April - May 2002
Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,
Greetings from Spain, in the name of our Lord and Savior
Jesus
Christ! We hope that this letter finds you busy for the King of Kings
and
Lord of Lords. We have seen another two months come and go, and
time
really seems to have flown. We have been here for right at nine
months
now and it seems as though it has only been a few days.
The months of April and May were filled with Spanish
holidays
celebrating their false religion. They celebrate Cruzes de Mayo
around
May 5th by setting up crosses in each neighborhood throughout the
village.
The people gather around these crosses to sing to them, drink alcohol,
and
dance. This is nothing more than blasphemy. They also make
a
pilgrimage, either by foot or horse drawn wagon, to Huelva to worship
the
Virgin Rocio. The people wear traditional Spanish festival dress
for
their weeklong journey to see the Virgin, an image, and thank her for
all
that she has done. One song they sing is to thank her for their
wine.
The whole week is filled with dancing, drinking, fornication and
blasphemy.
Just recently, Corpus Cristi was celebrated. They parade through
town
with the image of the "Holy Eucharist" leading all those who have had
their
first communion this year. Instead of giving honor to Christ,
they
want people to see their good works. The idol worship of the Catholic
churches
in the U.S., doesn't even compare to the blasphemy and idolatry that is
here
in Spain.
The good news is that Joni and I have covered two nearby
villages,
Las Cabezas and Trebujena, by placing a John and Romans booklet in
every
home. Each booklet has an invitation to the church in Lebrija and
the
plan of Salvation. That is nearly 20,000 souls who will at least
have
an opportunity to know the truth as to how to be saved. Both of
these
villages need a work established in them and we are asking the Lord to
provide
the laborers.
My dad came to visit us in April and stayed for two
weeks.
I was very glad to see him and excited that he could see what the Lord
is
doing here in Lebrija and El Cuervo. While he was here, he was
able
to see two souls make a profession of faith and one man surrender to
preach.
He stated how it was such a blessing to see people who really love the
Lord
and want to serve Him. I agree and add that it ought to be that
way
in every true church. He also went out soul winning with us and
was
thrilled to see how Joni witnessed to a man about being saved. This man
started
off by ridiculing what we believe, but ended up listening intently
after
we shared the Word of God with him.
The man that I am doing intercambio with is not only
speaking
better English, but is also asking more questions about our
"religion".
As I had stated in an earlier prayer letter, he is a communist and
didn't
care to hear anything about the Lord. He also has two aunts, who
are
nuns. He sees the hypocrisy of the Roman Catholic Church and
doesn't
want any part of it. Recently, he has asked me several questions
concerning
what we believe and he has seen that there is truly a difference
between
how we live and how the Catholic people live. Please pray that
the
Lord will continue to open his eyes to the truth and that he will be
saved.
Patsy's gestational diabetes is doing much better and we
are
looking forward to the arrival of our little gift from the Lord around
the
21st of July. We do covet your prayers for a safe delivery and
good
health for both her and the baby. While my dad was with us, we
went
to Gibraltar and a monkey bit Garrett on the arm. He had a nice
bruise
for a couple of weeks, but is fine. Christopher recently had to
have
three stitches on the top of his head after falling out of a swing at a
park.
Thankfully he has a hard head. During these little trials, God
always
has His hand of protection upon us. Glory and thanks be unto Him.