his friends, so please pray for him to keep searching for God and that he will love God more each and every day.

Patricio’s family rejoiced when he was baptized recently.

Jeremiah 29:13
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”