In the middle of all of the activities of the summer, we are going to Puerto Rico! Yes, you read correctly. We are taking a teen mission team from our home church and also taking our oldest three children along with us. We will be leaving for Puerto Rico on July 3 and returning from there at 3 AM on the 10th. The day we return home, Mikey gets to go to Camp Peniel for a week. Then the next Friday, we will leave and will not be back to Northeast Ohio for about a month and a half. So things will be busy! Please pray for wisdom in leading the team. We have been having meetings to prepare the teens for the trip by working on their Spanish, discussing the true gospel, and having devotionals on our attitudes, and giving tips for being servants and blessings to the Pfaunmillers in Puerto Rico. We have had many teams in Mexico, but this will be the first time for us on the other end of things. We appreciate your prayers for a week that glorifies the Lord.
Many have asked about Cristiana’s progress with her dyslexia treatments. She has made great progress in therapies that facilitate both right and left brain function simultaneously. These therapies should aid reading. This week she will begin new therapies tackling the actual reading problem. Because of our busy summer, she may get behind in her therapies. Please pray for her and for us to know how to help her while on the road.
We are thankful for the good reports from Mexico City from Ruben and Heidi Zartman. The church has gone through a very difficult time with the death of Marek. Marek was a young man who attended our church on and off again for over 9 years. For three of those years he was faithful to every service. He died in an apparent suicide. This was a tremendous blow to our church and to Ruben as Marek was a childhood friend. But the Lord as he always does, used this to His glory to unite the church, and to cause the entire church to reach out to Marek’s unsaved family in giving a memorial service and dinner.
The good reports have encouraged us so we thought that we would include Ruben’s latest update to continue giving you a report on the Padierna Bible Church.
Hello Everyone,
This week I was able to meet two people I had heard about who have caused their relations a good bit of anguish. It was a good reminder of the need to continue in prayer. The first was Roberto Ortiz, Silvia's son. I met him briefly when I went to her house to see how Luis was doing (fine, though with a lingering bladder infection). He has caused his family much conflict, pain and turmoil with his drug addiction and the irresponsible behavior that it breeds.
The second was Karina, Guille's daughter-in-law about whom I wrote in one of the earliest updates, who pretty frequently abandons her husband Memo for an adulterous fling. I went to Guille's house for a visit and she was there, with her two sons. Please remember to pray that God would touch her heart and convert her.
Saturday evening we had a young people's meeting where we had a very stimulating discussion of apologetics. They seemed pretty enthusiastic with the idea of continuing, so we are planning to tackle one apologetic scenario a month. They decided the first thing was to learn a little anti-RC polemics, so this coming month we will be dealing with that. It was very encouraging to see Abraham, Juana's (second) son who does not normally come to church show up and evidently enjoy himself.
This Sunday started out a bit slow, but by the time the service was well under way there was, I believe, only one empty chair. America, José, Rubén, Francisco (I mislabeled him Eduardo in the last update, because his middle name is Eduardo) and Blanca were back again. Francisco told me that his 87-year-old dad is changing, in that he asked for forgiveness a couple of days ago for the first time that Francisco (54 years old) can remember.
We had the regulars and most of the sporadic attendees there today, although Noemí has not been for the past two Sundays. It was a special treat to see Marek's mom, Josefina, walk in a little bit after the service had started. We were able to have her over to dinner afterwards, along with Erasmo and Matilde and their children. While I was fixing up the seating I overheard her confiding in Matilde. At church Sra. Ofelia talked with her and pointed her to God as the source of comfort. She stayed for about 4 hours, so obviously felt comfortable. Hopefully the sermons she has heard, and the wonderful kindness the church people have shown her will be used by God to open her heart.
I had wondered how attendance would be with father's day, but the only confirmed absence from that was Teresa, whose husband insisted that she help him celebrate largely and so did not allow her to come to church today. It would seem to be time to acquire some more chairs for the church, and this again emphasizes the need for a new place to meet. Please pray for the Lord's provision. Thanks for the prayers. I know many pray for us faithfully, and some daily. The Lord is, I believe, answering very richly.Ruben
As you can tell, the church seems to be growing in our absence. Please pray for each one to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Mike for all the Goldfusses
